Chapter 1249: Ancestral Memories

“That’s absurd…” Li Jingguan frowned and said, “A woman carrying a huge thing and floating in the sky?”

“We’ve already taken down Xuanwu and Zhuque…” Su Shan said with a serious expression, “We should be used to this kind of thing by now…”

“Those two were outlandish, but at least we could see them…” Li Jingguan said, “This time is even more ridiculous…”

“It’s definitely troublesome.” Su Shan quickly thought through tactics, “Right now, only I can see her… If she finds out, she’ll kill me immediately.”

“Let’s play it by ear for now.” Li Jingguan said, “At least that ‘Sheng Xiao’ is buying us some time.”

Yan Zhichun also adjusted her mindset internally. Earlier, when she arrived here, she had already spoken out, so theoretically, she could use “Duo Xin Po” to control that person. But how do you control someone you can’t see?

She tried raising her hand, but since she had no idea if the other person was making the same motion, she instantly began to doubt her own resolve. She felt that continuing like this might lead her to question whether her “Duo Xin Po” was still intact, which could easily result in a backlash against her beliefs.

In the distance, Hei Yang had just gotten to his feet and immediately raised his hands in front of him, enduring another extremely fierce attack. Yan Zhichun didn’t know if Hei Yang was just lucky or truly that perceptive, managing to detect the assault in an instant. But even if he could keep blocking, how were they supposed to win?

If she was right, most people in “Ji Dao” were like her—right now, they were like snipers hiding in various spots. Once the opponent revealed herself, they could unleash a concentrated barrage and win the battle in a flash. But how could they make her visible?

Yan Zhichun knew that the team’s only weakness was now fully exposed: she didn’t understand everyone’s abilities, so she couldn’t come up with a cooperative strategy like “Mao” would.

Even though Su Shan had just announced in front of her that everyone had developed “Bo Wen,” since most people didn’t know the name “Bo Wen,” he had only mentioned it in passing. Saying more would just make others suspicious.

She reached out and gently touched her chin. If Bai Yang were here… if he didn’t know everyone’s abilities, how would he arrange the tactics?

“He might say that as long as we start now… it’s not too late.” Yan Zhichun murmured.

With that, she cleared her thoughts. Although she hadn’t thoroughly learned about each member’s abilities in “Ji Dao,” she would start now. Standing around worrying wouldn’t solve anything.

She turned around and looked at the “Ji Dao” member hiding beside her—an elderly man she had barely met before.

“I’m sorry, but what is your ‘Hui Xiang’?” Yan Zhichun asked softly.

But the old man seemed not to hear Yan Zhichun at all. He just stared at the back of the “Lou Yi” in front of him, his expression extraordinarily complex.

He extended his dirty hand and gently patted the “Lou Yi”’s shoulder.

The “Lou Yi” whipped around as if electrocuted, startling the old man.

The creature, neither fully human nor not, opened its mouth, revealing a pair of hollow, bloodshot eyes gazing in their direction. Then it slowly parted its lips.

Yan Zhichun saw that its tongue had been partially cut off, and even its teeth had been pulled out.

“Can… can you hear me?” the old man asked quietly.

The “Lou Yi” just tilted its head in confusion, then reached out hesitantly, probing forward. Looking at that arm, skinny as bare bones and pale as death, the old man instinctively stepped back.

Finding nothing, the “Lou Yi” withdrew its hand and touched its own shoulder, where a faint warmth lingered. Though puzzled, since it couldn’t see anything, it stood there blankly for a few seconds before turning back and crouching down again.

“They can’t see or hear us…” the old man murmured, “I just feel like…”

He reached up and touched his head, sensing his brain growing hot as strange thoughts began to swirl in his mind.

“Old sir, are you alright?” Yan Zhichun whispered, “Is there something wrong with these ‘Lou Yi’?”

“‘Lou Yi’…?” The old man turned back, his eyes meeting Yan Zhichun’s.

His face was deeply lined, and in every groove, there was grime caked in—after so many years, that grime had become part of the wrinkles.

The moment their eyes met, Yan Zhichun sensed that this man was quite unhinged, but if he truly had “Hui Xiang,” he must be a strong one.

“Little girl…” the old man asked hoarsely, “What do you think humans evolved from?”

“Ah…?” Yan Zhichun furrowed her brow on the spot. She had considered countless possibilities, but never imagined the old man would ask such an absurd question right then.

Did she really have to answer that here?

“Old sir… If we manage to survive, I can spend two hours explaining the entire ‘Wu Zhong Qi Yuan’ to you, but not right now.” Yan Zhichun said, “We might die here. Can I ask about your ‘Hui Xiang’ first?”

“Aren’t you curious, little girl?!” The old man seemed obsessed with the question, “These things… these ‘Lou Yi’… When you see so many ‘Lou Yi’ gathered together, don’t you suddenly think of some strange images? Maybe it’s memories etched in our DNA from our human ancestors…”

“Alright… alright…” Yan Zhichun raised both hands and pressed them down gently, “I’ll try to understand what you’re saying, but please keep your voice down.”

The old man lowered his voice after that, but his tone remained excited: “You saw it too, right? Our ancestors were like this, holding shovels and digging up strange bones one by one… We all evolved from those bones!”

His hands gestured frantically in front of his chest, mimicking the digging motion.

“Good heavens…” Yan Zhichun rubbed her forehead, her expression growing serious, “Are you really okay?”

“They have no faces!” the old man whispered urgently, “And these ‘Lou Yi’ have no features! It’s a great process! Maybe these ‘Lou Yi’ are the link between us and the ‘faceless people’?”

“Faceless people?” Yan Zhichun paused after hearing that, feeling like she had encountered this before.

Bai Yang had once confidently told her that in his inner world, he spent years with a person who had no face.

“I really saw it!” The old man grabbed Yan Zhichun’s hands, his expression wildly excited, “A vast crowd of faceless people! The ground is full of their bones! Little girl, you saw it too, didn’t you?”