Trade, Jade Slip

What on earth had happened to the locust corpse?

How had he turned into a monster that was neither human nor insect?

What was depicted in the two missing murals?

And who had set up that teleportation formation?

Where did this secret realm come from in the first place?

How did the people from Great Xia end up entering this place?

After looking at the murals, Nan Zhi's mind was in utter chaos. The seemingly disorganized clues were like half-exposed threads waiting for her to unravel them.

She walked around the stone room again. Noticing a few fresh palm prints on the shelves that were likely meant for storing books, along with uneven layers of dust, she guessed what had happened.

The furniture was ordinary, but whatever had been stored inside was gone.

The exploration team had arrived before her, so the valuable items in this stone room had likely already been taken by them.

The jade slip that the locust corpse had been holding while hunched over the desk in the murals might very well be among those items.

Finding that jade slip might yield unexpected harvests.

But for Ma Guniang to take the initiative to ask for a single jade slip—

What if they jacked up the price on the spot, or stubbornly refused to hand it over?

As for killing them to steal the treasure, she had grown up in Great Xia and couldn't bring herself to cross that moral line.

With a shift in her thoughts, Nan Zhi came up with a plan.

...

As soon as the spider venom in Qin Yue's body was neutralized, she forced herself to muster her energy and rushed to see Nan Zhi. However, before she could even get close, she was stopped outside the stone room by a young girl who looked to be only in middle school:

“Shh, Ma Guniang is inside. Don't make a fuss. You can't go in. Wait here while I go in and announce you.”

Having seen Nan Zhi deep in thought before the murals earlier, Hongluo had quietly stood guard at the door to prevent anyone from disturbing her.

These mortals dressed so strangely and spoke in such a bizarre way. She couldn't understand what kind of gibberish they were speaking and could only catch a vague idea of it.

This child—

What was she saying? Was it a dialect? The cadence and tone made it sound like an ancient language.

Since she was following Ma Guniang, who was an old ghost from the Song Dynasty, she was likely some kind of spirit or minor ghost herself.

“My apologies, how rude of us. I came to thank Ma Guniang for gifting the medicine. May I go in?”

Qin Yue sensed that something was off about Hongluo, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Leaning on Hu Manni for support, she said gently,

“May I ask how I should address you, little sister?”

“You are so strange. You look refined and polite, but why are you so ill-mannered? I already told you to let me go in and report first.”

Standing at the door, Hongluo and Qin Yue spoke past each other, gesturing wildly, but both of them instinctively kept their voices down.

Fortunately, Hu Manni, who had been silent the entire time, seemed to understand what Hongluo meant. She tugged at Qin Yue's sleeve and spoke in a voice so low it was barely audible, like the buzzing of a mosquito:

“Section Chief Qin, I think she wants us to wait.”

Only then did Qin Yue realize. She took a step back to show her compliance, and as expected, the young girl looked pleased, nodding before turning back into the stone room.

“I really didn't understand a single word that child said.”

Qin Yue exhaled, steadying herself with her companion's help. Noticing that Hu Manni looked utterly distracted, as if her soul had drifted away, she fell silent as well.

They had paid far too high a price for this scientific expedition.

Of the three fox immortals accompanying Hu Manni, two had been eaten while protecting her, and the remaining one was severely injured, showing no signs of waking even after taking medicine.

To prevent that giant centipede from escaping, they had chosen to blow up the underground passage.

Over the past few days, they had been actively searching for a way out. However, as their map of the surrounding terrain became more complete, they only grew more disheartened.

This place seemed to be a completely sealed, independent space. It wasn't boundless; it was surrounded by water on all sides, with no way to leave.

Now, the passage to the underground Imperial Tombs was destroyed, and the information Professor Liu had brought back suggested that they were very likely no longer on their familiar Blue Star.

Thus, their only hope of leaving lay entirely with this unfathomable Senior Ma.

Based on her understanding of this Senior Ma, she appeared kind and gentle, but her temperament was unpredictable.

If someone caught her fancy, she might casually gift them cultivation techniques and pills. But if someone displeased her, she would not hesitate to use living humans as bait, hanging them on a fishing line to catch demon beasts.

Still, she was not entirely closed to negotiations.

Ma Guniang's willingness to give them a chance to trade gathered spirit herbs and ores for life-saving medicine showed that she at least possessed a bottom line and a sense of order.

Perhaps it was her natural disposition, or perhaps she had been influenced by that Demon Suppression Commissioner.

But at the very least, for those trapped in this secret realm, it meant one less threat to their lives.

After all, she wouldn't have ventured deep into this secret realm for no reason; she must be looking for something.

Now, it all depended on whether they could show enough sincerity to move this “Ma Guniang.”

...

Qin Yue and Hu Manni waited quietly outside the stone room for a long while before they saw the little girl come bouncing out, waving to them:

“Ma Guniang is willing to see you. Follow me in.”

Though they didn't understand her words, they understood her gestures. Immediately bracing themselves, they followed Hongluo inside.

Upon entering, a delicate and elegant fragrance greeted them. Looking closely, they saw Ma Guniang sitting before a stone table, brewing tea.

Inside a small red clay stove, a few pieces of golden silk charcoal burned brightly. A teapot sat on top of it, the water inside boiling as white steam rattled the lid with a steady clatter.

On the table lay a simple, antique tea set, along with three plates of small, lovely pastries and a plate of fresh, golden loquats.

Such items would not look out of place in a lavishly decorated tea room or a scenic mountain pavilion.

Yet, appearing in this empty, desolate tomb chamber, they only inspired dread.

“You've arrived?”

Ma Guniang reclined on a stone chair, lazily holding a blue-covered book in her hand. Beneath her were several soft cushions made of silk and satin, and two pillows supported her back.

She was so relaxed that she seemed to be lounging in some tea house or tavern rather than a perilous, demon-infested secret realm. Her greeting was just as lazy and casual:

“Have a seat. Try the tea brewed by my young attendant.”

Four futons lay beside the stone table. Hongluo walked over, lifted the kettle to brew the fragrant tea, and following Nan Zhi's instructions, placed two cups before the visitors. Then, she began munching loudly on the pastries on the table.

Though their host had welcomed them, the two of them didn't dare to respond too casually.

Qin Yue and Hu Manni each chose a futon, sat cross-legged like Hongluo, and picked up their tea. After blowing on the steam and taking a sip, Qin Yue politely offered some praise:

“The aroma is crisp and the brew is sweet. Truly fine tea.”

In truth, it was just cheap, coarse tea bought for fifteen copper coins a catty from a roadside foot-shop.

Nan Zhi was glad she had the habits of a hoarder. When she was traveling with the Wang family master and servant, she had stashed all sorts of random, useless things into her backpack.

She pushed the three plates of pastries toward Hongluo and slightly tilted her chin:

“I know why you have come. I asked you to seek me out as soon as you woke for this very reason.”

“Senior Ma, in front of you, I won't tell any lies. I'll get straight to the point.”

Qin Yue set down her teacup and stared down at the rising steam:

“I would like to make a trade with you. If you can lead us out of here, I swear on my character and my country that the authorities will do their absolute best to offer a price that satisfies you.”

“Oh, you can certainly afford the price.”

Nan Zhi smiled. As the dense steam rose, it made her face look increasingly mysterious and otherworldly:

“I want seventy percent of the items in this stone room. I will only give you three days to consider, as I have other matters to attend to.

“Naturally, bound by the orders of the Lord Commissioner and the Demon Suppression Division, I cannot take lives needlessly. But if you refuse, this old woman can simply wait a few days until you have all died off, and then return to collect these things anyway.”

Qin Yue's breath hitched for a moment.