Chapter 6: Stone Box

It was quiet in the tent at night until a sudden sound broke the tranquility. Chu Feng’s hand froze, stopping all movement.

How could the cubic stone make such a sound?

A crack appeared on the stone.

Chu Feng put it down, fearing some unexpected change. He observed it carefully. Having experienced unusual events that day, he was especially cautious.

“A stone box?!” he exclaimed.

The patterns encircling the stone had previously concealed this crack. Only now, with the stone slightly open, did it become clearly visible.

Previously, the stone box was so tightly sealed, appearing as a single piece. Additionally, covered by stains, it was difficult to detect anything unusual.

Who would have noticed this was actually a cubic stone box? It was three inches tall and very ancient in appearance.

Now that things had come to this, Chu Feng felt a sense of anticipation. The stone box was somewhat mysterious, having been found at the foot of Kunlun Mountain. He had initially taken it for a mere stone, never imagining it contained something else.

Chu Feng placed the copper basin from his tent in front of him as a shield. Then he carefully opened the stone box, widening the crack.

Crack!

The lid came off. There was nothing unusual, and no danger occurred.

Chu Feng felt relieved and examined the inside of the stone box.

He had a slight hope: what could be sealed inside?

The internal space of the stone box was very small, with only a very shallow groove, barely able to hold anything. Clearly, it couldn’t contain precious items like pearls or jade.

However, there was indeed something inside.

Inside the groove, there were three shriveled seeds, completely filling the space. Other than that, there was nothing else.

Chu Feng was quite disappointed. He had found the stone box in Kunlun Mountain and had thought it might contain some secret treasure, but to his surprise, it only held three seeds.

One seed was black and already shriveled, appearing somewhat deformed and severely lacking vitality.

Another seed was purplish-brown, flat and round, as if it had been pressed, and about the size of a fingernail.

The last seed was relatively normal; apart from its wrinkled skin, it was still plump. At the very least, it wasn’t shriveled and was round overall, just a bit withered and yellow.

Chu Feng was stunned. Just three seeds? Two of them were dry and misshapen. This was truly… entirely different from what he had imagined.

He had thought the stone box found at the foot of Kunlun Mountain was mysterious and might contain something extraordinary, but it turned out to be so ordinary.

He placed the three seeds in his palm and examined them carefully, finding nothing remarkable about them.

How many years had these items been buried underground? It was hard to tell, but the stone box itself was clearly ancient; its patterns and stains were already faded.

Were these ancient artifacts?

However, if they were ancient, it was still quite good that the three seeds hadn’t rotted after being unearthed.

Some old items sealed underground might immediately disintegrate once exposed to light.

Chu Feng looked repeatedly, unable to recognize what kind of seeds they were. He had never seen them before and didn’t know which three plants they corresponded to.

He was somewhat speechless. Just moments ago, he had been filled with the fervent thought of discovering a secret treasure, and now he was staring blankly at three dry seeds!

“I’ll find an opportunity to plant them and see what grows,” Chu Feng mused.

However, the three seeds had clearly endured a vast amount of time, and he worried whether they could still germinate, especially since two of them were shriveled.

“If they really do grow, as long as they’re not poisonous weeds, then even if they produce beans or some kind of vegetable, they’d probably be ancient varieties,” he chuckled.

The plateau’s starry sky seemed very close to the ground, with brilliant starlight and moonlight, like water, spilling over the desolate and somewhat barren land.

Late at night, it was exceptionally quiet.

In a haze, Chu Feng heard a colossal beast roar coming from the direction of Kunlun Mountain, echoing through the mountains, which jolted him awake from his dream.

It was truly astonishing that he could hear the muffled roars so late at night, given how far his lodging was from there.

Evidently, something was happening in Kunlun Mountain. The sound did not seem to be the roar of the mastiff and yak he had encountered; other fierce beasts must have appeared.

Faintly, the ground in that mountain range began to tremble, and the vibrations carried over, making the night increasingly restless.

Some herders were awakened, praying devoutly, prostrating themselves before the sacred mountain, murmuring something.

Chu Feng also got up and stepped out of his tent. He heard an old herder speak.

“The ones in the mountain have truly awakened.”

Chu Feng was puzzled. Even if there were ancient monks, why would their presence be accompanied by beast roars?

“You don’t understand,” the old herder said. “This is a legend of our Tibetan region. You should leave early tomorrow morning.”

“Are those sacred beasts in the mountains about to come out?” another middle-aged man asked.

Legend had it that deep within the sacred mountains of the plateau, several ancient beasts lay dormant. Some were comparable to deities, possessing immense power and capable of subduing demons, while others were exceedingly ferocious and could cause disasters.

Hearing this, Chu Feng pondered. While he didn’t fully believe it, he also didn’t think the Tibetans’ words were without basis.

After all, he had personally experienced the events at Bronze Mountain and had indeed seen some strange beasts.

For example, there was the golden fierce bird, five or six meters long. In ancient times, it would likely have been called a Golden-Winged Great Peng.

Then there was the yak, sleek and black all over, over three meters long. Even leopards and green wolves feared it. It possessed immense strength; its footsteps had made the summit of Bronze Mountain tremble. In ancient times, it would likely have been called a “Bull Demon.”

Some ancient legends were often exaggerated and became mythologized over time. Especially when ancient people recorded strange occurrences, they tended to exaggerate, and presumably, this was also the case here.

In the latter half of the night, the vast plateau finally became quiet. The muffled roars from the distant mountains faded.

Moonlight, like water and thin mist, spilled down, making the place seem connected to the starry sky, hazy and serene.

The herders were no longer worried and breathed a sigh of relief.

Chu Feng also returned to his tent and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Chu Feng set off early, then traveled to a large city in the west, from where he would board a train home.

In the post-civilization era, after reconstruction, though not as splendid as in years past, the difference wasn’t immense, and various modes of transportation were still quite convenient.

For days, Chu Feng had been in the wilderness, disconnected from the outside world. Now, entering the large city, he felt as if he had stepped into a different era.

Having been in the plateau, desert, and mountains, his communication devices had been turned off. When he switched them back on, many messages came through simultaneously.

His parents reminded him to be careful and safe while traveling alone, classmates and friends asked when he would return, and there were other messages as well.

Chu Feng replied to each one until he boarded the train.

Aside from buying a pile of snacks, he had few personal belongings, having discarded most of them on his way back.

He found his seat, put down his belongings, and holding his communicator, began to read the news from recent days, immediately becoming astonished.

In recent days, widespread heavy fogs had appeared across the country, and even abroad. They were light blue, deep red, and purple, descending over large areas.

Some speculated that this might be an anomaly caused by residual nuclear radiation from the past war.

However, experts immediately debunked these rumors, assuring the public that everything was safe. They explained that it was merely natural haze that would dissipate without harm, and there was no need for panic.

Public opinion surveys also revealed another perspective: that this was a significant change, affecting various regions, just like several times in history.

Regarding these events, no one dared to vehemently deny them, as this was not the first occurrence in the post-civilization era, and the implications ran deep.

“What’s going on? Plants appearing in mid-air, that’s really strange.”

After the train started moving, a chubby man walked over and sat down nearby. He appeared to be about Chu Feng’s age, of medium height, with a noticeable belly, chubby cheeks, and large ears. When he smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits, resembling Maitreya Buddha.

He exuded a sense of cheerfulness. Even when silent, he looked kindly and smiled, increasingly resembling Maitreya Buddha.

Chu Feng immediately smiled; this person surely wouldn’t be annoying.

“Brother, where are you headed?” the chubby man asked, being naturally friendly.

“To the foot of Mount Taihang,” Chu Feng replied with a smile.

“No way, are we from the same hometown? Tell me your exact location,” the chubby man chuckled.

After asking, it turned out their destinations were indeed the same, and they immediately felt a greater sense of kinship, both being from the same place.

The chubby man’s name was Zhou Quan, a name meaning “complete safety.” He had studied in the west and this trip was a return to familiar grounds to visit.

Chu Feng also noticed the news Zhou Quan mentioned: recent reports stated that strange floating plants had appeared in the air, which was somewhat unsettling.

“I just don’t understand how they don’t fall!” Zhou Quan grumbled.

Chu Feng looked at the news report and was equally puzzled.

“Something big isn’t going to happen, is it?” Zhou Quan clicked his tongue nervously.

“I hope everything stays peaceful. This world is becoming increasingly incomprehensible,” someone nearby remarked.

“Yes, peace and quiet are best. It’s truly a bit unsettling.”

This seemed to strike a chord, and several people chimed in.

“Something’s bound to happen sooner or later,” someone whispered. “There have been so many unexplained mysterious phenomena these past few years, and all sorts of rumors are circulating.”

The area immediately became lively with all sorts of discussions.

Two hours later, Zhou Quan and Chu Feng had become quite familiar; after all, they were both from the same place, which created a natural sense of closeness.

He leaned closer and, mysteriously, told Chu Feng, “I heard from a relative a few days ago that he knows an extraordinary person who says the world is about to undergo a great change.”

“What kind of changes?” Chu Feng asked.

“There will be some strange and mystical things happening,” Zhou Quan said in a low voice.

“I think you’re the one being strange and mystical,” Chu Feng chuckled.

“Really, don’t disbelieve me! My relative isn’t someone who talks nonsense. He’s usually very meticulous and reliable, and the circles he moves in are quite extraordinary,” the chubby man insisted, wide-eyed.

Chu Feng smiled and shook his head.

The chubby man sighed a bit in defeat, saying, “Actually, I don’t quite believe it either. That eccentric person was just spouting nonsense. The few words he revealed implied that some Western mythological figures were ‘grown,’ and that it’s similar here too.”

“Pfft!”

Someone nearby, who was drinking water, happened to overhear and immediately spat it out, bursting into laughter.

“Go on, go on, what’s so funny? I won’t say any more!” The chubby man also felt embarrassed.