Chapter 50: Chapter 51: City of the Dead
"This is what Panlong City looked like before its destruction, right?" Given that the other three all outranked him, Fuzzy Peach kept his voice down. "The Eldest Young Master and I didn’t encounter a single person on our way here."
"There’s no one in the city, either. At least, we didn’t find anyone when we looked around nearby," Sunx Fuping said slowly. "I was transported into a well, while Captain Nian landed directly in the moat."
The four of them passed through the city gates, emerging into a large plaza. It seemed that in this era, Panlong City didn’t yet have its triple walls.
"It looks like we’re in a time even earlier than Panlong City’s fall," Hee Lingchuan said, surveying his surroundings. "It doesn’t have as many defensive structures yet."
The Panlong City they had seen in the desert was armed to the teeth, constantly flexing its muscles for the outside world. This version of Panlong City, however, seemed quite peaceful.
The same city manifested differently across time and space.
The group crossed the plaza. The pool from the desert Panlong City was also missing, but fortunately, the Black Flood Dragon Totem was still there.
Nearby was a row of buildings, with posthouses and inns in the front and various residences behind them.
"The layout of the buildings is different, too." Nian Songyu led the way into a tavern. "The stove was still warm when I first came in."
The tavern’s main doors were open, with two cloth hangings suspended there. Inside were six or seven tables with mismatched chairs. Hee Lingchuan saw that three of the tables held wine jugs, the cups still contained dregs of wine, and the saucers held a dozen or so peanuts.
Behind the counter lay a ledger. The word for "wine" was only half-written, the brush tossed aside, its ink only just now dry.
Nian Songyu walked to a table and rapped his knuckles against it, producing a solid DOK DOK sound.
"They’re all solid objects. This is too realistic." With that, he picked up a cup and shoved it into Fuzzy Peach’s hand. "Drink it."
Fuzzy Peach jumped in fright. "Huh? Drink?" ’Who would dare eat or drink something so questionable?’
Nian Songyu’s gaze made it clear he wasn’t joking.
Fuzzy Peach had no choice but to tilt his head back and take a small sip, smacking his lips cautiously.
"It’s wine. The flavor is very weak. A cup like this would be worth three large coins at most in Black Water City."
"Finish it." This wasn’t about just tasting it.
Hee Lingchuan didn’t say a word, so under the gazes of the other three, Fuzzy Peach had no choice but to down the wine.
"I finished it. So, what now... Aaah, my stomach hurts!" Before he could finish, Fuzzy Peach let out a strange cry, dropped the cup, and ran toward the back.
The outhouses were all in the back.
After a long while, Nian Songyu jutted his chin at Hee Lingchuan. "Go, see if he’s dead yet." His attitude was the height of arrogance.
With neither Hee Chunhua nor the Black Water City Army present, he didn’t need to show Hee Lingchuan the slightest bit of courtesy.
In fact, if the kid had dared to put on any airs, Nian Songyu planned to beat him to a pulp and vent the frustration he’d been bottling up for the past few days.
Who would have thought that Hee Lingchuan would neither get angry nor refuse? He simply turned and walked toward the back of the building, giving Nian Songyu no chance to lash out at all.
Nian Songyu was taken aback. ’This kid knows his place, huh?’
Halfway there, a gust of wind blew past Hee Lingchuan, causing the leaves to RUSTLE.
He also felt a sharp gust of wind at his back and instinctively dodged, drawing his saber.
Huh, it was just a tree branch, swaying in the wind, that had nearly grazed his back.
Hee Lingchuan didn’t rush to sheathe his saber.
Ever since entering this city, he’d felt that something was off, as if someone were constantly watching him.
That feeling of being followed like a shadow was intensely annoying.
Just then, Fuzzy Peach came walking toward him, still pulling up his pants. Seeing the saber in Hee Lingchuan’s hand, he couldn’t help but startle. "Eldest Young Master, are you alright?"
"I’m fine." Hee Lingchuan sheathed his saber and took half a step back. The kid not only looked like he was cursed, but he also reeked, proof of his recent earth-shattering ordeal. "What about you?"
"Not dead, just feeling really empty inside," Fuzzy Peach said, rubbing his stomach as he walked back out with him.
When they returned to the tavern, Sunx Fuping carefully observed Fuzzy Peach’s complexion, also checking his eyelids and tongue, before announcing, "He’s been poisoned."
Fuzzy Peach was so scared he nearly jumped. Fortunately, the National Preceptor continued, "The poison is weak. You won’t die, but I’m afraid you’ll be making a few more trips to the outhouse."
’And whose fault was that? That bastard Nian forced me to drink!’ In his head, Fuzzy Peach cordially cursed their ancestors for eighteen generations, but on his face, he had to force a smile. "Oh, good, good."
"You ate something meant for the dead." Sunx Fuping picked up a peanut, crushed it, and rubbed the pieces, which turned to a palmful of ash. "This food wasn’t prepared for the living. No wonder the city is empty."
Nian Songyu understood as well. "Are you saying the city’s residents are the Resentful Souls that rushed out of the pool?"
"It’s highly likely. After they left, this place became a ghost town."
"Those Resentful Souls are the residents of this city?" Hee Lingchuan asked, surprised. "That can’t be right. They all seemed completely crazed. What, they become law-abiding citizens when they’re here?"
Although the Panlong City before them was a ghost town, everything was neat and orderly; only the people were missing. The Resentful Souls he had encountered outside all looked consumed by bitter hatred, as if they wanted to tear the world apart. If they had been living here for a long time, how could the city possibly be this tidy?
"I’m afraid the Grand Square Pot is behind this," Nian Songyu said. "Panlong City was destroyed long ago. This place is what’s truly abnormal."
Fuzzy Peach whispered, "How are we supposed to find the Grand Square Pot?" ’I thought jumping into the Pool Well would give us a clue, but who knew there’d be another city inside it? What are we supposed to do now?’
Hee Lingchuan suggested, "Let’s go to the Mitian Temple. We found the entrance there before, so maybe we can find a new clue now."
"We already went. There is no Divine Temple," Nian Songyu rejected flatly.
Hee Lingchuan froze. "No Divine Temple? What do you mean?"
"It means the temple doesn’t exist. Don’t you understand?" Nian Songyu said coolly. "In its place are two restaurants, an opera troupe, and two large shops—one selling jewelry and the other selling silks and satins."
’Right. If the clue were that easy to find, would these two have waited for him?’ Hee Lingchuan thought for a moment. "The Red General’s Mansion?"
"Looked. Not there either."
"Does that mean no mansion, or no clues?" Hee Lingchuan asked, his patience growing.
"Neither." Sunx Fuping stepped in to smooth things over. "The Red General was a Demigod Body granted by the Mitian God. If there is no Divine Temple, then naturally, there is no Red General."
No Red General means no Red General’s Mansion.
"Then there’s only one place left?" Hee Lingchuan scratched his head. "Zhong Shengguang’s residence?"
Sunx Fuping stood up. "Let’s go."
The Illusion Realm had restored the appearance of Panlong City. Hee Lingchuan had never expected that he would one day tour the legendary city in such a manner. From the streets, buildings, lakes, and rivers he passed, and from the various tools and utensils used in the markets and by the riverbanks, it was clear that the Panlong City destroyed by war had once been exceptionally prosperous, populous, and a hub of thriving trade.
He even saw a waterwheel by the river. It wasn’t for irrigating fields, but for supplying water to the nearby shops, eliminating the need for manual labor. To facilitate this, there were even dedicated bamboo pipelines running from the river to the shops’ water troughs.
