Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Truly, this mountain path had seen little repair.

On level ground, it couldn’t compare even to the small hillside path by Yingqiu City’s gates. After all, to cross from Yingqiu toward Fangcheng or Mijiang Slope without taking the waterway, one had no choice but that single road. Though never formally repaired, centuries of trampling feet had packed it solid.

But on the Valley of Villains’ mountain road, scattered stones and gravel abounded. The carriage, heavily laden with treasures—had it taken to water, its draught would match a small boat crossing the Yushui River—now carried Chen Shu as well. Though she wasn’t overly heavy, the overloaded wagon jolted terribly along the stony track, forcing even Chen Shu to flip up from beneath it.

Still, the hills encircling the Valley of Villains were mere ridges, no match for the steep peaks downstream along the Yushui. Once past the initial segment of bumps, the ride improved considerably as they climbed upward.

Stretching comfortably beneath the wagon’s multi-hued canopy, Chen Shu clasped her hands behind her neck and gazed upward at the strips of treetop shadows flitting overhead—she was so at ease, she nearly closed her eyes for a nap.

Unnoticed, the sun now hung high. Sunbeams filtered through dense foliage to dapple the wagon’s canopy in shifting blotches of light, illuminating its sparse, perpetually rattling wooden frame that seemed on the verge of collapse yet somehow held together the canvas above.

Indeed, the frame appeared wooden.

Just as Chen Shu curiously raised a hand to trace the sunlit wood, the carriage jolted to an abrupt halt. The medicinal herbs pillowing her head sank abruptly, plunging her whole body into a heap permeated with the herbs’ bitter scent. Only by sheer luck did she stifle a startled cry.

Conversations outside now reached her, muffled and indistinct as though through thick fog; only fragments were clear:

“……Guardian Guo……delivering herbs at this hour……Alright……”

Then the two speakers approached closer, revealing this wasn’t one-sided chatter, but a dialogue. One voice belonged to the guide; the other, most likely the mountaintop guard—the very “sentry” Chen Shu had desperately sought, yet failed to find.

As they approached the carriage, the pair spoke up to question the merchant driving it. This time, the words came through perfectly clear.

“Is the carriage filled with medicinal herbs? Why does it look so heavy?”

“Ah, mostly herbs,” the man answered, his voice thick with the obsequiousness and bold smoothness only a merchant could muster. “But there are also some jewels, gold, and silver inside. Plus, not all the herbs are sun-dried. Hall Master Wei said it was urgent, so they’re being sent to the valley first for later use. I don’t suppose—”

“Insolence!” one guard snapped—one whose voice Chen Shu found unfamiliar, likely the sentry from the mountain. “Are you, a lowly commoner, fit to pry into valley affairs? Fine, we’ll overlook it this once, just because you’re curious. If there’s a next time, you’ll regret it! And one more thing—she’s no ‘Hall Master Wei’ anymore. She no longer holds that position!”

“Please don’t be angry, officers! This humble one is blind and foolish!” the merchant hastened to reply. “But truly, the carriage holds little besides herbs. If you’re suspicious, why not just open it and inspect the contents? That would settle it, wouldn’t it?”

The pair didn’t respond. Instead, the sound of footsteps grew both nearer and louder. Chen Shu, buried in the pile of medicinal herbs, dared not take a breath. In an instant, the corner of the canopy was lifted, and harsh daylight slanted in. Chen Shu squeezed her eyes shut, then steeled herself and sank deeper into the pile, letting the bitter medicinal scent envelop her until she was submerged.

Thankfully, she really was small. Whether the guard who lifted the canopy spotted her body hidden in the jumbled herbs and boxes, or even her dark hair, she couldn’t tell. All she felt was her own breath dampening the tiny pocket she’d left herself. Even with her eyes shut, she sensed the piles of debris weighed over her being nudged aside. Then, the sentry’s voice seemed to whisper right at her ear.

“What a mess! How do we search this…”

“It was stacked neatly earlier!” the merchant interjected, and just from his tone, they could picture his unctuous, flattering look. “I didn’t expect mountain roads, so it wasn’t packed tight enough… Some spilled during the journey—”

“You can’t even stack things properly?” the sentry barked again.

Then, the voice clearly moved away from the carriage. Chen Shu barely had time to relax before she heard the other guide, lowering his voice: “It did spill. I heard everything tumbling around inside earlier. Anyway, we have to check everything. No point arguing about that.”

“Fine.”

Immediately, though no voices broke the silence again, Chen Shu opened her eyes to see one wide, looming shadow after another sweep across the dim space between bundles of herbs wrapped in oiled paper.

—The sentry must have started meticulously checking each item inside the carriage!

Chen Shu froze her breath. Though she wasn’t afraid of a few minions, she neither wanted to kill anyone nor let them capture her. If word got back to the Valley of Villains and that baldhead flew into a rage, who knew what might become of her sword—or the lives of Yun Shen and the other man?

But the guard didn’t stop. Clearly, this routine was familiar to her; she worked with expert speed. Soon, over half the herbs covering Chen Shu had been cleared away. As she inspected the load, she interrogated the merchant until she’d unearthed details about every one of his ancestors from eight generations past.

The beam of light through the crack above Chen Shu broadened almost blindingly, scraping against her eyelashes. With each movement as the guard shifted the herbs aside, her heartbeat thumped louder.

Nearly half the medicinal load was gone!

Chen Shu gritted her teeth and suddenly broke her frozen posture. One hand shifted subtly, pressing past the pile of debris in her way. Flawlessly, she traced the motions that summoned a spell!

In that split second—before the figures gathered near the carriage noticed any unusual stirring in the medicinal herbs—the carriage’s ordinarily docile horse suddenly snapped against its reins.

The carriage lurched forward wildly, dragged several steps away!

If that wasn’t enough, the horse pranced playfully, kicking up its hooves and swinging the carriage so far sideways that the wheels nearly tilted skyward, displaying four oversized hubs to the stunned figures in front!

This kind of spectacle was beyond them. They stood dumbfounded as medicine, jewels, and little boxes scattered everywhere, once more reduced to chaos by the horse’s tantrum.

For a long moment, only the horse’s gleeful neighing broke the deathly silence. The sentry was likely seething; the other two waited, glancing nervously at her reaction. At last, the sentry snapped out of her shock, and her first furious shout was: “Why are you gaping at me?! Go control that mad beast!”

“Yes! Right away!” the two echoed and scrambled off. After much effort, they subdued the horse—only for the precious cargo inside to be strewn all across the ground. Forced to gather it up again, they launched a fresh round of inventory.

The commotion made each one feel a headache swelling. Fortunately, since all of this was Wei Mian’s “tribute” to the Valley of Villains, nothing more than Mountain Bandits, they weren’t particular about ceremonial protocols. Even if something was lost, it wouldn’t cost anyone their head. Once everything was finally accounted for, it was already noon. Misty traces of heat or sweat seeped out through the mountain woods.

“Alright, go back now,” the sentry finally waved dismissively, switching the entire load onto a mountain wagon—one with only a bare framework—and personally hauled the looted herbs and treasures deep into the thick wilderness. Meanwhile, the other two drove the emptied carriage back along the mountain road to the valley.

Halfway back, the carriage wheels jolted violently against rocks on the path. Fearing another explosion from the horse, the two reined it to an immediate stop, not daring to whip it forward until the carriage steadied. Grumbling to each other as they went, they never noticed a figure swiftly leap down from the treetop at the forest’s edge and curl into the carriage once more.

This time, breathing in the fragrant scent of mountain grasses and earth, rocked gently by the bumpy ride, Chen Shu leaned back and truly allowed herself a leisurely snooze.

Coincidentally, it seemed the sun was high in the mountainous region, yet noon was still far off. By the time Chen Shu and the carriage returned to the Valley of Villains, and she stealthily slipped back into her cottage amidst the bustling crowd, the meal-delivery attendant still had a short while before his arrival.

In high spirits today, when the attendant came, he nearly mistook her thoughtful demeanor for a settled decision, as if she had finally made up her mind to reconcile with the Valley of Villains. Waiting at her door for quite some time, he watched for the first time as she ate her meal with apparent relish, meticulously devouring every bit of it.

Chen Shu even let out a satisfied burp before turning an innocent and curious gaze toward the attendant.

“What else are you waiting for? Surely not my… bowls and chopsticks?” she asked.

Only then did the man realize that her display was not a sign of newfound reason at all. Having stood there waiting for so long, it had been entirely in vain. Chagrined, he muttered a “No” before turning to leave.

The door closed behind him, though faint traces of light still seeped into the cramped room.

This dim light was sufficient to illuminate the small table where Chen Shu ate her meals. The moment he left, she set down her bowls and chopsticks and immediately flipped over the old rice bowl she had just used.

Indeed, the secret characters she had inscribed the day before remained completely unchanged today.

But after a full day and night, what she awaited was no longer merely the characters being altered—an extra stroke added, or one subtracted.

What Chen Shu awaited was precisely this old bowl remaining completely unaltered.

Naturally, the meal delivered to Chen Shu should logically make its way to Yun Shen—or “Zhong Xiao”—as well. But this assumed one prerequisite: that the Valley of Villains’ military camp was confined solely to this valley.

Following today’s harrowing yet ultimately safe “journey,” this assumption crumbled.

Accompanying the cart of medicinal herbs deep into the mountains, though she hadn’t physically entered one of the Valley’s guarded checkpoints, Chen Shu understood one thing—

The Valley of Villains had never been confined to just a single “valley.”

Previously, it was Fangcheng, then Yingqiu City; now, it was these desolate, uninhabited mountain ridges. This pervasive evil spread like the thickest fog, seeping effortlessly into every corner.

The sword she had searched for tirelessly over two days? Its preciousness demanded it be hidden deep within forested mountains.

The person she had sought for two whole days? He, too, might well be concealed within these very mountains, under watchful guard.

Chen Shu narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the small, worn ceramic dish in her hand. She tilted her head slightly, glanced at the guard pacing beyond her door, and then, a mischievous grin playing on her lips, raised her hand high—

“Clatter!”

The ceramic dish shattered on the floor beside her feet.

Someone rushed in immediately to investigate. Chen Shu stepped back, shifting her foot which had deliberately ground the shards into finer pieces. She feigned a startled look, scratching her head to offer an explanation.

What could the poor minion, merely assigned to guard duty, possibly say? After a frantic effort that yielded nothing, he could only report this minor incident verbatim to Xiao Zhong. It failed to draw Xiao Zhong’s attention; if anything, the guard earned himself a harsh scolding.

Still anxious about the possibility of her ploy being discovered, Chen Shu decided to wait for another day, biding her time until the third day. She prepared to wait until sunset, intending to venture deep into the mountains that very night, once the entire valley had fallen asleep, to retrace her path.

However… when she awoke from sleep, startled by the sound of rumbling cart wheels nearby once more, she realized something had already happened.

On this morning, those scurrying through the valley were no longer mere supply drivers but soldiers clad in armor, their footsteps swift and urgent. Even the most lackadaisical riff-raff from days past, of whom Chen Shu vaguely recognized a few familiar faces, were now partially outfitted in gear. Though the equipment varied—some old, some new, mismatched in color and even style—it was nonetheless gear of sorts, likely offering some utility.

Chen Shu opened her door a crack for a closer look. Even the guard who had been watching over her cabin in preceding days had deserted his post. People came and went in a constant stream, yet not one paid attention to her as she emerged.

Within the flow of people were others like her, who hadn’t been on guard duty overnight, only just crawling out of bed now, bleary-eyed as they stepped out of their tents, grabbing passersby to ask hurried questions.

“What’s happening? Didn’t they just say yesterday that it was merely preparatory, that it absolutely wasn’t so urgent?”

“Could it be that in one night, Fang City has already fallen?!”

In the midst of the haste, one person, hauling arrows and stones, shot back in a loud voice:

“Not Fang City! It’s our Valley of Villains—

“That lot—those damnable ‘fine officials’—played a trick! They grandly sent men to Fang City to probe, but then, at the first watch tonight, suddenly launched a massive attack right here on our valley! They’ve already taken down two watchtowers outside the Pass!”

The shout reverberated in the valley, accompanied by varied and chaotic footsteps, and even if one yelled at the top of their lungs, it did not sound so clear anymore.

After just one night, no, half a night, the entire atmosphere inside the valley had turned upside down!

This was not a dream—it was real war!

Those people passing in front of Chen Shu, whether they were heading out to battle or returning to reorganize, no longer showed any trace of their previous calm or the slightest smile from the past days.

On faces trapped in the dawn, there was only splattered mud, and even under that dim light, startlingly vivid fresh bloodstains!

The whole Valley of Villains hung between waking and sleeping, life and death; if forced to compare it, one could only liken it to water about to boil over. It seemed calm because footsteps, shouts, even shrieks, were all tightly packed down by the sky still veiled in darkness, making it less clamorous. Yet, with the great edifice on the brink of collapse and the sun setting in the west, this fleeting moment before the end was like the last glow of a withered tree—a glow as serene and radiant as the red sky.

Of course, whether this truly meant the Valley of Villains was doomed or not, Chen Shu could not say, nor could those troops assaulting it. But one thing was certain—at least the preparations over those days had proven useful, and at least the people inside still found time to curse the attacking forces.

Those few men who had been clueless earlier were now hurrying back to gather their gear, soon racing to the valley mouth to join the fray.

Chen Shu stood dumbfounded for a moment, was cursed at twice, and stepped aside, only then slowly piecing together what was happening here.

—For over a hundred years, a full century since changing emperors twice or thrice, in this year when the old emperor weakened, even before the new year turned… and now the court truly sent troops to attack this long-unruly Valley of Villains.

But why at this moment? Why did that Valley of Villains leader threaten her? Why were those inside so frantic? Amid rushing to search for a sword and rescue, she had never given it much thought, but on this not-yet-dawn morning, this scene of chaos shattered the haze instantly, revealing the truth in her mind.

Just as Shen Jie had taught her: unravel the cocoon thread by thread, trace every root and leaf. Holding onto that one thread, she could now clarify everything.

The chance meeting at Fangcheng gate with the Qin Xin Bluff duo, Yun Shen’s vague warning to He Yu to leave before entering the valley, along with that map handed over earnestly at the city gate by Yun Shen himself.

This unexpected raid, as surprising as it was, did not happen without cause.

The terrain of the Valley of Villains was treacherous; even the most formidable armies, reaching its entrance, would hesitate to charge in. Any thoughtful commander who knew warfare would understand that under such conditions, a head-on assault was unwise. Better strategies included besieging the Valley of Villains, ambushing reinforcements near Fangcheng, or luring its defenders out to fight—all far safer than a raid.

Putting it plainly: Fangcheng’s vast open fields were the perfect cemetery for the Valley of Villains’ Mountain Bandits.

This unprecedented night raid was so unexpected precisely because only those who truly grasped the valley’s lifeblood would dare such a gamble—

Such as the complete layout of defences within the Valley of Villains depicted on that map.

Finally, a glimmer of light shone at the horizon—though whether it came from the sun or the battle’s firelight, Chen Shu could not tell. Gazing afar, she suppressed her urge to investigate. After all, she wished for nothing more than the extermination of this entire Valley of Villains! But it could wait. In this chaos, she clearly had another, more urgent matter to tend to.

She took a step as if to boldly search that mountain again from yesterday, then paused in doubt, pivoted, and headed straight for the valley’s center.

Yes, precisely the turret where she last met Yun Shen.

Amid this torrent of people, she slipped undetected through the crowd, using shadows as cover. Nimbly, she leaped to perch atop the ridge of the Small Turret, clinging to a beam as she peered down into the room below.

Though unlit, the turret stood high enough for a feeble dawn light to seep in, casting an indistinct silhouette of someone sitting upright—familiar, yet obscured.

Chen Shu watched from above, but the network of beams blurred any clear view of the face; no name came to mind. Yet she could see that this person, though seated, was violently furious. Every man reporting inside was severely berated and fled stumbling from the turret.

Then, as one agitated messenger hurried in crying that a mountain watchtower had fallen to the court’s forces, the rage erupted anew: the seated figure overturned the nearby tea table, shattering a porcelain vase on the floor with a grating crash.

This push not only terrified a few Valley of Villains servants but stoked Chen Shu’s own fervor. She could hardly wait for the mountain overseer to update this person; she almost jumped off the eaves, burst inside, seized the Valley of Villains chief as she had done days ago, and forced him to reveal where he hid those two!

Just then, another man entered—bulky as a bear, swift as a galloping horse. The moment he crossed the threshold, he confessed wrongdoing and immediately calmed the enraged one.

Chen Shu involuntarily held her breath, squinting hard.

What startled her was not the fresh report; it was that face—a stark bald head glinting beneath the rosy dawn light, unmistakably bright—which instantly identified him as the Valley of Villains “foreman” who had lorded over her from this very chamber! Yet compared to his high-and-mighty manner back then, this groveling humility was jarring. Chen Shu glanced at the formerly raging figure—the hidden Valley of Villains ringleader—and jolted with shock!

Though at a distance, the rising sun now saturated the Small Turret in an early misty glow. At last, in one flash as he turned to settle back into his seat, she saw his features clearly—

It was none other than that innkeeper who called himself “Zhong Xiao”!

Even after suspecting him earlier, she had never imagined that this man could be Yubei’s arch-villain—so utterly beyond redemption!

Chen Shu was alarmed. She strained to listen to their conversation, realizing it truly concerned her. Perseverance prevailed; waiting on the eaves had indeed yielded a vital clue!

“…Is that sword still on Nameless Cliff? What of that Scholar? Fetch it immediately! There’s no time for hesitation now—use it to threaten Chen Shu. Force her to aid us. Forget the rest; just endure until noon at least… Hurry! Show her the sword and command her to deliver a message. Wait until the troops garrisoning Fangcheng return—no, wait! Did she not supposedly stave off torrential floods alone? Force her to exterminate these vermin entirely—”

“Should your subordinate go now? But the battle is raging—”

“Go! This instant, I say!”