Traversing Through Tunnels; Sword Penetrating from Above

Having his jaw squeezed open by Shi Wudu and force-fed, Shi Qingxuan choked violently; spitting and sputtering out more than half of the contents, dirtying all of his front. He started screaming and knocked his head forward, toppling the bowl. Shi Wudu's face was fuming with smoke.

He yelled, "Go ahead! Keep breaking them! There's plenty more medicine where that came from. You break one bowl, I'll bring you twenty more! I'll keep forcing this down your throat until you drink it!"

Shi Qingxuan roared, "AAAHHHH!!! CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?! JUST LET ME DIE!"

Shi Wudu said sharply, "I'm your brother! If I don't care for you, who will?!"

Shi Qingxuan stopped talking, twisting his head away. A moment later, Shi Wudu sat down on the side of the bed and softened his tone.

"I'll go have your fan fixed."

"I don't want that fan anymore," Shi Qingxuan said.

The Wind Master loved that rare spiritual device of his, that Wind Master fan, and would bring it out from time to time just to play around with it. Even in the midst of snowstorms in winter, the fan would be fluttered in the wind. Yet now, he said he didn't want the Wind Master fan anymore. Xie Lian was becoming more and more curious.

"If you don't want it, that's fine too. We'll use this chance to forge you a new spiritual device."

Shi Qingxuan turned his head back again. "I don't want new ones either! Just let me descend."

Shi Wudu turned to him. "Descend? Descend where?"

"Descend back to the mortal realm," Shi Qingxuan replied. "I don't want to stay in the Upper Court anymore. I DON'T WANT TO BE A GOD ANYMORE!"

Veins popped on Shi Wudu's pale- skinned temple. "What a joke! Throw away your godhood to descend to the mortal realm? Stop making a fool of yourself! I don't think you understand just how many people in the world want to ascend, and how many officials in the Middle Court would die to join the Upper Court!!"

Shi Qingxuan shouted in anger, "THAT'S RIGHT! I DON'T KNOW! I JUST WANT TO BE A DRIFTING VAGABOND! IS THAT SO WRONG?!"

"I WON'T PERMIT IT! A carefree drifting vagabond? Dream on! I…"

Just then, the colour of his face changed; as if a private message had just reached him, passing on some news. Shi Wudu immediately rose to his feet, his two fingers pressed against his temple listening intently. His face grew more and more serious. Soon after, he turned to Shi Qingxuan.

"Stop adding to my troubles. I'm going to be busy for a little while, I've no time to mind you! Once I return from going through my third heavenly calamity, you won't be able to act up like this anymore!"

Then, he threw his hands up and swiftly left the bedchamber.

Once he was long gone, Xie Lian silently flipped down, pushing at the window, looking to sneak in. However, no matter how he pushed, the window wouldn't budge; some sort of confinement seal must be set up. He dared not force it open, lest there be some alarm spell cast upon it.

He only called out in a low voice: "Lord Wind Master. Lord Wind Master?"

Shi Qingxuan jerked on the bed and turned his head, overjoyed. "Your highness?!"

"It's me," Xie Lian responded. "What's happened to you? I can't open this window, may I come in through another way?"

When windows couldn't be opened by normal means, it was easy to guess the method that a martial god would use to enter a chamber.

Shi Qingxuan hurriedly said, "Don't don't don't! Don't destroy anything! There's a spell covering all the windows and doors here. If you force yourself in with brute strength, the entire Palace of Wind and Water will know someone has come. Unless it's by me or my brother, the doors and windows can only be opened from the inside."

"But you're all tied up like that," Xie Lian pointed out.

Shi Qingxuan started struggling crazily. "Your highness, wait a sec! Let me break free of this rope…"

"…"

Xie Lian watched as his entire person rolled around the bed, sometimes curled into a shrimp, sometimes straightened like a steel board, struggling with great trouble trying to break free, and Xie Lian softly cheered him on.

"Keep going, My Lord!"

With a brief look, he could tell that the rope binding Shi Qingxuan wasn't any spiritual device. With the Wind Master's powers, it should've snapped with but a hook of a finger, so why hadn't it broken yet? Could it be that Shi Qingxuan really was so seriously injured that he couldn't even break free of such a simple bind?

Just then, an odd movement came from under Shi Qingxuan's bed, and a hand suddenly stretched out. Xie Lian was taken aback in shock, his head exploding in alarm.

"Lord Wind Master, watch out! There's someone hiding underneath your bed!"

Shi Qingxuan's face also dropped. "WHAT?!"

But just as the words left his lips, a black silhouette swiftly crawled out from under the bed and stood before him, watching him from above.

That man was dressed in black robes, and bore the mask of a ghost. It was hard to tell when he had hid under the bed, nor what he planned on doing. Shi Qingxuan was securely trussed up on his bed, writhing all over, trying desperately to break free, and Xie Lian was blocked outside by the confinement seal, unable to enter; truly a dire situation. Xie Lian was just thinking about breaking the window when he saw that man push up his ghost mask.

He spoke with a low voice: "Shut up!"

Shi Qingxuan's eyes widened. "Ming-xiong? Ming-xiong! My god, Ming-xiong, my good bro, hurry! Help me loosen these binds!"

With just one hand, Ming Yi snapped the rope binding Shi Qingxuan's body. Shi Qingxuan worked out the kinks in his joints, then crawled out of bed and rushed to open the window. He clutched Xie Lian's hands and shook them.

"YOUR HIGHNESS! THANK YOU FOR REMEMBERING ME STILL!"

Xie Lian patted his shoulders, and gently and skillfully hopped into the bedchamber.

"Wasn't there a confinement seal on the bedchamber? How did Lord Earth Master get in?"

"Nothing outside my profession," Ming Yi said.

Then, he seemed to have noticed something wrong. He picked up the rope on the ground, looking it over before he looked up to ask Shi Qingxuan, "How come you can't even break free from something like this?"

Xie Lian fixed his eyes on the rope, too. Not only was it not a spiritual device, it was nothing more than an ordinary rope. The Wind Master possessed such strong spiritual power; how could he be bound by some coarse twine, and still struggle for so long?

Shi Qingxuan's face froze, and Ming Yi suddenly grabbed his left wrist, his expression growing icy.

"What's going on?!"

Xie Lian reached out too, to hold Shi Qingxuan's right wrist. He felt his pulse for a moment, then he became dumbfounded.

"Lord Wind Master, how did it become like this?"

There was not a trace of spiritual power in Shi Qingxuan's body!

Soon after, Xie Lian guessed, "Was it that bowl of medicine?"

Recalling that bowl of medicine Shi Wudu was trying to force down Shi Qingxuan's throat earlier, Xie Lian instantly squatted down to check the spillage.

However, Shi Qingxuan replied, "No."

It wasn't that medicine indeed. Xie Lian knew a little bit of medicine, and by its smell, that medicinal broth should've been an anesthetic calmant; perhaps it might cause drowsiness. Thinking back, at the Terrace of Cascading Wine, when Shi Wudu grabbed his younger brother's wrist and changed to such an expression, he must've noticed Shi Qingxuan's condition then. To feed such a broth to Shi Qingxuan should've been for his own good, so why was Shi Qingxuan so adamant in refusing it?

No wonder Shi Qingxuan wasn't answering his private communication. With all that strong spiritual power he once had completely gone, he was no different than a mortal.

Xie Lian blurted without thinking, "Lord Wind Master, you've been banished?"

Otherwise, how could he suddenly become this way? Yet there were no cursed shackles on his body, and if anyone was to be banished, there'd be no way it'd be covered up. The entire Upper Court and Middle Court would've known in no time. Shi Qingxuan's face was pale, and he seemed unable to stand any longer.

Xie Lian helped support him and asked, "Why did Lord Water Master tie you up?"

Only then did Shi Qingxuan snap out of it. "Right. My brother. Let's hurry and get out of here while my brother is still gone. Let's talk after we've escaped!"

Then he dropped and crawled under the bed. Xie Lian squatted down again.

"Lord Wind Master!"

There was actually a hole under the bed, going to who knows where, and Shi Qingxuan disappeared into it. Ming Yi lowered down, ready to go in too. Xie Lian contemplated, and in the end still decided to follow. However, Ming Yi popped out once more.

"Your highness, don't interfere in this anymore."

Xie Lian was taken aback by his block. "Lord Wind Master assisted me generously many times before. Now that he's in trouble, I can't just stand back and watch."

"He's always full of generous words and deeds, but most would stay away when there's real trouble," Ming Yi said.

"How others behave has nothing to do with me," Xie Lian said. "Once we've figured out exactly what's going on, of course I'd back off if my help really is unnecessary."

Shi Qingxuan's voice came from under the bed. "Are you two not coming? The hole is closing!"

Sure enough, that hole under the bed was gradually growing smaller. Seeing this, Ming Yi swiftly jumped in and Xie Lian followed. The three crawled around in the tunnel Ming Yi dug, and when Xie Lian looked back, the entrance to the hole was already filled, truly magical.

He asked in a low voice, "Lord Earth Master, how did you dig out this tunnel? I've never heard that it was possible to dig beneath the residences in the Heavenly Capital."

It must be known that the foundation of the Heavenly Capital was not the same as the muddy earth of the mortal realm.

It was only after he asked that he learned the Earth Master Ming Yi used to be a skilled engineer in the common world. In his past lifetime, he repaired bridges, fixed roads, opened mountain paths, constructed houses, and bestowed prosperity to countless many, which was what allowed him to ascend. Now, before any major construction in the mortal realm, before any earth was bored, the people must first pray to the Earth Master and wish for blessings of successful labour work.

After he ascended, he forged a spiritual device, and it was a crescent-moon-shaped shovel. Legends say there was no mountain this sacred shovel could not flatten, no tunnel that could not be dug, and no building unenterable. To infiltrate as a spy in Ghost City, his ability was extremely advantageous; if there should be any secret chambers he wished to enter, he could just dig under, and the holes would close up after. If it wasn't for Hua Cheng beating him to a

pulp and greatly damaging his spiritual power, maybe he could've escaped using his treasured shovel.

In the past, the Earth Master had never tried using his shovel to dig under any heavenly official's residence, and he wasn't particularly interested in showing off his spiritual device, either; keeping it packed away. It was probably a good thing he wasn't showing it off; the spiritual devices belonging to the officials of the Upper Court were all of the elegant and beautiful sort, like books and brushes, swords and fans, guqin and flutes. If a heavenly official was to walk around with a shovel all day, it'd probably kill the scenery and murder his image. Once he heard the explanation, Xie Lian couldn't help but wonder: if he wanted his Puqi Shrine to be renovated, maybe he should pray to the Earth Master too?

After crawling for a while, Xie Lian heard from ahead of him Ming Yi ask Shi Qingxuan, "Was it the Reverend of Empty Words?"

Xie Lian too wanted to know if that was the case. If it was really the Reverend of Empty Words who injured Shi Qingxuan like this, if word should get out, it would for sure cause an uproar in the heavenly realm and produce extreme terror. A monster that could make a heavenly official lose their powers in a short period of time, and have them fall to become a mortal! Just thinking about it, it wouldn't be hard to imagine what mayhem that would cause.

Such a serious affair, yet after some silence, Shi Qingxuan replied, "No matter who did it, this whole thing is done and over with."

This reaction was definitely too questionable.

If this was a conspired trap, no matter what, the reaction shouldn't have been this, especially from someone like Shi Qingxuan; who could never be silenced when meeting injustice.

Instantly, a sudden dreadful conjecture came to Xie Lian. Although awful, it could explain everything.

Just then, Ming Yi suddenly demanded, "Silence."

The three in the underground tunnel all held their breath in unison. Ming Yi ignited a palm torch and errantly illuminated the grounds inches before them. The other two looked at him.

Ming Yi seemed to want to communicate via the spiritual array, but Shi Qingxuan had lost all of his powers now, unable to use his mind to communicate. Thus, he changed his mind and used his finger to write words in the air. Where his fingertips sliced through, a trace of ink was left behind, as if it was thick ink dripped and diffused into water.

The other two saw what he wrote: "Don't speak and don't move. Wait."

After waiting for everyone to read, he soundlessly blew once and those words dispersed in the air. There was still some remaining spiritual power Xie Lian hadn't used up, so he raised his hand and wrote a string of words too:

"Wait for what? For how long?"

Ming Yi wrote: "Wait until the person above leaves."

Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan both looked up at the same time. It seemed that this tunnel Ming Yi dug with his treasured shovel beneath the Heavenly Capital also passed through some heavenly pavilions and residences. There was probably a heavenly official right above their heads at that very moment.

Listening intently, sure enough, there were sounds of heavy footsteps walking around slowly, as if pacing back and forth in the chamber. Listening to those footsteps, Xie Lian determined that person must be a martial god. Martial gods possessed five sharp senses, and if they should make any suspicious noise, they just might be captured.

Shi Qingxuan couldn't use the spiritual array nor write, and could only move his lips silently to express his accusations. Xie Lian watched him repeat himself twice before he could understand what he said was:

"Ming-xiong, why didn't you avoid temples and palaces??? Couldn't you have dug under the Great Martial Avenue instead???"

Ming Yi wrote coldly: "There wasn't anyone in this palace before. The Great Martial Avenue is full of holes right now."

Xie Lian wrote too: "That's right. I saw on the way over earlier. The avenue is full of holes and craters, some even meters deep. If the tunnel passes through one of the holes, who knows if we might bump into someone when we look up."

Thus, the three remained mute, transforming into three rocks, waiting patiently for that heavenly official to leave. After waiting for a while, Shi Qingxuan moved his lips again:

"Is that person gone?"

Ming Yi shook his head. Veins popped on Shi Qingxuan's temple, his angry face almost the same as when he was arguing with his brother earlier. He said soundlessly:

"Who the hell is dilly-dallying? It's not even the hour for sleeping! And what heavenly official needs to sleep? Is it the bathroom above our heads or what?!"

Strictly speaking, heavenly officials didn't need to go to the bathroom either. When his lips were just forming the word "bathroom", Xie Lian suddenly felt the hairs on his back stand. He forcibly pushed the two in front of him over, while using a foot to step down hard to push back at the same time, falling backwards.

A sharp blade penetrated from above the tunnel, its aura thick with killing intent, and it pierced the ground between his legs.