The Jade Corpse came and went without a trace, and although everyone was burning with anxiety, they were utterly at a loss as to where to begin searching for A’Han.
Qin Yao wiped at her tears for a moment, then suddenly remembered something. She lifted her head from Lin Xiao’s arms and said to Qing Xuzi and Yuan Jue, “The Young Lord told me previously that the late Emperor, when constructing Nanyuan Lake in his day, drew water directly from the Cangheng River into the city. So although Nanyuan Lake and the Cangheng River are far apart on the surface, they are in fact connected underground. The Jade Corpse and her walking corpses have routinely used the waterways to travel back and forth to avoid detection. Master, Abbot Yuan Jue — is it possible that Senior Brother and the others have already been dragged off by the Jade Corpse to Wuniu Mountain?”
Qing Xuzi and Yuan Jue had been too distraught with worry to think clearly, and this layer of reasoning had eluded them. Hearing Qin Yao’s words, it was as though a faint glimmer of light had appeared in boundless darkness. They said at once, “There is no time to waste — to Wuniu Mountain.”
Since they were dealing with the Jade Corpse, there was no reason for the group to split up. Yuan Jue immediately dispatched several of his disciples to race back to the temple and bring carriages; Chang Rong and his men also brought over a number of horse-drawn carriages.
With everyone falling into position, Lin Xiao swung into the saddle. He saw Qin Yao sprawled listlessly against the carriage window in a daze and rode close to console her. “Though we don’t know why the Jade Corpse took Senior Brother, right now she is entirely focused on finding the Golden Corpse and collecting souls — she simply has no time for wanton killing. Senior Brother A’Han also has his own unusual abilities, so even if he has been taken, he is probably unharmed. On top of that, he still has your Soul-Devouring Bell to protect him. So as long as we find him quickly, Senior Brother is certain to be safe and sound.”
Qin Yao straightened up, her spirit lifting, and nodded. “Right, you are correct. Senior Brother will definitely be alright.”
On ordinary days, Qing Xuzi never let an opportunity pass to lecture Qin Yao about something. Tonight, however, he broke with custom and did not utter a single word of reproach. Seeing her red-rimmed eyes, and knowing clearly that she was suffering, his heart softened, and he said, “What good does crying do? How many times have I told the two of you — senior and junior disciples go out and come back together; you must not act alone. The moment something happens, it all goes in one ear and out the other.”
Qin Yao could not defend herself and simply kept wiping her tears.
A heaviness settled over Qing Xuzi, and for once he dared not say another word. He clamped his mouth shut and fell into silence.
Outside the carriage, Lin Xiao heard this exchange. He had first feared that Qing Xuzi would redirect his anger at Qin Yao and make her blame herself even more. Now, seeing the old master recognize when to stop and refrain from continuing to reproach her, Lin Xiao quietly breathed a small sigh of relief.
After a long journey, they finally reached Wuniu Mountain. The group did not dare waste a single moment and descended into the Cangheng River one by one.
Once underwater, they returned to the underground palace. They had steeled themselves for a fierce battle — yet searching all the way to where the Jade Corpse had stored the souls, they found no trace of her, no trace of A’Han and the others, and not even a single walking corpse that had previously been a common sight in these depths.
Unable to remain underwater for long, they had no choice but to return to shore. Every heart was gripped with unease. Could the Jade Corpse have yet another hideout? But Chang’an was so vast — where could they possibly begin to look?
Qing Xuzi and Qin Yao were in complete disarray, to the point of having nearly lost the capacity to think calmly. They simply stood gazing in silence at the Cangheng River rushing endlessly past — master and disciple planted side by side on the riverbank like two wooden posts.
Lin Xiao saw the lifeless pallor of Qin Yao’s face, and it was as if a heavy stone had settled deep in his chest — a suffocating, oppressive weight he could not articulate.
The greater the crisis, the calmer Lin Xiao became. He stood on the bank, letting the night wind blow against his face, and turned the chain of events over carefully in his mind. He felt there were too many threads to work through, and he urgently needed to lay them out and organize them. He crouched down, picked up a branch, and began to sketch on the ground.
After a while, he studied the place names he had drawn, deliberated in silence for a long moment, then suddenly threw aside the branch and rose, looking toward Qin Yao. “There are only a few places within and around Chang’an that have water sources, and fewer still that connect to one another — in fact, only three. What is curious is that walking corpses have appeared at all three of these water sources. Besides the Cangheng River and Nanyuan Lake, the remaining one is—”
At these words, the blank numbness vanished from Qin Yao’s face in an instant, as though a current of life had been breathed into it. Her eyes lit up. “Jade Spring Mountain!”