Hearing Chu Haoman’s words, Yu Yong’s face revealed a sneer thick with ridicule. "Save others? Let’s not even discuss how you, trapped in this mutation yourself, plan to rescue anyone. I’ve never heard of saving people by killing them first."
"..."
Chu Haoman heard this, shook his head with a helpless, wry smile, and said, "If possible, I wouldn’t want to take action either.
"Nearly two months ago, I ca to the area west of Bingzhou, accompanied by two guards, to survey and search for gold and stone cultural relics.
"I visited neighboring villages and listened to the old legends recounted by the villagers. I learned of the existence of Qi Shui Village and its special customs, which made curious enough to go into Qi Shui Hollow. Little did I imagine I would get involved in this mutation."
Chu Haoman paused, then continued, "Like you, I also saw the dense fog blanketing the hills and the suspicious behavior of the villagers.
"My two guards were careless for a mont and were killed by the villagers at night, while I managed to survive by hiding. I took advantage of the dayti, when the villagers hadn’t transford into Evil Ghosts, to gather information within the village."
He took several pieces of paper from his breast pocket, which bore oracle bone rubbings identical to Li Ang’s. "I found so oracle bones in the rock formations around the village and guessed that the mutation in Qi Shui Village was undoubtedly related to the huge Bronze Stear at the bottom of the lake.
"Yan is an ancient ritual vessel and cooking utensil. From the description in the oracle bone script, this Yan was clearly used by rchants to abuse captives and slaves, and to please spirits and deities.
"Before it was lost in Qi Shui Hollow, who knows how many cruel deaths it witnessed."
Chu Haoman shook his head and said, "According to my speculation, it’s possible this Yan absorbed too much resentnt from slaves before their deaths, becoming a Mutated Object. It’s also possible that the rchants used so special casting technique that turned the Yan into a Mutated Object the mont it was successfully cast. In any case, it acquired so kind of special power. After the fall of the Shang Dynasty, it was lost here, sinking into the lake. Since then, no one knew of it until the Pre-Sui Period, when a group of refugees appeared."
Ji Xingwang frowned and asked, "Those ancestors of Qi Shui Village?"
"Exactly."
Chu Haoman nodded and said, "In the legends of Qi Shui Village, a young man voluntarily jumped into the lake and caught hard-to-catch black fish for everyone, saving all the refugees. In rembrance of him, they erected a divine statue and worshipped him as a deity.
"But doesn’t this seem strange? We are all well aware of the condition of refugees fleeing their hos; they were nearly starving to death. Who would still have the strength to jump into the cold lake water and catch enough black fish by hand to feed hundreds of people?
"Moreover, if this young man was of such high status, why is there no ntion of his na, or his family’s nas, in the family tree? Was he truly so selfless, willing to sacrifice his life for others when he was the only remaining mber of his family?"
Guan Anyan opened her mouth upon hearing this. Although Lu Li Academy taught Confucianism, urging its disciples to follow the path of benevolence and righteousness, she also knew well how difficult it was for people to act morally when pushed to the extre of hunger.
"Assuming the worst," Chu Haoman said, "that young man may not have died voluntarily; he may have been forced into sacrifice.
"I spent so ti searching for other clues in the village: the genealogies, divine statues, the gravehill, and this tunnel.
"At the end of the tunnel, behind this stone door, I saw the Yan embedded in the rock formation. The upper half of the Yan is imrsed in the waters of Qi Shui Lake. And the lower half, its four tall legs, protrudes through the lakebed and stands in the tunnel.
"The ancestors of Qi Shui Village most likely figured out on their own how to use this Mutated Object, the Yan—using human resentnt and hatred as fuel, and corpses as kindling."
Chu Haoman’s description was quite esoteric. Yu Shusheng furrowed his brow, a glimr of understanding in his eyes.
Li Ang narrowed his eyes and said, "The missing corpses from the coffins on the gravehill... were they used as fuel..."
He paused, then explained to the puzzled Yu Shusheng and others, "Do you rember what we saw on the gravehill?
"Within the first eighty years after Qi Shui Village was founded, none of the coffins contained corpses. Then, for the hundred years following that, all the coffins did contain corpses.
"If I’m not mistaken, in those first eighty years, the villagers of Qi Shui Village were continuously using their own corpses as fuel to keep the Bronze Stear at the end of the tunnel ignited and heated. The purpose was to make the Yan produce an endless supply of black fish."
Li Ang recalled the scene he had previously seen at the bottom of the lake. Black mist continuously emanated from the holes at the top of the Bronze Stear. The mist swirled in the water, slowly rising through the lake and gradually taking the shape of fish. By the ti it reached the middle layer of the lake, it had completely transford into black fish.
"Black fish were an important food source for Qi Shui Village in its early days. As the initial hardships eased, black fish beca an important commodity for Qi Shui Village’s survival.
"By selling black fish, Qi Shui Village was able to prosper in these remote mountains."
Li Ang said, "To maintain this way of life, all or so of the villagers of Qi Shui Village reached a private consensus.
"Each household continued to fuel the Bronze Stear.
"Later on, selling black fish brought considerable wealth to Qi Shui Village, so they no longer needed to use the corpses of their own families as fuel. They could directly pay to hire outsiders and bring back corpses from afar."
"I see."
Yu Shusheng’s eyes brightened, and he imdiately said, "So that explains the strange genealogy!"
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