One hundred times going around and around

“No, we can’t separate. If we have to move, we move together. Only by staying close can we have backup.” Chen Yage rejected Du Fu’s suggestion without hesitation. “Yage is right. We should stay together.” Li Bai took the lead. This secret passage had an odd quality to it. Walking inside, one always felt as though they were endlessly climbing upward. It was remarkably spacious; the three of them walking side by side would not feel cramped at all. Du Fu scouted ahead, Chen Yage and Du Juan walked in the middle, and Li Bai brought up the rear.
“Big sister Yage, I’m afraid…” Du Juan gripped Chen Yage’s hand tightly, her voice trembling. Chen Yage had no idea how to comfort her. She turned to look at Li Bai, and a surge of resolve appeared in his eyes. “This secret passage carries an unsettling aura. We’ve been ascending the entire time. Let’s pause for now. I’ll go scout with Brother Bai, and Brother Du, you stay here and take good care of Du Juan.”
“No.” Du Fu rejected Chen Yage’s words outright. “You two stay here. Brother Li and I will scout ahead.” With that, he strode forward without a backward glance. Li Bai signaled for Chen Yage to wait quietly and then hurried after him.
The candlelight inside the secret passage was dim, casting a cold glow. Chen Yage and Du Juan leaned against each other and sat upon the ground.
Suddenly came a series of dull thuds: thump, thump, thump…
Chen Yage and Du Juan shot to their feet at once.
Chen Yage pressed her ear to the wall and listened. The sound seemed both distant and near at once; she could not gauge its distance. Seeing Chen Yage’s bewildered expression, Du Juan tilted her head and listened intently. She pointed at the left wall. “The sound is coming from behind here.” Chen Yage immediately pulled Du Juan aside, barely daring to breathe. The left wall was the very one they had entered through, and the thumping was almost certainly the knocking of the black-clothed men against the stone. If those men discovered the secret passage, it would mean a narrow escape at best.
Du Juan and Chen Yage shared the same thought and fell silent. After a long while, all fell quiet once more.
They relaxed their vigilance and leaned against the wall, sitting on the ground. One mind wandered to Li Bai, the other to Yu Huan, as the waiting drained away an hour of their lives.
“Yage sister, why haven’t Brother Bai and Brother Du come back yet. Is it…” “No.” Chen Yage interrupted her. “I trust Brother Bai and Brother Du. Let’s wait a little longer.” “Yage sister, do you think Yu Huan might…” Du Juan could not bring herself to finish the sentence, yet her mind filled with every detail of Yu Huan’s face, voice, and smile.
“Foolish talk. Brother Bai and Brother Du have probably found the exit. Soon we’ll see Huan again. Don’t say such inauspicious words.” Though Chen Yage spoke those words aloud, her heart was as heavy as Du Juan’s.
She knew the officials were no kind-hearted people and would never spare Yu Huan. Yu Huan must be enduring suffering now. She could only hope to find her soon. Deep down, Du Juan still felt uneasy.
“We can’t wait any longer. Let’s go find Brother Bai and Brother Du.” Chen Yage was equally worried about Li Bai’s safety and could barely contain her impatience. The two rose and set out along the passage.
The passage suddenly narrowed sharply, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Both women moved with heightened caution.
“Yage sister, which way should we take?” Two paths branched ahead. Du Juan, trusting Chen Yage completely, handed her the choice. “Brother Bai, why did you choose the left path?” “It’s just a habit. Once a habit is formed, one rarely changes it…” Li Bai’s old words echoed in Chen Yage’s ears. Without hesitation, she stepped onto the left path. She was certain Li Bai had taken it too; she understood him as thoroughly as he understood her. After walking barely a hundred steps, the flat floor gave way to stairs.
Chen Yage and Du Juan examined the steps carefully. They did not know what lay ahead, yet they had no choice but to face it. Chen Yage led the way. The incline was roughly forty-five degrees. They climbed upward step by painstaking step. After two hundred and seven steps, the stairs finally ended.
Excitement lit Chen Yage’s face as she pulled Du Juan along. Though the stairs had vanished, the light remained dim. “Where are we now?” Du Juan asked, curiosity barely contained.
“You’ll find out once we go up. I hope Brother Bai kept the same habit and didn’t change it.” With an anxious yet hopeful heart.
Chen Yage kept her expression stern, unwilling to let Du Juan think too much. The more one pondered, the more worries arose, and the more easily one could fall into error. If she asked something she did not know, she would not know how to answer. Chen Yage continued climbing until she reached the top of the stairs. When she pushed open the floor covering the secret passage exit, a shaft of blinding sunlight poured in.
Chen Yage and Du Juan instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes. Once their vision adjusted to the glare, they stepped out of the passage. The exit opened into a room whose furnishings were almost identical to those in Yu Zhen’s chambers. Both women believed they had returned to Yu Zhen’s room.
“Yage sister, how did we come back here again? I distinctly remember climbing to a very high place, yet now we’re back where we started.” Chen Yage was turning the question over in her mind. After circling back to the same spot, it felt like an impossible mystery.
Just as Chen Yage reached for the door, it swung open. She quickly hid behind it. Du Juan, equally quick, slipped behind a screen. The person who entered was none other than Yu Zhen. Chen Yage watched in surprise as Yu Zhen walked to the desk. Trailing behind her was an old nun, the abbess of the Xuwu Nunnery, Ji Kong. She carried a string of prayer beads and stood beside Yu Zhen.
“Princess, they know too many of our secrets. How should we deal with them?” Yu Zhen poured herself a cup of tea to soothe her throat. She gazed at the cup with a half-smile, the look of a hunter regarding its prey, her eyes filled with cunning.
“Let them be for now. I would like to see how big a storm they can stir.” “But, Princess, it’s far too dangerous. We know too little about them. If they really are men of Yang Guozhong’s, it could be disastrous.” Ji Kong spoke with sincere concern. “Yang Guozhong? His men already set fire to the Xuwu Nunnery. This world belongs to the Lis, not the Yangs. If he wants to play with fire, I can hand him a spark. Otherwise I’d be accused of not caring for my servants, always gossiping before my imperial brother.” Yu Zhen slammed the teacup onto the table. “Have they found the person they’re looking for? The game has begun. I do not wish my identity to be exposed, so keep your mouths shut.”