Chapter 40: Zhong Shengguang's Cemetery

Sun Fuping stood up. "Since Governor He and I share similar views, let's start by looking into this lead."

"How do we find it?" Nian Songyu frowned. "Are you planning to pray for rain in the Panlong ruins?"

"Praying for rain here has less than a five percent success rate, and it requires five or six times the effort," Sun Fuping said with a wry smile. "I just tried to summon the Mountain Spirit, but I got no response at all."

Summoning a Mountain Spirit here certainly showed imagination. He Lingchuan couldn't help but laugh. "This place is too dry; even the local Earth God would have died of drought."

"If we can't get rain, then let's just water it. The Baliang Kingdom's team probably did that," Nian Songyu mused. "It's impossible to summon rain across the entire city, and there's no need to. We must pinpoint the exact locations."

The Baliang Kingdom's team couldn't have summoned widespread rain over Panlong City either. They would have used their limited water in precise locations. With a successful precedent, Grand Master Sun and his group could make an educated guess by deducing from the situation.

"Based on my analysis, the only places where watering could trigger the Wild Sand Season are a few specific spots: Mitian Temple, Zhong Shengguang's Ancestral Hall, General Hong's Ancestral Hall, Zhong Shengguang's tomb, and the mass grave in Panlong City," Sun Fuping added. "Those two ancestral halls were built while the individuals were still alive, which are rare 'living shrines.'"

It's common knowledge that only the deceased or deities can receive offerings and incense in ancestral halls. Building a living shrine for someone alive isn't an act of worship but an attempt to harm them. Most living individuals are believed to be unable to bear such honors; it could shorten their lifespan or even lead to their death.

Clearly, Zhong Shengguang and General Hong were exceptions, figures who had been deified during their lifetimes.

He Lingchuan asked, curious, "Why isn't General Hong's tomb included?"

He Chunhua replied, "He wasn't buried. At most, it's a cenotaph, so there's no value in searching it."

Nian Songyu asked, "Even if we find these locations, how will we determine where to pour the water in the end?"

"We can't, but the Three-Corpse Worms know," Sun Fuping said, ordering someone to bring several sealed glass jars. Inside, a misty vapor seemed to swirl.

Everyone looked closer. Good heavens, what mist? Inside the jars were clearly four or five wriggling Three-Corpse Worms!

They were very lively, each pressing its head against the edge of the jar, looking somewhat like eels kept in a jar.

"They only move in one direction: away from the Grand Square Pot," Sun Fuping explained. "This means the opposite direction of their movement is where the Grand Square Pot is located. If you take this jar and walk around the target locations, you'll find it."

This old man was very deep, always planning things out in advance. If he harbored ill intentions, they would likely be meticulously executed... He Lingchuan covertly glanced at him, his wariness growing.

Next, everyone took a glass jar and went their separate ways.

The He family father and son naturally walked together, heading towards Zhong Shengguang's tomb.

It was a bleak, windy night, walking through the ruins of a city. This feeling of desolation and decay reached its peak upon seeing Zhong Shengguang's tomb.

Zhong Shengguang's tomb was located at the northwest corner of the South Gate Plaza, where they had first passed. It was surprisingly large and magnificent, built entirely of bluestone, covering a full two mu of land. From the surrounding area, it seemed the interring party had deliberately dismantled many houses to make space for this grand tomb.

The epitaph, however, was simple: "Tomb of Zhong Shengguang, Commander of Xiluo," with his birth and death dates beside it.

After more than a hundred years, apart from several signs of excavation by later individuals, the entire tomb remained intact, with not a single chipped corner on the stone blocks forming the mound.

As the He family father and son arrived, both let out long sighs.

The stories of Panlong City and the Great Wind Army had been sung year after year, enduring even in modern Blackwater City. But how many could personally come to pay respects to this legendary general who had died for his country?

He Lingchuan mused, "It's surprising that his enemies built such a grand tomb for him."

Zhong Shengguang had committed suicide when the city fell, fulfilling his vow: "The city stands, I stand; the city falls, I die." Afterward, Panlong City was massacred, so naturally, no countrymen could bury him. The ones who built this tomb could only have been his enemies.

"The Xianyou Kingdom had no choice but to do so. After Zhong Shengguang's death, his head was severed and sent to the capital of Xianyou as a trophy. The whole nation celebrated, and the royal palace kept it as a collection piece. However, from then on, strange occurrences plagued the Panlong Wasteland: no living beings, human or animal, survived, and no vegetation grew. The Xianyou Kingdom desired a wasteland rich in minerals, not a desert where no living person could enter. So, they sent people back into Panlong City to give Zhong Shengguang a lavish burial, hoping to appease the wrath of his vengeful spirit."

"And they failed." There's no need to elaborate on what became of the Xianyou Kingdom or the Panlong Desert afterward.

He Chunhua pulled out two bundles of incense sticks from somewhere, lit them, and handed one to He Lingchuan. "We've come all this way."

"Let's pay respects to the heroic spirit."

After they bowed respectfully, He Lingchuan pulled a pouch of kumiss from his satchel, then produced three cups and filled them.

The He family father and son raised their cups in a silent toast to the tombstone, then drained them.

He Lingchuan gently poured some of the liquor onto the grave mound and whispered, "General Zhong, please bless our safe passage in and out of the Panlong Desert, so we may have the chance to return and offer you more wine in the future."

He Lingchuan took out the glass jar and walked a full circle around Zhong Shengguang's tomb, but the Three-Corpse Worms inside didn't change direction, consistently burrowing towards the south wall.

In other words, this grand tomb was not their target.

He walked back, seeing He Chunhua deep in thought. "Dad, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking, if we really find the Grand Square Pot and send it to the inland battlefield, the Wild Sand Season in the Panlong Desert will also become a thing of the past, won't it?"

"Absolutely. Isn't that a good thing? The Panlong Wasteland looks barren, but it's actually rich in resources; otherwise, the allied forces wouldn't have fought so hard for Panlong City back then. If it let us pass freely, Qiansong Prefecture wouldn't be so poor." At this point, He Lingchuan noticed He Chunhua's expression and quickly paused. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"You're right, but I think it's best for the Panlong Desert to remain as it is."

He Lingchuan asked, curious, "Why?" Who would want to keep an unpredictable and barren desert?

"The Panlong Desert is an obstacle, a disaster, and unpredictable, but it's also a safeguard. The Yuan Kingdom is no longer as powerful as it once was. If this layer of protection were removed, the consequences would be hard to predict."

"What kind of safeguard is the Panlong Desert?" He Lingchuan secretly admired Governor He's meticulousness, but outwardly he laughed and said, "If we can find the Pot, our whole family will move to the capital. Why would we care about the wretched Panlong Desert then? Whether it rains or blows here, it won't concern us anymore."

This line of reasoning certainly fit He Lingchuan's original personality. Governor He looked at him and smiled. "You truly understand the way of an official."

Regardless of promotion, the problems would be for the next local official. He could just walk away without a care. As his eldest son said, why worry for others?

When the sky falls, someone else will always bear the weight.

He Lingchuan actually understood immediately. The Panlong Desert served as a buffer zone between several major powers. Anyone attempting to cross it to attack the Yuan Kingdom would face immense difficulty, not to mention that the Wild Sand Season, lasting for almost half a year, was practically a nightmare for all expeditionary forces. During this period, unless an army could sustain itself by pillaging, with enough stolen supplies to feed its troops, their logistical support would be completely cut off.