Upon hearing Lian Hongshang’s inquiry, Li Chen paused for a moment and said, "That’s pretty much the situation. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait for the ruins’ gate to open again in twelve years!"
Lian Hongshang was doing some mental calculations and muttered softly, "Psh, in twelve years, we’ll have long since turned into a pile of bones!"
"The heavens do not seal off all paths; though we may not last twelve years, we could hold out for ten days or even half a month without issue," Li Chen said seriously to Lian Hongshang.
Lian Hongshang looked at Li Chen, opened her mouth to say something, but ultimately, not a word left her lips.
Seeing that Lian Hongshang had fallen silent, Li Chen stopped talking as well and began to circle the ruins, wondering if he could find any clues to get out of this accursed place.
Suddenly, Li Chen discovered a mottled stele.
He swept away the dust on it with his sleeve and studied it carefully.
Carved on it were characters, faintly discernible as the script from the Pre-Qin Period.
It should be seal script!
However, it wasn’t the Small Seal script of the Qin Dynasty but rather should be the script of the Chu Kingdom from the Spring and Autumn Period.
Due to the passage of time, the characters on it were no longer clear and were hard to make out.
Lian Hongshang looked at the mottled and unclear characters, her brows furrowed slightly, and she asked, "What does all this say?"
After a moment’s contemplation, Li Chen used his finger as a brush, tracing energetic and fluid strokes, attempting to reconstruct the original inscriptions on the stele.
For every sentence Li Chen reconstructed, Lian Hongshang would softly recite it.
"O what is so fair as the Goddess divine, who with Yin and Yang is richly adorned; And in splendid raiment wholly wondrous, as an energetic kingfisher’s wings unfold. In form peerless, in beauty boundless; The finest silks and flapping sleeves are incomparable; Compared with her, Xi Shi hides her face, as if her beauty turns to colorlessness. She dazzles those near and is longed for by those afar; with her extraordinary bone structure, she matches the bearing of nobles. Such sight fills the eyes, who could be her match? My heart delights in private, in joy immeasurable..."
Once Li Chen had fully restored the entire inscription on the stele, Lian Hongshang suddenly came to a realization and let out an exclamation.
"Is this the ’Divine Woman Ode’ written by Songg Yu, the talent of the Chu Kingdom during the Pre-Qin Period?"
After finishing her sentence, she looked at Li Chen with an inquiring gaze.
Li Chen nodded at her, replying, "That’s right, it’s Songg Yu’s Divine Woman Ode!"
His voice was filled with certainty, as if he had seen the very Goddess described by Songg Yu himself.
In fact, he really had.
And indeed, it was the real person.
But in the Ziwei Star Domain above the Nine Heavens.
As Li Chen was engrossed in his thoughts, Lian Hongshang, tilting her head to the side, murmured in confusion.
"How strange, why would Songg Yu’s ’Divine Woman Ode’ be inscribed here?"
Li Chen did not answer her question.
He could guess a few reasons, but to explain them would be too complicated.
The time wasn’t right; with Lian Hongshang’s current understanding, she definitely wouldn’t comprehend.
Better to say nothing at all.
When the right time came, he could explain in detail, and delay would not be too late.
Li Chen steadied his mind and circled the stele, finding a secret manual written on white silk from behind it, and began to read with relish, all by himself.
Lian Hongshang, bored and with nothing better to do, came over and asked, "What are you so engrossed in? Must be something interesting."
Without lifting his head, Li Chen replied, "Of course, it’s a good thing; it must be a scripture left by the Witch God Sect!"
Hearing Li Chen’s words, Lian Hongshang drew closer like a curious child.
Li Chen handed the white silk to her, saying, "Take a look for yourself!"
Lian Hongshang took the book, flipped through it carefully, and asked with confusion, "What book is this?"
Li Chen paused for a moment and then answered, "It should be a secret manual of your Witch God Sect!"
"It seems that if we want to leave this place, we need to decipher this secret manual."
Lian Hongshang nodded, seemingly understanding but also not quite comprehending, for the text was composed of ancient characters lost thousands of years ago, obscure and challenging to understand. Even for Lian Hongshang, recognizing all the words was no simple task, let alone researching and decrypting them.
After quite a while, she steeled herself and said to Li Chen, "I don’t recognize many of these characters; can you help me decipher them?"