Pillar of Yita

”Yo-ho, yo-ho, the ancient path of the boat—”

”The ancient path of the boat, leading to the fog of death!”

”Yo-ho, yo-ho, the lighthouse of the dead—”

”Pale light, yo, penetrating the confused path ahead!”

The huge Dragon Boat slowly drifted downstream on the river; naturally, there was not a hint of wind in the underground world, thus the sails hung limply, slightly tattered at the edges. A crow perched atop the ferocious Dragon Head, watching the shoreline with its cold, glowing eyes.

There were many people on the boat, arrayed in tight, neat rows, dressed in black cloaks, heads bowed, hands caged, and silent as if a boatload of ghosts, indifferent to everything around them. The prolonged singing clearly emanated from among them, but from a distance, no one could be seen opening their mouth. As the song gradually faded, the Dragon Boat disappeared into the mist.

After a while, the river water also became clear again, and the underground river restored its emerald hue. The corpses and apparitions on the river had vanished without a trace. It was then that Fang Hong walked to the damp shore, pulled something from his bag and put it on his wrist, then dipped his hand into the water. He paused for a moment, then straightened up and looked in the direction where the Dragon Boat had disappeared, asking, ”Has there been any legend about that thing around here before?”

”Never heard of it,” Sophie replied, ”No one in the village mentioned a boat like that to us, but we didn’t stay there long, so it’s not certain.”

Fang Hong took the opportunity to have Miss Tata search for relevant information within the community, but the answer was the same, there had never been any legend about it in this area. The information they had purchased naturally made no mention of it, not even mentioning the Andrett Ratmen, which was quite annoying.

Fang Hong asked Sophie again, ”Where does this river lead?”

Sophie looked at him strangely, ”Wait, you’re not thinking of following this river, are you?”

”I need to confirm it first,” Fang Hong replied.

”It’s a place called the Bottomless Depths. Dan-Loni and her group think it’s a gateway to the Country of the Dead, but I’ve seen it, and it’s just a deep underground cave. It might lead to deeper parts of the underground world, but it’s still far from the real core of the earth.”

”The Night Lizard People should also be aware of the directions of these underground rivers, right?” Fang Hong suddenly asked.

Sophie glanced at him, ”—You suspect the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team has taken the water route?”

Fang Hong replied, ”That’s assuming the Night Lizard People have experience navigating these underground waterways.”

”Of course they do. And when it comes to understanding the Underground World, even the Andrett Ratmen can’t hold a candle to these hunters of the underground.”

Before she finished speaking, Fang Hong suddenly walked towards a Fungus Tree, stood under it, and summoned a Walker III, commanding it to strike the thick base of the mushroom, sending wood chips flying. Fang Hong bent down, picked up one of the pieces, squeezed it with his hand, and then nodded in satisfaction.

”Soft yet firm, the density is also acceptable.”

Then he said to her, ”Have your people help cut down some trees; we’ll try to make two boats—”

”Sure,” Sophie immediately agreed, finding it relaxing to partner with a clever person—and then she thought for a moment and added, ”I’ll have them split into two groups, and also search downstream to see if they can find any traces left by the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team.”

”That would be good.” Fang Hong nodded.

Both parties immediately sprang into action, and it wasn’t long before the people of Silver Weslan made a discovery downstream. There they found a campsite recently abandoned, belonging to the Night Lizard People, not small in scale, at least a hundred people.

Near the campsite, several boats had been dragged into the water, leaving traces on the damp riverbank along with human footprints, all clues suggesting that the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team had not left long ago.

This news left both Fang Hong and Sophie equally puzzled; they still had not figured out how the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team had managed to get ahead of them.

Silver Weslan people brought back the chopped Fungus Trees from downstream. These giant mushrooms, unlike their fragile kin, belonged to the true underground Forest, with parts of the mushroom caps and stalks already lignified and of acceptable density. The Natives used them as building materials, and making boats from them was naturally well-suited.

Sophie also sent a person to him, a Natural Historian, a young man barely older than Gita. Smiling, he said to Fang Hong when they met, ”Boss, the Princess sent me to help you out.”

”Boss?” Fang Hong was momentarily puzzled by this peculiar address.

”In the China Competition Region, anyone who can control a Flexible Construct to that level is without exception a boss, even if not now, definitely in the future,” the young man flattered.

Amused by his words, Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile slightly. To this day, no one, whether Sicape, Atira, or even Hilveld, had ever treated him as anything other than a young kid.

He couldn’t help but ask, ”What’s your name?”

”My community ID is DianmoRan Qingzhu, you can just call me Bamboo, boss,” the young man replied, ”Boss, why not join our Guild? With your skills, you would be more than sufficient for our team.”

Fang Hong smiled slightly and shook his head.

Having people willing to help was naturally something he was happy about. The Silver Weslan Princess was indeed meticulous, knowing he might not have blueprints—of course, a typical Chosen wouldn’t study canoes and small boats, so she had sent a Natural Historian to assist him.