Jun You Ji Fou

Chapter 16

The setting sun's lingering light was swallowed by the lofty peaks and cliffs, night enveloped the world, and the bright moon lavishly shone, casting its light over a bamboo grove outside of Chang'an, rustling in the breeze. Shadows of bamboo danced, creating a quiet and eerie place, where faint human voices fragmented in the wind.

"Lord Su, I suddenly feel you're not here to investigate the gambling house."

"Why would you say that?"

"Looking at this deserted situation, it seems more like a secret rendezvous in the night. Why not be honest? Perhaps you've taken a fancy to me and plan to do something?"

"...What can I do?"

Chu Mingyun gathered his clothes and held a sandalwood fan in his hand, staring at Su Shiyu's back with a half-smile: "There's naturally much one could do. Let's discuss properly. I can teach you how to undress more quickly, and you can tell me what you prefer..."

"Lord Chu," Su Shiyu suddenly turned around, causing Chu Mingyun to halt his approach.

"To be frank," Su Shiyu looked at him, and he was slightly stunned, responding, "Hmm?"

"I can hardly remember the last time we had a normal conversation."

"..."

Su Shiyu turned back and cautiously took a few steps forward, suddenly feeling his foot step on something hard. He bent down, using the light from the fire starter in his hand to carefully examine the green bamboo root. After a while, he reached out and pulled a thin iron ring from the bamboo root that was buried in the soil. A harsh scraping noise followed, and a small piece of ground was lifted, scattering dust around.

Chu Mingyun covered his nose and mouth and stepped back to see the lifted piece of ground clean of dirt, revealing an iron plate covering a narrow stone staircase beneath. The staircase, extremely narrow and utterly dark, sinisterly led downwards, as if it led to the netherworld.

"Is this the entrance to the gambling house?" Chu Mingyun said with undisguised disgust, "Who would be in the mood to gamble after entering through such a ghastly place?"

"People of higher status naturally have other ways to enter, but we've only managed to bribe a few gamblers, so I'm afraid Lord Chu will have to endure some inconvenience," Su Shiyu explained. "This is also why the prefecture of Jingzhao has been slow to close down this gambling house. Otherwise, by the time the authorities managed to get in, the others would have already fled."

Chu Mingyun chuckled ambiguously.

Su Shiyu extinguished his fire starter and was about to enter when he suddenly thought of something, "It's going to be very dark along the way, Lord Chu, will you be alright?"

"What can I do if it's uncomfortable? You're not suggesting you'll hold my hand and lead me, are you?"

Chu Mingyun's response was casual, but to his surprise, Su Shiyu actually reached out and lightly grasped his wrist. Under the moonlight, with the mottled shadows of bamboo around them, Su Shiyu turned and gave him a faint smile, "Then let's go."

He was momentarily at a loss for words.

They stepped into the entrance and slowly descended the stone staircase. As expected, there was not a single gleam of light, and their vision was filled with an impenetrable darkness. As they continued to move forward, the surrounding air grew colder, and a chill clung to their skin as if trying to seep into their bones. Chu Mingyun felt that the only warmth left in his entire body was at his wrist, where the warmth of another's palm seeped through his sleeve.

Neither spoke, and the only sound was their footsteps on the stone steps.

It was hard to tell how long they had walked, but eventually, the stairs began to ascend, and a light seemed to appear ahead of them. After a few dozen steps, the path suddenly opened up.