Chapter 442: 417 Decay

Above the clouds, before the Lamp, from Black Widow and Yue Lai below, up to the Sword Guest Shangguan Jianke above, all saw Tang Zhao alone with his head bowed, examining the coffin.

Everyone just watched quietly; although the coffin's arrival was suspicious, those with the ability to examine it were trapped, those without the ability dared not approach, and those who might have had the ability were uninterested, so they could only wait for Tang Zhao to find a result.

But no one noticed that a layer of false light screen had already been erected before them, and everything before their eyes was an illusion, while the real Tang Zhao had already stood up, an elegant white fox on his shoulder.

The white fox stood on Tang Zhao's shoulder, its body gradually becoming translucent, only its eyes growing increasingly emerald, and said, "Open your Inspiration to me."

Tang Zhao pressed his hand against his sword, peeled back the protection his sword had over his Soul, and dispersed his own Inspiration.

In the white fox's perception, the Inspiration opposite felt like an ocean, vast and boundless, unfathomable, and it couldn't help but ask, "Is... this your Inspiration?"

Tang Zhao explained, "It is a part of it. I cannot open it all; it easily conflicts with my sword."

Of course, it was also actually a lack of trust; it was impossible to hand over his Inspiration to the white fox entirely.

The white fox chuckled and whispered, "What a nonchalant tone..." Its body turned translucent again, finally transforming into a stream of light that merged into Tang Zhao's Inspiration.

Tang Zhao only felt an opening suddenly appear deep within his Soul, connecting to another marvelous existence and merging with it on a certain level.

"Now I am temporarily your sword. You are a Sword Guest; you don't need me to teach you, right? Remember to use Sword Technique."

How interesting.

So, the world of swords has such a method as well?

Through the Sword Guest's concession and the sword's inhabitation, the Sword Guest temporarily wields a sword that does not belong to them, or even the sword of another Sword Guest.

Is this Pseudo-Holding?

It doesn't seem like it; if it were Pseudo-Holding, the sword would be more like a "tool sword," not requiring communication or insight, just picking it up and using it according to the Sword Manual.

It also doesn't seem like an Authority Sword; an Authority Sword is the reverse, a one-sided output.

Come to think of it, it is very much like the battle in Jianzhou where Tang Zhao picked up the Kun Sword to deal with the Turtle Bandits.

It's just that when he held the Kun Sword back then, the Kun Sword's initiative was stronger, and its power was at a crushing level; it didn't need him to open his Inspiration to cooperate at all, but instead turned him into a "tool person."

Now, the white fox communicated with him beforehand, and both sides cooperated; it counts as merging on an equal footing, and either side can cancel the covenant if dissatisfied. This is a new way of cooperation.

It also allowed Tang Zhao to see countless new possibilities in the world of swords.

"So, the Sword Intent of the Suisui Sword is Fox-Doubt and curiosity?"

Although he hadn't opened the Sword Manual, after the two sides connected, Tang Zhao naturally understood quite a bit of information, the most basic of which was the Sword Intent of the Suisui Sword.

The Suisui Sword actually has dual Sword Intent, which is considered powerful among Sword Heroes; if a Sword Hero collects three Sword Intents, they can make a dash for Sword Immortal.

"Sword Technique—Doubt Hides Treachery."

The Sword Technique was activated, and Tang Zhao's gaze moved to that layer of black mist.

"What is this thing? I have never heard of it?"

"Why is it here? How has it not dissipated after so many years?"

"Could there be a ghost? Is it actually fake? There is no such thing at all, just a phantom!"

"Fake, fake, it's all fake!"

"How could it deceive me?"

Tang Zhao let go of his mind, used all his imagination, and began to let his thoughts run wild.

As he let himself go and kept on thinking wildly, that layer of black mist gradually pulled, as if someone were holding the end of the black mist's thread, pulling the black mist away bit by bit, bit by bit.

In the end, the black mist completely disappeared, but Tang Zhao felt extremely exhausted, as if he had used a dozen Sword Techniques in a row; his head was swollen, and even the connection to the Suisui Sword automatically broke.

It seems this method has great limitations, and the burden on the Sword Guest is so astonishing that it cannot be maintained for long at all; it cannot compare to Pseudo-Holding.

"So, just now, were those black mists hidden in my Doubt? Can Doubt also hide things?"

The white fox revealed its true form again, appearing somewhat exhausted as well, and said languidly, "Of course. Doubt is also a part of the Spirit and can hide many things. But everyone's Doubt is different; you are not a suspicious person, so the things you can hide are limited. Look at how you were thinking this and that just now; it took you so long to take away the Shadow, which shows that none of those doubts were what you were truly doubting, just forcing yourself to think blindly. A person who truly has 'Suspicion Breeds Dark Ghosts' can even swallow an entire Shadow with a single thought. It's a good thing there wasn't much black mist; if there were any more, your Doubt wouldn't have been able to hide it."

Finally, it concluded, "Our compatibility is very low. If you had wanted to take me, this sword, at that time, even if your Inspiration were rare in the world and your aptitude were seldom seen in the world, I, this sword, would not have chosen you."

Tang Zhao couldn't help but laugh, "It sounds as if I would have chosen you." He remembered another matter and said, "Then is your method of hiding yourself also hidden in Doubt? If someone becomes suspicious of you, will they see you?"

The white fox said, "That is another set of Sword Technique. The method to undo the hiding is curiosity."

It only explained one sentence and then stopped mentioning it. In the end, it and Tang Zhao were temporary allies, and there was no real friendship; the situation and stance upon reaching Xiancheng were not yet clear, so it could not reveal too much, only saying, "You must maintain doubt. If you are too firm and unwavering, and the doubt dissipates, that black mist will escape."

However, any person would maintain the most basic doubt, right? There is no need to worry about the worst-case scenario happening.

The black mist dissipated, revealing the coffin-like Shelter. The white fox was anxious in its heart and jumped up first; it didn't know how it operated it, but the lid on top slid open.

The white fox poked its head in to look, suddenly exclaimed, jumped down, and buried its face behind Tang Zhao.

Tang Zhao was a bit strange, but he guessed a little, so he stepped forward to take a look.

Inside the coffin, there was only a skeleton.

The person inside was dead.

If one treats this box as a coffin, then it is not strange at all to have a skeleton in the coffin. But if one treats it as a Shelter, then one would certainly hope that there were survivors inside, right?

Facts proved that it was still a coffin.

By rights, having become a Sword Guest, one has seen many dead people, and has even killed countless people with one's own hands; as a Sword Hero, the white fox should not be afraid of a mere skeleton. But thinking about it, it is probably because as a person of Baiyujing, seeing one's own companion end up in this state, one cannot accept it emotionally.

Tang Zhao did not have this burden; after a brief sigh, he continued to step forward to examine it.

Looking at the state of the skeleton, this should be a woman, lying quietly on the floor of the Shelter. Although she had turned into a skeleton, the clothes on her body were completely undamaged, still as smooth and bright as new clothes. This was probably another product of Xiancheng.

Thanks to this complete set of clothes, as if it were another layer of coffin, her whole body was complete, and one could still see her height and posture from when she was alive, as well as a head of silver hair.

Silver hair...

Tang Zhao used his Qi as a hand to rub it and felt that it was indeed withered white hair; it could only belong to an elderly grandmother.

Could it be that she... died of old age?

Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that it was okay. This Shelter was not a living coffin after all, so it wouldn't cause her to die miserably from suffocation; it might even have contained supplies, allowing her to persist until the end of her natural life.

But thinking about it carefully, isn't this also very miserable?

This coffin lid had clearly never been opened again. Living alone, all by herself, in a tiny, dark space for decades, with the majority of her life spent in a narrow box, in eternal darkness, Silence, and loneliness...

This kind of thing cannot be thought about in detail.

One can only hope that she was in a deep slumber the entire time and reached the end without knowing it.

Tang Zhao did not intend to tell anyone about this thought, especially White Fox. He continued to examine the woman's remains.

Inside the coffin, besides the clothes on her body, there was soft bedding underneath, and a pillow beneath her skull; even though it was so cramped, that Highness had still made some arrangements for them.

Beside her pillow was a small pouch; Tang Zhao knew at a glance that it was a storage Art Tool. It was surely her personal belonging, so he set it aside first; there was no need to inventory property while still inside someone's coffin.

Other than that, there was nothing else. After all, this was not a real coffin, so there would not be any real burial goods placed inside.

It seemed that apart from adding a touch of sorrow to that catastrophe, there was nothing to be gained here.

As Tang Zhao laid her flat, he suddenly discovered that while her entire skeleton was intact, her hands were the exception.

Her right hand and forearm were missing.

A person with a severed arm?

Immediately after, Tang Zhao realized that was not the case.

He saw a section of arm bone and scattered finger bones lying on her skirt.

It looked as if someone had ripped them off and tossed them to the side?

This guess made Tang Zhao feel a chill in his heart, and he could not help but look around, wanting to see if any cruel killer was lurking.

The surroundings were empty, and there were no traces of anyone else having been there.

The clearance of this coffin was very low, making it difficult even to sit up; it would be hard for anyone else to perform such a violent action in such a cramped posture.

What if this was caused by her own doing?

Ripping off her own arm?

Unlikely; even if she had gone mad, ripping off an arm while alive would have left a large amount of blood and stained everything.

Then could it be...

Tang Zhao simulated it a few times with his own body and arrived at a guess.

It was possible that she had kept her arm raised while alive, right up until her death. Because her arm was stuck, it did not fall naturally until it had completely decayed; then, due to gravity, this section of bone detached from the body and fell to the ground, breaking.

This guess made Tang Zhao very uncomfortable; the more he thought about it, the worse he felt.

This meant that before the woman died, she was not only conscious but also held an obsession in her heart, which allowed her to maintain that posture until death.

Wait... holding her hand up?

Could it be?

He stood up and turned to look for the coffin lid.

Found it!

On the lid, there were indeed scratch marks!

She had indeed been carving something onto the coffin in her final moments.

Her conviction must have been very strong; not only were the scratches deep, but there was also a spot where she had gouged the coffin lid until it broke, leaving only a small hole.

Tang Zhao glanced at those scratches and immediately discovered they were Rune Characters, the specialized script used for recording ancient classics and knowledge, which few people recognize nowadays.

Fortunately, he knew a little; he could read them, but not fluently, and needed to translate them word by word before piecing them together.

His gaze was immediately drawn to the two deepest carved characters.

"Wangliang?"