Treasury Legend

Bang! Bang! Bang!!

The crisp, explosive gunshots rang out in succession, utterly out of place amid the clash of cold weapons, instantly drowning out all the commotion.

Bullets whistled through the air, striking their targets' vital points with unerring precision.

Zhao Tong had just swung his blade aside to block a colleague's slash when a spray of blood burst from his chest. He looked down at the strange wound, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief, then fell backward.

Ji Xueyong's powerful frame also froze. A bloody hole appeared in the back of his head, and the fury on his face stiffened as he toppled straight forward.

The gunfire abruptly stopped. The magazine was empty.

An eerie silence immediately fell over the scene.

Other than the howling wind and sand, only the breathing of Zu Hao, Gu Shaotang, Feng Lidao, and Bulu Du remained.

The West Depot agents, Old Zhai's men, and the Tatar warriors under Bulu Du's command had all been wiped out in that brief yet vicious melee.

"What a formidable hidden weapon!"

Gu Shaotang sucked in a sharp breath. Her throwing knives instinctively rose before her as she stared at Zu Hao with uncertainty, scrutiny, and vigilance in her eyes.

Sha Lidao muttered, "A firearm? It can fire repeatedly?"

Bulu Du looked at the mangled corpses scattered across the ground, many of them loyal subordinates she had brought with her. A trace of grief and sorrow passed through her eyes.

She turned to Zu Hao, her tone carrying a hint of reproach. "You had such a powerful hidden weapon. Why didn't you use it sooner? If you had acted earlier, Ha Gang and the others might not have died..."

Zu Hao casually tossed the pistol with its empty magazine to Bulu Du, looking helpless. "I only had a few bullets. They were precious, and now they're all gone."

He sighed, sounding sincere. "The situation was critical just now. Seeing that you were about to be killed, I had no choice but to use this trump card to save my life."

Bulu Du accepted the cold, strange iron object. Hearing Zu Hao's words and recalling how decisively he had acted when she was in danger, she could not help feeling somewhat guilty. She lowered her voice. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have yelled at you. Thank you for saving me."

Zu Hao stepped forward and patted Bulu Du's sturdy shoulder. "It's fine. There's no need for thanks between us. We should think about how to deal with the aftermath now."

His gaze swept over the corpses strewn everywhere. The stench of blood was thick enough to make one retch.

Gu Shaotang put away her throwing knives and calmly added, "No need to do anything. When the Black Sandstorm comes tomorrow, this inn won't withstand it. Nothing will be left anyway."

Though Bulu Du wanted to dig graves for her subordinates, she realized that made sense.

Even if they buried them now, the wind might blow everything away tomorrow. There was no point wasting the effort.

After fetching water to wash their hands and cleaning up briefly, the four quickly gathered anything useful and hid in the tunnel beneath the inn.

For now, they only needed to wait for the Black Sandstorm, which came once every sixty years, to arrive tomorrow.

Within the tunnel, dim lamplight flickered, stretching their shadows across the earthen walls, where they swayed like ghosts.

To break the oppressive silence, Feng Lidao slowly spoke. "Let's talk about the treasure. Several hundred years ago, the Dragon Gate region was where the Taibai Upper Kingdom established its capital."

Bulu Du continued, "It is said that the Mongol cavalry besieged Blackwater City for an entire year."

"When the city fell, only the last one hundred and eight warriors remained in the entire isolated city."

"They sealed all the children and women in the city, along with the countless gold pieces in the national treasury, inside the imperial palace, then collectively died for their kingdom."

"Not long afterward, an enormous sandstorm swept in. Blackwater City was completely buried overnight and vanished beneath the boundless desert."

"And the inscription on the stone stele outside Dragon Gate Inn should actually be read backward—'When the cycle returns, the whirling dragon comes; the sea of sand offers the divine gate'!"

"The return of the cycle refers to the sixty-year cycle, while the whirling dragon refers to the enormous Black Sandstorm that can blow everything away."

Bulu Du took out a somewhat aged map and unfolded it beneath the oil lamp. "As for the divine gate, legend says it is the long-sealed gate of the Taibai Upper Kingdom's imperial palace!"

"Every sixty years, the Black Sandstorm blows away the desert burying the ancient city, allowing the palace deep underground to see daylight again."

"When that time comes, it will be our only chance to seek the treasures inside the palace!"

Feng Lidao lowered his voice. "The group that used to occupy Dragon Gate Inn had been guarding this treasure all year round."

"Unfortunately, something happened along the way."

"Their leader was also a woman. It seemed she burned down the inn she had operated for years over some man she loved, and her fate had been unknown ever since."

"They said her name was Ling Yanqiu."

"Why bring her up? That's ancient history."

Bulu Du spread out the palace map in her hands and pointed to the intricate routes drawn upon it. "The ancient city's layout is complicated like a maze. Make sure you all memorize it, lest you enter and become trapped to death within the maze, keeping company with the ghosts of those who died a hundred years ago."

Zu Hao swept his gaze across the map. With his powerful spiritual perception, he instantly imprinted the incomparably intricate route map deep into his mind.

Gu Shaotang studied the map carefully for a while, then raised her head with a slight frown and asked the question that had lingered in her mind for a long time. "Xiaowen, why were there so many West Depot agents at the inn? They didn't seem to be after the treasure."

Bulu Du shook her head. "They said they were looking for a woman."

Feng Lidao had the best intelligence network. He rubbed his chin and said quietly, "I heard the West Depot issued a kill order. Their target is a palace maid who escaped from the palace."

Zu Hao knew the truth, but pretended to ponder. "I saw those two women during the day. The moment the West Depot people arrived, they slipped away."

"Later, the West Depot searched the inn but found nothing."

"I suspect they're hiding in the inn's secret passages. If I'm right, one of them is probably Ling Yanqiu, the former proprietress of Dragon Gate Inn whose fate has been unknown."

Gu Shaotang snorted coldly, a fierce glint flashing through her eyes. "So what if she used to be the owner here? If she dares block our path to wealth, we'll slit her throat just the same!"

She made a throat-slitting gesture and declared resolutely, "If we miss this opportunity that comes once every sixty years, we'll never get another chance at those treasures for the rest of our lives. Even the Heavenly King himself will have to get out of my way!"

At that moment, Zu Hao's powerful spiritual perception had already detected two presences lurking and eavesdropping in another branch tunnel nearby.

They were Ling Yanqiu and Su Huirong, who was disguised as a frail palace maid.

He deliberately paused, then announced loudly, "Your information is outdated. I have another key source that told me the escaped palace maid is named Su Huirong. Her true identity is actually a West Depot spy!"

"Yu Huatian deliberately let her escape. His real purpose was to lure out Zhao Huai'an, the man who has always opposed both the East and West Depots!"