The Unlucky Knight

Finally, some new information! Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up, and he straightened his posture. "Could there really be an inside story to this?" Elder Zhao gave a slight nod and spoke in a conversational tone: "After the War of Resistance ended, the Same Boat Society believed there was no longer any need to remain in hiding. They hoped to seize the opportunity to become the official organization of the Second District, so they divided the country into regions and established seven major branches: North China, Northeast, East China, Central China, South China, Southwest, and Northwest. "Who could have foreseen that before long, fierce internal conflict would erupt within the society? A faction refused to become Western puppets and withdrew one after another to establish their own factions. Yet that was not the fundamental reason the Same Boat Society dissolved. "The true reason was that the comprador government was driven into a corner of the country. The new government possessed a fierce awareness of sovereignty and an unyielding resolve never to compromise. Coupled with the bitter internal discord and the steady stream of defecting members, the Same Boat Society was hastily disbanded before it ever had the chance to establish an official organization in the Second District." Even though Elder Zhao spent quite some time laying the groundwork before getting to the main topic, Zhang Yuanqing and Zhao Chenghuang still listened with keen interest. "The infighting in the North China Branch took place against this backdrop. But it was not infighting—it was a massacre." Elder Zhao finally lifted the veil, coming to the heart of the matter. "A massacre?" Zhang Yuanqing and Zhao Chenghuang exchanged glances. The former pressed, "Who launched the massacre?" Elder Zhao shook his head. "All I know is that just before the Same Boat Society dissolved, the leadership of the North China Branch suddenly summoned all members for a meeting. The outcome of that meeting was that everyone died." Zhang Yuanqing's brows furrowed deeply. "If it were infighting, a battlefield with so many people would always produce victors. Mutual destruction of every single person is highly unlikely. If it was a massacre, that does make sense. "The meeting was convened by the North China Branch itself, so the only possibility is that the society's headquarters was behind it. But why massacre the members of the North China Branch? Elder Zhao, how did you come to know about this?" Even Guild Leader Jiang knew nothing of the details. "Because the North China Branch had one survivor back then. When the members were summoned to meet, an accident on the road delayed him. By the time he reached the gathering place, all he found was a ruin stained with blood and scorched by war. Not even corpses were left of those members." Elder Zhao took a sip of tea. "You actually know that survivor, and you've crossed paths with him quite a few times." He set down his teacup, adding before Zhang Yuanqing could speak, "He is Shanhe Yongcun, the Grand Protector of the Dark Night Rose." *Shanhe Yongcun?!* The revelation caught Zhang Yuanqing completely off guard. He had never expected Shanhe Yongcun to have ties to the Same Boat Society. Yet, connecting this to Sect Master Chunyang's intimidation last night, the pieces seemed to fall into place. Shanhe Yongcun was the Grand Protector of the Dark Night Rose and was tied to a secret history of the Same Boat Society. That was why Ling Tuo had dispatched Sect Master Chunyang to frighten him—to stop him from digging into the matter. While Zhang Yuanqing's mind raced, Zhao Chenghuang voiced his suspicion from the side: "Great-Grandpa, why would Shanhe Yongcun tell you any of this? I recall you two didn't get along." Elder Zhao replied impassively, "I was the one who recruited Shanhe Yongcun into the Taiyi Sect. I once saved his life. Furthermore, our relationship was excellent; we simply rarely associated with each other." *Rarely associating counts as an excellent relationship...?* Zhao Chenghuang did not dare talk back, merely nodding with a stern face. Zhang Yuanqing pulled his thoughts back and looked at Elder Zhao. "Did Shanhe Yongcun mention anything else regarding the massacre of the North China Branch?" Elder Zhao shook his head. "He did not belong to the first batch of spirit realm walkers. He obtained his character card only toward the end of the Republic era and was merely a mid-tier member at the time. In that incident, he was nothing more than a lucky survivor." The issue of the Covenant of Freedom had only erupted recently, dragging the Same Boat Society into the light. Before this, even first-generation spirit realm walkers like Elder Zhao knew very little about the Covenant of Freedom. Naturally, no one had interrogated Shanhe Yongcun down to the roots back then. Trying to delve into it now was far too late. *Yet if Shanhe Yongcun knows nothing, why did Ling Tuo arrange for Sect Master Chunyang to scare me? That doesn't make sense...* Zhang Yuanqing's brow pinched tightly. Even if Shanhe Yongcun knew something, he had already defected from the Taiyi Sect. The high-ranking members of the Dark Night Rose were shielded by Taiyin; finding them was nearly impossible, let alone capturing them. In that case, what was the point of Sect Master Chunyang's scare tactic last night? *Unless the issue doesn't lie with Shanhe Yongcun. Elder Zhao must be hiding another secret—a secret Ling Tuo doesn't want me to discover, or rather, doesn't want revealed to the world...* What secret could Elder Zhao be harboring? A sudden thought struck Zhang Yuanqing. Looking at the stern, traditional old man, he said: "Setting the matter of Shanhe Yongcun aside for the moment, Elder Zhao, you seemed quite surprised when we brought up the Same Boat Society earlier. What did you think the purpose of my visit was?" Pausing briefly, he went straight to the point: "What is inside the basement?" Zhao Chenghuang entering the basement had been an accident born of a clumsy attempt, but it had hit upon something real. Elder Zhao must have assumed that Zhang Yuanqing had incited Zhao Chenghuang to sneak in and explore, and that the true objective of this visit was the basement. That was why Elder Zhao had shown shock and bewilderment when Zhang Yuanqing brought up the Same Boat Society while showing no interest in the basement. Having posed the question, Zhang Yuanqing was fully prepared for Elder Zhao to turn hostile. To his surprise, Elder Zhao calmly sipped his tea, saying flatly, "You wish to know what is in the basement?" "May I?" Zhang Yuanqing countered. Elder Zhao drank his tea in silence. Only when the cup was empty did he seem to come to a decision, speaking in a low, heavy voice: "I forbade Chenghuang from approaching the basement because I did not want my descendants entangled in that karma. If you truly insist on getting to the bottom of it, then follow me." Zhang Yuanqing and Zhao Chenghuang rose at the same time, but the latter was forced back down by a murderous glare from Elder Zhao. Sitting on the wooden stool, Elder Zhao dissolved into starlight and vanished. Zhang Yuanqing also cast the Star Escape Technique, tracking Elder Zhao's aura down into the earth. He emerged inside an aged, pitch-black corridor. The walls were poured concrete, and the ceiling had weathered and cracked, revealing a dense tangle of roots. Elder Zhao stood before a rotting wooden door, glancing back over his shoulder. "Come inside!" With a teeth-grating screech, he pushed open the wooden door and stepped into the darkness-shrouded basement. Zhang Yuanqing immediately lost track of Elder Zhao's aura, as though the old man had crossed into another realm. *Concealment? It seems whatever is in this basement truly cannot see the light of day...* Zhang Yuanqing stepped forward swiftly and entered the pitch-black space. A Night Walker's enhanced vision allowed him to pierce the darkness effortlessly, taking in the full layout of the basement. The room was roughly twenty square meters. Its only piece of furniture was a battered long table, atop which sat a ceramic pot. Nothing else. Instead, the floor and walls were densely etched with talisman formations—specifically, the Concealment formation that even Zhang Yuanqing had not yet mastered. Zhang Yuanqing stood frozen for a moment. This was nothing like what he had imagined. Such a spartan basement was completely at odds with its status as the 'Zhao Family Forbidden Ground.' What was Elder Zhao trying to hide? He shifted his gaze toward the table and the ceramic pot. As a Dominator, he could tell at a glance that both were mundane objects, devoid of any spirituality. At that moment, Elder Zhao walked over to the ceramic pot, dug into the black soil within, and pinched out a black seed roughly the size of a fingernail. He turned back, his voice deep and solemn. "Do you know what this is?" "A seed," Zhang Yuanqing answered. "Do you know where it came from?" Elder Zhao asked. Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. Elder Zhao said slowly, "It was left behind by Lingjun's biological mother." *A relic of Lingjun's birth mother?* Hearing Elder Zhao's explanation, Zhang Yuanqing was bewildered at first. He could not comprehend what could be so special about a keepsake from Lingjun's mother that Elder Zhao would treat it with such dread, going so far as to lay down a Taiyin formation in the basement. Soon, however, he dredged up a nearly forgotten piece of information from the depths of his memory. In the audio recording of Demon Lord and Teng'er's mother making love, there had been a conversation regarding Lingjun's mother. *Lingjun's biological mother claimed she had uncovered a terrifying secret and suspected she wouldn't live much longer. She called her younger sister—Teng'er's mother—asking her to raise Lingjun to adulthood.* *Shortly afterward, Lingjun's mother entered an instance and never came back out.* *She died inside the instance.* At this thought, Zhang Yuanqing grew alert, though he feigned confusion on the surface. "Could a relic from Lingjun's mother truly warrant such painstaking preservation on your part?" He had never expected that the bedroom drama he had overheard by chance would have a sequel. Elder Zhao shook his head slightly. "Before she returned to the spirit realm, she came to me out of the blue one day, hoping I would keep this seed safe for her. She said a secret was hidden within it and urged me to guard it with utmost care, warning that if its existence were inadvertently leaked, even I might face a fatal disaster. "I asked her how it should be handled, and she said she didn't know either. "Not long after entrusting the seed to me, she returned to the spirit realm." *No wonder Elder Zhao refused to let anyone enter the basement, and no wonder he said he didn't want Zhao Chenghuang entangled in this karma...* Zhang Yuanqing had a sudden epiphany, though doubt immediately followed. "If it was something so important, why did she give it to you instead of Elder Miao?" "That man surnamed Miao doesn't know Taiyin Concealment," Elder Zhao said coolly. "Fengling was my student. There is nothing surprising about her entrusting the seed to me." Zhang Yuanqing had long known that the Lord of the Stars and the contemporary Azure Emperor were cousins, which was why the Taiyi Sect and Baihui were so close. That Lingjun's mother had been Elder Zhao's student was hardly shocking. He said in a deep voice, "So Lingjun's mother was silenced?" Elder Zhao sighed. "No. She genuinely returned to the spirit realm inside an instance. I witnessed it with my own eyes. The surveillance footage and the servants attending to her can all testify to it. Her luck was simply terrible—she drew an S-grade instance." *So it really was a coincidence?* Zhang Yuanqing fixed his eyes on the seed. "Did you ever try to unlock it?" "This seed was cultivated by Fengling. It requires a specific method to take root and sprout. I tried many ways, but none could revive it. Since I couldn't ask a Wood Monster for help, I gave up." Elder Zhao pinched the seed, rubbing it back and forth between his fingertips. "I performed Stargazing countless times, yet I never observed the date it would emerge in the river of destiny, nor did I see anyone entangled with its karma appear. Perhaps someone obscured its destiny, or perhaps it possesses an innate ability to guard against prying. Truly at a loss for how to handle it, I simply left it in the basement." Zhang Yuanqing asked, "Then why tell me all this today?" With a flick of his finger, Elder Zhao sent the black seed flying into Zhang Yuanqing's chest, sneering, "You aren't my great-grandson. If you insist on entangling yourself in this karma, what does it matter to me?" "..." Zhang Yuanqing hastily flicked the seed back. "Let it stay with you for now, Elder Zhao. It is exceptionally safe here under Taiyin's protection." Far safer than keeping it in his inventory. Elder Zhao's expression turned stern. "Yuanshi Tianzun, I did not bring you here to pawn off a hot potato, but because you are the person best suited to unravel its secret." He flicked it right back. *Claiming you're not dumping a hot potato on me while tossing it over without a shred of hesitation...* Zhang Yuanqing offered a dry, stiff smile. "So I'm the chosen one?" Elder Zhao shook his head. "Your karma is already a tangled mess; one more or one less makes no difference. Furthermore, I lack the resolve to unravel the secret Fengling left behind, but you can. It is widely known that Yuanshi Tianzun was born headstrong, with rebellion written into his very bones. I have great confidence in your character." The two flicked the seed back and forth before ultimately deciding to leave it in the basement. After all, it had remained undisturbed down here for more than twenty years. The safest approach was to maintain the status quo. Zhang Yuanqing promised Elder Zhao that he would help investigate the matter and swore never to disclose it to anyone. Returning to the courtyard, Zhao Chenghuang accompanied him out under the pretext of seeing Yuanshi Tianzun off. The moment they stepped out of the old hutong, he asked eagerly: "What was in the basement?" Zhang Yuanqing snapped irritably, "Even though you're not my great-grandson and you insist on meddling in this karma, I'm still not telling you." Zhao Chenghuang: "???" *** Songhai. Inside the bedroom of the villa at Fujia Bay, Zhang Yuanqing's true body sank into deep contemplation. He had fully embraced the art of keeping a low profile, entrusting all matters to his avatar while controlling it remotely. So long as demigods did not intervene, he was virtually free from danger. At his current level, he had not yet warranted a demigod personally taking the field. Returning to the matter at hand, Zhang Yuanqing found the situation growing increasingly enigmatic. He had initially suspected Ling Tuo's aim was to prevent him from looking into Shanhe Yongcun, and later wondered if Ling Tuo's true goal was to stop him from unearthing Elder Zhao's basement. Yet upon leaving the Zhao family's courtyard, he realized something was amiss. Lingjun's mother had entrusted the seed to Elder Zhao under the veil of Concealment; there was no way Ling Tuo could have known. If he did not know, how could he seek to stop it? *** Free Confederation. Inside a lakefront villa's bedroom with floor-to-ceiling windows, Zhai Cai sat cross-legged on the bed. His chest and abdomen rose and fell rhythmically, a faint bronze glow puffing from his nostrils. Lately, he had been constantly preparing for an instance. Exactly eight months had passed since his last one. According to the rules governing a Level 7 Dominator, an instance was guaranteed within a year. In other words, over the next two months, he could be pulled into an instance at any moment. Zhai Cai's experience bar currently sat at 95%. Entering an instance below A-grade and above C-grade just one more time would allow him to advance smoothly to Level 8. Given his hidden points, this instance would be A-grade at most, with a high probability of being B-grade. It shouldn't pose much of an issue. Every outstanding prodigy needed to learn how to manage their hidden points. Ensuring that the difficulty of each instance never exceeded B-grade was the safest path to leveling up. One could play it safe all the way to Level 8, or even Level 9. The cost, measured against the long cycles between Dominator instances, was that playing it safe to Level 9 might take half a century, if not longer. Before long, Zhai Cai concluded his meditation, preparing to head outdoors to hone his swordsmanship and physique. Just then, the spirit realm's prompt chimed in his ear: [Ding! Spirit Realm map initializing. Entering the Spirit Realm in 20 seconds. The Spirit Realm you are entering this time is "Twilight of the Knights," Number: 16] [Difficulty Rating: S] [Type: Solo (Death-type)] [Main Quest: Survive for 30 days, or eliminate all enemies.] [Remark: Non-Spirit Realm items cannot be brought in.] [Spirit Realm Introduction: Darkness blankets the earth, and a blood moon descends. The demons dwelling in the shadows awaken from their slumber one after another, laying siege to the Holy See!] Zhai Cai's face drained of color in an instant. His eyes flashed with incredulous shock, followed by a sliver of despair. An S-grade instance at the Dominator stage?! "That's impossible! Impossible! My hidden points don't meet the threshold for an S-grade!" Abandoning all restraint, he dashed out of the room, roaring at the top of his lungs, "Inori, my instance has arrived! S-grade, Twilight of the Knights—" He vanished from the room, leaving behind only the fading echoes of his voice.