Qin Jiuye had a strange, fleeting dream. In it, she met the person she admired most in this life.
The figure stood against a backdrop of auspicious clouds and rosy light, holding a golden *ruyi* scepter that looked as though it weighed a thousand pounds. Beneath her feet were piles of gold ingots stacked like small mountains. Her entire being radiated a brilliant glow, and when she spoke, her clear, upright voice echoed through the surroundings.
"Qin Jiuye, congratulations. You have endured the seven-times-seven, forty-nine trials to finally reach the far shore of the vast sea and find the ultimate truth. Your courage is commendable, your sincerity proven. As a reward, I shall return the courtyard you lost to you. What do you say?"
It did feel as though she had suffered greatly and endured many hardships to reach a certain place. Though she couldn't quite remember the details now, the result was a happy one for all.
She wept tears of joy, her eyes shimmering as she nodded vigorously.
*Grandmother God of Wealth, after all these years, you’ve finally noticed me.*
"I have found three courtyards for you. Look closely and tell me: which one is the courtyard you lost?"
With a wave of the golden *ruyi*, three small courtyards appeared before Qin Jiuye. She widened her eyes to look. The first courtyard glittered with gold; the second was paved with silver; the third...
Why was the third one a mud-walled courtyard? And—and it looked more familiar the longer she stared... She squinted, about to ask the Grandmother God of Wealth, when she suddenly felt something was off. Why did this Grandmother God of Wealth look so much like her deadbeat master? Even if her master, who lived in a shack in a mountain gully, actually managed to cultivate into a deity, he should have become a God of Poverty. How could he be the God of Wealth?
"Have you decided? Is the one you lost the gold courtyard, the silver courtyard, or the mud courtyard?"
The figure asked again. Qin Jiuye turned her gaze toward the glittering gold courtyard, wanting to give her answer, but her mouth felt as if it were stuck shut with paste. She broke into a cold sweat of anxiety, but could only produce muffled whimpers.
"You must be an honest child."
*My love for gold has always been honest!*
Qin Jiuye screamed in her heart. In her desperation, she moved to point at the golden courtyard.
In the next moment, the gate of the mud courtyard was pushed open. A virtuous-looking young woman stepped out. She raised her head, revealing a fair and beautiful face beneath a coarse cloth headscarf. Looking at Qin Jiuye with a sorrowful, resentful expression, she spoke.
"Does Sister not want me anymore?"
Qin Jiuye gasped. The gold and silver courtyards suddenly began to recede rapidly. The golden *ruyi* in the deity's hand fell, striking her heavily on the forehead. Stars exploded before her eyes, and the world began to spin.
"Miss Qin?"
Amidst the vertigo, a voice drifted from afar into her ears.
Qin Jiuye opened her eyes in a daze. The first thing she saw was a dark, square face—a face she had never seen before.
While she was still reeling, the person stepped back. He appeared to be a middle-aged man with a cloth sash tied around his waist. Though his skin was dark from years of traveling outdoors, his features still bore the faint traces of a former handsome youth. With such refined and elegant features as a foundation, his deep complexion actually added a certain flair, tempering his scholarly air with the ruggedness of a wandering martial artist.
However, all of this shattered the moment he opened his mouth.
"You're finally awake. A perfectly fine girl like you, insisting on running into those mountain gullies. If you weren't lucky enough to be carried into the river channel by a whirlpool, it wouldn't have been just a matter of suffering—you would've lost your little life!"
A thick Yuzhou dialect, paired with an overly simple and kind smile, instantly reminded Qin Jiuye of the uncles and aunts in Dingweng Village who sat under trees fanning themselves with cattail leaves and gossiping. The black water, the desolate mountains, and the mysterious bones in the cave suddenly felt like a dream. Having woken up, she had fallen back into this mundane world full of the breath of life.
Her nose and throat still stung with the burning pain of near-drowning. Qin Jiuye asked hesitantly, "May I ask who you are..."
Before the man could respond, a flurry of urgent footsteps sounded outside. A moment later, the door was pushed open, and Xu Qiuchi appeared in the room.
Qin Jiuye blinked, her gaze lingering on his face—which was so haggard it had turned a faint shade of blue—before she could confirm his identity.
It turned out everyone became ugly after staying up late and worrying too much. Even this "Fancy Chicken" was no exception.
The faint sound of water came from outside, and the bed beneath her swayed slightly, indicating she was currently on a boat. Patting her heavy head, she moved her gaze from his face to his waist. Seeing the familiar waist fan, she knew Jiang Xin'er must be safe as well. The heart that had been hanging in suspense finally settled.
A shadow flickered at the doorway as someone else arrived a step late. Seeing this, the dark-faced man quickly stood up. Despite his scholarly attire, he possessed the agility of a martial artist.
"It looks like the Second Young Master and the Protector-General are both anxious to speak with you. I'll leave you to chat while I go see if the food is ready."
The dark-faced man stood and headed out. Before leaving, he virtuously placed a basin of fresh water before her and sent someone in with a large pot of tea, clearly anticipating a long conversation.
This was already the second time Qin Jiuye had received Qiu Ling while lying in bed. Her skin had thickened considerably through these experiences, but since they were about to discuss serious matters, she thought it best to sit up. However, as soon as she exerted force, a sharp ache flared in her waist, and she tumbled back onto the bed.
"You have an injury on your waist. You need to be careful these next few days."
Qiu Ling's voice suddenly drew closer, but by the time she looked up, he had already stepped back. Several woven cattail cushions had been placed behind her. Xu Qiuchi stood where he was, his lips pressed thin.
Not much time had passed since they parted at Jiugao, but Qin Jiuye felt a world of change had occurred in these two Qiu brothers. One had gained a certain sensitivity, while the other had become colder and more silent. It was as if they had absorbed qualities from each other, simultaneously becoming two somewhat unfamiliar people.
Qin Jiuye withdrew her gaze and, after organizing her thoughts, quickly synchronized information with them.
Their boat had met with disaster on the Feng River. The news had reached Qiu Ling roughly three days later. With Zhou Yaxian's help, he had taken a fast boat south, switching to a vessel capable of navigating treacherous shallows at Yazui Shoal to enter the heart of Juchao. Finally, they had discovered the two women in the lower reaches of the ancient Min River channel and brought them aboard. Currently, various parts of Yuzhou were like leaking buckets, with breached riverbanks and rampant flooding. The Min River had been dry for years, but water had surged in these past few days. Had it not been for this, they wouldn't have been able to leave Juchao via this eastern waterway. It was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
"The gentleman just now was Tan Duce, the Pavilion Chief of Minfeng. He is also my senior from the Academy."
Hearing this, Qin Jiuye immediately recalled what the mountain folk had mentioned. They said the western waterway of Juchao was guarded by government officials and was connected to the Black Moon Army. Could it be the man who just left, the one with the cloth sash who kept talking about eating? That Tan Duce was merely a bit dark-skinned; did he look like he had even a copper coin's worth of connection to "murder and arson"? But on second thought, how many people from the Academy were ordinary? Moreover, to be able to pilot a boat in and out of the Juchao heartland at a time like this—even if he was just a lowly Pavilion Chief, he was likely no simple character.
Having thought this through, Qin Jiuye decided to solemnly express her gratitude for her survival.
"My life was saved thanks to the Protector-General and Lord Tan. I truly ought to thank you properly..."
Her tone was inexplicably distant, causing the man before her to knit his brows slightly.
"Lord Tan has stayed away from the imperial court for years; he is an easy person to get along with. He and I already had other matters to discuss. You don't need to take this incident to heart."
When Qiu Ling explained this, his words were extremely concise, omitting many details—much like how Li Qiao had handled things on Qionghu Island. Qin Jiuye was familiar with this feeling. She knew there must be hidden circumstances. For instance, even if Tan Duce and Qiu Ling were friends, why was Zhou Yaxian willing to help? Previously, he had looked as if he couldn't wait to escort Qiu Ling back to the capital; why release him now and even provide a boat? Furthermore, a "fast boat" wasn't something just anyone could command. Between a village girl and Jiang Xin'er from the Tianxia First Villa, neither seemed worth such a massive rescue effort. What pretext had Qiu Ling used?
"Don't forget, we were supposed to meet in Juchao anyway."
He clearly didn't want her to feel burdened, adding this at the end.
Qin Jiuye understood. She knew that if she acted too polite now, it would only make him more anxious to explain. Thus, she set it aside for the moment and asked instead, "Is everyone else on the boat alright? When the accident happened, I was close to Miss Jiang. By the time I realized what was happening, the boat had snapped in two."
"Thanks to Lord Tan's help, the nine boatmen were found one after another in the lower reaches over the past few days. They are good swimmers, so they managed to escape. As for Zican..."
Before Qiu Ling could finish, the previously silent Xu Qiuchi spoke up.
"Lu Zican is fine. He's just too embarrassed to see you."
Qin Jiuye finally looked at him, then asked knowingly, "And Miss Jiang? Why aren't you visiting her instead of coming to me?"
Xu Qiuchi's face stiffened, but he quickly recovered. He walked nonchalantly to the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and began to sip it with feigned composure.
"She's fine. I came to find you to hear about the serious business. Did you damage your brain in the fall?"
In a few days, it would be time for the Clear Wind Powder in Jiang Xin'er's body to take effect. Xu Qiuchi needed to make a decision. Or rather, it was time for Jiang Xin'er to make a decision. She just didn't know if these two had reached a tacit understanding or if they were still agonizing, unable to take that step.
Qin Jiuye couldn't see through Xu Qiuchi's thoughts. She wiped her face, drank half a pot of tea to wash the silt from her throat, and began to recount in detail everything she and Jiang Xin'er had seen in Juchao, starting from the moment they fell into the water. Finally, she mentioned that mysterious black lake and the ancient cave at its bottom.
The year the Juchao people began to worship the Shebishi was lost to time, but one could glean something from the altered murals on the rock walls. The Shebishi might not have been their faith from the very beginning.
Perhaps this small kingdom trapped deep in the mountains had originally worshipped the giant soft-shelled turtles that produced red gold. It was unclear whether a more powerful creature had been born, or if the existence of red gold had simply ignited the greed in human nature. At some point, the former deity became an object of hunting and slaughter. A new god ruled the land, eventually bringing disease and disaster to the world.
"But what does this have to do with the Secret Formula or the history of Juchao? Surely you don't believe the story of a deity's curse?"
Xu Qiuchi's skepticism interrupted her narrative. Qin Jiuye pondered for a moment before speaking cautiously.
"Whether a deity truly lays down curses, I do not know. But the origins of many malignant diseases lie in untouched places deep within mountains and forests. Perhaps birds and beasts pass the illness to livestock, or perhaps people consume infected wildlife. It isn't entirely without basis. On the way south, I studied the medical records left by Xu Qinglan in detail. A question has always lingered in my mind: how exactly did she contract the illness back then?"
Xu Qiuchi glanced at the silent Qiu Ling beside him and spoke expressionlessly.
"Mother entered the heart of Juchao to treat the sick. She was in danger every day. Forget contracting an illness—it was possible she could have lost her life on the spot."
This explanation sounded logical, but Qin Jiuye shook her head.
"That applies to ordinary people. Your mother was a physician. While she might not have had as much experience as a traveling doctor who roams the land, she knew basic protection when facing patients. And we now know that the Secret Formula is likely spread through human blood, which is actually much easier to guard against than smallpox or consumption. I suspect the problem in Juchao at the time lay in the water or the food. It must have been one of the two."
As soon as she said this, Qiu Ling spoke up.
"Before the Black Moon entered the Min Mountains, they had already fought the Xiaoling King's rebels for months. Juchao and the Min River area were said to be rivers of blood. Afterward, floods blocked the roads, and grain supplies couldn't keep up. The camp was at its wit's end, out of food and water. Clean water and food were indeed very difficult to obtain."
According to the accounts in that half of the Black Moon military log, if the Black Moon Army's situation was that dire, the state of the besieged Juchao city must have been even more horrific. In ancient times, war was often accompanied by famine and plague. When people reached a dead end, they often became strangers driven by hunger. Acts of cannibalism and "exchanging children to eat" were common occurrences.
Qin Jiuye nodded, then voiced her deduction.
"When Miss Jiang and I went deep into the underwater cave, we saw the bones of some giant beast. There were signs of intentional burial, and only the large vertebrae were left intact; the rest was missing. At first, I thought it was caused by water erosion in the cave. Thinking carefully now, the ash piles and sacrificial pits showed no similar signs. Besides, even with erosion, why would only the spine remain? And if the cave behind the waterfall was originally used for sacrifice, why would the deity originally worshipped in the water be brought onto the altar?"
The answer was perhaps simple and cruel.
Because those were the bones left over after being eaten.
The reason no remains of refugees were left in the cave was that they hadn't been trapped to death there.
Years ago, when the Black Moon could not take Juchao, and torrential rains destroyed the river channels, cutting off contact with the outside world, the entire Juchao mountain range became a green prison, a water-locked jail. Those inside couldn't leave, and those outside couldn't enter. After eating all the stored grain, driven by hunger, fear, and despair, a primitive force crushed the mountain people's faith. Led by the priests, they held a ceremony around the rising lake water. Finally, they personally killed the only existence in the sacred lake. While weeping bitter tears, they swallowed its flesh and blood, kneeling in gratitude to the deity for sacrificing itself to save its people.
Just like the curse of the gods in the legends, the nightmare began there.
Not long after, the Juchao people who had swallowed the giant beast's flesh fell ill one by one, becoming bloodthirsty monsters. They died while tearing at each other, and the golden ancient kingdom in the deep mountains became a living hell of wailing ghosts...
"This story is indeed harrowing, but I still don't understand. Is this all Li Qingdao went to such lengths to tell us?" Xu Qiuchi's brow furrowed slightly, making him look a bit like his brother when pondering a case. "Even if everything is as you deduce, and that is the origin of the Secret Formula, what does it mean? Li Qingdao knew this twenty years before you, yet he couldn't reach any conclusion."
"Of course it's important." Qin Jiuye's voice was firmer and more serious than ever. She looked at the Qiu brothers and said word for word, "It means that what we must defeat is not some ethereal, intangible curse, but an existence with a traceable path and a logical basis. Even if Xu Qinglan was helpless against it back then, even if Zuo Ci ended in failure, and even if the Black Moon Army could only burn the mountains to eliminate the aftermath—it can still be defeated."
Her words were relatively restrained, not overly dramatizing her emotions. But only she understood what knowing all this meant to her.
Back at the shipyard, both she and Teng Hu had once fallen into a predicament. That sense of powerlessness when facing an unknown malignant disease sometimes created an illusion—a feeling that this thing was too complex, too volatile, too capricious, almost as if it didn't belong to this world. This feeling was magnified infinitely after she stepped into the mountain miasma. She could understand the mountain folk's fear and helplessness toward the so-called "deity." When she traversed that lightless black water, the oppression and suffocation in her heart had also reached a peak. In a daze, she felt as if she were truly fighting against a god, a battle destined to be lost.
But all of that dissipated in that eerie, dark cave.
Before her eyes were the traces left by a real past. Beneath her feet were the bones of that "deity." Everything became solid under her touch, telling her that there are no eternal, indestructible gods.
Even if there truly were an eternal existence in this world, perhaps it was only destruction itself.
"The most important thing in the laws of Heaven is balance. No matter how powerful a thing is, there must be another existence nearby that can counteract it. This is why, in the past, when herbalists were bitten by poisonous insects or snakes in the mountains, they could often find the medicinal herbs to neutralize the venom right there. So, along the way, I have been collecting some of the herbs Xu Qinglan recorded..."
Qin Jiuye stated her conclusion, but Xu Qiuchi remained pessimistic.
"But what if you try all these herbs and still find no answer? After all, as you said, whether it was Zuo Ci in the Black Moon Army or my mother, they likely walked the same path. What makes you think you can find the solution they couldn't? Perhaps the thing you're looking for simply doesn't exist."
"But what if it *does* exist? What if we have even come into contact with it, but simply didn't recognize it?" Qin Jiuye hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "There is another reason I firmly believe the Secret Formula has a solution. May I ask the Protector-General: before the Black Moon burned the mountains, did they centrally dispose of the patients' corpses?"
The matters of the Black Moon had once been an untouchable taboo. But by now, the three of them were no longer like they were at the start—standing on different sides and suspecting each other. Instead, they had gradually become honest and synchronized in their predicament.
Qiu Ling pondered for only a moment before speaking.
"I have spent these years moving in and out of the capital precisely to search for records related to the battle of Juchao. I heard that to prevent the situation from worsening, Wen Dimuo ordered the corpses of those who died of the illness to be buried in mass pits. During the war, everything was chaotic. In places thick with toxic miasma and insects, there were countless diseases. Even Zuo Ci was overwhelmed and couldn't personally supervise everything. The soldiers were only responsible for executing military orders. No one was allowed in or out within a radius of several miles around the mass graves. Thus, aside from the soldiers who received the orders, no one else saw the tragedy within."
Qin Jiuye nodded and continued following his lead.
"My grandfather was once a Black Moon messenger. His final mission was to deliver a report out of the Min Mountains. Based on my and Miss Jiang's experience entering Juchao, with the river channels flooded, the only way out is through the deep mountains. And with the Black Moon stationed there, the fact that my grandfather escaped without being discovered by the guards suggests he likely passed through the uninhabited forbidden zone where the corpses were buried. It was during that journey that he rescued me. My grandfather knew how dangerous the situation in Juchao was, yet he still took me with him and raised me."
She hadn't wanted to mention any of this, because once she did, Qin Sanyou's blue, swollen face from the time of his death would appear before her eyes.
But she gritted her teeth and continued.
"And for as long as I can remember, although I never showed any symptoms of the illness, I was always frail and sickly, and my stature was much smaller than children my age. This was likely because I had once been infected by that malignant disease. Assuming my grandfather truly rescued me from the mountains—perhaps even from a mass grave—he wasn't a physician, and the journey back to Suiqing while avoiding the war was difficult. It would have been impossible for him to find someone to treat me. Yet I survived and even grew into adulthood. Does this suggest..."
Just as she was about to continue, Qiu Ling suddenly pressed a hand down on hers.
"Qin Sanyou is no longer here. No matter what your guess is, it is destined to be unprovable."
Qin Jiuye saw the expression on Qiu Ling's face and knew he had clearly guessed what she was going to say.
The reason she suspected the solution to the Secret Formula might be in Juchao was based on her experience as a physician, but there was also another, more hidden reason concerning herself.
When she was observing the ill He Yuanzhou earlier, she had a brief moment of doubt. Kang Renshou's blood didn't seem to have much effect on the symptomatic He Yuanzhou, yet Li Qiao was always able to quickly regain his senses after drinking her blood. At first, she guessed it was due to the Clear Wind Powder in his body, or the different effects of the Secret Formula on different people, or perhaps the version of the formula provided by Gongzi Yan was different. But after learning about Qin Sanyou's past, she had another theory.
Patients who have had smallpox and survived usually do not fall ill again because the traces of having had the disease remain in their bodies. Was the reason her blood was so effective at suppressing the Secret Formula because she herself had once been one of the patients?
"That Lord Tan has some dealings with the Chuanliu Academy, and this boat is not exactly airtight. Even if it's just a guess, Little Leaf, you should still be careful with your words. Lest someone with ulterior motives hears and misunderstands that you already possess the cure."
After Qiu Ling stopped her from continuing, Xu Qiuchi also offered a warning.
Before they set out, he had asked her if she wanted to pursue her origins, indicating he was aware of what Liu Caiwu had said that night. He had guessed Qin Jiuye's deduction. He was stopping her from saying it because they were currently in a lawless, wild place, and that Gongzi Yan was an extremist. What would he do if he found out? He might just kidnap her to use as a test subject.
However...
"Even if my guess is true, all of this only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. Li Qiao did not completely rid himself of that strange illness just by drinking my blood. We still have a long way to go."
After saying this, Qin Jiuye curled back into the bed, exhausted. She didn't notice the subtle change in Qiu Ling's expression upon hearing those words. Xu Qiuchi glanced at the two of them and commented quite inappropriately.
"It's rare to see someone like Shopkeeper Qin, who is so willing to use her own body as medicine. If everyone in the world possessed such a generous and merciful heart, I suppose the Secret Formula wouldn't need to be solved—there would always be someone willing to sacrifice themselves."
Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, Qiu Ling frowned and barked a reprimand.
"Human lives are at stake; how can you speak such nonsense?" He then looked back at the woman on the bed, his tone softening. "The intention of coming to Yuzhou was to avoid being led by the nose by Ding Miao, thinking to find another way to cut down his plans. Even if the harvest isn't as expected, there's no need to be discouraged. We are one step closer to the truth."
Hearing Qiu Ling mention Ding Miao, the expression on Qin Jiuye's face faltered.
"Actually, even before coming south to Yuzhou, I often wondered if I would encounter Ding Miao in Juchao or find traces of his past activities. Because if the location Li Qingdao marked is the origin of the Secret Formula, then the person spreading all this likely obtained the formula from there in the first place. But after this trip, I am almost certain that both the Juchao heartland and that cave have been desolate for a long time. There's no evidence of anyone else being active there, nor any sign that the Secret Formula ever existed there. Therefore, it's almost impossible that the formula in Ding Miao's hands came from that cave."
In that case, there was another possibility...
"Regarding what you said, I have a theory, though it cannot be confirmed yet." Qiu Ling was clearly conflicted, but he eventually spoke. "According to Zuo Ci's letter, the Four Gentlemen of the Black Moon each kept a part of the secret regarding the formula. My father held the Black Moon military logs; Zuo Ci held the notes on the research of the formula; Li Qingdao held the map to the origin of the formula. What about Wen Dimuo? As the military supervisor at the time, what exactly was the thing he kept?"
Initial doubt gradually turned to shock. Qin Jiuye clearly felt the answer in her heart was too bizarre, especially with Qiu Ling right there. But Xu Qiuchi clearly had no such qualms and immediately spoke for her.
"The thing in Di Mo's hands is likely the Secret Formula itself."
As soon as these words were uttered, the entire boat cabin fell into a deathly silence.
Di Mo had once been one of the Four Gentlemen of the Black Moon. And Yichun, where the Tianxia First Villa was located, was actually on the upper reaches of the Min River, not far from the Min Mountains. Di Mo curling up in the Tianxia First Villa was as if he were specifically staying near Juchao to keep watch every day. If the Secret Formula was truly in Di Mo's hands, he would certainly keep it a secret; ordinary people couldn't possibly come into contact with it. But if Ding Miao was the new Shadow Envoy after Gongzi Yan, then everything made sense.
Thinking carefully, although Ding Miao was ostensibly from the Academy, he knew the affairs of the Tianxia First Villa like the back of his hand. And once upon a time, that former Shadow Envoy of the Villa who was hunted by both the martial world and the imperial court—the current master of the Chuanliu Academy—hadn't he also used the Academy as his public identity and the Shadow Envoy as his hidden one?
But if everything was truly so, a subsequent mystery followed.
If the Four Gentlemen of the Black Moon had already witnessed the danger and horror of this thing back then, and their intention in separately keeping the secrets was to avoid repeating the mistake, then they should have done everything possible to destroy everything related to this strange illness. Why would they specifically leave behind the so-called Secret Formula, personally planting the seeds of disaster? Or did those four people also have some selfish motive back then, and that selfishness was the true source of the current catastrophe?
In this world, the things that least bear scrutiny are never ugly faces, embarrassing scenes, or broken ideals—it is the human heart itself.
Qin Jiuye instinctively didn't want to believe this possibility, nor could she bring herself to say it aloud. Yet, in the moment she looked up, she saw the heavy expression on Qiu Ling's face.
Qin Jiuye knew that the answer she had thought of, Qiu Ling had thought of as well.
"This guess can perhaps only be truly answered after a confrontation with Di Mo."
After Qiu Ling said this, Xu Qiuchi had another thought.
"Besides Di Mo and Ding Miao themselves, I think there is another person who might be in the know."
Glancing at the lush bamboo forest flashing past the window, Qiu Ling immediately reacted.
"You mean Gongzi Yan?"
Xu Qiuchi, thinking of something, shot a quick, surreptitious glance at Qin Jiuye.
"Correct, Gongzi Yan. Speaking of which, when Lu Zican and I fell into the water, it was the people from the Chuanliu Academy who found us first. At that time..."
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Qiu Ling's cold voice.
"Gongzi Yan is by no means a good person, and the Chuanliu Academy is no army of justice. It is better to think twice before acting."
Despite having expected this, a look of schadenfreude appeared on Xu Qiuchi's face. Finally, he spread his hands with feigned regret.
"This won't do, that won't do. Are we supposed to return to the ruins of the ancient Juchao city and search again?"
His words were immediately dismissed by Qiu Ling.
"The place Li Qingdao left behind has been found. What need is there to search again? Besides, when we rescued you and left, the flood had already collapsed the upper mountain pass. A massive amount of silt is flowing down; in a few days, the entire mountain hollow will be buried flat. At that time, forget a cave—even the ruins of the old Juchao city will likely never see the light of day again."
Xu Qiuchi returned to his lazy manner, leaning toward Qin Jiuye provocatively.
"I'm just curious. If everything is as Little Leaf says, and the source of the Secret Formula is that devoured Shebishi, where did the plague on the Shebishi come from?"
Qin Jiuye didn't notice the undercurrent between the two brothers, lost in her own thoughts.
"I can only say that the Shebishi might not be the ultimate source of everything either."
"Then where is the source?"
Qin Jiuye couldn't help but recall that brief glimpse before she dove to the bottom of the black lake and swam into the cave.
"That depends on what happened to the Shebishi before it became the Shebishi."
The Juchao people worshipped mountain spirits, believing that only by living in a place rich in spiritual energy could the tribe flourish. Aside from periodically trading red gold with outsiders, Juchao was not an ancient kingdom that enjoyed communicating with the outside world. Few outsiders ever set foot there, which was why there were so many mysterious and strange legends about the depths of the Min Mountains.
And the shipwreck she had seen at the bottom of the cliff when she dove under the black water was indeed not of a style from the Yuzhou area. Furthermore, based on the surrounding terrain, the entire Juchao kingdom was surrounded by mountains. That sacred lake should not have been connected to the outside world. How could such a ship have sunk there, appearing as if it had been submerged for centuries?
Perhaps on some day in the long-forgotten past, there had been a person who truly knew all the mysteries. That person had boarded that ship with the so-called Secret Formula. Then, an unexpected storm struck. The ship, along with the secrets it carried, sank to the bottom. Centuries later, it was carried downstream by a flood and came to rest in a mountain lake formed by geological changes. After an unknown amount of time, a dragonfish swimming by in search of food swallowed that secret. From then on, the ebb and flow of the Secret Formula began.
However, all investigation would stop here.
As the great flood destroyed and submerged everything related to Juchao, the ultimate origin of the Secret Formula would also vanish forever into the black waters, along with the shipwreck at the bottom of the lake.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 谈独策 | Tan Duce | Pavilion Chief of Minfeng, a senior of Qiu Ling from the Academy. |
| 渂沣 | Minfeng | A local administrative area (likely a combination of Min River and Feng River). |
| 亭长 | Pavilion Chief | A low-level local official in ancient China. |
| 鸭觜淀 | Yazui Shoal | A geographical location (Duck-Beak Shoal). |
| 渂江 | Min River | The river flowing through the Juchao region. |
| 沣河 | Feng River | Another river in the region. |
| 闻笛默 | Wen Dimuo | One of the Four Gentlemen of the Black Moon; also known as Di Mo. |
| 狄墨 | Di Mo | The current head of the Tianxia First Villa; formerly Wen Dimuo. |
| 影使 | Shadow Envoy | A secret agent or operative, specifically for the Tianxia First Villa. |
| 柳裁梧 | Liu Caiwu | A character mentioned in previous context, likely related to Qin Jiuye's past. |
| 丁渺 | Ding Miao | An antagonist associated with the Academy and the Secret Formula. |
| 龙鱼 | Dragonfish | A type of large fish, possibly the "Shebishi" or its ancestor. |
