Chapter Thirty-One: Broken Arrow

After traversing the perilous Ten Courts of Hell and the treacherous Nine-Palace Grid, almost everyone believed that a grand surprise awaited them behind that heavy stone door.

In truth, there was surprise, but no delight.

Behind the stone door lay another chamber of equal size, blanketed in a thick layer of dust and draped in cobwebs, clear signs that it had remained undisturbed for a very long time. The room was chaotic and derelict, filled with large chests that easily brought to mind the legendary, highly coveted Fourteen Mausoleums of the Ming Dynasty.

However...

The chests were all empty.

The copper locks showed clear signs of having been pried open by force. Scattered across the floor were jewels, such as the massive sapphire currently resting in Yue Leiting's hand. Yet, Yue Leiting could not muster a smile. With his years of experience in tomb raiding, it was obvious that someone had already been here; the chamber had long since been looted clean.

Yue Leiting gasped for air, then threw the sapphire to the ground in a fit of rage. "Damn it! I went through hell and high water to get here, only to find it empty."

I was somewhat disappointed myself and let out a heavy sigh. If this truly was the site of the Ming Fourteen Mausoleums, it was clear we had arrived too late. I didn't care about the gold and jewels, but the Nine Heavens Hidden Dragon Manual was certainly no longer here. Thinking of the promise I made to Wu Zetian and the relentless pressure from Wei Yong, I slumped against the wall, exhausted.

Although Yue Qianling was equally dejected, the sight of my state clearly pained her. When one pins all their hopes on a single goal only to face such bitter disappointment, anyone would reach a breaking point.

"Don't be like this. Even if the treasure is gone, we have at least proven that the Ming Fourteen Mausoleums truly exist. You deserve credit for that."

I looked up at Yue Qianling and offered a grateful smile. "What use is proof? An empty tomb is meaningless."

Liu Hao, unwilling to give up, led his men to search the chamber. Xiao Lianshan also wandered about, noticing a platform against the wall. It was finely polished and carved from white jade, with three arrows standing upright upon it. As Xiao Lianshan wiped the dust from the arrows, they caught the torchlight and emitted a brilliant golden luster. Overjoyed, he realized they were crafted from pure gold. He pulled them out with a forceful tug and exclaimed excitedly, "Brother, there are three arrows here, made of solid gold!"

I had been feeling quite low since entering, but hearing Xiao Lianshan, I stood up immediately and shouted in alarm, "Don't touch anything in this room!"

Xiao Lianshan froze, caught off guard by my intense reaction, and stood there bewildered, clutching the three golden arrows.

As soon as the three arrows left the white jade stand, a low, booming sound echoed through the chamber. The stone door we had just entered through slammed shut, followed by a series of distant, rumbling thuds before silence returned once more.

"This... why did the door close? How are we supposed to get out?" Liu Hao asked, panicked.

Yue Qianling pushed hard against the stone door, her voice laced with anxiety. "Lianshan triggered a mechanism. The door is locked, and even the entrance we came through has sealed shut. We’re trapped."

Yue Leiting unbuttoned his collar, took a deep breath, and gave a bitter laugh. "Well, that’s just great. 'Man dies for wealth, as a bird dies for food.' I didn't find the Ming Fourteen Mausoleums, and it looks like I'm going to lose my life here today. I’m just sorry to have dragged you all into this. I shouldn't have involved you."

Qiu Nuo looked from the tightly sealed stone door to the golden arrows in Xiao Lianshan’s hand, puzzled. "That doesn't make sense. If someone had been here before, these three golden arrows are also quite valuable—why didn't they take them? Did the ones who arrived earlier know about this trap?"

Gu Anqi pondered for a moment before shaking her head. "Zhu Yuanzhang left the Fourteen Mausoleums for future emperors. Any emperor who entered would surely have known about this mechanism. If someone had come early and managed to escape unscathed, it would have to have been a Ming emperor. But even when the Chongzhen Emperor's reign ended, the Fourteen Mausoleums remained untouched. Therefore, if someone else entered, they could not have known about this mechanism."

I had paced the sealed room several times, and suddenly, I spoke with profound meaning. "We entered from the underground palace of the Da Ci'en Temple and have traveled hundreds of meters, perhaps even further. We have been descending the entire time, meaning we are now deep underground... Do any of you feel dizzy?"

"Dizzy?"

Everyone looked at each other, shaking their heads to indicate they felt fine.

"If no one is dizzy, it means there is air here," I said nonchalantly. "To have air hundreds of meters underground..."

"I know!" Qiu Nuo exclaimed, having caught on. "To build a chamber this deep, they must have constructed a secondary ventilation shaft; otherwise, there would be no air for the construction. That means... there must be another exit."

"Another exit?!" Yue Leiting, previously hopeless, immediately regained his spirit and shouted at Liu Hao, "What are you standing there for? Tell them to search for it!"

"Brother Ting, don't touch anything in this room!" I warned sternly. "Zhu Yuanzhang designed these traps specifically to prevent outsiders from entering. Now that we are trapped and searching for a way out, he must have anticipated this. If we trigger another mechanism, and since we are not Ming emperors, he would have no qualms about destroying everything here."

Yue Leiting agreed and lowered his hands.

"Maybe... maybe I should put the arrows back," Xiao Lianshan said, at a loss.

Gu Anqi stared at the arrows in his hand and whispered, "Qiu Nuo is right. If someone came and took the other treasures, why leave these three valuable golden arrows behind?"

I stared at the closed stone door without turning back, then asked pointedly, "Three arrows... Lianshan, check if the characters 'Gather Heaven,' 'Take Heaven,' and 'Accept Heaven' are carved on them."

"Brother, they really are here! How did you know?"

"These aren't just ordinary arrows; they are Zhu Yuanzhang's military tallies!" Yue Qianling exclaimed in shock.

"Military tallies?"

I nodded calmly. "In those days, Zhu Yuanzhang commanded nine armies. Because of constant warfare, he used golden arrows as tallies. Later, when Xu Da led the main forces, he held three of these very arrows—'Gather Heaven,' 'Take Heaven,' and 'Accept Heaven'."

"Why would Xu Da's military tallies be here?" Gu Anqi asked, confused.

"Exactly. I don't understand either. After Zhu Yuanzhang unified the empire, the golden arrow tallies were rendered obsolete and replaced by special ones. Why would these three be here?"

I slowly turned around, lost in thought. "These three arrows helped Zhu Yuanzhang become emperor! Without them, he could never have established the Ming Dynasty!"

"What? What does that mean?" Yue Qianling asked, stunned.

"Zhu Yuanzhang's final step in securing the empire was the assault on Jiqing. He led his troops in three prongs, with Xu Da as the commanding general. Zhu Yuanzhang gave Xu Da control over the armies, using these three arrows as the symbol of authority. Xu Da took Jiqing in ten days and renamed it Yingtian." I spoke slowly.

"I know that; it's recorded in the History of Ming. But what does that have to do with him becoming emperor?"

"In chaotic times, whoever holds the military power is the king. Even though Zhu Yuanzhang took Jiqing, he suddenly realized he had made an unforgivable mistake."

"The... the army! Zhu Yuanzhang no longer held the troops; the symbol of authority, the three arrows, were in Xu Da's hands." Qiu Nuo, sharp as ever, grasped the implication. "Xu Da was a brilliant strategist and held the empire's military power in his hands. If he had harbored any ambition of rebellion, the dynasty could have easily changed hands."

"But history doesn't record any rebellion by Xu Da," Yue Qianling noted, puzzled.

The walls of the chamber were covered in reliefs depicting the battles of Zhu Yuanzhang's life, clearly documenting his rise like a film. I examined the carvings closely and said quietly, "Xu Da didn't, but that doesn't mean Zhu Yuanzhang didn't suspect him. After taking Jiqing, Zhu Yuanzhang sent Li Shanchang to Xu Da overnight with three gifts."

"What gifts?"

"A golden sword, a golden seal, and a golden robe!" I replied.

"Those... those are the regalia of an emperor! Only a sovereign holds those. Zhu Yuanzhang sent these to Xu Da? Did he want Xu Da to be the emperor?!" Yue Qianling asked, dumbfounded.

I stared intently at the reliefs, speaking calmly. "Of course not. Zhu Yuanzhang was mimicking the Song Emperor Taizu's 'relinquishing military power over a glass of wine.' He was saying, 'If you, Xu Da, want to be emperor, I will give you the world.' Of course, it was a polite gesture. Xu Da understood the implication immediately and, without a word, had Li Shanchang bring one item back to Zhu Yuanzhang. Upon seeing it, Zhu Yuanzhang was satisfied, changed the reign title to Hongwu, and ascended the throne."

"That really happened? What did Xu Da send back?" Yue Leiting asked, curious.

My hand slowly rose, pointing to a detail in the relief, and I smiled. "This!"

Everyone gathered around. Following my finger, they saw a broken stone arrow hidden within the scene of thousands of soldiers clashing. It was so subtly integrated into the relief that it would be impossible to notice without a keen eye.

"A broken arrow?" everyone asked, bewildered.

"Xu Da broke the three arrows in front of Li Shanchang, effectively destroying the military tallies. It was a message to Zhu Yuanzhang that he had no disloyal intentions," I said with a faint smile. "That is why Xu Da was one of the few founding fathers to meet a peaceful end."

"I still don't understand—what is the purpose of leaving this here?"

I smiled with lingering meaning and said unhurriedly, "Because no one has ever been here. Everything is a ruse orchestrated by Zhu Yuanzhang. Only a future emperor would know about Xu Da returning the broken arrows. An outsider couldn't possibly know, because it concerns Zhu Yuanzhang's own magnanimity—he wouldn't want others to know he was once narrow-minded."

"If this is all a ruse by Zhu Yuanzhang, does that mean... there is more... something else behind this chamber?" Yue Qianling asked, both excited and nervous.

I didn't answer. With total confidence, I pressed the carved broken arrow. The tightly sealed wall at the back of the chamber slowly began to open.