Chapter 87 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

Khuyết Nguyên Abyss

As soon as it was dawn, Cố Bạt Nguyên summoned a group of trusted soldiers, those who had followed him in battle for many years, and the whole group gathered in the living room of the mansion to look over all the documents he had just obtained. He turned each page, his face becoming more and more serious.

“This is enough evidence to overthrow an entire system that has been ingrained for fifteen years,” he said, his voice low. "But if I present it to the court right now in an official way, I'm afraid the processing time will be enough for Lỗ Khắc Viên to disperse all remaining traces, or worse, take action first against your relatives in Tùng Lĩnh Village."

"Then we have no other choice but to act on our own," Diệp Sương said, her eyes determined. "Today, before he could react."

*

Cố Bạt Nguyên nodded, although there was still a hint of hesitation on his face like a soldier accustomed to following orders. "I will lead a small army, nominally escorting an emergency inspection at the request of the Tông Vân Các, enough to have an excuse to rush straight into the headquarters without breaking the law too clearly. But once inside, things will no longer be within the framework."

The group prepared quickly, each person carrying weapons and protective talismans that had been prepared since last night. Miên Trà and Du Khinh wore animal bone jewelry blessed by the Vụ Ẩn clan, while Diệp Sương checked the old inkstone one last time, like a warrior checking his sword before the final battle.

In the short silence before leaving, Diệp Sương stood alone by the small window of the mansion, looking at the morning sunlight still lingering on the silver-gray tile roof in the distance, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the rim of the inkstone worn smooth over the years. She thought of the first night when she discovered strange footprints on Cảnh Linh Đài, of each piece of yellowed paper Chúc Nghi Lam had brought her, and of the name of Tùng Lĩnh Village lying quietly among dozens of mining coordinates—all like discrete ink strokes now gradually closing into a complete shape, even though that shape brought more pain than she had been prepared to receive.

*

When the group of people arrived in front of general office Khâm Vân Ti for the second time, the atmosphere was completely different from the previous afternoon. The city gates were closed, the guards doubled, their vigilant eyes followed every step of the approaching group.

"In the name of the Great General defending the capital," Cố Bạt Nguyên announced, his voice resounding, "I request to go inside to conduct an urgent inspection, related to the security of Linh Mạch of the entire kingdom."

The guard commander hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly ordered the gate opened, not daring to openly defy the orders of a serving general.

The heavy ironwood gate made a long hissing sound as it opened, the musty smell of moss that had not been cleaned for a long time emanated from the courtyard, mixed with a strange, pungent smell like burning metal, which Diệp Sương had never smelled anywhere else during the past journey. He gently squeezed Thanh Việt's hand without saying anything, just to let him know that he had noticed something unusual.

*

Inside the CEO's yard, Lỗ Khắc Viên was already waiting, looking terrifyingly calm, as if he already knew everything would happen just like that. "The General is truly not fussy about details," he said, his voice mildly sarcastic. "Straight into the royal office based on just a few stolen pages."

"It's not stealing," Diệp Sương immediately responded, stepping up to stand next to Cố Bạt Nguyên. "It's evidence that exposes the truth, something you've been trying to hide for the past fifteen years."

*

Lỗ Khắc Viên looked at her for a long time, his sharp eyes never wavering. "Do you think you understand everything, Miss Chu?" he asked, his voice suddenly stripped of its false gentleness. "Do you think I did all this out of personal greed, like a petty thief scrounging for wealth?"

"So what did you do for?" Thanh Việt asked directly, stepping up to cover Diệp Sương's side.

*

Lỗ Khắc Viên laughed softly, a dry laugh without any joy. "Thirty years ago, when I was a young disciple of your own Sect Vân Các, I witnessed a demon tide destroy an entire border army, because Linh Mạch was too weak to maintain the defensive position long enough. Thousands of people died in one night, because the traditional talisman system was too slow, too weak, and could not keep up with the speed of Linh Mạch's deterioration."

He took a few steps forward, his eyes distant as if recalling the past. "I swore to myself then, that I would find a way to never let that tragedy happen again. The Special Coordination Line was born from that vow - a system that concentrates Linh Mạch energy from all over the Cửu Vân to a single point, strong enough to supply key defense positions whenever needed, no longer having to wait for natural weakness to recover."

*

"But to do that," Diệp Sương said, her voice shaking with rage, "you drained dozens of small, defenseless lands, causing the very disturbances you claimed you were preventing. My parents died in one of those disturbances in Tùng Lĩnh Village fifteen years ago."

For a very short moment, Lỗ Khắc Viên's eyes flashed with something akin to guilt, before he quickly hid it behind a familiar coldness. “Small losses are the inevitable cost of a greater goal,” he said, his voice hard again. "I don't deny that it caused suffering. But compared to letting an entire kingdom fall due to lack of preparation, I believe my choice was the right one."

*

"You talk about the big picture," Chúc Nghi Lam spoke up, her voice trembling but not submissive, stepping out from behind the group. "So why, for fifteen years, have you never once publicly presented this plan to the royal council, to Tông Vân Các, for everyone to consider and decide together? If you truly believe in your righteousness, why did you have to hide it so carefully?"

Lỗ Khắc Viên paused for a moment before that question, his eyes revealed a rare glimpse of confusion. "Because people are always afraid of what they don't understand," he replied, but his voice was less firm than before. "If I present it publicly, the council will argue endlessly for decades, while the real threat still hangs over everyone's heads. I don't have time to wait for the consensus of those who only know how to sit safely in the meeting room."

"That's not the reason," Diệp Sương replied, her voice stiffening. "That's just an excuse for not wanting anyone to have the right to say no to you."

*

"That is not a choice you have the right to make on your own," Cố Bạt Nguyên growled, taking a step forward, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "You have robbed thousands of people of the right to know, the right to choose, in the name of a great cause defined by you alone."

Lỗ Khắc Viên looked around, realized he was surrounded by a whole group of people determined not to retreat, and finally sighed, a strange sigh mixed with both fatigue and stubbornness. “Then,” he said, his voice returning to its terrifying calmness, “perhaps it is time for you to see for yourself how important the thing you are trying to destroy really is.”

*

He raised his hand, a secret stone door behind the courtyard slowly slid open, revealing a spiral staircase leading deep underground, heat and purple light rising from below, bringing with it a deep buzzing sound like the heartbeat of a giant sleeping creature.

“Khuyết Nguyên Abyss,” Lỗ Khắc Viên said, his voice full of sick pride. "The result of thirty years of research, fifteen years of construction. If you want to destroy it, come down here and see with your own eyes the price of doing so before deciding."

*

Diệp Sương looked down the dark, deep staircase, feeling the chaotic energy flowing from below, stronger and more terrifying than anything she had ever felt, even at Khuyết Nguyên Abyss during the last night of fighting with Tạ Vân Khê. The heat blew up in waves, bringing with it a strange burning and fishy smell, as if the very ground was groaning under an unbearable burden.

"I'll go down," he said, his voice not shaking even though his whole body was extremely tense.

"We'll go down," Thanh Việt corrected, holding his hand tightly.

*

Cố Bạt Nguyên turned and ordered half of the soldiers to stay and guard the entrance, in case the retreat was cut off, while Tất Bá Kỳ volunteered to stay with Chúc Nghi Lam, protecting the stack of precious documents he had just taken. "If anything happens down there," he said, his voice serious, "I will bring this document straight to the dragon's throne, even if I have to fight against the whole court."

Miên Trà held Diệp Sương's hand tightly for a moment before walking down, her voice was small but steady. "Whatever happens down there, you're not alone."

Diệp Sương looked back at the daylight one last time, trying to engrave in her memory the pale sunlight spread across the brick floor of the courtyard, like an anchor point to find her way back if the darkness below swallowed all directions. Her hand tightened around the handle of the inkstone bag, her breathing gradually calming as she walked down the first stone steps.

The whole group, led by Diệp Sương and Thanh Việt, followed Lỗ Khắc Viên down the spiral staircase, leaving the daylight behind, entering the purple darkness where the deepest secret of the whole conspiracy awaited, and perhaps, the final decisive battle of the whole long journey.