Chapter 182 Casefile 6: Twin Kings' Tombs (3)
"Wow!" As a stingy, greedy poor ghost who always spends more than he earns, Jiang You became excited when he heard the plan, and his fear of the undead instantly faded a lot.
Thinking carefully, since those 'suspected liches' of the Evil Eye Moon weren't afraid of the undead, Jiang You didn't need to be afraid either. After all, liches were also undead creatures, so theoretically, the undead would treat her as one of their own and wouldn't attack her at all.
Of course, there will always be some psychological scars, but this feeling is probably similar to the landlord selling a haunted house for 20% of the price, even though you know it's scary. You're still a little scared, but for the sake of money, having a slightly more aggressive roommate doesn't seem so unacceptable.
Judging from the distance between the east and west cities of Eston, the tunnel was at least 30 kilometers long. They could not ride horses and had to move through the tunnel on foot. They also had to dismantle traps as they moved forward, so their walking speed was not fast.
Fortunately, this team only consists of dwarves with thick skin and strong physical strength, kingdom knights who have undergone long-distance field march training, and a skeleton that does not feel tired or have muscle soreness.
Even Takumi couldn't make a fire and cook in this almost completely enclosed, narrow tunnel. They only stopped briefly to eat their own dry food for lunch before continuing on. Takumi took out an offering made of phantom berries and soul grass and ate it happily with a crunch.
Before setting off, Jiangyou obtained more raw materials from Holly and conducted a few experiments. She discovered that any food, mixed with the magical plant Soul Grass and baked into a pastry, would have its properties altered by the Soul Grass, transforming it into an "offering" that the spectral creatures could freely consume. Not only did it have the texture and flavor of pastry, but it also rapidly transformed into pure energy, far more potent than the soul fire transformed by the spirit wood.
However, at present, only baking cakes with soul grass can achieve this effect. Other methods such as making soup and stir-frying do not seem to be able to exert its effect normally.
Although there were many limitations, Jiangyou hadn't found many recipes for pastries that could be combined with the Soul Grass to create delicious dishes. However, she still made some pastries and desserts to satisfy her cravings—for example, traditional Hong Kong-style cakes, deep-fried twisted dough sticks, Portuguese egg tarts, and sesame and sugar sesame cakes...
Aside from its eerie purple-black color, the Soul Grass fruit powder tastes and has similar uses to the supernatural version of flour. While it doesn't taste strange, it's much better for sweets than salty snacks. I wonder what this strange property restriction is...
Because the tunnel march took so long, Jiangyou spent the first few hours fearing ghosts, enemies, and traps, advancing cautiously and fearfully. But in the last few hours, her nerves gradually relaxed amidst the monotony. For the second half of the journey, she happily ate the offerings as she walked, like a child on a picnic.
It must be said that the "offering" made from soul grass was quite a good ration. Firstly, living humans couldn't smell it. Even if Jiangyou ate it along the way, it wouldn't pique the appetite of the knights and dwarves, nor would it interfere with their trap dismantling and marching operations. Those around Jiangyou would only glance curiously at the strange, purple-black, aromaless food in her bony claws before turning their heads back to their own business without any interest.
Secondly, this thing leaves no residue, eliminating the need for Andrei to act as a wastebasket. All the energy from the food is absorbed by Takumiu, filling her soul. The soul isn't limited by the size of the stomach, so Takumiu can eat as much as she wants without worrying about gaining weight.
She could even feel her soul gradually solidifying. Jiang You had a vague, instinctive feeling in her heart—as long as she continued to replenish her soul energy, she would have enough strength to continuously project her true human form onto her skeleton. If she continued to absorb it, even if she had to maintain the human form for a day or two, it would probably not be a problem.
According to Holly, growing Soul Grass is indeed difficult, but it doesn't require any strange sacrifices of flesh and soul. It's just that it's a bit shady and picky about where it grows, preferring to grow in large numbers in areas where murder or death has occurred. After the Soul Grass has grown for a few cycles, those areas become as if purified, no trace of the netherworld's power remaining.
...Then we have to find a new place to plant the soul grass.
"If you think about it, wouldn't it be a great thing to be able to cultivate Soul Grass in a dangerous place like East City of Eston?" Jiang You couldn't help but mutter to Andre. "A bloody tragedy happened here, and there are still lingering terrifying undead spirits. It feels like if you just scatter some seeds, you can grow a bunch of Soul Grass!"
"Once we've dealt with Evil-Eyed Moon, we can tell His Majesty the King," Andrei pondered. "It's not a good thing for such a large city, so close to the capital, to be abandoned and become a ghost town. Once the Soul Grass absorbs all the Netherworld power here, perhaps the undead will be liberated and truly return to the Netherworld."
"Lord! Boss You! We saw the tunnel exit!" Tukes suddenly spoke up, interrupting their casual chat. "Come and take a look!"
All the traps had been dismantled by the dwarves. Andrei and Jiangyou followed their footsteps out of the tunnel and stepped into a stone chamber.
This stone chamber is tall and imposing, and is obviously the product of meticulous carving. It is completely different in style from the slightly rough tunnel outside.
The tunnel entrance was small, barely wide enough for dwarves to pass through standing upright. A normal human would have had to duck and use all fours to crawl out. Jiang You looked back and saw that the tunnel entrance was located in the corner of the stone chamber. Judging by the old bricks scattered on the ground, there must have been bricks blocking the entrance once—which confirmed the tomb builders' suspicion that it was an escape route.
Across from the tunnel entrance was a tightly closed stone door. Jiang You suspected it wasn't a passage to the outside world, but rather the entrance to the mausoleum. To the right of the stone door, a covered door was placed on the ceiling. It looked very recent, likely a recent construction, and was likely created by the Evil Eye Moon's men as an exit or entrance.
After the dwarves climbed out of the tunnel, they took out metal sticks and grunted to form a sturdy ladder, which they placed under the door. A strong knight climbed up the ladder and pushed the door with all his strength.
With a creaking sound, the heavy door was pushed open. The knight stuck half of his head out to observe, then retracted and reported, "It's safe outside!"
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