Chapter 47

Chapter 47

“In the maze?”

The thought sent chills down Qu Yixian’s spine.

She instinctively tilted her head, scanning the surroundings.

The wilderness was silent, the moonlight gentle. Within her view, all the earth mounds stood quietly, like small pyramids, surrounding them on all sides.

She and Fu Xun were standing in an open space encircled by the Yadan formations.

The night was cool, sheltered from the wind. Apart from a nearly wrecked cruiser and a ferret, which had somehow climbed onto the roof and was clinging to the frame to look down, there was nothing else.

She withdrew her gaze, about to ask again.

Suddenly, a flash of insight hit her. She turned sharply, taking a careful look at the open space.

Unlike the wind-sculpted Yadan mounds on the outskirts of South Baxian, the mounds in the inner area were unaffected by wind erosion, mostly thick-topped and pointed, pyramid-like.

Their arrangement was even, in groups of four, staggered, resembling a simple Bagua formation.

Qu Yixian’s expression shifted slightly. After a few seconds, she calmed down and asked, “What’s going on here?”

“Imperial tombs often follow a principle: arrange surface markers to disorient intruders.” Fu Xun looked up, gesturing at the Yadan mounds around them like natural barriers. “These mounds in South Baxian form a kind of array.”

Another beam of headlights shone through a gap, the sound of tires rubbing against fine sand gradually growing louder, as if climbing a dirt mound, advancing toward the heart of South Baxian.

Fu Xun glanced sideways at the approaching light and asked quietly, “Shall we get in the car first? They’ll be here soon.”

Qu Yixian frowned. “But you said we’re in the maze?”

Fu Xun blew a short, soft whistle.

Almost at the same moment the whistle ended, the ferret on the roof leapt into his arms, quickly clinging to his jacket and scrambling onto his shoulder.

He stepped back to give her space. “You drive or me?”

Qu Yixian gritted her teeth. “I’ll drive. You sit in the passenger seat.”

She listened to the approaching vehicle, no longer hesitating, and got in to leave.

Fu Xun indicated the direction, and after exiting the heart of the South Baxian Yadan formations, he recalibrated the GPS, guiding the cruiser back onto National Highway 315 toward Dunhuang.

Qu Yixian remained silent the whole way. The cruiser’s damage made her wary. Besides maintaining normal speed, she had to constantly watch the rear to see if the Explorer was following.

Fortunately, until they reached Qili Town, nothing unexpected or dangerous happened.

——

Qu Yixian stopped at a gas station in Qili Town.

It was late at night, yet the station was still lined with trucks waiting to refuel.

The cruiser drew many eyes as it entered, but Qu Yixian ignored the stares, swiped her fuel card, and got out to fill up.

After inserting the nozzle, she let go, walked to the passenger side, and lightly tapped the window.

Fu Xun silently rolled it down, eyes lowered to look at her.

Qu Yixian rested her forearms on the window, leaning slightly to negotiate: “Let’s not go into Dunhuang tonight. Should we just find some hotel here in Qili Town?”

The cruiser was too conspicuous. Entering Dunhuang would immediately alert the loan sharks lying in wait.

Ambushed from the front and pursued from behind, it was likely there were others staking out Dunhuang. Driving the cruiser straight in would be like putting a sign on her face announcing she was the target.

Fu Xun agreed.

He leaned toward the window. “Book a room with a king-size bed. I didn’t bring my ID.”

Qu Yixian raised an eyebrow, almost grabbing his collar. “Say that again?”

Fu Xun was even more stubborn than she was. “Even if I said it a hundred times, I still wouldn’t have brought my ID.”

Qu Yixian stared at him for a moment, pursed her lips, and asked in a low voice, “You really didn’t bring it?”

Fu Xun lazily lifted his eyelids and asked in return, “I don’t mind you searching me. Want to?”

Qu Yixian curled her lips, letting out a cold laugh. “Sure, we’ll do it in a moment.” Just as she finished speaking, the alert for a full fuel tank sounded. She put her hands down, returned to the rear of the car, removed the nozzle, and paid for the fuel.

As she was about to get back in, a newly arrived X-Trail at the gas station rolled down its window. Shengzi poked his head out, excitedly waving at Qu Yixian. “Little Master Qu!”

Qu Yixian froze with her hand on the car door and turned to look.

Shengzi, refueling his X-Trail, hadn’t yet regained composure from seeing a familiar face in a foreign place. When his eyes accidentally landed on the crushed front of the cruiser, he was completely shocked. “Damn, Little Master Qu, what happened to your car?”

Qu Yixian followed his gaze to the front of the cruiser.

As she turned her head, a thought struck her, a plan forming instantly.

——

Ten minutes later.

Qu Yixian drove Shengzi’s fully fueled X-Trail out of the station and registered for parking and lodging at a hotel just outside Qili Town.

Fu Xun had no ID, so he couldn’t check in. He had to wait for Qu Yixian to go upstairs and provide the room card info, then follow separately. Fortunately, it was late at night, and the hotel front desk was drowsy. He entered quietly, attracting no attention.

Qu Yixian opened the door for him. Once he stepped inside, she stood in the hallway, decisively blocking the only path.

She lifted her chin slightly, signaling him to stand behind the door. “Stand still. I’m searching you.”

Fu Xun gazed at her for a moment and smiled.

This smile was different from usual—there was a hint of nonchalance, a touch of roguishness, and a trace of mischief. In an instant, it was as if he had returned to that day in early July when they met again in Shaliang. Standing before her, he exuded an oppressive aura from head to toe, evoking unease.

He had been gentle for too long, always restraining his claws, making Qu Yixian almost forget that he wasn’t truly a benevolent man.

Standing under the warm hallway light, she suddenly felt… the shiver of being prey.

She cleared her throat lightly, trying to find a way out. “About South Baxian’s ‘ghost wall,’ aren’t you going to explain it?”

Fu Xun pretended not to notice her diversion, smoothly continuing, “Do you remember saying, ‘In South Baxian’s Yadan formations, vehicles entering at midnight are prone to ghost walls, getting trapped inside’?”

“‘Heard it’ only spreads because someone says it; it doesn’t happen randomly without cause. Very few vehicles ever enter the inner area of South Baxian. I followed the cruiser’s tracks and repeated the path once, observing the surrounding Yadan,” Fu Xun said, casually hanging his jacket on the coat rack. “In recent years, I’ve been invited to participate in some archaeological digs. Many imperial tombs follow a common principle. To protect their eternal rest, Feng Shui masters set up arrays in the tombs to confuse intruders. The Yadan in the heart of South Baxian is a natural barrier of this kind.”

After discovering it, Fu Xun had entered the inner area, partly to buy time for the cruiser’s repairs, and partly to test if the convoy was indeed the tomb robbers he suspected.

Tomb robbing and archaeology share roots but diverge. What he could tell, the other side could naturally also discern.

Fu Xun’s guidance was always precise, and Qu Yixian immediately understood. She recalled the triangular nails used to puncture Yuan Ye’s tires and asked, “So they really are tomb robbers?”

“Most likely,” Fu Xun said. “Not ruling out that the Cloud Jade Pendant attracted them. These people are ruthless—worse than the loan shark gang.”

He took a few steps forward, standing in front of her. “Any more questions?”

“If not, should I start the search and clear my innocence?”