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墨書 Inktalez
The Ritual Platform was enveloped in a light white mist, and the closer one got to the Ritual Platform, the denser the mist became. By the time I reached the Ritual Platform, the mist was almost milky white, with visibility reduced to less than a meter; it was no exaggeration to say that I couldn't see my hand in front of my face.
The source of the mist was the bottomless pit beneath the stone platform that I had previously leveled. The Bottomless Pit continuously spewed forth White Smoke, which lingered in the forest without dissipating.
The mist was neither toxic nor odorous; it resembled the White Smoke produced while cooking. However, smoke billowing up from underground certainly indicated something unusual. I covered my mouth and nose and walked toward the Bottomless Pit on the stone platform of the Ritual Platform.
It was midnight, and with the mist shrouding the entire Ritual Platform, it was difficult to see the path beneath my feet. My foot slipped, and I fell into the opening.
I had no idea how long I fell; all I remembered was seeing a pitch-black creature resembling a local dog.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Lin Zhao instructed everyone not to act rashly and to wait for news from Yin Zheng'an. However, after entering the Ritual Platform, Yin Zheng'an completely lost contact. Everyone was worried about Yin Zheng'an and felt uncertain about what lay inside, hesitant to act recklessly.
Lin Zhao and his team waited until dawn, but there was still no sign of Yin Zheng'an, which made everyone anxious. Could it be that he had truly perished inside?
Among them, Lin Zhao was the most anxious. He knew that Yin Zheng'an was from the Heavenly Bureau of Human Affairs and a promising young talent favored by Wenquxing. If he truly fell during this mission, it would reflect poorly on Lin Zhao as well. Although Yin Zheng'an often acted like a scoundrel, Lin Zhao found him to be a decent person and a friend worth having.
As the sun rose, sunlight began to fill the entire forest, causing the mist to dissipate with its arrival.
"Captain Lin, what should we do now?" one of the Execution Office members cautiously asked Lin Zhao.
"Here’s what we’ll do: you stay here to guard this area and prevent anyone else from entering, especially those Archaeologists," Lin Zhao said as he readied his weapon and pushed aside some foliage while heading toward the Ritual Platform.
The people behind Lin Zhao instinctively split into two teams: one stayed behind to guard while the other followed Lin Zhao toward the Ritual Platform.
Although the mist had begun to clear, a thin layer of light white mist still lingered in the air. Lin Zhao instructed everyone to wear gas masks as they cautiously moved forward step by step.
"Captain, come quick!" The team member at the front called out to Lin Zhao, "There's a big pit here on the ground!"
Lin Zhao hurriedly took a couple of steps forward. In the center of the original Ritual Platform, there had been a two-tiered stone platform, but now it was gone, replaced by a deep Bottomless Pit.
The pit was deep but not very wide, resembling a well that could barely allow one person to enter.
"Yin Zheng'an!" Lin Zhao shouted into the pit, "Are you down there?"
There was no response from within the pit.
"Captain, we've searched everywhere and there's no sign of Deputy Captain Yin," Earthwalker reported to Lin Zhao.
Earthwalker specialized in Tomb Raiding and had a particular expertise in pits. Lin Zhao quickly asked Earthwalker to examine the Bottomless Pit closely.
Earthwalker crouched down and carefully felt around the edge of the pit. He then brought his hand to his nose and sniffed before standing up and saying to Lin Zhao, "This doesn't look like a pit that was recently dug, nor does it seem like something a person could have excavated. Look at how smooth the walls are. I'm certain this isn't a thief's hole; if it were, it wouldn't be so straight down like this—no one could climb back up."
Earthwalker then asked Lin Zhao for a match, lit a branch, tied it with rope, and slowly lowered it into the pit.
In ancient times, people didn't have instruments to test the air quality underground, but flames require oxygen to burn. So using a torch was a way to check if there was air at the bottom of the pit. It also served to gauge the depth of the pit.
The rope reached the bottom without revealing the depth of the pit, and the flame did not extinguish.
"Wow, this pit is quite deep," Earthwalker muttered. The rope he used was over a meter long, and even when he let it down fully, he still couldn't see the bottom of the pit.
Earthwalker pulled up the branch, untied it from the rope, and directly dropped it back down.
The branch fell for about ten seconds before suddenly extinguishing.
"There shouldn't be any flammable gases down there," Earthwalker looked up at Lin Zhao and said. "But I can't say for sure if there's poison. If Deputy Captain Yin really did fall down here, I estimate he would be in grave danger."
It’s true, it’s so deep that even if there are no toxic gases down there, one could still die from the fall. Even if Yin Zheng'an didn’t die from the fall, there’s no way to pull him back up.
“Can you go down and take a look?” Lin Zhao asked Earthwalker.
“I can’t do that; we’re not allowed to go into pits dug by others, it’s a taboo,” Earthwalker refused. If it were a tomb below, he would definitely dare to go down, but the situation in this pit is uncertain.
“Have you really not found any trace of Yin Zheng'an nearby?” Lin Zhao asked the team members who were still searching around.
“No.”
“No.”
“No.” Everyone shook their heads, indicating that there were no signs at all.
“Then this is the only place left.” Lin Zhao stood up. “Let one from the Archaeologist team come in and see what they think.”
(Back to Yin Zheng'an's first-person perspective)
The first sensation flooding my mind was pain, excruciating pain, a piercing pain throughout my body. It felt as if I had fallen from a great height. I lay on a cold, hard ground; despite the intense pain, I surprisingly still had some strength left.
It must be that my Azure Robe absorbed most of the impact, allowing me to fall from such a height without being turned into mush.
Moreover, I should consider myself lucky that my head didn’t hit the ground first.
I staggered to get up from the ground, struggling to support myself with my hands, and finally opened my eyes to observe my surroundings.
What caught my eye first was a massive door panel, adorned with obscure and difficult-to-understand sealing symbols. The door panel was carved from a single piece of blue stone; unlike the Azure Stone Bricks on the Ritual Platform, which were made from fired bricks, this door panel was carved directly from solid blue stone, giving it a heavy appearance.
Next to the stone slab squatted a pitch-black dog, its mouth dripping with crimson stones, staring at me intently as it sat there motionless.
What is going on here? There's even a dog? Could it be that this is the thing sealed beneath the Ritual Platform? With such a large Ritual Platform, you only seal a dog? Who would do something so wasteful?
Groaning, I got up from the ground, supporting myself with my hands, half-squatting as I looked at the black dog.
The dog was small, about the size of a half-grown mutt. Its fur was matted and greasy, as if it hadn't been washed in a long time. However, its eyes shone brightly like divine light, and the tips of its claws glimmered faintly.
"Is this really just a dog?" I muttered to myself as I stared at it.
"Who are you calling a dog?" the mutt replied.
Wait, this dog can talk? It seems that this Ritual Platform was indeed built for this dog. A talking dog must be something extraordinary! If I could catch it and clean it up, it should sell for more than a Husky, right?
I greedily looked at the mutt, which awkwardly stood up and sniffed itself from side to side before suddenly stepping back a few paces. "What do you want?"
"Who are you?" I asked the mutt.
The mutt puffed out its chest, exuding an air of arrogance as if it were not just a mutt but the king of divine beasts, a Qilin.
Some say dragons are the kings of divine beasts, but that's not true; it's actually the Qilin. The Book of Rites states: "The Qilin, Phoenix, Tortoise, and Dragon are known as the Four Spirits." Among them, the Qilin holds a special status. The dragon's position in the court is not that high; those who pull the Jade Emperor's chariot are dragons. Many deities keep dragons as pets; only the Dragon King among them holds some status, but even then, it's just someone who waters the court.
(Dragons are notoriously lustful; they can hybridize with any animal. A dragon mating with a snake produces a Jiao; mating with a Jiao produces a Zhu Po Long; mating with a chicken produces a Zou Long; they even hybridize with insects—dragons can mate with centipedes to produce what’s called Fei Long.)
Among divine beasts, there are four symbolic beasts: the Azure Dragon on the left, the White Tiger on the right, the Vermilion Bird in front, and the Black Tortoise behind. These are considered peak existences among divine beasts. However, the Qilin is not included; it has its own special title known as the Auspicious Beast! Moreover, there is only one pair of pureblood Qilins—a male called Qi and a female called Lin. Later variations like Ink Qilin or Fire Qilin are merely descendants of those two pureblood Qilins.
Unlike other divine beasts, second-generation Qilins may have pureblood parents but are not considered pure themselves due to their unique bloodlines influenced by earthly elements after their birth. Thus, while they are still called Qilins, they do not count as pureblood Qilins.
After the second generation, bloodlines became quite mixed. Some famous mythical beasts like Qiongqi or Fierce Beasts carry traces of Qilin blood. However, one type known as Divine Beast Xiezhi is considered a direct descendant of the Qilin.
Could this mutt also be a branch of Qilin bloodline?
"What breed are you, really?" I asked curiously, looking at the 'Earth Dog'.
"Can't you guess what I am?"
"I can't guess. Are you a divine beast or an exotic beast? Or are you a demon beast?"
"How dare you call me a demon beast?" the 'Earth Dog' bared its teeth.
"Then what exactly are you?"
"I am a Pixiu!" the 'Earth Dog' replied angrily.
A Pixiu? That's a valuable thing; it attracts wealth. Just placing a pair of jade Pixius can bring in business. If I had a live one, wouldn't we make money together? Why should I be a Judge or the head of the Heavenly Bureau of Human Affairs? I might as well go into business!
Thinking this, I suddenly lunged at the 'Earth Dog', grabbing it by the hind legs and turning it upside down to examine it closely.
"What are you doing?" the 'Earth Dog' protested, kicking its legs.
"I'm checking if you have an anus."
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