Chapter 702 - 11: That’s Really Strange
"...Convict!"
Chen Lusi watched as the warrior, clad in simple leather armor and wearing a headband, charged forward with a bronze sword, immediately stepping forward to shield Xia Panqiu.
And just as he moved forward.
Immediately.
A group of chariot soldiers and cavalry appeared behind them, shouting as well, then charging forward.
The sound of wheels and hoofbeats intertwined.
As the surroundings lit up, Chen Lusi also realized where they were.
They were squeezed between two walls, a true "skyline."
Surrounded by danger...
Chen Lusi noticed this scene, took a deep breath, then slowly raised his right hand: "Panqiu...stand behind me."
Xia Panqiu nodded firmly, quickly moving closer behind Chen Lusi.
Since she had come along.
She did not want to be a burden to Chen Lusi.
Chen Lusi’s right arm began to twist.
A bizarre thin blade suddenly appeared, flashing with a chilling gleam.
As soon as the blade appeared.
...the flesh and blood abruptly returned, restoring it to a normal arm.
Immediately.
The two began to rapidly switch.
Chen Lusi closed his eyes.
But his right arm continued to transform incessantly.
The transformation grew faster and faster.
At the same time.
The chariot soldiers, cavalry, and warriors were already upon Chen Lusi.
...with furious momentum.
In the next instant.
Chen Lusi suddenly opened his eyes, a formless energy burst out.
However.
The expected pause did not occur.
The chariot soldiers, cavalry, and warriors merely hesitated, then directly turned to fine sand, beginning to dismantle...even the chariots and weapons began to dismantle.
The entire process was extremely fast.
Quickly.
The warrior in front of Chen Lusi only had a head left.
He gave Chen Lusi one last fierce look: "Convict..."
Then.
He completely dissipated.
Fine sand drifted towards them.
Chen Lusi paused, then watched the sand blowing away in the wind, slightly furrowing his brows.
To extract them from the river of time was undoubtedly successful.
But they didn’t stop; instead, they disintegrated as if unable to withstand it.
This proved that they were not living creatures, nor could they be creations of the Anomaly Realm.
So were they... antique artifacts? Or terra-cotta soldiers?
Chen Lusi was unsure, temporarily abandoning the thought, and turned to Xia Panqiu, inquiring about her condition: "Are you alright?"
Xia Panqiu brushed the fine sand from her short, beautiful hair, then shook her head: "I’m okay...but what were those things?"
"I don’t know either."
Chen Lusi replied while looking through the ’skyline’ above to the ’sky,’ finally fixing his gaze on the end of the cliffs: "If we want answers, we need to keep moving forward."
"Hmm..."
Xia Panqiu responded, then looked down slightly at the sand on the ground: "But why did they call you a convict? In the Qin Dynasty, it referred to criminals sentenced to restricted freedom for a certain period, right?"
Chen Lusi was unsure: "Probably?"
Xia Panqiu had a thoughtful expression: "I remember it was... but you’re not from that era, why would they call you that? It’s odd."
"..."
Chen Lusi said nothing, looking at her silently, and then said softly: "Sorry for dragging you into this."
"...Ah?"
Xia Panqiu seemed not to expect Chen Lusi to change the subject so suddenly, looking at him in surprise, not quite grasping it.
Chen Lusi released the Authority Ability but did not elaborate further. Apologizing once was enough.
"Am I not a member of the team?"
At this point.
Xia Panqiu finally reacted, clasping her hands behind her, straightening her back to look at Chen Lusi, and said playfully: "No wonder... Xiaoxiao said you’ve become a nanny. You didn’t do this on missions before, wait, do you think my skills are too weak? I shouldn’t be a burden..."
"It’s not about being weak."
Chen Lusi directly interrupted her but did not explain.
"Is it because... you crossed into Zhan Kan?"
Hearing this, Xia Panqiu was even more curious and asked: "When Xia Yue was promoted to Zhan Kan, he was certain the deeply rooted thought was the Guardian of the Human World, what about you? We’ve always wanted to ask..."
"It’s quite cliché, so I won’t say."
Chen Lusi’s expression was a bit strange, then he turned around and started walking forward: "Let’s just move on first."
"Ah... That’s just like Xia Yue’s reaction back then."
Xia Panqiu was stunned to see Chen Lusi choose to flee, then couldn’t help but chuckle softly, sighing lightly.
With that, she quickly caught up.
One in front, one behind, the two started walking forward.
"..."
Xia Panqiu quietly watched Chen Lusi’s back for a while, then slowly looked up, recalling the scene of the sun, moon, and stars reconstructing, and asked softly: "Earlier, you said the sky above us was a painting, right?"
"Yes."
Chen Lusi followed, looking up: "Perhaps because I temporarily occupied the Kunlun Pantheon, I can now see the true form of the sky above us... In my eyes, the sky is just a luminous painting."
As he spoke.
He began to breathe more heavily.
However, Xia Panqiu didn’t notice this, glancing up at the sky again, then looked around at the cliffs on either side, speaking softly: "So the Qinling Underground Palace is said to have astronomy above and geography below... is that what it means? Reconstructing the sun, moon, and stars as astronomy, the cliffs as geography?"
"No."
Hearing this, Chen Lusi looked at the approaching end, speaking softly: "That’s just the description of the real underground palace, the one in the Anomaly Realm might be even more exaggerated."