Chapter 00041: Finding the Breakthrough
# Finding the Breakthrough
Chapter 41
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 41: Finding the Breakthrough
If the Coiling Dragon Desert were to become ordinary, would the border of the Falcon Kingdom remain as peaceful as it is now? This is a huge question mark, especially since the neighboring countries are not to be underestimated.
Fortune and misfortune are intertwined.
If it weren’t for the generous conditions offered by the Grand Marshal, He Chunhua wouldn’t wish for the Coiling Dragon Desert to disappear.
After a moment of silence, he said in a low voice, “Chuan, do you think Commander Zhong’s thirty-two years of perseverance were worth it?”
He Lingchuan thought to himself that since his father was asking, he must already feel it wasn’t worth it.
“It wasn’t worth it,” He Lingchuan pretended to speak bluntly. “Coiling Dragon City still fell, and the Western Luo Kingdom still perished. After thirty-two years, he changed nothing.”
“In the first twelve years, the Western Luo Kingdom was too weak to reclaim its lost territories and didn’t even know that millions of soldiers and civilians were still holding out in the Coiling Dragon Wasteland. In the last twenty years, the Western Luo Kingdom tried several times to cede the Coiling Dragon Wasteland to the Xianyou Kingdom in exchange for temporary peace. If I were Zhong Shengguang, I’d be furious to have such a useless and burdensome homeland!”
“The Western Luo Kingdom was once mighty, with a reign of 217 years, making it one of the longest-lasting kingdoms on this continent.” This land was rarely peaceful, with some regimes lasting only a few dozen days, and most small kingdoms completing their rise and fall within twenty to thirty years.
So, the Western Luo Kingdom had already endured quite well. “But when Zhong Shengguang was defending Coiling Dragon City, the Western Luo Kingdom was plagued by internal strife and external threats. The nobles indulged in luxury while the common people starved and wandered homeless. The enemy’s relentless attacks signaled the kingdom’s impending doom.” He Chunhua sighed after saying this, gently touching Zhong Shengguang’s tombstone.
He Lingchuan didn’t point it out, but his father was clearly thinking of himself.
The current Falcon Kingdom bore too many similarities to the Western Luo Kingdom of old.
At that moment, the clouds parted, and the moonlight shone down, illuminating the desolate city.
“Commander Zhong, it must be lonely guarding this place alone. Let me share a couple of drinks with you.” He Lingchuan couldn’t help but pour two more cups of wine for Zhong Shengguang. “What a pity I couldn’t pay my respects to General Red or witness his heroic presence!”
Both Zhong Shengguang and General Red were legends.
Personally, He Lingchuan was more curious about the enigmatic General Red.
He asked He Chunhua, “There’s a shrine for General Red in the city, but no tomb, not even a cenotaph. Is it possible… that he didn’t die in the final battle?”
“General Red was struck by seven bolts of heavenly lightning summoned by the Xianyou Kingdom’s Grand Preceptor at the cost of his own life. He was reduced to ashes on the spot. Soldiers from both sides witnessed it, so there shouldn’t be any mistake. Otherwise, the morale of Coiling Dragon City wouldn’t have collapsed so suddenly.” He Chunhua shook his head. “You’re still young. You don’t yet understand the limits of human strength.”
Just as He Lingchuan was about to speak, two sharp whistles came from the northeast.
Two fireworks shot into the sky and exploded.
It was the prearranged signal.
He Chunhua took one look and said, “They’ve found it. Let’s go!”
￥￥￥￥￥
Within two quarters of an hour, everyone had gathered at the Temple of the Boundless Heaven.
Located at the heart of Coiling Dragon City, the temple covered ten acres, with multiple courtyards and halls.
In its heyday, it must have been a bustling place with lush ancient trees and throngs of visitors.
But now, after over a century of looting and destruction, it was a desolate ruin.
The clear springs and lotus ponds had long dried up, and the once verdant ancient trees had turned into withered stumps, never to sprout new leaves again.
Most of the exquisite buildings had been destroyed, especially the grand main hall dedicated to the Boundless Heaven.
It had been toppled and set ablaze.
As the group approached the site, all they saw were a few charred wooden beams lying haphazardly.
He Lingchuan reached out and snapped one.
It crumbled to pieces.
The statue of the Boundless Heaven was made of stone.
Even a small section of its arm was as tall as He Lingchuan.
Unfortunately, no one could see its original appearance, as the entire statue had been toppled, cut into seven or eight pieces, hacked with axes, and then smeared with ink.
The allied forces hated Coiling Dragon City and the Gale Army to the core, even their faith.
Once everyone had gathered, Nian Songyu solemnly held up a glass jar and said, “This is the place!”
He walked around the pool in front of the main hall, and the three corpse worms in the glass jar changed direction accordingly.
No matter where he stood, they always pointed away from the pool!
“The pool?” Situ Han asked in surprise. “Are you sure it’s this pool? If we’re wrong, we won’t have enough clean water to spare.”
The Red Scar Plateau had plenty of water, and the water features in the Temple of the Boundless Heaven were exquisitely designed, with springs, streams, and as many as six pools.
The pool Nian Songyu had identified was located just outside the main hall.
Its shape was irregular, resembling a wishing pool where people tossed coins.
It covered an area of about twenty-six or twenty-seven square meters.
Of course, it was now completely empty, with neither koi fish nor coins.
Sun Fuping walked around the pool and pressed a few spots on the edge. “There are patches on the pool’s edge where the color differs. It seems like they were patched up later.”
Everyone looked and saw that it was true.
The edges of the pool had been roughly patched in several places, with shoddy workmanship that was a far cry from the original craftsmanship.
Clearly, the later repairs were just quick fixes, done hastily.
“The difference in age between the old and new patches is significant. And the repairs are so crude, they don’t seem like the work of the people of Coiling Dragon City, who revered the Boundless Heaven, nor do they seem like the work of the Xianyou allied forces.” He Chunhua pondered. “Could it have been done by the last team sent by the Balin Kingdom?”
The favored disciples sent by Patriarch Zhu Gen surely didn’t travel thousands of miles just to work as masons, did they?
If they were the ones who patched up this pool, they must have had a purpose.
He Lingchuan was more concerned about why the pool had been dug up in the first place.
Sun Fuping said seriously, “More importantly, why was the pool dug up, and by whom?”
Zeng Feixiong pointed to the scattered stones on the ground. “Maybe it was accidentally damaged when the main hall collapsed.”
The temple had been ransacked, and such a grand building and statue had come crashing down, even leaving craters in the ground.
It wouldn’t be surprising if a small pool had been smashed in the process.
“Perhaps this is the effect the mastermind wanted to create?” He Chunhua mused. “When Coiling Dragon City fell, the allied soldiers would have stormed in to loot and plunder. Their commanders couldn’t have stopped them. No matter what the soldiers destroyed, it would have been seen as normal. If this pool looked like it had been damaged during the looting, the allied forces wouldn’t have investigated further, and its hidden secret would have been concealed.”
“In the chaos and panic, with Coiling Dragon City on the brink of collapse, who could have calmly arranged all this?”
The answer was obvious.
Nian Songyu murmured, “Zhong Shengguang, or one of his trusted aides. He must have opened the pool and drained the water before the city fell.”
If they weren’t mistaken, the deeper meaning behind this action was worth exploring.
Decades later, the exploration team from the Balin Kingdom likely came to a similar conclusion and patched up the pool again.
Situ Han stepped forward to take a look and frowned. “So, you’re suggesting we fill this pool with water? But even if we pour all the spare water from our two hundred people into it, it probably wouldn’t even cover the bottom.”
(End of Chapter)