Embers Ad Infinitum

Translator: CKtalon

From the pile of human bones’ distribution and condition in the soil, Long Yuehong was more inclined to believe his team leader’s theory of the bones being picked up and buried.

This could indeed rule out the possibility that the survivors had done it. This was because even if the survivors really returned to Linhe Village after so many years, it was impossible for them not to take away useful supplies since they knew how difficult life was.

If they didn’t do so, the wilderness nomads who found this place in the future would’ve done the same.

Then, who buried these villagers in the ancestral hall?

Shang Jianyao held the shovel and slapped his face. “I know who it is!”

“Who?” Although Long Yuehong had never expected to hear a normal answer from this fellow, he couldn’t help but want to hear what ‘strange ideas’ the other party had.

This might give everyone inspiration.

Shang Jianyao replied in all seriousness, “Xiaochong.”

Without waiting for Jiang Baimian and the others to question him, he explained in detail, “Wasn’t Xiaochong staying in Swamp Ruin 1 for many years? He had a group of Heartless under him that often worked for him. It will only take 20 to 30 minutes by car from Swamp Ruin 1.

“Could it be that one day, he suddenly recalled the people in his hometown and recalled that his corpse had already turned cold but had yet to be buried? This didn’t conform to the folk tradition of being buried. Therefore, he sent a large number of Heartless to bring his corpse—which had turned into

bones—over. As they buried him under the old pagoda tree, they collected the remains of Linhe Village’s residents and stuffed them into the ancestral hall?”

What a pure horror story. What do you mean by ‘recalling that his corpse has already turned cold and that he hasn’t been buried…’ Uh, this feels a little comical… Long Yuehong muttered to himself.

He had to admit that the situation Shang Jianyao described was really possible! After all, Xiaochong couldn’t be treated as a normal person. There was a high chance that he was a personality or one of the descended bodies that the Kalendaria, Master Zhuang, had split off. Furthermore, he had the

precedent of slave-driving Heartless. He even made the Superior Heartless work to support his expenses.

With his relationship with Linhe Village, it was a relatively reasonable development for him to remember this place by chance and send his ‘subordinates’ to bury the people from his hometown.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “That’s quite a possibility. Yes, because this is Xiaochong’s hometown, the Heartless are restrained. They didn’t randomly take things and even brought their own rations.”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Shang Jianyao released his grip on the shovel and applauded himself.

The shovel stood in the soil, motionless.

Bai Chen also nodded slightly. “Indeed. Xiaochong has the motive and ability. His previous residence is very close to here as well.”

Jiang Baimian wanted to take a few steps back and forth, but she gave up on the idea when she saw that there were grave mounds everywhere and that she might accidentally step on the head of ‘someone.’

She deliberated and said, “But there are two problems with that. The first is why are the remains under the old pagoda tree incomplete? The second is why Xiaochong didn’t bury himself in the ancestral hall.”

“Maybe the old pagoda tree has a special meaning to him.” Shang Jianyao had a look that said: “I know Xiaochong very well.”

“What special meaning can there be…” Long Yuehong muttered.

Bai Chen tersely acknowledged it. “There are too many possibilities.”

Shang Jianyao’s eyes lit up as if he had imagined a contrived romance drama.

Jiang Baimian didn’t give him a chance to perform and nodded slightly. “What if it’s not Xiaochong but the people who buried the last remains in Swamp Ruin 1’s laboratory ruins?”

This clearly didn’t refer to the three Ruin Hunters but the people behind the scenes.

Bai Chen and Long Yuchong began to infer this possibility.

Jiang Baimian continued, “They clearly have a certain level of understanding of Swamp Ruin 1 or Dajiang City. They know where the secret laboratory is, so it’s not too strange for them to know where Linhe Village is.

“Yes, in a particular year after the Old World was destroyed, they brought Du Shaochong’s remains deep into the swamp. They came to Linhe Village and buried it under the old pagoda tree. But for some reason, they separated Du Shaochong’s corpse and only buried half of it

“Heh heh, this reminds me of the evil-warding ritual Hey previously mentioned.

“At the same time, these people gathered the corpses of the Linhe Village villagers and buried them in the Du family’s ancestral hall, perhaps to ward off evil or because they were given instructions by someone.”

Long Yuehong recalled their experiences and made a bold guess. “They only buried half probably because they knew that something abnormal would happen if they buried everything. But before Qiao Chu entered, Swamp Ruin 1 was virtually unknown…”

Jiang Baimian immediately smiled. “Qiao Chu knows this place because he belongs to the Eighth Research Institute. Those people might also have a certain relationship with the Eighth Research Institute.”

She only said that there was a certain connection and didn’t mention that those people might be from the Eighth Research Institute. This was because according to the Eighth Research Institute’s style, they preferred to just blow up the old pagoda tree, Linhe Village, and everything that involved a certain

truth in the Old World than burying corpses.

“But why didn’t those people gather some supplies in passing?” Bai Chen objected.

It would definitely consume a lot of supplies to come here from beyond the swamp. Normal people would replenish some on the spot.

Shang Jianyao suppressed his voice and replied for Jiang Baimian. “Because those supplies are toxic.”

Everyone has a brain. Why did you come up with such a strange answer? Long Yuehong didn’t know what to say.

Jiang Baimian laughed. “It’s impossible for it to be toxic, but this is Xiaochong’s hometown, the hometown of Master Zhuang’s body of descent. Just taking something in passing might result in them not sleeping well at night.”

“They dared to take away the other half of the remains.” The honest Shang Jianyao pointed out the problem.

Having an agile thought process, Jiang Baimian quickly replied, “Because they received guidance, they know that nothing will happen as long as the remains aren’t complete. Uh, this is limited to the remains.”

After Bai Chen heard that, she nodded thoughtfully. “There are roughly two explanations.”

One was Xiaochong, and the other was the mastermind.

Jiang Baimian looked around and ordered, “Despite the times and the weather, making the chances of there being any traces left extremely low, we still have to make the best use of our time. Yes, let’s circle around and search each room simply to see if we can find anything.”

She wanted to search for traces of the buriers.

At this moment, Jiang Baimian added, “This is Xiaochong’s hometown. A house here should belong to his grandparents or some other relative. There might be valuable clues hidden insid

As for Xiaochong’s home, there was a high chance that he had moved to Dajiang City and later moved to Tai City.

Upon hearing that the main goal was to find the home of Xiaochong’s grandparents, Shang Jianyao became excited as if he were playing hide and seek with Xiaochong.

The Old Task Force wandered around the village and entered different houses in search of possible clues.

Unfortunately, decades had passed, and it was common for the elements to strike this area. Many of the traces that should’ve been there had been wiped away by time.

When it was almost noon, Shang Jianyao—who had been walking in front of the team—pushed open the door to a house.

After entering the room, Jiang Baimian did a simple inspection and frowned. “Something’s not right here.”

“What’s wrong?” Long Yuehong didn’t discover any problems.

Jiang Baimian looked around and sai

no words at a glance…”

“Compared to the other houses in the village, there’s much less here. The ancestor-worshiping altar doesn’t have any tablets. The walls, coffee tables, and television cabinets don’t show any family photos or photos of the occupants like many families. Also, there are

She simply picked out several flaws.

The Old Task Force members immediately dispersed. In teams of two, they carefully searched the first and second floors of the house.

They couldn’t find anything to prove the owner’s identity like they did in the other houses in Linhe Village. They weren’t even sure how many people lived here.

After meeting in the living room on the first floor, Shang Jianyao stroked his chin and said, “Any abnormalities or clues just means that this is the home of Xiaochong’s grandparents.”

Jiang Baimian’s eyes darted around slightly. “Someone deliberately wiped away Xiaochong’s traces and prevented future generations from investigating such matters? That resembles the Eighth Research Institute’s way of doing things.”

At this point, compared to Xiaochong sending Heartless to bury the villagers, she was increasingly inclined to the guess she had made.

“Looks like it.” Long Yuehong and Bai Chen thought so too.

They then left and prepared to head to the surrounding houses.

When they circled to the side, Jiang Baimian and the others saw a drawing on the wall of the building from before.

This drawing was already very blurry from the elements. One could only vaguely tell that it was a sea and a bird. Its style was very childlike.

“A sea, a bird…” Jiang Baimian turned to look at Shang Jianyao.

She remembered that this was the content of Master Zhuang’s recent dream.

After leaving Linhe Village, they returned to their campsite.

Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and punched his left palm. “I’m going to the Mind Corridor.”

“Don’t explore Master Zhuang’s dream.” Jiang Baimian quickly stopped him.

Shang Jianyao shook his head. “I’m not; I just want to see if there are any changes there. Then, I’ll go to Xiaochong’s rift and attempt to wake him up.”

“How?” Jiang Baimian asked with a frown.

“How can you be sure that the one woken up will be Xiaochong?” Long Yuehong was inexplicably terrified.

Shang Jianyao smiled. “I plan on playing games by that rift!”