Chapter 54: The Non-Existent Great Square Pot

"The skeleton seems quite complete."

Nian Songyu also jumped down, narrowed his eyes to look closely, and his expression suddenly changed: "Complete, but not all in their original positions."

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

At this moment, He Lingchuan had no choice but to honestly comply.

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

"He was eaten too?!"

Several bones clearly bore scorch marks and knife cuts.

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

"Here!" Mao Tao had just finished digging away the grave soil on the other side and discovered that the deceased was holding something in his hand.

Taking it out to look, it was a small sheepskin parcel.

Even with Sun Fuping's extraordinary experience, his heartbeat could not help but quicken at this moment.

Finally, one step closer to the answer.

He personally untied the sheepskin; inside lay a notebook.

Everyone watched with excitement as he opened the notebook. The characters inside were dense, becoming more scribbled toward the end. The sheepskin's insulation kept it well-preserved, save for the paper turning yellow and brittle.

And then, it was unreadable, completely unreadable.

Everyone could only wait for the State Preceptor to translate, but Sun Fuping read slowly, word by word, fearing he might miss even a tiny bit of useful information, and he had to ponder as he read.

He Lingchuan finally couldn't hold it in anymore, went outside to have a good, thorough pee, and returned 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 grave mound, "Is it written by this dead person?"

"Not so. It is the last testament left by his companion who buried him, and also the last person of this Baling expedition team," Sun Fuping said slowly, "This person is Tao Bo, the grand-disciple of Zhu Gen."

"This notebook records the process from when he accepted the mission from Ancestor Zhu Gen until almost the entire team was wiped out. They found the entrance to the illusion in front of the temple in the desert's ruined city, triggered the sandstorm season early, but then encountered attacks from vengeful spirits. The Great Wind Army, in particular, was formidable, causing the team heavy losses; only five escaped into here, and the vengeful spirits did not pursue further."

"I won't elaborate on the process before this; we have all experienced it. The point is what follows: after entering the illusion, they failed to achieve their goal, finding neither the Great Square Pot nor an exit, and the food and water they brought in were constantly consumed, until they were completely exhausted."

Sun Fuping spoke slowly and in detail, not specifically to enlighten the three, but because he himself needed to slowly digest and ponder these contents.

"This place looks peaceful and happy, but it is actually no different from the desert, lacking only the extreme cold and heat, yet it is not suitable for life to persist. Those who cannot walk out have only a dead end in the end." Sun Fuping flipped through a page, "These Baling people eventually ran out of water and food, and had no choice but to eat their companions; of course, they used a drawing-lots method to decide the victims. We have already seen their remains at the Chen residence."

Nian Songyu asked curiously: "Then what is the story with this grave mound?"

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

The three were silent. To live for dozens of days in despair and fear, and then to hand over the last shred of hope for survival—they admitted they could not do such a thing.

"Tao Bo was moved by his high righteousness, built this tomb for him, and left his own notebook behind as a gift for those who came later."

Mao Tao gave a bitter smile: "That would be us unlucky ghosts."

"Watch your tongue." Nian Songyu did not feel he was particularly 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 Panlong City inside and out several times, and went out to the wilderness a few times. However, there is a boundary thirty miles outside the city, and one cannot walk further." Tao Bo's notebook was equivalent to a diary, recording observations and insights day by day, inevitably trivial, so State Preceptor Sun simply summarized the essence, "Ancestor Zhu Gen mentioned many hypotheses about Panlong City and the Great Square Pot. 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 Square Pot and only hoped to find a way to escape."

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

"The biggest problem with living in this illusory city is not knowing where to start at all; countless attempts ended in failure. Just when Yu Qingyuan also died and he was the only living person left in the entire city, Tao Bo was dazed for many days, and a thought suddenly popped into his head: could the reason for not finding the Great Square Pot be that it simply isn't here?"

The three were all stunned: "What does that mean?"

Without the Great Square Pot, how could this illusion exist?

Nian Songyu's expression turned very poor: "You mean, we looked in the wrong place?"

"The wheat fields outside the city and the buildings inside the city all show that Panlong City during this period was enjoying peace and was not affected by the flames of war at all," Sun Fuping said slowly, "Without war, people would not offer sacrifices to the gods, and the Heaven-Filling God naturally would not bestow the Great Square Pot used for war!"

War was the beginning of all subsequent tragedies.

Without war, there was naturally no Great Square Pot.

Absurd! Then they came here to die for nothing? Mao Tao wanted to refute, but opened his mouth and could make no sound. He Lingchuan muttered: "Does it seem like that's really the case?"

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

Even in a dead trap set by man, there is a path to life, even if the chance is slim; otherwise, such a trap could not be created in the first place. This is the fundamental law of this realm, just like water flowing to lower ground or the sun rising the next day; it does not need to be argued. Nian Songyu had studied divine abilities and understood this principle well.

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

Like?

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

A peach blossom land beyond the frontier that is undisturbed by war, quiet, peaceful, and prosperous—who could not like it?

"Yes, everyone! All the people who once lived on this land, both the living and the dead—the ideal home in their hearts must look just like this. Therefore, the Great Square Pot 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 had been beautified and processed, far better than at any time in the history of Panlong City, which is why the vengeful spirits were willing to stay here."

(End of chapter)