Chapter 36: There Were Pioneers Long Ago

This was a matter of course; without an abundant water supply that never ceased all year round, Panlongcheng simply couldn't have held out.

"How do we go now?" Nian Songyu asked the National Master, "It's getting dark."

At most, in another two quarters of an hour, the sun would sink below the distant mountains. The light in the ancient city was darkening rapidly.

"First, build a base camp and set up a defensive talisman array." Sun Fuping had long had a plan, "Dismissed, everyone go find a suitable location."

"Dismissed?" He Lingchuan said wait a moment, "Such a large ruin, the risks haven't been eliminated!"

"No need." Sun Fuping was confident, "At least the outskirts of the city are relatively safe. You don't think we are the first batch of people to enter Panlongcheng in over a hundred years, do you?"

That's what he thought; was he naive? He Lingchuan chuckled: "So there were pioneers long ago, it's a pity they all returned empty-handed."

If they had found the treasure, why would they come to Panlongcheng?

"Not necessarily, they didn't necessarily come for the Great Fang Hu; such ruins often attract treasure hunters. They also recorded what they saw and heard here, which can serve as a reference for us." Although the mutated creatures and Three-Corpse Insects in the Panlong Desert are terrifying, to be honest, as long as you do your homework beforehand, they are not unsolvable problems.

Therefore, the Panlong ruins had long had visitors, all coming with their own ulterior motives.

Just like this team.

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After searching for a while, the two hundred people found an open space to settle down.

This seemed to be the market of Panlongcheng, with two rows of buildings along the river, all leaning against each other, the highest being no more than two stories.

Of course, the facades of most houses were destroyed, at least one-third had clearly suffered from fire, but a few households still had plaques hanging, the most complete one having blurred handwriting.

The font was a bit different from today's, and He Lingchuan took some effort to barely recognize two characters: "Frost... Wine"

It was probably a tavern.

The houses here were low and short, and all leaned against each other, very suitable as a temporary camp. The team stationed themselves, and Sun Fuping ordered a two-hour rest on the spot. Zeng Feixiong hurried to distribute the houses. Several leaders occupied the tavern with the best view and the best wind protection and began to discuss long-term plans.

After two days of rushing, everyone finally had time to wash their faces and refresh themselves.

In the center of the desert where every drop of water is precious, this is a privilege only leaders have. He Lingchuan raised his waterskin and took a few hearty gulps, pouring the rest on his face: "Ghost place, hot to death in the day, frozen to death at night!"

The typical climate of desert areas is a huge temperature difference between day and night; places that are over forty degrees at noon freeze with frost at night. The sun had already set, and the temperature plummeted; everyone's cotton-padded jackets weren't enough, and they had to dismantle wooden parts everywhere to burn for warmth.

His head-shaking action was like a dog shaking off water. Nian Songyu frowned and dodged the splashed water droplets: "Time is precious, and the night cannot be wasted. But this ruin is too large; even if we scatter our manpower, it will take at least several days to search. Does the National Master have any methods?"

They weren't here for an outing, and the food and water brought by the team were limited; it was best if every minute could be utilized.

After dusting off the yellow sand and tidying up his appearance, Sun Fuping regained the demeanor of a National Master and spoke eloquently.

"Things like turning boxes and cabinets upside down and digging three feet into the ground have already been done by the Baling and Xianyou coalition forces back then, and later treasure hunters; we cannot do better than them. Therefore, there is little value in searching the buildings and houses in the city."

After the ancient city of Panlong was breached, it suffered a massacre; people and livestock were killed, and property was looted. The enemy nation spent more than thirty years to topple this thorn in their side, and they had long hated it to the bone; if they didn't loot it to their heart's content, they couldn't vent their anger.

What's more, they had plenty of time, and they should have scraped even the ground clean, but the Great Fang Hu was still not found, so from luxury houses to civilian homes, none were its hiding place.

After hearing this, He Lingchuan breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good." Otherwise, their manpower was too small, and Panlongcheng was too large; searching was simply looking for a needle in a haystack. "That is to say, the National Master already knows where the pot is?"

Predecessors had all returned in defeat; if Sun Fuping didn't have full confidence, why would he run thousands of miles to eat sand here?

"I don't know the exact location, but I can narrow the scope." Sun Fuping pondered for a moment and said, "I have visited Ancestor Zhu Gen of the Baling Nation; he visited Panlongcheng four times, the earliest being sixty years ago, and the latest forty years ago. It can be said that he was perhaps the force that searched the Panlong ruins most thoroughly after the coalition forces."

"Force?" He Chunhua grasped the keyword.

"In my opinion, the Baling Nation has always had some doubts about the Panlong ruins. Ancestor Zhu Gen himself was also very fascinated by it; the last time he came here to investigate, he was already seventy-five years old, and he stayed the longest, a full fifteen days, and brought the most people, said to be over a thousand."

The more people, the longer the stay, the more careful the search for Panlongcheng. It was just hard to imagine how they guaranteed logistical supply.

Sure enough, such large-scale excavation requires the support of the government and the military.

Everyone also understood that the coalition forces and Ancestor Zhu Gen had already done the homework and cleared the mines for them, and carpet-style searching was no longer necessary.

"Nearly a thousand people were all fine, and didn't encounter any accidents?" He Lingchuan interjected, "This itself is very abnormal."

He Chunhua suddenly said: "It's dark, and I still haven't seen any Three-Corpse Insects."

Now he could still see the three fires on others; obviously, the effect of the Du Hunsan had not yet passed. This state is similar to what is commonly known as "opening the heavenly eye," and one can also see Three-Corpse Insects.

But from getting on the bridge to entering the city, he hadn't discovered a single Three-Corpse Insect.

This itself is very strange, right? "Yes, not only are there no Three-Corpse Insects in the city, but there are no other evil spirits either. This is the consensus of previous treasure hunters, so as long as we don't stir up any huge commotion here, we are mostly safe." Sun Fuping took out a marching naan bread and roasted it over the fire.

Marching naan bread is made of unleavened dough and is as big as a human face; it makes a "ping" sound when dropped on the ground, and it's very sturdy. Its only advantage is that it's filling and doesn't spoil easily. Even if it was roasted soft, He Lingchuan felt this naan bread was coarse and astringent, and it scraped the throat when swallowed hard. He could only soak it in hot water to eat, but Sun Fuping broke it into small pieces and chewed it without changing his expression.

This National Master is grounded; he can live with delicacies, and he can also live with coarse tea and naan bread.

"The information I collected was mostly obtained from Zhu Gen. After studying it for half his life, he told me personally that the Great Fang Hu was never found by anyone; it is very likely that everyone went at the wrong time."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 37 =====