Chapter 53: Where Exactly Did Zhong Shengguang Live?

Perhaps drawn by anxiety, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck his mind.

Perhaps they still had to return to the question that Nian and Sun were struggling with from the start: Where exactly was the Zhong residence?

Why was this specific period of history chosen for the illusion containing the Great Square Pot? Panlong City clearly had countless glorious fragments.

The only clue they could follow, or rather, the only clue the Baling expedition could follow, was Zhong Shengguang.

The fact that the Baling people’s remains were abandoned in the Chen residence cellar showed that the expedition’s original intention was the same as theirs: to find clues at the Zhong residence.

But they found nothing there... was that really true?

In other words, as long as they found the Zhong residence, they could find the remaining members of the Baling expedition.

He Lingchuan tried hard to recall every legend, storytelling performance, and historical anecdote he had heard about Panlong City, the Great Wind Army, and the Zhong clan.

Almost every historical fragment was related to Zhong Shengguang; what clues could be hidden within? In this Panlong City, that beautiful gray-brick mansion still belonged to the Chen family, not yet to Zhong Shengguang. Assuming Zhong Shengguang only purchased the mansion from the Chen family later, where would he be living during this current period?

At this time, he was still a Deputy Commander, having come to Panlong City to take up his post under the King’s orders from the central region of the Xiluo Kingdom.

As a visitor from out of town, he had no residence in Panlong City and had to find a place to stay.

Would he be at the post station? He Lingchuan shook his head, rejecting the idea himself.

Only bachelors stayed at post stations. He had seen in several plays that Deputy Commander Zhong was a newlywed, having taken up his post the month after his marriage.

The man surnamed Zhong spent the rest of his life here, and later had children; he couldn't have produced them all by himself.

Therefore, he had brought his family with him and could not possibly be staying at a post station.

That kind of place was dirty, noisy, and smelly, with wall panels as thin as paper; if a couple clapped their hands together at night, the guests next door could hear everything clearly.

Where would Zhong Shengguang arrange for his family to stay?

He Lingchuan jumped off the roof ridge: "National Teacher, did we just pass the government office?"

"Yes, why?" Sun Fuping said, "I already inspected the government office before you entered the city." But there were no useful clues there.

"The Chen residence—I mean the later Zhong residence—is some distance from the government office. But Zhong Shengguang at this time had to enter and exit the government office every day; he might have settled nearby. He had family with him."

Sun Fuping was also a shrewd man and understood immediately: "You're right! I only searched the government office but didn't look closely at the surroundings!"

The two immediately changed direction and headed back the way they came.

Every city’s government office would firmly occupy a prime location with good feng shui, and Panlong City was no exception.

Before long, the two saw a cluster of drab gray buildings by the river; in terms of grandeur and facade, they were far inferior to the restaurant thirty yards away.

"This is it."

Officials did not renovate their offices; they only sought people for minor repairs when things broke. Therefore, government offices were generally not magnificent, at best neat and solemn.

But its geographical location was truly excellent.

He Lingchuan climbed up the nearby tallest restaurant in a few swift moves and looked around.

Sun Fuping heard him shout from above: "To the north is a wetland, no one can live there."

"To the west is the market, with shops." Shops were generally storefronts with courtyards in the back, where people lived behind the business; small-time merchants were not very particular, "I don't think Zhong Shengguang would live there either."

The environment in the West Market was poor; after all, Zhong Shengguang was a newlywed, and he was an official, so he would likely find a better place for his wife.

He looked south again and discovered several rows of houses facing the government office across the water, each similar in size, mostly small courtyards with one or two entrances, which must have been built uniformly. Although they were not grand mansions, living by the water should be quiet and leisurely.

"To the south!" He pointed south, "Those are official quarters!"

Official quarters were residences for officials, generally connected to the government office, forming a large complex. He Lingchuan had understood this when he saw the official quarters in Heishuicheng; weren't these just government compounds or collective dormitories?

But Panlong City’s location was special; there was water in front of and behind the government office, and the space was too small, so the official quarters were built on the opposite bank.

Serving in an official post in a different region created a need for accommodation. Regulations regarding this varied in strictness across different kingdoms.

For instance, the Dayuan Kingdom required officials serving in different regions to live in official quarters and forbade private purchases of houses. However, Qian-Song Commandery was truly remote, and the Yuan Kingdom at this time was beset by internal and external troubles, with no time to enforce regulations; officials of all ranks who purchased fertile land and fine houses abroad, like He Chunhua, were actually countless.

As for Zhong Shengguang, that went without saying. After the Panlong Wasteland became an exclave, he was the highest authority here. The Xiluo Kingdom didn't even know the Panlong Wasteland was still their territory, and no one dared to question Zhong Shengguang’s actions here.

But during these peaceful days in the Panlong Wasteland, he was not yet the high-ranking Commander; he should have been living in the official quarters! Sun Fuping also realized this, his eyes lighting up: "Let's go!"

There were over forty sets of official quarters, but the two had a specific target, so it was not difficult to find.

Soon, Sun Fuping released a command arrow in the second-to-last row of official quarters, summoning the others to come quickly!

When everyone arrived, they found Sun Fuping and He Lingchuan standing in the small courtyard of an official quarter.

In the courtyard stood a grave, with a wooden board erected as a tombstone.

Even Nian Songyu could not understand the text on it.

Sun Fuping read to the group: "Tomb of loyal friend Yu Qingyuan; this is Baling script."

Mao Tao was overjoyed: "We found it, we found it! Uh, found... another Baling person?"

"But not the last Baling person to die, otherwise who would have buried him?" He Lingchuan pinched the soil, "What is special about this person that he deserved a proper burial?"

This expedition team was so ruthless they even ate their own people; other team members who were eaten were just abandoned in the cellar, so why did this deceased person deserve a burial? One had to remember this was an illusion; nothing here was real. The courtyard was like this, and the soil was like this.

The Baling expedition had to eat people to survive in the end, so they must have been exhausted; why would they be willing to spend the effort to dig the earth and build a grave, doing something as futile as that?

Nian Songyu was observing the tombstone, even reaching out to wipe it, then bringing it under his nose to sniff.

"This ink was mixed with blood; they had no water." Without water, they couldn't dissolve the ink and had to use blood.

"Dig it up!" They had to get to the bottom of this.

Sun Fuping moved his mouth, and He Lingchuan and Mao Tao had to grunt and strain to dig the grave; fortunately, there were some farm tools in the courtyard, though it was unknown if they were used by the Baling team back then.

The two were working furiously here, with Nian Songyu supervising on the side, while Sun Fuping looked up at the sky, lost in thought.

Soon, the occupant of the grave saw the light of day again.

Mao Tao wiped the mud from his face: "Dug it up, phew, still just white bones."

"It's been buried for decades; it would be strange if it weren't white bones." He Lingchuan used a shovel to scrape away the soil, revealing most of the skeleton.

(End of chapter)