"…Jiang?" The old soldier's eyes were glazed over.
"The first child was a nobleman, and he was taken away quickly. Then the second child was born, but unfortunately, he was just a commoner."
"It rained heavily that day, and the rainwater gathered in the stream in front of the nest, making the stream very large. The person holding the child said that, according to legend, there is a wide stream that requires a huge boat to cross, called Jiang. Let's name this child Jiang."
In this semi-hypnotic state, the hypnotized person can even recall details that she thought she had forgotten.
The old soldier not only recounted the circumstances of the two children's birth, but also mentioned their parents, a pair of soldiers who had both passed away.
Whether they were workers or soldiers, everyone had to have their names erased from her register when they died.
"No wonder I couldn't remember who they were; they died a long time ago."
"What kind of person is that nobleman's child?" Ren Yifei continued to ask.
"His name is Shengchun." The old soldier took out a thread-bound booklet from a special box; it was a record of the nobleman's daily life.
It started as a record of the physical condition of nobles, but because the person recording it always made comments without realizing it, it gradually became a record of their daily lives.
Putting away the booklet, Ren Yifei looked at her and said softly, "I can't find the answers I'm looking for here, so I'm leaving."
The old soldier nodded blankly, her eyes gradually clearing as she said apologetically to Ren Yifei, "I'm sorry, I can't find the information you need."
"It's alright." Ren Yifei turned and left, his expression turning disappointed.
Arriving at the previous tent, a worker they recognized asked, "Can't find it?"
"That's taken too long." Ren Yifei shook his head with a smile. "By the way, do you know of any highly venomous animals nearby? I'd like to try my bow and arrow."
"Animals? I don't know about animals, but I do know of a terrible poisonous plant. If you get its sap on you, you'll collapse and die within ten steps."
"Really? There's such a plant? Tell me about it." Ren Yifei asked him in a relaxed tone, and the other man didn't think much of it and described the characteristics of the plant.
A little while later, the apprentice, looking pale and clutching his stomach, returned, and they left the nest under the tree roots. When they came out, it was almost evening, and the sky was filled with orange-yellow clouds.
Will it rain tomorrow?
"I'm going over there to find some materials. Do you want to come with me?" Ren Yifei asked his apprentice. The apprentice was about to nod when his stomach rumbled, and his expression changed.
"Teacher, I..."
"It's okay." Ren Yifei patted his shoulder. "You go back first, take some medicine, I can manage on my own."
The apprentice was willing to continue, but his stomach couldn't take it, so he had to leave first.
Before nightfall, Ren Yifei returned. He packed all his belongings and left the anthill. He hid in a small cave under the tree roots, where the ebony on the walls emitted a faint glow.
Leaning against the wall, he first took out the booklet he had obtained from the household registration office.
It's either Jiang or this nobleman; it's a choice between the two. He definitely needs to figure out what kind of person this nobleman is, to know himself and his enemy.
"Huh?" Turning to the first page, there was a record of the nobleman Shengchun being disfigured by playing with fire, probably when he was five years old.
Coincidentally, he was impersonating this very person who had burned his face when he was disguised as a nobleman. At the time, he even thought that since their builds were similar, the disguise would be more effective.
"What a tragic fate..." he sighed as he continued flipping through the pages.
He is unpredictable, sometimes loving books and sometimes wanting to destroy them, but overall he is a quiet person who enjoys reading.
The terms 'male ant,' 'thinker,' and 'twins' fit the description.
The restorationists and the awakened still need further verification.
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In terms of personality, because the flames burned his face and right hand, other nobles no longer played with him, so he was rather reclusive. He liked to be alone reading and collected many books.
I usually prefer to use my left hand, which is undamaged, so I am left-handed as I was acquired later in life.
That's a point of reference for identifying 'ghosts'.
There were no other distinguishing features, so he put down the manual and took out something resembling cloth that he had found in the cave under the tree roots.
This may have been left behind by Jiang.
It was a leather scroll, made of some unknown material, with a very smooth and delicate surface and clear writing.
Ren Yifei originally thought it would be something like a diary, will, or weapon manufacturing diagrams, but he didn't expect that the front was a hand-drawn map and the back was a passage.
It was left by 'Jiang', who said that he would enter a magical world in his dreams, a place filled with books. He would study and memorize in his dreams, and during the day he would look for opportunities to write them down. To date, he has copied more than a hundred books.
Jiang believed that this was divine inspiration conveying his thirst for knowledge, thus "granting him wisdom in a dream." He felt it was his responsibility to leave these accidental insights to future generations, and therefore left behind this scroll of maps.
He hid these books somewhere, hoping that someone would find them and dig them out someday.
"..." If Ren Yifei didn't know that he had a twin brother who also loved books, he would have thought, like Jiang, that this was a story of divine wisdom.
"In this light, the complaints of those who serve Shengchun about 'being capricious' can also be explained."
Is this what they call telepathy?
Ren Yifei was almost certain that Jiang, who possessed such a broad mind and wanted to leave a precious legacy for future generations, could not possibly be a 'restorationist'.
It can only be Sheng Chun, Jiang's twin brother.
Because of disfigurement, one is ostracized and lives in a state of prolonged isolation, which can lead to mental instability. In this state, Sheng Chun is more likely to crave power, status, and the attention and awe of others.
As darkness fell, Ren Yifei walked to the cave entrance. He could no longer see the workers who had gone out, nor the soldiers and civilians patrolling inside the anthill.
Strange, the soldiers and civilians are also very quiet tonight.
After thinking for a moment, he went back, put the map back in its place, picked up the three arrow baskets full of arrows on his back, and then picked up a bow that Jiang had carefully made.
"If not tonight, then tomorrow." The cloak was taken off and casually tossed aside, and two pairs of wings slowly unfolded behind him, as translucent as ice jade.
Ren Yifei flapped his wings, trailing scattered starlight as he flew up from the tree roots and all the way to the treetop.
He put down two arrow baskets, slung his bow over his shoulder, and hid under a green leaf, intently watching the movements of the ant nest below.
Saman, inside the anthill, was also keeping track of time. He was on the sixth floor, the place where the queen had been locked up before.
The damaged equipment on the sixth floor had all been moved away, leaving the place empty. He could see outside through the hole previously dug by 'Gucheng'. He stood up and walked to the cave entrance. The wind was cool, the clouds were thick, there was no moon tonight, and everything outside was gloomy.
The others were all on the fourth floor. Although they had been forced onto the pirate ship and had no choice but to rebel against the gods, the NPCs still did not have the courage to face the 'messenger of the gods'.
Bingmin went down below on his orders, but he had another special task for Shuye. It was a matter of great importance, and apart from her, perhaps no one else had the courage to do it.
Everyone was on high alert; his orders could determine the future of the anthill.
Suddenly, a huge, eerie black cloud drifted across the sky, with several blinding rays of light shining through it. Saman looked up, Ren Yifei looked up, and the other players and NPCs hiding in the shadows all looked up.
The dark clouds arrived quietly, without making a sound.
It floated silently to the top of the anthill and cast a beam of light straight down.
At the very top of the anthill, at its pointed tip, it seemed to sense something and slowly opened up on its own.
Ren Yifei, who was lying under the leaf, stared blankly as several equally glowing shadows drifted down like feathers and landed in the anthill, and then the top of the anthill closed up.
The dark cloud remained silently floating in the sky, without making a sound.
"UFO?"
Saman's reaction wasn't much better than Ren Yifei's; his eyes were stung by the light, and saline solution filled his eye sockets. He shielded his eyes from the light with his hand while equipping himself with the 'Eyes of Truth'.
He had found it strange when the fortune teller skill drew this low-level item before, but he never expected it to be used at this time.
Eyes equipped with the Eye of Truth can see through disguises to the true appearance of creatures—yes, X-ray vision, and if not used properly, it can be particularly jarring.
What did he see?
This was the first time Saman had shown such an incredulous expression since entering the dungeon: Why... do these people look exactly like the soldiers and civilians?
The men have horns on their foreheads, and the women have pointed ears; their facial and physical features are almost indistinguishable from those of the people here.
They were all draped in special, luminous clothing, their faces hidden within, making them appear as if they were formed from light. But beneath these strange and terrifying disguises lay the faces of soldiers and civilians?
"Where is the Queen?" The people were equally shocked to see the empty sixth floor, their faces filled with surprise and horror.
"Why isn't the Queen here? Where's Blue Liquid?" Their voices were distorted, making them sound like machines.
Samantha looked up, and after a brief moment of shock, he began to analyze the situation before him.
Assuming these 'gods' never chosen this world by chance, but rather deliberately chose it, and came specifically for the blue liquid, then...
Is it possible that this is from a parallel world, a race that has lost its queen?
The soldiers, civilians, and workers all need the blue liquid to increase their fertility. Without the queen's blue liquid secretion, extinction of their race is imminent.
From this perspective, is it possible that the 'gods' are actually beings in dire need of increasing the birth rate?
This also explains why the people on this side can use the food, clothing, and daily necessities sent by the other party.
Saman had always been puzzled as to how two civilizations could have such perfectly compatible diets and practices; it was truly unbelievable. Now he understood: they might be the same race from two different timelines.
But why not choose to take the queen or nobles here with them?
Isn't it troublesome to come and collect the blue solution every week?
"I can't smell the Queen's scent, nor the scent of a nobleman." The 'messenger of God' became flustered, and the group of them walked toward Saman.
What happened here?
"I'm sorry, you won't find what you're looking for." Saman pulled out a knife made by a local craftsman. The tool was only for a limited time, so he would first skin the naked people and deal with the rest later.