[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies":3,"chapter-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-210":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Notes on Kraft Anomalous Studies",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2283688,4467,"Chapter 210: The Entrance","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-210",210,"\u003Cp>“Mr. Kraft, I understand you need some leisure time to rest, but are you certain this is our destination today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What, is there a problem?” Kraft had changed into casual attire, savoring the rare fresh air outdoors. “It’s only reasonable to visit a few ancient sites when you’re here in Dunling for the first time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kup glanced at the wasteland half-hidden by waist-high weeds, where a handful of visitors hurried past, backs laden with digging and chiseling tools, shouldering heavy bundles wrapped in cloth. “That’s true enough, but does Dr. Dai Wei know you skipped half a clinic shift to come sightseeing at a graveyard?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s fine—I told him not to touch anything uncertain, to leave it for me to handle.” This was a small step in slacking off, but a major one for Dai Wei’s sense of responsibility. If he performed well, the academy might well gain another peripheral member.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft had been working and teaching at high intensity for a full week; had he not casually mentioned it, he might not have remembered his original intention until next month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They stood on a rare open patch on the city’s outskirts, about half a district away from Dai Wei’s clinic, and even farther from the university’s old quarter. The expanding city had deliberately halted at a certain boundary, forming a vast gap where streets did not connect to the broken paths buried in weeds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The university’s coachman refused to go further, politely urging the two visitors to abandon their idea, saying souls that died unclean could not be accepted anywhere and mostly lingered here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I suppose you’re not the type to jump at the sight of a couple of bones. In fact, this truly is an ancient site—look beneath our feet; it must be quite old.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though overgrown by plant roots and fractured beyond recognition, the scattered pavement still revealed itself as stone slabs carefully cut and laid—once, it was likely better than any road within the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the rock partially buried underground, jutting out at one corner, the signs of human shaping finally faded, worn smooth as if by nature itself; only the scattered piles and the decaying road nearby hinted this had once been a large complex of buildings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Decades alone could not have swallowed such a massive stone structure—this was likely a relic from far earlier times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Local residents refused to build new structures atop these ancestral foundations, and even avoided using nearby stone, as if unconsciously believing these most rigid, powerful substances of life could also be infected by the miasma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So these relics simply lay there, their original purpose now unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On a dubious stone wall of piled rocks, they found the entrance—and a small hut built of scrap wood planks. The most formal object was a holy symbol, not enshrined, but hung outside the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An old gravekeeper, with dry, tangled hair, sat on a wooden bench by the door, gnawing on a fruit with more pits than flesh, idly tossing the pits into a nearby drain. Seeing two visitors who clearly weren’t here for normal funeral business, his single good eye grew wary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the most reviled places remain under the Church’s control. The enforcement may be unreliable, but it clearly conveyed one message: this graveyard was not lawless ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That gaze made Kraft deeply uncomfortable—like a security guard at a school gate, able by instinct honed through experience to distinguish teachers, students from his own school, students from other schools, or intruding layabouts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hello, we’re with the group that just passed.” Kraft pointed to the funeral procession that had just gone by, trying to bluff his way through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gravekeeper moved his chair into the middle of the path and sat down, blocking their way. He didn’t understand why they didn’t just climb the wall. “Even relatives of the dead rarely follow inside—except for those who collect corpses. Who are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, we’re from the Medical Academy. We hope to investigate the number of deaths from tuberculosis in Dunling—it might help us better understand the local prevalence of this disease.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, I see!” He blinked, both eyes—the pale, clouded one included—clearing with understanding, then refused without hesitation. “No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rusted iron shovel clanged heavily against the ground, making the gravekeeper’s stance clear—why do you think?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft realized this likely couldn’t be explained away, so he tried a different approach, one more likely to bridge human understanding. “For the sake of the Heavenly Father, I’d like to offer some material aid to help maintain the resting places of these poor souls.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know what this place is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the finger, smeared with dust, they saw a steeple taller than the rest nearby, unmistakably identifying its nature. “Believe me, even the Inquisition’s people sometimes visit the church here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think six silver coins would be a fair price.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir, no matter your background, offering silver coins as payment insults my faith in the Heavenly Father.” The old man glanced at the holy symbol hanging over the shed—perhaps precisely because this was a position needing spiritual protection, it naturally bred the most steadfast believers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t mean black silver coins.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Still no...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Seven. That’s enough to buy a new holy symbol blessed by a priest—better than this thing.” A faint, inexplicable itch crept along his neck, like a hair brushing the sweat-damp hairs there, adding to the oppressive humidity and wearing down his patience, making Kraft instinctively want to end this negotiation and leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gravekeeper loosened his grip on the shovel; the chair seat felt suddenly hot. “You’re putting me in a difficult position.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I’ll go elsewhere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t allow anyone to openly carry anything out through the front gate.” He took the small object, its metal chime ringing pleasantly, rose, and moved his chair aside. “Also—did you bring fire?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This made one wonder if both his eyes were useless—he couldn’t tell day from night. “Fire?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forget it. Consider it a bonus. If you’re too scared to go down, remember to return it.” A soot-blackened lantern was thrust into Kraft’s hand. The gravekeeper lit it for him, even offering to do so without demanding its return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft had no intention of lingering at the entrance. He thanked the man for the gift and hurried after the funeral procession, whose backs were already fading into the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the optional fence of the graveyard, the environment matched the outside: no freshly turned earth, no buried objects exposed by rain, only tall grass and scattered relics faintly carved with markings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, attempting to dig here would require exhausting several tools—and the limited area couldn’t possibly hold the vast number of plague victims.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the cleared path, their question was soon answered: they understood why the gravekeeper had given them the lantern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half-buried stone arches embedded in earth and stone led down a long, spiraling staircase into the unreachable depths. Footsteps and torchlight vanished around the corner, carrying away a tightly wrapped human shape from view.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason only one gravekeeper was assigned here became clear: this was not the graveyard itself, but the entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The underground crypts used during past plagues to count the dead had not been abandoned with time; instead, their gates had remained open for decades, serving as receptacles for souls rejected by Heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kup, let me confirm once more—you’re not afraid of bones, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m more afraid of them when they’re written on paper than when they’re moving.” Kup patted the hammer hanging at his waist. If a walking skeleton appeared before him now, he thought he might even have a conversation about his progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good. You carry the lantern and walk behind.” Before stepping onto the stairs, Kraft turned one last time toward the path they’d come from, frowning in confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Somehow, I feel uneasy】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood still for a moment, trying to identify the source of the discomfort—but found nothing. The sensation vanished as suddenly as it had come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Kraft, is that thing the cause?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, not like that. Probably just early signs of cervical spondylosis. Let’s go down.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1346,"2026-06-20T02:15:56.940Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5ffdbc8faaf5f38cb487c91b182e2131f56c66f30bca29c2b921b35d8354e03e","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-211","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-209",406,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnotes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-cover.jpg"]