Half an incense stick ago, at the Luoshen Tower. Shi Jingzhi was in a very good mood.

Hua Jingchun was not one to go back on her word. As soon as the Red Hook Sect was stabilized, she sent someone to fetch the clay figurine. Regarding the matter of "Su Zhi" coming back from the dead, she was smart enough not to ask. She only said that Wu Huai was on the run, the Red Hook chaos could not be considered settled, and asked a few people from the Ku Mountain Sect to be extra careful.

She changed back into her Protector's attire, the wound on her leg still emitting the smell of blood. Wu Huai was pulled down from the position of Red Hook Sect Leader, but Hua Jingchun did not show much happiness.

"Don't you want to see more of Su Zhi?" Shi Jingzhi leisurely drank tea while waiting for the clay figurine to arrive.

"Sect Leader Su helped us eliminate Wu Huai, which was an unexpected delight. If he is real, with such chaos in Red Hook, we have no face to disturb Sect Leader Su's spirit. If he is fake, Sect Leader Shi must have a clever plan... Our family has an ancestral motto, to live long in this business of grave robbing and stealing, curiosity must not be too heavy."

Hua Jingchun also took a sip of tea, her expression complex, no longer showing the initial hostility.

"Although the Shi Rou is pursued by the Dark Blood Witch, Taiheng is now far ahead. The great momentum of our cult is gone, it's better to nurture our roots."

At this moment, the servant who went to fetch the clay figurine entered the door.

The clay figurine was about an arm's length tall, sculpted in the likeness of the Divine Emperor Wu. Unlike the flesh figurine from Yuanxian Village, this clay figurine was twisted and distorted, extremely crude, clearly made by a novice. The paint on the figurine was mottled and faded, dull and lifeless, without a hint of beauty.

It was placed on a dark red brocade, carried on a wooden tray, completely out of place with the surrounding noble and exquisite environment. Judging by its appearance, it was more fitting to appear in some village market.

...Too ordinary, perhaps what the Immortal Gathering was looking for was not this.

Despite his thoughts, Shi Jingzhi still put down his teacup and approached to examine it closely. The clay figurine smelled ordinary, without a hint of fishy stench. The surface was uneven, but there were no mysterious patterns, nor were any special objects embedded. Sect Leader Shi looked left and right, almost sticking his eyes to it.

"Put it on the table for now." Having asked for it, Sect Leader Shi didn't see anything suspicious and decided to keep it for further examination.

Sect Leader Shi wasn't wearing a Nuo mask, his face was really distracting. The clay figurine was not a precious object either. The servant holding it was only staring at Shi Jingzhi's face. His hand tilted and the clay figurine swayed precariously a couple of times.

Crack.

An extremely faint sound of friction came from inside the stone figurine. Shi Jingzhi's eyes immediately widened and he instinctively reached for the stone figurine. The servant, feeling guilty, subconsciously took a step back when he saw this handsome noble guest reaching out.

It would have been fine if he hadn't retreated. With this sudden movement, the clay figurine completely tilted over, head down, and crashed to the ground.

With a crisp "crack", the clay figurine shattered into eight pieces. More than a dozen small stone balls rolled out. The colorful stone balls scattered all over the floor, revealing a small booklet full of creases among the fragments.

Everyone in the room froze in place.

Shi Jingzhi had only heard of Buddha statues being used for concealment, and clay figurines usually had good things hidden inside. However, with stone balls all over the floor, none of them precious gems, they looked more like children's toys. Just as he was pondering, about to bend down to pick up the booklet, Yin Ci walked in.

Happening upon this mess, Sect Leader Shi felt that his aura of heroism had greatly dissipated. He hurriedly tried to make up for it: "Ah Ci, look at this clay figurine..."

Halfway through his words, he suddenly noticed something unusual.

Usually when Yin Ci entered the room, his gaze would first fall on him. Wrapped in that gaze, Shi Jingzhi felt refreshed from head to toe. However, this time, as Yin Ci picked up a stone ball from the ground, he stared straight at it, his eyes filled with a frightening emptiness.

Just like when they first formed the master-disciple relationship.

Yin Ci clutched the stone ball tightly, murmuring a name. His voice was so soft and muffled that Shi Jingzhi couldn't hear clearly, but he instinctively felt that something was wrong.

Sect Leader Shi stuffed the booklet into his bosom and strode directly in front of Yin Ci: "Ah Ci?"

As if he hadn't heard, Yin Ci neither answered nor looked at him. He just stretched out a hand and slowly grasped Shi Jingzhi's wrist - with great force, his hand frighteningly cold, a suffocating aura of oppression slowly rising.

This person's state was clearly very wrong.

Shi Jingzhi frowned deeply. Yin Ci's reaction was not like a spell or poisoning, but clearly he was in a trance.

Fortunately, even though Yin Ci had lost his soul, he still had not raised his guard against Shi Jingzhi. Gritting his teeth, Shi Jingzhi quickly tapped a few of Yin Ci's sleep acupoints. Without even looking at the clay figurine again, he directly picked up the unconscious Yin Ci: "Protector Hua, I need to borrow a guest room from your sect."

The Luoshen Tower was originally a place for receiving guests, so guest rooms were certainly not lacking. Hua Jingchun prepared an especially quiet one for them: "Sect Leader Shi, do you need any medicine...?"

Shi Jingzhi didn't even raise his head, his voice stretched taut: "I'll take care of him, tell everyone to withdraw."

When there was no one left in the room, Shi Jingzhi removed Yin Ci's Nuo mask. Then he pried the stone ball out of Yin Ci's palm - the stone ball had broken the skin of Yin Ci's palm, covered in blood.

Shi Jingzhi did not call for the other members of the Ku Mountain Sect, but sent Hua Jingchun away and personally wiped the blood from Yin Ci's hand.

"When you went berserk before, you didn't look like that. You still wanted to shield me from disaster, but you got into trouble first."

He wrung out a warm, damp cloth and gently wiped Yin Ci's face. Yin Ci was not unconscious by choice, Shi Jingzhi could wake him up at any time - it was just that Yin Ci's abnormal appearance made Sect Leader Shi really afraid to act rashly.

If an ordinary person lost control of their mind, he could still firmly control them. Yin Ci was too powerful, if he went berserk here, the Red Hook Sect would probably be reduced to ashes before being destroyed by Wu Huai.

Not to mention that there were still many outsiders present, it was impossible for them to surrender without a fight. If a battle really broke out, Yin Ci's "undying and indestructible" constitution would probably be known to the world the next day.

Sect Leader Shi was both worried and anxious, wishing he could chew on the cloth in his hand.

Only when Yin Ci's breathing finally stabilized did he spare a moment to look at the stone ball. Unfortunately, he did not find any mystery in it - the stone balls were collected by Hua Jingchun into a chess piece jar, the colors dazzling to behold. They had been coated with fragrant balm, clearly carefully preserved. Other than that, they were just ordinary stones, couldn't be more ordinary.

...All that remained was that booklet.

Shi Jingzhi burned soothing incense in the four corners of the room. Then he pushed Yin Ci further into the bed and half-lay down himself. Yin Ci's state was like deep sleep, his breathing shallow and long. His brows were slightly furrowed, his face devoid of expression, looking strangely pained.

Shi Jingzhi couldn't help but take Yin Ci's right hand and kiss his palm.

The cold was like ice.

Sect Leader Shi sighed and placed Yin Ci's cold right hand on his own abdomen to warm it with his body heat. He closed his eyes and focused his mind for a good while before opening the first page of the booklet.

The first emotion that hit him was disappointment.

Shi Jingzhi had originally thought there would be neat handwriting inside, recording this or that secret. But the booklet seemed to be written by a child who had just learned to write, with handwriting so poor it was hard to look at and extremely difficult to recognize. Many of the ink characters were even smudged by water stains, as if someone had been dripping water on them continuously.

Shi Jingzhi flipped through a dozen more pages, all of which were messy practice pages. The small, crooked ink characters were jumbled together, not forming coherent sentences at all.

Sun Huaijin's dry voice echoed in his mind.

[In those years when the founding emperor was ill, Sun Wang seemed like a changed man - a nine-foot man, curled up and shedding tears all day, even learning to write and engaging in literary pursuits like a scholar.]

Could this be Sun Wang's practice book? Shi Jingzhi rubbed his brow.

Legends similar to "Sun Wang learning to write" were not unheard of, with authors invariably portraying him as a loyal and righteous man who wrote to pray for the emperor's well-being. But if this was just an ordinary writing practice book, why would Madam Sun hide it inside the statue?

Shi Jingzhi patiently flipped through the pages one by one, his movements slow and gentle, afraid of damaging the ancient pages.

Sun Wang was clearly an intelligent person, and his writing became clearer and clearer. The characters gradually formed short sentences with structure. The only thing that remained unchanged were the soaking marks, whether from water or tears.

Flipping to a page in the latter half of the booklet, his hand suddenly stopped in mid-air, his expression frozen -

[Xu Li, He Cheng'an, worse than beasts.]

[I, Sun Wang, am worse than a beast.]

These two sentences were the only things on this page. They were repeated densely, filling the paper, like some kind of vicious curse.

Xu Li, the name of the founding emperor. He Cheng'an, known as the "Sage", the founding National Teacher.

According to rumors, Sun Wang's relationship with these two was as close as sworn brothers of different surnames, and there were even rumors of them becoming sworn brothers. The sight of such writing left by the loyal and upright Marquis of Lie'an sent a chill down Shi Jingzhi's neck. He adjusted his breathing before turning to the next page.

This time, Shi Jingzhi completely froze at the head of the bed.

Beside him, Yin Ci had a long dream.

He stood alone in a thick darkness. There was no sky above his head and no ground beneath his feet. Around him floated his absurd and bizarre fantasies, like dirty willow catkins.

Voices came from all directions, as if countless mouths were talking to him, making his head feel like it was going to explode. Yin Ci couldn't help but kneel down and hold his head, watching helplessly as his body cracked into pieces like a clay statue. Accompanied by the sound of stone balls rolling, many of his fantasies were extinguished like bubbles, leaving only the darkest one in front of him - the one he tried his best to ignore and put behind him.

The memories scattered in his delusions gradually fell into place, stabbing at his brain like knives.

More than three hundred years ago, the flames of war raged and chaos was everywhere. Everyone said that the world was in great turmoil, and only the state of Yun had a glimmer of hope.

The ruler of the state of Yun was surnamed Xu and named Li, originally a local lord. Xu Li had achieved much in his youth and had two capable men under him, Sun Wang and He Cheng'an. Sun and He, one skilled in martial arts and the other in civil affairs, guarded a beautiful land of mountains and clear waters. As long as one could escape to the state of Yun, there was no need to worry about having no food to eat.

Yin Ci was originally an orphan who survived the war. His face had attracted many unsavory characters. In order to protect himself, he taught himself martial arts and even protected many abandoned children in the same situation as himself. Hearing this rumor, he did not hesitate to lead people to escape to the state of Yun.

With his guidance and command along the way, more than a hundred abandoned children successfully entered the state of Yun without a single casualty. This matter caused a great sensation for a time, and Xu Li found it interesting and personally met this young man who commanded like a god.

Xu Li was only in his early twenties at that time, with a face that was not particularly handsome, but his attitude was very friendly. He Cheng'an wore a plain, ethereal long robe and stroked his long beard as he spoke with a smile.

[This child has an extraordinary appearance. Given time, he will surely become a man of great accomplishments.]

Xu Li seemed to trust He Cheng'an very much. Based on He Cheng'an's words alone, Yin Ci was kept as a half-guest and even given the opportunity to study. The children he brought also had food to eat. The clever ones were chosen by craftsmen to become apprentices, while the honest ones were taken to become servants.

...At that time, Yin Ci truly thought he had hit the jackpot.

The first person he truly became acquainted with was Sun Wang. Yin Ci had a talent for commanding troops, while Sun Wang was a man who led troops. After spending time together, Yin Ci often visited Sun's home. The two would either discuss military tactics or play war games late into the night.

At that time, Madam Sun was already pregnant, and she would always gaze at Sun Wang with eyes as gentle as water.

Yin Ci had heard Sun Wang boast countless times that every piece of clothing he wore was carefully sewn by her. General Sun had no airs of a general at all, and he insisted on personally taking care of his wife's daily life. General Sun even had to boil and cool the sugar water himself, afraid that the servants would be careless and scald his beloved wife.

[I am a crude man. I must have accumulated virtue in my previous life to have married the best woman in the world in this life.] Sun Wang always liked to keep these words on his lips.

The couple was deeply in love. Even when the war games were at their most intense, if Madam Sun sneezed, Sun Wang would rush over as if his pants were on fire. Yin Ci had no parents and was happy to see the two respecting each other and living in harmony. He never felt annoyed at being interrupted and would always wait for Sun Wang to return with a smile.

[When Cuicui gives birth, I will definitely have the children recognize you as their godfather and climb onto your high branch early... You are clearly much younger than me, how did your head grow? Ah, I lost again.]

Xu Li, as Sun Wang's close friend since childhood, would also visit Sun Wang's home from time to time in plain clothes. He Cheng'an would always follow Xu Li and stay as a guest.

The four of them got along harmoniously, from casual chats to discussing the world.

Unfortunately, Sun's eldest son was unable to recognize Yin Ci as his godfather. Before he was born, Yin Ci had already followed Sun Wang to the battlefield, taking the first step in pacifying the chaotic world. Year after year, he grew from a teenager to a young man on the battlefield, his achievements surpassing Sun Wang's, becoming Xu Li's top general.

Fortunately, Sun Wang was never one to be petty. Not only was he not jealous or resentful, but he also ignored the difference in seniority and fully supported him as his deputy. Xu Li was also not dissatisfied with his friend being overshadowed and treated Yin Ci with sincerity. He was even more devoted to He Cheng'an, the "Sage" who discovered Yin Ci's talent.

The territory of the state of Yun expanded step by step, and the relationship between the four also became closer and closer - Xu Li gained the hearts of the people, and with Sun Wang and Yin Ci working in perfect harmony, and He Cheng'an's impeccable strategies, the four cooperated seamlessly, sharing weal and woe, with a bond like family.

Yin Ci was born without parents, drifting through the war-torn land amidst corpses. Now, with the grace of recognition ahead and the affection of family behind, he had no selfish intentions and could be said to have gone through fire and water all the way. At that time, he used his troops like a god and had considerable prestige among the soldiers. When he became the Grand General of Yun Country, he was only twenty years old.

Everyone worked together for seven or eight years to pacify the chaotic world. It was initiated by Sun Wang, using He Cheng'an's immortal wine as the oath wine, and the four of them became sworn brothers with different surnames.

That was truly his happiest moment.

If there was only one shortcoming - He Cheng'an said that the immortal wine was beneficial to people, but after drinking it, he felt a subtle loss of internal strength. Yin Ci specially asked Sun Wang, but Sun Wang, who had drunk from the same jar of immortal wine, looked confused. Yin Ci did not suspect him and only went to He Cheng'an's side to check his body and grab some medicine.

Anyway, the war was over, and a temporary weakness didn't matter.

...How naive he was back then.

Although there was endless darkness in front of him, Yin Ci still closed his eyes. The following memories were like a web grown in his brain marrow, and a slight tug would bring overwhelming pain and fear.

Shortly after the end of the chaos and the four of them became sworn brothers, there was a great drought in the world, and the strong Xu Li suddenly fell ill, unable to eat or drink. Yin Ci instantly forgot about his own little "internal strength sickness" and became anxious like an ant on a hot pan, not knowing what to do.

"We just moved the capital to Yi City, and encountered a great drought. Brother Xu is seriously ill, this is really too strange. Brother He told us to prepare for the sac...prepare for the exorcism ritual, did he tell you?"

Sun Wang's tone was a little stiff, and he didn't look at Yin Ci when he said this.

"To fast and worship gods, I heard that just the preparation will take a month. Brother He, he..."

"I'll go find the National Teacher right away." Among the four, Yin Ci was the most resistant to the reappearance of chaos. "Brother Xu can't fall, let alone fasting and worshipping gods, I'm willing to exchange my life for his."

Sun Wang didn't speak again, his eyes incredibly complex. Thinking about it now, those eyes were full of sorrow.

"Okay." He said word by word, "I'll send you there."

At the same time.

Beside Yin Ci, Shi Jingzhi identified the words on the book page one by one, his internal organs feeling like they were frozen. His fingers brushed over the rough paper, but his sense of touch seemed to have lost its spirit, unable to feel anything.

Shi Jingzhi no longer pondered how much the "Immortal Gathering" was involved in this matter. Every ugly word turned into an awl, drilling straight into his mind.

The two founding heroes were originally three.

Not long after the four of them became sworn brothers, He Cheng'an had privately sought out Xu Li and Sun Wang.

He claimed that "the fate of the Yin family's young son is too prosperous and may take away the fate of my Dayun Country". The situation was just looking great, and Xu and Sun, with their feelings and righteousness, immediately refused to hand Yin Ci over to He Cheng'an.

He Cheng'an did not insist, only shaking his head and leaving.

Not long after, Dayun moved its capital. In the same year, there was a great drought, and disasters arose throughout the country. Xu Li, who was around thirty years old, suddenly developed a strange illness and was bedridden. Unlike Sun Wang, who had a group of children, Xu Li only had one young son. Seeing this great land about to perish before his eyes, He Cheng'an visited again.

"It's not that I don't remember old feelings, Your Majesty, but you need to put the people of the world first."

Sun Wang was instantly furious, about to explode, but was stopped by Xu Li.

"That young man is talented and extraordinary-looking, with more of an emperor's appearance than you. A country cannot have two rulers. When fate is too prosperous, it will decline. This is the anger of Heaven. The one with the most prosperous fate must sacrifice their life to pray for peace."

He Cheng'an's attitude was unprecedentedly solemn.

"Your Majesty, this old man doesn't understand military affairs and the generals won't obey. General Sun is illiterate and the civil officials won't recognize him. That person is proficient in both civil and military affairs. If Your Majesty..."

Xu Li, whose face was already full of illness, had an exceptionally ugly expression when he heard this. Sun Wang was truly angered to the point of exploding lungs, but with the emperor present, it was not good to make a scene, so he had to hold it in.

He Cheng'an looked straight at Xu Li, getting to the point: "Even if Your Majesty doesn't consider the people, you have to consider your own flesh and blood."

"All nonsense!" Sun Wang finally couldn't help it and angrily rebuked. "Brother He, how many years have we known each other? How can you still come up with this rotten idea? Even if I rebel, General Yin will never rebel!"

He Cheng'an did not answer. Sun Wang became even more furious.

"In times of disaster, we'll suffer together. To sacrifice people for this bullshit reason, even if the Heavens don't want it, so be it!"

"Has this old man's judgment ever been wrong? General Sun, this is also for the sake of Dayun." He Cheng'an smiled slightly, that smile somewhat frightening. Even though Sun Wang had been on the battlefield for many years, he was still a bit creeped out by that smile.

So Sun Wang's eyes looked at Xu Li, hoping his close friend would agree. But Xu Li did not respond as usual. He coughed earth-shatteringly and remained silent for a long time.

After a while, Xu Li finally spoke: "Sun Wang, I remember your third daughter was just born...is Cuicui's health okay? It's cold outside, tell your wife and children to come stay in the palace until spring."

The palace burned high-quality charcoal, but Sun Wang felt like he was in the bitter cold of winter. Although he was crude and careless, he recognized the murderous intent behind those words.

He Cheng'an spoke in a timely manner, his tone calm and unperturbed: "This official will go prepare the sacrificial ceremony. General Sun doesn't need to be so angry. To ensure the ceremony is flawless, this old man will also sacrifice himself. The succeeding disciple has already been chosen by this old man."

Xu Li's eyes were slightly red: "The National Teacher is righteous."

"This is simply crazy. Brother Xu, at least think of another way! Which country doesn't have some disasters? This is just what Old He...no, just the National Teacher's one-sided words!"

"I also hope Your Majesty will set up ritual grounds in the northwest and Yi City. General Yin will be sacrificed in the northwest to quell disasters and eliminate calamities. This old man will be sacrificed in Yi City to bless our Dayun." He Cheng'an ignored Sun Wang.

Xu Li also did not heed the pleading General Sun. He only looked at his own disease-withered hands: "Approved."

The following words were especially blurred.

Sun Wang was sent to notify Yin Ci about the sacrificial ceremony. He struggled for a long time but still couldn't tell the truth. He watched helplessly as Yin Ci was taken away by He Cheng'an. For the next month, he and his family were kept in the imperial palace as "guests".

While in the palace, Sun Wang's news was uninterrupted. In that month, Xu Li acted swiftly and decisively, attributing all the founding merits to Sun Wang. Various books were all revised, and the stories of storytellers were all investigated openly and secretly.

Sun Wang had been on the battlefield for many years, but he never thought that at a time of peace, he would taste such a bitter and desperate flavor.

He began to practice calligraphy, trying to write down the truth and find a way to pass it on to future generations. He didn't want to drag his beloved wife Cuicui into the quagmire. With bitterness that couldn't be spoken, he could only watch helplessly as his wife worried about him.

Ironically, after Yin Ci was sacrificed, the Great Forbidden Formation in the northwest was completed. The natural disasters ended immediately, and Xu Li's health gradually improved. By the time the Yi City sacrificial ceremony was to be held, He Cheng'an had specifically visited Sun Wang. Sun Wang refused to see him, and after the sacrifice, the National Teacher also disappeared without a trace, as if he had truly "sacrificed himself for the heavens".

Devastated by this blow, Sun Wang only wanted to retire and return to his hometown. He had even written the memorial, just waiting to submit it.

Madam Sun, seeing her husband so dispirited and lifeless, felt heartbroken. She didn't delve into it, only saying that He Cheng'an had gifted some tonics before the sacrifice, which she would stew tomorrow, as a way to conclude all matters in Yi City.

Sun Wang naturally agreed, even hugging his wife and weeping bitterly.

However, the book abruptly ended on this page, with only blank pages following.

...What exactly happened?

Sun Wang did not resign from his post. According to the black and white of history, Xu Li still died in his prime, and Sun Wang became the Prince Regent, leading campaigns on the borders for the young crown prince.

Yin Ci was sacrificed, claimed to be "exchanging life for life". Sun Wang's judgment was not wrong, He Cheng'an had lied after all—how could this immortal man "exchange life"? Back then, Yin Ci was sacrificed under the Great Forbidden Formation in the northwest...was it as he had guessed?

Shi Jingzhi tightly grasped Yin Ci's right hand, pressing it to his lips, trembling for the first time.

In the darkness, Yin Ci finally pieced together the series of inexplicable fragments. He finally understood the purpose of the so-called "one month of preparation" before the "worship".

After entering the National Teacher's Manor, he only remembered hearing a piercing tune. Afterwards, he remained in a daze, only recalling the endless immortal wine in his mouth and the ceaseless pain in his neck. It was as if his head was chopped off again and again, the wine choking him to the point of suffocation. Whenever he was about to sober up, the demonic tune would fill his ears, rendering him motionless.

[Store more, fill up to three thousand, it will be useful.]

...That was He Cheng'an's voice. His tone lacked its usual mirth, utterly indifferent.

[My lord, this person has exceptional talent, the musical techniques can barely suppress him anymore.]

[That's why I told you to store more materials. After storing enough, I have a place to keep him.]

Finally, the pungent wine stopped, and the bone-chilling pain ceased. At that time, Yin Ci simply thought it was a hazy nightmare. Let alone the fact that he had been in a constant daze, how could a person have so many heads to be beheaded? This dream was truly ridiculous. When he woke up, he would definitely tell Sun Wang and He Cheng'an about it.

So he groaned a few times and struggled to open his eyes, only to see pitch darkness.

His head was still hurting, his thoughts rusted. Yin Ci tried to sit up but found that he couldn't lift his body at all. As soon as he raised his head, it hit a hard, cold stone slab.

Beneath his hands was cold stone, mixed with strange, icy soft liquid beads, like remnants of mercury. Yin Ci's heart turned cold. He reached up and sure enough, he touched another stone slab.

He used his body to feel out the shape of this "stone box", his mind instantly going blank.

...For some reason, he was lying in a stone coffin.

Now he couldn't care less about nightmares or not, and immediately began pounding on the coffin lid. Unfortunately, aside from silence, he received no response. Yin Ci tried to use what little inner force he had left, but found not a trace remained - he couldn't even chip off a single piece of stone.

Was this the "exorcism ritual" Sun Wang spoke of?

On the first day, he thought, perhaps this was just a prank by his friends.

If he made it through this day, they would open the lid and see the panicked look on the face of Dayun's fiercest general.

On the second day, he thought, perhaps this was some kind of life-for-life sacrifice.

If it could ensure Xu Li's safety and stabilize the realm, his death would be worth it... He Cheng'an was already old, Sun Wang had a family to care for, he was willing to die for them. He only had one small complaint - they'd known each other for nearly ten years, were they afraid he'd run away? He could have left gracefully, said a proper goodbye.

On the third day, he wondered, why was he still alive?

He hadn't had a bite to eat or drink, was nearly suffocating, he should have been dead long ago. Was this reality? Or another dream he couldn't wake from? He shouted and screamed until his mouth tasted of blood. He pinched himself violently, even tearing off a chunk of flesh.

Pain had never felt so real and clear.

On the fourth day, he finally began to fear.

Yin Ci combed through his not-so-long life over and over, trying to find something strange within it. Finding nothing, he tried to find his own faults - such a bizarre and desperate situation must have a reason.

Whether it was the reason he was buried here, or the reason he was "still alive."

...But he couldn't think of any.

After the first year passed, Yin Ci could barely think coherently anymore, with only the thought that he "must escape" still lingering in his mind. Yin Ci was clothed in silk, with no metal or wood on his person, and despite searching everywhere, he couldn't find a suitable tool.

Human bones are hard, he thought in near despair, how about human bones?

This was the first time he broke his left arm. Blood spilled everywhere, flesh and skin still connected. He struggled greatly to tear and bite through the flesh, finally managing to separate the bone, and then used the bone to grind against the stone.

Perhaps I've already gone mad, Yin Ci thought. After all, even when a new left arm immediately grew back, he couldn't muster a shred of shock.

The stone coffin had been pried open slightly by someone, leaving a small gap. The mercury gradually disappeared, and various insects came and went, helping to eat away the rotting flesh and bone fragments, preventing the coffin from being filled with bone shards. Yin Ci never stopped, day after day using arm bones to grind away at the same spot on the stone wall.

Must escape, he thought numbly.

Yin Ci tore off his left arm time and time again, his movements becoming increasingly practiced. After who knows how long, he could use just his fingers to peel away the flesh, leaving only the convenient bone.

Must escape, find a reason, an answer, or an end.

Aside from this thought, all other memories had turned to mush. Excruciating pain accompanied the sound of human bone grinding against stone, never ceasing. Darkness bred countless hallucinations, and Yin Ci gradually developed numerous delusions to escape reality.

Until the first "crack" sounded.

The thick stone coffin had actually been ground through, creating a hole. Heaven hadn't abandoned him - beyond the hole wasn't compacted soil, but a nearby underground cavern.

Yin Ci seemed unaware, continuing to pry and grind at the coffin around the breach.

With the cavern to discard his limbs, his efficiency increased somewhat - once the coffin had one weak point, the subsequent destruction became smooth sailing. As days turned to months, the huge cavern was almost filled with bone remnants, and Yin Ci finally ground open a hole large enough to pass through.

Unfortunately, he was already half-mad, unable to taste joy, only knowing to continue digging forward. After an unknown amount of time, his hands, nearly reduced to bones, touched the scorching yellow sand.

Sunlight that almost blinded people poured down.

He curled up in the yellow sand like an animal. A snake slithered over and he bit it in half, stuffing it into his throat. Yin Ci wandered in the vast desert like a walking corpse... Later, he encountered desert bandits and then the village that took him in.

Just as Chen Qianfan had recorded.

And based on the timeline Chen Qianfan recorded, he had stayed in that underground stone coffin for at least eighty years.

The beheading was real, and the endless darkness was real too. Although he had always regarded them as part of his "delusions", the fear and madness were always hidden deep in his mind, pushing him to the edge of a cliff from time to time.

Some things, it seems, are better left unremembered. Just a stone ball rolling down forced him to stand on the edge of the cliff again.

[Dearest Yin, I will certainly not fail you.]

[Good brother, even if I die, I will never let you down.]

[This old man will certainly not disappoint General Yin.]

...

What a joke.

He was prepared to die for the world, to die for his loved ones. But he was never prepared to "live" like that.

In the boundless darkness, Yin Ci clenched his fists. Everything should have been extremely cold and hard, but for some reason, his right hand was very warm, as if it was next to a cozy fireplace. All the pain remained, absurd as ever. However, facing the overwhelming darkness, he lost the urge to go mad—

Yin Ci clenched his right hand tightly and slowly placed it on his chest. In the darkness, a cluster of golden flames danced merrily on his right hand.

Hurry up and wake me up, you brat.