Inherited 100 Million - Chapter 19

“Many people have come here, and when they realize they can’t leave the main hall, they turn back and try to escape.” The girl, dressed in a white feathered robe with golden lotus ornaments, shook her finger. “The longest one lasted for an hour, and the shortest one lasted for a quarter of an hour.”

Xue Yizhuo nodded, thinking to herself, What does that have to do with me?

The girl said in a low voice, “You haven’t even been gone for half an incense stick of time.”

Half an incense stick of time was about two and a half minutes.

Xue Yizhuo felt that she saw contempt in the girl’s eyes.

The girl sat on a jade lotus statue. The thousands of lotus lanterns floating in the hall made it as bright as day. It was almost impossible to imagine that this was the same dark and gloomy palace it had been moments ago, or to imagine that the girl, dressed in such a pure and holy way, was the one who had been playing tricks.

Calling her a person wasn’t quite right. Xue Yizhuo looked at the girl’s translucent body and guessed that she was some kind of ghost.

Xue Yizhuo was a little tired after all that running. She simply sat down cross-legged on the spotless white stone floor and looked up at the girl. “Who are you?”

She had run away very decisively earlier, but she had only taken a few steps before a faint light appeared in front of her. A lotus lantern appeared out of thin air. Immediately after, hundreds of lotus lanterns floated into the air. Xue Yizhuo remembered running toward the hall doors, but when she turned her head, the doors were behind her.

And in front of her was an altar. A girl who looked to be around her age was sitting on a jade lotus statue in the center of the altar.

The entire main hall was an open space. It should only take a few minutes to walk from one end to the other, but before, she felt as if she had been walking in circles.

Xue Yizhuo’s intuition told her that the girl in front of her was the culprit.

The girl rested her chin on her hand, looking bored. “Aren’t you going to introduce yourself first? Anyone who comes here at this time must be a treasure hunter trying to find treasure in the ruins of Guque.”

She sounded a little surprised. “This is the first time I’ve seen such a young girl as a treasure hunter.”

“I’m not here to hunt for treasure,” Xue Yizhuo said. “I’m just a normal passerby.”

The girl didn’t believe her at all. “A normal passerby can’t easily cross the quicksand outside the royal palace. The mechanism for the bridge hasn’t been touched. How did you get here?”

The girl tilted her head and looked at Xue Yizhuo, very puzzled.

“Quicksand?” Xue Yizhuo was stunned. She quickly realized that the girl was talking about the lake that surrounded the royal palace.

So, under the illusion, it had turned into quicksand?

Xue Yizhuo took out the small wooden boat and said calmly, “I came over on a boat.”

The moment she saw the small wooden boat, the girl’s expression became serious. She jumped off the jade lotus statue and walked toward Xue Yizhuo with some urgency.

Xue Yizhuo took a step back, not understanding. She didn’t resist at all when the girl took the small wooden boat from her. She naturally handed it over.

After all, she had plenty more of the exact same boat in her inventory.

The girl looked at the small wooden boat over and over again, her expression slowly turning to disbelief. Xue Yizhuo waited for a long time. She was so bored that she even started playing with the lotus lanterns floating around her. She couldn’t understand what was so interesting about a plain little wooden boat that the girl had to stare at it for so long.

The lotus lantern that was spinning around from Xue Yizhuo’s poke was slapped away.

Xue Yizhuo turned her head and met the girl’s indescribably complex gaze.

“You… used this to cross the quicksand?” Xue Yizhuo heard a hint of grinding teeth in the girl’s tone. She didn’t know if she was just imagining it.

Xue Yizhuo nodded.

The girl was eerily silent for a moment. Then, a roar of anger erupted in the main hall. “What kind of brat are you, using a divine artifact just to cross some quicksand!”

••••

Xue Yizhuo sat on the steps leading to the altar, her face expressionless, watching the girl pace back and forth in front of her, muttering various insults without swearing for fifteen minutes.

The girl suddenly moved closer to Xue Yizhuo, her expression a little grim. “You prodigal child, could you be the illegitimate daughter of some ancient immortal who was abandoned in the mortal world?”

A normal person who got a divine artifact would probably worship it. Even the ancient monsters in the Western Continent couldn’t remain calm in front of a divine artifact, but the way Xue Yizhuo took out the [Returning-to-Origin Boat] made it look like she was taking out a head of cabbage she had just bought at the market.

Xue Yizhuo said, “Don’t tarnish my parents’ reputations.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” the girl said, her expression even more confused. “What were you thinking, using the Returning-to-Origin Boat just to cross quicksand?”

Because it’s the only boat I have in my inventory.

Xue Yizhuo was silent. She felt that if she told the girl what she was thinking, the girl would not be able to resist cursing her out again.

Xue Yizhuo reached out and poked the side of the boat. “What is it for?”

“Legend has it that the Returning-to-Origin Boat can go straight to the Underworld, cross the River of Oblivion, and bring back the souls of the dead… I’ve only seen it but never used it. I don’t know if the legend is true or not.” The girl frowned. “You have a divine artifact, and you don’t even know how to use it?”

How could Xue Yizhuo know how to use it? In Huangquan Mirror, the Returning-to-Origin Boat was categorized as a mount, not even a weapon. It was more of a fashion accessory. Who would have thought it was actually a divine artifact?

“This is so strange. Where are you from that you don’t even know these basic things?” The girl looked at Xue Yizhuo as if she were a rare species. “How can your elders be so irresponsible, giving you a divine artifact without telling you how to use it?”

Xue Yizhuo’s nonexistent elders were now being blamed for something they didn’t do.

“How do you know all this?” Xue Yizhuo held onto the steps behind her and stood up, asking directly, “Are you a cultivator from the Western Continent?”

“The Liduan River can’t completely sever the connection between the Eastern and Western Continents. It’s not strange for cultivators from the Western Continent to come here.” The girl admitted it casually. “But you, you don’t seem like a mortal or a cultivator.”

She tossed the Returning-to-Origin Boat back into Xue Yizhuo’s arms and instructed her, “Keep it safe. It’s fine to use it in the Eastern Continent, but if you ever go to the Western Continent, don’t just take this kind of thing out casually.”

Xue Yizhuo took the Returning-to-Origin Boat and casually threw it into her inventory. She then followed the girl up the altar. “You said this is a divine artifact, but you don’t seem to care about it.”

Artifacts in Huangquan Mirror were divided into different ranks. Although she didn’t know if the ranks here were exactly the same as in the game, they wouldn’t be too far off. Divine artifacts were currently priceless in the game. Only a few dungeons would drop the materials needed to create one.

Only a programmer could directly modify the data and give Xue Yizhuo a hundred million of each.

The girl’s initial reaction had been strong, but she didn’t seem to have any other thoughts about the divine artifact that cultivators should be clamoring for.

“I’m already a dead person,” the girl said, returning to her seat on the jade lotus statue and resting her chin on her hand lazily. “What do I need a divine artifact for?”

Xue Yizhuo asked the question the girl had not answered before. “Who are you?”

The girl sighed. “It seems that very few people know about Guque anymore.”

She beckoned a lotus lantern to her and idly played with its petals. “Feathered robe, golden crown, and lotus flowers blooming with every step. I am the first monarch of Guque.”

•••••

“This is the first city built in Guque,” Zhong Meng said, kneeling on the ground and sweeping away a layer of sand. A broken stone tablet was revealed, on which the character for “moon” could be vaguely seen.

“Legend has it that on a night when the wind and sand covered the moon, a woman came from the west. She wore a pure white feathered robe, a golden lotus ornament on her head, and a clear stream flowed and lotus flowers bloomed with every step she took. The sandstorms could not advance an inch. The people of the desert revered the woman as a goddess. She was the first monarch of Guque,” Zhong Meng said in a low voice. “When the sandstorm receded, and the moon broke through the clouds, the monarch named the first city she built Moon City. The ruins of Moon City are up ahead.”

Zhong Meng stood up and looked ahead. All he could see on the yellow sand were broken walls and ruins, most of which could be identified as parts of roofs.

“More than half of the city is buried under the sand,” Old Li said, limping forward with his sprained foot.

“Yes, but the buildings that are still above ground can barely withstand the sandstorm…” Zhong Meng realized who was speaking and quickly went to support Old Li. “Mr. Li, please slow down.”

The sandstorm had come so suddenly that even though they were prepared, they were in a sorry state. Old Li had accidentally sprained his ankle while frantically looking for Xue Yizhuo.

Old Li coughed twice and turned to Zhong Meng. “You said they would probably come here?”

Zhong Meng wasn’t sure, but to reassure the old man, he nodded vigorously. “They were swept away with the camels. The ruins of Guque are the only place nearby that’s suitable for a rest.”

Old Li frowned. “She doesn’t know the way.”

Xue Yizhuo had barely memorized the roads in Qingping Town, let alone in a completely foreign desert.

Cheng Sao came forward to comfort him. “I talked to the young lady we saved. She’s very familiar with the desert and can lead Miss Xue to a safe place.”

Talking about that woman only made Old Li more uneasy.

From the first moment he saw her, he had a subtle feeling that something wasn’t right.

Old Li suddenly stopped.

Zhong Meng was startled. “What’s wrong?”

Old Li asked in a low voice, “Did you hear something?”

At his words, everyone immediately fell silent. When the surroundings were so quiet that they could only hear the wind, they really did faintly hear the sound of singing and dancing carried by the wind.

Cheng Er’s face immediately became serious. He lowered his voice and asked, “Desert bandits?”

Who else would be in the Yangsuo Desert at this time of year besides desert bandits?

Zhong Meng listened for a moment and then shook his head. “There are women’s voices. It’s not bandits.”

Old Li said, “Let’s go take a look.”

When Xue Yizhuo was around, she was in charge. When she wasn’t, Old Li was.

Although Zhong Meng felt that something was strange, he still helped Old Li move forward. He tried to think of the best-case scenario. Maybe a caravan was also trapped in the desert by the sandstorm and was celebrating their survival in the ruins of Moon City.

The five of them walked deeper into Moon City until they arrived at the best-preserved building. It was originally a tall tower, but now only the top two floors were above the ground.

Bright light shone from the square windows of the tower. They could hear sounds of laughter, singing, dancing, and cups clinking. Several beautiful figures were dancing gracefully. The dancing girls spun around, their red veils outlining their slender waists.

Three or four wagons were parked outside the tower. Zhong Meng and the others’ faces lit up with joy, but Old Li’s cloudy eyes immediately noticed the lotus lanterns hanging from the wagons.

He said in a voice only he could hear, “Soul-Catcher Lanterns.”

Author’s Note:

Because there was a lot of plot progression in the early stages, Jun Yu didn’t appear much. Hmmmmm, I’ve decided. Starting from the next chapter, I’ll try to write some daily life events in the author’s notes that don’t affect the main story. Jun Yu living in the author’s notes can be considered an appearance… right?