Chapter 307: Despair and Collapse
“Ah…”
“Look! Look at the ceiling of the underground palace…” A sudden voice shattered the whispers in the dim chamber.
Rong Che’s brows furrowed. “I’ll go down and take a look,” he said decisively, choosing a few men to accompany him into the underground palace. The place was heavily guarded now; no one could enter without permission.
“When the palace was first discovered, the ceiling was adorned with vivid murals,” explained Deputy General Zhu, his voice echoing against the cold stone walls. “The paintings were incredibly lifelike. Because the ceiling is so high, they remained untouched and well-preserved.”
He continued, “There were everlasting lamps and night pearls lighting up the palace, making it as bright as day. But now, with the pearls and lamps removed, it’s dark and gloomy inside.”
Lu Zheng Yue lifted his torch, casting flickering shadows on the stone walls.
“The stone walls… they seem to depict the master of this underground palace, don’t they?” Rong Che’s gaze moved upwards, his eyes narrowing as he studied the carvings.
There, etched into the stone, were scenes of seven young boys gathered around a woman with an ethereal, almost divine appearance.
In the final mural, the woman seemed to be floating in the sky, her feet hovering above a crowd of people who were kneeling and weeping at her feet.
“This woman must be the owner of the palace,” Rong Che murmured softly.
Lu Zheng Yue glanced at his little sister, Chao Chao. Could this be her past life? Were these the seven divine disciples when they were still young?
“General, look! One of the boys is crying!” someone shouted. Everyone turned to see what the finger was pointing at—a disciple with black tears streaming from his eyes, slowly dripping down the stone wall.
A chill ran down everyone’s spine. Fear spread through the crowd like wildfire.
His eyes… it felt like they were staring right at them.
“It almost feels like he can see me…” someone whispered, their voice quivering.
“This is creepy. I feel like he’s watching us all from right there…”
Lu Chao Chao sighed inwardly, her little fists clenching.
Lu Zheng Yue’s hand trembled, nearly dropping his torch. “Look! The fierce war god carved on the gate of the palace… it looks a lot like that boy over there…”
Lu Zheng Yue’s eyelid twitched fiercely. [Oh no! My sister’s disciples are divine beings! The gods themselves are guarding her underground palace!]
[Oh no, no, no! These fools are digging up graves right in front of the gods!]
[Fools! Absolute fools! They’re going to drag innocent people into this mess!] Lu Zheng Yue cursed silently in his heart.
Suddenly, a shopkeeper with a face as pale as death stepped forward, clutching a night pearl in his trembling hands.
“I’m willing to return the night pearl,” he declared, his voice shaky but resolute.
The first group of people who had snatched the night pearls were already dead. The rest were just innocent townsfolk caught in this nightmare.
“This was taken by the robbers. I wish to return it to the owner of the palace so she may once again have her light,” the shopkeeper said, moving forward with small, cautious steps. With great reverence, he placed the night pearl back in its original spot and knelt down, bowing his head to the ground.
“You were kind to the world, yet the world disturbed your peace. On their behalf, I offer this apology,” he said sincerely.
After bowing, he stepped back, and one by one, more townsfolk came forward. Slowly, they returned the night pearls to their rightful places.
Then, they knelt and apologized.
Some even brought brooms and began sweeping the dirt and debris from the palace, making it spotless.
“Fetch water! Clean the palace thoroughly!” someone shouted. The city was in a desert, and the water source was far away, but no one dared to delay. People hurried to bring water and started washing the palace.
“Those thieves! They took the silver, but did they have to smash the palace like this? Even in death, they should rot in hell to atone for their sins…” the crowd cursed.
“Restoring the palace is going to be a big challenge…”
“And that destroyed jade bed too,” someone added.
Lu Zheng Yue took a deep breath. “Send people to bring skilled craftsmen from other regions. Send a letter back to the palace as well, with the utmost urgency.”
After the palace was cleaned, the floor was covered with silver coins again.
No one dared to keep anything for themselves.
Those who had taken something reluctantly gave it back. Some even bit their lips, taking out a part of their savings as a small offering.
“This is to atone for the worthless scoundrels,” someone muttered.
Everything was put back in place.
Now they only had to wait a few days for the craftsmen to arrive and repair the jade bed.
As everyone was stepping out of the palace, they suddenly felt the ground trembling beneath their feet, almost knocking them over. Lu Zheng Yue quickly grabbed hold of Wen Ning for support.
“What’s happening?”
“An earthquake? In the desert?”
“Look at the palace!!” someone shouted. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the underground palace slowly began to sink, and sand flowed in, gradually covering all traces of it.
The palace sank back into the deep desert, undisturbed once more.
In a moment, everything settled, the ground became still again.
Deputy General Zhu stepped forward and stomped his foot. “It’s gone. The underground palace… it’s gone.”
People exchanged nervous glances. “Has the palace’s owner forgiven us? Is the plague… gone?”
“No, it isn’t. The red spots on my body are getting worse,” a woman said weakly, collapsing to the ground as if all strength had left her.
“Let’s head back to the city.”
The crowd moved back toward the city, their spirits heavy, heads hanging low. No one said a word.
The city was filled with an overwhelming sense of death.
Some people had already started crying uncontrollably, preparing for their final moments.
They could fight against a disease, but this was divine punishment. None of them had the courage to defy the heavens.
Lu Chao Chao and Xing Hui hid in a corner.
“Hui Hui, the palace has returned to the deep desert. You’ve forgiven them, right?” Lu Chao Chao asked, her voice soft.
Xing Hui’s eyes were vacant, but he nodded slightly.
Lu Chao Chao sighed deeply.
Xing Hui had forgiven them, but the evil energy on him was beyond his control, and he couldn’t save the people.
[You, oh you… If the Divine Realm finds out you’ve fallen into darkness, they might send people to hunt you down. You better snap out of it quickly…] she thought, putting her hands on her hips, looking all stern and bossy.
But Xing Hui remained unresponsive.
In just three days, a large number of townspeople had fallen ill, clinging desperately to life, refusing to give up.
Everyone understood why and removed their face coverings.
“All of this started because of greed. I just hope this wakes people up. Don’t do evil things. What goes around comes around. Heaven spares no one,” someone murmured.
Lu Chao Chao stood at the street corner.
The ground was covered with townsfolk, all lying down, their faces covered with terrible red spots, a faint smell of decay emanating from their bodies.
It wasn’t just decay; there was also unbearable pain.
“It hurts…”
“My whole body hurts. Even breathing feels like knives cutting my throat…”
“I can’t take it anymore… I’m not going to make it…” Cries filled the air as paper money fluttered everywhere. The whole city was engulfed in despair.
Lu Zheng Yue’s eyes were red. “We’ve counted about twenty thousand people who touched the treasures of the palace. All of them are showing symptoms now…”
“What does the palace say?”
“His Majesty has already asked the monks of the National Temple, but the monks are old, and the journey is too long. They can’t make it in time.”
“We’re lucky compared to Dongling. They’re suffering even more.” Dongling bordered the city, and the people from both sides traded regularly.
When the palace was first discovered, Dongling’s people, relying on their strength, had taken more.
They even injured people inside, causing blood to be shed.
“Grandpa, don’t die! What will I do if you die?” A little girl, no more than six or seven, clung to an old man whose body was covered in sores, crying so hard she could barely breathe.
Their lives were counting down.
“If only Xian Ting were here. Xian Ting is the God of Life and could purify all evil things,” Lu Chao Chao sighed.
Suddenly…
The little one tilted her head, curious. “Huh, Xian Ting is the God of Life, and I’m his master… Can I summon him?”
Lu Chao Chao felt uncertain.
After all, the Ming Clan of the Southern Kingdom had worshipped the God of Life for years, but it had been a long time since Xian Ting had been summoned.