Chapter 46: Ascending to Heaven

They had come this far, and the exit seemed tantalizingly close, yet this was truly a dead end.

How could they possibly learn the birth time of someone they had never laid eyes on—a person with no evidence to prove she had ever even existed?

Even with the Records of the Grand Historian as a record, the precise birth times of most imperial princes and grandsons remained unknown. Moreover, calendars had changed countless times over the past millennium. Even if a specific time was engraved here, they might not survive the trial of opening the volume.

To recreate the true star map configuration at the moment of her birth within a Four Gods star array? Forget the star map—Gu Xianwang did not even know which hole in each array corresponded to which star.

The water had risen to their chests, and the bandages suspending their arms were now floating. She could already feel her breathing growing labored, the air thick with the stench of mud. Half the disk was submerged. If they did not seize the moment, they would not even have time to guess an answer, let alone think one through.

Yao Cuo swam toward the two doors on the opposite side. “How about we each pick a disk and spin a random number? It’s better than just standing here waiting to drown!”

Long Li frowned. “Wait a little longer. These four disks combine for twelve holes—we only get one shot. Waste it, and we’re trapped for good.”

Gu Xianwang said, “We have no choice but to gamble. Whether this person fits or not, let’s assume she does. If she was a Witch Maiden too, Long Li, do you know the criteria for selecting Witch Maidens in the Witch Clan?”

Sing, dance, rap? If the water had not been so deep and the air so thin, Yao Cuo would have cracked that joke to lighten the mood. But not now. He said gravely, “Shamans in a clan are usually hereditary, right?”

Long Li pondered. “Not necessarily. Judging from the wall paintings of this branch of the Witch Clan, they appear to consist entirely of women. How they propagate within the clan is unclear. If they follow some form of walking marriage, with the entire clan raising the children communally, then heredity would not apply.”

“Daughters’ Country?”

Long Li recalled, “According to the records, Qu Yuan was born in a Tiger Year, Tiger Month, on a Geng Tiger day—’three Tigers and one Geng’ as an auspicious sign. The Day Book states that ‘all born on Geng Tiger are witches,’ and Geng is the prime of yin. For a woman’s fate, I suspect three Geng and one Tiger would be optimal.”

Gu Xianwang tilted her head back, struggling to maintain her balance on tiptoe. She hoisted the flashlight high with her right hand, spitting out water as she spoke. “But… how do we know how to align three Geng and one Tiger? And… spit, they’re both Witch Maidens, but the one who sealed her should hold a higher status than the one who was sealed. Doesn’t that mean she might not be the optimal one?”

The water surged rapidly, roaring in their ears. Gu Xianwang gulped for air. The underground palace ceiling was no more than three meters high, and the water had already crested over Yao Cuo’s head, rising even faster. Fortunately, all three could swim. Gu Xianwang treaded water to stay afloat, but with one arm nearly useless, keeping her balance took tremendous effort.

Indeed, even with the same Geng Tiger birth chart, there were multiple possible combinations, and without an almanac at hand, their minds worked more sluggishly under the strain.

Yao Cuo was on the verge of giving up, his forced smile more grim than any grimace. “I’ve never won the lottery in my life. And on this whole trip, I still couldn’t get you out safely.”

He gazed at Gu Xianwang, his eyes burning. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Before I came, I even told my mom I’d bring you home for Mid-Autumn dinner.”

Gu Xianwang froze for a moment, then quickly lifted her arm to wipe the filthy water droplets from her lashes. She turned her head away. “It’s not over yet. Don’t give up.”

She said the words, but they all knew how faint the hope was. Long Li had already dived twice to test different combinations, yet she still could not settle on a final answer.

With a splash, she surfaced between them and wiped the mud and water from her face. She turned to Gu Xianwang. “Name a number you like best.”

Gu Xianwang’s mind went blank; for a moment, she wondered if she had misheard. “What?”

“A number. Which one do you like?”

“…Eleven?” she replied tentatively, afraid she might unwittingly stumble into yet another fatal illusion. “Why are you… huff… asking that?”

The flashlight beam grazed the ceiling, stinging their eyes. Gu Xianwang simply dunked the cylinder into the water. The breathing space left was barely a finger’s width. She could not make out Long Li’s expression—was she smiling, or simply resigned?

As she mulled it over, Long Li’s voice carried through. “Very well, then that’s our choice. Life or death, we leave it to fate.”

No sooner had she spoken than with a resounding plop, Long Li submerged. Gu Xianwang felt a light brush against her wrist, and then Long Li whisked away the flashlight. Just as the water closed over her head, a deep vibration rippled through the liquid, carrying the sharp clatter of mechanisms grinding to life.

Her final breath hadn’t been deep enough. After barely thirty seconds, her lungs felt shriveled and empty, like a vacuum-packed plastic bag. She desperately wanted to open her mouth—even if it meant swallowing water, she couldn’t care less. Gasp for air… gasp… gasp…

A murky gray haze enveloped her. Gu Xianwang’s features twisted in discomfort. No change after all this time—did that mean Long Li had failed too?

If death was inevitable… A sudden urge seized her to open her eyes and spot Long Li. The impulse was so ridiculous that another voice in her mind immediately scoffed at it.

Before her inner conflict could resolve, a firm grip seized her right hand. Someone was hauling her upward. Gu Xianwang hadn’t even realized she’d sunk to the bottom. In her delirium, she had no idea where she was headed, convinced she was ascending to heaven. Halfway up, her rescuer released her. Panic flared in her chest, but then a powerful shove from below propelled her feet. With that boost, half her body burst from the surface, and she hacked up several lungfuls of water.

In that instant, Gu Xianwang suddenly pieced it together. She’d known the Long Li in the illusion realm was fake because of the callus on her hand—the subtle ridge in her palm was missing when they touched.

She shook her head and realized they were at the tunnel entrance. Stone stairs led upward to the surface, warm light spilling down from above. Ignoring the burn in her arms, Gu Xianwang braced both hands and hauled herself out of the rectangular stone frame.

Moments later, Yao Cuo was shoved up after her. His wits were even more scattered; this burly man was far too heavy for her to drag single-handedly. In a moment of desperation, she muttered a quick apology under her breath and delivered a sharp, resounding slap across Senior Brother’s face, jolting him awake.

Water sprayed from Yao Cuo’s mouth and nose as he coughed violently, scrambling out in a bedraggled heap.

The backpack followed, bobbing to the surface. Gu Xianwang plunged her hand into the chilly water without hesitation. Amid the cold, a familiar palm clasped hers. With a splash, Long Li vaulted out, a shimmering mist trailing behind her that caught the overhead light and fractured into a tiny rainbow against the cave ceiling.

Yao Cuo lay sprawled nearby like a beached salted fish, water streaming from every inch of him, utterly drained, his eyelids too heavy to lift.

A faint twitch in her palm—she realized Long Li had slipped something small into her hand moments ago. Gu Xianwang glanced down. “What’s this?”

Long Li wrung the water from her long hair and grinned. “A prize for the one who guessed right.”

Gu Xianwang shot a look back at Senior Brother, who still lay there like a corpse waiting for burial, then crouched beside Long Li. Her thumb toyed with the black stone, no bigger than a knuckle joint.

“Don’t pull my leg. What is it, really?”

Long Li unzipped the backpack, upending its contents and shaking out the pooled water from the bottom. “Can’t say for sure, but it sure feels like a Snake Spirit Pearl. You can show it to your Master when we get back. They’re incredibly rare—rumored to raise the dead, though that’s probably hype. Still, if it’s genuine, with this size and luster, it ought to be able to save a life.”

She made it sound so effortless, but Long Li’s hunches were rarely off the mark. Gu Xianwang had never dreamed this plain little pebble could be a life-saving treasure. At a high-end auction in the Capital City, it would probably fetch a king’s ransom.

Gu Xianwang pushed it back toward her. “I can’t take it. By the rules of our trade, finders keepers.”

Long Li bit back a laugh. Rules of the trade? Did this girl even know where that road led?

“This little thing was jammed in the slot of the ceiling’s hidden door mechanism. Without your guess hitting the mark, we never would’ve gotten out—and thus never gotten our hands on it. Logic checks out—can you accept it now?”

“I just threw out a random number. How’s that ‘hitting the mark’? That’s just twisting words!”

Long Li let out a soft “heh.” “Odd numbers align with two geng and one yin; even with two yin and one geng. Overlaps in years and months get settled by the tens digit. Bottom line: you tapped into your luck and nailed the one right answer out of the bunch. A small reward seems fair, doesn’t it?”

“That was all your doing.” Gu Xianwang muttered, unconvinced.

Long Li shrugged indifferently. “Mm, force of habit from being the leader. I’m just that pushy.”

Gu Xianwang fell silent. She still didn’t know the Snake Spirit Pearl’s full powers, but it might offer real help for her mother’s illness. Long Li had given it to her deliberately, and with the conversation down this path, pretending otherwise would be childish.

Between adults, she knew to acknowledge favors. “Thank you.”

Long Li shrugged and focused on packing up the usable equipment. This bag must be Chak’s; it had the least food and water inside, but it contained knives, quick-dry clothes, a spare jacket, and emergency medical tools. The most ridiculous part was that it even held a whole pack of brand-new socks.

The spare jacket was a waterproof hard-shell type. After shaking it clean and airing it out a bit, it would be ready to wear—exactly what Gu Xianwang needed. It was like falling asleep and having someone deliver a pillow.

Long Li took a white stapler from the medical kit and said, “The cut on your neck can’t wait any longer. It’s torn open twice and soaked in dirty water—it has to be stitched.”

Gu Xianwang thought to herself that they still couldn’t use a stapler to stitch it, and she smiled bitterly. “Actually, it doesn’t feel too bad right now…”

“This is a skin stapler—a medical emergency suturing tool, not what you think.” After explaining, Long Li reached out and gently pressed her shoulder, then showed Gu Xianwang her fingertip, which was stained with some bloody water. “It’s still oozing.”

Long Li’s words stopped there, but Gu Xianwang could tell her meaning went beyond just the wound’s severity. She was also letting her know that she was aware her blood had another purpose.

Their current spot was like the inside of a small cave. Directly ahead was the Heaven Gate Mechanism, and right beside it were a dozen moss-covered stone stairs. Looking upward, a ray of daylight filtered in from a much larger opening higher up. The sun would soon stop shining on this small patch of ground, leaving only shade behind.

Gu Xianwang didn’t know what awaited them after climbing those stairs.

“Alright, go ahead and stitch it.”