23: Chapter 23 The Witness with Half a Breath
The iron lock swayed gently under the palm of the Sect Protection Elder, the latch hitting the iron ring with a short clink.
Sect Master Di Kun gripped his wrist bone without letting go, his fingertips pressed against the old man's pulse point, feeling the strength in that hand pushing upward inch by inch.
"Don't open it yet." Sect Master Di Kun pressed against the shadow of the iron house, his voice kept flat.
"Once the door moves, the people inside will scream first, and the people outside will arrive later. By then, it won't be a rescue, it will be giving the Red Snake Sect our location."
The Sect Protection Elder turned his face away, his eyes cut into light and shadow by the yellow light from the gap. The scent of herbs on him grew heavy, like bitter roots in a medicine furnace.
"They won't last long."
The Dark Souls Youth crouched in the shadow of the grass, his broken wooden sword resting across his knees, his tone much more blunt than the Sect Protection Elder's: "Opening the iron house now is just adding a hidden mechanism to the dungeon. Putting aside whether to save them or not, we must confirm if these people are worth risking our lives for."
The Life-Skill Player reached into his cloth bag, touched the hemostatic powder, and then stopped. He looked at Sect Master Di Kun without speaking.
Sect Master Di Kun released the Sect Protection Elder's hand and moved his body half an inch closer to the gap in the iron house. He tapped the iron sheet three times lightly with his scabbard, with very short intervals, like a night insect hitting a wall.
The people inside froze simultaneously, the sound of chains cutting off in mid-air.
Sect Master Di Kun pressed against the gap, his gaze fixed only on the Loose Cultivator with the broken leg: "Whoever can speak, state your identity. How long have you been locked up, who have you seen, and what do you know? Don't scream; if you scream, I'm leaving first."
The Loose Cultivator's eyelids twitched twice. A dry grinding sound came from his throat, like swallowing a handful of sand, and it took a long while before he squeezed out one word: "Water..."
The Life-Skill Player immediately reached for his water skin. Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand to block him, instead pulling an empty bamboo tube from his waist, dipping it into the moisture at the mouth of the water skin, and passing it through the iron gap.
"Moisten your tongue, don't drink your fill." Sect Master Di Kun watched the man, "If you drink too fast, you'll vomit, and if you make a sound, we'll all die together."
The Loose Cultivator pressed his lips to the bamboo tube and took two sips; the dry, cracked skin on his face was moistened by the water, seeping faint blood. He pushed the bamboo tube aside, as if afraid of being greedy.
"Gu… Gu Lin." He enunciated very slowly, "Loose Cultivator. I used to deliver goods to the outer medicine shed of the Red Snake Sect. It wasn't Spirit Medicine I delivered, but sealed grey bags. Three days ago, I caught them grinding demon bones into powder, mixing it into blood materials, and testing the medicine with human blood."
There was no change in Sect Master Di Kun's eyes, but his fingers tapped lightly on the scabbard of his old sword.
"Who is in charge?"
Gu Lin took two breaths, his voice lowering again: "The Beast Master here is surnamed Luo and wears a bronze plaque on his waist. I haven't seen anyone higher up, I only heard them call it 'Yi-Three Warehouse'. Every three days, they transfer the medicine powder and demon materials here to the Waste Mine Medicine Warehouse. That's where the main operation is; the transshipment, sealing, and re-stamping are all done there."
The Speedrun Youth crouched behind Sect Master Di Kun and immediately used a piece of charcoal to scratch four words onto his inner sleeve lining: Waste Mine Medicine Warehouse. The charcoal ash blackened his knuckles, and feeling it wasn't enough, he drew a mine tunnel symbol next to it.
When the Sect Protection Elder heard "testing medicine with human blood," his shoulders tensed, and his scabbard pressed against the stone foundation of the iron house. The dust on the stone foundation was pushed into a shallow mark.
Sect Master Di Kun did not turn his head. His gaze shifted to the Mountain Dweller beside Gu Lin: "What about you?"
The Mountain Dweller had an iron ring around his neck, and there were whip marks on his face. When he opened his mouth, two teeth were missing, and his breath was intermittent: "I… I am not a Cultivator. I was cutting wood on the North Slope when they caught me. Recently… recently, a Red Snake Sect Disciple was carried back, severely injured, with half his body bandaged."
Sect Master Di Kun's fingertips paused.
The Mountain Dweller tried hard to lift his eyes, as if afraid that if he spoke too slowly, he wouldn't have another chance: "That person stayed here for half a quarter of an hour, cursing… cursing a bunch of lunatics from the Taichu Sect, saying those people weren't afraid of death and would crawl back up even after being killed. Later, someone sent him back to the main mountain, leaving overnight."
The Dark Souls Youth curled his lips silently, the smile not reaching his eyes: "The lunatics he mentioned, wouldn't that include me, would it?"
The Life-Skill Player kicked the tip of his shoe lightly: "Don't claim it in front of the witness."
Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand, telling the two to shut up. That Inner Sect Disciple who escaped had already taken the news away, and the Red Snake Sect's vigilance against the Taichu Sect would be raised earlier than expected. Sect Master Di Kun pressed his tongue against his back molars, and the old wound on his shoulder was stimulated by the cold night, sending a dull pain.
Time was running short.
He looked back at Gu Lin: "Where is the key to the iron house?"
Gu Lin's eyes turned to the back of the medicine shed, the movement very small: "It's not on the guards. Beast Master Luo has it; he lives in the stone house. Every time he opens the door, he feeds the medicine first, then drags people out. The key is on the left side of his waist, and the ledger is on the second layer of the wooden cabinet in the house. He's afraid of losing it, so he even keeps it under him while sleeping."
The Speedrun Youth looked up, made a "route is viable" gesture, and pointed in the direction of the stone house. The path from the back field to the stone house had to pass through the shaded area behind the medicine shed, where there were two lamps; the open space under the lamps was not large, had many footprints, and a slight misstep would cause the broken pottery shards to crunch.
The Sect Protection Elder finally couldn't suppress his voice: "Once the key is obtained, release the people. Take those who can walk, carry those who can't."
The Dark Souls Youth rested his broken wooden sword on his shoulder: "Carrying friendly units with broken legs, half-dead, and potentially screaming in pain, and retreating from the enemy's heartland. Elder, your route sounds even more absurd than a no-hit clear."
The Sect Protection Elder looked at him, his scabbard lifting half an inch.
The Dark Souls Youth shut his mouth, but his hand did not leave the sword hilt.
Sect Master Di Kun crouched in front of the gap in the iron house for a few breaths, the night wind brushing past his ears, blowing the lamps in the back field to flicker on and off. The people inside were all looking at him; Gu Lin's hand was gripping the iron chain, a fingernail flipped up, blood staining the rust.
"Save them." Sect Master Di Kun said.
The Sect Protection Elder's shoulder line relaxed by half a fraction.
Sect Master Di Kun looked up at the stone house: "We aren't smashing the door open now. Get the key and the ledger first. If we can release them while we're at it, we will. If we can't, take the evidence back first, then bring people to dismantle it."
The Sect Protection Elder's brows pressed down, as if he had words to block out. Sect Master Di Kun had already taken off the "Night" plaque from his waist, handed it to the Speedrun Youth, and stuffed two bags of Red Snake Sect medicine powder into the outer layer of the Life-Skill Player's cloth bag.
"The Waste Mine Medicine Warehouse is more valuable than these few people." Sect Master Di Kun's voice did not rise, "If this line is broken, there will be more iron houses later."
Inside the iron house, Gu Lin's hand gripping the iron chain stopped. He did not urge them again, only moving his face closer to the iron gap, his dry, cracked lips touching the cold iron sheet.
"I can hold on." Gu Lin said, "They won't let me die before they change the medicine."
The Sect Protection Elder looked at that face, the veins on the back of his hand receding bit by bit. He fished out half a piece of dry rations from his sleeve, broke it into two portions, and looked at the Life-Skill Player.
The Life-Skill Player had already taken out a small packet of hemostatic powder and a small pinch of Pulse-Protecting Powder. He wrapped the dry rations and medicine powder in oil paper and stuffed it into Sect Master Di Kun's hand: "Don't give too much. Eating too much will irritate their stomachs; they can't handle it right now."
Sect Master Di Kun pushed the oil paper package through the iron gap, his fingertips touching the hand reaching out from inside. The hand was as cold as iron, touching him and immediately shrinking back, then passing the oil paper deeper inside.
The Mountain Dweller held the half-piece of dry rations, his lips pressing against it, but he didn't dare to bite. He first broke off a little and sent it to the mouth of a person in a coma next to him.
It was quiet outside the iron house for a few short breaths.
The Dark Souls Youth looked down at the action, his broken wooden sword pressing a shallow groove into the mud. He smoothed the mud groove with the tip of his shoe, as if he hadn't seen it.
Sect Master Di Kun stood up: "Go to the stone house. Speedrun, watch the lamps; Life-Skill, leave the scent. Elder, bring up the rear. Dark Souls, don't act rashly."
The Dark Souls Youth lifted his broken wooden sword: "I usually only show off."
The Speedrun Youth had already reached the back door of the medicine shed. He crouched down to check the broken pottery shards at his feet, picked up the largest piece with two fingers, and gently tucked it into the grass at the base of the wall. The Life-Skill Player sprinkled a bit of scent-masking powder, the powder falling to the ground and mixing with the ash leaking from the medicine shed, leaving no new traces.
The five of them had just turned towards the stone house when footsteps suddenly came from the other side of the medicine shed.
That was not one pair of feet.
Boot soles stepped on the broken soil, iron buckles clashing lightly, accompanied by an impatient curse: "Senior Brother Luo is really something, wanting to check the back field in the middle of the night. Whether those beasts in the front are hungry or not, what does it have to do with me?"
Another person laughed: "Stop talking nonsense. A half-crippled Demon Rat ran away the day before yesterday, and Senior Brother Luo almost chopped off the hand of the person on night watch. Patrol earlier tonight, and we can still doze off for a while when we get back."
The Life-Skill Player's expression changed. He pressed down on his cloth bag, looked at Sect Master Di Kun, and mouthed two words.
Fang Hound.
Behind the footsteps, the rustling sound of grass leaves being pushed aside by noses drew closer and closer. Inside the iron house, Gu Lin gripped the oil paper tightly, suppressing even his breathing back into his chest. Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand, palm down, and the five of them simultaneously crouched into the shadows behind the medicine shed, the lamp light leaking through the gaps in the wooden planks, cutting across their shoulders and backs.