Chapter 524: 少女的请求

"Huh, you're not scared of me?" The girl was a little surprised. Her body was faintly transparent, flickering between light and dark as she spoke. She resembled the evil spirits on the high platform steps from earlier, but her expression was much calmer, lacking the malevolence and resentment on their faces.

Zu An smiled slightly, "You're so cute, why would I be afraid of you?"

Though not as stunning as Pei Mianman or Mi Li, the girl before him was still quite a beauty. Her youthful, vibrant appearance, combined with her visually striking attire, instinctively made people feel good about her.

Hearing his words, Pei Mianman suppressed a chuckle, while Mi Li rolled her eyes. This guy automatically spouted sweet nothings whenever he saw a woman—it was unbelievable!

"You flatter me, young master," a hint of shyness flickered across the girl's face.

Zu An seized the opportunity to ask, "My name is Zu An, and this is my friend Pei Mianman. May I ask your name, young lady?"

"My name is Jiang... Jiang..." As the girl spoke, her brows furrowed, as if lost in deep thought.

"Your name is Jiang Jiang?" Zu An wondered, finding the name quite unique.

"No," the girl shook her head, her face flushing. "Too much time has passed. I've forgotten my name. I only remember that my surname is Jiang." By the end of her sentence, tears welled up in her eyes.

Zu An was speechless. Someone could actually forget their own name? How much time must have passed for that to happen?

Mi Li sighed softly, "She's a pitiful soul." Seeing the girl, Mi Li suddenly felt a pang of empathy. Sealed in a tomb for ten thousand years, if not for her indomitable spirit and the burning memory of past hatred and betrayal, she might have forgotten her own name too. This young girl had clearly died at a much younger age, her life less eventful than Mi Li's. She had also spent far more time as a spirit, which explained why she had forgotten so much about her life.

Zu An offered comfort, "Then let's call you Jiang Jiang. It sounds quite nice."

"Jiang Jiang?" The girl was initially startled, then a bright smile appeared on her face. "Okay!"

"By the way, are these... these Guman Thongs yours? You seem to have a good relationship with them." Zu An watched the Guman Thongs constantly rubbing against her feet, unable to help but swallow. Given their presence, he thought, it was fortunate the girl was easy to talk to; otherwise, if a fight broke out, he'd probably be dead already.

"They aren't mine. They've just been here for so many years that we've become friends. I think of them like little brothers," the girl said, crouching down to gently pat the heads of a few Guman Thongs, a look of affection on her face.

Zu An continued, "Jiang Jiang, where exactly is this place?"

"This is Yin, the capital of Shang," she replied. When she mentioned the Shang Dynasty, a hint of fear flickered across her face, and she cautiously asked, "Are you also people of Shang?"

Zu An shook his head. "No, we are just travelers who stumbled in here by mistake." Noticing her discomfort at the mention of the Shang Dynasty, he added, "And the Shang Dynasty has long since fallen..."

"Fallen?" The girl was surprised, her tone mixed with a hint of joy.

Zu An nodded, then proceeded to give a rough overview of subsequent history. Pei Mianman, beside him, looked on in astonishment, wondering why she had never heard any of this history. Was it also from the world in his dreams?

The girl gasped repeatedly as she listened, finally exclaiming, "So, it's been ten thousand years already."

After a moment of reflection, she suddenly remembered something. "What about Dongyi?"

Zu An replied, "Dongyi also fell, but later than the Shang Dynasty."

"Fallen," the girl murmured, momentarily lost in thought, but then she sighed. "I suppose I always knew it would end this way. What nation is truly eternal?"

"Jiang Jiang, are you from Dongyi?" Zu An asked.

The girl nodded. "I am the youngest daughter of the Dongyi chieftain."

"So you're a Dongyi princess! You don't need to be sad, actually. Although the Dongyi state perished, its bloodline survived and merged with various tribes in the Central Plains to form the Huaxia people. For instance, the ancestors of the Qin state, who later overthrew the Zhou, are said to have been descendants of Dongyi."

After saying this, he quietly teased Mi Li, "Queen Sister, if you do the math, this young lady might actually be your great-great-grandmother..."

Mi Li was speechless. Her face flushed, clearly finding it hard to accept calling such a young girl her ancestor. "Hmph, that's a connection between Qin and Dongyi. Although I am the Empress of Qin, I am a princess of Chu. What does that have to do with me?"

Zu An offered no reply, merely chuckling to himself. Seeing his cheeky demeanor, Mi Li felt her temper flare. She truly wanted to give him a good beating.

[Rage from Mi Li +555555...]

At that moment, the girl indeed broke into a smile, her mood much improved. "Thank you, Big Brother."

"Big Brother?" Zu An's expression was odd. He was being called "Big Brother" by someone whose age was enough to be his great-great-great-grandmother... It seemed her psychological age was still stuck in her youth. With that thought, a huge weight lifted from Zu An's mind; he had genuinely feared she might be some hidden boss. "By the way, Jiang Jiang, how did you end up here? And do you know how to get out of this place?"

"I was captured as a prisoner during the war between the Shang Dynasty and Dongyi," the girl said, a touch of sorrow on her face, clearly recalling a painful memory. "As for the exit, I only have a vague guess, nothing certain."

"Tell us!" Zu An said, surprised and delighted. Pei Mianman also looked pleased, clearly not wanting to stay there any longer.

The girl pointed towards the distant darkness. "In the royal tomb area below, there's a trial ground. It's said that if one can pass the trial, they can not only leave this place but also gain unexpected benefits. Unfortunately, there are special restrictions there, so I can't go in."

Pei Mianman, being observant, asked, "Jiang Jiang, if you can't go in, how do you know all this?"

The girl replied, "Many, many years ago, I hid and overheard the people who were building this palace talking. They couldn't see me, so they spoke freely."

Zu An fell silent, realizing she must have already become a spirit by then, which allowed her to observe so much.

At that moment, the girl suddenly looked up at them. "Big Brother, Big Sister, can I ask you for a favor?"

Considering the Shang Dynasty's treatment of captives, Zu An could easily imagine her tragic fate. He felt a pang of pity. "Jiang Jiang, just tell us. We'll do our best to help you."

"Thank you, Big Brother!" The girl smiled sweetly, pointing towards the dark area in the distance. "In that royal tomb area, there should be a jade *cong*. It's a sacred artifact of our Dongyi nation, said to be able to communicate with deities. During the war back then, our Dongyi nation was defeated, and many of our people were captured and brought here to be made into sacrifices. Because of the great formation in the Yin Ruins, we couldn't rest even after death. I don't know if you encountered them earlier, but they are said to be trapped on a high platform stairway. So, I need that jade *cong* to offer salvation to my people, to allow them to finally rest in peace."

"So those were your people," Zu An said, his expression strange, recalling how he had almost been devoured by them earlier.

Hearing his words, the girl looked as if she was about to cry. "Big Brother, I'm sorry, they couldn't help it..."

"I understand, I understand," Zu An reassured her. "We're fine, aren't we? Don't worry, I'll go and find the jade *cong* for you."

"Thank you, Big Brother," the girl said, her face lighting up with joy. "There's one more thing I need to ask of you. When you're there, could you please help me find my missing head?"

Zu An: "..." Why did that sound so chilling?

"Did I scare you?" the girl asked, looking a little embarrassed and sad. "Back then, I was captured by the Shang people as a prisoner. In their sacrificial rituals, human sacrifices were considered the best offerings. And because I was of noble status in an enemy nation, I was considered the finest human offering. So, they cut off my head and placed it in the Shang king's tomb for the ritual..."

"Jiang Jiang..." Hearing her tragic story, Pei Mianman couldn't help but shed tears. She instinctively wanted to hug and comfort her, but the girl was a spirit, and her hand simply passed through her.

Zu An also felt a surge of pity. "Don't worry, I'll definitely help you find your missing head. But there's one problem: I don't know which head is yours."