Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 156 - Empty City (2)

Zanxing’s gaze swept between the two of them, lost in thought.

Then, Gu Baiying placed his hand on the door handle of the palace and forcefully pushed the door open.

Everyone instinctively tightened their grip on their spiritual artifacts, wary of any monsters that might rush out from inside the door.

With a heavy, dull sound, the door slowly creaked open.

Initially just a narrow crack, the black gap widened gradually, emitting a musty smell of age-old dust. It seemed that the grand door of this magnificent palace hadn’t been opened in years. Dim light seeped out from inside. Mimi let out a meow and leaped through the gap.

For a while, there was no other sound or movement.

Zanxing felt a slight relief, and Gu Baiying had already entered the palace, holding his spear. She hurriedly followed suit.

The place resembled the main hall of a Taiyan Sect sect, but far more magnificent. The entire palace was spacious, seemingly multi-layered. Decorative lanterns adorned the walls and floors, emitting a faint glow that enhanced the palace’s grandeur.

In the center, stones were arranged in a circular formation that resembled a teleportation array at first glance, though it likely wasn’t one. Scattered around were herbs and glowing crystals, with talisman papers inscribed with unknown symbols. Gu Baiying picked up one of the talisman papers and examined it. His expression changed slightly. “It’s an altar.”

“Is this the altar of the Snake Shaman Clan?” Zanxing glanced around. “And what are these murals depicting?”

The walls of the palace were adorned with vibrant, boldly colored murals. Upon closer inspection, they depicted totems similar to the ones they had seen on the city gate when they arrived. Carefully detailed were extraordinary women holding green and red snakes, gazing into the distance amidst the desert scenery.

“This even has dancing,” Men Dong pointed at the wall. “Is this depicting the Snake Shaman Clan?”

Indeed, the mural depicted beside a blazing fire in the desert, two pure white camels pulling a magnificent carriage, veiled women looking back, the crowd fervently raising their snake-shaped lamps above their heads, in an earnest and devout posture.

In addition, there were women sitting on high thrones, with the people kneeling below them, praying for blessings, or the phantom of a giant snake in the firelight. The entire mural truly portrayed the legends of the “Snake Shaman Clan.”

However, Zanxing felt something was odd. Was the Snake Shaman Clan really this ostentatious? It seemed different from what Yin Li had described about the Snake Shaman Clan’s style.

“These murals seem to be painted with gold dust,” Tian Fangfang commented, starting to touch them. “I wonder if I can scrape off some to take with me. I thought no one aside from the royalty of Li’er Country had such extravagance, but it seems our sect is just too poor.”

Zanxing remained silent for a moment. “You’re being disrespectful to the Snake Shaman Clan’s murals. Be careful, or the sacred snake might come out of the mural and take you away.”

“Take me where?” Tian Fangfang asked eagerly. “To a place covered in gold and silver like this? Amitabha, that would be a dream come true.”

Mimi jumped up to the mural, curiously scratching at one corner. Zanxing glanced over. Objectively speaking, the artist who painted these murals was truly skilled. Not only were the bustling streets depicted vividly, but even the folds in every tiny figure’s clothing were meticulously detailed. After looking at it for a while, one could even feel a strange illusion, as if this wasn’t a mural but actual living people shrunk down to fit into the wall.

Just as she pondered this, Zanxing suddenly saw the eyes of the Holy Maiden in the mural, her gaze subtly shifting beneath her veil.

Zanxing blinked, thinking she might have been mistaken, about to turn and ask Tian Fangfang beside her, only to see Tian Fangfang’s hand reaching towards the Holy Maiden in the mural, his expression strangely fascinated.

“Senior Brother!” Zanxing grabbed the back of his collar, trying to wake him up. Just moments ago, Tian Fangfang was joking and laughing with Zanxing, but now he seemed oblivious, staring straight at the mural and walking towards it as if he wanted to step into the painting.

Zanxing felt something was wrong. Just as she was about to swing her Panhua Staff, a sudden silver light pierced through. With a loud crack, Xiu Gu split the mural in half, dividing the head and body of the holy maiden with its silver blade, leaving a sudden crack on the wall.

As if waking from a dream, Tian Fangfang gradually regained clarity. When he saw the damaged mural in front of him, he jumped in shock and shouted at the wall, “Who? Who scratched the painting on this wall?”

“It was me,” Gu Baiying said coldly, putting away the spear with lingering anger. “I warned to be cautious, yet you were still misled by such a trivial illusion. When we return to the sect, copy the scripture a thousand times as punishment.”

“What illusion?” Tian Fangfang looked confusedly at Zanxing. “Senior Uncle, what does this mean? Was I just deceived?”

Zanxing sighed. “Senior Brother, you were so engrossed in looking at the painting that you didn’t hear anything I said. What exactly happened?”

“I don’t know,” Tian Fangfang replied hastily, distancing himself from the damaged mural. “Is this thing so sinister?”

Meng Ying and Mu Cengxiao walked over. Meng Ying looked at the half-destroyed mural and said, “Senior Uncle, this isn’t an ordinary illusion.”

Gu Baiying had been irritated by Tian Fangfang’s carelessness earlier, hence the remark about a “trivial illusion.” Obviously, this illusion was beyond what an ordinary person could achieve. Most cultivators avoided practicing illusions because illusions were easily seen through. Everyone’s inner thoughts differed, so the illusions seen by each person would vary. If many people faced the same illusion, the person casting the illusion would easily be exposed.

At least for now, everything they saw was consistent.

“Is this the work of a demonic aura?” Men Dong hid behind Meng Ying. “Senior Uncle, are we in danger?”

“You were the one who said Douniang couldn’t possibly be a bad person, that we were just overthinking it, right?” Zanxing teased him. “So now you’re scared?”

“Who’s scared?” Men Dong’s face turned red. “I’m worried that you might not have enough energy right now. If the demonic aura comes out later and captures you, Senior Uncle will have to exhaust himself to save you!”

This stubborn kid was not cute when he talked back, and Zanxing couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. Mu Cengxiao walked up to the mural, crouched down, and gently stroked the bottom corner. He murmured, “There seems to be something here.”

Everyone was startled.

In the time it took for Mu Cengxiao to speak, he had already begun to lift the corner of the mural. Initially, he uncovered just a small section, but gradually, the corner revealed more and more, exposing a charred stone wall underneath.

“What is this…” Meng Ying tightened her grip on her sword.

The original walls of the hall appeared smooth, covered with woven fabric and adorned with a mix of gold and silver pigments. However, when Gu Baiying’s spear split the mural in half, revealing tightly wrapped fabric, Mu Cengxiao noticed something unusual. The layer of shimmering, peaceful, and lively mural was torn open, revealing a starkly different charred wall underneath. It was bare stone, devoid of any decoration, as if it had been scorched by a great fire, radiating a dark, ominous color.

“There seems to be a painting on top of it.” Zanxing noticed the faint white patterns on the lower stone wall.

Mu Cengxiao acted swiftly, and in no time, he removed the layer of fabric covering it, fully exposing the stone wall underneath to everyone’s eyes.

As if stripped of its glamorous exterior, the hall now lacked the vibrant murals and instantly took on a sinister and eerie atmosphere. The walls were painted with crude patterns, clearly less refined than the outer layer’s colorful paintings, as if hastily applied in a moment of urgency, revealing only vague outlines.

The innermost painting depicted a woman. She had long hair and was holding two long snakes in her hands.

Meng Ying spoke up, “This should be a depiction of the Holy Maiden of the Snake Shaman Clan.”

The “Holy Maiden” stood on a high mound, extending her arms and wielding the two snakes. Nearby, a monstrous beast with a blue face and fangs lay prostrate on the ground, apparently injured by the Holy Maiden. Inside the distant city walls, many people were seen praying with their hands clasped together.

“This…” Zanxing chose his words carefully. “It seems to depict the Holy Maiden protecting the people of Wufan City.”

In the next painting, the monster was defeated. The townspeople inside the city were carrying the creature’s body back, and some were surrounding the Holy Maiden, evidently grateful to her.

“That monster doesn’t look very impressive,” Tian Fangfang rubbed his chin, “but the Holy Maiden seems quite brave and righteous.”

Then came the third painting, where the scene began to change. The Holy Maiden seemed to have settled down here. She sat on a high seat, while a common-looking woman knelt before her, seemingly pleading desperately for something. In her arms, she held a baby with closed eyes, and in front of them lay a pile of gold.

“I think I understand this,” Men Dong pointed at the painting. “It seems this woman’s child is sick, and she’s asking the Holy Maiden for help.” Men Dong paused, then grew puzzled, “But does the Holy Maiden of the Snake Shaman Clan know medicine? Shouldn’t they find a doctor for this?”

Zanxing felt a stir in her heart and looked at the fourth painting. Indeed, in the fourth painting, the woman left with her now wide-eyed baby, while the gold remained at the feet of the Holy Maiden.

“I don’t think it’s just about healing,” Zanxing confirmed her suspicion before speaking further. “It’s about a trade.”

Mengying frowned, “A trade?”

“When we were in Li’er Country before, Yin Li once told me he made a deal with a Snake Shaman of the Snake Shaman Clan. The Snake Shaman helped the shark demon to turn his fish tail into human legs, in exchange for taking away his demonic core.”

“The Snake Shamans only engage in fair trades,” Zanxing looked at the woman in the painting. “She wasn’t just healing the child, she was also making a trade with this woman. She healed the woman’s child in exchange for the gold.”

“Using gold to exchange for the healing of a child’s illness. That’s what this trade was about.”