Although Qiu Fangzheng had made it sound simple, Li Hai discovered that the trail was no easy path once he actually started walking it.
Although the trail was probably less than two hundred li long in total, it was not straight. Instead, it twisted and turned, rose and dipped, and was riddled with countless forks. It even ran through numerous caves and more than one underground river.
On top of that, only Qiu Fangzheng knew the correct route. No matter how fast Li Hai moved, it wouldn't help, so traveling the trail took an especially long time.
Thus, the two ghosts walked for a full day and night before finally reaching the trail's end.
Splash—
The figures of Li Hai and Qiu Fangzheng slowly emerged from a deep pool.
Li Hai looked up and saw that the pool was surrounded by an enormous underground cavern.
Nearly a hundred zhang above him, the cavern ceiling bristled with long stalactites that gave off a faint green glow.
Like an upside-down forest, the countless stalactites nearly filled the entire upper half of Li Hai's view in every direction.
Nor was the place quiet. He could clearly hear the hissing of countless snakes and insects slowly crawling about.
With all these things together, the cavern felt like a sinister, terrifying ghost city.
After carefully looking around, Li Hai asked Qiu Fangzheng:
"Where's the ruin? Why is there nothing here but stalactites?"
"Please don't be impatient, sir," Qiu Fangzheng explained. "We still have a little farther to go."
"Mm." Li Hai nodded. "Lead the way."
Then the two ghosts set off again.
As Li Hai continued onward, he was surprised to discover traces of people having lived in various corners of the cavern: houses, suspension bridges, wooden fences, courtyard walls, and the like.
But everything was now covered in a thick layer of dust and emanated an ancient, heavy aura. A single glance made it clear that these things had been abandoned long ago.
As they hurried along, Qiu Fangzheng seemed to notice Li Hai's gaze wandering over these objects, and so he said:
"Sir, these things weren't left behind by the Ancient Sect's disciples. They're relics from an even more ancient era."
"An even more ancient era?"
Li Hai asked in puzzlement. "What makes you so certain?"
"Sir, I've been inside the ruins."
Qiu Fangzheng explained, "According to the inscriptions on the stele inside, when the Ancient Sect fell beneath the mountain during an earthquake, ninety-nine percent of its disciples died. The survivors were all injured, so they had neither the strength nor the need to go to all the trouble of breaking through so many layers of rock to reach this cavern, let alone leave behind so many traces of daily life.
"Besides, none of the relics inside the Ancient Sect are covered in dust this thick or carry such a weight of antiquity. So the only conclusion is that these things came from an era older even than the Great Xuan years."
"An era older than Great Xuan, which came before Great Jing?" Li Hai suddenly grew interested. "Then when was it?"
"Sir, I don't know much about that. I only know that the Great Xuan Dynasty lasted for over a thousand years."
Qiu Fangzheng answered honestly. "After all, when I was alive, I was only a merchant."
But then he added:
"Still, when I was alive, I think I once heard an old scholar in town say that before Great Xuan, the land was in utter chaos, with many states existing at the same time."
"Oh," Li Hai said, suddenly enlightened. "Then I understand. It was the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period."
"Sengoku?"
Qiu Fangzheng thought it over. "An era when the various states fought one another. That does sound exactly right, as you say."
While the two ghosts were talking, an ancient stele they passed in a flash caught Li Hai's eye.
"Wait!"
His hazy figure, speeding along, abruptly stopped. Then he turned back to the ancient stele.
Qiu Fangzheng immediately stopped too, then hurried over after him.
"This is..."
Li Hai slowly crouched and silently stared at the incomplete ancient stele, tilted and half-buried in the solid earth and rock. His eyes were full of shock.
Though the stele was covered in rust and damage, he could still make out two lines of extremely strange, unfamiliar writing.
"What kind of writing is this?" Qiu Fangzheng asked in bewilderment. "Why have I never seen it before?"
He couldn't recognize it, but Li Hai, who had the Study Hard system, could.
Translated into words he could understand, the writing roughly said: "Wuxian Federation, Qiongqi Sea Area Theater, Third Mecha Brigade Parts General Warehouse. Unauthorized personnel are forbidden to enter."
After examining the ancient stele over and over, Li Hai turned to Qiu Fangzheng and asked:
"Have you ever heard of a country called the Wuxian Federation?"
Qiu Fangzheng shook his head blankly. "Sir, I... have never heard of it."
"Then have you heard of the Qiongqi Sea Area?"
Li Hai asked again. "Is it south of Coiling Dragon Mountain?"
Qiu Fangzheng shook his head again. "I've never heard of it. I only know there are many small Barbarian States south of the Coiling Dragon Mountain Range. Beyond those Barbarian Kingdoms lies the Cangming Ocean, not some Qiongqi Sea."
"Small Barbarian States?"
Li Hai had another thought and asked, "Then is there a small state called Wuxian south of Coiling Dragon Mountain?"
"Well..." Qiu Fangzheng replied uncertainly. "I haven't heard of one, but it might exist. Uh... or it might not."
"All right."
Li Hai nodded and let out a long breath. "I think I know... the true origins of this ancient stele and the other relics."
"Where did they come from?" Qiu Fangzheng asked curiously.
"Prehistoric civilization."
Li Hai spoke with absolute certainty. "It was definitely a prehistoric civilization. No doubt about it!"
"What's a prehistoric civilization?"
Qiu Fangzheng grew even more puzzled. "Why call it a civilization instead of the Prehistoric Dynasty? And why is it two characters instead of one? It... sounds a bit like the names of those Barbarian States in the south."
In his understanding, great nations had to have names consisting of a single character to seem noble. Two-character or longer names were inferior, fit only for the small Barbarian States.
"Prehistoric civilization isn't something I can explain in a sentence or two."
Li Hai didn't want to go to the trouble, so he urged him, "Come on. Let's go to the Ancient Sect Ruins."
"All right." Qiu Fangzheng nodded, then turned and hurried deeper into the cavern.
As Li Hai hurried along beside him, his mind churned with tangled thoughts.
All this time, the existence of martial arts, ghosts, and sorcery had led Li Hai to assume that this land called Yu Province was simply a fantasy-leaning alternate world, with perhaps a few firearms and cannons thrown in.
But the appearance of that ancient stele had completely shattered his understanding.
"The Wuxian Federation. The Mecha Brigade."
Li Hai silently repeated the words to himself. "This was obviously a prehistoric civilization that followed a technological path... Hah. What a chaotic world—and what an interesting one."
Before you continue