Chapter 1 The Treasure

The treasure-filled level was indeed empty, unlike the previous underground palace, labyrinth, and imperial tomb. This level consisted of several parallel and intersecting tunnels, with stone chambers lining both sides of each tunnel. Here, Ye Tao and the others felt much more at ease. The scrolls piled up in the imperial tomb level were older, veritable secret archives of the palace, mainly recording the imperial family's genealogy and other important events, both large and small. If there was anything truly surprising in those scrolls, it was that they might reveal the fact that the bloodline of the previous dynasty's imperial family was not entirely unbroken, with a secret operation occurring when a certain emperor had fertility issues... This sensational gossip left Ye Tao and Tan Weixin speechless.

Should they take all these scrolls away? If possible, Ye Tao would naturally want to take them all; scrolls of this timed-bomb level were safer in his hands. But now, they had no way to carry such a pile of things. Transporting them out wouldn't be difficult, but how could such a large pile of pristine, bright yellow scrolls pass through inspection after inspection? In this situation, they had to content themselves with copying down some key information and leaving the scrolls in the never-used imperial tomb.

By the time they reached the door leading to the back mountain, it was almost the afternoon of the next day. They had enough food and water, but the feeling of being cooped up in the underground space for so long was quite noticeable. When the bronze door to the back mountain slowly opened, and the moist air rushed in, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Commander Qin wanted to seize the opportunity to launch an attack, but his body only twitched. Before he could make any move, Zhou Rui's icy hand was on his shoulder. "Commander Qin, please..."

Commander Qin knew how great the gap between him and the others was, and this Zhou Rui, though the least noticeable in terms of martial skill, had an alarmingly keen sense of people's qi and state. With such a person by his side, he had no chance at all.

The exit to the back mountain was in a natural cave. The cave had been artificially modified, and later, So Yong and his group used it as a workplace, excavating some caves for living and storing items. When they evacuated, they left many things in the cave, such as some wood and not-so-precise tools.

The cave wasn't very deep. From the underground palace to when they saw the sunlight, it was only a short while. When they walked out of the cave and got used to the sunlight, Liu Yong said softly, "The contact isn't here."

"That's normal. We came out much later than planned, and the nearby garrison must have started searching. Given Dai Rong's style, they must be leading those troops by the nose, as far away from here as possible. But... someone should have stayed behind to make contact, right?" Ye Tao chuckled, looking not at all nervous.

Sure enough, two points of reflection quickly appeared in the bushes, obviously someone observing them with binoculars. Then, four people walked out of the bushes and ran towards them. Despite the short notice, the few people left behind were quite interesting. Zhang Wei, the captain of the special operations battalion, was in the lead, followed by someone from the Intelligence Bureau, someone from the Zongmo Tuan (Demon Sect), and the son of an old friend of Liu Yong, a well-known figure in the martial world. Such a combination was enough to contact all parties and play a significant role.

"What do we...?" Seeing a few unfamiliar faces, Zhang Wei, though he could roughly guess what was going on from their attire, omitted the form of address for Ye Tao, glossing it over. Anyway, everyone knew that Ye Tao didn't care about that.

"What do you think?" Ye Tao asked.

"Things have gotten a bit big. You came out late, and the escort team had to spread out to attract the enemy's attention. Anyway, their main force can't keep up with us, and the small groups can't beat us, so there won't be any safety issues. Beyond a certain distance, they naturally have ways to respond. As for us here, I suggest we find a place to settle down first, wait and see, and leave in a few days when the situation has calmed down and the search isn't so strict," Zhang Wei said.

"Then let's do that," Liu Yong said, looking at Ye Tao.

The princess's disappearance alone meant that things wouldn't end so simply. Settling down in a small town nearby, they sent Zhang Wei and the others out every day to gather information. Now, not only had the nearby garrison of Xiling intervened, but even the Imperial Guards had arrived. Five thousand Imperial Guards were stationed in the valley, and a large number of craftsmen were summoned to violently break into the underground palace. The bronze door had been chiseled down, and Xiling was using a large number of people to break the labyrinth. With enough manpower and the determination to expend lives, labyrinths and mechanisms were no problem. Those breaking the labyrinth did rescue some people who were trapped inside in a timely manner, but there was no more news. The labyrinth had too many traps and rockfall-type mechanisms, because such mechanisms were most able to continue to function for many years. Many dead were excavated, but now there were no forensic anthropology experts to determine the identity of others through bone fragments. The current report submitted by the Imperial Guards was that the Third Princess and her party might have fallen into the labyrinth, their bones no longer existing.

That being said, neither the Imperial Guards nor the garrison dared to slack off in the slightest. To track down the powerful bandits, they expanded the search and alert circle layer by layer. Even the small town where Ye Tao and the others were temporarily staying had been inspected several times recently. After all, they still had the Third Princess and a few other people who could easily give them away. Although they had passed several inspections smoothly, if the inspection intensity were strengthened, problems could arise at any time. So, they finally decided to leave first.

The Intelligence Bureau did manage to contact local personnel, but those people collecting basic intelligence couldn't really help with this big problem. At most, they found two or three high-quality carriages, obtained horses, and prepared customs documents for transporting goods. The destination column was left blank, for them to fill in themselves. These lower-level Intelligence Bureau personnel knew very well that this was Ye Tao and the others being considerate of them. Otherwise, if something really went wrong and the investigation traced back, they would definitely be held responsible.

"Sir, the roads to the east and southeast are now difficult to pass, with strict inspections. And our people, their current location should be on the other side of the checkpoint, the specific direction is not very clear. The ideal situation is that we first decide on a destination, and then try to meet up with them. At that time, with a few hundred elites, as long as the location isn't too unsuitable, there will always be a way to leave Xiling. Now, the inspection is only targeting the Third Princess and those few people. According to the news, it seems that you, sir, have been placed on the death list," Zhang Wei reported. "Going north, even if we don't go through Anqing, the risk is very high. After all, there are still many people who recognize you, sir. Our trouble now is that no matter which direction we go, it's difficult to return to a place we can control. What do you think, sir?"

Ye Tao shrugged, looking noncommittal. Then, his gaze went down and fixed on one place. "Could we go to Beiyi?"

Beiyi? Zhang Wei glanced at the map. It was the capital of Yizhou, the southernmost part of Xiling, at least half a month's journey away. Going to Beiyi from where they were wouldn't be too much trouble, because it was all in the southwest of Xiling, less developed prefectures. However, from there, whether it was to return to Dongping or to go to Chunnan, it didn't seem so convenient.

Liu Yong, on the other hand, came to his senses and asked, "You don't want to cross Yizhou to Yinan, and then go to Yanan Port from the Tusi (chieftain) area, do you?"

The Yinan area was nominally a vassal state of Xiling, but the area was full of Tusi, constantly fighting each other, and the land was plagued with miasma, unsuitable for Central Plains people to live in. Xiling almost completely ignored that area. It was precisely because Xiling couldn't control Yinan that it had no seaport of its own at all. And the major Tusi of Yinan also relied on importing goods from various places through Yanan Port, and transshipping them to Xiling to make huge profits. And Yanan was a place where both the Seven Seas Trading Company and the Samir family had invested a lot of effort. The Seven Seas Trading Company hadn't been operating in Yanan for very long. After all, it was considered a vassal state of Xiling, so they could only try to keep a low profile when conducting business. But all along, the Samir family had no direct conflict with Xiling, and in Yanan, they had a transshipment branch. This was also the only channel for Xiling's products to go to the Middle East and other places.

If they could successfully reach Yanan and contact the Seven Seas Trading Company or the Samir family, they could go directly by sea. Although this would inevitably be more troublesome, take a long time, and both the tropical rainforest climate of Yinan and the sea route would be somewhat dangerous, it was, after all, a fairly controllable route. Moreover, Liu Yong knew very well that Ye Tao and Tan Weixin had always been very interested in their South Seas development, which was somewhat beyond their reach, and this might not be an opportunity. Especially since the South Seas navy would be of great use in the future.

"Yes, the tropical region may indeed have some miasma, but as long as we prepare well, there should be no problem. As for those Tusi and the like, I believe that as long as we enter Yinan, we should be able to meet those agents of the Seven Seas Trading Company or the Samir family, and they will help solve it," Ye Tao nodded and said, "What do you think? Shall we go see the sea, okay?"