Chapter 643 Chu River
The man's hair seemed to be gray, and he was probably in his fifties or sixties. He was thin, and although there were many wrinkles on his face, his edges were still there. It was obvious that he must have been a handsome man when he was young.
When the old man was watching the dice, he saw Zhou Wen and the others, and knew they were coming over, but he didn't seem to have the desire to communicate with them. He just stood there dejectedly.
"What's your name, brother?" Liuyun asked.
When the old man heard the voice, he seemed to wake up and answered subconsciously: "My name is Chu He, and I am a professor in the History Department of Imperial Capital University."
"Ploughing the fields? Is your wife's name Dangwu?" Liuyun joked.
"It's not the hoe, it's the Chu River that separates the Chu and Han Rivers." The old man had no sense of humor, or rather, in such an environment, nothing could make him feel funny, so the old man just explained very seriously.
When Zhou Wen heard the old man's words, his eyes widened and he asked in disbelief, "Chu He? How many professors named Chu He are there in the History Department of Imperial Capital College?"
"I'm the only one." Chu He seemed to have become numb. He didn't care at all why Zhou Wen asked such a strange question.
Zhou Wen looked at Chu He excitedly. In the entire Imperial Capital Academy, Zhou Wen only knew the name of one professor, and that was Chu He.
The reason why Zhou Wen could remember this name was not because Chu He was so famous. Even if Chu He was famous in his industry, Zhou Wen would not care, let alone remember his name.
But this Chu He was different, because there was a professor in the history department of the Imperial Capital College who was a member of the old principal's inspection team.
Zhou Wen had seen Chu He's name and information on the list, and had also seen the group photo of the expedition team.
However, Zhou Wen only took a quick look at Chu He at that time. Chu He was not his target, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
Looking back now, this Chu He is indeed somewhat similar to the Chu He in the photo, but the Chu He in the photo is fatter and not so thin, and looks in better condition, with a rosy complexion and his hair is still black, not gray like it is now. At that time, Chu He was full of vigor and vitality.
"Is this really Professor Chu He from the expedition team? Shouldn't he have entered the Zhuolu battlefield with the old principal and the others? They disappeared together, so how could he be here?" Zhou Wen had already determined that the old principal must have been killed, but a person who should have died with the old principal actually appeared in Huangquan City, which made Zhou Wen's heart waver again.
"Could it be that Huangquan City is really the final resting place for human beings after death? Could it be that the people in this city are not living people, but dead ghosts? Then what about Liuyun and I? Could it be that, without us even knowing it, we are actually dead, and it is our souls that have entered Huangquan City?" Zhou Wen shook his head and put this absurd and bizarre idea out of his mind.
"Professor Chu, have you ever been to the Zhuolu battlefield for research?" Zhou Wen stared at Chu He and asked. He hoped that this Chu He was Professor Chu He from the expedition team.
If they are really the same person, and since Professor Chu He is still alive, the old principal may not have died. After all, no body of the old principal was found in Zhuolu, nor were any other relics found.
From childhood to adulthood, there were not many people who were kind to Zhou Wen, and the old principal was one of them. Zhou Wen felt that a good person like the old principal should not die so early, at least he did not want the old principal to die so early.
"No." Chu He shook his head.
"How could it not be? Think about it carefully. The Federation invited you to join the expedition to Zhuolu. You went to Zhuolu with Professor Ouyang Ting and several other experts and professors..." Zhou Wen said.
After talking for a while, Chu He's mind seemed to be quite active. After listening to Zhou Wen's words, he lowered his head and thought for a while before saying, "I remember now. There was such a thing. At that time, an institution affiliated with the Federation did invite me to do research in Zhuolu. I remember that Professor Ouyang Ting was on the list at that time."
"You went to Zhuolu with them, why are you here alone?" Zhou Wen asked excitedly. He had just looked at other people on the long street, but did not see the old principal and other members of the expedition team.
Chu He shook his head and said, "No, no, no, I didn't go to Zhuolu. I made a major discovery at the time and was going to the Taklamakan Desert to do research. So I declined the invitation and didn't go to Zhuolu."
"You rejected the invitation?" Zhou Wen looked at Chu He with an expression of disbelief on his face.
He had read the records of the Zhulu expedition team. Although the data after the disappearance was no longer available, the records before that were still very detailed. There were even their check-in records when they were stationed at the site.
Many people in the base had seen Professor Chu He, and some had even chatted with him. Now Chu He actually said that he had never been to Zhuolu and had rejected the invitation from the beginning. This made Zhou Wen have many thoughts in his mind.
"Is this Chu He lying? Or did he really not go to Zhuolu? If he really didn't go to Zhuolu, then who is the Chu He in Zhuolu? Is this Chu He fake, or is the Chu He from the expedition team fake? Or maybe they are the same person, and after that Chu He died, his soul entered the Yellow Springs City and has forgotten his past? This doesn't make sense. He still remembers his name and knows that he is a professor at the Imperial Capital College. It doesn't look like his memory has been erased..." Zhou Wen's mind was in a mess, and he couldn't make sense of it for a while.
"Yes, I refused." Chu He said bitterly, "I hesitated at first. If I had chosen to go to Zhuolu, I wouldn't be trapped in this hellish place."
Zhou Wen thought to himself, "If you had gone to Zhuolu, your fate might not have been any better. At least you're still alive, while the old principal and the others can't even be sure whether they're dead or alive."
"Junior brother, let's talk about those trivial things later. We don't have much time left. Just get to the point." Liuyun said anxiously.
Zhou Wen nodded and asked, "Professor Chu, how did you get into Huangquan City? What is the situation here?"
Chu He said, "I was studying the ruins of the Niya civilization in the desert when I encountered a massive sandstorm. After the storm passed, I saw Huangquan City, and then a huge fire broke out all around. I had no choice but to flee into Huangquan City."
Chu He and Zhou Wen's experiences of entering Huangquan City were actually similar, but Zhou Wen thought of a very important issue.
(End of this chapter)
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