Pillar of Yita

Zhang Tianmiu found his assistant, and the latter was scratching his head with several subordinates in black coats in the hallway, ”Strange, there are no other exits in this hallway, so how can someone disappear? Han Ming, are you sure you saw him enter this corridor, or could you have been mistaken?”

Zhang Tianmiu looked up at the long corridor, its deep arched structure leading to a closed, heavy wooden door at the end, with a copper lock hanging from it. Torches were inserted into the mouths of gargoyle sculptures extending from the walls, with flames flickering, casting a bright and clear reflection on the mahogany paneling.

”What exactly is going on?” he walked over and asked.

”Captain.”

”Captain, you’re here,” his assistant said with some embarrassment, ”It’s really strange, we chased the person here and then they suddenly disappeared. There clearly aren’t any other exits, unless they know some Wall-Penetrating Technique or used some other strange Magic Guided Conductor.”

”Did you use a Magic Power Detector to trace their path?” asked Zhang Tianmiu, his gaze still wandering over the door at the end of the corridor as he spoke.

”We did, but we didn’t find any clues. It’s like the person vanished into thin air,” the assistant answered irritably. They were part of the Stargate Task Force, not private detectives. If every Stowaway was like this, the government might as well reform into a special anomaly investigation team for all the good it would do.

But Zhang Tianmiu seemed unfazed by his mood and pointed to the door, asking, ”What’s behind that?”

”A cellar.”

”Have you been down there?”

”Yes, it’s empty.”

”An empty cellar needs a lock?” Zhang Tianmiu turned and asked.

The assistant stalled.

”Open the door,” Zhang Tianmiu then said.

Only then did the assistant have someone take out the key to unlock it. ”Where did this key come from?” Zhang Tianmiu looked at the key.

”We got it from Mr. Mazak earlier. I was going to have him send someone to unlock it for us, but he just handed us the key instead,” the assistant explained as he answered.

By the time the key holder had opened the door, the heavy wooden door was pushed open, revealing a staircase leading downward into darkness. The assistant took a torch from the gargoyle’s mouth and approached. Taking advantage of the light, Zhang Tianmiu looked down.

The cellar wasn’t deep, the slates were covered with a layer of dust, the firelight dimly extending forward, with dust noticeably thinner in the central area.

”What used to be placed there?” he asked, pointing to that spot.

The assistant and the others exchanged glances, unable to provide an answer. They were here to find a person, not to care about what used to be in the cellar. Besides, that thing was so big, no one could have taken it with them anyway.

Zhang Tianmiu took the torch from his hand and walked a few steps down the stairs. The others were puzzled by his actions since the cellar was clearly empty. But Zhang Tianmiu stared at the shadows in the cellar and suddenly said, ”Go get more torches.”

The assistant barely turned to leave when the shadows in the cellar began to stir suddenly, swirling together like black smoke. When the dust settled, the figure of a short-statured young man appeared.

He was cloaked, holding a heavy smoke crystal in his hands, and raised his head to look at them. His slouched hood covered half of his face, leaving only his chin and neck visible, along with his silvery soft hair.

”Smoke Crystal?” the assistant blurted out.

”You are from the Chosen military, why are you following me?” the young man asked, his voice raspy.

Zhang Tianmiu noticed the young man’s sharp canine teeth and paused briefly, ”A Rotao person?” This did not quite match the description of their target. However, his behavior raised doubts in Zhang Tianmiu, who casually asked, ”You snuck into the competition using this Smoke Crystal, didn’t you? What is your purpose?”

”I thought you don’t interfere with Native affairs?” the young man replied, neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Zhang Tianmiu looked at him and slowly drew his sword, saying, ”In principle, yes, but I’m asking this question on a personal level now, as the owner of this hostel is my friend.”

The young man looked at him, silent.

”Captain?” The assistant was nervous, knowing that if the young man wasn’t their target, their actions could be considered a breach of discipline.

”Step back. The operation is over, go back to the hall,” commanded Zhang Tianmiu.

Yet he completely drew his sword, holding it in his hands, pointing it at the young man—it was a rapier with a narrow and long blade, flickering with a cold and harsh light, tapering towards the hilt.

As the two faced off, a tremor traveled along the ground of the hostel.

Zhang Tianmiu felt a shake and quickly steadied himself against the wall. He heard his assistant shout in alarm behind him and intuitively realized something was wrong. Looking up, he saw the young man take a step back, his cloak swirling with dark smoke that completely enshrouded him.

The smoke surged and rose to the cellar’s ceiling, spreading toward the doorway. But a part of it remained on the ground. Zhang Tianmiu dashed forward and swung his sword, the blade cutting through the smoke but striking nothing.

As the smoke gathered towards the ceiling, Zhang Tianmiu tossed aside the torch and transferred the rapier to his left hand, drawing a handgun with his right, cocking the hammer with his thumb, ready to fire.

But at that moment, another tremor passed through the ground, causing the entire hostel to shake violently. Everyone struggled to stand, bracing against the walls.

”What’s happening?” the assistant couldn’t help but shout.