After all, the scenery in June at West Lake is unlike that of any other season. Endless emerald lotus leaves stretch to the horizon, while the lotus blossoms glow a brilliant red beneath the sun.
West Lake lies in Hangzhou, in ZJ Province, a city known as "Heaven above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below." The great Song-dynasty poet Su Dongpo once wrote, "There are thirty-six West Lakes under heaven, and the finest of them is in Hangzhou."
With mountains on three sides and water embracing the city, West Lake had been a place people longed to visit since ancient times. It was famed for beautiful legends and peerless scenery. The pleasant climate and abundant food made it a truly wonderful place to rest and recuperate.
At that moment, beside West Lake in Hangzhou, the sun shone brightly, lotus blossoms covered the water, and drooping willows brushed its surface. The scenery was so beautiful that it made people reluctant to leave.
A handsome, dashing figure strolled along the long embankment beside the lake. The breeze stirred the hems of their clothes, making them seem almost to float like immortals, untouched by the mortal world.
Hao Shuai gazed at the beautiful scenery, but the lovely woman who should have been at his side was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't help feeling it was a pity.
Hao Shuai and Dongfang Bai had been heading to Hangzhou after leaving Mount Hua, but halfway there, an urgent matter had called Dongfang Bai back to the Sun Moon Holy Cult. Hao Shuai had no choice but to come to Hangzhou alone.
Hao Shuai followed stone steps up a small hill. After turning several times, he reached a plum grove. Ancient trunks crossed at angles beneath thick branches and leaves. He imagined the plum blossoms in full bloom in early spring, their fragrant white petals stretching like a sea of snow—surely a sight that could never be fully appreciated.
After crossing a broad plum grove, he followed a long road paved with bluestone slabs to a large manor with red gates and white walls. As he approached the entrance, he saw two large characters on the gate: "Plum Manor." Beside them were four smaller characters: "Inscribed by Yu Yunwen."
This was the destination of Hao Shuai's journey, and also the place where Ren Woxing was imprisoned in the story.
Knock, knock, knock!
Hao Shuai stepped forward and tapped the bronze ring on the red-lacquered gate several times.
After a while, the gate slowly opened, and two elderly servants came out side by side.
Their eyes were bright and their steps steady. Their inner power far surpassed that of ordinary first-rate martial artists. They were surely Ding Jian, the One-Character Electric Sword, and Shi Lingwei, the Five-Road God. But Hao Shuai couldn't tell which was which.
The man on the left saw that Hao Shuai was young and handsome, and clearly no ordinary visitor. He bowed and asked, "What brings you to our humble manor, sir?"
Hao Shuai didn't answer. He simply pulled a token from his robes, neither metal nor wood, carved with sun-and-moon patterns. He flashed it before the man's eyes, then put it away.
The man on the left saw the token, and his pupils contracted sharply. He immediately said, "Please come in and have some tea, honored guest. Allow me to report your arrival first!" With that, he hurried into the courtyard.
Hao Shuai followed the other servant into the manor. They crossed a large courtyard, where an old plum tree stood on either side, its branches as gnarled and sturdy as iron, then entered the main hall and sat down.
"Honored guest, you have come from far away, and we failed to welcome you at the gate. Please forgive our discourtesy!"
Hao Shuai had only just sat down when four men entered. The one leading them looked to be in his sixties, thin as a rake, with sunken facial muscles that made him look like a skeleton. His eyes, however, were bright, and he wore a friendly smile. Before he had even reached Hao Shuai, he clasped his hands and bowed, adopting a very humble posture.
Hao Shuai took a brief look at the four men and realized they must be the Four Fools of Jiangnan, who were fond of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. The man who had just spoken was probably Huang Zhonggong, the most skilled among them.
Of the other three, one had refined features but a pale complexion, with jet-black hair against a face white as a sheet. He looked like a corpse, so he must be Heibaizi. Another was short and plump, with a bald head shining like polished oil—presumably Tubi Weng. The last, with a beard that reached his belly, was Danqingzi.
Hao Shuai returned the greeting, then took the Black Wood Token from his robes and handed it to Huang Zhonggong. Getting straight to the point, he said, "The leader has ordered me to take full charge of dealing with Ren Woxing."
Huang Zhonggong took the Black Wood Token and examined it closely. It was genuine. As a veteran member of the Sun Moon Holy Cult, he could naturally tell the difference.
After confirming its authenticity, Huang Zhonggong returned the token to Hao Shuai and clasped his hands. "May I ask what orders the Special Envoy has?"
"Take me to the dungeon where Ren Woxing is being held." Hao Shuai couldn't be bothered to waste time. He intended to deal with Ren Woxing directly.
"Please follow me, Special Envoy!" Huang Zhonggong led the way. Before long, they reached a bedroom. It contained only a bed and a table, and was simply furnished. A faded, yellowing gauze curtain hung over the bed. On the table lay a short zither, entirely black and seemingly made of iron.
Huang Zhonggong stepped forward, lifted the bedding, and raised the bedboard. Beneath it was an iron plate with a bronze ring. Gripping the ring, Huang Zhonggong pulled upward. A heavy iron slab, about four feet wide and five feet long, rose easily, revealing a large rectangular opening. The slab was half a foot thick and clearly very heavy. He laid it flat on the ground and said, "Please follow me, Special Envoy." Then he leaped into the opening.
Hao Shuai wasn't afraid of a trick and jumped in after him. They went about twenty feet before reaching a stone door. Huang Zhonggong took a bunch of keys from his robes, inserted one into a keyhole, turned it several times, and pushed inward. With a grinding rumble, the stone door slowly swung open.
They went through the doorway and followed the tunnel as it sloped downward. After walking several dozen yards, they came to another door. Huang Zhonggong took out the keys again and unlocked it. This time, it was an iron door. The passage continued sloping downward, and they must have descended more than a hundred feet underground by then. The tunnel turned several times, and another door appeared ahead.
The third barrier consisted of four doors fitted together: first an iron door, then a wooden door studded with cotton padding, followed by another iron door, and finally another padded wooden door.
After passing through all four doors, they felt their way forward for several yards. When Hao Shuai noticed dampness on the stone walls and floor, he estimated they had reached the bottom of West Lake. At last, they saw the final iron door. A one-foot-square opening had been cut into it, large enough to see into the dungeon.
Looking at the dungeon's elaborate defenses, Hao Shuai thought, Xiao Bai really went to a lot of trouble to keep Ren Woxing locked up. Why not just kill him and be done with it?
"Special Envoy, Ren Woxing's cell is behind this iron door," Huang Zhonggong said to Hao Shuai. Then he turned to the square opening and called out, "Mr. Ren, the leader has sent a Special Envoy to visit you!"
A deep voice from inside cursed, "Go to hell with your Special Envoy! If you've got something to say, spit it out. If not, get the hell away from me!"
"Fine. Give me the keys and you can all leave." Hao Shuai couldn't be bothered to answer Ren Woxing, and sent Huang Zhonggong and the other three away.
Before leaving, Huang Zhonggong warned him, "Special Envoy, beware of Ren Woxing's Star Absorbing Great Method. It's best to speak to him through the iron door. Whatever you do, don't open it."
After Huang Zhonggong and the others left, Hao Shuai went to the square opening and peered inside. The cell was barely a few feet across. A bed stood against the wall, and Ren Woxing sat upon it. His long beard reached his chest, his face was covered in facial hair, and his hair, beard, and eyebrows were all jet-black, without a trace of gray. Iron chains connected both his hands and both his feet to the wall behind him.
Seeing Hao Shuai peering in, Ren Woxing immediately cursed, "You little bastard came to see me for one reason: you want my Star Absorbing Great Method. Keep dreaming..."
Hao Shuai thought Ren Woxing's language was crude, but didn't reply. Instead, he pulled out an AK-47 and unleashed a storm of bullets at him.
After firing an entire magazine, Hao Shuai took out four keys, inserted them into the four locks, and opened the iron door.
Once inside, Hao Shuai pulled out a pistol and put two more bullets in Ren Woxing's head. Then he sprinkled some Corpse Dissolving Powder he'd gotten from Dongfang Bai over the body. Before long, it had vanished without a trace, leaving only a puddle of yellow liquid.
Poor Ren Woxing—a peerless overlord who had shaken both the black and white paths—had been onstage for barely two minutes, spoken only two or three lines, and now he had been honorably written off! Alas!
After disposing of the body, Hao Shuai pulled aside the straw on the bed and, sure enough, found writing carved into the stone slab.
"Keep the dantian constantly like an empty box, ever like a deep valley. An empty box can store things, and a deep valley can hold water. If you have internal energy, disperse it into the acupoints of the Ren meridian..."
"Excellent!"
It really was the Star Absorbing Great Method. Hao Shuai didn't bother reading further and simply stored the stone slab in his inventory.
After leaving the dungeon, Hao Shuai told Huang Zhonggong and the other three that Ren Woxing had been executed. He told them to return to the Sun Moon Holy Cult and report when they could, then took his leave.
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