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The crowd dispersed helplessly, dragging their heavy footsteps away. Yu Yan and Luo Zuo returned to the scene of the incident. The room showed no signs of disturbance. The two split up to investigate; Yu Yan paced slowly, scrutinizing his surroundings, while Luo Zuo knocked on the walls and the blue bricks on the floor one by one. After a thorough search, they found no hidden compartments.
Yu Yan furrowed his brow, pondering: where exactly did Qin Ping hide the Yuchang Sword? The dim light flickered, casting shadows that danced in the candlelight. As Yu Yan walked, he suddenly stopped, squinting his eyes. He noticed a mark on the ground, about the size of a coin—one that would be easily overlooked. He crouched down slowly and reached out to touch it; it turned out to be a smudge of wax.
"I've always wondered why there were no footprints from the culprit in this room. Now I see..." Yu Yan stroked his beard, a smug smile appearing on his face.
"What's so strange about a drop spilled by a servant changing the lamps?" Luo Zuo scratched his head, looking puzzled.
"The spilled wax is not shaped like that; besides, this room is lit with oil lamps, not candles. This is wax from oiled paper used for waterproofing. The culprit must have stepped on the oiled paper while committing the crime, which is why no footprints were left." Yu Yan explained patiently, his eyes filled with conviction.
"That's odd! The culprit wielded Duke's sword yet needed to step on oiled paper—how did Duke remain unaware?" Luo Zuo's eyes widened in confusion.
"This all relates to the collection of the Yuchang Sword..." Yu Yan stood up, hands clasped behind his back, surveying the area with a furrowed brow: oiled paper... wax on the sword box... Red Golden Dragon... sealed secret passages... all connected to water! Could it be that the Yuchang Sword is hidden underwater?
With this thought in mind, Yu Yan focused his gaze on the rockery in the southwest corner of the room.
He hurried over to the rockery, which stood about ten feet high, with a circular pond made of blue stones beneath it. The pond was filled with gravel but had no water at all. According to feng shui principles, this rockery was indeed cleverly constructed.
Crouching down, Yu Yan began to sift through the gravel in the pond. The top two layers were completely dry, but as he dug deeper, his fingers encountered dampness! This was also the only place in the room that had any moisture.
The rockery was about twenty feet away from Qin Ping's body, and the wax was located right between them! Yu Yan's eyes lit up as he excitedly reached into a hole beneath the rockery, but found that the bottom of the hole was solid...
Could it be that the Yuchang Sword is hidden here? But where did the water come from? This hole was so narrow that only a child under ten could fit inside. Yu Yan straightened up again, falling into deep thought as his brows knitted together into a furrow...
Luo Zuo was also busy, searching around the room. Unintentionally, he looked up and asked, “My lord! Who are the figures carved in wood hanging on the wall?”
“They are two sages; Confucius is on the east wall, and Laozi is on the west wall,” Yu Yan replied casually. However, as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a sudden jolt in his heart: Confucius... Laozi... Confucius represents worldly teachings; Laozi embodies transcendental philosophy... Could it be that the mechanism lies here?
Yu Yan's spirit lifted as he quickly instructed Luo Zuo to take down both wooden carvings. Luo Zuo complied, but behind the carvings was nothing but a blank white wall, with no mechanism in sight. Yu Yan closed his eyes in contemplation. After a moment, he noticed the steel hook that held the carvings, surrounded by a carved wooden pad. Taking a deep breath, Yu Yan personally hung up the statue of Confucius, gripping its bottom edge tightly. With a sudden pull downward, a soft “click” echoed.
Before long, the sound of flowing water emerged from beneath the rockery. Yu Yan eagerly reached into the opening; the bottom of the hole was no longer visible, and a breeze blew up from below.
Soon after, a stream of water surged from the hole. At that moment, there was another “click,” and the steel hook holding the statue of Confucius snapped back into place.
Unable to contain himself, Yu Yan laughed heartily, “ master Xue truly deserves to be called Xiao Luban; such a cleverly designed treasure mechanism! It’s truly astonishing!”
Yu Yan then approached the statue of Laozi and pulled it down with equal force. The water at the bottom of the rockery gradually receded, and finally, the steel hook returned to its original position, sealing off the hole tightly.
“This…” Luo Zuo was so astonished that he couldn't close his mouth, momentarily speechless as he stared blankly at Yu Yan.
Yu Yan chuckled again, “ Head Constable Luo, hurry to East City Water Channel! I will activate the mechanism to let you in half an hour later…”
Luo Zuo snapped back to reality and took his leave. Upon reaching the water channel, he took a deep breath and submerged himself underwater, skillfully swimming to the end of the hidden passage. Moments later, he heard a loud noise beside him as a stone slab lifted up, revealing a path ahead. As Luo Zuo moved forward, he heard Yu Yan's voice calling from above: “ Head Constable Luo! Are you down there?”
“My lord, your foresight is remarkable; this place is indeed a secret chamber!” Luo Zuo shouted back.
“ Head Constable Luo, hurry up! The sluice gate will close soon!”
A rope hung down, and Luo Zuo reached out to grab it, using both hands and feet to climb upward.
Halfway up, he noticed a net that had been cut in half on the wall, entangled with a bamboo tube. Luo Zuo freed one hand to retrieve it, securing it at his waist. He then crawled out through the hole beneath the Rockery, handing the bamboo tube to Yu Yan and recounting all the details below.
Yu Yan took the bamboo tube, examining it closely. After a moment of contemplation, he burst into laughter. "The Yuchang Sword is hidden in a secret chamber beneath the Rockery. This chamber must have two sluice gates: the statue of Confucius controls the water inlet, while the statue of Laozi controls the outlet.
When someone pulls on the Confucius statue, water from the large pool in the back garden will flood into the secret chamber, causing the Yuchang Sword box to float. This also explains why there is wax on the sword box and a compartment inside.
The wax is used to prevent water from entering, while the compartment increases the buoyancy of the sword box... When the chamber is filled with water, the Yuchang Sword will drift out through the hole beneath the Rockery, at which point the inlet gate will automatically close.
Then, when someone pulls on the Laozi statue, the outlet gate will open, allowing the Yuchang Sword box to sink back into the chamber, ultimately landing on the net. The water in the chamber will flow through a channel into Clear Water Canal. After some time, the water in the chamber will be drained, and the outlet gate will close.
That Little Red Golden Dragon must have squeezed into the chamber through a grate beneath the pool, which is why it was washed into Clear Water Canal... At last, we have a lead on this case. Let us return and rest well; tomorrow we shall stage a good show."
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