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墨書 Inktalez
"Hey! What's wrong with you? Hey... are you in a daze?" The girl looked at Ye Mingshang, who was lost in thought. After calling out a few times with no response, she waved her hand in front of his eyes.
"Hey!" The girl gave a firm slap to the book in his hands.
"Ah!" Ye Mingshang suddenly snapped back to reality.
"What’s wrong with you? Why are you just staring at my book?" the girl pouted.
Ye Mingshang didn't have time to argue with her; he was feeling quite anxious inside. "Sorry, can I borrow this book? It's really important to me. I'll treat you to dinner another day." After saying that, Ye Mingshang hurriedly left.
The girl stood there pouting, "Seriously, what's the deal? Is it necessary to be so eager for knowledge? Bookworm, humph!"
On the other side, Ye Mingshang rushed back without even completing the borrowing procedure. Sitting at his desk under the light, he looked at the book "Lost Civilization," feeling very complicated inside. The scenes he had often dreamed of since he could remember had haunted him for countless days and nights. Was he really going to have another chance to see the person who had occupied his thoughts?
He had searched for that place from his dreams before; otherwise, why did he run away from home eight years ago? Was it merely curiosity about the outside world or youthful rebellion? Of course not; it was to find that dream place. But after eight years of searching, he had traveled all over the world and still couldn't find it.
Neither historical records nor current news contained any relevant information about it, which was very unusual. Just those huge stone statues alone should qualify as a three-A tourist attraction; how could they be so obscure?
He had almost given up hope and thought about spending time here out of disappointment. It was precisely because of heartache that he developed a more reclusive personality. After Chen Huaisheng's illusion, it further strengthened his belief, but he still found it difficult to uncover any clues about that place.
However, now he saw hope again... because there were photographs. If there were photographs, then this place must exist; surely there would be descriptions of it in the book...
With an excited heart, he opened the pages of the book. The first line that caught his eye read: "In the Tarim Basin located in southern Xinjiang, there is a desert known as the Taklamakan Desert, within which lies an ancient kingdom called Loulan—a realm within the desert. Yet few know that amidst this yellow sand once existed an oasis where its inhabitants lived long lives and possessed extraordinary abilities. This place is known to the world as 'Immortal Abode.'"
"Longevity and extraordinary qualities indeed match the place in my memory," Ye Mingshang nodded and continued reading.
"This place was originally just a legend I heard during my childhood, even mentioned only occasionally in books. There is a record in Strange Tales: 'In the Southern Desert of Fire, there is an oasis with strange mountains and waters, picturesque scenery; within it live hundreds of villagers, each possessing extraordinary abilities, able to leap and move between mountains and fields, as agile as monkeys and as light as swallows; these people are unusual, having lived over a hundred years yet still appearing youthful, with many marrying at a hundred; there are even several longevity deities who have lived over five hundred years, appearing withered yet nimble, resembling immortals...'
"I was very attentive to this record at that time. For it, I nearly exhausted all my wealth and energy. Finally, in my old age, heaven showed mercy and allowed me to find this magical place. It turns out this extraordinary location was hidden within a natural formation, protected by the formation itself, and this Peach Blossom Paradise had remained concealed within this sea of sand."
Ye Mingshang quickly flipped through the pages of the book, skipping over useless information until he found a few lines in the middle: "In the year 722 AD, during the tenth year of Tang Xuanzong's reign, Li Longji heard about a Taoist visitation and learned that there was a divine land in the southern desert where villagers could attain longevity. He dispatched thirty thousand elite soldiers to the desert. However, they permanently lost contact in the desert, and later searches yielded no results..."
Ye Mingshang pondered quietly, "The year 722 AD... thirty thousand elite soldiers disappeared in the desert... I remember when I first appeared in my dream, I was wearing armor. Could that 'me' be one of those thirty thousand?"
Afterward, Ye Mingshang searched through all the pages but could not find the culprit behind the disappearance of the Immortal Abode. The book only mentioned that when someone else accidentally entered later on, they found that everything had changed. A few hasty lines covered this topic, which left him somewhat displeased. However, although he couldn't learn who was responsible for the disappearance, at least he now knew where it was located.
"A desert... While Chuyi thought it resembled a rainforest climate, I overlooked places like deserts. This is what they call 'dark under the lamp'..." Ye Mingshang closed the book and murmured to himself.
Looking at the time, it was already past seven in the evening; he had become so engrossed that he lost track of time. Taking the book with him, he sought out Luo Chenghui. To go there, he needed a guide, and that guide would undoubtedly be the author of this book. Finding this person thus became his primary task. He could have approached Director Lu for help; however, Director Lu was currently overwhelmed with work and it wouldn't be appropriate to disturb him. Therefore, he set his sights on Luo Chenghui instead—someone with substantial financial resources and intelligence networks. After all, if Luo could track his whereabouts back then, finding a well-known professor who had recently published a book should be quite simple.
"You want to find this place?" Luo Chenghui asked.
"That's right," Ye Mingshang nodded.
Luo Chenghui suddenly smiled, "Isn't that a coincidence? I've been preparing for this matter recently."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Ye Mingshang asked.
Without speaking further, Luo Chenghui directly took out a book from his drawer—it was exactly the same as Ye Mingshang's Lost Civilization.
"Did you notice this too?" Ye Mingshang frowned.
"Of course, I'm quite interested in it," Luo Chenghui nodded.
"Why?"
Luo Chenghui's expression turned serious. "It's obviously for the secret of immortality."
"What?!"
"Hahaha! Just kidding! I don't care about immortality. I've just been really bored lately and happened to see this book, so I wanted to take a look."
Ye Mingshang rolled his eyes at him, prompting Luo Chenghui to wave his hand. "Alright, alright! You came at the right time. I just contacted a team that's ready to set off in two days. I didn't expect you to show up now; you can be my bodyguard."
"I'm quite expensive as a bodyguard," Ye Mingshang shot him a sidelong glance.
"Is ten million enough?"
"Are you serious..."
(To be continued.)
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