The Sunken Courtyard

When the three Nuo-opera performers reached up and pulled off their masks, three heads wrapped in red cloth were revealed to Li Huowang.

They weren't entirely covered. Deliberate openings had been left for the mouth and nose. After the masks came off, they immediately began unwinding the red headbands.

Before long, three young men around his own age stood before Li Huowang.

Their faces were perfectly normal. No extra features, nothing missing. Even their expressions were entirely ordinary.

"Daoist, what are you staring at? They're done performing, there's nothing left to see. Let's go somewhere else—maybe we'll run into some good deeds along the way."

The old monk beside him grumbled impatiently, practically hopping from foot to foot as if he wanted to leave that very instant.

"Monk, hold on. Wait a little longer with me."

The terrifying image of them juggling their teeth earlier flashed through Li Huowang's mind. His suspicion had not yet loosened its hold.

Right now, he wasn't afraid of them confronting him head-on. What he feared was them moving against him in the shadows.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he noticed the three men starting to pack up faster. Their expressions had grown tense, and they kept stealing glances in his direction.

Li Huowang's face hardened. Just as I thought. Something's going on. They're deeper than they look.

The doubt that Lü Zhuangyuan's words had partially soothed now surged back to full alert.

The three men and the musicians loaded all their gear onto a camel's back and hurried off down a narrow side path.

"Monk, come on! Let's follow them!" Without waiting for a reply, Li Huowang started after them.

"Ah, why do you have to mess with them? You want to throw more silver at them for a private show?"

The monk grumbled even as he fell into step behind him.

The two of them trailed at a distance, circling through the town.

At first, everything seemed normal. But gradually, Li Huowang noticed the camel carrying the trunks starting to run. Someone was lashing it with a whip.

"They spotted us! Move!"

Clutching the sword hilt at his back, Li Huowang quickened his pace.

The town wasn't large, but these men were locals. After winding through a few alleys and dead-end lanes, Li Huowang realized with a sinking feeling that he'd lost them.

He looked around at the uniformly gray walls and his expression darkened.

"Hah… hah… Daoist, slow down… I can barely keep up…"

The monk was leaning against a wall behind him, gasping for breath.

Li Huowang glanced back. The man was old; it was only natural that his stamina couldn't match Li Huowang's.

"If you can't keep up, just head back. Don't follow me anymore."

With that, Li Huowang turned and continued down the path, searching.

The monk's suspicion was small now, but it hadn't been fully cleared. And he didn't want to drag a liability into a fight.

"Alright… I'll head back then. You take your time running."

The monk sighed, clutching his lower back as he disappeared down another alley.

I hope I'm overthinking this.

Li Huowang shook his head and walked on alone. He had barely taken a few steps when a scream rang out behind him.

"No—that's the monk's voice!"

He spun around and rushed toward the sound. Skirting a wall, he came to a stop at the edge of a square pit.

It was an earthen hollow. Wooden doors and windows lined the four walls below, forming a kind of sunken courtyard, like a cellar home.

Hanging from each wall were large wooden masks—the same grotesque designs the three men had worn during their Nuo performance.

A camel was grazing in the yard, confirming that this was the three brothers' home.

"Daoist!! Give me a hand down! Damn near broke my back—who builds a house underground? This isn't a grave!"

Li Huowang followed the voice. The monk was lying at the bottom of the pit, groaning in pain.

Gripping his sword in one hand, Li Huowang jumped down, lightly touching the window ledge to break his fall, and landed steadily beside the monk.

He didn't reach out to help the old man up. Instead, he immediately gripped his sword hilt and scanned the closed doors and windows around them.

Through his sharpened senses, he could feel eyes watching from behind those barriers. There were people inside. Quite a few of them.

With the enemy's strength unclear, Li Huowang didn't want to strike first.

Oddly enough, they seemed to be thinking the same thing. Neither side made a move. The atmosphere froze into a standoff.

Are these people thinking the same thing I am? Li Huowang wondered.

"Daoist, what are you standing there for?"

The monk grimaced as he dragged himself to his feet.

"Wait. I don't have time to deal with you right now."

The words had barely left his mouth when Li Huowang felt even more gazes settle on him.

These weren't coming from inside the rooms. They came from the eyes of the masks on the walls. The masks seemed to have come alive.

Whether or not this place had anything to do with the copper-coin mask from last night, Li Huowang didn't intend to let this stalemate drag on.

After a moment's deliberation, he spoke.

"I, Xuan Yang, offer my greetings to you all. I am merely passing through your esteemed territory with no intention of giving offense. I humbly ask for your understanding."

There was no response.

Thinking for a moment, Li Huowang switched tactics.

"Shall we open the spring canon?"

Still, nothing.

"Let us consider last night's events as if they never happened. How about we seek harmony above all else?"

Having offered his explanation, Li Huowang didn't wait to see if they understood. He steered the monk toward a nearby ladder.

He set the long ladder in place and let the monk climb out first.

Once the old man was back on solid ground, Li Huowang planted his right foot on the ladder and followed him up in one swift motion.

After the two of them had gone, people with ear tattoos filed out from the rooms inside.

Among them were men and women, and even a few children no older than a few years old.

Every face was etched with grief, anger, and fear.

One of the three Nuo-opera brothers clenched his fists and trembled as he addressed an elderly man with graying hair.

"Grandfather! That man was telling the truth! We can't wait any longer. We have to strike first!"

The old man was clearly livid. He slammed his walking stick against the ground.

"Take all the young people in the family. Go. Kill that red-robed Daoist. Don't let him think our family is an easy target!"

By the time Li Huowang and the monk emerged from the sunken courtyard and returned to the bustling streets, the old monk still seemed dazed.

"What happened? What in the world just happened?" he asked, utterly bewildered.

"You really don't know what happened?"

Li Huowang studied the monk carefully.

He hadn't forgotten that this man was also a potential problem.

Last time, it was because of this monk that he had stumbled upon the conspiracy at Zhengde Temple. This time, it was because of the same monk that he had found the Nuo performers' home.

Once could be coincidence. Twice? That stretched coincidence a little too thin.