Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 204: Chapter 156: Mysterious Object! Stealing Celestial Secret

The man walked at a measured pace, each step steady. His feet made soft crunching sounds in the snow.

His calm gaze swept over the surroundings. The crowded streams of people and the clamor of voices seemed to have nothing to do with him.

Behind him, two figures hurried to catch up.

Both were men in their early twenties, dressed in ordinary hoodies. Their light-footed gait marked them as martial arts practitioners.

The one on the left, who had a rounder face, leaned in and whispered, ”Brother Tian, we’ve found Sun Weilong’s residence... It’s in the North City District, in an old residential complex. Should we go now, or... find a place to stay for the night first?”

Tian Guipu, the young man, turned his head slightly at the words. His gaze went past the station platform’s canopy toward the distant city lights, shrouded in a snowy mist. He said unhurriedly, ”It’s getting late. Let’s find a place to rest first. The matter with Sun Weilong... is not urgent.”

The square-faced man on the right nodded and said no more.

The three of them followed the flow of people and headed out.

Tian Guipu walked in front, his gaze fixed calmly ahead, but his mind was on the purpose of this trip.

’Investigate the cause of Sun Weilong’s death.’

Sun Weilong had been an Official Disciple of their Divine Martial Society. He was previously active in South Asia, but after running into some trouble, he came to Holy City and had kept a low profile.

But just half a month ago, he had suddenly turned up dead... The time of death might have been even earlier; after all, no one knew what kind of jobs the kid had been taking on the side.

In any case, the cause of death was unknown.

When the news reached the society, the higher-ups didn’t say much, only that he should make a trip.

’Of all places, he had to die in Holy City.’

’It seems the waters in Holy City are murkier than I thought.’

As they exited the station, the snowflakes fell more densely.

Tian Guipu brushed the snow from his shoulder, his pace never faltering.

The two men behind him hurried to keep up.

...

...

「The next morning.」

Sunlight spilled across the National University campus, casting dappled shadows from the trees. Students walked along the paths in twos and threes.

Wan Ze and Sun Beixi strolled side-by-side down a tree-lined path.

Sun Beixi had deliberately changed into a clean set of clothes today and had even combed his hair neatly. His eyes, however, were darting all over the place, especially whenever female students passed by.

”Whoa, Ace, the girls at this school... are a real feast for the eyes.” He lowered his voice, leaning in to speak, feeling a little nostalgic for his own college days.

Wan Ze ignored him.

Sun Beixi didn’t seem to mind. He just grinned as he watched, and whenever one of the young women glanced their way, he would confidently flick his hair back, unable to hide his flirtatious nature.

Soon, the two of them passed a few academic buildings and arrived in front of an old office building.

They went up to the third floor. On the innermost door on the left hung a small sign: Center for Historical Research.

Wan Ze knocked on the door.

”Come in.”

Pushing the door open, they saw Professor Song sitting behind his desk, wearing reading glasses and examining something.

Two young people were also standing by the desk.

The moment they saw Wan Ze, their eyes lit up.

”Master Wan!”

”Master Wan, you’re here!”

Their enthusiasm was like they were greeting a close relative.

Wan Ze smiled and nodded. ”It’s been a while.” These were Professor Song’s two students. Back when the professor was facing death threats, the two had stood by him, willing to die rather than retreat, which had earned them his deepest trust.

Professor Song took off his reading glasses and waved a hand at the two students. ”You two can get back to your work.”

The two agreed and, as they left, made sure to turn back and smile at Wan Ze.

The door closed, and the office fell silent.

Professor Song looked at Wan Ze, a smile slowly appearing on his stern face. He teased, ”You never come looking for me. For you to show up like this, it must be something serious.”

Wan Ze chuckled and stepped aside to reveal Sun Beixi. ”This time, it’s Mr. Sun who has something he’d like you to appraise. In the entire country, you could count the number of people who can compare with you in the field of ancient scripts on one hand. Especially when it comes to obscure and esoteric ancient writing, you’re probably the only one who can make heads or tails of it.”

At such praise, the smile on Professor Song’s face widened.

Sun Beixi quickly took a step forward, his attitude extremely respectful. ”Professor Song, I’ve heard so much about you. You were the one who deciphered that batch of bamboo slips unearthed from the Western Border, filling a gap in our country’s history. And a few years ago, that... oh, right, the symbols from Mars Mound! You were involved in that too. For what I have, I really need a great expert like you.”

Flattered by their tag-team compliments, Professor Song beamed and waved his hand. ”Alright, alright, stop buttering me up. Where’s this item? Let me have a look.”

Sun Beixi hastily took out a tightly cloth-wrapped booklet from inside his coat and presented it with both hands. ”Professor Song, here you are.”

Professor Song accepted it but didn’t rush to open it.

First, he took out a pair of white gloves from a drawer, put them on slowly, and only then did he untie the cloth wrapping.

As the booklet was revealed, his expression changed, becoming extremely serious.

He opened the cover and stared at the crooked symbols for a long time. His brow furrowed, then relaxed, then furrowed again.

”This is...” He looked up, his gaze sweeping over Wan Ze and Sun Beixi’s faces. ”This is the writing of the Olmeck civilization.”

Sun Beixi was taken aback. He had, of course, never heard of it. ”The what-meck?”

”Olmeck,” Professor Song repeated, pointing at the symbols. ”An ancient civilization from Central America, even older than the Maya. The characteristics of this script are very distinct. Look at these lines—they’re curved but have sharp angles, as if carved into stone with a sharp tool. And these recurring motifs: the sun, the jaguar, the feathered serpent... all are typical symbols of the Olmeck civilization.”

He paused, flipping through a few more pages.

”This item, logically, should have been excavated somewhere in Latin America. In the region of the present-day Chaos Empire and Slavic Kingdom.” He looked up at Sun Beixi. ”How did you come to possess this?”

Sun Beixi gave him a thumbs-up. ”Professor Song, you’re amazing. You figured it out at a single glance.”

But he didn’t say how he had it.

He neatly sidestepped the question.

Professor Song ignored his compliment. He turned a few more pages, his gaze landing on the largest symbols on the cover. After a moment of contemplation, he said, ”If you want me to translate the entire text, it will take some time.”

A troubled look flickered across Sun Beixi’s face, and he subconsciously glanced at Wan Ze.

Wan Ze understood his predicament and spoke up. ”Professor Song, this item is currently confidential. The fewer people who know about it, the better. If we didn’t trust you, we wouldn’t have come to you.”

Professor Song was slightly taken aback by his words.

He looked at Wan Ze, then back at the booklet, as if he understood something.

After a moment of silence, he nodded.

”Alright, how about this: I’ll spend three to four hours every afternoon translating at Mr. Sun’s place. The item will never leave my sight, so you can rest easy.”

Sun Beixi said, overjoyed, ”That would be wonderful! Professor Song, you’re really too...”

He stopped mid-sentence.

Wan Ze looked at him. ”What is it?”

Sun Beixi scratched his head, looking troubled. ”Well... my place has a lot of people coming and going. It’s not very convenient. Right now, only the four of us know about this. If someone were to see it...”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

The most crucial point was that he didn’t want more people to know about this item, especially not his family. If Professor Song came to his house, his family would definitely ask questions, and it would be difficult to ensure secrecy.

Wan Ze thought for a moment, then suddenly said, ”Perhaps I have a place to offer.”

Sun Beixi looked at him eagerly. ”Where?”

”Lingyun Manor.”

”Okay, that place will work.”