Chapter 263

Chapter 263

As Bian Yuchen had predicted, on the morning of the fourth day, after the beast-headed participants had built the stone steps to exit the temple, there was a significant increase in the number of eunuchs inside — almost every participant had been emasculated, their existence now rootless.

"Two pieces of news — one good, one bad."

Xiao Siyu held up two fingers, solemnly telling everyone, "The good news: There's a pattern to the appearance of defective stones. Every day, the number increases by two. The bad news: from the fifth day onwards, all the stones carved with the help of the mummies are unusable — all are defective, except for those of Chen Yun."

The stones that the mummies carved for Chen Yun had no defects, shining brightly, a testament to Lock Changsheng's preference for her, which wasn't the case for the others.

"Except for Chen Yun, today, everyone's stones have three broken ones." Lu Shuo, looking at the stone blooming with blue lilies, calculated, "Based on my many years of experience since sophomore year, tomorrow will see five broken, and the day after, all shattered."

The day before yesterday, when the mummies helped, one of the seven stones was broken. And yesterday, out of the seven, three had shattered by today.

It's easy to deduce that, assuming they continue to seek the mummies' help today, by tomorrow morning—the fifth day—the participants will find that out of the seven stones they carved with the mummies' help on the fourth day, five will have shattered. Similarly, by dawn on the sixth day, every single stone they had the mummies carve on the fifth day will turn out to be unusable rejects.

Yao Xiaoguo frowned, "And what about the days after that?"

If seeking the mummies' help on the fifth day proves fruitless, what would happen if they sought help on the sixth and seventh days? Would the results be the same, producing only flawed stones?

Xiao Siyu pursed his lips and, with a hoarse voice, continued to explain, "…It's hard to say. There are three possibilities: first, all are broken; second, only one breaks; and third, five break. Ancient Egyptian mythology emphasizes cycles, so the pattern of defective stones might also follow a cyclical pattern."

The pattern for all breaking is: one, three, five, seven, seven, five, three, one…

The pattern for one breaking is: one, three, five, seven, one, three, five, seven…

The pattern for five breaking is: one, three, five, seven, five, three, one…

"So far, we have only carved 254 stones. We still need another 334," Qianxi estimated the outcome for each pattern based on yesterday's stone production, "No matter which pattern emerges, it will be challenging to complete the staircase. If only one stone breaks, there's a slim chance. If the patterns are all break or five break, then, aside from Chen Yun, the rest of us might face inevitable doom."

Her words were already depressing enough, and Xin Yuechun added, "It's unlikely that only one will break. We should be grateful if it's five. Praying to Luo Changsheng to spare us from the pattern where all break is more like it."

Indeed, given Luo Changsheng's usual approach, the most likely scenario is that five stones would break—a complete break would be too despairing, one break would be too easy, but five is just right, dangling hope yet remaining out of reach.

Xin Yuechun laughed at himself, "But I feel no matter the outcome, we're heading in the same direction. Until now, we've heavily relied on the mummies to meet our daily stone quota. In the past three days, when we were still energetic and had more hands, we only managed 254 stones. Now, in the remaining days, we need to produce 334. Is that even feasible?"

Their stamina was waning in the high-temperature environment, and the delayed onset muscle soreness peaked today, making it difficult even to match yesterday's stone production. Without the extra stones carved by the mummies, they'd fall short of the quota, turning them all into Tu Wencai 2.0.

"What if?" Zhan Meng, still holding onto hope, scratched his head, "Don't we have Mr. Xie's help? And the stones Chen Yun gets with the mummies' help don't break."

Li Chanyi shook her head, "Those extra stones, combined, will only keep us alive until the last day. Without enough to fill the gap left by Tu Wencai, we can't complete the staircase. In the end, death awaits."

Zhan Meng pondered, "Missing a few steps is fine, right? We can jump over them."

Li Chanyi hesitated, "…In theory, yes. But can you be certain of how many steps we'll be missing?"

Zhan Meng playfully shrugged, "What's the use of guessing without working? Just focus on carving, and by the seventh day, we'll surely know."

Inspired by his words, everyone prepared to start their grueling task for the day.

However, just then, Bian Yuchen suddenly spoke up, "Actually, there's another way."

Yao Xiaoguo quickly turned to him, "What way?"

Bian Yuchen stared directly at Xie Yinxue, "If we could become like Mr. Xie, all our problems would be solved."

Xin Yuechun glanced between them, “Are you suggesting he could turn us all into superhumans, with bodies of steel?”

Bian Yuchen baited the hook but remained silent when Xin Yuechun pressed for more details, clearly cautious of the situation and trying to avoid another verbal altercation with Xie Yinxue.

However, he cast his bait so well, making everyone curious. Any fisherman upon seeing it would inevitably ask about his impeccable technique.

Seeing that Bian Yuchen and Xie Yinxue were both silent, Li Chan Yi chimed in, answering Xin Yuechun first, “Not necessarily superhumans, but surely it can help us transcend the limits of our mortal bodies.”

She then turned to Xie Yinxue, “I might be a nobody, but the name of the distinguished disciple under Master Chen Yuqing is renowned. I've heard of you for a long time.”

Xie Yinxue, feeling an obligation due to the mention of his mentor, Chen Yuqing, responded, “If you're acquainted with my master, then, for that relationship's sake, I must help no matter what.”

Li Chan Yi waved her hand dismissively, “I'm not necessarily asking for your assistance. I'm just wondering if there's a certain concern or unspeakable reason for your reluctance?”

Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why, in such circumstances, all Xie Yinxue did was carve three more stones daily.

Lv Shuo, Chen Yun, and Xiao Siyu had no doubt about Xie Yinxue's abilities. However, they also realized that he had reasons for keeping a low profile. Lv Shuo quickly tried to mediate, “He's been helping, hasn’t he? Isn’t Mr. Xie assisting us with the stones?”

“You don't understand. He's capable of so much more,” Li Chan Yi asserted, “For Master Chen Yuqing to trade decades of his life for him—”

She was interrupted by Xie Yinxue, “Have you ever eaten water spinach?”

Zhan Mengmu, slightly puzzled, replied, “Yes, but I don't like it.”

Xin Yuechun, Yao Xiaoguo, Ming Sheng, and the others were initially clueless about Xie Yinxue's water spinach analogy. However, fellow mystical practitioners like Bian Yuchen and Li Chan Yi instantly related it to a story involving water spinach—

Legend has it that after King Zhou of Shang heartlessly removed Bi Gan's heart, Bi Gan didn't die instantly. He had a protective talisman from Jiang Ziya, which let him live without a heart. On his way home, Bi Gan met an old woman selling water spinach.

Bi Gan asked the old woman, “The spinach lives without a heart, but can a person?”

The old woman replied, “While the spinach can live heartlessly, a person cannot.”

Upon hearing this, Bi Gan immediately coughed up blood and died.

Now, both Bian Yuchen and Li Chanyi instinctively directed their gaze toward Xie Yinxue's chest after hearing his words. The problem was that human eyes lack the ability to see through, so they couldn't ascertain whether a heart still resided within Xie Yinxue's ribcage.

They also couldn't check Xie Yinxue's pulse, at least not until they finished constructing the stone steps.

The reason being, if they couldn't detect a pulse on Xie Yinxue, it would break his spell. He would then lose his unnatural stamina to tirelessly chisel out rocks daily. They'd also lose a valuable member who could provide a vast number of stones, making the construction of the steps even more challenging.

"If you wish to be like me, there are three things you should be aware of—"

Xie Yinxue spoke softly, "First, I won't perform the heart-removal for you. Whether you do it yourself or find someone else, it's up to you. Second, I can't guarantee a 100% success rate; the outcome depends on your belief in the notion 'a man can live without a heart'. Third, once you've committed to this method, there's no turning back."

The first point is clear. If Xie Yinxue were to perform the heart-removal and the recipient were to die, it's uncertain whether Xie's act would be considered a breach of rules. Hence, his refusal to help in this matter is justified.

The second point is also straightforward: life or death after heart-removal depends on your beliefs.

As for the third point…

Bian Yuchen's response was, "You've gone mad."

Committing to a life without a heart after the procedure is akin to risking one's life. What's the difference between this and a deadly gamble?!

Gamblers often meet grim ends.

Bian Yuchen almost blurted out the same words that Zhan Meng had used to persuade Tu Wencai but stopped himself as they seemed offensive.

"You don't believe that one can live without a heart. If you did, you wouldn't think I'm mad," Xie Yinxue tilted his chin up slightly, his gaze filled with sarcasm as he smirked at Bian Yuchen, "I told you before, my death is predictable—it simply depends on when I choose to die."

"Care to check my pulse?"

The young man raised his slender wrist, though frail, his words were firm and decisive, "While most die without a heart, I live."

Bian Yuchen was left speechless.

Such a daring statement, "cannot guarantee 100% success." Who could genuinely believe they would continue to live after having their heart removed? Who else but Xie Yinxue could achieve this?

After hearing everything, Xin Yuechun simply said, "I'm a staunch materialist, not into this idealistic stuff. You all chat. I've got work to do."

Li Chanyi was genuinely impressed, "They say the highest realm of magical arts can move mountains and seas, connecting heavens and earth. If Master Chen could see Mr. Xie's achievements today, he'd undoubtedly be proud."

"Is that so?" Xie Yinxue remained non-committal.

Lü Shuo was still concerned about Xie Yinxue's well-being, missing the main point, "Wait, if you don't have a heart, how will you fare during the final judgment?"

"Why are you more anxious than the main party involved?" Xiao Siyu pushed him aside, urging Lü Shuo to hurry up and fetch gold, "Mr. Xie surely has a plan; mind your own business and just don't be a hindrance."

Author's Note:

① Adapted from "The Investiture of the Gods."