There were seven books in total, stacked on the desk to a height of almost half a meter.
Let’s start with one book at a time.
Out of habit, Lu Yuan checked his phone before starting his studies. The phone screen, shattered into a flower-like pattern, reminded Lu Yuan it was time to visit the phone repair shop.
He opened and briefly glanced at several unread messages. Most of them were from Cheng Yue, the slender girl he had met in the library that morning. She asked him about the books and mentioned that if he needed any help, she knew many senior students from various majors.
Lu Yuan couldn’t help but smile and replied with a few words of thanks.
Scrolling further down, ignoring several meaningless messages from Cheng Peng and boring mentions in the class group chat, his gaze landed on a particular contact:
—Elder Sister (Lu Jing).
When he opened his chat with Lu Jing, the history stopped three days prior.
[Sis, let’s video call.]
Lu Jing hadn’t replied.
Above that, there were more messages sent by Lu Yuan. Messages from Lu Jing were scarce, only a handful.
Ever since their last video call, when she mentioned an accident at the archaeological site of the ancient temple ruins that had resulted in a death, their communication had become sporadic. Whenever Lu Yuan sent her a message, it would take a day or two, sometimes even longer, for her to reply.
Could something have gone wrong?
A hint of worry stirred within Lu Yuan. After some thought, he sent a message:
[Sis, Grandpa was discharged from the hospital today. Can we video call tonight? He wants to see you.]
He had initially planned to send the message and not think about it further. Unexpectedly, Lu Jing replied almost instantly this time.
[Tonight? Okay, let me see. I’ll try to find a chance to call you.]
His spirits lifted, Lu Yuan hurriedly sent another message:
[Sis, how have you been lately? Why do you rarely reply to my messages?]
[Bad signal... Busy... (sigh)]
[How’s the temple excavation going? You mentioned someone died last time but didn’t tell me what happened next! (angry)]
At the top of the chat window, the contact name ’Elder Sister (Lu Jing)’ changed to "The other party is typing..."
However, Lu Yuan waited for a long time, but there was no further response from Lu Jing. Just as he was about to lose patience and send a few question marks, her reply finally popped up.
[Yuan, your sister has been really tired lately. Can we chat some other time?]
Lu Yuan stared at the message for a long while, an image forming in his mind of Lu Jing on the other end, typing out many words only to delete them one by one.
Lu Jing replied with a cute ’be good’ emoji, and their brief exchange officially ended.
Lu Yuan sat at the desk in silence, his brow furrowed. His intuition told him that Lu Jing seemed to have gone through a lot recently, but she refused to say anything.
Is she trying to spare us the worry?
In this regard, their family’s personalities were strikingly similar. Whether it was Lu Yuan, Grandpa Lu Yueping, Dad Lu Xinghua, or now Lu Jing—whenever they encountered difficulties, they would grit their teeth and bear it silently, keeping it completely to themselves so as not to worry their family.
Sometimes, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but wonder if this was the reason he had transmigrated into the Lu family. Because that had always been his personality in his previous life.
Xixu and Burnt Rock are over 3,000 kilometers apart, and Sis is out there in the vast desert. Even if I knew what actually happened, I wouldn’t be able to help her. At this stage, I should focus on the matters at hand...
Lu Yuan shook his head, put his phone down, and took the top book from the stack of research materials and books beside him.
*Explore the Ancient Mysteries: The Lord of Underground, Fantuyas*
This was one book in a series that combined numerous epic legends with some of the author’s own conjectures and imagination, making it more akin to a fictional story. Thus, Lu Yuan didn’t activate "Absolute Focus," simply reading it as he would any novel.
Time trickled by with the ticking of the small alarm clock. He had no idea how much time had passed when he finally turned the last page of the book. By then, his notebook was filled with dense handwriting. This was a habit he had developed after becoming a good student; regardless of what book he read, he would subconsciously take notes.
"The name ’Fantuyas’ is derived from the Ancient Dudor transliteration of ’Lord of Underground’." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveI-Fire.ɴet
"The Lord of Underground, Fantuyas, is said to control all treasures buried deep beneath the earth."
"He possesses infinite power, wealth, and authority, and enjoys immortality..."
"Legend says He has the head of a bull, the eyes of an elk, the body and limbs of a great cat, and the wings of a vulture."
"It is also rumored that He often transforms into a lavishly dressed, handsome young man. On the second night of the full moon, accompanied by a rat and a centipede, He emerges from the depths of the mist-shrouded wasteland."
"Then, before the sun rises the next day, He re-enters his subterranean lair."
"Fantuyas is a capricious Evil God. He might grant His believers immortality and wealth, or He might suddenly snatch away your soul in the next instant."
"It is said that Fantuyas once used a bone flute to summon countless starving rats from underground, turning the most prosperous capital of Ancient Donglunsa into a city of the dead overnight..."
In these scattered notes, Lu Yuan had circled all words related to ’rat’ for emphasis.
The computer on his desk was already on. The search for information related to the White Mountain Era and the Lord of Underground had yielded dozens of pages of results, so many that the computer screen was almost frozen. The most recent webpage displayed an old news article from eight years ago, from Connecticut State in the Distant Star Federation. It reported multiple incidents in a small town in eastern Connecticut State where pedestrians were attacked by Underground Monsters over a one-month period.
The Underground Monster was a local legend in Connecticut State, referring to a creature that lived underground, resembled a rat, and was ferocious and cunning by nature. The news article even included a sketch of an Underground Monster from an unknown source, which bore a striking resemblance to the rat man Lu Yuan had encountered.
The region where the legend of the Lord of Underground is most prevalent, Ancient Donglunsa, is roughly the same area as the Distant Star Federation’s current Connecticut State... The rat man, the Underground Monster—they could indeed be connected to this so-called Lord of Underground.
Of course, to find stronger evidence, I’ll need to take another approach.
With this in mind, Lu Yuan picked up one of the last few unread books from the stack: *Self-learning Introduction to Ancient Dudor Language*.
This is the ultimate key to unraveling the mystery!
"Activate Lv. 3 ’Absolute Focus’!"
He felt an instantaneous sensation, like plunging into water. Lu Yuan immediately sank into the deepest state of concentration. The thick lexicon of the ancient language flipped rapidly in his hands, while his other hand flew across his notebook, taking notes.
Lu Yuan’s eyes were fixed on the book, a light, as if from rapidly scrolling data, constantly flashing within them. His mouth opened and closed, uttering various faint yet peculiar syllables.
Learning, imitating, correcting...
Suddenly, the sounds from Lu Yuan’s mouth grew louder as he clearly enunciated a long string of ancient syllables.
The moment this utterance was complete, Lu Yuan’s body trembled slightly, and he completely disengaged from the "Absolute Focus" state. At the same time, new notifications from his profession panel appeared before his eyes.
[New Skill Comprehended: Ancient Dudor Language Lv. 1]
[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new Profession Panel: Ancient Languages Expert!]