Chapter 65: An Old Acquaintance in the Depths of the Tunnel

Lu Jin had been running at full speed, still dozens of steps away from where he'd glimpsed the shadow, never expecting to suddenly step into emptiness halfway there.

"Master!" Yuan Fang and Xiao Bai cried out anxiously, faces drained of color. If something happened to their master again, they’d certainly be finished.

After tumbling down, Lu Jin finally came to a stop, dust-covered and disheveled. Regaining control of his body, he shouted, "Xiao Bai, Yuan Fang, I’m over here!" He called out while crawling towards the exit, his heart sinking—if that shadow had been a person, wouldn't he have been done for once more?

"Master, master!" Before he'd crawled out, he heard their shouts at the entrance. In the distant glow, another shadow dropped down.

"Master, are you alright?" Yuan Fang hurried to his side, anxiously checking him up and down, though it was too dark to see much, certainly not like being at the entrance.

"I’m fine. Are you two alright?" Lu Jin quickly asked, feeling relieved—Yuan Fang being here meant it wasn't so dangerous.

The space was narrow, forcing the three of them to huddle together. After a flurry of activity, things finally quieted down. Only then did Lu Jin dare to look further inside. Crawling forward a few steps, he found the tunnel widened considerably.

"Yuan Fang, wait here. I’ll take Xiao Bai and check outside," Lu Jin said, crawling toward the entrance. He had to memorize the location, or else all their efforts would be wasted.

The entrance was a slope, and as Lu Jin crawled, it felt different from the other day—the tunnel mouth then had been much larger.

Once outside, he found the surroundings indeed unfamiliar. They weren't below a small slope; instead, they were practically on flat ground. No wonder he'd stumbled in so easily. He surveyed the area, committing it to memory, sent Xiao Bai for torches and their small pack, then returned to the tunnel.

"Yuan Fang, let's head inside and see where it leads!" Lu Jin handed him a torch. Although it wasn't the same entrance, he felt certain the tunnels below were connected.

He didn’t really want to light the torches—if anyone was inside, they'd be easy targets. But with the darkness so absolute, they could only grope along with their hands.

The three stooped, trudging for ages before discovering a fork ahead—two directions lay before them. Lost in the tunnels, they could only pick one at random and press forward.

"Xiao Bai, make sure you leave a mark!" Lu Jin reminded him, fearing they'd get lost and fail to find the exit—a humiliating fate for a supposed time-traveler.

"Don’t worry, master. I splash ink on the sides every so often," Xiao Bai replied as he ground ink with his inkstone. It was a trick Lu Jin had thought up the night before.

"Hey, master, I think there’s an exit here!" Yuan Fang called excitedly after they'd walked a while.

The three quickened their pace toward the opening. The closer they got, the more familiar Lu Jin found it—wasn’t this the exit they'd used the other night? Had they chosen the wrong fork earlier? Regardless, knowing this exit's location was useful.

Standing outside, they gasped for air—the tunnel had been suffocating. Lu Jin looked around; it was indeed the same exit. From a distance, it was nearly impossible to spot. But the area lay well beyond the search range he'd set; his judgment had been off.

"Xiao Bai, maybe you should watch the horses and luggage?" Lu Jin suggested, remembering that losing them would be a real headache.

"Master, no way. I must stay with you—miss ordered me not to leave your side!" Xiao Bai replied, resolute despite his worried face.

Lu Jin had no choice; he'd considered secrecy, but not practicality. After resting a while, they ventured back in. Finding the two exits wasn’t enough—the main entrance was still unknown.

Soon, they returned to the fork. Thankfully, Xiao Bai had marked the path; otherwise, they might have chosen wrong again.

Following the new direction, Yuan Fang suddenly darted ahead. "Master, there’s something up front!"

Startled, Lu Jin hurried after him with Xiao Bai, but Yuan Fang was far too quick.

Lu Jin saw ahead a bend, and the tunnel split again.

---

"Yuan Fang! Yuan—"

"Master, I’m here; I’ve caught someone," Yuan Fang’s voice echoed from one of the tunnels.

Damn, scared me half to death. Caught someone? How was there no sound?

Lu Jin dared not move further, standing with Xiao Bai to wait. After a moment, Yuan Fang emerged from the tunnel, dragging a person behind him. Was this really a person? It looked more like a dead dog.

"Master!" At the intersection, Yuan Fang dumped the man on the ground. Luckily, the space was large enough.

"Is he dead?" Lu Jin asked, for the man lay motionless in tattered clothes, hair tangled and covering his face.

"No, I knocked him out! I saw him flash by just now," Yuan Fang explained, slightly embarrassed.

Lu Jin’s attention was wholly drawn to the man, forgetting to scold Yuan Fang. "Wake him up, can you handle him?"

"He’s extremely weak now, barely any strength. Even if he had some, it wouldn’t matter. Don’t worry, master!" Yuan Fang said, then squatted and pinched the man's philtrum.

The man startled awake but didn’t make a sound, quickly crawling away. Yuan Fang grabbed him, lifting him up.

He kept his head down, silent, his face hidden beneath messy hair. Judging by his build, he was likely a man.

"Yuan Fang, move his hair aside!" Lu Jin said, brandishing the torch.

Yuan Fang used his knife to push the hair aside, revealing a face. Lu Jin and Xiao Bai both jumped back in shock.

"You… you… Master, he…" Xiao Bai stammered, unable to finish.

Lu Jin, startled, finally came to his senses. Damn, wasn’t this one of the bandits who’d kidnapped him? He’d spoken to him on the boat—an escaped fish.

"Look at me! Do you know who I am?" Lu Jin demanded.

The man lifted his head, eyes meeting Lu Jin’s, frozen in disbelief.

"How many of you are there?" Lu Jin asked.

The river bandit hung his head, silent.

"Will you answer or not?" Yuan Fang pressed his sword to the man’s throat.

Startled by Yuan Fang’s shout, the man shrank back as blood trickled from his neck. He cried out hoarsely, then remained still.

"Answer—do you have accomplices?" Lu Jin pressed.

"Dead… dead…" The man’s voice was hoarse and low.

Dead?

"Where did they die?" Lu Jin continued.

---

"Dead, really dead… Sir, could you spare me some food?" The man kept his head down, but suddenly lunged at Lu Jin.

Lu Jin kicked him hard in the shoulder, knocking him flat. He’d already noticed how weak this man was—what threat could such a frail creature pose?

"Speak up! Where did the man die?" No food unless he explained—he could eat the sword instead.

"Just… just up ahead," the man pointed shakily toward another tunnel. Lu Jin immediately felt a chill, and Xiao Bai clung to him in terror, while Yuan Fang seemed unfazed.

"Take us there," Yuan Fang said, hauling the man and tossing him to the tunnel entrance.

That fool! I never said I wanted to go there. It’s pitch dark—do you think I’m not scared?

But could he refuse? He could only follow Yuan Fang, heart pounding. Lu Jin and Xiao Bai made no sound, focused solely on keeping up, with only Yuan Fang’s commands and the bandit’s stumbling ahead.

"Over there…" the man muttered timidly.

"Get moving!" Yuan Fang cursed, kicking him forward.

Lu Jin and Yuan Fang each had a torch. Holding his, Lu Jin peered ahead, only to see rats scatter from a pile of dark objects. He nearly dropped his torch in fright—this enclosed space was terrifying.

If Lu Jin guessed right, that must be the corpse.

"Master, the man’s nearly gnawed into a pile of rotten flesh—no way to tell who he was…" Yuan Fang said grimly after glancing at the scene.

"Ask him what happened, and if he knows where the entrance in the city is," Lu Jin couldn’t bring himself to interrogate further. His mind flashed with repulsive images, each worse than the last.

He withdrew with Xiao Bai to another fork, stopping only when the gruesome sight was out of view.

"Master, was that the dead man?" Xiao Bai’s eyes glinted with curiosity in the darkness as he stared at Lu Jin.

Lu Jin felt uneasy under his gaze—could he not look so frightening here? "Quiet, don’t ask anymore!"

Finally, his thoughts settled.

After a while, Yuan Fang returned, dragging the man onto the ground. "Master, I got the details. They stayed at the escort agency, slipped away when the soldiers searched, didn’t dare go elsewhere, so hid here. There was a quarrel, and he killed the other."

"Does he know where the tunnel entrance is?" Lu Jin asked Yuan Fang.

"He does—it’s in the yard next to the escort agency. But they haven’t dared go out these days…"

Damn! What cunning river bandits. No wonder he hadn’t found them.