306 Escaping
"This Shi Tou seems to be movable."
Zhao Zhitong spoke as she was about to move it, but Qiao Muchen stopped her just as she was reaching out.
"Don't move it. Let me."
As he spoke, Qiao Muchen pulled Zhao Zhitong behind him before pressing on that Shi Tou.
There was a CLICK. A crack appeared on the stone wall not far from the Shi Tou.
Qiao Muchen again took the lead, pushing open the stone door.
At this point, Zhao Zhitong ran over, retrieved the torch, and handed it to Qiao Muchen.
"Qiao Muchen, be careful," Zhao Zhitong couldn't help but remind him, looking at the unknown cave.
"Alright."
Qiao Muchen took the torch and raised it, illuminating the interior. It was an ordinary cave, except for some things piled up inside. By the dim torchlight, he could vaguely make out large wooden barrels, but not their contents.
"No danger."
After checking and finding no danger, Qiao Muchen called for Zhao Zhitong to follow him in.
This secret passage was much more spacious than the previous two, its end vanishing out of sight.
Only when they drew closer did they realize the piled-up goods were actually barrels of fire oil!
Qiao Muchen was startled and quickly moved the torch further away.
Zhao Zhitong, standing nearby, quickly counted. There were over a dozen barrels of fire oil arranged in the cave. She couldn't help but exclaim, "So much fire oil! Is Li Zhoucheng planning to blow this place up to destroy all the evidence after killing us?!"
Qiao Muchen nodded thoughtfully. "The person backing Li Zhoucheng definitely has grand ambitions!"
As the saying goes, "To hold power over the world, it's nothing more than soldiers and money."
More critically, they dared to assassinate an official of the imperial court—none other than Elder Song, the Emperor's most trusted Minister of State. If it were merely for money, counterfeiters have always existed; the Emperor wouldn't have needed to dispatch a key figure like Elder Song for such a matter. This implied the matter was far from simple.
"It's strange," Zhao Zhitong mused. "If Li Zhoucheng planned to blow this place up, why hasn't he done it? Or has he not arrived yet?"
While speculating, she began searching for the fuse for the fire oil barrels.
"Tongtong, it's here."
Just then, Qiao Muchen suddenly called Zhao Zhitong over. "Look," he said, pointing to the ground.
Following Qiao Muchen's gesture, Zhao Zhitong saw a trail of gunpowder on the ground, laid out as a fuse. One end led towards the fire oil barrels, the other stretched into the distance.
Zhao Zhitong quickly used her foot to scatter the gunpowder, breaking the connection between the fuse and the fire oil barrels. Then she tugged Qiao Muchen's sleeve. "Qiao Muchen, look at the direction this fuse leads."
Qiao Muchen, who had already considered this, added, "If the person setting the explosives didn't want to die here, they would place the ignition point at an exit."
Zhao Zhitong nodded. "Exactly. We should be able to find an exit by following the gunpowder trail."
Wasting no time, they started following the gunpowder trail, erasing it with their feet as they went. Qiao Muchen led with the torch, Zhao Zhitong close behind, and they proceeded quietly.
After about seven or eight minutes, Qiao Muchen suddenly stopped.
Zhao Zhitong, not paying attention, almost bumped into his back. Startled, she asked, "What's wrong?"
Puzzled, Zhao Zhitong moved out from behind him and saw that the gunpowder trail ended there.
"We must be close to an exit," Zhao Zhitong deduced.
Qiao Muchen nodded. "Let's keep going."
After walking a little further, they stopped again. Before them, the path diverged in two.
Zhao Zhitong went ahead and peered into both cave entrances, feeling troubled. "Which way should we go?"
Just as she finished speaking, she turned to see Qiao Muchen wedge the torch into a crevice in the stone wall. He then stood in the center of the cave, eyes closed and arms outstretched.
What was Qiao Muchen doing? Was he spreading his arms to ask for a hug? Did being in a confined space for too long make Qiao Muchen uncomfortable, and now he wanted to seek comfort?
Zhao Zhitong stood before him, chin in hand, debating whether to offer a hug to soothe his "wounded soul," when Qiao Muchen suddenly opened his eyes.
Their eyes met, and both froze for a moment.
Qiao Muchen asked, "Tongtong, what... what are you doing? Is there something on my face?" He asked because, upon opening his eyes, he'd seen Zhao Zhitong standing before him, staring at his face with a look of utter confusion.
Zhao Zhitong's face stiffened. Had I misunderstood? she thought.
Instead of answering, Zhao Zhitong countered, "What... what were you just doing?"
Qiao Muchen glanced at his outstretched hands and smiled. "Oh, this? I learned it from Mr. Meng. He said if you're trapped in a cave and can't find the exit, you can spread your arms, close your eyes, and sense the wind's direction. The way the wind blows is most likely where the exit lies."
"Oh, I see." Zhao Zhitong nodded. Covering her mouth with her hand, she muttered softly, "I almost misunderstood. Good thing I didn't hug him."
"Hmm? Tongtong, what did you say?" Qiao Muchen asked, taken aback, as he hadn't quite heard her mutter.
Zhao Zhitong coughed. "Nothing. I was just saying I want to try it too."
With that, she also spread her arms and closed her eyes, trying to feel for a breeze. And surprisingly, when she focused all her senses on her palms, she could indeed feel a faint breeze.
"Hey, I really can feel something!" she exclaimed with pleasant surprise.
Seeing Zhao Zhitong's delighted surprise, Qiao Muchen couldn't help but smile. "Of course. Mr. Meng's methods are always effective."
"Here!" After a moment, Zhao Zhitong opened her eyes and pointed to the right-hand passage. "There seems to be a draft from this way. You try."
Qiao Muchen did as she said, spreading his arms. After a moment, he nodded. "You're right, there is. Let's try this path. If it's a dead end, we can always come back."
Zhao Zhitong nodded in agreement.
The two set off together once more, Qiao Muchen again taking the lead.
After walking some distance, they could indeed discern a faint light ahead.
"Looks like this is the right way!" Relieved, they quickened their pace.
...
When they finally emerged and saw the sky again, a full moon and a canopy of stars greeted them. They realized they had been trapped for an entire day!
Exiting the cave, they found themselves still on Waifang Mountain, but in a completely unfamiliar area.
Zhao Zhitong said, "Let's go find a way out. Our families and Elder Song must be worried sick."
Although it was dark and the terrain difficult, they needed to return and reunite with everyone as quickly as possible. Having been trapped for so long, her grandfather and the others must have realized something was wrong and would be terribly worried by now.
Zhao Zhitong's guess was spot on; their loved ones were indeed frantic with worry.