Love Burning Amidst the Ashes. - Chapter 3

The wooden door shattered apart, and the murderous aura that followed felt almost tangible, like a flood of icy water, instantly freezing the last trace of warmth in the Xu family’s herbal house. Splinters still swirled in the air as, in the doorway, the hook-nosed man’s feral grin—backed by the knights behind him, whose blades glinted with deadly light—was as clear as a herald of death from hell itself.

“The Yin-Yang Pendant! It’s here! Seize them! Anyone who resists—kill without mercy!”

The killing intent was like a venomous serpent, coiling around the neck of everyone present.

“Go!” Xu Qing Xuan’s roar suddenly broke out, as if tearing every ounce of strength from his body. With the last of his strength, he shoved Xu Qing Feng—who was still struggling to lunge toward the doorway—toward the pile of firewood and hay behind the furnace. The force of the push sent Xu Qing Feng staggering, crashing into the pile and raising a cloud of dust.

At the same time, Xu Chang Lin, spurred on by his eldest son’s desperate shout, exploded with the very last reserves of strength in his body. Letting out a cry that no longer sounded human, he lunged toward the curtain leading to the back courtyard, shouting, “Thieves! The item is in the backyard! Don’t think you can take it!”

It was exactly what Xu Qing Xuan had instructed him to do—create a distraction, lure the danger away, and buy his two sons a slim chance of survival.

“Old man, you’re asking for death!” snarled the nearest knight at the door, swinging his saber. The blade carved a merciless, pale arc through the air, slashing straight toward Xu Chang Lin without hesitation! The strike tore through the air with a shrill, piercing whistle!

“Father—!” Xu Qing Feng’s eyes turned bloodshot, and his body—just shoved aside by his brother—burst forth with astonishing strength. He snatched up the heavy wooden door bar and hurled it with all his might at the charging knight! The bar sliced through the air with a sharp whoosh, heading straight for the man’s face!

The knight clearly hadn’t expected such a ferocious counterattack from a boy cornered to this extent. Caught off guard, he hastily raised his sword to block. Clang! A sharp metallic sound rang out as the bar was split and sent flying, but it delayed him for a split second.

That single instant was everything.

Xu Qing Xuan didn’t glance to see how narrowly his father avoided the fatal strike, nor did he look at his brother’s desperate but futile resistance. His entire mind and will focused on one thing—the faint anomaly he had just glimpsed from the corner of his eye: in the corner of the wall behind the furnace, one flagstone’s seam was slightly wider than the rest!

Time seemed to stretch and solidify. The twisted faces of the knights outside the door, the staggering figure of his father rushing toward the curtain, the whistling sound of the thrown door bar, the glint of cold steel—everything faded into a blurred background. In Xu Qing Xuan’s eyes, only that slightly different flagstone remained! His brain raced faster than ever. The pendant his father had given him felt burning hot in his palm. In the chaotic torrent of thoughts in his mind, a hazy image flashed—a diagram of some kind of hidden mechanism, like a constellation of starlight—there for an instant, then gone.

It was a gamble.

Xu Qing Xuan shot forward like an arrow loosed from the bow. At the very moment Xu Qing Feng hurled the door bar, Xu Qing Xuan’s body was already hugging the ground, diving toward the corner behind the furnace at an almost impossible angle! He had no time to think about how the mechanism worked—his survival instinct and the fleeting image guided him!

The moment his body hit the ground, his dust- and sweat-streaked palm slammed down with all his strength on a small, inconspicuous stone ridge usually hidden under straw.

Click… creak…

The sound of a heavy, grinding mechanism turning echoed clearly through the deafening shouts and clashing of weapons!
The seemingly solid flagstone suddenly sank inward, then slid silently aside, revealing a pitch-black hole beneath—just wide enough for one person to crawl through! A gust of cold, stale air smelling of earth and years of rot surged up from the opening!

“Brother! A tunnel!” Xu Qing Feng, being closest, saw it all clearly and shouted in astonishment.

“Qing Feng! Get in!” Xu Qing Xuan barked hoarsely, his voice leaving no room for hesitation! He didn’t even look at his brother, just spun around, putting his back to the knight—now even more enraged from being delayed by the door bar. He would use his own body to buy his brother enough time to jump into the tunnel.

“You little brat! Where do you think you’re going?!” The knight, humiliated in front of his commander, was now in a frenzy. His saber slashed downward with killing intent, aimed squarely at Xu Qing Xuan’s unprotected back! The strike was fast. Ruthless. Final. It was as if he wanted to split the boy—and the secret passage—into two!

The shadow of death loomed instantly.

Xu Qing Xuan’s pupils shrank. He could feel the frigid blade tearing through the air behind him! He could almost see his body being cut in half in the next moment! Despair washed over him like an icy tide, swallowing him whole. He clutched the pendant in his hand so tightly it felt as if it were branding his palm. In his mind, a flash of something appeared—an incredibly complex defensive sigil, woven of twisted light—but it was too faint, too far away, like a mirage. He couldn’t understand it, let alone use it!
And at that moment—

“Xuan’er! Get down!!!”
A shrill, heart-piercing scream exploded from the direction of the curtain leading to the backyard!

It was Su Wan!

No one knew when she had rushed to the doorway leading to the backyard. She wore a coarse cloth dress, her hair disheveled, her face pale as paper from the horrors she had just witnessed in the front hall. But those usually gentle, water-like eyes now blazed with a feral, mother-beast-like light!

In her hands, she clutched an oil lamp tightly! She must have grabbed it from the kitchen stove as she ran from the backyard—the lamp oil had sloshed and spilled from the violent run, soaking her hands and arms!

Just as the knight’s blade was about to strike Xu Qing Xuan’s back, Su Wan threw the burning oil lamp with all her strength toward the space between the knight and Xu Qing Xuan!

Whooosh—!

The splashing lamp oil ignited midair, and a burst of fierce, orange flame exploded, forming a short-lived but searing curtain of fire!

Caught off guard, the knight recoiled in shock, hastily pulling back his blade! The blazing fire singed his eyebrows and hair, and the scorching heat forced him to squeeze his eyes shut and retreat.

“Ah!” Xu Qing Xuan, too, felt the searing heat scorch his back, but he used this rare opening to throw himself forward, barely dodging the fatal strike! With a hoarse, desperate roar, he shouted:
“Qing Feng! Go down!!”
Using the momentum of his dive, he rolled toward the edge of the cellar entrance!

“Mother—!” Xu Qing Feng saw his mother’s figure, saw her throw the lamp without hesitation, and felt his heart shatter into pieces! He howled in grief, his eyes instantly blurred with tears! A tidal wave of rage and grief overwhelmed him, nearly consuming him whole. He no longer hesitated—this was the doorway to life his mother had opened with her very life! He leapt and hurled himself into the pitch-black opening!

“Stop them!!” the hook-nosed leader at the doorway roared in fury as he saw the wall panel slide open and the hidden passage revealed. He had never imagined this seemingly ordinary family would have such a secret escape route!

Several knights leapt through the fire, charging again with ferocity! Their blades flashed like snow, their killing intent boiling over!

“Xuan’er! Go!!” Su Wan’s voice was hoarse to the point of tearing, her vocal cords strained beyond limit. She struggled to block the oncoming enemies, but her frail body was so thin, so small—like a drifting leaf trying to stop a storm.

Xu Qing Xuan cast one last look at his mother’s figure throwing herself in front of the enemies. That look felt as though he was carving this final image deep into his soul! Endless sorrow and icy hatred coiled around his heart like poisonous vines. But he did not cry, he did not wail, he did not hesitate! He took a deep breath, forced down the surging emotions within him, and without a second thought, leapt into the bottomless darkness after his brother!

Just as his body was swallowed by the dark—

BOOM!!!

A deafening explosion shook the earth, followed by a blinding flash of fire and a violent blast wave that erupted from the curtain leading to the backyard!

It was Xu Chang Lin!

After drawing the enemy’s attention away, he had run into the storeroom where lamp oil and dried herbs were kept—and now he had ignited it! A massive fireball instantly consumed the narrow passage, and the raging blast wave, carrying fire and thick smoke, roared like an enraged fire dragon, rushing toward the main hall of the herbal house!

The black-clad knights who had just charged toward the cellar were the first to be hit! The searing flames and sheer force of the blast flung them back violently, their screams swallowed by the deafening roar of the explosion! The entire house shook violently, the beams groaning under the force, roof tiles and burning wood raining down like a storm!

“Chang Lin—!” Su Wan let out one last, heart-wrenching cry before the shockwave hurled her against the wall. She hit it hard, her body falling limp, completely silent. Firelight illuminated her bloodstained, deathly pale face, and at the corner of her mouth seemed to linger the faintest trace of a relieved, almost imperceptible smile…

“B*st*rds!”
The leader of the group — a grim, middle-aged man — staggered back several steps, forced by the blast wave. His face was blackened with soot, his eyes blazing with both shock and fury. He never expected that this seemingly ordinary husband-and-wife pair would be so stubborn, willing to destroy themselves just to stop them!

“Cough… cough… Chief! The cellar! Those two brats…”
One of the knights, his body charred, pointed toward the cellar entrance engulfed in fire and thick smoke, shouting hoarsely.

“Dig! Alive or dead, I want those kids! And the jade — we must retrieve it!”
The middle-aged man wiped the soot off his face, his snake-like eyes glinting with venom. His voice was sharp as a blade when he gave the order. He drew the long sword at his waist, its cold gleam proving it was no ordinary iron.
“And summon the old priest! Have him set up the formation — seal this place! I want to see where they think they can run!”

The knights who had survived the explosion immediately obeyed. Ignoring the heat still searing their flesh, they swung their swords to hack away the burning debris and rubble, clearing a path to the cellar door.

The gray-robed old priest stumbled in, clutching his chest where the explosion had shaken his organs. His clouded eyes were filled with both suspicion and tension as he gazed at the cellar, now shrouded in fire and smoke. With practiced hands, he drew several yellow talismans covered in strange sigils from his robes, chanting under his breath as he prepared to cast a spell.

And at that very moment, beneath the burning, hellish ruins of the medicine hut, deep inside the narrow, musty tunnel—

“Brother! Brother! Father! Mother!!”
Xu Qing Feng’s voice echoed madly in the darkness, thick with sobs and gasping breaths. He crawled on hands and knees, hot tears mixing with dust and blood on his face, streaming down without end.

The deafening explosions above shook the tunnel, showering him with earth and stones from the ceiling. It felt as if the sky itself was collapsing.

Fear. Grief. Rage. Confusion.
Emotions like wild beasts tore at his chest. He wanted to turn back, to die together with those bastards who destroyed their home!

But the thunderous quakes overhead, the faint shouts, were like cold iron chains around his limbs — forcing him forward, deeper into the dark passage.

“Don’t look back! Keep moving!”
Xu Qing Xuan’s voice rang from behind, cold and hoarse — a command that allowed no refusal. His body trembled slightly from the burns on his back and the pain tearing at his mind, but his steps were steady.

One hand clutched the Yin-Yang jade, still hot to the touch, its faint white glow illuminating just enough space around his palm — like a lone firefly in the abyss.

The other hand groped along the rough, damp wall to keep his balance as he listened intently for any sound from above.

That faint light gave Xu Qing Xuan a strange sense of guidance.
He could feel the core of the jade pulsing gently, its cool energy soothing the chaos in his mind, helping him stay clear-headed despite the agony in his body and the grief gnawing at his soul.

He forced himself not to think about the final sight of their parents, not to think about the fire that consumed their home.
Every bit of his focus was poured into this moment: the tunnel’s structure, possible exits, the pursuers’ location, the jade’s guidance… and his younger brother’s state!

Qing Feng’s condition was dire.
Grief and rage were devouring his reason. Every tremor from above made him flinch and whimper like a wounded cub.

Xu Qing Xuan knew: his brother could lose control at any moment — turn back, and throw himself to his death.

“Qing Feng! Listen to me!”
Xu Qing Xuan’s voice echoed through the narrow tunnel, clear and cutting, trying to drown out his brother’s sobs and the thunder above.
“Keep going! Follow the light! Father and Mother… traded their lives so we could live! Don’t you dare waste it!”

His words were cold — merciless even — devoid of comfort, but filled with the raw law of survival.

He had to keep his brother alive, no matter the cost.

Xu Qing Feng’s body stiffened.
In the darkness, he could not see his brother’s face — but those words lashed across his heart like a poisonous whip.

“Traded their lives so we could live… don’t waste it…”

The weight of those words crushed his chest like a thousand tons.

He bit down hard on his lip until he tasted blood, forcing his sobs to cease.
A darker, colder hatred welled up within him — and he pushed it deep down, letting it simmer like molten metal in the pit of his soul.

He no longer cried.
Only a low growl escaped his throat, like a beast restraining its fury.

He turned back toward the darkness and crawled faster, nearly stumbling, throwing himself deeper into the tunnel with every ounce of strength left!

Xu Qing Xuan followed close behind, the glow of the jade barely illuminating his brother’s trembling back as they descended the steep passage.

Above them, the sounds of digging, collapsing stones, and the priest’s chants grew louder.
Their pursuers were coming down!

The tunnel was much longer and steeper than they had imagined, as though it led straight into the earth’s heart.
The air was thick and heavy, the musty stench almost unbearable.

No one knew how long they crawled before Xu Qing Feng’s movements began to slow, exhaustion and grief dragging him down—

Suddenly — the tunnel opened up!

They tumbled into a wider space — a natural cavern, damp and eerie.

The stench was stronger here, nauseating, mixed with the cold rot of death and strange, earthy herbs.

Xu Qing Xuan raised the jade, its dim light sweeping across the cave.

The chamber wasn’t large, only half the size of the medicine hut’s main hall.
The walls were slick with dark green moss, water dripping steadily.

The ground was thick with rotting leaves and layers of mud, every step squelching wetly.

In one corner, several pale skeletons gleamed faintly in the dim light.

Then—

BOOM!!!

A violent blast shook the entire cavern!
Earth and rock collapsed behind them, choking the air with dust!

“Cough! Cough!”
Xu Qing Feng hacked violently, tears stinging his eyes.

Xu Qing Xuan’s face hardened. He quickly covered the jade’s glow and pressed his brother against the driest wall he could find, holding their breath as he stared at the blocked tunnel entrance.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then the voices came, faint but clear through the rubble:

“…Chief! It’s blocked! Dead end!”

“Idiots! Keep digging! The jade’s aura is still below! They haven’t gotten far!”

“Yes, sir! …Wait, there’s something here!”

“Hm? …A letter! Half burned — read it!”

“…Gui Xu… Key… Damn it! The rest is destroyed!”

The Key of Gui Xu!

Those four words crashed into Xu Qing Xuan’s heart like thunder!

He clenched the jade so hard his knuckles cracked, cold fury burning in his eyes.

Gui Xu — his father had once mentioned it when he turned eighteen.
A forbidden land from ancient legend… a place said to bury secrets from the dawn of time!

And this jade… could it be the key?!

Suddenly, it all made sense — why their parents were so afraid, why those killers were after them!

The jade was tied to a secret far more terrifying than he had imagined.

“Gui Xu’s Key?!”
The middle-aged leader’s voice came from above, filled with surprise and glee.
“So it’s true! The legend was real! Dig faster! Catch those brats! The jade — and the secret — must not escape!”

The digging above grew frenzied, the sound of collapsing earth raining down echoing like the footsteps of death itself.

“Brother…” Xu Qing Feng whispered.
He didn’t understand what Gui Xu was, but the manic digging and murderous shouts made his hair stand on end.

He turned toward Xu Qing Xuan — who stood frozen, face lit by the faint jade glow, expression cold and resolute like a statue.

Xu Qing Xuan took a deep, icy breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
The tunnel was blocked — but not completely.

The pursuers would break through soon.

This underground cave was a dead end.
The stench, the bones… it was a dumping ground for corpses.

His mind raced.

Then — his eyes caught it.

At the deepest end of the cavern, where the rot was thickest and the mud softest — there was a hole!

Half-hidden by roots and stones, it exhaled a damp, fishy wind that chilled them to the bone.

Every instinct screamed danger — but it was their only way out.

“Here!” Xu Qing Xuan decided instantly, his voice low and sharp.

He dragged his brother forward, their feet sinking into the foul muck as they stepped over unseen objects — stones, or bones.

Xu Qing Feng fought the urge to retch, stumbling but following closely.

Above, the digging drew closer, louder, relentless — like the scythe of the Reaper itself.

Darkness, stench, death, and the tightening noose of danger surrounded them like an invisible net.

The two brothers, like cornered beasts, hurled themselves toward the last, darker passage.

The weak glow of the jade flickered — as if it, too, was struggling to stay alive.