× Master of My Soul × [ Dynasty Warriors ] [ Slowly Updating ]

× 10 - Omen of Skepticism ×

"The welcome banquet is scheduled for tonight. Zhang Xiu must be really eager to treat us."

I thought about what Cao Ang told me moments ago as I took a seat on a short wooden stool in the kitchen of the city hall, waiting for the remedy to cook up on a stove close by. I recalled that Cao Cao had said we would wait to rest before attending such an event, but I supposed that nobody expected for Zhang Xiu to delay it for only one day. It seemed really hurried. I furrowed my brows slightly and rested my chin in my palm as I considered the situation.

With a powerful mind like Jia Xu at his side, it was obvious that Zhang Xiu would consult him for most situations, so this banquet was likely his doing as well. However, I could not put my finger on what the strategist was thinking. Rushing a party like this, it's as if he wanted to get us out of here as soon as possible, a thought which was strange to me. Could they be plotting something? I considered that unlikely, since there would be little gain in refusing my uncle, especially when he has even agreed to allow Zhang Xiu to keep his position at Wan Castle. It seemed stupid to me that anyone would deny a juicy offer like this one. Then again, the way the minds of strategists worked was a mystery. I sighed and sipped some ginger tea to help my cold.

A sudden sizzling sound caused me to jump slightly in surprise, and I saw that some of the cooking medicine spewed out of the pot. I quickly got up and ran to it, lifting the lid and blowing on the bubbling liquid before using a chopstick to stir it. The crackling fire must have burned too hot and caused the remedy to boil and spill out, so I removed the pot from the stove. I fanned the air in front of me. The smell of burnt herbs was horrid, and there was now a wet mess on the floor from which I shuffled away.

As the contents of the pot cooled quickly with the chilly weather, I noticed that the mess seemed to be slowly running along the tiles on the floor. I set the lid back in place and opened a few more windows for the smell to leave quicker, then returned to watch the liquid flow. Upon closer inspection, I saw that a couple of the tiles were slightly slanted, as if there was something of uneven height under them. The medicine was slowly seeping between the cracks, so I took out my dagger and tried to pry a tile from the floor. It lifted with ease.

After I removed the rest of the loose tiles, I raised a brow at my discovery: a trap door. Well, this would surely explain why I found nobody here the previous night, since whoever I was chasing must have hidden themselves in here. I stared at the door for a moment, contemplating whether I should open it, though it could be dangerous.

Dangerous? I smiled at the thought and lifted the door, revealing a set of stone stairs which led to darkness. I kept my dagger clenched in my hand as I walked down the steps slowly.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness rather quickly and I was soon able to see most of what was down here. The stairs had led me into a rather large room with some crates stacked around and a few wooden beams used for support. I tapped the rock walls gently, and they seemed quite solid. There were several metal pieces lodged into the walls, probably for holding up torches, though it would be an extremely bad idea to light something up in this tiny space. Other than this, there was another set of stairs on the other side of the room that I could barely see due to the lack of light. "Interesting," I mumbled to myself and stepped towards it with caution.

I kept my head low and held up one of my hands as I climbed, expecting another trap door of sorts above me eventually. This end of the room was darker due to the only source of light being several meters away, so I tried my best not to trip over a step, and was practically climbing in a constant crouching position. My hand touched a rough surface after a couple of steps, and I pushed up gently, but it would not budge. I suspected that there was something heavy above it to cover it up, so descended after another moment of trying. It could have easily led to an alley or something outside, and I did not want this passage to become public, as it was clearly supposed to be hidden.