Chapter 39: Clue: Water

After being brought over, these two puppets continued to struggle incessantly. It was evident that the Three-Corpse Worms could indeed squeeze out every ounce of a person's potential; the group had already been in the city for an hour, yet the two still had strength. However, the soldiers guarding them were not made of iron, so they simply bound the pair's legs to find time for a nap.

Thus, these two fellows were carried in and placed on the floor. They hunched over, shivering with a rustling sound.

The talisman robes covering them ensured the Three-Corpse Worms remained trapped within their bodies, unable to escape.

Situ Han asked in surprise: "Are they cold, or are they afraid?"

"Afraid. Do the guys parasitized by Three-Corpse Worms even know what cold is?" He Lingchuan squatted down to examine them closely. "But it's not us they're afraid of."

The gazes of the two lacked focus; clearly, they didn't take the group seriously at all.

But the vast Panlong ruins were empty; what were they afraid of? Nian Songyu also said: "Not to mention there's no one here, there aren't even any Three-Corpse Worms in this ruined city. They don't dare to approach at all. Why?"

"There is something that makes them terrified." Sun Fuping stood up. "Regardless of what that is, it should be closely related to our goal."

He Lingchuan asked curiously: "You want to make them say it themselves? Can Three-Corpse Worms even talk?"

It seemed Sun Fuping had brought these two puppets along with the intention of conducting an experiment.

"Ordinary ones can't, but I don't know if the ones produced by the Great Square Pot can give us a hint." Sun Fuping walked up to the puppets and said, "Your nest, the Great Square Pot, must still be in the city. Point out a location for me, and I will let you leave."

The two puppets continued to shiver and remained arrogant, treating him as if he were transparent.

"These two things don't take you seriously!" He Lingchuan was furious. "Give them a taste of your power to save some time."

Sun Fuping took a set of gold needles from his robes, applied medicinal heat to each one, and used a bit of true fire ignited at his fingertips to warm them before piercing them into the puppets' skull, heart aperture, and feet.

The puppets immediately let out loud wails.

These three spots were where the Three-Corpse Worms were entrenched; Sun Fuping used the medicinal fire to burn them directly on their tails, which was agonizing. Otherwise, if he used blades or magic, it would only injure the host, and the Three-Corpse Worms wouldn't care at all.

They intended to look Sun Fuping in the eye, but their gazes were exceptionally fierce, like wolves staring at meat.

To them, humans were merely skin bags.

"I know you can understand human speech." Sun Fuping's voice was calm. "If you don't give an answer, you will suffer more."

Then he took action.

His gold needles were hollow, making it easy to replenish the medicine and increase the dosage at any time.

The group saw the tiny red flame at the end of the needles brighten, and the puppets' screams suddenly rose by three octaves.

Double the dosage, double the pain.

Sun Fuping paused and asked: "Will you talk?"

The puppets only screamed incessantly.

So he increased the torture.

This was repeated several times.

The further he went, the slower his speed became. This enhanced version of the Three-Corpse Worm had a soul body far stronger than its ordinary peers; otherwise, it would have been poisoned to death by him a quarter of an hour ago.

Unless the host severed it themselves, once the Three-Corpse Worm died, the host would also kick the bucket.

Therefore, gauging the limit was becoming increasingly difficult.

Finally, one puppet let out a loud roar, its neck tilted, and it stopped breathing.

So it really wouldn't work? Sun Fuping let out a long sigh.

The Three-Corpse Worms raised by the Great Square Pot should have had something special about them; if they could communicate with people, this trip to Panlong City would have been much smoother.

It was a pity; this mission seemed to have no shortcuts.

In truth, he only held a faint hope in his heart; after all, the allied forces that fought a war of attrition on this wasteland over a hundred years ago had likely tried every method to obtain intelligence.

He just felt that time might change many things.

The other tortured Three-Corpse Worm had a burst of madness, actually breaking free from its restraints and grabbing He Lingchuan's arm!

Caught off guard, everyone was shocked.

He Chunhua rushed forward without hesitation and chopped off the puppet's head with a blade.

The wailing stopped abruptly.

"Is Chuan'er alright?" He Chunhua did not loosen his grip on the blade.

He Lingchuan was also startled; he subconsciously pried open the dead man's hand and felt his heart before saying, "I'm fine."

This fellow had grabbed him so tightly that its fingers had almost sunk into his skin.

Fortunately, he circulated his true qi throughout his body and found no abnormalities.

Everyone looked at each other.

Sun Fuping walked up, checked his pupils, and asked: "Do you feel irritable, restless, dizzy, or bloated?"

"Very clear-headed, no abnormalities. It seems it had no effect on me."

Sun Fuping nodded: "The effect of the Soul-Suppressing Powder has not yet fully faded, so you have some resistance."

He Lingchuan sighed: "It seems the Three-Corpse Worms here aren't anything special."

Seeing that he was truly fine, He Chunhua felt relieved: "They just refuse to leave the Panlong Desert, or rather, they refuse to stay far from the Great Square Pot."

The principle of guarding the Great Square Pot had long been carved into the instincts of the Three-Corpse Worms; they could not betray it even in death. The same loyalty existed in ant colonies and beehives; individual worker bees and ants worked tirelessly without any fear of hardship, and their deaths were not worth mentioning.

Therefore, even though the Three-Corpse Worms feared something here and dared not enter the city, they still lingered on the periphery—that is, the Panlong Desert—and refused to flee far away.

He Lingchuan shrugged. If the Three-Corpse Worms could be interrogated like ordinary creatures, the intelligence on the Great Square Pot and Panlong City would have been thoroughly uncovered by the Baling Immortal-Union forces long ago, and the gods behind Panlong City would not tolerate such a loophole.

"Although Zhu Gen didn't say it, in my opinion, the conditions to trigger the Wild Sand Season shouldn't be very difficult. The last team he sent was also with the attitude of verifying it..." Sun Fuping pondered, "Before every Wild Sand Season arrives, is the desert always filled with thunderstorms?"

Zeng Feixiong nodded: "Yes."

Sun Fuping's gaze flickered: "The temple in the city only worships the Mitian God?"

"Yes. It is said that the Mitian God is the only faith of Panlong City."

He Chunhua let out an 'oh', seemingly having realized something: "You don't mean?"

"Write it down, and let's verify it with each other."

So Sun Fuping and He Chunhua both raised their hands, dipped them in water, and wrote a character on the table.

When everyone looked, the National Master had written the character for "Water," while He Chunhua had written the character for "Rain."

The literal meanings were about the same.

He Lingchuan stroked his chin and said: "The National Master and Father are wise! The rainy season in Qiansong Prefecture comes later than in the interior, usually not until the end of August or early September."

Nian Songyu was puzzled: "If it's caused by rain, does it mean it doesn't rain in the desert usually?" As far as he knew, a lack of water in the desert didn't mean it never rained. "Sometimes heavy rain even causes floods in the desert."

"It really doesn't rain." He Lingchuan chuckled, "Don't compare other deserts to Panlong; they aren't worthy."

He Chunhua said: "How could I be as learned as the National Master? However, Deputy Commander Zeng's father was the only living person who experienced the Wild Sand Season in the Panlong Desert. After he returned, although he was mentally confused, he kept muttering the word 'water' all day long. I think this is the key clue."

(End of chapter)