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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 18: The Stranger
Ji Zichen saw Lin Chuyu standing there in a daze and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lin Chuyu snapped back to reality and replied, "It's nothing, just thinking about the evacuation back then."
Ji Zichen didn't share Lin Chuyu's deep feelings; instead, she reflected on the environment they had traversed and said, "This place doesn't look like ruins."
Lin Chuyu responded, "This is where the Vermilion Birds cultivate and live."
Ji Zichen asked, "Have you seen anywhere that looks more like ruins?"
Lin Chuyu shook her head and said, "I don't know. I haven't heard any other Vermilion Birds mention it."
On their way here, Ji Zichen had noticed the Scroll House. After a moment of contemplation, she suggested, "Let's check out the Scroll House. Maybe there are some records there."
Lin Chuyu replied, "The Scroll House? This ruin was left by the divine race; how could there be any records in the Vermilion Bird Pavilion?"
Ji Zichen thought about it and realized she was right. Then she recalled seeing a Watchtower on their way and proposed, "How about we go to that Watchtower instead?"
Lin Chuyu didn't have any better ideas and nodded, "If you want to go, then let's go."
The two of them left the Sparse Pavilion and headed toward the Watchtower. On the way, Ji Zichen noticed that Lin Chuyu looked unwell and asked, "Are you feeling okay?"
Lin Chuyu was silent for a moment before responding, "The sensation of flying now is different from in my dreams. In my dreams, it felt effortless; now my body feels a bit heavy."
Ji Zichen pondered this and said, "This isn't a dream anymore; we have truly entered Zhuque Chenjing."
Lin Chuyu seemed to understand, saying, "I was hurt in my dreams, but when I woke up, I had no wounds at all. Maybe flying consumed too much energy."
Ji Zichen agreed with this reasoning. They had now arrived outside a residence near the Watchtower. Ji Zichen found a stool for her to sit on. "You rest here; I'll take a look around."
"I'm fine," Lin Chuyu replied. "As long as I don't fly, I won't feel so tired. But Brother Ji, what are you looking for?"
Ji Zichen thought for a moment and said, "Ruins are like buried treasures. A great treasure like Divine Dawn wouldn't be without records. If we can find those records, we can locate it."
Lin Chuyu nodded; Ji Zichen made a lot of sense. She asked, "So should we search through all the residences here?"
Ji Zichen replied, "No need to make it so complicated. Records like that are usually not accessible to ordinary people." Realizing his wording might have been off, he added an explanation, "What I mean is that among the gods, there must be distinctions in status; otherwise, how would there be such a thing as great gods?"
Lin Chuyu agreed, nodding her head. "Just like Prince Huixin; places where important people live are always better."
Ji Zichen smiled and said, "Exactly! Let's find a bigger place or one that stands out a bit more from the surrounding houses."
The two of them wandered around but only found unremarkable houses. The most eye-catching structure was still the Watchtower. However, how could important gods live in the Watchtower? Since they had nowhere else to go, Ji Zichen suggested, "Let's check inside the Watchtower."
Lin Chuyu was startled and exclaimed, "Brother Ji, that Watchtower looks like it's about to collapse! We should probably avoid going in."
Ji Zichen examined the Watchtower's sturdiness from the outside. It did appear to show signs of instability. He touched the wall and felt the stones were quite heavy. "It's fine; it won't collapse. If you're scared, you can wait here for me. I'll be back soon."
Lin Chuyu was unwilling to stay outside alone and insisted, "I'll go in with you."
Ji Zichen smiled and didn't press the issue further. The two entered the Watchtower. From the outside, it indeed looked like a typical Watchtower, but inside was unexpectedly spacious. There were over ten living quarters, three large halls, and a conference room. Ji Zichen marveled at the design. "What a clever layout! From the outside, no one would ever guess it would be this large inside."
They wandered around inside and finally arrived at the Tammo Hall. Ji Zichen had no idea what the term "Tammo" represented among the divine beings, but there were many exquisite bookshelves inside. Although the shelves were decayed, they felt like a place that stored some secrets.
A spark of excitement flashed in Ji Zichen's eyes as he said, "We might have found the right place."
The two began to browse through the shelves, which held numerous scrolls. However, after flipping through more than ten of them, Ji Zichen and Lin Chuyu discovered that not a single word was written on these scrolls; they resembled a Wordless Book.
"Why are there no words on these?" Lin Chuyu asked, panting after flipping through so many scrolls.
Ji Zichen found it quite strange and replied, "It's odd. Why would scrolls without any writing be placed on such nice shelves?"
Lin Chuyu pondered and said, "Could these be spare scrolls?"
Ji Zichen flipped through a few more scrolls but still found nothing. "Spare? It seems that way, but something feels off. Look, the shelves have numbers."
Only then did Lin Chuyu notice the numbers on the shelves. Each shelf was marked with labels—one, two, three, four... These serial numbers were definitely meant to help locate the desired scrolls. If they were spare scrolls, why would they be categorized so meticulously?
"Could this be that Wordless Book? There must be content in it, but we just can't see it?" Lin Chuyu casually shared her thoughts.
This reminded Ji Zichen. "That might actually be the case, but we can't understand it. This is of no use to us at all."
"What should we do now?" Lin Chuyu asked.
Ji Zichen was at a loss for what to do. Just as he was about to toss aside the wordless scroll in his hand, something seemed to flash into his mind. He exclaimed, "I know what’s written on it!"
Lin Chuyu immediately turned to look at the scroll in Ji Zichen's hand, but it still bore no words. She thought Ji Zichen was joking and shot him a glare. "There’s not a single word on it; how do you know what it says?"
Ji Zichen noticed her disbelief and organized the information in her mind before saying, "We caught a Vermilion Bird called Xiang Bi in the low mountain range. This bird has a very stubborn temperament, and we tried many methods but couldn't pry her beak open. In the end..."
Ji Zichen paused, and Lin Chuyu initially thought Kiko was joking. However, Lin Chuyu had never encountered Xiang Bi with Kiko before. The last time Kiko appeared in a dream with her, Xiang Bi was not present. If Kiko truly could see what was written on the scroll, there was no way she could have come up with the name Xiang Bi.
Lin Chuyu assumed that Xiang Bi had left from another evacuation point, but hearing this now, she felt anxious as Kiko stopped mid-sentence. "Brother Ji, what happened next? Hurry up!"
"Wait... I don't remember," Ji Zichen said, not looking at the scroll but relying on her perception. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "I understand! It's the ring!"
Lin Chuyu was confused by Kiko's abrupt statement. "The ring? What ring?"
Kiko pointed to the ring on her finger that Kai Zhou Shen had given her. "This ring! This ring allows me to see—oh, not see; I don't know how to explain it. It feels like I'm possessing the scroll itself, and I just understand what's written inside."
Lin Chuyu could only think of strange tales. "Brother Ji, what exactly are you talking about?"
Kiko couldn't find the right words to explain and simply stated, "In short, with this ring, I can understand this blank scroll."
Lin Chuyu wasn't too concerned about how Kiko knew what was on it; she was just eager to know its contents. "What does it say next?"
Kiko wondered why Lin Chuyu was so desperate to know but sensed that Lin Chuyu was merely curious. After a moment of concentration, Kiko spoke again. "In the end, they locked this Vermilion Bird called Xiang Bi in a cage for seven nights. Later, eight other Vermilion Birds came to rescue her but were all killed by the divine beings. The divine beings couldn't enter the Vermilion Bird Pavilion; they interrogated her to find out how to open the door to the Sparse Pavilion, but in the end, she never spoke."
Lin Chuyu's face fell. "Did Xiang Bi die?"
"I don't know," Kiko replied. "The scroll didn't say."
Lin Chuyu searched for several scrolls for Kiko to check if there were any records about Xiang Bi. As Kiko perceived more and more scrolls, her connection grew stronger, as if she became more skilled with each attempt. Before long, whenever Kiko grabbed a scroll, she could immediately relay its contents to Lin Chuyu.
Unfortunately, there was no information about Xiang Bi on the scroll. Lin Chuyu couldn't help but feel anxious. Ji Zichen then asked, "Why are you so eager to know about Xiang Bi? Do you know her?"
Lin Chuyu nodded. "Yes, she saved me, and she was the one who made me realize that I could fly."
Ji Zichen understood now why Lin Chuyu was so worried. "I hope she's okay," Ji Zichen said.
Ji Zichen then added, "Ruins Wealth belongs to the divine race, but why would they let the Vermilion Bird guard it? The divine race and the Vermilion Bird could be sworn enemies. Why would the Vermilion Bird watch over their enemy's wealth? It's too strange."
The answer was not mentioned in the scroll, and Ji Zichen couldn't figure it out either.
"Lin Chuyu, don't worry. Look here; there must be many more scrolls. Perhaps there are secret chambers or something. We have plenty of time; we will turn this place upside down," Ji Zichen reassured her.
Just then, a loud roar echoed from outside. Ji Zichen and Lin Chuyu immediately tensed up. They rushed to the door of the Watchtower and peeked outside. They saw a Serpent Bat Dragon parked near the edge of a nearby house.
Lin Chuyu's expression changed. "Ah! It's a Serpent Bat Dragon! It's a mount of the divine race!"
Ji Zichen felt a surge of anxiety. "Could there still be members of the divine race left here?"
Looking at the Serpent Bat Dragon, Ji Zichen noticed that there were no riders on it, as if it had flown back by itself. But if there was no one here, why would the Serpent Bat Dragon return?
Ji Zichen suddenly thought of a terrifying possibility. "Could it be that there are still divine beings inside your Watchtower?"
The thought sent chills down Ji Zichen's spine. Just then, a shadow appeared behind them. Ji Zichen turned around and saw a stranger standing behind them—a young man they had never seen before.
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