Chapter 561: Chapter 247: Skeleton

He would say a few perfunctory words, then disappear again for a year.

Yet, not much resentment could be heard in Luo Shuqing’s voice.

It seemed she had long grown accustomed to it.

Fang Shuwen listened quietly without interrupting. Suddenly, his steps faltered.

On the wall of the corridor, he saw a bas-relief mural.

It was exquisitely and meticulously carved, depicting a magnificent gate that stood upon the sea, as if symbolizing supreme authority.

But cracks had appeared on that gate.

A Divine Dragon emerged from the sea and smashed violently against the gate.

It was as if the symbol of supreme authority was being shattered.

"What is this..."

Luo Shuqing looked at Fang Shuwen.

"Could it be that this entire corridor was once covered in murals like this?

"Then... then why wasn’t this one destroyed?"

Fang Shuwen shook his head. That was a question he couldn’t answer.

He led Luo Shuqing a few more steps forward and saw another bas-relief mural on the other side of the corridor.

This time, however, the subject was even stranger.

It was a sun falling from the sky, as if about to plunge into the sea.

Eight great ships led countless other vessels, seemingly to silently await the coming of the end, or perhaps to gather all their strength for a fight to the death with the falling sun?

"What... what does this one mean?"

Luo Shuqing hadn’t understood the previous mural, and this one left her utterly bewildered.

Fang Shuwen shook his head.

"It’s hard to say. I can only guess...

"The previous mural depicted a precarious gate—majestic and towering, seeming to represent authority or legitimacy.

"...but it was shattered by a Divine Dragon formed from the sea..."

"Representing authority?"

Luo Shuqing bit her lip.

"The East Sea is filled with rival powers. Who... who would dare claim to be the authority?"

"No one dares to now, of course."

Fang Shuwen said softly,

"But in the past, such an entity probably did exist.

"Have you forgotten the legend we heard on Black Island?"

Luo Shuqing immediately remembered.

"The legend of the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror?"

Fang Shuwen nodded.

"A supreme Sect that ruled the East Sea for who knows how many years—wouldn’t that be the legitimate authority?

"Except, it was shattered..."

Luo Shuqing slowly exhaled.

"That person on Black Island, the story they told... The Jianghu people of the East Sea pooled all their wisdom and means to create an incredibly terrifying weapon.

"And ultimately annihilated that... that Sect... Could it be? Did they... did they create a dragon?

"Tell me, are these... are these murals real... or not?"

Fang Shuwen shook his head.

"I don’t know if they’re real or not, but since someone left these murals behind, they must have some significance.

"The seawater doesn’t necessarily have to be a dragon. The artist might have intended it as a metaphor for the Jianghu people of the East Sea, who came together to create a miracle.

"But it could also be meant to express that the Divine Weapon created by the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror possessed an incredible power, as unstoppable as a Divine Dragon."

Luo Shuqing nodded repeatedly, feeling that Fang Shuwen’s words made a lot of sense.

Then she pointed at the mural before them.

"Then... then what does this one mean?"

Fang Shuwen was also contemplating it. He stared at the falling sun in the mural, his mind churning.

"The sun... can’t possibly... fall," Luo Shuqing muttered softly.

Fang Shuwen said,

"It’s not that the sun literally fell. It’s a disaster... a calamity.

"A great calamity that swept across the entire East Sea, like the fall of the sun."

Understanding dawned on Luo Shuqing. The explanation felt perfectly fitting.

She saw Fang Shuwen point to the eight ships at the head of the large fleet and say,

"Eight ships... The Eight Forbidden Areas of the East Sea.

"That number probably wasn’t chosen at random... This mural is likely saying that the East Sea once experienced a great calamity.

"And the Eight Forbidden Lands led all the Jianghu people of the East Sea to face this great tribulation together."

Luo Shuqing nodded. Once Fang Shuwen had pointed out the meaning of "calamity," the mural was no longer difficult to understand.

But this also gave rise to a new question for her.

"But why don’t I know about this?"

Fang Shuwen glanced at her. ’This girl grew up uncherished by her grandfather and unloved by her father. From the looks of it, she probably doesn’t even know much about her own Qingxiao Pavilion.’

Luo Shuqing noticed Fang Shuwen’s look and said, a little indignantly,

"You... you shouldn’t look down on me.

"I am, after all, the young lady of Qingxiao Pavilion.

"Even if... even if Father doesn’t think much of me, I can read books on my own! I’ve read countless books in the Qingxiao Pavilion’s library!

"I know a great many secrets of the East Sea."

Fang Shuwen chuckled.

"Of course I wouldn’t dare look down on Miss Luo."

...

Luo Shuqing didn’t believe a single word of it. She huffed softly, expressing her dissatisfaction.

Fang Shuwen then spoke softly,

"A great calamity that swept the world shouldn’t just vanish from people’s memories.

"Unless this calamity happened a very, very long time ago.

"People have long since forgotten it, lost to the dust of history...

"But if that’s the case, why was a mural like this left here?"

This question caused both of them to fall into silence.

Suddenly, Luo Shuqing looked up at Fang Shuwen and saw something hidden in his eyes as well.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, she heard Fang Shuwen say the exact same words:

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