Ning Yi quietly crouched beside her and also reached out a hand to touch the hidden carvings. His voice was long and calm, like the silent turning of yellowed pages in the stillness of night, each page steeped in a lingering fragrance.
“…Zhi Wei, look, these past events, I had them all carefully engraved here. Hundreds or thousands of years later, all people will grow old, but these halls will remain. No matter how seas turn to fields and times change, no matter how the world changes, empires fall, or even how people’s hearts waver, but these will always be here, through the ages, untouched by time, never fading.”
Feng Zhi Wei turned to look at him. In the darkness, her eyes shimmered with a sparkling light. After a long moment, she gave a soft “Mmm” of agreement, then said, “There are no heroes who never die, nor are there any halls that will never fall. One day, all of them will be buried in the dust.”
“Then keep it in your heart, that it will keep on existing even after only the souls remain.” Ning Yi gently took her hand.
Feng Zhi Wei stared steadily at him. After a while, a faint smile appeared on her lips. She suddenly turned around, pointed at one of the central corridor pillars, “I can tell what most of the carvings are about, but this one, I couldn’t figure out.”
The carving on that pillar was very simple: two city gates, two ceremonial arches, two high platforms, staggered against each other, standing silently in the falling snow.”
“That year, in the heavy snow, I chased after your footsteps from the south sea back to the imperial capital.” Ning Yi’s voice was as cool and desolate as the snow on the carving. “I rushed as fast as I could, but I was still a step too late. That day, you left from the main imperial hall, passed the Jiulong Terrance, went along Yutong Street, crossed Shen Shui Gate, exited Yongning Gate, and left the capital. And I entered through Chang’an Gate, passed Shen Shui Gate, walked along Yutang Street, entered Jiulong Terrace, and returned to the capital.”
His finger slowly traced along those two intersecting routes that crossed and missed each other, drawing an arc that never quite met, “You see—missed by just one step, missed by just one point, and it cannot become a perfect circle. It left a gap, a gap that who knows what year or month it could ever be made whole again…Zhi Wei, I only hope that we will never meet and miss each other again like this.”
Feng Zhi Wei’s fingers, just like his, silently traced that melancholy path. It was like that year, when the procession of Princess Shengying leaving for her distant marriage and the imperial envoy returning from the south sea passed within inches of each other, yet still passed each other.
Then she smiled faintly, stood up, and looked around at the eighteen corridor pillars. For a brief instant, she closed her eyes, as if wanting to engrave the moonlight and drifting pear blossoms deep into her memory.
By the time Ning Yi stood up, she had already opened her eyes again. Her gaze was still the same hazy yet alert as ever, she smiled, “Let’s go look at the inner hall.” Turning, she stepped first into the hall.
As expected, inside the hall, there were brocade curtains, exquisite incense burners, and ornate vessels—luxury in every detail. Having been forewarned, Feng Zhi Wei did not pay them much attention. Her gaze swept across the walls, then, recalling the layout of the grounds outside, and sure enough, she noticed a difference in the height of the structure. It was cleverly concealed by the steps, something no one but a master of the craft would be able to notice.
She was searching for the mechanism to go down to the next level when the entire wall in front of her suddenly split into two, and the lower half slowly started to sink. Such a massive wall descending was an astonishing sight. She turned around in shock, then said with a laugh, “I almost thought it was an earthquake.”
Ning Yi stood behind her, bathed in moonlight and shadow, smiling as he looked at her. He wasn’t physically close to anything that could give her a hint of how he triggered the mechanism. Feng Zhi Wei didn’t ask but simply glanced at the space revealed beneath the lowered wall and said, “There is truly a hidden world.”
“I’ll lead you in. There might be traps otherwise.” Ning Yi stepped forward and took her hand. The two descended the steps, which were only a few. They were soon faced with a wide, deep red gate with carvings of auspicious beasts. Ning Yi gently pushed it open. Inside, the decorations were almost identical to those above, though more spacious and not yet furnished. A huge, deep red and bright yellow carpet embroidered with figures and war scenes stretched from the entrance to the far wall. Strangely, the upper halves of the surrounding walls were open rather than solid, so thanks to the faint light filtering in, the place was not as dark as one would expect.
“Although this palace is half underground, it was designed with a way to capture light and sound from outside. If one didn’t want to be disturbed, one could just close those hidden windows.” Ning Yi pointed out the small windows above.
As Feng Zhi Wei looked at the design, a strange thought crossed her mind. Instead of thinking of this place as an escape refuge, this place was more like…an underground palace.
She couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. Even to herself, the thought felt absurd. The burial site of the Emperor of Tiansheng had long been chosen. At Yanhu Mountain, outside Yanhu Pass, along the northern mountain route. It was a site chosen collectively by hundreds of geomancy masters for its most auspicious dragon vein, and construction had already been underway for years. How could it possibly be moved here? Besides, this place doesn’t look like it. (Dragon vein– a way to describe the utmost auspicious locations where it is formed like a dragon and supposedly gathers the best energy from earth and heaven)
Ning Yi tilted his head to look at her and asked, “What are you chuckling at?”
Feng Zhi Wei shook her head and walked past the carpet toward the front. The great hall was empty, with only curtains hanging in a corner at the far end. She lifted the curtain and saw that the entire wall was a floor-to-ceiling display cabinet. On it, there were no rare antiques or treasures placed upon it. In the very center— there was only a jar or wine. The jar was exquisite. Obviously, the wine must be from a master brewer.
“This is my small selfishness.” Ning Yi said as he came over with a smile, “Although this hall is completed, it’s hard to say when it will actually be put to use. I acquired a jar of fine wine recently and stored it here underground. If I ever run out of wine, I can come here and fetch it.”
“How could you ever run out of wine? Besides, with your alcohol tolerance, I think you’d better just avoid it.” Feng Zhi Wei smiled and reached for the wine. Ning Yi laughed, “Are you craving some wine? Then let’s just drink it now.”
“I think we had better not. If you get drunk, then I would have to carry you back.” Her fingers brushed the wine jar. Her slender fingers traced lightly over the rosewood shelves as she said, “This place is quite clean. Does someone come in to clean it?”
“After we’ve seen it, it will be sealed up.” Ning Yi replied, “Originally, His Majesty should have been invited to inspect it, but he is getting on in years and is too lazy to make the trip. He simply said this is a forbidden royal ground once fully completed, and unless His Majesty orders it to be open or specifically sends someone here, no one is permitted to enter.”
“Looks like I am rather fortunate. At least I managed to catch a glimpse of it.” Feng Zhi Wei said with a smile. Ning Yi reached out a hand and gently stroked her hair and said, “Not necessarily. When it’s put to use in the future, with your status, you will have plenty of chances to see it if you want.”
He seemed a little tired and let himself sit down on the carpet, then looked up at her, “I am actually a bit thirsty. Why don’t we just drink the wine here?”
Leaning against the display shelves, Feng Zhi Wei smiled and shook her head, “Why are you such a glutton? No, we can’t, we can’t.”
Ning Yi glanced at her, patted the carpet beside him, and said, “Then come and sit down. Aren’t you tired after walking around for so long?”
Feng Zhi Wei couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Thinking inwardly: What walking? We rode horses the whole way and only looked at this hidden hall. This guy is so lazy, he can’t even make an effort to find a good excuse.”
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