HMHSE - 48

Although the section of Wangji Mountain beyond the pass was visible, it still took some time to reach it.

Finally, they arrived, and the sky above had long since brightened completely.

Shen Rong stood at the foot of that mountain ridge, examining it carefully. The main peaks were all within the pass; this section was merely the tail end, and she could see its end at a glance. However, unlike the mountain terrain within the pass, this section was extremely steep, with jagged, craggy cliffs, and a thin river winding around its base.

After observing, she slowly walked along the base of the ridge, exploring the surrounding earth winds.

This area was rarely visited, with dense vegetation, but there was nothing notable to catch her attention, no “winds” to detect.

She stopped and nodded to Donglai, who was behind her.

Donglai received the signal, drew his sword, and began digging a small, bowl-shaped hole in the ground where she stood.

Digging quickly and smoothly, he encountered no resistance until he reached an arm’s depth.

Shen Rong glanced at it and said, “Stop.”

Donglai sheathed his sword and stood upright. “Young mistress, it seems there are no ores.”

“No ores is good. If there were still a section of the ore vein outside the pass, that would be troublesome,” Shen Rong said, then looked up at the mountain ridge before her again. She placed a hand on her chest, slowly calculating the direction of the ore vein.

The scroll was still tucked in her bosom, but it contained no records and could no longer guide her. This time, she had to rely on herself.

Donglai stepped aside, knowing this was a crucial moment and not daring to disturb her in the slightest.

Shen Rong’s gaze almost inch by inch swept from the direction of the border wall towards the ridge. Gradually, she got a general idea, then her gaze stopped: “Something’s not right there.”

The very end of the ridge bordered the river. There were no trees or grass, just a bare, steep cliff face, with rocks becoming increasingly rugged and even sharp, as if cleaved by a knife or axe. The base of the mountain was even more pitted and uneven.

Shen Rong looked again and said, “It looks like it’s been artificially disturbed.”

Donglai immediately said, “I’ll go take a look.”

The dozen or so soldiers who had been guarding them closely now approached. One of them cupped his fist towards Shen Rong: “Noble lady, be careful. That place should have been tampered with by enemy bandits from outside the pass.”

She asked, “Are they traps too?” The soldier replied, “More than that. Enemies from outside the pass are constantly trying to sneak in. Besides traps, they also chisel away at the mountains to create paths. There are instances of them trying to enter the pass from within the mountains.”

Shen Rong then understood. This mountain ridge had indeed been repeatedly carved and chiseled, which was why it had become so rugged.

However, the enemies outside the pass did not know the unique nature of Wangji Mountain. This mountain was ever-changing and unprecedented; it could not be chiseled randomly.

Although this section of the mountain ridge had no ore veins, its earth winds were still connected to the main peaks within the pass. The instability of the earth winds here had caused a slight deviation in the ore veins within the pass.

She thought about it. Since this was the case, why not simply disturb this mountain ridge further, allowing the unstable earth winds here to dissipate?

Breaking without establishing. This way, the mountain terrain within the pass could be completely stabilized, allowing for safe ore extraction; and it would also ruin the infiltration routes from outside the pass.

“Can those be destroyed?” she whispered.

The soldier replied, “That’s not difficult. The defenses outside the pass are far less strict than inside. Our chief’s military tactics, they probably couldn’t even learn by copying them.”

His tone suggested immense pride in Shan Zong. After speaking, he cupped his fist, selected five or six men, and quickly went forward.

Shen Rong instructed Donglai, “Go help them. The earth winds here are already unstable; pay attention to any movement.”

Donglai took the order and followed, drawing his sword to help.

The remaining soldiers remembered Shan Zong’s order and carefully guarded Shen Rong.

Shen Rong focused her attention on the earth winds.

The soldiers in front were quick and nimble. They moved through the rugged mountain base as if no one were there, drawing their swords and bending down. Unsure where they struck, a muffled thud soon echoed.

A large section of the ground collapsed, revealing a large pit from a trap. Immediately after, several more sections collapsed in succession.

Soon, a larger commotion was stirred, and the dull rumbling sound continued, as if coming from underground.

Shen Rong was already prepared and immediately called out, “Donglai!”

Donglai immediately told the soldiers to leave.

After calling out, Shen Rong felt her feet trembling, just like before, the familiar mountain tremor had arrived.

She looked at the mountain ridge. Crushed stones splattered, and a section of rock face entirely slid down, falling straight down.

“Forward!” she directed Donglai to lead the men to take cover there, while she also moved to take shelter.

However, the soldiers closely protecting her blocked her: “Noble lady, you cannot go further. You might encounter enemy bandits from outside the pass there.”

At the other end, Donglai was also blocked by those soldiers.

Unable to go forward, Shen Rong could only look at the river at the foot of the mountain. She frowned. “Then go to the river. If there’s suction, try to steady yourselves. We’ll talk after this passes.”

The mountain tremor continued, and falling rocks descended haphazardly. The river water was bubbling, indicating that Shen Rong’s judgment was correct; there was indeed suction in the river.

She had long anticipated that unstable earth winds here would also cause a swirling current, just like within the pass.

A rock flew, and thanks to a soldier pushing Shen Rong, she avoided it.

Shen Rong, propelled by the push, stepped into the water. The current submerged her calves, a chilling sensation. Before she could speak, a massive suction force hit, and not just one, but from different directions.

She reacted extremely quickly, took a deep breath, and held it. As expected, she was caught by the suction in the water, her body tilted, and she was completely submerged.

Everyone was rushing towards her, but the current was an obstacle. One soldier pushed her, shoving her towards the bank, and was himself swept away.

At the other end, Donglai struggled to wade through the river. Amidst the mountain tremor, the river water sucked inwards. He barely managed to get close enough to pull at her sleeve before being sucked back again.

Shen Rong was steadied by this pull, but she couldn’t stop the suction of the current, and she quickly drifted away with the flow.

Just then, the sliding rocks crashed into the river. She was pushed again by another soldier, this time so forcefully that she was swept in another direction. The falling rocks and splashing water had separated her from them.

A rapid swirling motion, aimless, until she reached the riverbank. Shen Rong stopped only by gripping the reeds tightly with both hands.

She exhaled, taking two quick breaths, almost depleted of energy. It took her a while to recover somewhat. She struggled onto the bank, weakly leaning against a tree.

She was cold and wet all over, but her first act was to take out the brocade pouch containing the scroll from her bosom and check it. Fortunately, the pouch was waterproof and fireproof; as long as it wasn’t lost, she was fine.

She safely put it back in her bosom, then wrung out her soaked clothes, breathing slowly, and thinking irritably: The mountains of Youzhou certainly have a temper, just like the people of Youzhou—very difficult to tame.

But she wasn’t going to be unable to tame them, was she? They were quiet now.

The river had indeed become calm, with no more movement.

She turned to look in the direction she had been swept from, and was startled; that section of the mountain ridge was no longer in sight.

The water’s suction was too fast. In just this short amount of time, she had drifted so far.

Neither Donglai nor the group of soldiers were to be seen; they were probably still on the other side.

Shen Rong looked at the sky. It was almost noon. A few hours had passed in a flash. She had to hurry and meet them.

The earth winds in that mountain ridge had dissipated, like a person’s bad temper being smoothed out. Her purpose for coming out had been achieved, and that was enough.

She wrung her nomad’s robe again. The robe was thick and didn’t cling to her body, which was good. There was no wind now, so it wouldn’t get colder.

Shen Rong gathered her strength, got up from the bank, and walked through a patch of forest until she saw a peak of that mountain ridge.

It turned out she had been carried by the river, winding around, which was why she couldn’t see it.

She calculated the distance and followed the direction. Suddenly, she heard the hurried sound of hooves and quickly stopped, hiding behind a tree.

In the distance, a group of disheveled men on horseback approached, holding large swords. They were soldiers from outside the pass.

Shen Rong immediately turned and walked away, remembering the words of those soldiers. Sure enough, going straight ahead would lead to encountering enemy bandits from outside the pass. She had already been swept here by the water.

She could only walk quickly through the forest, seeming to constantly hear the sound of hooves behind her.

Shen Rong was almost out of her remaining strength when she finally emerged from the forest onto a dirt road.

On the road, a group of five or six people was slowly passing by, with horses and a carriage. There were goods on the horseback, and they looked like a group of traveling merchants.

A dark-skinned woman, dressed in an embroidered barbarian robe, poked her head out of the carriage and waved at her, as if calling her over.

Shen Rong heard the sound of hooves behind her getting closer. Gritting her teeth, she had no choice but to hurry over.

The carriage actually stopped and waited for her. The woman extended a hand to pull her up, while smiling and saying something in a barbarian language to the back.

The people outside the pass were mainly Xi and Khitan. Their appearance was similar to Han people, only their languages were different. The woman wasn’t speaking Khitan, but Xianbei, so she should be from the Xi tribe.

The Changsun family’s ancestors also had Xianbei blood, so Shen Rong could understand some Xianbei. She understood the woman saying to the people behind her, “This is our person. We’ve been waiting for her to come back.”

Shen Rong was pulled into the carriage immediately, quickly looking back. The group of disheveled soldiers behind had caught up and stopped after hearing the woman’s words.

The woman said another barbarian phrase, and a traveling Xi man from the group went over and handed them some broken silver. The soldiers took the money, then turned and left.

The carriage instantly started moving, and the merchant group continued on their way.

Shen Rong looked at the woman and bowed slightly in thanks.

The woman seemed to be the leader of the group. She looked at Shen Rong with a smile, pointed at her wet clothes, and asked in barbarian what had happened to her.

To avoid revealing that she was from inside the pass, Shen Rong deliberately pointed to her lips, shook her head, and pretended to be unable to speak.

The woman showed a look of sudden understanding, then smiled even more deeply, taking a barbarian blanket from her side and handing it to her.

Shen Rong took it and draped it over herself, holding it across her chest. Although she had specifically worn a barbarian robe and tied her hair in a braid to look like a barbarian woman today, avoiding those soldiers just now didn’t mean she could relax.

The woman then enthusiastically offered a water skin. When she pulled out the stopper, there was still steam.

Shen Rong was cold, but she waved her hand, pretending not to be thirsty.

The woman then put down the water skin and offered a barbarian饼 (bing - a type of flatbread), smiling and inviting her to eat.

Shen Rong glanced at it, but still waved her hand, although she was indeed hungry.

The woman stopped offering her things, just looking at her and smiling, seemingly very satisfied.

Shen Rong took the opportunity to glance outside the carriage. She no longer saw the mountain peak, unsure how far they had traveled. Given the current situation, it was not good to stop randomly, fearing she might encounter those soldiers from outside the pass again.

She only hoped they wouldn’t go to that mountain ridge.

While looking outside the carriage, she also watched the sky, pondering where it would be suitable to alight.

Suddenly, she heard voices from outside the carriage, as if they had arrived at some town. The carriage no longer bumped.

But those sounds flashed by. The carriage seemed to suddenly speed up. Shen Rong even held onto the carriage door with one hand to keep from swaying.

The woman opposite her still smiled and said in Xianbei, “It’s alright, don’t worry.”

The carriage finally stopped after a long while, seeming to have turned directly into somewhere.

The woman got out of the carriage first, waving to Shen Rong, her face still wearing that satisfied smile.

Shen Rong glanced outside. It was a courtyard. Outside the courtyard was a narrow street lined with barbarian taverns. They must have arrived in a small city nearby.

She lifted the barbarian blanket and got out of the carriage. This kind of place might be better, perhaps making it easier for Donglai and the others to find her.

The woman pointed to a room in the courtyard and said in Xianbei, “Come inside and sit down. This is a good place.”

Shen Rong looked at her, seeing that satisfied smile on her face again. Her heart stirred, and she nodded, walking towards the room.

Halfway there, she immediately turned and ran towards the courtyard gate.

The woman suddenly shrieked. Two figures immediately pursued Shen Rong from behind, grabbing her from left and right and dragging her back.

They were two tall, robust barbarian women, as strong as men.

As Shen Rong was dragged back, she had completely run out of strength. Exhaustion and hunger had almost depleted her. She truly couldn’t struggle free and was directly dragged back into the room.

Then, her vision went black as a piece of black cloth was placed over her face.

________________________________________

A dripping sound echoed, like a clepsydra.

Shen Rong awoke in a daze, with dim candlelight before her eyes.

A woman’s voice spoke in her ear: “Ah, you’ve encountered a procuress. These procuresses outside the pass aren’t like those in our dynasty. They simply steal and rob, not caring if it’s against heaven’s will.”

Shen Rong instantly sobered up. She propped herself up on the bed, immediately reaching for her bosom.

A woman leaned over. “Looking for your book? Don’t worry, they told me to search you. When I saw it was just a Nu Ze (Rules for Women), there was nothing to search for, so I put it back for you.”

Shen Rong had already found it. She looked at the other woman, who had delicate features and a charming demeanor, dressed in a light gauze ruqun with a musician’s coiled hairstyle.

She spoke, her voice somewhat hoarse, “Are you Han?”

The other woman stared at her for a moment, then greatly rejoiced. “I’ve been talking for so long with no response, I almost thought you were barbarian. Thankfully, I guessed right; you’re from the same place as me.”

Shen Rong again surveyed her surroundings. This was just a simple living quarter, with a dressing table, indicating it was where women lived. Beneath her was a low bed mat, covered with a bright barbarian blanket.

She instantly understood the cause and effect: that woman had actually sold her.

The woman saw her displeased expression and chuckled. “It’s truly strange, you’re the only one who was sold by a procuress and still looks perfectly fine. I’ve seen others who were tricked before; they were half-dead. You must be smart, you didn’t eat their food or drink their water.” “If not for desperation, I would never have gotten into her carriage,” Shen Rong bit her lip. “When I get out, I’ll ask her...”

Before she could finish the words “settle accounts,” she suddenly froze. She immediately got up to look out the window, but found it couldn’t be pushed open.

Even so, she could tell that the sky outside was dark.

“How long have I been unconscious?” she turned and asked.

The woman sighed, “You’ve been unconscious for a whole day. You must have suffered a bit. I force-fed you a lot of rice water, and I changed your clothes too.”

Only then did Shen Rong look down at herself. Indeed, she had changed into a colorful barbarian robe.

She bit her lip. Damn it, so much time had passed. Shan Zong was still waiting for her at the border wall.

“What’s wrong?” the woman asked her.

Shen Rong sat back on the bed mat, her face like still water, saying nothing.

The woman leaned closer, kneeling beside her. “While taking care of you, I was thinking, seeing your noble demeanor, you might be from one of the two capitals. Now that I hear your accent, you must be from Chang’an.”

“Mm,” Shen Rong said distractedly, not in the mood for anything else at the moment.

The woman sat upright, kneeling respectfully towards her. She changed her self-address. “This humble servant is also from Chang’an, once from the Chang’an Music Bureau. I can play the konghou (a type of harp), and my name is Du Xinnu. Some time ago, I traveled from the capital to the border for musical performances. In Yizhou, I met a group of merchants from outside the pass. They said they invited me here to play music. I came, but unexpectedly, they wouldn’t let me leave. So you and I are the same; we were both tricked here.”

Shen Rong said faintly, “So what?”

Du Xinnu smiled. “You might not know, but this place is actually a den of iniquity, where they only deal in alcohol and lust. I see you seem to be of extraordinary birth, perhaps you know some court music and dance. Why don’t we cooperate tonight and try to win the grand prize...” “Don’t even think about it,” Shen Rong interrupted her directly.

She had already figured out this place wasn’t legitimate, but asking her to perform a dance? Was she dreaming?

Du Xinnu was startled. “You don’t want to?”

Shen Rong snorted softly, “They are not worthy.”

Du Xinnu was now completely certain. This was indeed a noble lady, otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to remain calm in this situation, let alone say such words.

She glanced at Shen Rong, then tentatively smiled. “Speaking of which, I once had a misfortune outside the northern frontier and also met a noble person who was very much like you, but she was much easier to talk to and easier to cooperate with, like the moon. You are different...”

Shen Rong turned to look at her.

Du Xinnu immediately chuckled awkwardly. “You’re like the sun. How can the sky be without the sun, right?”

Shen Rong was not in the mood to discuss such things with her now. She only wanted to quietly figure out a way to leave. She said coldly, “No matter how many stories you make up, you won’t persuade me.”

Du Xinnu was speechless. She thought this noble lady, despite her young age, had extremely sharp eyes; it was as if no thought could escape her gaze. She sighed helplessly, “Tonight, some distinguished guests from nearby will arrive. I heard they’re looking to choose someone to take away. I was thinking this was a good opportunity, that’s why I wanted to ask you to cooperate with me.”

If not for seeing her as beautiful as a pearl, she wouldn’t have even considered this idea. She had waited for her to wake up before mentioning it.

Shen Rong suddenly looked at her. “What did you say?”

Du Xinnu almost froze again, thinking she had said something wrong.

Shen Rong’s eyes flickered, and she suddenly stood up. “Alright then, let’s dance!”

Du Xinnu hadn’t expected her to change her mind and was delighted. “You agree?”

Shen Rong raised her index finger, signaling her to be quiet.

Her people must be looking for her. As long as there was a chance to get out of this place, she would, of course, agree.