The two followed Wenwu into the ancestral hall where a memorial tablet bearing Ying Li's portrait was enshrined. At the far end, a lifelike carving of a coiling dragon adorned the wall, with mountains and rivers etched behind it.
Wenwu crouched down and placed the two pendants into the dragon's left and right eyes. Instantly, the dragon seemed to come alive—the pendants gleamed like real dragon eyes, shimmering with flowing light.
Suddenly, droplets began seeping from the surrounding walls, quickly surging forth like crashing waves, bearing down on Wenwu, Shang-Chi, and Xia Ling.
In the next instant, it was as if time had been frozen—the waves halted midair. Curious, Shang-Chi reached out and brushed the water. At once, it all collapsed to the ground, then gathered together to form a map of a maze. A beam of light slowly traced a path across it, advancing as though marking a route.
"The path to Ta Lo is guarded by a shifting maze," Wenwu explained. "But there is a direct route through the forest that opens once a year—during the Qingming Festival."
As he spoke, the beam continued to move along a precise path, shifting with the maze as it changed, guiding them toward the end like a living map.
"To pass through, one must know both the correct route and the exact time it opens."
At last, the beam reached its endpoint—beneath the wall carved with the coiling dragon, where a circular door was etched.
"Now we know."
Wenwu smiled.
As the light faded, the water that had formed the maze seeped back into the ground and vanished, leaving the floor completely dry, without a single trace of moisture.
Wenwu stepped out of the ancestral hall. Outside, a crowd of black-clad men had already gathered.
"Three days from now is Qingming. We depart for Ta Lo."
The men responded in perfect unison.
At that moment, Shang-Chi and Xia Ling also exited the hall. Seeing the scene, they were both stunned.
"This is why I brought you back. We're going to Ta Lo together to rescue your mother."
Wenwu turned to Shang-Chi.
"What if they refuse to let you open that gate?" Xia Ling suddenly asked. She had already contacted the Avengers—the tracker's signal wouldn't cut off. She needed to know Wenwu's true intentions.
"I'll level the entire sacred land."
Wenwu answered without hesitation, not even furrowing his brow.
"What?"
Both Shang-Chi and Xia Ling frowned. They knew their father was ruthless, but they hadn't expected him to be willing to slaughter everyone in the sacred land—that was their mother's home.
"You can't just lead an army to attack Mom's homeland. That's insane."
Shang-Chi immediately objected. Even if he had never been there, it was still their mother's birthplace—how could it be destroyed so casually?
When no one else spoke, Shang-Chi grew even angrier and shouted at the black-clad men,
"Do you even realize how crazy this decision is—"
Before he could finish, Wenwu grabbed his shoulder and hurled him aside. Xia Ling tried to intervene, but neither of them was a match for Wenwu. She was thrown as well, and the two tumbled together.
The surrounding men instantly leveled their weapons at them, but Shang-Chi and Xia Ling ignored it, glaring furiously at Wenwu.
Disappointment was written all over Wenwu's face. He could not understand why his children had become so indecisive, so lacking in resolve.
"Lock them up. Let them think carefully about what they should do."
He gave the order, and immediately, several men seized Shang-Chi and Xia Ling and dragged them away.
Back in his room, Wenwu sat on the bed in deep thought. Then, Ying Li's voice suddenly appeared, whispering softly by his ear. His expression grew vacant.
---
In the cell, one stood while the other sat. Though called a cell, it looked more like a storage room, neatly stacked with supplies.
"Do you think what he said about Mom's homeland is true?" Xia Ling asked.
Shang-Chi shook his head. "Mom told us that story when we were kids. I always thought it was just a story. You didn't?"
Xia Ling didn't reply. She subconsciously touched her wrist—the tracker's location.
"What if Dad's telling the truth?"
"You mean Mom really was imprisoned behind some gate by her own people?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but we've seen crazier things."
By "crazier things," Xia Ling meant everything that had happened in New York in recent years—alien invasions, mechanical armies bent on destroying humanity, incursions from other dimensions. Was any of that less absurd than their mother being alive?
"I don't know. But I do know we have to escape as soon as possible. If we don't reach Ta Lo before Dad does, he'll kill everyone there."
Shang-Chi was certain—if Wenwu found Ta Lo, he would do exactly as he said and raze it to the ground.
"I might have a plan…" Xia Ling said suddenly. Since the tracker was still active, the Avengers would eventually find this place. Maybe they could stop Wenwu's madness.
Just as Xia Ling was about to continue, strange animal-like sounds suddenly echoed from a dark corner of the storage room—but it didn't resemble any known creature.
Then, a small, round, fleshy creature with two pairs of wings waddled out of the shadows. Even stranger, it had no head—just a body and four legs. It was unclear how it was even making those sounds.
If Carl were here, he would instantly recognize the little creature from the movie—it was that goofy Hundun.
"What the hell is that?!"
Shang-Chi saw it too and immediately stepped in front of Xia Ling, taking a defensive stance in case it attacked.
"What did you say?"
Xia Ling froze for a moment, then spoke again.
"You said you know us?"
She pushed Shang-Chi aside and crouched in front of the creature. To her surprise, Hundun leaped straight into her arms and let out a contented hum.
"Hey—!"
Shang-Chi immediately tried to pull it away. The thing was completely unknown—it could be dangerous.
But Xia Ling slapped his hand away.
"He says he knows us."
She looked at Shang-Chi.
"You can understand that thing?"
Shang-Chi was baffled. It was just making odd noises—it hadn't spoken a single real word.
Xia Ling herself was astonished. She didn't understand why she could comprehend it—they hadn't exchanged any actual words.
"Yeah… it's like telepathy. I just know what he's saying."
Curiosity lit up her eyes. She tried asking,
"How do you know us?"
Sure enough, Hundun made a few more sounds—and Xia Ling immediately understood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~