Xiao Heng's hand holding the flint halted mid-air, as if time itself had frozen in that very moment. His gaze fell upon the moss-covered stone reliquary, where the Big Dipper constellation, carved by a blade, emitted a faint phosphorescence, as mysterious and alluring as the stars in the night sky.
Shen Xitang's silver hairpin gently grazed the indentations of the star chart. Suddenly, the dragon head at the tip of the hairpin burst forth with a spark, like a shooting star streaking across the firmament. This spark startled the jackdaws roosting deep within the cavern; they flapped their wings and let out a noisy cry that echoed through the silent subterranean space.
"This is the mark of the Shen family's hidden posts." Shen Xitang's voice sounded exceptionally clear in the empty cavern. Her fingertips brushed lightly over the crack at the Dubhe position of the Big Dipper, as if she could still feel the traces left by her father all those years ago. "The escape route my father left in the Xiaoling Underground Palace is actually hidden right beneath the Emperor Taizu Spirit Path Stele."
Chapter 113