The Scent of the Orchid in the Forest of Secrets (密林兰香)

Chapter Sixteen

Their journey towards the small village pointed on the map was surprisingly easy and straightforward. After traversing through a faint trail in the forest for two days, the forest suddenly cleared up, opening up into a flat plain decorated with several dilapidated villages. From a distance, the village looked quite old and slightly abandoned, without a sign of human life, but as they got closer, they saw some people shuffling about, not speaking much and returning to their huts.

Once Shu Haolin and Yu Jielan got close enough, they stopped an old lady carrying a small sack of rice. She glanced at them with slight hostility as she came to a stop, making sure to stay a few steps away from them.

"Excuse me, madam, I wanted to ask about something, is it convenient for you?" Shu Haolin asked. Yu Jielan looked around, a frown fracturing her calm visage, an inexplicable sense of unease settling over her.

"What is it?" The old lady asked impatiently, her weight shifting from foot to foot. She glanced towards the sun that was starting to set on the horizon.

"I was wondering if the Silver Oracle has passed through here?"

The old lady's attention was captured instantly. She glanced at the two of them, finding the glint of the weapons that hung underneath their cloaks, and in a split second, her mouth widened into a toothless and fake-seeming grin. She laughed forcibly, "so you two are here to find the Silver Oracle? You've come just in time. He passed by our village and stayed behind to tell our fortunes, he was just about to leave tomorrow. Come, come, he's staying in my neighbor's house."

Shu Haolin glanced at Yu Jielan. She supposed they were thinking the same thing—this was too easy. There must be something wrong. Had the Silver Oracle perhaps known that they were going to come find him and had set up a trap? Shu Haolin's fingers tightened around the saber she'd brought with her, and Yu Jielan drew her cloak tighter around her shoulders, hiding away the glint of the sword hidden beneath it. They followed the old lady through a long assortment of huts in different shapes and sizes, until they reached the end of the row.

"The esteemed Silver Oracle is living here. It's already dark, so he should've returned by now," the old lady explained as she knocked. When there still wasn't a response, she knocked again, and after still being ignored, she simply pushed the door in.

"Sir?" The old lady asked, an almost imperceptible tremble in her voice. She lit a candle and walked towards a closed door to the right and knocked on it. "Sir, are you there?"

Shu Haolin frowned as she followed. Yu Jielan lightly brushed a hand over the kitchen table in the center of the room, and it came away with a thick layer of dust. Finally, a voice came from inside that closed door. "I've been waiting for you to visit for a long time." He said calmly. Even though he hadn't spoken much louder than a conversational volume, the sound of his voice seemed to vibrate and echo through the room with strength, as if there weren't a door at all.

The old lady jumped and dropped her candle. Yu Jielan glanced at her for a few moments, the darkness in the room making it hard for one to tell what she was thinking. Then, quite abruptly, she smiled, bending down and picking up the candle for the old lady. "Hold it tightly," she said, sounding quite kindly, but something about her smile must've seemed slightly malicious for the old lady, who laughed awkwardly and quickly left the room. Shu Haolin watched the entire exchange, and upon seeing that abrupt blossoming of warmth on her normally icy cold face, her heart uncontrollably leaped. She turned away forcefully, trying her best to suppress the emotions she didn't want to face just yet. She didn't even bother to knock, and simply pushed open the door a little rudely.

"My respectful greetings." A middle-aged man turned around from where he had been watching the sunset, cupping his hands in a polite bow. Despite his appearance, Shu Haolin knew from her research that the Silver Oracle had been around for around a hundred years—his path of cultivation allowed one to stop aging after reaching a certain level. Silver bangles crowded both of his wrists, and several silver necklaces hung from his neck. Yu Jielan peered at the jingling silver bangles on his wrists, feeling as if there was something familiar about it. She frowned and stared, getting lost in thought until Shu Haolin spoke.