After speaking, Yan Xinmeng lowered her head to eat, and while she was eating, Shang Bieye and his companions had already devised a plan to infiltrate the Black Fortress.
The night deepened, and the moon hid behind clouds, peeking out only slightly to watch the earth below. The inn, now devoid of daytime bustle, was enveloped in the quiet of the night. Yan Xinmeng, full of thoughts, walked to the courtyard, sat on a stone bench, and pondered alone. If Niu Qi could appear silently with magical powers, why did he need her to find the Time Mirror? If the Time Mirror was so important, why didn’t Uncle Judge use his powers to retrieve it? Even if it was to be found by the person who lost it, wouldn’t Niu Qi, who also has powers, be able to retrieve it? If, as Brother Niu Qi said, the Granny wanted to give me the Soul Forgetting Cake, which I didn’t eat, why wasn’t I asleep for sixteen years? Where did it go wrong? Since it’s an item from the ghost realm, how do people know what it looks like? Could it be that Big Brother Shang’s master has divine abilities? Yan Xinmeng pondered these questions, puzzled by the strange occurrences.
Chapter Five: Black Fortress was originally a refuge for a group of outlaws fleeing capture. They found a naturally fortified place, hard to attack and easy to defend. The name “Black Fortress” stemmed from its geographical features. At the entrance, two mountains formed a natural barrier, like a gatehouse, but unlike the usual lush green mountains, this area was perpetually shrouded in miasma, appearing dark. Because of these characteristics, outsiders named it the Black Fortress. The authorities, after failing to capture the outlaws for a long time, ceased their pursuit, allowing them to live out their days peacefully within, provided they didn’t cause trouble outside. Over the years, these outlaws, perhaps influenced by some unknown force, ceased their violent ways and even started legitimate businesses outside, with some success.
No one knows exactly how many people live inside the Black Fortress, but every summer, a burly man claiming to be the chief of the Black Fortress leads a group of over ten people, both men and women, out of the fortress. What they do outside remains unknown. When the chief returns, he leads a different group back, indicating these are not permanent residents but hired workers.
The news about an ancient mirror being salvaged from the Black Fortress’s Qingtan Pool was leaked by one of these workers, revealing that the annual groups of workers are not from the fortress but are hired for specific tasks. The rumor about needing five thousand taels of gold to unlock the secrets of the ancient mirror, possibly containing martial arts manuals, was also spread, though it’s unclear who started it. The chief openly admitted to retrieving an ancient mirror but remained silent on the issues of the gold or the martial arts secrets, leaving much to speculation. The wise would suspect something was amiss, but greed for wealth and power often clouded judgment.
