Wild Creatures

Chapter 86

05.00am Sunday

The dark corridor suddenly lit up with hundreds of tiny LED lights embedded into the floor and ceiling.

Lan Zhan looked around in wonder as rooms came into view, all separated by glass walls.

Treasures from every single worthy period of history were separated by country, and it looked like every piece was a priceless artifact.

Vases from the Ming Dynasty, great urns with elaborate lids, hand painted depicting famous scenes from the past, made even more glorious with the addition of gold leaf. Antique mirrors carefully facing away from the doors, adhering to the old Feng Shui rule of no conflicting energies being reflected back, their gilt frames polished to a preserved shine.

He saw gold masks from ancient Egypt, painted with red and blue stripes in their shaped hair, an even older sarcophagus, a broken piece of stone with hieroglyphs carved into the surface, goblets and crudely fashioned plates made out of solid gold.

There were music boxes, combs and antique brushes complete with inkstones and rolled up parchment. Beautiful kimonos and hanfus made from luxurious silk brocade, patterned with cherry blossoms and little people having tea.

Dragon tea sets for traditional wedding ceremonies and old furniture.

Lan Zhan had no doubts that many of the desks and cupboards he saw held secret drawers and shelves within the old wood.

Porcelain and bone china teapots, cutlery, antique chopsticks and plates, bowls with hand painted scenes of exquisite beauty...

Lan Zhan appreciated everything they saw, but all throughout, there was a countdown going on in his head, and he was ever aware of their time running out.

Wen Zhuliu, still under the spell of his Compelling, moved forward with an exact idea of where he was ordered to go.

Lan Zhan was beginning to worry, though.

The fact that every wall was made out of glass left him feeling exposed and out in the open. If anyone were to suddenly come here, there was no way they couldn't be spotted. The best thing he could do would be to hurry things along and find what they had come here for.

He wondered how big the HeartStone was going to be, whether or not Lan Zhan would be able to lift it.

Ever since Wei Ying had read about it, the HeartStone had become something to be curious about. It was extremely important to both sides of this conflict.

So it probably wouldn't be kept out in the open for anyone to see or take.

Wen Zhuliu makes his way to a metal cupboard.

The round handle has a clicking mechanism, and he can hear the sliding of the cold metal on the other side of the door, before it opens.

There are many shelves, filled with miscellaneous items, but Lan Zhan is most curious about the piles of papers.

He recognises the writing; it belongs to Wei Ying's grandfather.

He had stared at the characters for two gruelling days, and the strokes were so familiar, he would have known the handwriting anywhere.

They don't belong here.

Not in the possession of the people who killed him.

Lan Zhan doesn't question it, he grabs as much documentation as he can, and carefully ties up the loose script sheets so that they're in a compact smaller shape, wincing because they're fragile and shouldn't be treated this way.

Meanwhile, Wen Zhuliu presses his thumb to another fingerprint scanner, and the back of the metal cupboard slides across to reveal a glass case. It was about the size of his palm.