Chapter Fifty-Six: The Underground Railway

At the central axis of Shanghai’s elevated expressway stands the legendary “Dragon Pillar.” This colossal column would require more than twenty adults to encircle it. Made from high-strength concrete and sheathed in thick, silver-hued steel, the pillar’s surface is adorned with square patterns of auspicious clouds, upon which are inlaid over a dozen golden dragons of various sizes. All the dragon heads are raised skyward, illustrating the fifth line of the Qian hexagram in the Book of Changes: “At the fifth Nine, the flying dragon is in the heavens; it is fitting to meet the great man.” The bodies of the dragons are decorated with a continuous sequence of nested square motifs—large squares set with smaller ones—abstract yet lively. At the base of the pillar, the auspicious clouds shift from squares to circles of similar size: large silver circles and smaller golden spirals, with the outermost edge ringed by even tinier circular cloud patterns, forming a decorative fence. The entire “Dragon Pillar” is both solemn and lifelike in its meticulous artistry.

Hua Sheng and the young prince of the Supreme Pavilion stood at the foot of this golden Dragon Pillar, located along Shanghai’s elevated central axis. Looking up, they saw five levels of roadway stacked above, the air filled with the rush and roar of passing traffic.

“The Earth Dragon is beneath the ground. If we want to see it, do we just go straight down through the pavement here?” Hua Sheng tapped his foot on the surface.

The young prince placed his left hand against the golden pillar, then pressed his palm to the ground and closed his eyes. “The spell array and barrier beneath us are formidable. Unless we fully understand the situation, we shouldn’t recklessly try to pass through here. Otherwise, we could become trapped within the array—either immobilized by its force or locked into a deep sleep.”

“So, we need to find an underground passage and approach from the side?”

“Exactly. Approaching the Dragon Pillar from underground is safer.” The young prince asked, “Are there any underground passages nearby?”

Hua Sheng pulled out his phone and consulted the map. “If we’re looking for a place that goes dozens of meters below ground, the best route is probably…”

“The subway?”

“That’s right! We just need to find the nearest subway station and travel underground toward the pillar.”

In every modern metropolis, a dense web of subway lines snakes beneath the city, and Shanghai is no exception. The nearest stop to the Dragon Pillar is Huangpi South Road Station on Line 1.

The entrance to Huangpi South Road Station lies on bustling Huaihai Road. No matter the hour, the place thrums with the vibrant life and noise of an international city. Within a few hundred meters, several large, fashionable shopping centers cluster together, their myriad brands dazzling the eye. Whether for a quick afternoon tea or a shopping spree, one could easily while away hours here. The nationally renowned Xintiandi fashion landmark is only a two- or three-minute walk away.

“Wow! This really is human prosperity at its peak!” the young prince marveled at the surging crowd on Huaihai Road.

“A big city always means crowds, but people are busy earning their living—there’s little of the serene leisure found in the Land of Sacred Peace.”

“I grew up in a place of idle clouds and wild cranes. When I first arrived at the Academy of Esoteric Arts, I found it bustling. But for a true sea of people, nowhere compares to the human world!” The young prince laughed. “Shall we take a stroll through Xintiandi?”

“We should focus on our mission.” Hua Sheng tugged at the young prince’s arm. “Don’t waste your strength. Without the Nine-turn Elixir, there’s likely a tough battle ahead.”

“Look, there’s a lake over there!”

“It’s just a small man-made pond—nothing like the Drunken Heart Lake at the Academy. Come on!” Hua Sheng dragged the young prince into the subway entrance.

On the platform, Hua Sheng looked around with relief. “At least we’ve avoided the morning rush—much fewer people now. If we’d come during peak hours, we’d be lifted off our feet by the crowds.”

The two took out the headsets given to them by the Jade Buddha Temple monks and hung them around their necks, blending in like ordinary high school students.

“According to the Dragon Pillar’s position, we should head north,” the young prince observed, scanning their surroundings. “We might have to walk along the tracks for a bit to find our way. If there’s a tunnel leading directly north, that would be perfect.”

Just then, a subway train pulled into the station. Noticing that the rear of the platform was sparsely populated, the young prince headed that way. At the end stood a glass door, behind which was a small area for train staff to ensure passenger safety during stops.

As the train departed, the young prince approached and tested the handle. As expected, for safety’s sake, the door was securely locked. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he pressed his back to the glass and, with a woosh, slipped right through. Hua Sheng followed close behind, using the wall-passing technique to join him.

The work area behind the door was small, with a stairway descending to the tracks.

“If we just walk down, we’ll get caught on the security cameras and soon have the police after us,” Hua Sheng pointed out a surveillance camera ahead.

“Let’s shrink ourselves—then the cameras won’t see us,” suggested the young prince.

He had a point, but Hua Sheng knew that if they shrank small enough to avoid detection, the damp, dark tunnels would be very difficult to traverse.

Before he could say more, the young prince began chanting at the camera and pointed; “Done!” he declared, then hopped down to the tracks and started along the wall.

Shrunk? Hua Sheng looked at himself, then at the young prince—no change in size. Nothing seemed to have happened.

“Hey!” he whispered. “We haven’t shrunk. Won’t the camera still catch us?”

The young prince turned back. “Of course we shrank! I shrank the camera’s pixels to ten thousand. All it records are blurry mosaics—nothing recognizable.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Let’s go, the spell doesn’t last long. If we linger, we’ll attract attention.” The young prince urged him forward.

Hua Sheng hurried after him, dropping from the platform. After only a few steps, he saw the beam of a train’s headlights curve into view, followed by a rushing subway.

“Hug the wall!” the young prince warned. “Don’t let the wind suck you in.”

The train thundered past, wind roaring. Hua Sheng pressed flat against the wall, eyes squeezed shut.

“See? Just like in the movies! Feels nice and cool!” The young prince patted his shoulder.

Hua Sheng shuddered. “Feels dangerous! I’m sweating bullets—I thought I’d get pulled under.”

Once the train passed, they turned on their phone flashlights and continued slowly through the pitch-black tunnel. Every few minutes, another train’s headlights would appear, and another would roar by.

“There are more trains than I expected,” Hua Sheng remarked.

“Lots of working people!” the young prince replied.

“I’d love to try riding one,” the young prince said, brimming with curiosity about everything new.

“Come back at eight tomorrow morning and try the rush hour yourself!” Hua Sheng pressed himself to the wall, wishing the train would hurry past.

After two or three more trains, they reached an iron door. Through its narrow gap, they saw a long, narrow corridor beyond. The young prince pressed his palm to the wall, closed his eyes, and fell silent.

“Well? Can you sense anything?” Hua Sheng asked.

“One word: filthy!” The young prince grimaced. “This wall hasn’t been cleaned in centuries, I swear.”

“I meant, is this the right direction?”

“Oh, that. We’re close.”

The corridor was dank and cold. The dim lighting—meant only for maintenance staff—was weak, some bulbs flickering as they approached their end. Each passing train sent a gust of musty air sweeping through. The narrow tunnel, barely wide enough for one, echoed with their footsteps, a little oppressive. The cement floor occasionally showed a centipede or some unidentified creature darting through the beam, making Hua Sheng’s skin crawl.

The young prince led the way, left hand raised, searching for the faint Sanskrit resonance of the underground spell array. As a mortal, Hua Sheng could barely detect these subtle sounds.

They moved on, the young prince alternating between closed and open eyes, pausing at each branching corridor. At the end of one, they found a set of iron stairs—layer upon layer, like old fire escapes on the sides of buildings. The young prince peered up and down, then said, “We’re still too close to the surface; we need to go deeper.”

“Still too shallow? The trains are above us.”

“This area’s a nexus of subway lines, with layers like the expressways. The Earth Dragon must be hidden at the very bottom.” With that, he led the way down the stairs.

“It’s been two days. How do you think Weiyu is faring?” Hua Sheng worried.

“Though we haven’t worked together much, Weiyu’s magic is among the best at the Academy. Don’t worry too much. Mingyou snatched her for a reason. If he meant only to harm a student, he’d have done it at the Xuanwu Ceremony. He wouldn’t have gone to such lengths. Besides, the Immortal Masters Yuransu, Jueguang, and the others are also working on a rescue plan.”

Just then, a man in a security uniform, wielding a large flashlight, appeared. Caught off guard, the young prince froze.

“Hey! What are you two doing here? Where did you come from?” the guard shone the light at them and raised his radio. “Zone B, Underground Section Five—two unidentified individuals, send backup!”

“Too busy talking—I forgot about patrols. What a hassle!” The young prince pointed at the flashlight.

With a crack, the flashlight burst, plunging the corridor into darkness. The young prince shouted, “Freeze!”

Instantly, the guard’s radio tumbled from his hand, and he stood motionless, arm suspended midair, only his eyes darting wildly in their sockets.

Though the guard was subdued, the pounding of many approaching footsteps echoed from afar—at least five or six people were coming.

To avoid further commotion, the two hurried down the stairs to the deepest level.

“Follow me!” The young prince sensed the barrier’s direction. Down they ran, losing count of the floors, until they reached the bottom. The young prince stopped. “We’re close!”

“Where?” Hua Sheng looked around—nothing but stone and concrete walls.

The young prince pointed at the ground. “About forty meters below us.”

“Still deeper? But this is the bottom.” Hua Sheng placed his hand on the floor. As a practitioner, he could sense the powerful Sanskrit resonance—his palm tingled, and faint chanting seemed to echo into his mind. “The barrier’s vibration is intense.”

The young prince moved ahead twenty paces. “Here’s the edge of the barrier. With the Earth Traversal Technique, we’ll pass through to the border. Then, with the headsets, we can enter the array—the Earth Dragon should be there!” With that, he leapt and disappeared underground.

Hua Sheng waved away the dust, hearing the pursuit above; the guards were closing in. He hurriedly recited the incantation.

“Swift as command! Earth Traversal Technique!”

Deep underground, beneath the surface, Hua Sheng passed through layers of cement, thick sand, and rock. The density slowed his descent, but he focused and pressed on—only to suddenly plunge into a rushing subterranean river. He managed to right himself, swimming against the current in pitch blackness, then continued downward.

Below the river was another thick stratum of rock. After descending another ten meters, the space suddenly opened up—a vast underground cavern, its ceiling seven or eight stories below the earth. Strangely, the cavern was not dark—bioluminescent moss glowed on the walls.

Soaked, Hua Sheng landed with a splash. Remembering the technique Weiyu had taught him at the Lantern Festival, he formed the hand seals, shook himself, and let steam evaporate the water from his clothes.

There was the young prince, not far away.

At the center of the cavern stood a towering, circular spell array. The array shone a translucent yellow-green, covered in streaming lines of golden Sanskrit, endlessly flowing and interweaving across dozens of spinning glass-like layers.

Awe-struck by the wondrous sight, Hua Sheng approached, wanting to touch the crystalline barrier. Suddenly, the young prince called out, “Careful! Don’t touch it!”

Startled, Hua Sheng withdrew his hand as if shocked. The young prince picked up a stone and tossed it at the array. As the stone passed through, it dissolved like a drop of ink in water, evaporating into mist.

Hua Sheng exhaled deeply, grateful he hadn’t been reckless. Clearly, the headset around his neck was now indispensable.

The young prince took out his phone and connected both their wireless headsets.

“You use this magic artifact to listen to music or break through barriers? Why connect it to your phone?” Hua Sheng asked, but the young prince, looking every inch the student, was already scrolling for a song.

“Why not both? Put it on!” The young prince urged.

Hua Sheng, still skeptical, donned the headset. As soon as the young prince wore his, an orange glow shimmered around him—the artifact was at work. Suddenly, all sound vanished, as if watching a silent film.

Total silence—amazing noise cancellation! I could use these for music, Hua Sheng thought.

A burst of electronic music began. The young prince mimed a DJ at a dance party, utterly lost in the beat.

Dancing? Hua Sheng thought, just as the young prince shouted, “Come on! Baby! Yo Yo Yo! Put your hands up!” With a spin and a moonwalk, he slid into the array.

“Hey! Aren’t you going to test the water first?” Hua Sheng reached for him, but it was too late.

The young prince was unharmed inside the array. The artifact from the Jade Buddha monks worked. Hua Sheng cautiously tested the array’s edge—no resistance. Steeling himself, he strode into the Sanskrit array.

The young prince, moonwalking through drifting lines of illuminated Sanskrit, beckoned, “Hua Sheng! Join in! Yeah!”

Hua Sheng, who had learned some street dance from TV, found himself moving to the beat. The floating, rainbow-hued Sanskrit seemed to transform into stage lights, illuminating the two young men’s vibrant dance.

“Look at all these comments! The audience is enthusiastic!” The young prince pointed at the streaming script, pretending they were live-streamed reactions, clearly pleased.

As the electronic track reached its climax, the two reached the heart of the array.

There, lying in the center, was a pitch-black dragon, as tall as a three-story building even as it slept. Beneath one massive claw was a gray beast, nearly the size of four buses joined together. Both creatures were locked in deep slumber.

Hua Sheng tapped the young prince’s shoulder, pointing at the dragon and the beast.

“So, do we wake them up now?” he signed.

If a mirror had appeared at that moment, Hua Sheng was sure his own expression—trying to sign with a face full of worry—would have been a sight to behold.