Sunx Fuping stood. "Since Hee Prefect and I are of the sa mind, let’s start with this lead."
"How do we search?" Nian Songyu frowned. "Do you intend to pray for rain in the Panlong Ruins?"
"Praying for rain here has a success rate of less than five percent, yet it takes five or six tis the usual effort." Sunx Fuping gave a bitter smile. "I just tried to summon a Marsh Warden and received no response whatsoever."
’Summoning a Marsh Warden here... he certainly has an imagination.’ Hee Lingchuan couldn’t help but laugh. "This place is so arid, even the Land God must have died of drought."
"If we can’t summon rain, then let’s pour water. Perhaps that’s what the Baling Kingdom’s team did," Nian Songyu mused. "It’s impossible to make it rain over the entire city, nor is it necessary. We must pinpoint the exact location."
The Baling Kingdom’s team couldn’t have summoned a downpour over all of Panlong City. They must have used their limited water on a precise location. With a successful precedent, National Preceptor Sunx’s group only needed to follow the logic to get a general idea.
"By my analysis, the places where pouring water could trigger the Sandstorm Season are few: the Mitian Temple, Zhong Shengguang’s shrine, the Red General’s shrine, Zhong Shengguang’s tomb, and Panlong City’s mass grave." Sunx Fuping added, "Those two shrines were built while they were still alive. They are rare ’shrines for the living.’"
It was common knowledge that only the dead or Deities could receive incense offerings in a shrine. Building a shrine for a living person wasn’t an act of worship, but an attempt to harm them. In all likelihood, the living person wouldn’t be able to bear such an honor; at best, their life would be shortened, and at worst, they would et a swift end.
Clearly, Zhong Shengguang and the Red General were exceptions—figures deified even before their deaths.
Hee Lingchuan asked, curious, "Why isn’t the Red General’s tomb on the list?"
Hee Chunhua answered him, "He was never buried. At best, there’s only a cenotaph, which isn’t worth searching."
Nian Songyu raised a question. "Even if we find these locations, how do we determine which one is the right place to pour the water?"
"We can’t, but the Three Corpses Insects can," said Sunx Fuping. He had soone bring over several sealed Glazed Jars, which seed to be filled with a swirling mist.
Everyone looked closer. Good heavens, what mist? There were clearly four or five Three Corpses Insects swimming inside the jar!
They were quite lively, each one pressing its head against the side of the jar, looking sowhat like fard eels.
"They only move in one direction: away from the Grand Square Pot," Sunx Fuping explained. "In other words, the direction opposite their movent is where the Grand Square Pot is located. Take these jars to the target locations, walk around, and you’ll find it."
’This old man is a deep one, planning everything in advance. If he were plotting sothing, his sche would likely be just as ticulous...’ Hee Lingchuan stole a glance at him, his wariness growing.
Then, the group took the Glazed Jars and split up.
...
The Hee father and son naturally went together, heading for Zhong Shengguang’s tomb.
Walking through the ruins of a city on a bleak and windy night. This feeling of lonely decay reached its zenith upon seeing Zhong Shengguang’s tomb.
Zhong Shengguang’s tomb was located in the northwest corner of the South Gate plaza they had passed earlier. It was a surprisingly large and imposing tomb, constructed entirely of Qinggang stone and occupying a full two acres. Judging by the surroundings, those who interred him had deliberately demolished many houses to clear space for the massive structure.
The epitaph, however, was simple: *Tomb of Zhong Shengguang, Commander-in-Chief of Xiluo*, followed by the dates of his birth and death.
More than a hundred years had passed. Aside from signs of multiple excavations by later visitors, the entire tomb was intact. The stone blocks that ford the burial mound didn’t even have a single chipped corner.
The Hee father and son both let out a long sigh upon reaching it.
The stories of Panlong City and the Great Wind Army were told year after year, enduring to this day in Black Water City. But how many could personally co to pay their respects to this legendary general who gave his life for his kingdom?
Hee Lingchuan remarked, "To think his enemies built him such a magnificent tomb."
Zhong Shengguang had taken his own life when the city fell, fulfilling his vow: "So long as the city stands, so do I. If the city falls, I fall with it." With the subsequent massacre in Panlong City, there were naturally no countryn left to bury him. The ones who built this tomb could only have been his enemies.
"The Xianyou Kingdom had no choice. After Zhong Shengguang’s death, he was beheaded, and his head was sent to the Xianyou Capital as a war trophy. The entire nation celebrated, and the Royal Palace added it to its collection. However, from that point on, strange events plagued the Panlong Wasteland. No man or beast could survive, and no vegetation would grow. The Xianyou Kingdom wanted a wilderness rich in minerals, not a desert no living thing could enter. So, they sent n back into Panlong City to give Zhong Shengguang a grand burial, hoping to appease the wrath of his Resentful Soul."
"And they failed." What beca of the Xianyou Kingdom and the Panlong Desert afterward needed no further explanation.
Hee Chunhua produced two bundles of incense from sowhere, lit them, and handed one to Hee Lingchuan. "We didn’t co all this way for nothing."
’Might as well pay our respects to a Heroic Soul.’
After they both bowed solemnly, Hee Lingchuan took a pouch of mare’s milk wine from his coat, produced three cups, and filled them.
The Hee father and son raised their cups toward the tombstone in a silent toast, then drained them in one gulp.
Hee Lingchuan gently poured the remaining wine onto the grave mound and said in a low voice, "Grand General Zhong, you must bless us with safe passage through the Panlong Desert. That way, we’ll have a chance to co back and offer you wine again in the future."
Hee Lingchuan took out the Glazed Jar and walked a circle around Zhong Shengguang’s tomb, but the Three Corpses Insects inside didn’t change direction. They continued to press against the southern wall of the jar.
In other words, this massive tomb was not their target.
He returned from his circuit to find Hee Chunhua lost in thought. "Dad, what’s on your mind?"
"I was just thinking, if we really find the Grand Square Pot and send it to the battlefields inland, the Panlong Desert’s Sandstorm Season will beco a thing of the past, won’t it?"
"Of course. Isn’t that a good thing? The Panlong Wasteland looks barren, but it’s actually rich in resources. Otherwise, the Alliance Army wouldn’t have fought so desperately for Panlong City back then. If it were open to us, Qiansong County wouldn’t be so poor." Seeing the look on Hee Chunhua’s face, Hee Lingchuan paused. "What? Did I say sothing wrong?"
"Everything you said is correct. And yet, I feel it would be best if the Panlong Desert remained as it is."
Hee Lingchuan was baffled. "Why?" ’Who would want to live next to a capricious, barren desert?’
"The Panlong Desert is an obstacle, a nace, and a source of uncertainty. But it is also a protection. Da Yuan is not as powerful as it once was. If this layer of defense were removed, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"What kind of protection is the Panlong Desert?" ’Hee Prefect is so astute,’ Hee Lingchuan thought in admiration, but on the surface, he just laughed. "If we find that pot, our whole family will move to the Capital City. Why would we care about this blasted Panlong Desert? Whether it rains or the wind blows here, it’ll have nothing to do with us anymore."
This response was indeed perfectly in line with Hee Lingchuan’s typical character. Hee Prefect looked at him and smiled. "When it cos to the ways of officialdom, you’re quite perceptive."
After a promotion, any lingering troubles belong to the next local official. One can just wipe their hands clean and leave. As his eldest son said, why worry on soone else’s behalf?
If the sky falls, there will always be soone else to hold it up.
In truth, Hee Lingchuan understood imdiately. The Panlong Desert served as a buffer zone between several major powers. Any force that wanted to cross it to attack the Yuan Kingdom would face imnse difficulty. Furthermore, the Sandstorm Season, lasting nearly half a year, was a nightmare for any expeditionary army. During that ti, unless an army could sustain itself by pillaging and living off the land, its supply lines would be completely severed.
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