What She Once Dreamed Of

Nearly half a day later, the rock walls on both sides of the underground river gradually widened.

Green moss covered the cracks, while faint lines of ancient runes began appearing across certain sections of stone. Their color had almost blended into surfaces worn down by countless years.

Lang Tuyet repeatedly turned to observe them. At times she looked down at the water, at others she focused on the patterns carved into the walls, occasionally taking out a map to compare it with the direction of the current.

Hao Nhien realized she was trying to memorize the route.

There was nothing unusual about that. Someone accustomed to long journeys and major transactions like Lang Tuyet would never entrust her entire path of retreat to another person.

The deeper they went, the more subtle changes appeared in her eyes—changes Hao Nhien found difficult to explain. There were sections she studied longer than necessary, as though trying to recall something that had already existed somewhere in her memory.

Hao Nhien merely observed in silence and continued guiding the Cosmic Ark downstream.

After a while, he looked ahead.

“We’re here.”

Lang Tuyet immediately raised her head.

To the right of the underground river lay a broad courtyard paved with massive stone slabs polished smooth by water and time. The entire area was so silent that only the cold accumulated beneath the earth and the sound of the river behind them remained.

At the far end of the courtyard stood a black city wall.

Moss covered its base, while the main stone gate still retained its heavy, imposing appearance despite the countless years that had passed.

The Cosmic Ark drew alongside the courtyard.

The two stepped ashore.

Hao Nhien stored the Cosmic Ark, then crossed the broad courtyard with Lang Tuyet toward the towering black stone gate ahead.

A clearly visible hole had been broken through the wall to the right of the entrance.

Lang Tuyet followed him over. She looked at the hole, then turned toward Hao Nhien.

He rubbed his nose lightly.

“I broke through there last time.”

The corner of Lang Tuyet’s mouth curved upward.

“I thought an entire band of tomb robbers had found this place before.”

She looked him up and down.

“Turns out there was only one.”

Hao Nhien said nothing.

He still thought “archaeology” sounded far more reasonable than “tomb robbery,” though he had no intention of explaining that concept to Lang Tuyet.

Hao Nhien motioned for her to wait outside, glanced once at the hole he had made before, then ducked through.

Once inside, he lit the stone lamp near the gate.

A pale golden glow appeared, and the lamps lining the path beyond began lighting one after another. The illumination spread deeper into the buried city, slowly pushing back the darkness that had covered it for countless years.

Hao Nhien circled around to the inner side of the massive gate and pushed.

The heavy doors slowly opened.

He turned back, bent slightly, and extended one hand forward.

“Sister Lang, please.”

Lang Tuyet laughed.

“You even know how to receive guests?”

“I learn quickly.”

She crossed the threshold.

But after only a few steps, the smile on her lips gradually faded.

Before her stretched a long street buried deep beneath the earth. Stone lamps on both sides cast a gentle glow over rows of connected rooms. Inside were still tables, chairs, reception counters, and faded signs hanging above the doors.

During his previous visit, Hao Nhien had already determined that this was the reception and registration district for guests attending auctions.

Lang Tuyet stopped in the middle of the street.

Her gaze slowly swept across the rooms before settling on the nearest pillar.

She stepped forward and placed her palm against the stone, her fingertips following the nearly vanished runes carved into its surface.

Hao Nhien stood several steps away without speaking.

Lang Tuyet closed her eyes.

Her shoulders tightened slightly.

Hao Nhien frowned.

“Sister Lang?”

She opened her eyes.

“I’ve never been here before.”

Hao Nhien continued watching her.

Lang Tuyet turned and looked down the street once more.

“But this place feels very familiar.”

“Familiar how?”

She thought for a long time before answering:

“It doesn’t resemble Hoang Linh or Huyen Linh as they exist now, but the placement of the counters, the distance between the rooms, the position of the lamps, even the layout of this street… all of it makes me feel as though I’ve seen it before.”

Hao Nhien asked:

“Where?”

Lang Tuyet shook her head.

“I don’t remember.”

After a moment of silence, she said softly:

“Perhaps in a dream.”

Hao Nhien looked at her for a while longer, but in the end, he kept the question to himself.

Lang Tuyet continued forward.

Hao Nhien had intended to lead the way, but she had already begun walking toward the end of the street on her own.

He slowed by half a step.

At the end of the street stood a second black stone door, polished smooth and more than three zhang tall. Carved across its surface was the image of a hammer crossed over an ancient coin.

Lang Tuyet stopped before it, staring at the symbol for a long time before reaching out to touch it.

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Hao Nhien said quietly:

“The main hall is behind this.”

Lang Tuyet pushed.

The door opened slowly, so smoothly that it made almost no sound, as though the mechanism within had remained perfectly preserved.

She entered first.

Hao Nhien followed.

The last time he had come here alone, he had simply used a fireball to light his way and had never paid much attention to the hall’s lighting system. But after seeing the stone lamps outside illuminate one after another, this time he immediately examined both sides of the entrance.

It did not take long for Hao Nhien to discover a recessed alcove in the wall containing a lamp similar in design to those outside.

He reached out and guided a thread of fire spiritual power into its core.

The moment the flame caught, faint runes along the walls lit up in response. Within a few breaths, lamps all around the hall flared to life together. Pale golden light spread from the lower level to the corridors and private rooms above, quickly driving away the darkness that had covered the place for countless years.

For the first time, the entire hall was revealed before Lang Tuyet.

Rows of jade seats curved toward the front, surrounding a stone auction platform nearly three zhang high. Above them, corridors and private rooms continued around the walls.

Hao Nhien also raised his head slightly and looked around.

During his previous visit, the small fireball had allowed him to see only one section at a time. Now, with the entire lighting system restored, even he was seeing the true scale of the hall for the first time.

Lang Tuyet remained just inside the entrance for a long while before slowly approaching the nearest jade seat.

She placed a hand on its backrest, and a thread of spiritual sense immediately spread outward.

“The entire chair was carved from a single block of jade.”

She bent slightly, her eyes settling on the tiny runes beneath its base.

“A sound-isolation formation, a barrier against spiritual-sense probing, and this section was used to record bids.”

Hao Nhien followed her gaze.

He had only inspected the hall roughly last time and had noticed none of these details.

Lang Tuyet straightened and looked around the hall.

“This is an exceptionally complete auction house.”

She walked forward a few more steps.

“Even the largest halls of Huyen Linh might not reach this level. The amount of jade used for these seats alone would be far beyond the means of an ordinary Hoang Linh branch.”

She looked toward the front.

“The rear seats were for ordinary guests, while the area near the platform was reserved for honored guests. The private rooms on the second floor have their own formations, clearly intended for those who wished to conceal their identities.”

Lang Tuyet stopped beneath the auction platform.

“The layout isn’t extravagant, but every detail serves a very clear purpose.”

She exhaled softly.

“Whoever built this place understood auctions better than most people I have ever met.”

Hao Nhien did not interrupt.

He realized Lang Tuyet was viewing the place in an entirely different way from him.

What he had once seen merely as tables, chairs, reception counters, and runes became individual parts of a complete system through her eyes.

Lang Tuyet slowly stepped onto the platform.

She stood behind the white stone table and placed both hands along its edge.

In that moment, Hao Nhien suddenly felt something strange.

Lang Tuyet looked too natural standing there, as though she had long been accustomed to looking down over an auction hall of this scale.

The thought flashed through his mind and vanished, but it still made him frown slightly.

Lang Tuyet closed her eyes for several breaths before opening them again.

She looked out over the empty seats.

“I have stood on many auction platforms.”

Her voice was slower than before.

“But this place makes me feel like I am still only an apprentice.”

Hao Nhien looked at her.

Lang Tuyet said softly:

“This isn’t merely a ruin.”

“It is a legacy.”

Light from the lamps continued spreading toward the upper levels.

When the area between the second and third floors became fully illuminated, Lang Tuyet suddenly raised her head.

On the main wall, an enormous white jade plaque hung directly above the auction hall. Ancient golden characters reflected the lamplight, each stroke emerging clearly beneath the dust of time.

Heavenly Spirit Merchant Association.

Lang Tuyet froze.

Her gaze locked onto those four words and did not move for a long time.

One hand still rested on the edge of the stone table.

Only after a long while did she finally exhale softly.

“It truly existed…”

Hao Nhien said nothing.

Lang Tuyet raised her head and stared at the plaque.

“Hoang. Huyen. Dia…”

She paused.

“And then Heavenly.”

Her fingers tightened slightly against the edge of the table.

“I used to think that if Hoang Linh had Huyen Linh above it, and Huyen Linh had Dia Linh above that, then why couldn’t there be a Heavenly Spirit at the end of that path?”

Her voice gradually softened.

“I wanted to reach it once, even when I didn’t know whether such a place truly existed.”

Lang Tuyet laughed faintly, but the emotion behind that smile had changed completely.

“If it had never existed, I even thought that perhaps one day I would build such a place myself.”

She stared at the jade plaque for a long time.

“I never expected…”

“That it really had existed.”

A single tear slowly slipped down her cheek.

Lang Tuyet did not immediately wipe it away.

Hao Nhien looked at her and finally understood at least part of what she was feeling.

To him, the words Heavenly Spirit Merchant Association represented a mystery.

To Lang Tuyet, they were also the image of the summit of a path she had pursued for many years.

After a while, she finally raised a hand and wiped the corner of her eye before turning toward Hao Nhien.

“I have walked this path for a very long time.”

“But only today did I learn that somewhere ahead of me, a place like this truly once existed.”

She cupped her hands.

The gesture was far more serious than anything before.

“Thank you.”

Hao Nhien immediately reached out to stop her.

“Sister Lang, there’s no need.”

“I only brought you here.”

Lang Tuyet shook her head.

“To you, perhaps it was only guiding the way. But to me, this moment is worth more than many of the treasures that have passed through my hands.”

Hao Nhien said nothing more.

After a moment, Lang Tuyet turned back toward the plaque.

“I will follow this matter concerning Heavenly Spirit to the end.”

She spoke very slowly.

“I want to know what it once was, why it disappeared, and why almost no one in the current merchant-association system knows that name anymore.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“Then let’s continue.”

The two left the auction platform and went up to the second floor.

Lang Tuyet continued observing everything carefully, but this time Hao Nhien also began paying close attention to each of her reactions.

One of the private rooms for honored guests was opened.

Lang Tuyet examined the layout before saying:

“The placement of the chairs, their distance from the tea table, the viewing angle toward the auction stage, even the direction the door opens—everything was calculated very carefully.”

Hao Nhien looked around.

“You can tell that much from a single room?”

Lang Tuyet glanced at him.

“Did you think merchants only needed to know how to count spirit stones?”

Hao Nhien laughed.

“I wouldn’t dare.”

The corner of her mouth also curved slightly.

The heavy atmosphere from moments earlier eased a little.

The two continued along the corridor on the second floor. The farther they went, the fewer rooms appeared on either side, until eventually only one large door remained, standing apart at the end of the passage.

Lang Tuyet reached out and pushed it open.

A wave of cold air immediately flowed from within, carrying the scent of old wood and moisture that had accumulated over countless years.

The room was much larger than the previous private chambers, but most of it still lay in darkness.

Hao Nhien looked around and quickly found a stone lamp mounted on the wall near the entrance, similar in construction to the lighting system in the main hall.

He guided a thread of fire spiritual power into its core.

Within moments, lamps throughout the room lit one after another. Pale golden light spread across the space and revealed the full layout.

Tall wooden cabinets lining the walls appeared first, filled with hundreds of neatly arranged compartments. Most had long since been emptied, leaving only traces suggesting that the room had once been used to store records, items, or materials related to the merchant association’s operations.

Lang Tuyet slowly walked past each row of cabinets, occasionally opening one compartment to inspect it before closing it again.

Hao Nhien did not rush her and simply followed behind, watching.

When they had nearly crossed the entire room, Lang Tuyet’s steps suddenly slowed.

Her gaze settled on the large painting hanging upon the main wall.

Hao Nhien looked over as well.

Under the fully restored lighting, the entire painting was clearly visible before them.

A vast battlefield stretched across a burning red desert. Smoke and dust filled the sky, while countless soldiers and war beasts clashed below.

At the center of the battlefield, a man clad in red war armor sat astride an enormous beast, holding a fully drawn bow in his hands.

Hao Nhien looked at the figure in the painting.

He had seen the man during his previous visit, but aside from that inexplicable sense of familiarity, he had never found another clue.

Lang Tuyet, however, suddenly fell completely silent.

At first, Hao Nhien assumed she was simply examining the painting’s composition as she had everything else in the ruins.

But very quickly, he realized something was wrong.

From beginning to end, her eyes remained fixed solely on the man holding the bow.

The smile that usually lingered on her lips had disappeared at some point. Her face gradually turned pale, and the hand hanging at her side tightened until her fingertips whitened slightly.

“Sister Lang?”

Hao Nhien called out.

She seemed not to hear him.

Lang Tuyet slowly stepped forward.

Each step was light, yet the closer she came to the painting, the slower she moved, as though what lay ahead was not an ancient painting thousands of years old but something she desperately wanted to confirm while instinctively fearing what she might see clearly.

Only when she was less than an arm’s length away did she stop.

Lang Tuyet raised one hand, but just before her fingers touched the frame, they froze in midair.

Hao Nhien saw that her fingertips were trembling slightly.

An uneasy feeling slowly rose within him.

“Sister Lang, what is it?”

This time, Lang Tuyet finally reacted.

She drew in a very slow breath, her hand still suspended in the air, her gaze never leaving the back of the man in red war armor.

“I…”

Her voice was hoarser than usual.

Lang Tuyet closed her eyes.

During those few short breaths, her expression shifted repeatedly, as though she were trying to seize an image that had just surfaced only for it to sink rapidly back into the deepest part of her memory.

When she opened her eyes again, her usual composure had vanished completely.

Deep confusion filled her gaze.

Hao Nhien had never seen Lang Tuyet like this before.

She stared at the painting for a very long time before finally whispering:

“This man…”

Her voice was so quiet it nearly disappeared into the silent room.

“I’ve seen him before.”