Yes, Wei Xun didnât take out the wet corpse or the skull. He didnât want to act like EugĂŠnie Grandet, so he only took out a bone.
Wei Xun did this because of his keen intuition when completing the task. After all, the task he had received had merely prompted [Is the black shadow on the snowy mountainâs holy lake Rakshas Talâs shadow, or is it Tonpa Shenrabâs terrifying illusion?] They had not asked him to find out anything else.
It stood to reason that the task would be considered complete as long as Wei Xun told the descendent of the eagle flutist about the fact that there was a large fish that had scales, claws, and carved Buddha and demon statues on its body in Tangra Yumco.
However, Wei Xun felt that even the descendant of the eagle flutist would not expect that he could get so many things from the aquatic reptile. Even Wei Xun thought that using a strong flashlight to repel the fish might be a bad move. After all, flashlights had not existed in the past, while the fish had lived for countless years. There must have been other ways for people to obtain the contents of its belly in the past.
He was able to âfindâ the bone, which was already an unexpected surprise for the descendant of the eagle flutist. After all, this bone was the most special one in the pile of bones. Its ends were covered with gold, and the middle of the bone had traces of carved characters. Looking at its thickness, it didnât look like a human bone, but rather like the leg bone of some kind of beast.
And this bone was heavy. Ordinary bones were hollow, with bone marrow inside, and would naturally become lighter after a long time, but this bone was so heavy that it seemed solid. Wei Xun felt that it was possible that gold or some other substance had been injected into the bone. And apart from violently splitting open the bone, he had no means of opening it to find out what was inside.
Wei Xun handed over the bone to the descendant of the eagle flutist. Wei Xun was able to complete the task through him, and he was also able to make use of the eagle flutist to help him to achieve his goals.
âYou really didnât get anything else?â
âI really didnât.â
The descendant of the eagle flutist repeatedly asked to confirm the facts, but Wei Xun rebuked him with a very sincere tone. In the end, Wei Xun acted as if he was angry and simply took the bone back, asking unhappily, âAre you questioning my honesty?! If you donât believe me, then so be it. I think this bone is not ordinary and it should be handed over to the state!â
The descendant of the eagle flutistâs eyelids twitched as he barely suppressed his rage after he saw Wei Xun grabbing the bone. After a moment of silence, he finally said slowly, âThe Dragon God likes honest people, so you must be a good and honest person chosen by the Dragon God, yes. Therefore, you are a friend of me, Dgahldan Palcho.â
âI thought we were already friends, Dgahldan Palcho,â Wei Xun said boldly.
Wei Xun handed the bone to him, then spoke casually to remind him, âThis bone is very heavy. Itâs so strange, I guess there is something in it.â
âYes, it holds important things in it,â the descendant of the eagle flutist stated.
He took out an iron-black crochet needle with a strange handle from his Tibetan robe. It was about as long as a finger and as thick as a crochet needle. No one knew how he did it, but he used the needle to hook the top of the bone. To Wei Xunâs surprise, a small piece of gold was picked off. Then, the descendant of the eagle flutist turned the bone upside down and poured its contents into his hand. There was some kind of viscous liquid in the bone!
When the dark silver liquid fell into his palm, it didnât melt. Instead, it turned into dozens of small balls of liquid that rolled around like mercury. Then, the descendant of the eagle flutist reached into the bone again carefully and lightly, before he drew out a yellowish âskin.â
It was leather, or something with a cloth-like appearance, and it was as thin as a cicadaâs wings, almost transparent. This piece of âskinâ had first been rolled up, and then stuffed into the bone by someone before. When the âskinâ was completely unfolded, it was the size of an A4 sheet of paper. On the front, a strange Buddha statue was painted in complex and bright colors, while the back was filled with very thin black lines. It appeared like a map when you looked closely.
âWhen the Xiangxiong Dynasty was destroyed, the queen betrayed the country, the king died, and the last Bon believer took the Garuda horn crown and hid in the waterway to worship the Dragon God. No one knew where he had disappeared. Legend has it that the map depicting the route of the Dragon Godâs waterway had been painted on the back of a human skin thangka, and this map was hidden in a golden yak bone.â
The descendant of the eagle flutist slowly recounted this history to Wei Xun, âThe Dragon God has appeared, and I still have a duty to fulfill. I have to stay here. My loyal friend Wei Xun, can you help me by going to the Ruins of Xiangxiong Kingdom and giving this map to Amala, who guards the sacred mountain?â
âOf course.â
Wei Xun took the human skin thangka map, carefully put it away, and said with a smile, âLeave this to me, donât worry.â
The warlocks of the Bon religion were called âBenbo,â and the Great Benbo was the head of the warlocks. In the past, the Kingdom of Xiangxiong was a country that had believed in the Bon religion. The statues of Great Benbo in the dynasty were comparable to the combination of the high priest and the national teacher. It was a position that had both religious status and real power.
[The Xiangxiong Kingdom has been destroyed, but there are still countless mysterious secrets hidden in the Ruins of Xiangxiong. According to legend, there were 18 kings at the same time in ancient Xiangxiong, and each king wore a crown with the horns of the Garuda bird on his head. When they were brought together, the only horned Garuda crown was created. Legend has it that the crown was made of gold, inlaid with agate, amber, ivory, and carnelian, and decorated with golden Garuda feathers. It was the most luxurious and magnificent crown.]
[You have activated the branch scenic spot: The Dragon Godâs Waterway under the Ruins of Xiangxiong, the total progress of the branch scenic spot is 30%]
The task given to him by the descendant of the eagle flutist was only to hand over the map to Amala, who guarded the Guobu Baizong Mountain, and he did not ask Wei Xun to look for the Dragon Godâs Waterway or the Garuda horn crown. Wei Xun guessed that it was because he had only âfoundâ the âgolden bones,â and âdid notâ obtain the skull or wet corpse.
If Wei Xun had handed over the skull and wet corpse to the descendant of the eagle flutist, he would definitely obtain a more advanced task and get more clues. But that was not necessary.
The descendant of the eagle flutist said, âI still have a duty to fulfill. I have to stay here,â Wei Xun predicted that he was likely remaining behind to search for the skull and the wet corpse. Meanwhile, IV-1 had discovered that there were traces of a primitive sacrificial ceremony in the underground passage of South Village. After discovering this, if he wanted to continue finding out what happened, he would probably approach the descendant of the eagle flutist in an attempt to get more clues.
It was very likely that the descendant of the eagle flutist would give him the task of finding the skull and wet corpse, and IV-1 would go to Tangra Yumco to bother the big fish.
IV-1 would likely do this tomorrow night, which left enough time for Wei Xun to explore the Ruins of Xiangxiong Kingdom aloneââPerhaps, it would be better if it was cloudy tomorrow.
âMy loyal friend, this is a secret kept between the two of us, right?â
Wei Xun smiled and looked at the descendant of the eagle flutist and said in a friendly tone, âI saw a snow leopard by the shore of Tangra Yumco. This is a really auspicious omen, isnât it?â
âYes, snow leopards are the elves of the snowy lands, the mounts that God Zan used to come to the human world. It will bless you, and the friendship between you and I is as eternal as the mountain of God, as unstained as the water of the holy lake, rid of dirt,â the descendant of the eagle flutist reverently said.
Wei Xun did not believe in his nonsense. He only believed in Xiaojin.
He let Xiaojin bite the descendant of the eagle flutist, satisfying both of them. Compared to what he had felt from Yue Chenghua and IV-1, the response of the descendant of the eagle flutist was different.
If Wei Xun had to rank them by the degree of control he had over them, Yue Chenghua would be the person that Wei Xun had the most control over, while he had the least control over the descendant of the eagle flutist. Wei Xun could see the evil thoughts in IV-1âs heart, talk to him, and influence IV-1 âs subconscious. However, if Wei Xun wanted to kill IV-1, the other would still fight back knowing that he was facing death.
But Yue Chenghua was different. Maybe it was because of his weak strength, or because he had just been controlled and his consciousness was weaker, but Wei Xun could almost completely control his words and actions. He could even control Yue Chenghua to jump into the lake and drown.
As for the descendant of the eagle flutist, Wei Xunâs control over him was even less than his control over IV-1. Wei Xun guessed that it was because the âcontractâ between the descendant of the eagle flutist and the Travel Services came first, just like it was for the spiteful ghost Pingping. Therefore, after the golden mosquito sucked his blood, Wei Xun could only perceive the strongest thoughts in the mind of the descendant of the eagle flutist, judge whether he had any negative thoughts towards himself and whether he was lying. Wei Xun could not control his behavior.
But that was sufficient.
Wei Xun quietly returned to the tent with a smile in his heart. The map was already in his hands. Whether he would give it to Amala or to explore by himselfââWei Xun had the final say.
âYouâre back.â
When Wei Xun returned to the tent, Xu Yang nimbly turned his head immediately. His expression was a little nervous, and he hurriedly said in one breath, âYour sleeping bag was taken away by the snow leopard!â
Wei Xunâs return allowed him to relax, and Xu Yang added calmly, âIt only took your sleeping bag, and didnât try to do anything troublesome. I didnât wake Fei Lezhi or the others, for fear that they would trigger the snow leopardâs hostility.
âDid the snow leopard come to youââbecause of the function of your title?â
âYes,â Wei Xun said.
After thinking for a while, he briefly told Xu Yang about the snow leopard and the title of A Wild Beastâs Psyche, but he only said that the snow leopard was a wild snow leopard he had encountered while walking around the lake.
âThe abilities of the ferret are still a little weak, and the abilities of the snow leopard are much better.â
Xu Yang was relieved, and he was very smart. He did not ask what Wei Xun had done tonight. Compared to how he had felt moments ago, he was more calm. When Wei Xun talked about the Ruins of Xiangxiong Kingdom that they were going to visit tomorrow and how he was going to leave the team alone, Xu Yang considerately said, âDonât worry about us, Fei Lezhi and Yin Baitao will trust your decision. The problem lies with IV-1 and his lackeys. I suspect that tomorrow he will split us up into other small teams, and he plans to let some of us dieââAnd I suspect it is Fei Lezhi and me that heâs planning to wipe out.â
Xu Yang had drawn a tunnel map for IV-1, so the other person might kill him or keep him by his side. After exploring several scenic spots, he would kill Xu Yang when he was no longer useful.
Fei Lezhi was young and strong, so if IV-1 killed him, Wei Xun and the othersâ team would only have Yin Baitao, a woman with poor physical strength, and Xu Yang, a blind child.
âRest assured.â
Wei Xun chuckled lightly, tilted his head, and placed his index finger on his temple. âIâve already thought of a plan.