Chapter Ninety-One: Deep in the Thieves' Den

There were people keeping watch outside, and An Yi did not dare act rashly. After checking herself, she was relieved to find that they had only taken the sleeve arrow, the needle pouch, and the needle tube; the hairpin, earrings, and bracelet were still with her.

She sat on the bed for a long while. Only after the low murmur of voices outside fell silent did she wait a little longer, then slowly climbed down, went to the door, and pressed her ear against it to listen. Hearing no breathing, she gently pulled the door open a crack and peered through.

Outside, there was only darkness, not a glimmer of light. An Yi looked around the room; both windows had been sealed shut. Unable to tell what lay outside, she dared not unlock the door and flee. She returned to the bed and sat down again, lowering her head to look at the girl beside her, who was still in a deep sleep, and nudged her.

The girl slept like a log and gave no response.

An Yi thought it over, then climbed in and lay down. For the moment she was safe. She would first gather her strength; when daylight came tomorrow and the route was clear, she would think of a way to escape. Darkness might better conceal one’s movements, but not knowing the way made accidents more likely.

An Yi was not so thick-skinned as to be able to sleep soundly in a thief’s den. After lying there for a while, she sat up and crossed her legs to meditate, casting aside stray thoughts and letting her breath sink to her dantian.

A faint crack sounded, and An Yi was instantly awakened from her trance. She hurriedly lay back down, closed her eyes, and slowed her breathing.

With two squeaks, the door was pushed open, and An Yi heard footsteps.

“Wake them,” said Aunt Miao.

An Yi felt someone lift the curtain. Then she heard the girl beside her sit up, followed by the faint scent of medicine.

Pretending to have just woken, An Yi opened her eyes and saw a face covered in scars.

“Get down, all of you,” Aunt Miao said.

An Yi followed the girl from the neighboring bed down from the bunk. Besides the captives, there were seven others in the room.

A middle-aged woman with delicate features walked up to An Yi. “Little girl, you’re rather composed.”

At the sound of her voice, An Yi confirmed that this middle-aged woman was Aunt Miao. “Who are you? Why have you captured me? What do you intend to do?”

“Here, eat this first.” Aunt Miao held out her hand, revealing a black pill in her palm.

An Yi looked at it. “What medicine is this?”

“A marvelous elixir. Take it, and your inner strength will increase.”

“You’d better tell me the truth, Auntie, so I know what I’m dealing with.” Even without common sense, An Yi knew this was absolutely no miracle medicine; it was one hundred percent a lethal poison.

“Auntie? You call me Auntie?” Aunt Miao laughed. “Since you’ve called me that, I’ll tell you the truth. This is the Mind-Shaking Pill refined by the Palace Lord. It is a poison. You must take the antidote once every three months, or the poison will flare up. When it does, the pain is unbearable, and you will claw at your own face until it is a mass of scars.”

Aunt Miao pointed to the scar-faced woman. “Just like her.”

An Yi took the pill and put it into her mouth, silently thankful that Jian Fanyi had once trained her in how to hide medicine under the tongue without being detected. She was even more grateful that the pill did not dissolve at once. She used her tongue to tuck it beneath herself while making a swallowing motion.

“Open your mouth,” Aunt Miao said.

An Yi calmly opened her mouth to show her.

Finding no pill hidden beneath her tongue, Aunt Miao said, “Good girl. After breakfast, Auntie will take you all to meet the Palace Lord. As long as you are obedient, the Palace Lord will like you, and then it will be easy to get the antidote.”

With her tongue, An Yi pressed the pill up against the roof of her mouth. Lowering her head, she said, “Thank you for your guidance, Auntie.”

Aunt Miao nodded with satisfaction. “You’re a clever, well-behaved child. Auntie likes girls like you. Not like the others, who force Auntie to do it herself before they’ll take their medicine. And some even dare to play tricks in front of Auntie and hide the pill away, but once Auntie asks them a question, they give themselves away.”

An Yi gave a faint smile. She had won the gamble just now, but she dared not speak again. With the pill in her mouth, saliva would naturally keep secreting and slowly soften it. She had to spit it out as soon as possible, or everything she had done would be for nothing.

Aunt Miao’s gaze swept over the other fifteen girls. “Come along.”

The group followed Aunt Miao out of the room. An Yi walked in the middle, neither ahead nor behind, and with the corner of her eye she studied the surroundings. This place seemed to be a mountain estate, not small in scale, with pavilions, terraces, and towers of every sort, as well as all kinds of flowers, plants, and trees.

At a turn, An Yi deliberately stepped on a stone on the ground and slipped forward. The girl behind her did not notice and bumped into her.

An Yi took the opportunity to crash to the ground, spitting out the pill in her mouth. Pressing it down with her hand, she flattened the already damp, melting pill until it blended into the dirt and could no longer be seen.

“What happened?” Aunt Miao asked, turning back.

“Auntie, I stepped on a stone and slipped,” An Yi said, rising from the ground and rubbing her hands together.

Aunt Miao glanced at the stone on the ground. “Watch where you’re walking. Be careful.”

“Yes, Auntie.” An Yi answered obediently, finally breathing easy.

Aunt Miao led An Yi and the others into a room with several long tables. Porridge, pickles, and steamed buns were laid out on the tables. “Sit down and eat.”

An Yi took her place and ate with the other girls. Only then did she have a chance to look more closely at her fifteen companions. She spotted two familiar faces: the twin sisters she had met at the Mountain God Temple. She had never expected them to have been abducted as well. Compared with their spirited appearance back then, both looked noticeably haggard now.

The twin sisters did not recognize An Yi. They silently drank their porridge and ate their buns and pickles.

While eating, An Yi kept an eye on the people guarding them. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, she reached into the bracelet and took out the pill she had hidden there, swallowing it quickly in case there was a drug in the porridge. If she were knocked out, she would have no way of knowing where they had taken her, much less escaping.

After the meal, Aunt Miao had her subordinates hand out long strips of cloth. “Cover your eyes properly. Don’t try anything clever.”

An Yi sighed inwardly. No matter how high the skill, there was always a higher one. If she could not see, she would have no way of knowing where she was being taken.

Once the girls had tied the cloths over their eyes, Aunt Miao had her people check them, making sure no one had cheated. “Good. Take them away.”

An Yi felt someone take her hand and pull her forward.

The road seemed very long. They walked for what felt like ages without arriving, and then An Yi suddenly caught the scent of flowers again. After walking a little farther, she smelled that same fragrance once more.

Her thoughts turned. Could these people be leading them in circles? If so, escaping would not be difficult.

“All right, we’re here. Remove the blindfolds,” Aunt Miao said.

An Yi took off the cloth, blinked, and quickly glanced around. It seemed to be a cavern. Instead of oil lamps, the place was lit by two night pearls the size of fists.

Aunt Miao continued leading the way and after about one hundred and fifty paces, they reached a stone gate. She knocked.

A voice from within called, “Flame trees have fallen silent.”

“Lychee branches droop,” Aunt Miao replied.

“A thousand flowers, ten thousand flowers.”

“Await my lord’s return.”

“Who comes?”

“Miao Cuiyu of the Search-Branch Sect.”

The heavy stone gate slowly rose. Behind it stood two girls of about sixteen or seventeen, each holding a long sword.

Aunt Miao led everyone inside. They passed through a long corridor to another stone gate. After the correct passphrase, the gate opened. They walked ahead for more than ten paces, then climbed a flight of fifty stone steps. At the top was yet another stone gate. After the exchange was made again, they arrived in a spacious chamber.

The chamber was lavishly furnished and splendid beyond measure. Several night pearls the size of fists were inlaid into the cave walls, illuminating the place as bright as day. At the center, on a chair fit for a noblewoman, lounged a beautiful middle-aged woman of about forty. She wore a red silk bodice embroidered with twin lotus blossoms and a matching silk gown.

Beside her stood two handsome young men. They wore only thin silk robes, translucent as cicada wings, scarcely different from being unclothed. One held her head while feeding her, the other was painting her toenails.

Although their male features could not be plainly seen, all the girls were unmarried and still flushed scarlet, lowering their heads and not daring to look.

“Disciple Miao Cuiyu pays her respects to the Palace Lord,” Aunt Miao said, leading her subordinates forward to bow. She set down the bundle in her hands before the beautiful woman and opened it. Inside were the sixteen girls’ belongings: various jade pendants, jade plaques, and gold tokens.

The beautiful woman flicked the hair falling over her shoulder. “How many did you bring back this time?”

“Replying to the Palace Lord, Cuiyu has brought back sixteen people this time. Please inspect them, Palace Lord.” Aunt Miao turned and beckoned the sixteen forward.

Bound by the poison in their bodies, the girls could only step up, though none bowed to the beautiful woman.

The beauty extended a pale, jade-like hand. The young man holding her head understood at once and helped her up; the other knelt to put on her embroidered shoes. With graceful steps, the woman walked over and studied the girls as if inspecting merchandise. “Oh? These two girls look exactly alike. Twins, are you? What are your names?”

“Meng Yiyi.”

“Meng Shuangshuang.”

“Yiyi and Shuangshuang—your parents certainly chose convenient names,” the beauty said with a coquettish laugh.

Meng Yiyi and Meng Shuangshuang pressed their lips together and said nothing.

The beauty passed by them and stopped in front of An Yi. “And what is your name?”

“Luo Nineteen,” An Yi replied.

“Oh dear, your parents were even more careless. Such a beauty, and they gave you such an ugly name.”

The beauty turned and sat back down on the imperial couch, leaning against the man beside her and lowering her head to look at the items in the bundle. Suddenly, her expression changed slightly. She picked out An Yi’s jade pendant. “Whose is this jade pendant?”

An Yi’s heart sank. “Mine.”

“What is Jian Fanyi to you?” The beauty fixed her gaze on An Yi and asked in a low voice.

An Yi knew she could not hide it. “He is my master.”

The beauty sat up straight. “Your master truly is Jian Fanyi?”

“I have no need to lie.”

“Your master is not dead yet?”

“My master is hale and hearty. Living to a hundred will be no problem. As for you, you’ve indulged in excess and are already beyond cure. You won’t be alive much longer.”

“You little minx, such a sharp tongue. Do you know who I am?”

“The Palace Lord of the Thousand Flowers Palace, Wan Yanjie.”

“You little girl, you do have some insight.” Wan Yanjie laughed softly. “Cuiyu, take those fifteen away and train them properly. As for this little girl, I shall train her myself.”