The Affairs of the Martial World - Vol 2: Chapter 15

There was someone to lead the way, providing food and water, and after seven days, they arrived at the location marked on the treasure map.

The terrain there was relatively high, with a small hill that had not been completely covered by the desert. In the middle of the hill, there was a naturally formed cave. Baying led them inside, and as soon as they entered the cave, they were astonished by its grandeur.

Because the opening was small, it was hard to imagine that there was a whole different world inside.

Upon entering the cave, a stone staircase extended downward. Standing inside, facing such a vast space, it felt as if an ant had entered a pot; the grandeur of the landscape made them feel insignificant. In front of the exquisite murals surrounding them, aside from Zhu Que, no one else dared to show interest, and a few people immediately started searching for treasures.

Baying advised them, “No need to look anymore. If there were treasures, don’t our people know how to take them themselves?”

Fuying said, “They won’t take everything away, right? They will leave some for us, won’t they?”

Baying said, “There’s nothing left here, but I’ve prepared two boxes of treasures for you as a gift, so your journey won’t be in vain.”

After speaking, he sent someone to fetch it. Zhu Que looked at the text on the mural, most of which should be the script of the Jingjue Kingdom, but he didn’t recognize a single character. He couldn’t help but marvel at the exquisite carving techniques of the Jingjue Kingdom and the cultural heritage that had accumulated over countless years.

The mural recorded the founding of the Jingjue Kingdom and the countless wars with neighboring countries. Although the writing was incomprehensible, the images conveyed a shared culture.

Many figures in the painting were depicted larger, representing those of status and rank, while the commoners and soldiers were painted much smaller. Although they were small, they were still exquisite, with their clothing and expressions clearly visible. The entire mural represented the history of a remarkable nation, truly a magnificent and precious treasure.

The treasure that the missionary who once came here spoke of should be right here; it was just that Zhang San misinterpreted his meaning.

Zhu Que watched, feeling as if the characters in the painting had come to life, and the sounds of battle echoed in his ears.

Suddenly, he saw some symbols written in Chinese characters in a corner, which were the heavenly stems and earthly branches sequence. He pointed there and asked Baying, “What does it say here?”

Baying took a look and said, “This is the birthday of the youngest daughter of the last king of the Jingjue Kingdom, Princess Jinning. It’s said that she later married a Han person, so according to Han customs, her birth date and time were recorded.”

The three monks, Yin Nian, Yin Chang, and Yin Hui, seemed to have some understanding. They recalled the black jade box found in the Jingjue Palace, the lock of which was arranged using the heavenly stems and earthly branches. It was very likely that the birth date of Princess Jinning was the key, and they secretly made a mental note of it.

It was naturally inconvenient to open it in front of Baying now.

Not long after, the clan member of Baying arrived with a tall camel carrying two boxes. Baying said, “These two boxes are only for my tribe’s friend, Zhu Que. You can distribute them to your friends however you wish.”

Zhu Que cupped his hands and said, “Thank you. Since that’s the case, we won’t stay long. Please prepare enough water for us, and we will head back now.”

Fuying wanted to see what treasures were in the boxes sent by Baying, but Zhu Que stopped him and said, “I know what’s inside, you don’t need to look.”

Fuying said, “Aren’t you afraid these people will deceive you? It might just be filled with stones inside, not treasures.”

Zhu Que said, “I trust them, no need to check.”

Fuying could not resist him and had no choice but to give up.

Finally, after enduring countless hardships, they returned with the treasure.

On the way back, Yin Nian took out the black jade box from his pocket. Zhu Que also remembered Princess Jinning’s birthday and said, “Let’s open it and see what’s inside.”

The three monks gathered together, arranging the lock correctly. Sure enough, the order was right, and the black jade box opened. However, just as the box opened, a puff of white smoke emerged from inside. Yin Nian, Yin Chang, and Yin Hui were caught off guard; upon inhaling the smoke, they suddenly froze, their faces turning ashen as their bodies stiffening like stone statues.

What a powerful poison smoke!

Fuying was originally prepared to step forward and see what was there, but upon seeing such a vicious trap, he was startled and immediately took a few steps back to avoid it, fearing that the poisonous smoke would spread too widely and affect him.

With the cleverness of Zhu Que, he never expected that there would be poisonous smoke inside the black jade box. He took a copper coin from his body and flicked it at the black jade box, which was struck down with a sound. At that moment, the three monks from White Horse Temple fell to the ground. From a distance, everyone saw the monks’ faces and knew that they had already been poisoned beyond saving.

The black jade box flipped over on the ground, and suddenly, a roll of parchment tumbled out from inside.

Mu Qingshui waited for the poisonous smoke to dissipate, bent down to pick up the parchment, and said, “Such a vicious mechanism, and it even uses the princess’s birth date as the unlocking sequence. Fortunately… huh…” He held the parchment, staring at the contents, speechless and at a loss for words.

Zhu Que took a look and secretly cursed, “Another map. It can’t be another treasure map, can it?”

Although the text marked on the map was incomprehensible, the locations of the mountains and boundaries align with the desert landscape they were in. In the middle, there was a highlighted area that indicated the location of the Jingjue Palace. Attached is a small illustration showing the layout of the palace’s rooms. At the location of the king’s sleeping quarters, there was an additional passage that led to an open space, followed by a segment of text written in Chinese characters at the bottom.

Zhu Que pondered for a moment, speculating that this was the treasure trove of the Jingjue Kingdom. Who would store their valuable possessions in a cave far from home? It only makes sense to keep them buried in their own house.

Based on this reasoning, countless treasures must be buried underground in the royal palace, which was exactly the treasure map they sought. However, the latter part of the text was quite strange, and Zhu Que couldn’t figure out its meaning for a moment.

Mu Qingshui seemed to understand the content of the parchment as well. Just as he was about to speak, he looked up and found dozens of men in black standing behind him, staring at the parchment in his hand. The leader among them was Baying.

Zhu Que felt a stir in his heart, vaguely recalling something, and then said to Baying, “You’re not a descendant of the palace guards; claiming to protect the sacred place of Jingjue Kingdom is just a lie to deceive me, isn’t it?”

Baying chuckled, “You’re smart. Hand over that map in your hand, and I’ll let you go.”

Zhu Que rolled up the parchment and tucked it into his bosom, saying, “It’s rare for you to be so convincing. I’m just curious; finding this box isn’t really that difficult, so why haven’t you found it all this time?”

Baying said, “I’ve searched the desert for twelve years, yet I still could not find where the ancient city is buried under the sands. You are truly lucky; as soon as you entered the desert, you encountered a sandstorm that exposed the ancient city. If it weren’t for that, I fear I would have to search for several more years.”

Fuying vaguely realized something and said, “That night, we pretended to fight each other to the death; you actually saw through it and deliberately let us capture you, didn’t you?”

Baying said, “You took that jade box away, and I was afraid you couldn’t open it and would throw it away, so I had no choice but to follow you. You pretended to kill each other; I didn’t even need to look, I could guess you were acting. You wanted to lure me in, so I had to play along and put on a show for you. If I hadn’t said anything, you might still be feeling smug about it, right? Ha ha, ha ha.”

Zhu Que said, “So are you relying on the fact that there are many of you, thinking you have us at your mercy, which is why we have to give you the map?”

Baying said proudly, “If you give me the map now, I won’t kill you, but you also can’t follow us. Otherwise, heh heh.”

Zhu Que said, “Alright, I’ll give you the map.”

Fuying shouted, “No, these people are treacherous and untrustworthy, how can they be considered reliable…”

Zhu Que shook his head, took out the parchment from his pocket, and with both hands, applied force to rub it. The parchment was soon torn apart, and with another push, the entire parchment turned to dust. Then, he spread his hands, and the powdered parchment scattered into the sand with the wind, never to be restored.

Baying was furious and said, “You are so ungrateful; do you not want to live anymore?”

Zhu Que smiled and said, “It’s precisely because we want to live that we’re doing this. Right now, I’m the only one who knows the contents of the map. You can either cooperate with me or forget about finding the location on the map.”

Baying’s face turned red, looking as if he wanted to tear Zhu Que apart, but after weighing the importance, he suppressed his anger and said, “Let’s hear it, what kind of cooperation are you proposing?”

Zhu Que said, “Since you are not the royal palace guards keeping watch, who are you?”

Baying said, “I am the most powerful force in this desert, known as The Burst of Wind.”

Mu Qingshan exclaimed, “So you are the most ruthless and bloodthirsty bandit in the desert, The Burst of Wind?”

Baying shamelessly said, “No need to be polite. The most ruthless are the easiest to kill. My friends say I’m a bit heartless, but in this deadly place, if you don’t have a bit of cruelty, it’s tough to survive.”

Zhu Que said coldly, “I’ve heard of you too. People say you’re the fox of the desert, the wolf of the desert. I didn’t understand what that meant at first, but after spending so many days with you, I’ve come to realize just how cunning and cruel you are. I actually believed what you said, thinking you were a descendant of the treasure guards.”

Baying said, “It’s not all false. My ancestors were indeed guards; otherwise, how would they know about the treasures of the Jingjue Kingdom? But later, the country fell, and our family was destroyed. Surviving became a problem, and we had no ability to guard the treasures. We are in this line of work out of necessity, and we hope you understand.”

Zhu Que said, “You rob for a living, and I can’t judge right from wrong, but after you robbed the passing merchants, why did you still have to kill them?”

Baying laughed and said, “Even if I don’t kill them, without food and camels, they still won’t be able to escape the desert. It’s better to give them a quick end so they don’t suffer in bits and pieces.”

Zhu Que: “……”

Baying said, “Alright, enough of the nonsense. Since you know the treasure’s location, take us there now.”

Zhu Que said, “You haven’t heard the terms of our cooperation yet.”

Baying said, “Then please go ahead.”

Zhu Que said, “Let me take you there alone, and you let my companions go.”

Baying said, “That’s simple. Give each of them a camel and a few bags of water.”

Fuying shouted, “No way, Zhu Que, you can’t leave me behind. I want to be with you.'”

Baying turned to look at Zhu Que, who helplessly said, “Alright, he comes with me. What about the others?”

The Mu brothers, Shui Mingyue and Zhao Qiankun looked at each other, contemplating the dangers they had faced along the way. Having encountered the most vicious bandit in the desert, with their companions dying one by one, the thought of retreat had long taken root in their minds, and none of them spoke.

Zhu Que said, “Alright, you can go back. After you return to the Central Plains, I hope you tell everyone that the treasures here have all been taken by me, Zhu Que. This way, no one will come to the desert to seek treasure anymore, risking death here or truly destroying the stone carvings of the cave of the Jingjue Kingdom.”

The four remained silent for a while, all nodding in agreement. In the world of martial arts, trust comes first. Since they had promised Zhu Que they would definitely follow through, and Zhu Que also breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Que said to Baying, “Let’s do one last thing before we part ways.”