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墨書 Inktalez
My mind went blank for a moment. No wonder my junior brother and A Li reacted so strongly this time; it turned out they were acting!
Could it be that this was what my junior brother referred to as "luring the snake out of its hole"? Was that "snake" the person I saw in the cliff cave? If so, I wasn't seeing things; someone was indeed stalking us. My junior brother and A Li must have discovered him early on, which is why they devised this internal conflict to force him to reveal himself.
So, I was the only one left in the dark? Damn it!
At that moment, my junior brother suddenly focused on something in his hand and exclaimed, "Not good! He’s getting away! Quick, chase him!" With that, he leaped into the cave where the black-clad figure had hidden, disappearing into the darkness in an instant.
A Li supported me and asked if I was okay. At a time like this, even if I had a problem, I could only say I was fine. Anxious to uncover the true identity of the black-clad figure, I gritted my teeth and shook my head at A Li. "I’m fine, let’s go!"
A Li glanced down at me, probably to confirm my injuries.
I couldn't afford to hold everyone back now. I steeled myself against the intense pain and hurriedly took a couple of steps before jumping into the cave where my junior brother and the black-clad figure had vanished. Fortunately, the entrance wasn’t too high—about two meters off the ground—and with a running start, I managed to leap up easily. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have needed a running start at all.
The cave was narrow and low, forcing us to bend over as we moved, making our progress ten times more difficult than usual. A Li led the way with a flashlight, deliberately slowing down to accommodate me. I understood that at this pace, catching up with my junior brother ahead was impossible; I just hoped not to fall behind.
But there was no helping it; my ankles had gone numb, feeling like two sticks. I was moving forward mechanically, drenched in cold sweat as if it were raining. My head felt heavy and dazed; I had no strength left in me and could collapse at any moment.
To distract myself, I asked A Li what had happened earlier. Had they discovered something earlier on?
As we walked, A Li replied, "Actually, we noticed someone following us when we were scouting for the thieves' cave. The person was so cautious that every time we sensed something amiss, he would vanish from sight. It made us think we were just being overly nervous and imagining things. Later on, this happened several more times before we could be sure it wasn’t an illusion; that black-clad figure really existed."
However, at the same time, the junior disciple understood the gap between himself and the opponent. In front of two skilled fighters, if he could remain elusive, it was clear that his martial arts skills, combined with those of A Li, would not be enough to match this formidable foe. Moreover, with me being a burden, if the man in black decided to target me, the situation for the junior disciple and his companion would become even more precarious.
Thus, they immediately decided that their best strategy was to lure the enemy into a trap rather than engage in direct confrontation.
To effectively lure the enemy, they first needed to understand what the opponent wanted. Only by knowing the enemy's desires could they tailor their approach and determine how to entice him.
The junior disciple analyzed, "Since this man in black is so powerful, capable of taking on two or even three opponents at once, if he were merely here to stalk us without any intention of acting, wouldn’t that be a waste of his talents? Conversely, if he has a goal in mind, why hasn’t he made a move yet? In this situation—one weak, one injured, and one unconscious—trapped in this coffin-like space where we can barely move our arms and legs, engaging in combat would only leave us vulnerable with no room to retaliate! This is a perfect opportunity for him; if he doesn’t strike now, has he lost his mind?"
A Li quickly grasped the junior disciple's line of thinking: "No, it’s quite clear—the man in black is waiting for a target that hasn’t appeared yet." The junior disciple added, "But this target must be related to us three; it’s a hidden objective that hasn’t been revealed."
At that moment, the junior disciple surmised that the target of the man in black was likely that bronze box. Firstly, it fit the criteria of being a "hidden objective," and secondly, they truly had nothing else of value on them.
They could give up the box but not without conditions; they needed to plan for an opportune moment when circumstances were favorable.
As the junior disciple put it: "If we end up fighting, we need to find a place where we can actually maneuver! Even if we lose, we shouldn’t do so while being timid and helpless! Moreover, having Senior Brother —the injured person—around is better than having no one at all. Once he wakes up, we’ll have three against one; with numbers on our side, we’ll be more confident in a fight!" Thus, the junior disciple thought of using a strategy akin to "luring the snake out of its hole."
By coincidence, while A Li was packing his bag and found those two broken bronze umbrellas cumbersome and taking up space—he hesitated to discard them but felt it was wasteful to keep them—he asked the junior disciple to take them apart. They could keep what was useful and throw away what wasn’t. As they disassembled the umbrellas piece by piece, they surprisingly discovered two compasses resembling Si Nan at the junction between the handle and canopy. This was what the junior disciple later showed me.
The compass was about half the size of a palm—a circular disk with a radius of approximately one centimeter and a thickness of about five millimeters. It was entirely made of bronze and had been well-preserved due to being sealed within the umbrella fabric. The bronze gleamed brightly, and intricate dragon patterns were clearly visible on its surface as if it had just been completed yesterday.
The surface of the disk was slightly concave, forming a hemispherical shape. Around its edge were engraved markings representing eight cardinal directions and twelve branches—twenty-four positions in total. Beneath each position was a fine groove connecting to a small point at the center of the disk that divided its surface into triangular segments. This point was no ordinary point; it was a tiny dark red particle (the junior disciple speculated it might be a meteorite) that could roll freely within the groove.
The junior disciple hypothesized that this compass might have been an ancient positioning device similar to modern tracking devices. Although its accuracy couldn’t compare to today’s GPS systems, it represented one of the most advanced technologies of its time. The dark red particles on both devices exerted some special force on the bronze disk that kept them mutually attracted even with minute variations in distance.
Surely, the ancients invented this to avoid losing their way when traveling. However, these two positioning devices were discovered on a carriage drawn by six horses. In ancient times, only those of noble birth were qualified to ride in a six-horse carriage, commonly referred to as "the carriage of the noble." This means that it was used to locate the position of the noble. Whether it serves as protection or has ulterior motives remains uncertain.
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