Chapter 131: Chapter 128: Get to Know the Nine-layered Demon Tower

“Look, I’ve said so much, cough cough.” Song Vanning coughed, vehemently hinting at Gu Qingyuan.

“What’s the matter, tuberculosis? If you’ve got something to say, spit it out. I’ve still got to go apply for a quota to research rare species!” said Gu Qingyuan, annoyed.

The two had been good friends for many years and were accustomed to mocking each other.

Song Vanning was good at everything else, but he was not straightforward when he spoke, hesitantly breaking what could be said in one sentence into two.

“Cough cough!” This time Song Vanning really choked, and upon hearing Gu Qingyuan’s words, he spoke bluntly, “old Gu, when you take your team on a field study, can you take me with you? I also want to experience what a Song dynasty merchant caravan was like.”

“Sure!” Gu Qingyuan agreed readily. It was just the matter of a plane ticket, which the school would reimburse anyway.

He was in a hurry to apply for the quota to study rare animals. He had been only focused on having Bi Fang capture a live strange fish and had almost forgotten about this.

Normally, the discovery of a new species entails on-site protection, following the principle that they shouldn’t be moved unless absolutely necessary.

But as always, there are exceptions, such as for scientific research.

The wants of humanity supersede all.

Many large laboratories have certain quotas for researching rare animals. As long as the creature has great experimental value and is not actually on the verge of extinction, researching one or two live specimens is totally allowed.

Just need to get permission.

As one of the leading figures in domestic biological research, Gu Qingyuan certainly had that qualification.

Moreover, since Tiktaalik seemed to be thriving in the Underground River and didn’t appear to be on the brink of extinction, he had asked Bi Fang to try capturing a live one.

The absence of one wouldn’t cause significant damage, it was simply improbable.

Therefore, after relaying all this information from Song Vanning to Bi Fang, Gu Qingyuan hurried off to apply for the quota.

“You stay here and watch the livestream; don’t wander off. If anything happens, call me right away! I’ll bring you back some oranges.”

“Okay, teacher.” Wu Gang found this statement a bit strange, but he nodded his head anyway. After watching his teacher push open the dormitory door and leave, he suddenly clenched his fist.

“Yes, I can finally donate!”

Clutching the mouse, Wu Gang skillfully opened the donation interface and sent out a few meatballs, feeling an all-round sense of pleasure.

Ever since he started watching Bi Fang’s livestreams, he had developed an addiction to donating, one he didn’t want to cure. What was he supposed to do?

Inside the cave.

“They were actually people from the Song dynasty?”

Bi Fang held up a torch, looking at the skeletons on the ground with surprise in his eyes.

This was already the third skeleton he had discovered.

He had originally thought they might be Xianbei people; as far as he knew, Qaidam was most famously associated with the small country of Tuyuhun’, founded by the Murong Clan of the Xianbei, who were also the real-life “Nine­layered Demon Tower” tomb owners.

So he never associated the discovery with people from the Song dynasty.

[Wow, so historically significant?]

[This is an archaeological discovery, Old Fang, you’ve made another contribution to the country! Wait, why do I feel like saying ‘again’?] [Master Fang’s livestreams are getting more and more amazing, even getting external assistance, awesome (voice crack)!]

[Assistance from a top professor from a top university, reliable!]

[A merchant caravan? Could there be antiques?]

[Holy cow, isn’t this a fortune? Antiques from the Song dynasty! Old Fang, remember us when you’re rolling in riches!]

[We should all get a share!]

[We should all get a share, plus one!]

“Don’t even think about it!” Bi Fang shook his head, “Do you really think that if there were antiques, they would end up in your hands? Why do you think the caravan would have entered this cave?”

Bi Fang looked at the dead skeletons, making his own analysis.

“If it wasn’t for danger, would they have ventured so deep as to end up trapped and die here? If they encountered danger, it’s very unlikely they would have been able to flee with a load of goods.”

I suspect that if these people truly were traders, they might have been ambushed by desert bandits. The goods would have been stolen, and the survivors had to seek refuge in this cave to escape.”

Holding the torch, Bi Fang continued to advance through the cave. The fire cast his shadow on the rock walls. With the light, he moved much faster, and soon he discovered a section of wall that was different from the others.

The stone wall shone like a mirror, and as Bi Fang brought the torch closer, he discovered that there was no spot on the wall without white marks, groups of five closely packed together, densely covering the entire wall.

Bi Fang counted the white marks, growing more alarmed as he counted, not knowing how these people had measured time before their death, but if each mark here represented a day, there were no fewer than a hundred marks!

Roughly three months!

These people had been trapped here for three full months before they died!

But having held on for three months, how did they die?

There was no lack of water and food here, could it have been suicide?

Nature found it incomprehensible.

“Lack of salt and vitamins!”

“Especially without salt! Even though eating meat can replenish sodium, that’s not enough; over time, one would become weak and listless, and in such a state, it’s easy to entertain thoughts of ending one’s life.”

Bi Fang was solemn, the situation worse than he had anticipated; these people had held on for three months and still hadn’t found the exit-what could be the reason?

Had the exit been blocked by someone, or was it simply a matter of getting lost?

He looked toward an alley on the riverbank, a deep alley leading toward an unseen end above, leaving a mark, Bi Fang entered the alley.

Half an hour later, Bi Fang arrived at the riverbank again, and saw the marking stone at his feet—it was the starting point.

He had just made a big circle.

[I told you we should’ve taken the left fork.]

[Why’d we end up back here?]

[I’m getting anxious, what if we really can’t get out?]

[I think it’s doubtfuL.the people here didn’t find the exit even after three months…]

[Has anyone counted how many forks there are?]

[Three, four, two, probably this many, we just kept turning left.]

“No worries, just one more try.”

Bi Fang wasn’t disheartened; he had just been sticking to the left and had figured out one route, and when it came to caves, there was no rushing.

Soon, a good half-day had passed.

In this cave, devoid of daylight, Bi Fang couldn’t determine the time, and could only roughly estimate that it might be evening or perhaps even later, with night having fallen.

Exhaustion from the day prevented Bi Fang from keeping his eyes open, and as he explored the last alley, finally, something different occurred.

At this moment, he once again arrived in a cavern, not the Underground River, but a pond, with a mound in the middle surrounded by water like a moat.

But what drew the most attention wasn’t the picturesque scene, but rather the creature on the mound!

Another Tiktaalik, and a big one at that!

Bi Fang slowed his breathing, not alarming the strange fish that appeared to be sleeping; he retreated back to the alley and pointed to the opposite side of the fish.

The fluorescing river emitted a faint light, and with the help of the drone, the Shuiyou could barely make it out.

There was a cave entrance right on the other side!

[Ah, are we supposed to fight the monster to get through?]

[Is this the King of Tiktaaliks?]

[Wow, someone actually remembers this name]

[This one’s got to be over three meters, right?]

[Catch this one, Old Fang; if you do, I’ll tip you a spaceship!]

“This one’s too big; even if I caught it, I couldn’t carry it,” Bi Fang flatly refused. Not to mention the danger, how would he take such a big strange fish that was heavier than him?

And at this point, he was simply too exhausted.

“Let’s go back for now; we’ll come back here tomorrow and have a look, maybe

the strange fish will have gone by then.”