Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 994: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (2)

At the back courtyard of the Song Family's ancestral home, Luo Qiu first had Mo Mo pick up Zhan'er, as leaving him lying there indefinitely wasn’t an option.

Meanwhile, some noises from not far away made them decide to change locations for their conversation.

“Don’t worry, it’s just the bodyguards of the house’s owner,” Luo Qiu said to Mo Mo. “It’s probably just a routine patrol. But because of your presence, there have been strange rumors circulating in the village recently.”

“If senior doesn’t mind, please come with me down the ancient well,” Mo Mo said with a bitter smile. “I’ve been hiding there these past few days to recover from my injuries. Besides, there’s more to this well than meets the eye.”

Luo Qiu nodded. He was particularly interested in what Mo Mo meant by “more to this well.”

Seeing the senior’s approval, Mo Mo said nothing further, carried Zhan'er on his back, and leaped into the well.

In the blink of an eye, Mo Mo landed at the bottom of the well—it was already dry, with even the soil hardened. He looked up, about to call out, when he suddenly turned around.

The "senior" was already standing there with him at the bottom of the well.

When did that happen? There hadn’t been a sound, as if he had simply teleported... Mo Mo had fought this "senior" before in Lü Family Village and knew his abilities were unfathomable, but now it seemed he had still underestimated him.

How did this mysterious “senior” compare to the Four Celestial Spirits of the Demon Association? Or to the top representatives of the Daoist Alliance?“This is what you meant by ‘another world’?” Luo Qiu looked toward a corner of the well’s bottom.

He noticed a passageway—not a natural underground water channel, but something deliberately constructed.

Mo Mo nodded and said solemnly, “Yes, beneath this well is a vast hidden space. I’ve seen many stone chambers here, some filled with traps...”

“You’ve already explored it?” Luo Qiu asked indifferently.

Mo Mo shook his head. “No. First, my injuries made it too risky. Second, since this place was built with such intricate traps, it must have been designed to keep outsiders from trespassing. As an uninvited guest, barging in recklessly wouldn’t be appropriate.”

Luo Qiu smiled slightly. He hadn’t expected this blond-haired Celestial Master to be such a rule-abiding person.

The kind who would probably stop at a red light even on an empty road at midnight.

“Let’s go in and take a look.” Luo Qiu waved his hand, conjuring a glowing orb in his palm that illuminated the bottom of the well.

Mo Mo continued, “If you keep walking, you’ll reach an open space, something like a living room. I’ve been hiding there, trying to purge the poison from my body.”

Luo Qiu remarked, “I heard that a family in Wang Family Ravine died, and people have been seeing their vengeful spirits at night. A Daoist was hired to exorcise the ghosts, but instead, the evil spirit fled here. What’s that about?”

Mo Mo’s expression darkened as he sighed bitterly. “Senior must be talking about Wang Dashun’s family... In truth, it was my fault.”

Luo Qiu stopped walking.

Mo Mo let out a deep sigh. “Zhan’er has been in a coma ever since he obtained the decree. The Daoists at the Penglai Grand Gathering have been fighting over it, with the Demon Realm also lurking in the shadows... That day, I was cornered and had no choice but to leap off a cliff. I was saved by a mysterious woman named Miss Qin, barely surviving. Later, I ended up in Wang Family Ravine, where Wang Dashun’s family took me in. I planned to leave once I recovered... but I never expected that a few Demon Dao practitioners would find me. I was no match for them, and in the end, they performed a ritual and devoured Wang Dashun’s family’s souls alive... I barely escaped with my life and fled here to Song Family Village.”

“A mysterious woman named Qin?” Luo Qiu was momentarily surprised.

Mo Mo nodded. “Yes, Miss Qin is quiet and ethereal, almost otherworldly. I couldn’t figure out her background… Senior, do you know something?”

“Nothing.” Luo Qiu shook his head. “Since you’ve been hiding here, how did Zhan’er wake up?”

Mo Mo replied, “Lately, my poison has been flaring up badly, and at the same time, Zhan’er suddenly woke up. But as you’ve seen, he’s been acting strangely ever since. Even so, he hasn’t left my side, as if he’s guarding me. When those Demon Dao practitioners tracked me down here, it was Zhan’er who killed them... I moved their bodies here. Sigh... I suppose that’s at least some justice for Wang Dashun’s family.”

Luo Qiu nodded as he reached the open space Mo Mo had mentioned. Indeed, in a corner, three corpses had been placed there.

The well’s underground was cold, so the bodies hadn’t decomposed too quickly.

As he examined the stone chambers, Luo Qiu asked, “What are your plans now? Your poison has been cured, and you can move freely again. Once Zhan’er fully regains his senses, I suggest you think carefully about your next steps.”

Mo Mo pondered for a moment. “To be honest, given how fiercely people are fighting over this at the Penglai Grand Gathering, if I show up with Zhan’er, it’ll only cause more bloodshed... So I plan to take Zhan’er and leave as soon as possible, returning him to his master, Yang Taizi. As for me…”

He shook his head and sighed. “I’ll probably return to Longhu Mountain and report this to my master, Daoist Changhe. Whatever happens next... I’ll figure it out when the time comes. Senior, what do you think?”

“It has nothing to do with me,” Luo Qiu replied. “Decide for yourself… But could you deal with those corpses?”

Mo Mo was momentarily stunned.

Luo Qiu said calmly, “You think trespassing is inappropriate, but leaving corpses here is fine?”

This abandoned ancient mansion had suddenly become occupied today, and Mo Mo had noticed it—along with the unexpected arrival of this “senior.” If he wasn’t after the decree, could he be connected to the mansion’s owner?

“You’re right, I was careless. Please forgive me, senior,” Mo Mo quickly replied. “I’ll take care of them right away.”

“Go ahead.” Luo Qiu nodded. “I’ll take a look inside.”

With that, he ignored Mo Mo and walked straight toward another corridor leading deeper inside.

Mo Mo glanced at the three corpses in the corner, frowned slightly, then formed a hand seal.

Chanting softly, he activated his spiritual power. Suddenly, the corpses on the ground began to move slowly...

Of course, the corpses couldn’t come back to life and move on their own—this was just the "Five Ghost Transporting Technique."

Seeing the three corpses begin to move, Mo Mo glanced at the resting Zhan’er… Since that senior was here and had just taken action to calm Zhan’er down, there shouldn’t be any issues.

As for whether that senior would covet the decree like the people from the Daoist Association and the Demon Association, Mo Mo instinctively didn’t dwell on it—because, given that senior’s abilities, if he wanted to seize it, it would be all too easy.

He could simply kill Mo Mo and take Zhan’er away—why bother going through the trouble of helping him cleanse the poison from his body?

“Hmm… where should I transport these corpses?”

At this moment, that was the only question on his mind.

—

To Luo Qiu’s surprise, beneath the ancient well in the Song Family’s ancestral residence lay an enormous hidden chamber.

The entrance to this chamber was clearly below the well’s original water level. If the well hadn’t dried up, this secret space might have remained undiscovered forever.

Just as Mo Mo had described, the chamber was exceptionally vast, with many passageways forming a labyrinth. Some of these paths were even lined with traps… It reminded Luo Qiu of his time exploring Zhang Jiao’s ancient tomb on the grasslands.

This place… was likely a massive underground tomb.

He recalled that Master Song had mentioned before that the Song Family’s ancestors had come to this remote location to escape war. But if they had merely been seeking refuge, why go to the trouble of constructing such an elaborate underground structure beneath their residence?

As he pondered, a massive stone door suddenly blocked Luo Qiu’s path.

The door had inscriptions in regular script:

"No member of the Song Family may enter unless they have no other choice."

—Song Changgeng

"Song Changgeng." Luo Qiu murmured the name to himself, then closed his eyes as his memories resurfaced—bringing him back to his time in South America, in Master Song’s Cold Residence, where he had seen the family’s ancestral tablets. Among them, he distinctly recalled the name Song Changgeng.

Luo Qiu stood silent for a moment before placing his palm on the stone door.

"Open."

The door did not simply swing open. Instead, cracks emerged from its center, dividing it into four equal triangular sections that then retracted smoothly into the surrounding walls.

The craftsmanship was astonishing—especially considering this underground chamber had likely been constructed a hundred, or even several hundred years ago.

"Song Changgeng… Song Yingxing?" Luo Qiu muttered in surprise. "Could it really be him?"

Thinking back on the intricate mechanisms and traps he had encountered along the way, combined with Master Song’s claim that their lineage had produced many remarkable individuals, Luo Qiu felt increasingly certain.

The idea that Song Yingxing—the author of "Tiangong Kaiwu" (The Exploitation of the Works of Nature)—was an ancestor of the Song Family was astonishing. But compared to their even older lineage—descendants of the royal bloodline of the Song Dynasty—perhaps it wasn’t so far-fetched after all.

This stone door marked the deepest part of the underground chamber.

Beyond it lay an octagonal room. At its center stood a massive stone coffin, its surface carved with dragons and phoenixes, exuding an imposing presence.

On one side of the chamber stood a shrine, enshrining a spirit tablet inscribed with:

"Sage Emperor of Martial Brilliance and Literary Virtue."

Before the spirit tablet rested an ornate brocade box.

Luo Qiu circled around the stone coffin and approached the shrine. He noticed an old prayer mat in front of it. After a moment’s hesitation, he chose not to kneel. Instead, he merely bowed respectfully before the shrine.

Then, he opened the brocade box. Inside was a scroll of handwritten notes.

The notes detailed the true reason the Song Family’s ancestors had settled here—not to escape war, but to flee persecution by the ruling dynasty.

As direct descendants of the "Sage Emperor of Martial Brilliance and Literary Virtue," they were considered remnants of the previous regime—a threat to the current rulers, who sought to exterminate them.

To ensure survival, generations of the Song Family lived in seclusion. But every few decades, some descendants were sent out into the world—both to observe societal changes and to harden themselves. A prolonged period of peace and isolation, after all, would only dull their ability to face danger.

The name Song Changgeng, engraved on the stone door, belonged to one such descendant who had ventured out.

And this vast underground complex had been built over generations—as a final sanctuary in case the family was ever hunted again. It contained living quarters, a water source, and storage for food supplies.

As for the family’s hidden treasures, Luo Qiu had no interest in them whatsoever.

He simply pondered how to let Master Song and his kin discover this place—after all, Master Song was the current head of the family.

Just as Luo Qiu was about to return the brocade box to its place, a thought suddenly struck him.

"No member of the Song Family may enter unless they have no other choice."

If this underground chamber was meant as a last resort, shouldn’t that warning have been placed at the very entrance?

Why was it only written on the deepest door?

His gaze shifted to the stone coffin.

This time, he stepped closer, circling it before placing a hand on the lid.

With a gentle push, the heavy lid began to shift—not sliding, but lifting smoothly before hovering in midair for a moment and descending softly onto the ground.

Luo Qiu peered inside.

Lying within was a middle-aged man.

He was dressed in a crimson robe embroidered with golden dragons, wearing an imperial crown, and bore a commanding presence. His hands rested over his abdomen, holding an ornate stone Ruyi.

Luo Qiu frowned slightly and reached for the scepter, lifting it for closer examination.

To his astonishment, a very familiar symbol was etched into the stone—the same mark found on the black discount cards given to certain members of the Club.

But just as he was about to examine it further, the scepter disintegrated in his hands—turning into fine powder that drifted silently to the ground.

It was as if… it had lost whatever power it once contained.

Luo Qiu’s eyes darkened as he whispered:

"Penglai…"

(End of Chapter)