NEITHER CUI BUQU NOR XIAO LÜ had known the labyrinth had an entire second floor beneath the first. In the blink of an eye, the situation had changed again. The ground beneath Cui Buqu's feet gave way, and he crashed to the floor below, landing heavily on his side.
Pain exploded through his body. He moaned before he could stop himself. His arm was probably broken, but the agony in his back was even worse. What was more, the fall had aggravated his symptoms; he began to cough nonstop, the taste of metal surging up his throat. He spat out two mouthfuls of blood.
The only sound in the darkness was harsh panting—both his own and Xiao Lü's. Cui Buqu was unable to pull himself up to check on his companion. All he could do was lie on his back and wait for the whirling shadows before his eyes to slow.
After a long while, he heard Xiao Lü say calmly, "You're dying."
He wasn't mocking or cursing Cui Buqu. He could hear it in his breathing. Cui Buqu's chest heaved, as if he was trying and failing to draw all the air he could into his body. His heart and lungs must have felt like they were aflame. It wasn't just Cui Buqu's organs that were burning up, but the scant bit of life left in him.
He'd been born with a fragile body, and his ailments had been aggravated by his circumstances. By all rights, Cui Buqu should have died long ago. Yet he'd insisted on dragging his sickly body along the boundary between life and death, borrowing a full thirty years of life from the heavens. But what was borrowed must one day be repaid. And for this man who defied his fate, the price was unbearable, bone-rending agony.
Xiao Lü understood Cui Buqu had spent those thirty years in perpetual suffering. He had never known a day of peace. Even on his good days, the tranquil existence of an ordinary person was forever beyond his reach.
What kept Cui Buqu going through this torment? This, Xiao Lü didn't understand. If Cui Buqu was doing everything for the sake of others, how was he able to hold on? It was a question he had always wanted Cui Buqu to answer. After all, their situations were almost identical, to the point that even now they appeared as eerie mirrors of each other.
When Cui Buqu replied, his voice was very quiet. "I know."
Had it not been for Xiao Lü's extraordinary hearing, he might have missed those words within the stillness of the cave. Cui Buqu succumbed to another long fit of coughing. Xiao Lü could almost picture him: hunched over, the coughs wrenching his body as though he was about to expel his very heart and lungs through his mouth.
Cui Buqu's life was like a guttering candle flame, poised to extinguish itself at any moment. Occasionally it flared brighter, but that was merely a fleeting illusion, a final blinding spark before inevitable death.
Unless heaven granted him some miracle…
But that was impossible.
He used every ounce of strength in his body to draw in his next breath, then his next, struggling against the searing pain in his chest as he clung to consciousness. Within the vast expanse of darkness and treachery, one person rose in his mind's eye.
Someone born into privilege, untouched by hardship and graced with both striking beauty and a flamboyant personality. Thanks to this man, Cui Buqu had discovered the true meaning of living in the sunlight. Each time he drew near, Cui Buqu felt a step closer to the exhilarating world of life—even if that man was neither gentle nor kind, and challenged him at every turn. He often found himself diverting his attention to deal with the traps this man set for him. It was a constant irritation, yet it breathed life into his days.
Of course he'd never share these thoughts with him. That man would spend the rest of his life gloating and rubbing it in his face. For the sake of his ears, it was better to say nothing.
He didn't know how long he drifted like this until the pain subsided enough for him to prop himself on his elbows. He laboriously pulled out a torch and lit it.
In the dim light, all he could see clearly was the ground beneath them, riddled with deep cracks. At first glance, it appeared the earth had fractured in some violent tremor, but a closer look revealed a more sinister origin. The cracks seemed alive, overlapping and swirling in an unending pattern.
Even a brief glimpse left him dizzy and on the verge of collapse in his current state. He steadied himself and averted his eyes. He could barely hold himself up as it was.
"There's an array on the ground…" He coughed again. "How much do you know about the labyrinth?"
Xiao Lü didn't respond. It struck Cui Buqu that Xiao Lü had been silent for some time now. "Xiao Lü?"
"Mm…" came a low grunt. Cui Buqu frowned.
"Are you all right?" If something happened to Xiao Lü, it'd be even harder to escape.
"I've been poisoned."
Xiao Lü's sigh floated over, so light Cui Buqu at first suspected he was lying. He paused. "How were you poisoned?"
"When we fell, there was poison on the walls. If you doubt me, come look for yourself."
Cui Buqu was silent.
Xiao Lü laughed. "What? You still think I'm lying to you at a time like this?"
"You know I'm dying," said Cui Buqu flatly. "It's taking all my strength just to talk to you."
Xiao Lü sighed once more. Slowly, he rose to his feet and approached Cui Buqu. They had fallen a little distance apart. He trod carefully, feeling his way forward with each step.
A sharp hiss erupted from the ground.
Cui Buqu raised his torch to see Xiao Lü leap up as spikes shot from the stone beneath his feet. Dodging the spikes should have posed no problem for Xiao Lü. Yet Cui Buqu could see a sluggishness to his movements, which were nowhere near as fluid as before. Xiao Lü evaded the spikes by a hair's breadth, narrowly avoiding being turned into a meat skewer. He arrived at Cui Buqu's side and slowly settled down on the floor. His breathing was labored and shallow.
He stretched out his hand. In the flickering light, Cui Buqu could see the red and purple splotches on Xiao Lü's palm. Some were already beginning to turn black.
Stunned, Cui Buqu suddenly recalled how Xiao Lü had pulled him away from the jade pillar. When they'd fallen, he must have pushed off the wall with his palm. "Why didn't you expel the poison?"
Xiao Lü sighed. "Because I'm already suffering from another, deeper poison."
He used his blackening hand to roll up the sleeve of his other arm. A shriveled, twig-like arm emerged—emaciated and wrinkled, and as slender as a chopstick. Though Cui Buqu had seen it before, it sent a chill down his spine. An arm like that shouldn't belong to a living person, especially not a man like Xiao Lü. But that wasn't what Xiao Lü wanted to show him.
He continued to roll up his sleeve. Where his withered arm gradually thickened and transitioned to healthy flesh, the skin was tinged a sickly purple-black.
"What is it?"
"The poison I was born with. My martial training kept it suppressed over the years, but during my last fight with Feng Xiao, I sustained severe injuries and almost entered qi deviation. You must have sensed my injuries have yet to fully heal. My martial arts skills have only recovered to around six or seven-tenths of their original state; I can no longer suppress the poison."
The first poison had already begun to spread, and now Xiao Lü had been exposed to another. It was remarkable he'd avoided the spikes at all.
"What's the worst-case scenario?"
Xiao Lü smiled. "This is the worst-case scenario. There's only one road available to me: death."
"You could have chosen not to create this mess and concentrated on recovering instead," said Cui Buqu coldly.
"It's too late for that," said Xiao Lü. "After my seclusion failed, I had no illusions about the condition I was in. I couldn't break through in my martial arts, and the poison had already spread. I can't advance any further. No matter what I do, only death awaits me now. The best I can do is make sure my years of planning come to fruition before I pass away—I can fulfill my lifelong wish."
Cui Buqu sneered. "Your lifelong wish is to harm others!"
Xiao Lü began to cough. Perhaps the poison was acting up. He didn't respond to Cui Buqu but instead closed his eyes and began meditating to regulate his breathing.
Cui Buqu tossed him a porcelain vial, which he caught with a steady hand.
"Ice-fungus pills," said Cui Buqu. "They'll slow the spread of your poison. If you doubt me, you don't have to take them."
Xiao Lü opened the vial, sniffed its contents, and tilted his head back, emptying all the pills into his mouth. They were in the same boat. There was no reason to suspect each other.
Soon enough, Xiao Lü did feel stronger. "Your medicine is quite effective."
"Enough. Let's get out of here."
Xiao Lü took the torch from his hand and pulled out a long needle. He pierced the slim torch with it, then tossed it into the darkness. The needle arced through the air with the torch attached, then embedded itself in the stone wall on the opposite side of the cavern. Before the light snuffed out, both Cui Buqu and Xiao Lü caught a glimpse of the general shape of their surroundings.
Their faces showed identical expressions of disbelief.
***
Feng Xiao and Tu'an Qinghe had been fighting for nearly half an hour. Neither could kill the other; even injuring their opponent was proving difficult. Tu'an Qinghe had quickly realized that Feng Xiao's martial arts had grown even more refined since their fight the previous night on Chang'an Street.
He was discomfited—martial arts depended not only on natural talent and a strong foundation of training but also on sudden, spontaneous leaps in insight. Even mediocre martial artists struggled to make such significant progress in a few days, never mind martial artists of their caliber. Progressing a step—even half a step—was excruciatingly difficult, and depended on timing, environment, and fortuitous encounters with mentors or opponents. Yet Feng Xiao had managed it. Either he'd held back during their previous confrontation, or he'd somehow gleaned new insight within the span of a day.
How could that be possible?
Tu'an Qinghe cleared his mind of all distractions. He and Feng Xiao were evenly matched, with the same odds of victory. The victor would therefore be determined through sheer strength.
Both noticed someone approaching on the periphery of their battle, but neither paid the newcomer any mind. It was Yuwen Yihuan, the girl who'd been with Xiao Lü. Instead of pursuing the false Sui emperor alongside Xiao Lü, she'd chosen to remain. Although their speed made it impossible for her to see them clearly, she watched every move they made, rapt.
Xiao Lü had taught Yuwen Yihuan all the martial arts she knew. She was of middling aptitude, but though she could never hope to equal his accomplishments, having an excellent teacher was a great advantage. If she were to wander the jianghu, she might not climb to the top, but she'd still carve out a place among the upper ranks.
She stilled her breathing, minimizing her aura to avoid drawing Feng Xiao's notice. The next time the two men's palms met, Yuwen Yihuan saw her chance—she leapt at Feng Xiao's back, light flashing from her sleeve.