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墨書 Inktalez
The thunderous announcement startled the night birds in the forest. Aunt Ma screamed as she fled into the kiln, while two strong men dropped their cart and ran. The silk-clad official reined in his horse from a high vantage point, rainwater cascading down his hat like a curtain: "Lin Dahe! Do you know your crime?"
Just as Lin Dahe was about to defend himself, a one-armed veteran suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into the grass. A crossbow bolt whizzed past, embedding itself where they had just stood, its tail vibrating ominously.
"It's not the Yard Officer..." The veteran's voice was taut like a drawn bow. "It's Wei Su's standard crossbow!"
More hoofbeats approached from all directions. Lin Dahe saw that those Yard Officers were drawing not water-and-fire sticks from under their raincoats, but gleaming daggers! The silk-clad official slowly raised a document, the crimson seal glaring under the lantern light like blood: "By order of the Ministry of War, we are to seize those who privately trade in saltpeter and collude with the traitorous Japanese!"
Lightning struck again. This time, Lin Dahe clearly saw the name at the end of the document—the name that froze his blood was that of the Jinyiwei commander who had executed the glassworkers of Yan Shen Town twenty years ago!
Suddenly, there was a sharp sound of pottery shattering from the kiln entrance. Cui Xiaoman appeared there, standing on a broken wax-sealed wooden barrel, white saltpeter residue scattered around her feet. She held up a strange ceramic whistle, producing a sound that resembled the mournful cry of an owl.
"Run!" The veteran shoved Lin Dahe aside. "Go to the charcoal kiln and find..."
"Whoosh!" A second crossbow bolt pierced through his shoulder. The veteran grunted in pain and threw his short knife, striking one of the Yard Officers in the throat. Taking advantage of the momentary chaos, Lin Dahe scrambled towards Cui Xiaoman.
The girl’s face was as pale as death. She pulled Lin Dahe into the depths of the kiln, twisting and turning through the complex mine tunnels. The footsteps and curses of their pursuers gradually faded away, drowned out by the sound of rain, until they finally stopped at a collapsed fork in the tunnel.
"Take off your clothes," Cui Xiaoman suddenly said.
Lin Dahe thought he had misheard. The girl had already deftly stripped off her outer garment, revealing a close-fitting brown outfit—she looked just like a charcoal worker. She dug out two identical sets of clothing from a pile of coal: "Change into these and exit through the abandoned mine."
Thunder rumbled outside. In the dim light of lightning, Lin Dahe caught sight of Cui Xiaoman’s maple leaf tattoo on her nape, partially obscured by coal dust. She seemed to sense his gaze and paused while tying her clothes: "My mother... was conscripted as a craftsman during the Yongle era."
"I know," Lin Dahe replied softly. "The glassworkers of Yan Shen Town were executed for refusing to make dragon-patterned vessels for Emperor Xuande..."
"No!" Cui Xiaoman suddenly grew agitated. "Mother did it to protect the saltpeter mine map!" She pushed aside some coal to reveal a half-buried ceramic jar sealed with resin. "Inside this..."
Urgent footsteps interrupted her. The two hurriedly squeezed into a narrow mine tunnel as they heard the silk-clad official's furious shout: "Search! Alive or dead!"
The dark tunnel seemed endless. As Lin Dahe crawled along, he suddenly bumped into a soft wall—it was Cui Xiaoman who had stopped. Her trembling finger pointed upward: A faint moonlight filtered through a crack above them, faintly illuminating the shadows of trees outside.
"The ventilation shaft for the charcoal kiln," she whispered. "I'll go up first..."
Before she could finish her sentence, there was a sudden crack from above as a branch broke. A pale face loomed over them—Aunt Ma! Somehow she had found her way to the ventilation shaft and was raising a large rock as if to smash it down!
"You wretched girl!" she screamed. "You’ve harmed my son..."
A short knife suddenly flew from the darkness and struck her wrist perfectly. Aunt Ma shrieked and let go; the massive stone veered off course and nearly fell at the edge of the ventilation shaft. The one-armed veteran appeared below at the entrance, bloodied but resolute, bracing himself against the crumbling wall:
"Go!"
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