Young Master Bai — Chapter 69

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Chapter 69: A Pit Ahead

According to the latest statistics from the Unknown Truth Sect, this year the top three communication-type magic treasures among the human race are: ‘Lingxi Link’, ‘Cloudbrocade Letter’, and ‘Twin Stones of Sound and Shadow’.

[The wonders of Chinese: 靈犀 (líng xī) = literally “spiritual rhinoceros,” but in Chinese idiom (心有靈犀一點通), it means “a mysterious telepathic connection” or “hearts that resonate as one.”]

The first, the Lingxi Link, was developed by the Unknown Truth Sect. It consists of a pair of rhinoceros horn earrings. As long as they are worn separately, the users can converse with each other no matter if they are in the sky or under the sea. The earrings can be hidden beneath hair, making them extremely discreet, and they are also quite suitable for eavesdropping. Because of this, the Unknown Truth Sect never sells them to outsiders; they are currently equipped only by the sect’s elite Heaven-class guards.

The second, the Cloudbrocade Letter, is a Heaven-grade treasure from the Endless Longevity Academy. Outwardly, it looks like two blank scrolls made of brocade. Its miraculous property is that whatever is written or drawn on one scroll will appear identically on the other. If a special rice paper produced by the Academy is placed underneath, the writing or artwork can even be imprinted.

This treasure is often gifted by the Academy to renowned scholars and artists for collecting copies of masterpieces. Over the centuries, they have acquired many peerless works, and bringing one out to show at a poetry gathering is indeed very prestigious. The Unknown Truth Sect once suggested that the Academy produce simplified versions for ordinary cultivators to exchange letters, but the Academy found such a thing utterly unrefined and to this day has not pursued it.

Compared with these two unique treasures, the Twin Stones of Sound and Shadow from the Myriad Treasures Hall are much more accessible. Although they are restricted in quantity, anyone who passes identity verification can buy them with spirit stones at branch stores across the land. The Shadow Stone records only images without sound, while the Sound Stone records only voices without images. Used together, they can perfectly capture everything happening around them. Each batch sold consists of one parent stone and ten child stones. Within a hundred li, the parent stone can replenish the child stones with spiritual power, and the child stones will transmit everything they record back to the parent. So long as the parent and children remain together, they can be used continuously for ten years.

Since Bai Chen was traveling, Li Wuming naturally would not let the journey be dull, so he explained these wondrous treasures to him along the way. The human race has indeed advanced rapidly in the art of crafting treasures in recent years. Bai Chen found them intriguing upon hearing about them. The first two would be difficult to obtain, but negotiating with the Myriad Treasures Hall for a batch of Twin Stones of Sound and Shadow should not be hard. Bringing them back to strengthen the defenses of the Great Snow Mountain would certainly be advantageous.

Azure Heaven Manor specializes in the art of automata. While it has developed relatively few original treasures, it has made great achievements in integrating existing treasures with automata. For example, the Shadow Stone, which normally could only monitor fixed locations, became in their hands flying automaton birds, swimming automaton fish, and burrowing automaton mice. Qiu Xiaohan even improved upon it, creating two walls known as the Thousand Shadows Screens that could combine the views of all Shadow Stones. One of these screens was installed in Azure Heaven Manor’s residence in Lin’an.

The manor’s residence was indeed unlike any other. All along the way, the ground was covered with wood shavings left from making automata. No servants were seen; instead, wooden automaton guards patrolled ceaselessly with weapons in hand. Even the tea for guests was prepared by mechanisms: Qiu Xiaohan twisted the vase on the table, and the kettle boiled by itself, poured hot water into the teapot, then into the cups, which slid along tracks to arrive before the three guests.

Bai Chen had never seen such exquisite contraptions. Lifting a cup, he took a sip and found the temperature neither too hot nor too cold, perfectly suited for drinking. His curiosity grew stronger.

Of course, tea served by contraptions lacked many of the refinements of a true tea master. Li Wuming took a sip, then shook his head. “This tea is purely for quenching thirst. It has no taste.”

Bai Hangshou was very curious about Li Wuming, the Sword Immortal’s heir. Though Sword Immortal Bai was revered as a hero of the human race, his origins were unknown, and even his full name remained a mystery. His entanglement with Bai Wei had been an unresolved enigma for a thousand years. The only trace of him left in the world was this successor, Li Wuming. While the cultivation world knew he was the younger brother of the founding emperor of the Li dynasty, nothing was known of his life before he went to war. The Endless Longevity Academy had even combed through Western Liang’s household registers but found no record of Li Wuming’s birth.

Such a mysterious figure was naturally of interest to every faction, but Li Wuming ignored all inquiries. Bai Hangshou could find no chance to strike up a conversation and could only follow Qiu Xiaohan to see the Thousand Shadows Screen.

Qiu Xiaohan’s arrangements favored convenience. The screen was hidden behind a bookshelf. Opening a secret panel brought it into view, and once infused with spiritual power, the connected surveillance points appeared as glowing green dots.

To Bai Hangshou, the dense scattering of green dots was glaring. Forgetting Li Wuming, he sneered at Qiu Xiaohan, “Cobblestones, fish-tank decorations, paving stones for flower pots, even the pickle-pressing stone in Elder Qin's kitchen — all replaced with Shadow Stones. Why don’t you just plant a living spy?”

A Shadow Stone was a pure white stone, but only Azure Heaven Manor could coat them to blend in among ordinary rocks. Qiu Xiaohan was not in the least ashamed; in fact, he said proudly, “I even set automaton mice loose in Dongling.”

Bai Hangshou had not expected him to go that far. He realized Dongling had likely been an open book to Azure Heaven Manor for years, but all he could do was protest, “You’ve gone too far!”

Whether Qiu Xiaohan truly misunderstood or not, he replied calmly, “Feng Shiqi said I’m too easy to waylay with a sack over my head and a club. I should release more little animals to accumulate virtue.”

Bai Hangshou really did want to sack him, but Qiu Xiaohan had relied on automata alone to defeat countless foes, and his cultivation was unfathomable. An old Daoist like Bai Hangshou could not possibly prevail. He could only grumble, “Thank you for reminding me how long it’s been since I wanted to say, ‘Our alliance leader is truly wise.’”

Unmoved, Qiu Xiaohan commanded the wooden automaton hands, infused with spiritual power, to swiftly filter the images on the Thousand Shadows Screen. Soon, he located the alley where Bai Chen had been ambushed. “Found it — Wangjia Alley, Dongling.”

“You even made an index—”

Bai Hangshou was about to complain again when the images silenced him. The Shadow Stones could not be faked. The Endless Longevity Academy disciples lying in wait inside homes, driven there by Dongling guards, were displayed clearly. Bai Hangshou fell silent. Qiu Xiaohan bluntly said, “It was indeed your disciples lying in ambush.”

Whether or not they had been manipulated, it was a fact that Endless Longevity Academy disciples were in hiding there. Bai Hangshou was certain no such order had been given by his sect. His face grew stern. “Impossible. You must have placed Shadow Stones in the guard barracks too. Check if someone tampered with them!”

Qiu Xiaohan had indeed laid hidden lines in the guard quarters. The view shifted to show the guards drinking. The ambush was real. Bai Chen, unconcerned, had been sipping tea, but at the changing image he suddenly froze.

These ambushers were not high in cultivation. No one would believe they had truly meant to assassinate him. Bai Chen had thought they were simply trying to use the Mind-stealing Technique to sow suspicion between him and the Academy. Once the Shadow Stones showed the truth, their lies would collapse. But his enemies were more cautious than he imagined. The guards’ quarters at first appeared normal, the off-duty disciples drinking and chatting — until, after a quarter-hour, a white figure suddenly descended. Its fur was snowy, its nine tails swaying — the world-famous Nine-tailed White Fox.

The moment it landed, it seized the minds of everyone present. With a graceful lick of its paw, the city-guard disciples walked out like puppets. Anyone could see it was the true culprit behind everything.

No one had expected the Shadow Stones to reveal such a scene. Bai Hangshou no longer felt weak, and his gaze at Bai Chen was full of meaning. “No wonder you refused to hand them over. Is this a case of the thief crying ‘stop thief’?”

The Shadow Stones could not be falsified, and the caster in the image was indeed the Nine-tailed White Fox. Worse, the white-clad figure seemed to know the stones existed, never showing itself in the alley. This raised troubling questions. The Endless Longevity Academy had overseen Dongling for so long without ever discovering Qiu Xiaohan’s secret network — yet this hidden yao faction not only knew of it but could use it so skillfully…

Only now did Bai Chen realize the other side had lured him into that alley precisely for this purpose. To be ambushed would not convince anyone the Great Snow Mountain was compromised. But for the Nine-tailed White Fox to personally control Academy disciples to attack him — that was another matter.

Bu Tiange had seen a mysterious yao impersonate him before, but this was different. The recording had been captured by accident through Qiu Xiaohan’s stones, leaving little room for suspicion of a setup. At the time the fox appeared, Bai Chen had been alone at an inn. Even if there truly existed a yao that could mimic the Nine-tailed White Fox, he had no way to prove the fox in the image was not himself.

The Heaven’s Way Alliance had decided to let the yao enter the city, yet the Endless Longevity Academy had secretly ambushed Bai Chen. This was, without question, a public slap in Feng Shiqi’s face. Anyone who saw this scene would wonder if the Great Snow Mountain was deliberately trying to sow discord within the Alliance.

Bai Chen had come to trade with the human race. If suspicion arose in the Alliance, his future dealings would become fraught with difficulty. If pushed to desperation, he might even be forced to reveal that he lacked a yao core to clear his name.

He knew the situation was dire. Still, it was not yet hopeless. He spoke first: “I was lured into that alley by a man in white. If I am not mistaken, he should be related to the Yao King’s descendants. Manor Lord Qiu, do you have Shadow Stones set in Qinghe Street?”

Qinghe Street was the most prosperous district of Dongling, and of course Qiu Xiaohan had not neglected it. He began switching the feed — only to be met by darkness. Even Qiu Xiaohan, normally so expressionless, looked puzzled. “The Shadow Stone I set into the cobblestones of Qinghe Street has failed.”

The street was crowded, and the stones embedded in its pavement could indeed be worn down. Bai Hangshou’s brow furrowed. “You didn’t replenish the spiritual power?”

Qiu Xiaohan was the most meticulous of men. Even the temperature of his tea never varied by a degree in ten years. Naturally, this accusation offended him. “Impossible. I send a caravan every month to recharge them.”

“Tomorrow I’ll forbid your Azure Heaven Manor caravans from entering the city!”

Though he said so, Bai Hangshou had faith in Qiu Xiaohan’s rigor. The Manor Lord would never make such a beginner’s mistake. The sudden failure of this stone must have another cause.

The entire affair was steeped in strangeness. Bai Hangshou, a wily old fox who had defeated many sects to claim his place among the top ten, grew cautious. The evidence might look conclusive, but he decided to hear Bai Chen out first. “Young Master Bai, you must give the Endless Longevity Academy an explanation for this.”

~ Chapter End ~