The Candle Burns Red - Chapter 12

According to the fragment found in the former palace, the Dragon Vein treasure lay somewhere in southern Dian. Mountains ringed the region, and poisonous insects swarmed. One careless step could cost a life. Our party had searched the mountains for three days without finding a clue.

I held a compass and muttered as though casting a spell, while I studied the land. Upstream, water flowed freely, but here it had been blocked. There had to be a reason. I sent men to search nearby. They found a cave cut by human hands. Three went in; only one came back.

“There are ghosts inside! A woman demon that eats people!”

There were no ghosts or monsters in this world. Only human malice at work.

Pei Xiuwen told Canglu, “Stay here with the Divine Maiden. The rest of you, follow me.”

“No. I’m going with you,” I said at once.

“You can’t fight. Inside, I’ll have to watch over you.”

“But I can suppress demons and drive away evil.”

Others in the party took my side. “The former dynasty sent many skilled people after the treasure, and none returned. The Divine Maiden could keep us safe.”

“Yes, Lord Pei. Please let her come.”

Pei Xiuwen had no choice. Quietly he told me, “Stay beside me at all times.”

“I won’t leave you for an instant.”

The sounds of the jungle vanished as we entered the cave, and the air turned suddenly cold. After a short walk, we found two skeletons beside scraps of torn flesh. The survivor whispered that this was where his companions had died. I calculated the distance. If they had merely found the cave and returned, they would not have been attacked. They must have ventured inside hoping to claim the treasure for themselves.

Dark shapes swept down from the ceiling. Suddenly a pale woman’s face was inches from mine, nearly touching my nose. Pei Xiuwen’s sword flashed. He pushed me behind him. “Human-faced bats. Run!”

In the darkness, they looked like phantoms. No wonder the soldier thought he had seen a ghost. We fled with the bats close behind. Looking up, I saw what resembled a vast night sky. Countless points of light flowed together like a winding river toward one bright star.

“That way!” I pointed to a passage beneath it. Then the ground disappeared beneath my feet. Pei Xiuwen caught my hand, but he fell with me into the dark.

At last we stopped falling. I struggled to open my eyes. We were in a sealed stone chamber. Pei Xiuwen’s arm was beneath me, and I smelled blood.

“You’re hurt!” I scrambled up to examine him. He hid his hand behind his back, his expression steady and his voice gentle. “Only a small wound. Let’s find a way out.”

I lit a fire stick. Stone walls surrounded us. A slab had closed over the passage through which we had fallen. There was no way back. At the chamber’s center stood a stone coffin engraved with a warning: whoever opened it would die. This was no treasure cave. It was a killing chamber.

“My lord, have you heard the story of the treasure? They say only the former royal family’s blood can open it. If one of us belongs to that family, perhaps we can survive.”

I said it deliberately to watch his reaction. Without a word, he walked to the coffin and let blood from his wounded arm fall onto it.

“You…”

“Stay with me.”

The coffin shook violently and sank. The floor beneath Pei Xiuwen gave way too, sending him down. At the same time, countless arrows shot from the walls, skirting the coffin and flying straight at me. There was nowhere to hide.

Pei Xiuwen caught the edge and hauled himself back up. His sword knocked aside one flight of arrows. “Fool! You were safely down there. Why come back?” I shouted.

“We leave together.”

More arrows came. We could not move. One streaked toward his heart. Forgetting my need to hide my skills, I sent a thousand embroidered threads flying. They shattered the arrow.

“I’ll explain later.” I grabbed Pei Xiuwen and plunged with him into the opening left by the sunken coffin.