Fatty, a grown man, couldn't help but shed tears seeing Ye Tiancheng's current state.
Ye Tiancheng grabbed Fatty's shoulder, "Don't mind me, Fatty. You'll live well without me, understand?"
It sounded like a final warning before death. Fatty was unhappy, "Brother Ye, why? Don't talk like that, okay? We're just facing temporary difficulties. Can you stop talking so sarcastically?"
"Alright, stop bothering me. Let me have a few quiet days."
Fatty dared not speak further. Ye Tiancheng finally managed to shake off the person watching him and ran into his spiritual space. Someone had alerted him to the abandoned factory in Zidu Garden. Upon arriving there, Ye Tiancheng's spiritual space became restless again, and an ancient voice suddenly rang out.
"That cave is also an entrance to a fragment of the Fuxi Qin. However, it's too difficult for you. There's another simpler place. It's around this factory. I'll give you a map, and you follow the sequence on the map. But the map is in your spiritual space, and you can only see it once."
"I understand."
The person really only let Ye Tiancheng glance at it. After that one look, the map disappeared. Everything happened too quickly.
Ye Tiancheng tried hard to recall, but he forgot a lot. The map was already vague, so Ye Tiancheng could only vaguely remember the sequence of mechanisms on the map.
As Ye Tiancheng was concentrating on recalling, he suddenly heard a sound and realized it was Fatty chasing after him.
"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you I needed some quiet?"
"Brother Ye, I have to be with you. Your body is a bit weak now, at least I can protect you."
To be at a point where he needed Fatty's protection felt a bit tragic.
However, Fatty was like a persistent fly; no matter how much he tried to shoo him away, he wouldn't leave. Ye Tiancheng had no choice but to bring Fatty along this time.
"Brother Ye, I understand. So, you mean that by deciphering according to the sequence on the map in your memory, we can enter a tower?"
This was what Ye Tiancheng remembered. When he told Fatty, Fatty was very surprised and seriously suspected Ye Tiancheng's mental state.
He was actually going into this dilapidated factory to look for some tower, which clearly didn't make sense.
"Brother Ye, why don't you just tell me the truth? Are you looking for some treasure?"
"It's not treasure, but I am looking for something. However, there's nothing valuable in that tower."
When Fatty heard Ye Tiancheng say this, his little flame of hope immediately extinguished. He thought he would get some incredible treasure by following Ye Tiancheng.
"Alright, but it's very important to me. Many people are also fighting for this thing, so we must keep it a secret."
Ye Tiancheng was very clear-headed. Letting Fatty know about this was an accident. Other people absolutely could not know, especially Su Muxian. Ye Tiancheng wanted to protect his beloved girl.
Moreover, if the news of the Fuxi Qin fragment leaked, surrounding cultivators would surely come here upon hearing any stir, leading to endless competition.
If Ye Tiancheng, in his current weakened state, were to lose his life here, and someone else picked up the Fuxi Qin fragment that he had finally obtained, it would be a great loss.
"I remember."
In a flash, Ye Tiancheng recalled the details of the map. Then, following the direction indicated on the map, Ye Tiancheng led Fatty out of the abandoned factory and walked about three hundred meters.
Fatty kept close behind Ye Tiancheng, and at the same time, he didn't forget to remind Ye Tiancheng to go home quickly if they couldn't find it. It felt a bit far-fetched, saying there was a map but not being able to show it, and claiming it was in his spiritual space. Fatty was left bewildered.
"This is it."
Ye Tiancheng found the entrance marked on the map. Then he took out a shovel and began to dig frantically at that spot.
Fatty felt sorry for Ye Tiancheng, fearing he would collapse from exhaustion. He then snatched the shovel to help him dig.
"See, I was right. There's a door here. After opening it, it should be the entrance to the tower we need to enter."
Fatty was so surprised he couldn't speak. Soon, the iron door was opened, revealing a hole. Ye Tiancheng and Fatty quickly entered. Following the map, there were no mechanisms along the way. This was indeed a clever place.
"My goodness, Brother Ye, such a terrifying place, and yet there are no mechanisms? It looks so eerie. I wonder if the person who built the tower intentionally tricked people into coming here for some special purpose, like absorbing people's vital essence..."
Ye Tiancheng warned Fatty that if he continued to spout nonsense, he would hit him. He shouldn't say things that were not based on reality, as it would affect their morale.
"Brother Ye, this is a bit unfair. I'm risking my life for you. You have to protect me and not hit me."
Ye Tiancheng shook his head helplessly, but bringing Fatty along was quite good. At least he had a jester, so he didn't have to be so tense.
As they walked deeper, talking, Fatty kept pointing at a spot. Ye Tiancheng looked over and saw skeletons of varying degrees of decay on the ground. It seemed that some predecessors had died here.
"Brother Ye, isn't this place quite safe? Why are there still dead people? Is there a mechanism?"
As soon as Fatty finished speaking, Ye Tiancheng sensed many hidden weapons shooting from all directions. Ye Tiancheng quickly pulled Fatty down, and they narrowly escaped.
"What's going on? How are there still mechanisms?"
"Fatty, don't be afraid. I checked the map, and there were no mechanisms. It was very simple. So, it's possible that people later on intentionally added or changed the mechanisms here."
Fatty was furious and cursed the person who added the mechanisms, almost cursing all eight generations of their ancestors.
Ye Tiancheng calmed himself and began to investigate this level. Combining the clues from the map, he soon discovered that all clues pointed to the final tower room.
"Once I reach the final tower room, I can find the Fuxi Qin fragment I want."
Fatty also wandered around the room and finally found some broken stones. These stones seemed to be arranged in a specific pattern.
"Brother Ye, come and see. It's quite strange. I don't know what these stones have to do with the final tower room. They seem to follow some pattern."
Ye Tiancheng also realized that the secret of the Fuxi Qin fragment might not be as simple as he imagined. The skeletons here all indicated the truth. As Fatty said, perhaps the voice in his spiritual space was deliberately luring him here to cause his death.
Ye Tiancheng was not a fool. He wouldn't fall into someone's trap and continue forward knowing there was a problem. It would be too much effort, and he would end up losing his life. That would be pure foolishness.
"Oh, right, Brother Ye, look at this. Why is this arranged so neatly? It looks like some kind of mechanism."
Many things had changed from the map. Ye Tiancheng seriously suspected that many of the mechanisms here had been moved by someone else.
"Fatty, don't move. Let me take a careful look."
Combining the map and the neatly arranged stones, Ye Tiancheng quickly moved them. With a creak, a door opened.
"Brother Ye, there's such strong wind! Look at this... what is this strange stone statue?"
Ye Tiancheng also found it very strange, so he told Fatty to be careful. It was a stone statue with a beast's body and a human face, and it looked peculiar. He warned him to stay away from it.
"Brother Ye, it's just a statue made of stone. It won't move, so there's no need to be afraid. With me, Fatty, around, this statue can't come alive."
With five thousand years of Chinese civilization, legends are countless. It's best not to touch things you don't understand, as they can sometimes bring danger. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng continued his exploration with a sense of reverence.
"Fatty, stay away from that statue. I always feel something is not right. Let's be careful. Better safe than sorry. What if there's a mechanism on it that could cost both of our lives?"
Fatty nodded in agreement with Ye Tiancheng's words, promising to be more careful and not so reckless in the future.
The two continued to walk forward, but Ye Tiancheng suddenly felt a cold breeze from his back. He turned around and saw that the eyes of the stone statue seemed to have blinked.
"Little Fatty, look how strange the statue's eyes are. I just saw its eyes move, like a living creature."
Before Fatty could speak, he was hit by a surge of internal energy from behind, almost making him fall to the ground. He looked back but saw nothing. "Brother Ye, what was that with such great force?"
"What are you talking about? There's nothing behind you."
Both of them felt their scalps tingle and dared not speak for the moment. However, Ye Tiancheng made a new discovery.
"Fatty, do you see that? There, there's another path underneath." Ye Tiancheng pointed in a direction. "There seems to be a hole under this part."
"Brother Ye, why don't we leave? I think I just saw a ghost face behind me, and it disappeared quickly."
Despite his sturdy build, Fatty was very afraid of ghosts and spirits.
"You dead Fatty, stop messing around. You're really something. I told you not to come, but you insisted on following."
It was one thing not to find a path underneath, but now that he had found one, Ye Tiancheng was not afraid of death. He had to go down and take a look. This place was so hidden that people who didn't know the map wouldn't be able to find it.
Such a hidden door must have something significant inside. Ye Tiancheng realized that there must be a lot more to this place.
"Brother Ye, this place is not clean. Let's go quickly."
"No, where should we go then?"
Fatty had already turned around, preparing to go back, but Ye Tiancheng grabbed him. "You dead Fatty, don't be a coward. Let's keep moving forward."
Clearly, Fatty's bravery didn't match his size, and he was far inferior to Ye Tiancheng.
"Brother Ye, this place is too strange. You're not lucky right now, and I think if you go in, it's not me cursing you, but you'll most likely not be able to get out."
Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but tap Fatty on the head. This guy was too timid. He should have knocked him out and left him outside. His constant chatter was affecting his judgment.
"Why wouldn't I be able to get out?"
"Brother Ye, Gan Chai once said that this is a diversion tactic specifically designed by the person who left you the information, intended to lure you in."
Fatty's meaning was very clear. Regardless of whether it was true or not, Ye Tiancheng was willing to take the risk. With the passage right in front of him, he had no choice but to venture forward.