Whispers of a Lonely City Beyond the Heavens – Chapter 40

Ch 40: Hiding at the Waterfall Entrance

Wei Wei called out “Grandfather” as she stepped inside, but she quickly sensed something was wrong. Her voice trembled as she asked, “Where’s Grandfather?”

“Don’t panic, Wei Wei,” Long Yang said, forcing himself to stay calm. He lit a candle and held it up, looking around the room, but found no clues.

The two knapsacks that had been on the bed were gone. Long Yang searched further and realized the note he’d placed in Zhang Tianxun’s arms was missing too.

It seemed Zhang Tianxun had taken his belongings before leaving. There were no signs of a struggle here, so the situation might not be as bad as it looked.

“Grandfather…” Wei Wei rushed to the courtyard door, shouting loudly, her face streaked with tears.

“Wei Wei, don’t shout.”

Long Yang chased after her. “Your grandfather left with his things, so he should be fine. Right now, we need to figure out how to find him.”

“Big Brother, I’ll listen to you, I’ll do anything you say,” Wei Wei said, grabbing Long Yang’s hand. “Help me, please help me, think of something quick…”

She was so panicked that her words were becoming incoherent. Heavenly Soldiers were stationed in these mountains, and Long Yang wanted to tell her to quiet down, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

This little girl needed to vent her emotions. He decided to let her cry and shout as much as she needed.

Last night, Zhang Tianxun had reached the third level of the Xuanwu Divine Realm. How had he woken up? Could the Heavenly Soldiers have found and captured him? But would they bother taking a dying old man? These questions swirled in Long Yang’s mind, unanswered.

Then another thought struck him: unless they recognized Zhang Tianxun as the one who escaped from Shenlong Mountain? If that were true, things could get dire. With just his and Wei Wei’s abilities, they’d have no chance of rescuing him.

Xiao Hei sensed their distress and began whimpering too.

That’s right—Xiao Hei could be a huge help.

Long Yang quickly said, “Wei Wei, stop crying. We can take Xiao Hei with us to search. Its nose is incredibly sharp—it’ll definitely find your grandfather.”

“Yes, yes…” Wei Wei jumped up.

Long Yang led Xiao Hei back into the house and had it sniff the spot where Zhang Tianxun had been meditating.

Xiao Hei stretched out its nose, sniffed, and let out two anxious barks. Normally, once it caught a scent, it would spring into action, but now it stood motionless on the bed.

“Hurry up, Xiao Hei,” Wei Wei urged, her voice sharp with frustration.

Xiao Hei jumped off the bed, sniffing as it ran outside. Long Yang and Wei Wei hurriedly followed. After a while, its pace slowed, and it finally stopped.

It kept sniffing the air but refused to take another step.

“What’s it doing?” Wei Wei grew anxious, wanting to push it forward.

“Come on, Xiao Hei,” Long Yang said. He’d been confident in Xiao Hei’s sense of smell, but now, what was wrong with it?

After sniffing for a bit, Xiao Hei suddenly turned and bolted back toward the old house. It darted into the room where Zhang Tianxun had stayed, leapt onto the bed, and barked. No matter how Wei Wei threatened or coaxed it, it wouldn’t budge.

“Stupid dog, stupid Xiao Hei!” Wei Wei was on the verge of tears. She raised her hand to strike it but held back.

“Wei Wei, don’t blame it unfairly. You saw Xiao Hei’s skills at the Commissioner’s Office, didn’t you? It pinpointed the Rain Spirit Grass from a great distance. Something must be affecting it now.”

Long Yang thought for a moment before adding, “Wei Wei, you need to help me. There might be things I can’t think of that you can. You have to calm down first if we’re going to save your grandfather, understand?”

“Big Brother, I’m sorry!” Wei Wei lowered her head, biting her lip, and began to think. After a moment, she clapped her hands and said, “I remember now! Grandfather once told me he had a powder that could stop bad people from tracking him with hunting dogs.”

“That explains it,” Long Yang nodded.

That must be the reason.

Zhang Tianxun was a seasoned veteran. He’d done this to throw off pursuers. But he wouldn’t leave Long Yang and Wei Wei searching aimlessly—that would be too dangerous.

So, if he’d planned well, he’d have left something behind to point them in the right direction.

“Wei Wei, did your grandfather ever teach you what to do if you got separated—how to find him?”

Wei Wei jumped up. “Yes! I remember now. When I was little, Grandfather taught me a kind of signal. Big Brother, let’s go look for it together.”

Wei Wei stepped outside, head down, scanning the ground for that signal.

“Big Brother, over here. Grandfather might use stones or branches,” she said. “He’d use three pointed stones or two branches pointing the same way. It’s subtle… oh, there!”

She pointed to a patch of grass ahead where three stones formed a triangle, their tips all facing due north.

The area was full of stones, and someone unfamiliar with the signal wouldn’t notice anything. Even those who knew it had to look closely to spot it.

“Wei Wei, great job.”

They ran north, not too quickly. Zhang Tianxun wouldn’t leave just one signal—they needed to stay alert for more.

At Shadowless Pool, Wei Wei grew anxious. “Big Brother, what if we missed the other signals…”

“Wei Wei, don’t worry. This is a fork in the path—we need to search carefully here.”

“Okay,” Wei Wei nodded.

They looked around, and after a while, Long Yang noticed two unusual stones by the pool. Both were flat and stacked together, their tips pointing northeast—a clear sign, not a natural formation.

When Zhang Tianxun taught Wei Wei, she’d been too young to fully grasp his intent. Long Yang realized the essence of these signals lay in using ordinary objects to create an unnatural coincidence—something only the informed would notice.

“Big Brother, I think you’re right,” Wei Wei said, looking at him with admiration before taking the lead in that direction.

After walking a stretch, they grew uncertain again. That direction could lead east out of Dragon’s Roar Valley, but the mountain paths twisted, and Zhang Tianxun’s signal didn’t align perfectly.

Another possibility was that it pointed to an uphill trail.

Long Yang paused to think, then chose the latter. Zhang Tianxun wasn’t familiar with this area—he’d likely indicated his intent directly, northeast.

He had to follow this logic to find the next clue.

But it wouldn’t be easy. In the vast mountains under the cover of night, how could he possibly search? Unless—

Long Yang thought, unless Zhang Tianxun was a master at this, leaving signals so precise they couldn’t be missed, there’d be no hope of finding more.

He tried hard to recall the exact direction of those two stone tips and headed toward a mountain base. Just as he hesitated, Xiao Hei let out a joyful bark and raced up the slope.

“Wei Wei, let’s follow!” Long Yang silently thanked the heavens and started running uphill.

“Big Brother, are you sure?” Wei Wei’s tone was hesitant, but her movements weren’t slow. She leapt ahead, outpacing Long Yang.

To the right was a small flat area—the vegetable garden Long Yang had once laboriously watered. He sped past it without a glance.

Then they reached a modest stone wall and climbed up. It was the spot where, three years ago, he’d chopped iron waxwood. Long Yang couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

Higher up, the terrain grew steep. Xiao Hei lifted its head, sniffed, and climbed like a leopard scaling a tree. Long Yang had no choice but to follow.

Though his stamina surpassed most, he was still flesh and blood. After climbing a while, he silently groaned to himself.

He hoped that even if they had to reach the peak, they wouldn’t need to descend again.

Now, his muscles ached, his breathing grew rapid, and his heart pounded relentlessly. In this state, he’d never manage to climb down such a sheer cliff.