Chapter 617
Chapter 617
After Xiao Bing left with the baby, Sword King Li Qianqiu entered the room.
“Shen Lang, it seemed the two scholars from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion didn't come to save Mulan, but for some other unspoken purpose.”
Shen Lang replied to Li Qianqiu's words.
“I know! They clearly came to see Shen Ye. I don't know what result they were hoping for, but they left disappointed because Shen Ye didn't possess the incredible, innate bloodline they had expected.”
Shen Lang wasn't finished. The Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion was a cunning and inscrutable group. Even after news spread that Mulan had fallen into a vegetative state after childbirth, they waited over ten days before visiting. The two scholars' purpose was to see if Shen Ye had the golden bloodline. But unexpectedly, the golden bloodline had vanished from the baby's body, and they left disappointed by that result. In recent days, Shen Lang had been so focused on saving Mulan that he hadn't paid much attention to Shen Ye, so he couldn't be sure when the golden bloodline in the child's body had disappeared. Did it vanish a few days after birth? Or did it reveal itself only for a moment right after birth before quickly disappearing?
“As I recall, Mulan stayed at the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion for several months to prepare her body.”
Shen Lang nodded. Since he had a close relationship with the Pavilion in the past, her staying there seemed perfectly normal. But looking back now, it was abnormal. Shen Lang went to find his mother-in-law, Su Peipei.
“Why did Mulan suddenly decide to go to the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion to prepare her body?”
Su Peipei recalled and said.
“After she married you, Xiao Bing also became pregnant, but Mulan couldn't conceive and was growing anxious. When Scholar Zhang Yuyin was staying here, they were chatting, and she mentioned that the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion had conducted deep research in that area, and even had female scholars who specialized in that field. Mulan remembered your close ties with the Pavilion and decided to go there.”
That meant Mulan's trip to the Pavilion was guided by the Pavilion itself. It was certainly strange. Infertility was a medical challenge even in the modern world; wouldn't it be the same in this one? In the end, Mulan went to the Pavilion, recuperated for a few months, and her infertility was truly cured. Afterward, she went to the capital, made love with Shen Lang, and became pregnant at once. Moreover, she gave birth to such an incredible baby. Looking at his features, the baby seemed to be a combination of Shen Lang and Mulan. He was a child who brought out the best of both of them to the absolute limit, and most importantly, he possessed the golden bloodline. A possessor of a golden bloodline that appeared and then vanished.
Now, a question arose. Was the golden bloodline that appeared in Shen Ye's body related to the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion? What methods did they use to change Mulan's constitution? Perhaps the Pavilion had used Shen Lang and Mulan for an experiment, trying to create a child with a golden bloodline? Or was there a deeper reason? Shen Lang found this mystery difficult to fathom. The already mysterious and inscrutable Pavilion had now become even more unfathomable. Furthermore, what role did that wicked Ying Han play in all this? Was the Pavilion the true culprit behind Mulan's life being endangered this time? Was there a conspiracy hidden in this affair? If there truly was a conspiracy, what could it be?
* * *
That night, Shen Lang couldn't sleep a wink. He had to confirm two things. First, to save Mulan, he had to activate her bloodline and even alter the power it possessed. Otherwise, Mulan would leave this world forever, and he had at most a month left to save her. Second, Shen Lang's understanding of bloodline energy was too shallow. If he just kept experimenting like this, he wouldn't make it in time.
Throughout Earth's history, every invention and experiment was completed only after countless failures. These failures could number in the thousands, or even more. Many scientists died without ever succeeding in their inventions or crucial experiments. In another month, Mulan's life force might be extinguished. For Shen Lang to succeed, he needed more in-depth materials.
To obtain research from the ancient era or the results of hundreds, even thousands of years of study in this world, he had to go to the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. Shen Lang had conducted many experiments, but he had ultimately reached a blind spot in his knowledge. To transform Mulan's bloodline and save her, Shen Lang had to obtain texts on bloodlines. For example, texts from the ancient era, or the secret texts that factions like the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion had acquired after the fall of the Jiang Li Dynasty.
“Sword King, senior, could you accompany me to the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion right now?”
Sword King Li Qianqiu nodded.
“I'll drive the carriage!”
* * *
The carriage driven by Sword King Li Qianqiu was extremely fast. It was pulled not by one horse, but three. After just a day and a half, Shen Lang once again stood before the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. When he had come here nearly two years ago, this place had felt like a sacred ground. This time, the Pavilion still stood tall on the coast, shrouded in a faint, dense fog, making it incomparably beautiful. A hall of knowledge, a bastion of civilization. But now, in Shen Lang's eyes, it looked like the fake Leiyin Temple from *Journey to the West*, which Sun Wukong and Tripitaka had entered.
In *Journey to the West*, after enduring countless hardships and traveling 108,000 li, Tripitaka finally reached Leiyin Temple in the Western Heaven, believing he could obtain the scriptures. The temple before his eyes then was just as grand and magnificent as the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion was now. Every Buddha and Bodhisattva statue within exuded majesty, but in truth, it was all fake. All the Bodhisattvas, and even the Buddha himself, were just demons in disguise.
Shen Lang stepped forward and knocked. A crack opened in the great gate of the Pavilion, and a face appeared. It was a familiar face. This was the person who had welcomed him two years ago, who had been greatly astonished by his extraordinary talent when Shen Lang solved several difficult problems, and with whom he had maintained a close and friendly relationship. But now, this person looked at Shen Lang as if he were a stranger.
“Who is it and what is your business?”
“Shen Lang has come to borrow some texts!”
The scholar said.
“Shen Lang? The Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion does not welcome you. Please leave at once!”
Then, the gate slammed shut. Shen Lang shouted loudly.
“Go tell that wicked Ying Han to come out at once. I have a deal to make with her!”
A moment later, Princess Ying Han appeared before Shen Lang, smiling coolly at him as if there were no hard feelings at all. As if the "wicked one" Shen Lang had just mentioned wasn't her.
“I heard the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion recently announced a new difficult problem, a mathematical one. Is it true that it's a millennium-level problem?”
A millennium-level problem was one that, given the current level of civilization, would take about a thousand years to solve. Princess Ying Han nodded.
“I've heard that among the ancient texts, there is one called the *Blood Sutra*. It's probably the most valuable book in the Pavilion's collection, isn't it?”
Princess Ying Han nodded again. In the past, Shen Lang had a great misunderstanding about the Pavilion's collection. He had always thought their most valuable texts were ancient martial arts manuals like the *Meteor Sword Art from Beyond the Heavens*. Only now did Shen Lang realize that such things were not important. To the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, personal martial arts manuals could not be considered rare texts. Only books related to ancient civilization and occult studies were truly the rarest, which was why the Pavilion would never lend them to outsiders.
“I can solve the mathematical problem you've announced. The condition is that you lend me the *Blood Sutra* for just twenty-four hours.”
“Wait a moment. I'll go and ask.”
The two of them had their entire conversation through a closed gate, so they could only hear each other's voices, not see faces or expressions. Soon, Princess Ying Han left. Shen Lang waited, but he wasn't waiting for the result she would bring back. Was the millennium-level mathematical problem announced by the Pavilion merely a difficult problem? Absolutely not! According to Shen Lang's deduction, it was a crucial clue to opening an ancient ruin, making it an extremely important matter for the Pavilion. Therefore, Shen Lang's purpose in rushing to the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion this time was to probe them.
* * *
A short while later, Princess Ying Han returned and said.
“I'm sorry, but no!”
“Then what must I do to trade for your *Blood Sutra*?”
“I'm sorry, but there is no way to trade for it!”
Shen Lang fell silent.
“If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving.”
Shen Lang suddenly spoke up.
“What did you want from me? Why did you lure my wife here to alter her bloodline?”
Princess Ying Han replied with a laugh.
“Young Master Shen, you're overthinking things. Our Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion wants nothing from you! In fact, there is nothing in this world that our Pavilion desires.”
After speaking, Princess Ying Han immediately left.
*Thud!*
The gate before Shen Lang was closed, but the sound of another door closing could be heard from within.
“Master Shen, from now on, the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion will never welcome you. I hope you will conduct yourself with dignity.”
The voice of the scholar he had seen earlier was heard. Shen Lang left the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion and got into Sword King Li Qianqiu's carriage.
* * *
“Did you fail?”
Shen Lang answered Li Qianqiu's question.
“I wasn't expecting to succeed even before I came. I came to probe them.”
“So, did the probe succeed?”
“Yes!”
Shen Lang had indeed learned a lot of information. The millennium-level problem announced by the Pavilion was definitely a crucial clue related to ancient ruins. How did he know? When Shen Lang offered to solve the problem in exchange for the *Blood Sutra*, Princess Ying Han could have refused or agreed on her own authority. So why did she pretend to go inside the Pavilion to ask the Zuo Ci Pavilion Master? It was a case of revealing the truth while trying to hide it.
The Zuo Ci Pavilion Master wasn't even at the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion in the first place, so Ying Han could have made the decision herself. She intended to refuse Shen Lang's proposal from the start and wanted to hide how much the Pavilion valued this millennium-level problem. Furthermore, the reason Ying Han had tried to lure him in months ago was that she knew of his talent for deciphering clues to ancient ruins and intended to use him. The Pavilion had announced this problem to the world not long after discovering traces of a new ancient ruin. Second, Shen Lang needed to find out what the Pavilion wanted from him, and whether they had gotten it. The conclusion was that they hadn't, but the Pavilion definitely seemed to want something from him.
The ancient ruins the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion discovered a few months ago were extremely important. Ying Han had even described it with the words "a great discovery." If so, Ying Han should have been with the Zuo Ci Pavilion Master excavating those ruins right now, so why had she returned to the Pavilion? Could it be that there was an important matter that forced her to return? That important matter wouldn't have been the war with the State of Nangu. Then, could it be that the Pavilion considered Mulan giving birth to be an incomparably important event? After a brief probe, the truth was still complex and tangled, difficult to distinguish, but at least a few clues had been revealed.