Pei Ming and the others entered a house's courtyard, presumably to see if there was a well. Xie Lian stepped into the courtyard and casually remarked, "The houses on this street are so tall and imposing."
Hua Chengdao said, "Tonglu is located in the heart of the Wuyong Kingdom's imperial city. This place is very close to Tonglu, which means it's been very close to the imperial city for two thousand years. It's also a wealthy place, so naturally it's grand and elegant, because most of the people who live here are high-ranking officials and wealthy families."
There was indeed a well, but the scene around it was horrifying. Seven or eight people lay crouched by the edge, as if dying of thirst, having struggled to reach this spot, only to expire. Approaching closer, Xie Lian paused, stunned. "This... more like a stone statue than a human?"
These are certainly not living people, but they are not corpses either, and certainly not skeletons. Instead, they are extremely rough gray-white "stone statues".
Just as Xie Lian was about to touch it, Hua Cheng glanced at him from the side. He immediately remembered their agreement not to touch anything dangerous or strange, and forced himself to hold back. Then he thought again: Who would have the time to create so many terrifying stone statues? They were supposed to be human, but somehow, they had become like this.
The door to the house was wide open. He peered into the adjacent room and saw two people sprawled on the floor, twisted in a tight embrace. Though their faces were blurry and expressions unclear, his movements alone revealed their utter terror. Between them, they were clutching something that looked like a bundle. But upon closer inspection, Xie Lian suddenly understood.
That must be a baby.
The situation was now clear. Xie Lian said, "Those outside are the servants of this family. Those inside are the master and his family of three, right?"
Hua Chengdao said, "Yes. After the volcano erupted, the flowing water of the Wuyong River turned into raging magma. The residents living in the highlands were not killed by the magma and the raging fire, but they could not escape the ubiquitous volcanic ash in the air and suffocated to death."
The overwhelming volcanic ash instantly enveloped their bodies, forming a hard crust on their surface, preserving the moment before death and turning them into petrified statues. In the final moments of their lives, the couple, in terror, embraced their lover and child, becoming one.
Of course, the ancient well had long since dried up. Pei Ming had no interest in studying the dead body mold, so he went out to pick up Pei Su and continued looking for water. Suddenly, Xie Lian noticed something strange and went back into the house, squatting beside the petrified statues of the family of three. Hua Cheng also came in and asked, "What do you want to see?"
Xie Lian frowned slightly and said, “I just think their movements are a bit strange. These two adults are hugging each other tightly with one hand, but the other hand…” The other hand is placed on the chest, as if tightly grasping something.
Hua Cheng said, "Do you want to see what they are holding?"
As Xie Lian nodded, Hua Cheng patted the joined petrified statues. Xie Lian hurriedly asked, "Wait, isn't this too unkind to their remains..." However, Hua Cheng was quicker than him, and the family of three instantly disintegrated into a pile of grayish-white fragments. Hua Cheng said calmly, "Don't worry too much. They're already dead, and their remains are gone."
There was nothing in that pile of debris. These "stone statues" were actually hollow.
That's right, although the surface volcanic ash forms a hard protective shell, the body encased within will eventually rot and decompose. Once decomposition is complete, only the surface ash shell will remain.
What was once alive will eventually pass away, but what never had life will last forever.
Among the fragments of volcanic ash were bits of partially decayed cloth and jewelry from their owners, such as rings, earrings, and necklaces. Xie Lian felt it unlikely the couple would have grabbed these gold and silver jewels before their death, so he was picking through them when Hua Cheng picked something up from the ground and handed it to him. Xie Lian asked, "What is this?"
Hua Cheng said: "This is what they are holding tightly in their hands."
It was a pendant, adorned with glittering gold flakes and bone-like ornaments. The gold flakes had patterns on them. Xie Lian gently wiped off the dust, then examined it intently for a moment before asking, "Mars in the heart?"
The gold plate depicted a celestial map, with gold representing the sky and agate representing the stars. This depiction perfectly captures the so-called "Mars in the Heart" constellation, where Mars resides permanently within the Heart constellation.
Mars has always been regarded as the star of war and death, and Mars in the heart is an ominous sign, especially for leaders such as kings and emperors. Why would such a celestial image be depicted on ornaments?
No, this couldn't be a trinket. Xie Lian searched among the shattered shell for a while longer and found two more identical pendants, three in total. There was even one for the baby in the couple's arms. Why would someone have three copies of the same trinket? Xie Lian asked, "Could this be a talisman?"
Only the amulet could make people cling to it tightly in the final moments before death, praying frantically in fear with their last hope. Hua Cheng said, "That's right. I also excavated part of this city and found this amulet inside many petrified statues."
Xie Lian pondered, "The Wuyong people worship their prince, so this should be his talisman. But why draw this? Is there any connection between the prince and the star Mars guarding the heart?"
Hua Cheng said, "Because on the day he was born, the celestial sign was Mars in the heart. Therefore, the people of Wuyong used this celestial sign to refer to him."
Xie Lian asked curiously, "How did Sanlang know this?"
Hua Cheng flipped the gold piece over and said with a smile, "It's written on it."
Sure enough, there was a line of text engraved on the reverse. Hua Cheng pointed it out to him and said, "This line of text means 'Mars guards the heart, a sage will be born.' We see Mars guarding the heart as an ominous sign now, but that wasn't necessarily the case two thousand years ago."
Xie Lian stroked the line of text, but his heart slowly sank.
Because, the astronomical sign on the day he was born was Mars in the heart!
Isn’t this a bit too coincidental?
Xie Lian stood up and said, "Let's go to the temple."
The two walked side by side down the long street. Pei Ming and the others found nothing in this area, so they followed. There were many remains of carriages and horses on the street, some resting neatly on the roadside, and some completely overturned on the ground. There were also some petrified people lying on the ground, in different postures. Most of them had taken refuge in their homes. These were homeless beggars or passers-by who didn't have time to go home. The roars and struggles at the moment before death were preserved, and everyone walked through this bizarre crowd of people. Hua Cheng pointed out to Xie Lian which ones were the mansions of wealthy merchants and which ones were places for feasting and entertainment. Xie Lian couldn't help but say, "Sanlang, the Wuyong Kingdom has been destroyed for more than two thousand years, and there are no descendants from before. How did you learn those words?"
You can't just force yourself to learn, there has to be a way. Hua Cheng said, "It's not too difficult. Brother, you can see that some of the Wuyong characters are very similar to the characters we use today."
Xie Lian said, “Yes, the two characters ‘Wu Yong’ are very similar to the current form.”
Hua Chengdao: "Yes. So these two characters were among the first Wuyong characters I learned. There are a few more like this, interspersed in sentences, which can be used to infer more new characters before and after. There are also some with the same form but different meanings, but they are rare."
Xie Lian nodded, and Hua Cheng continued, "Then, there are those characters that appear more frequently. For example, these two."
He pointed to two buildings on the street and said, "It's obvious what this place is. The words on the sign are different at the front, but the same at the back. From this, we can roughly determine what the last two words mean. It's either a restaurant or a diner. There are many more ways, brother, you'd like to hear more. I'll tell you one by one when I have time."
So that's how it is. There actually are people in this world who can completely master something on their own, without any help. Xie Lian couldn't help but marvel at it.
The Wuyong Temple was still the tallest and most imposing building in the city. As they arrived in front of the temple, before they could even enter, Pei Ming suddenly asked, "What's that noise?"
Squeak, squeak, squeak. It came from far away and then faded away. Xie Lian asked, "Rat?"
Hua Cheng said, "It's not just any rat. However, the presence of rats means there's water nearby."
Entering the hall, this time, there were no scorch marks left on the walls. Looking up, one could see vast expanses of vibrantly colored murals. However, this time, there wasn't just one mural, but three! One on each of the three walls!
Everyone arrived at the first mural and looked up. They saw Prince Wuyong sitting on a cloud, aglow with golden light. His expression was stern. His left hand held a ball of light, a halo of light that shone like a flaming mountain. His right hand, fingers pressed together, palm facing forward, seemed to be waving.
Below was a palace with more than a dozen people standing in it. Their clothes and accessories were all extremely gorgeous. Each person had a different movement. Some opened their arms, some wore armor and drew bows, and some pointed to the distance with excitement.
The painting was intricately detailed and contained a wide range of content. Xie Lian stared at it for a long time before turning around and asking, “Could you please tell me what I understand this painting to mean?”
"The halo of light held by Prince Wuyong's left hand has a small volcanic eruption scene within it, indicating that he has shared his dream with those below him. And the gesture of his right hand is clearly a gesture of denial, likely rejecting something."
Pei Ming asked, "Then what exactly are you rejecting?"
Xie Lian said, "That depends on the actions of the people below. This palace is located in the human world, it's magnificent and splendid, it should be the imperial palace. These people should be the princes and nobles of Wuyong Kingdom. The one with his arms outstretched, judging by his posture, is making a gesture of 'expansion'. What is he expanding? That depends on what he's holding."
Everyone looked closely and saw that he was holding a map. Pei Ming was very familiar with this and said, "Expand the territory!"
Xie Lian said, “Yes. And these generals, in their military uniforms, appear ready to go into battle. There are people beside them directing them. Look, their movements are clearly directional, as if to say, ‘Go there, attack there.’”
"Then the meaning of this painting becomes clear. To summarize, Prince Wuyong shared his prophetic dream with the ministers in the palace. If the volcano erupts, the consequences will be extremely severe, a disaster for the Wuyong Kingdom. The country's territory will be insufficient because the volcano is located in the center, and important cities will surely be destroyed. So how can this be solved?"
Hua Chengdao: "If your own territory is not enough, then go and occupy other people's territory."
Xie Lian said, “That’s right. Therefore, the ministers proposed expanding the territory and attacking neighboring countries.
"However, Prince Wuyong disagreed. So, his right hand made a gesture of refusal."
After solving the first mural, everyone came to the second mural. The color of this mural was much darker than the other two, perhaps because it depicted a scene of fighting on a battlefield.
On the battlefield below, blood flowed like a river as soldiers from both sides engaged in a ferocious battle. Xie Lian could tell which side was the Wuyong army because their armor matched the generals in the previous mural. The Wuyong soldiers looked incredibly ferocious, crushing their enemies' heads underfoot and impaling their bodies on their halberds, leaving arms and legs splattered with flesh and gore. The slaughter was bloody and brutal. Some soldiers, grinning, reached out to huddled children and women, demonstrating the horrors of war.
The battlefield was covered with dark clouds, but a ray of white light shone through the dark clouds. Prince Wuyong poked half of his body out from the clouds and saw the scene below. He seemed a little angry. He stretched out his hand and sent down many golden lights. Wherever the golden light reached, all the Wuyong soldiers were collected.
This one was easier to understand than the previous one. Xie Lian studied it for a moment, then whispered, "It seems the generals and ministers haven't heeded the Crown Prince's advice, and have instead dispatched troops to attack a neighboring nation. The soldiers have been killing excessively and bullying the elderly, the weak, women, and children of other nations. When the Crown Prince discovered this, he was furious and intervened once again, stopping the Wuyong soldiers' rampage."
Pei Ming listened and said calmly, "That's touching. But honestly, if one nation must suffer, choosing to protect one's own nation is understandable. Soldiers charging forward, if they aren't killed by the enemy on the battlefield, they might be angered to death by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I, Pei, do not want to fight for such a monarch."
Xie Lian chuckled a few times, then said somewhat helplessly, "General Pei, uh, makes sense." Hua Cheng sneered slightly. Pei Ming said, "So, if the volcano erupts, what does the Crown Prince plan to do? He can't just leave his people to die."
Xie Lian said, “Look at the third picture. I think you’ll be able to figure it out.”
Finally, they arrived at the final mural. This one, with its striking contrast to the previous one, became vibrant and filled with holy light. However, Xie Lian's heart trembled at the first sight of it, and his eyes widened.
Pei Ming took one look and said, "Oh my god, is this the idea that Crown Prince Wu Yong came up with? Ha, he's quite courageous. I admire him."
The third mural depicts the Wuyong Kingdom at the bottom, with the Wuyong River winding through the land. The crown prince and four guardian deities are also depicted. However, these are not the main points. The most eye-catching feature of the entire painting, at the center, is a bridge.
A huge bridge shining with white light was held up by Prince Wuyong and his four guardians. People on the ground were rushing towards the bridge with smiles on their faces.
This Prince Wuyong actually built a bridge to heaven, hoping to lead people to heaven!
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