parentshiftbook Chapter 22 The Secret Marks of the Mo Clan
Chapter 22 The Secret Marks of the Mo Clan
The fire died down, and dawn broke.
Shi Jian was adjusting a formation plate.
A-Zhu was brushing away the ashes with a twig. Seeing Shen Chi open his eyes, she pointed to the iron ball in Mo Huaizhou's hand: "He slept with that all night."
Shen Chi glanced at Mo Huaizhou.
"Walk."
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As you walk further, the soil under your feet gradually changes from grayish-white to reddish-brown.
A-Zhu suddenly stopped, turning her face towards the hillside.
"The stones over there are a different color."
Shen Chi looked in the direction she was pointing. There was a bare rock face halfway up the mountain, its color dark and gloomy, as if it had been burned or soaked in some liquid. Below the rock face was a half-collapsed cave entrance, mostly hidden by rubble and withered vines.
Mo Huaizhou paused for a moment. He stared at the cave entrance for a few breaths, then walked past Shen Chi and headed in that direction. His steps were slow, but without hesitation.
He was already squatting in front of the cave entrance, parting the withered vines, and placing his palm against the side wall of the cave entrance, slowly feeling his way forward. He felt very carefully, as if he were tracing the texture of an object.
Shen Chi had seen Mo Huaizhou do this before—he also touched the object this way when making hidden weapons. First touch, then tap, then listen.
Mo Huaizhou suddenly stopped.
"This is not a natural landslide."
There was a man-made carving on the side of the cave entrance. The lines were extremely fine and deep, with a regular pattern, resembling some kind of writing—but Shen Chi couldn't recognize a single character. The pattern circled the stone surface three times, ending with a small dot the size of a fingernail.
Mo Huaizhou placed his hand on the engraved mark, his eyes closed. After about ten breaths, he opened his eyes.
"The Mo Sect's secret mark. Sound imprinting technique—engraved on objects or stone walls, activated using special methods, allows one to hear the sealed sounds within."
He pointed to the engraving: "This is a warning."
"How do I activate it?"
Mo Huaizhou glanced at Shen Chi: "The mental energy of the Mo Sect's weapon cultivators can be activated. Or—a mental imprint will also work."
Shen Chi reached out his hand.
The moment he touched the stone carving, the bronze seal on his chest jerked violently, and then a surge of heat flowed from his chest, down his arm, and to his fingertips.
One by one, the lines on the stone carving lit up. The tiny dot, about the size of a fingernail, also suddenly lit up, like an open eye.
Then Shen Chi heard a voice. Hoarse, rapid, and panting.
"Anyone who hears this—whoever you are—stay away from the road leading to Tian Shu City. The mine has been sealed off. Someone's got their eyes on the Ink Iron. We've been betrayed. Let's go!"
The sound stopped. The light on the stone carving went out.
Shen Chi withdrew his hand; his fingertips were still a little hot. Mo Huaizhou stared at the stone carving, his lips pressed tightly together.
"Three years ago. This mark was carved three years ago."
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Shen Chi bent down and crawled into the cave entrance, followed by Mo Huaizhou. Shi Jian and A Zhu stayed outside.
The mine tunnel wasn't deep; it ended after walking about two hundred steps. But the end wasn't a natural rock face; it was a complete stone wall with an abnormally smooth surface.
The stone wall was covered with array patterns. Dark silver, cold, orderly, and devoid of warmth. Mo Huaizhou touched them all, starting from the upper left corner and running his fingers over each pattern.
"Large-scale Yuan-locking sealing array." His voice was calm, but Shen Chi could hear the underlying heaviness.
What's behind this wall?
Mo Huaizhou withdrew his hand. "A vein of Mo Iron. The standard material for Mo Sect artifacts. It's the main material for the Hundred-Refined Hammer. After the Mo Sect's destruction, these veins were either sealed off or occupied. This wall—indicates that someone doesn't want Mo Iron to reappear."
Shen Chi stared at the array patterns.
Just as he was about to ask another question, Shi Jian's voice came from the cave entrance, very low: "Someone is approaching. Three—their cultivation is not low."
Shen Chi's heart leaped into his throat. Mo Huaizhou pressed himself against the cave wall, the Hidden Killer in his palm. Shen Chi took the Hundred-Refined Hammer from behind his waist, the handle pressed against his palm, the light of the bronze seal dimmed to its lowest point.
The footsteps grew closer. They were heading towards the cave entrance.
Shi Jian led A Zhu further into the cave and hid behind a rock.
The footsteps stopped outside the cave entrance. One person spoke, their voice muffled and indistinct. Another responded. Then there was silence, as if someone was checking something.
Shi Jian thought to himself, "The Tianji Pavilion's patrol route shouldn't extend to this place..."
Footsteps sounded again. This time they were walking back—getting farther and farther away.
Shi Jian poked half his body into the depths of the cave: "They're gone. They didn't go inside."
Shen Chi felt a cold sweat run down his back. They didn't dare stay in the mine any longer. As they retreated, Shen Chi glanced back at the stone wall. The dark silver array patterns remained silent in the darkness, as if nothing had happened.
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Stepping out of the cave, the sunlight was blinding. A-Zhu squatted beside the entrance, clutching a few small blades of grass in her hand, their leaves pointed and tinged with a pale purple. She looked up at Shen Chi: "These grow on the edge of the mine; their color is different."
Shen Chi took it and glanced at it, not recognizing it. Mo Huaizhou leaned closer, pinched the leaf, and smelled it.
"Spirit Stone Grass. A spiritual material, low grade. The fact that it can grow here means there are indeed minerals underground." He returned the grass to A-Zhu, "Keep it; you might need it later."
Ah Zhu carefully put it into her pocket.
Shi Jian glanced in the direction they had come from: "Those three people just now, their footwork had traces of the Judgment Division. They were patrolling this area. This place isn't safe, let's go."
Shen Chi took one last look at the cave entrance, memorized its location, and then led the team to continue on their way.
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After walking for about half an hour, Mo Huaizhou suddenly spoke: "The Sound Retention Mark Technique. I'll teach you."
Shen Chi turned his head to look at him.
"Don't overthink it. I'm just worried that you might miss the Mo Clan's secret marks in the future."
He picked up a pebble and used his fingertip to carve a few simple lines on its surface—a straight line, an arc, and a dot. Then he had Shen Chi place his hand on it, saying, "Use your heart to 'listen'."
There are no formulas or secret techniques. It's just about doing and trying.
Shen Chi tried three times. The first three times he couldn't feel anything; the stone under his fingertips was just stone, cold and hard. The fourth time, he changed his approach—instead of "listening," he pressed the flame of his vow into the stone carving along his fingertips.
He sensed something very faint. It was very light, like a pebble bouncing on the surface of a lake, creating a tiny, barely perceptible ripple.
"I heard you."
"What is it engraved?"
"...the sound of water splashing in."
Mo Huaizhou nodded expressionlessly. He turned the stone over and let Shen Chi carve it himself.
Shen Chi held the stone, enveloped his fingertips in the flames of his vow, and drew several lines on the stone's surface. The lines were crooked and unsightly, but they were indeed connected. He finished carving and handed it to Mo Huaizhou.
Mo Huaizhou took it, closed his eyes, and touched the stone carving with his fingertips. After a few breaths, he opened his eyes: "I can't hear the content. But the direction is right."
Shen Chi put the stone into his storage ring. Not because it was useful—but because it was the first thing he had carved with his Oathfire.
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The afternoon sun was intense. The four found a shady spot under a tree to rest. Shi Jian was adjusting the array plate, Mo Huaizhou leaned against the tree trunk with his eyes closed, and A Zhu squatted by the roadside watching ants.
Shen Chi sat on a rock, the hundred-refined hammer resting across his lap. The feeling of carving the stone surface was still there—the flames of his vow enveloping his fingertips, pressing into the stone, leaving patterns. Thinking about that process, he unconsciously activated the bronze seal again.
The bronze flames of the oath surged from his chest, flowed down his arms, and seeped into the handle of the hundred-forged hammer.
He just wanted to get used to that feeling again.
But he sensed something different.
The intertwined branches pattern inside the Hundred-Refined Hammer suddenly lit up, as if something deep within the hammer had been touched by his vow fire, emitting an extremely faint echo.
The echo lasted only half a breath. But he heard it clearly.
A man's voice. Deep. Calm.
"To Tian Shu City... Wan Juan Lou..."
It was his father's voice.
Shen Chi felt as if all the blood in his body had been drained in that instant, only to rush back in. He abruptly stood up; the light on the Hundred-Refined Hammer had gone out, and the intertwined patterns had returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. He gripped the hammer handle, his hand trembling slightly—the voice was so close, like his father speaking right beside him.
Shi Jian noticed something was wrong: "What's wrong?"
Shen Chi paused for a moment, his voice a little hoarse: "There's something inside the hammer. My father's voice—telling me to go to the Wanjuan Tower in Tian Shu City."
Shi Jian didn't press the matter. He glanced at Shen Chi's expression and then looked away. Mo Huaizhou opened his eyes beside him, glanced at Shen Chi, and then closed them again, but Shen Chi noticed that the corner of his mouth twitched.
A-Zhu stood up, walked to Shen Chi, and looked up at him. She didn't speak, but simply reached out and touched the back of his hand holding the hammer, then stepped back.
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Before nightfall, the four found a ravine to spend the night.
Shen Chi did not try to activate the Hundred-Refined Hammer again—he knew it wasn't the right time yet. He had only learned the basics of the Sound Retention Engraving Technique, and he wasn't yet capable of fully deciphering what was inside the hammer.
But he knew where to go next.
Tian Shu City. Wan Juan Lou (Ten Thousand Scrolls Pavilion).
A-Zhu sat down next to him and handed him a twig—with two pieces of dried food skewered on it, roasted over a fire until they were golden brown.
"Brother Shen Chi, was that your father you just heard?"
"Um."
A-Zhu shoved the branch into his hand, then added a piece of firewood to the fire. The firelight shone on her face, and she didn't ask any more questions.
Shen Chi took a bite of dry rations and chewed for a long time before swallowing.
He didn't know what was inside the Ten Thousand Scrolls Pavilion, what his father had left there, or whether he would find answers or traps when he arrived.
But he knew one thing.
He has to go. No matter what lies ahead.