Chapter 54: The Non-Existent Great Fang Hu

"The skeleton seems very complete."

Nian Songyu also jumped down, staring closely, then suddenly his face changed: "Complete, but not in its original position."

He pointed to the hands and feet of the deceased, which were still covered by mud: "Dig away the soil."

At this time, He Lingchuan had no choice but to honestly follow suit.

As a result, after digging it open, everyone let out a long "eh."

"He was also eaten?!"

Several bones clearly had traces of burning and knife marks.

"Eaten first, then buried?" It was Nian Songyu's turn to be puzzled. "What is special about this person?"

"Here!" Mao Tao happened to dig away the tomb soil on the other side and found something held in the deceased's hand.

Taking it out, it was a small sheepskin package.

Even with Sun Fuping's extensive experience, his heart couldn't help but beat faster at this moment.

Finally, one step closer to the mystery.

He personally untied the sheepskin, and inside lay a notebook.

Everyone watched with excitement as he opened the notebook, the words inside dense, becoming more and more scribbled towards the end. The isolation of the sheepskin kept it well-preserved, except for the paper turning yellow and brittle.

And then, couldn't understand, couldn't understand.

Everyone could only wait for the State Preceptor to translate, but Sun Fuping read slowly word by word, fearing to miss a tiny bit of useful information, and thinking while reading.

He Lingchuan couldn't hold it in anymore, went outside to have a good pee, and came back just in time to catch Sun Fuping tilting his head to drink water.

"State Preceptor, what exactly is written in the notebook?" He pointed to the tomb mound. "Is it written by this dead person?"

"No, it is the last will left by his companion, who was also the last person of this Baling exploration team to bury him. This person is Tao Bo, the grand-disciple of Zhu Gen."

"This notebook records the process from when he received the mission from Ancestor Zhu Gen until almost the entire army was wiped out. They found the entrance to the illusion in front of the temple in the desert desolate city, triggered the sandstorm season in advance, but then encountered vengeful spirit attacks. Especially the Great Wind Army was fierce, causing heavy losses to the whole team, with only five people escaping here, and the vengeful spirits didn't pursue anymore."

"The process before this won't be repeated; we have all experienced it. The point is what follows: after they entered the illusion, they failed to achieve their goal, neither finding the Great Fang Hu nor the exit, and the food and water they brought in were constantly consumed, until they were exhausted."

Sun Fuping spoke slowly and in detail, not specifically to clear up the confusion for the three, but because he himself had to slowly digest and ponder these contents.

"This place looks peaceful and happy, but in fact, it's no different from the desert, just lacking severe cold and heat, but none of it is suitable for life to remain. Those who can't get out will only have a dead end in the end." Sun Fuping flipped through a page casually. "These few Baling people were also out of water and food in the end, and had no choice but to eat their companions, of course, using the method of drawing lots to decide the victim. We have already seen their remains in the Chen mansion."

Nian Songyu wondered: "Then what's with this tomb mound?"

"The third person who drew the death lot didn't want to be eaten and wanted to resist, but was killed by Tao Bo and Yu Qingyuan together. This person was very difficult to deal with, and Tao Bo couldn't handle it alone. After another period of time, it was time for the last two to gamble on luck, but Yu Qingyuan committed suicide, giving the last chance of survival to Tao Bo."

The three were silent. Living through dozens of days in despair and fear, and still being willing to hand over the last glimmer of hope for survival, they admitted they couldn't do such a thing.

"Tao Bo felt his high righteousness, set up this tomb for him, and left his own notebook together, gifting it to later comers."

Mao Tao smiled bitterly: "That is, us unlucky ghosts."

"Watch your words." Nian Songyu didn't feel he was unlucky. "There should be something useful written in the notebook, right?"

"Relying on food, water, and companions, he lived in the illusion for more than sixty days, searched Panlongcheng inside and out several times, and even walked on the wasteland several times. However, there is a boundary thirty miles outside the city, and he couldn't get out any further." Tao Bo's notebook is equivalent to a diary, recording what he saw and felt day by day, inevitably trivial. State Preceptor Sun simply summarized the essence. "Ancestor Zhu Gen had many hypotheses about Panlongcheng and the Great Fang Hu. Tao Bo, as his grand-disciple, tried hard to verify them here, but none succeeded. In the end, he even gave up looking for the Great Fang Hu, only hoping to find a way to escape."

"Of course, he also understood that these two things were fundamentally the same thing."

"The biggest problem with living in this illusory city is that you don't know where to start at all, and countless attempts have ended in failure. Just when Yu Qingyuan also died and the whole city was left with only him as a living person, Tao Bo was dazed for several days, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind: could the reason for not finding the Great Fang Hu be that it simply isn't here?"

The three were all stunned: "What do you mean?"

Without the Great Fang Hu, how could there be this illusion?

Nian Songyu's face turned very bad: "Do you mean we found the wrong place?"

"The wheat fields outside the city and the buildings inside the city all show that Panlongcheng during this period enjoyed peace and was not affected by the flames of war at all," Sun Fuping said slowly. "Without war, people wouldn't offer sacrifices to gods, and naturally, the Mitian God wouldn't bestow the Great Fang Hu used for war!"

War is the beginning of all subsequent tragedies.

Without war, naturally, there is no Great Fang Hu.

Absurd! Then they came here to die for nothing? Mao Tao wanted to refute, but opened his mouth and couldn't make a sound. He Lingchuan muttered: "It seems that's really the case?"

What else can they do here? "If we can't find a way out here, this illusion is a desperate situation, a dead end!" Nian Songyu's eyes flickered. "There can't be such a formation or secret realm in the world; this is against the laws of heaven!"

There is a way out in a dead end set up by humans, even if the chance is slim, otherwise, the situation itself couldn't be created. This is the basic law of this world, just like water flows to a lower place and the sun rises the next day; there is no need to argue. Nian Songyu has studied supernatural powers and understands this principle deeply.

"So, why does this Panlongcheng world exist?" Sun Fuping shook the notebook in his hand. "As the direct grand-disciple of Ancestor Zhu Gen, Tao Bo put forward a conjecture. Who do you think would like Panlongcheng during this period?"

Like?

The three looked at each other, and He Lingchuan tentatively asked: "Everyone?"

A peach blossom source outside the Great Wall that is not troubled by the flames of war, quiet, peaceful, and prosperous; who wouldn't like it?

"Right, everyone! The ideal home in the minds of all those who have lived on this land, both living and dead, should be this way. Therefore, the Great Fang Hu created such a world for them according to the wishes of the vengeful spirits before they died!" Sun Fuping continued. "Tao Bo even suspected that the existence of this illusion has been beautified and processed, far better than any time in Panlongcheng's history, which is why the vengeful spirits are willing to stay here."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 55 =====