Part 1: The Descent into the Abyss
The situation Li Junce faced was anything but simple.
Before him was essentially pitch black, the moonless night making black the only color.
Yet, absolute darkness was impossible; there would always be tiny lights. For instance, the "will-o'-the-wisps" now floating before Li Junce.
The only light source for the downward-spiraling staircase was these wisps of ghost fire, and the path ahead was undoubtedly riddled with traps.
Li Junce held his two-handed sword high across his chest. With every step, he alternated his lead foot and shifted his ready stance accordingly.
In this kind of darkness, the greatest fears were fine wires capable of severing the throat, strings of razor blades, or nooses set to strangle. These were all possible traps. The best posture was to hold the sword high across the chest, preventing the neck from being cut or caught in a snare.
Li Junce had the ghost fires to thank. Though terrifying to look at, they provided him with small amounts of light.
The only problem was that the ghost fires, moved by the air currents caused by a person's movement, naturally gathered around Li Junce, making the scene incredibly eerie. How many wronged souls must have perished here to generate this many wisps of fire?
How many people had Cheng Mubai truly killed?
Li Junce took a deep breath of the air, which was thick with mildew and the stale smell of death, and held his two-handed sword steadily high across his chest.
The darkness before him was bottomless. A winding stone staircase, like the esophagus of a gigantic beast, led down to unknown guts. The moonless night had stripped away all merciful light, leaving only scattered ghost fires—suspended, drifting, and providing the only, profane illumination.
They swirled around him, their eerie green glow reflecting off his sweat-damp forehead and the cold sword edge, outlining him as a lonely spirit wading through the River Styx.
A cold certainty settled in Li Junce's heart: Cheng Mubai's sin was far deeper than the outside world imagined. This only intensified Li Junce's concern for the safety of Princess Mont Angelina and Jade.
Every step he took was extremely steady, his center of gravity shifting carefully between his feet, the sword blade subtly adjusting its angle like a moving breastplate, guarding against the potential throat-cutting wires or snares lurking in the darkness. The ghost fires, though terrifying, were a blessing; their faint light allowed him to glimpse unnatural gaps on the staircase edges or suspicious holes in the walls.
Just then, Cheng Mubai's voice abruptly rang out, seemingly seeping from the surrounding stone walls, echoing hollowly like a phantom's chant.
"Ah—! My dear guest, you have finally entered my sanctum! Watch your step. All uninvited ones have become the eternal candlelight adorning my art!"
Li Junce remained unmoved, his pace unbroken, his gaze only growing sharper, like a hawk searching for prey.
"Cheng Mubai, your 'art' proves only one thing: you are a rat hiding in the shadows, afraid of the light."
"Arrogance! Ignorance!" Cheng Mubai's voice suddenly rose, sharp with the sting of having his wound exposed. "You will soon kneel and beg the God of Art for forgiveness!"
No sooner had he spoken than a stone step beneath Li Junce's foot subtly sank!
"Click," a slight sound, exceptionally clear in the dead silence.
He instantly leaped backward and simultaneously brought his sword forward to block!
"Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh—!"
Three short crossbow bolts shot out from holes in the opposite wall, violently impacting the fine steel sword. A few sparks scattered, and the bolts fell harmlessly onto the steps with a crisp sound.
"Not a slow reaction, are we!" Cheng Mubai's voice carried a tone of playful admiration, which immediately turned sinister. "But this is merely the prelude!"
Li Junce continued his descent, his nerves stretched to the limit. The stairs began to grow slippery, green moss shining with an oily sheen under the ghost fire. He had to divide his attention to watch his footing.
Suddenly, a strange noise came from above! He jerked his head up, seeing a massive, iron-spiked wall descending with a heavy rush of wind from the darkness of the floor above! It was like the invisible palm of a giant, aiming to crush him on the narrow staircase!
In a flash of pure instinct, Li Junce lunged forward, executing a clumsy but effective roll, skimming past the edge of the spiked wall. The iron spikes grazed his shoulder and back, tearing his clothes and inflicting a stinging pain.
"BOOM!!!"
The spiked wall slammed shut heavily behind him. The stirred dust mixed with the ghost fire, making the air even more chaotic.
"Splendid! Truly a spectacular escape!" Cheng Mubai's voice hissed in his ear like a venomous snake. "Li Junce, your struggle itself is the most moving dance! Keep dancing! In my labyrinth, dance until the final movement of your life!"
Li Junce propped himself up, wiping away the thread of blood that had escaped his lips due to the violent exertion. He did not respond to the mockery, only tightened his grip on his sword, his gaze fixed on the deeper darkness below the stairs.
Down there, the ghost fires were more concentrated, forming an eerie green "River Styx" that seemed to point the way to hell. Cheng Mubai had a massive home-field advantage, but Li Junce had no way back.
Mont Angelina and Jade were waiting for him down there.
Part 2: The Bone Carpet
Step by step, every one a potential disaster, but there was a moment when the journey had to end.
Li Junce clearly felt that the staircase finally came to an end. The incline gradually lessened, turning into a downward slope of muddy earth. The air grew increasingly damp and cold. With every step, he could feel the stickiness and chill of the mud beneath his feet. Li Junce could even hear the faint gurgling of water, seemingly from deep underground.
Based on this feature, his current location must be very close to Prime Lake.
The chances of escaping via the waterway were much higher.
After avoiding several deadly traps, Li Junce dared not relax his grip on his sword for an instant. Relying on the faint illumination provided by the ghost fires, he proceeded cautiously. However, the feeling under his feet soon changed from mere mud to something far more horrifying.
Human bones. Corpses. Some rotting, some half-rotted, and some freshly dead.
He was virtually walking on a "carpet of bones." Smashed skulls, broken ribs, twisted finger bones… some were bleached white, but others still had unrotted flesh clinging to them, emitting a sickly sweet odor of decay.
This was no labyrinth; it was an underground mass grave!
A female corpse caught Li Junce's eye. She was dressed in expensive silk finery, the color, though stained with blood and grime, still hinted at its former splendor.
Her face was beautiful but lifeless, her eyes wide open, frozen in the terror and resentment of her final moments. Most conspicuously, beneath her pale neck, in a spot not completely obscured by the filth, was a piece of brilliance—an exquisitely crafted golden necklace. The pendant was clearly the crest of the Black Sheep Duchy!
This object was definitely not something an ordinary noble would possess.
Li Junce's pupils contracted. Without hesitation, he crouched down, his fingers brushing the woman's cold skin, and deftly unclasped the necklace. The heavy gold chain felt substantial in his hand, reflecting a cold, eerie light under the green ghost fire.
"This thing… Lord Cheng might recognize it." He muttered to himself, carefully tucking the necklace into a pocket close to his body. This was not just potential evidence to indict Cheng Mubai's crimes; it might involve certain secrets within the Black Sheep Duchy or even become a bargaining chip in the future. In this labyrinth of constant danger, any informational advantage could decide life or death.
He cast one last look at the female corpse, stood up, and his gaze was fixed even more determinedly on the darkness ahead.