Chapter 426 - 425: Unlocking the Hidden Version

Chapter 426: Chapter 425: Unlocking the Hidden Version

"Can you handle it?"

"I can." Fushan Yue immediately drew a portion of the Evil Qi from her body and placed her in Fushan Ji’s carriage.

Inside the carriage was a long casket, inscribed with an Array. With a minor adjustment, it could almost completely isolate the girl from the outside world.

Seeing he had a new master, the lowly slave eagerly served tea and poured water, attending to Fushan Yue and Taozi with great care.

Hee Lingchuan saw him hiding in a corner away from the firelight, eating what looked like a bowl of mush. While everyone else sat, he could only squat or kneel.

"Hey," he called out to the man, tossing him an apple.

The lowly slave took the apple but didn’t bite into it. He first glanced at the Chiyan People’s expressions. Seeing that they were ignoring him, he gave Hee Lingchuan three deep bows, then retreated into the shadows with the apple and began crunching on it.

He sounded just like a rat.

One of the Chiyan People noticed and chuckled at Hee Lingchuan. "Don’t be fooled by his pitiful looks. That bastard beat his own wife and one of his daughters to death."

After the caravan was settled, the moon was already beginning to set. The travelers hurried to get some rest, as the next day’s journey was still long.

Of course, sentries were still posted.

Hee Lingchuan had no plans to sleep, either. He closed his eyes and began to meditate.

An unknown amount of time passed before a soft CLANG echoed out—his Treasure Saber was humming in its sheath.

Then, a nearby sentry let out a soft gasp of surprise.

Hee Lingchuan’s eyes flew open.

The Illusion Realm had appeared again!

The Moonlight was just as brilliant as it had been a double-hour earlier. Right before Hee Lingchuan’s eyes, the Ancient City from over two hundred years ago materialized once more.

But unlike last time, it was utterly silent.

Figures moved about on the city walls, where soldiers holding Long Spears paced back and forth, surveying the surrounding lands. There was no need for a desperate battle, however. Below the gates, all was quiet; there was no Lingxu Army swarming the landscape.

There was no smoke, no screams, no hail of spears and arrows, no sky-razing fires.

Thousand Stars Ancient City, just like the people of the present, bathed peacefully under the same moon.

’What’s going on?’

The curtain of the carriage opposite him was flicked aside. Fushan Yue jumped down stealthily and whispered to Hee Lingchuan, "Hey, want to go take another look?"

After everything that had happened tonight, he couldn’t possibly sleep soundly. His newly acquired subordinates had all originally been Fushan Ji’s men. Who knew if some die-hard loyalist might get a reckless notion and try to assassinate him?

"Let’s go." Hee Lingchuan readily agreed. Besides, he hadn’t recalled the Eye Spider monitoring the camp, so he might as well let it continue its watch.

Just then, Shi the Second also heard the sentry and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He looked outside and was dumbfounded. "Wh-what is going on? Why is the Illusion Realm different from before?"

"You’ve never seen this scene before?"

Shi the Second rubbed the back of his head. "I’d heard the Illusion Realm only had one scene—the one just now with all the fighting. But this... this quiet version of Thousand Star City... I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone talk about it."

’Have we unlocked a new scene?’ Hee Lingchuan grew even more interested.

But Shi the Second was exhausted and had no desire to go exploring again. He just wanted to fall back asleep.

And so, the two who were still full of energy waved to the camp’s sentry and deftly headed deeper into the Illusion Realm.

The city in the Illusion was exceptionally tranquil, as if it too were deep in the night. Only a few stray cats roamed the deserted streets. Hee Lingchuan could even hear crickets chirping, though he couldn’t tell if the sound was from the Illusion or reality.

’It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not.’

The Soul-Catching Mirror had been in seclusion ever since he’d obtained the Treasure Tree King Branch Fragment. After centuries of getting nothing to eat or drink, it had suddenly been fed both Emperor’s Liquid and a Juluo Branch within half a month. Both were powerful supplements, and it had overeaten and needed time to digest.

Otherwise, there was no telling how many gasps of amazement he would have heard from it tonight.

’This city is huge, and so quiet. Which way should we explore?’

Fushan Yue thought for a moment. "The scenes in this kind of natural illusion depend on a fortuitous alignment of timing and location. There isn’t necessarily any important cause and effect at play. Maybe this is just a very mundane day in Thousand Star City."

He pointed to the damp ground. "Look, it just rained in the city, and there’s a bright moon in the sky, which exactly matches the weather we’ve had tonight."

Hee Lingchuan, however, let out a curious "Huh?" "The Moonlight is so brilliant, so why is that star in the east shining so brightly?"

As the saying goes, a bright moon makes for few stars. Tonight, the Moonlight illuminated the entire landscape, making the mortal world as bright as day and causing the star-filled sky to pale in comparison.

Except for a single star in the east, which shimmered with a purple glow.

It didn’t compete with the Moonlight for brilliance, yet the Moonlight couldn’t conceal its presence.

Hee Lingchuan hadn’t studied Celestial Phenomena, but this star was unusually bright.

At his words, Fushan Yue also looked up. "Why is the Celestial Net Star shining?"

"That’s the Celestial Net Star?"

"You don’t know?" Fushan Yue expressed his surprise at Hee Lingchuan’s ignorance. "The Celestial Net Star is the tenth star of the Northern Dipper. It’s usually dim and difficult to see with the naked eye, lighting up only on rare occasions."

"Rare occasions?"

"I believe it’s from autumn until early spring the next year." Fushan Yue gazed up at the stars. "It’s not even the eighth month yet. Why is it shining now? And besides, was it shining earlier tonight?"

Hee Lingchuan shrugged. "I don’t recall."

’I have so many interesting things to look at, why would I waste time staring at Celestial Phenomena?’

Like this, for example— "Eh?"

Hee Lingchuan strode over to a high wall, reaching out to stroke the pattern on its surface.

The pattern was all too familiar. He’d seen it countless times on the wall of Panlong City’s South Gate in his dreams. It was—

The Black Flood Dragon!

Although the one beyond Panlong City’s South Gate was a massive sculpture and this was merely a pattern that resembled an Array—the Flood Dragon Head even looked a bit cartoonish—Hee Lingchuan was certain this was the Black Flood Dragon!

The sudden appearance of this pattern shocked Hee Lingchuan more than the Illusion itself, for it meant there was some connection between Thousand Star City and Panlong City.

One city was in Beiga, the other in the Xiluo Kingdom. Separated by tens of thousands of miles, why would they both have the Black Flood Dragon Totem?

Normally, the carvings displayed on such conspicuous avenues and official walls were of the National Guardian Spirit Beast.

For example, the Xiluo Kingdom’s National Guardian Spirit Beast was the Golden Bull, which had originally been featured at Panlong City’s South Gate before Zhong Shengguang ordered it changed to the Black Flood Dragon.

But the problem was, the Xiluo Kingdom’s Golden Bull was real and tangible. It normally guarded the Capital City and could be unleashed to fight enemies in times of war.

But what about the Black Flood Dragon?

Hee Lingchuan had entered and exited the Panlong Dream Realm so many times, yet he had never once seen the actual Black Flood Dragon make an appearance.

The Black Flood Dragon in the Ruins Illusion Realm didn’t count; that was just Zhong Shengguang’s remnant soul borrowing its image.

Hee Lingchuan had even asked many people, including Hu Min and Xiao Maoliang, and no one had ever seen the Black Flood Dragon with their own eyes.

If that was the case, why did Panlong City erect a statue for it?

What was even more preposterous was that Thousand Star City, tens of thousands of miles away, had done the same thing!

As one of the original Twelve Great Demon Countries, the Yuanl Kingdom wasn’t like human nations that appointed a National Guardian Spirit Beast.

Demons were everywhere here, and the most powerful among them became high-ranking officials. Who would deign to become a Spirit Beast? It would be a demotion!

Even with the two words "National Guardian" tacked on, it wouldn’t have been acceptable.

Therefore, for Thousand Star City to paint the Black Flood Dragon on its walls was, in itself, a strange act.

Hee Lingchuan turned to look at Fushan Yue, who also wore a look of confusion.

’Clearly, this guy’s knowledge of the Yuanl Kingdom from two hundred years ago wasn’t much better than his own.’

The two continued their search and, sure enough, discovered another Black Flood Dragon Pattern on the exterior of an Official Residence. This time it was a brick carving. The dragon’s head protruded outward, and the workmanship was exquisite.

Beneath the brick carving was another brick, on top of which sat an Incense Burner. Inside it were two burnt-down incense sticks.

The common folk were making offerings to it, too.

The last time they entered the Thousand Star City Illusion Realm, there was nothing but raging fires and scorched earth. Who would have noticed the patterns on the walls? Or perhaps they had long since been destroyed in the flames of war.

This time, he could finally see everything with perfect clarity.

Fushan Yue was also staring at it intently, muttering, "Where have I seen this?"

"You’ve seen it?" Hee Lingchuan immediately pressed. "Where?"

"I saw it when I was a child, in my royal father’s study. On which books, though?" Fushan Yue hissed softly. "It was so long ago, I can’t remember clearly."

"Tch. Useless."

"It was in a forbidden book... No, a Secret Scroll archive."

"Oh?" Hee Lingchuan’s interest was finally piqued. "How old were you then?"

"Seven or eight?"

’How’d you know they were forbidden books?’ ’So precocious.’

"My father’s study was divided into an outer and an inner chamber. We don’t need to talk about the outer one, but the items collected in the inner chamber were never shown to anyone. There were books, dossiers, letters, and other miscellaneous objects," Fushan Yue recalled. "I remember a Palace Attendant was cleaning the Imperial Study and knocked over two books. He accidentally flipped through a couple of pages while picking them up, and then he lost his head for it."

The King of Chiyan was well-traveled, knowledgeable, and long-lived; it wasn’t surprising that his study held some secrets.

Hee Lingchuan looked at the Flood Dragon Head before him. ’A taboo in your royal father’s court, but displayed openly in the streets here? King Yuanl’s stance was truly decisive, leaving himself no path of retreat.’

One more mystery to add to the pile.

"The Palace City is just ahead." He straightened up, gazing at the tall palace walls and the spired buildings visible just beyond them in the distance, muttering, "And in the end, we still wound up heading for the Palace City."

He couldn’t explain it, but it felt as if they were being guided by some unseen force.

"Well, since we’re here, let’s go have a look."

The pair walked another few dozen yards. Just as they were about to approach the palace gate, which was flanked by soldiers, they saw a carriage turn the corner. Its lantern cast a pale yellow halo in the night.

The carriage was unassuming, but the horse was a fine steed.

The carriage stopped steadily before the dismounting stele at the palace entrance. A scholar in a long robe stepped out. He was in his early twenties, with handsome features and a mole between his eyebrows.

He wasn’t wearing official robes, but the Guards recognized him. "By order of His Majesty, Lord Shao is to proceed to the corner tower of the West Second Gate." The Guard paused, then added, "You are granted special permission to travel by carriage."

It was the only carriage out in the dead of night, so naturally, Hee Lingchuan and Fushan Yue followed it.

Even inside the palace, the carriage didn’t dare to move quickly. It hugged the base of the wall as it headed west, stopping a short while later.

This was the corner of the Palace City. By the light of the moon, Hee Lingchuan and Fushan Yue could see a corner tower perched atop the wall. It was three stories tall.

That Lord Shao disembarked here, ascended the wall, and climbed the stairs.

Hee Lingchuan, however, glanced around and spotted a tree on the inner side of the high wall, about forty feet tall.