Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 212: Chapter 159: Two-in-One

When Professor Song heard the words ”Slavic Kingdom ruins,” his eyes suddenly lit up, and his fatigue vanished.

He set down his reading glasses and looked at Sun Beixi. ”What did you say? This booklet is about the ruins of the Slavic Kingdom?”

Sun Beixi nodded eagerly. ”That’s right! I never expected it to be ruins related to Princess Olmek! Professor Song, if you’re interested, why don’t we go together?”

Professor Song fell silent for a moment, his fingers tapping twice on the tabletop.

He gave a wry smile. ”I’m just a pile of old bones. If I go exploring the mountains with you young folks, I’ll just hold you back...”

”No way!” Sun Beixi immediately chimed in. ”Professor Song, you’re as sturdy as they come! Besides, without you, we wouldn’t know what we were looking at even if we found the place!”

He paused, then added, ”Don’t you worry, we’ll split whatever we find fifty-fifty! I mean it. I’m a man of my word!”

Professor Song waved a dismissive hand, his tone indifferent. ”There’s no need to split anything. I have no interest in gold or silver. If you find any records, inscriptions, or anything of that sort, just let me make a copy. That will be enough.”

Sun Beixi froze. ’That simple?’

He immediately agreed, then turned his head to look at Wan Ze.

Wan Ze leaned back in his chair, his tone level. ”My terms are the same... I get first pick. What I do with it after that is my business.”

A smile spread across Sun Beixi’s face. ”No problem! You get first pick! We’ll split the rest!”

He paused, then looked at Wan Ze again, his expression growing serious. ”I know you’re above all this, but if it weren’t for you, I’d have been dead eight times over by now. If you don’t take your share, I won’t be able to live with myself.”

Wan Ze glanced at him, shaking his head with a faint, amused smile.

”Alright,” Wan Ze said. ”We need to make this quick. The forces backing those people will realize something’s off soon enough. We don’t have much time.”

He walked to the table and pointed to a spot on the map.

”The western part of Holy City. The forest park. The location is here... Deep in a mountain basin. It’s remote and rarely visited.”

Professor Song leaned in for a look and nodded. ”I’ve been there once, more than a decade ago, on a research trip with some students. The terrain is complex and the woods are dense. It’s certainly a good place to hide something.”

Sun Beixi rubbed his hands together, raring to go. ”So, when do we leave?”

Wan Ze glanced out the window.

The night was thick.

”First, we rest. Conserve your energy. We have an early start tomorrow.”

Sun Beixi nodded emphatically. ”Right!”

He looked at Professor Song again. ”Professor Song, should you bring anyone along?”

Professor Song thought for a moment. ”My two students... they’re young and strong. They can help carry some of the gear. Let’s bring them along.”

”Great!” Sun Beixi couldn’t hide the excitement on his face. ”It’s settled then! We head out first thing tomorrow morning!”

...

...

Four in the morning. The sky was still dark.

The entire world was submerged in darkness.

The moon had long since set, and the sun had yet to rise. An inky blackness filled the space between heaven and earth.

The dim yellow glow of the streetlamps only illuminated a small patch of ground at one’s feet. Anything beyond that was impossible to make out.

Sun Beixi drove a jeep, making his way through the city center of Holy City.

The streets were deserted. Occasionally, a horse-drawn carriage or two would pass, their lamps tracing long streaks of light through the darkness.

Wan Ze sat in the passenger seat, his eyes closed, resting.

In the back seat, Professor Song was leaning against the window, dozing as well.

The jeep turned into an old residential block and stopped in front of an apartment building.

Two figures stood at the entrance, bundled in thick winter coats. They stomped their feet to keep warm, their white breaths clearly visible in the streetlight.

A door opened, and the two quickly scrambled inside, greeting them respectfully. ”Professor! Master Wan!”

It was Professor Song’s two students.

The one with curly hair was Li Weiran; the other, a round-faced young man with short hair, was Chen Chong.

As soon as they were in the car, their gazes fell on Sun Beixi in the driver’s seat. They exchanged glances, unsure of how to address him.

”This is Mr. Sun,” Wan Ze introduced.

The two hurriedly nodded. ”Hello, Mr. Sun!”

Sun Beixi smiled at them in the rearview mirror. ”Sorry to drag you both out in the middle of the night.”

Professor Song waved a hand. ”Alright, enough with the formalities. It’s getting late. We need to get into the mountains as soon as possible.”

The jeep started up again, leaving the city proper and heading for the Western Suburbs of Saint City.

Outside, the streetlights grew sparse, then disappeared completely.

Only the vehicle’s headlights cut through the gloom, illuminating a short stretch of road ahead. On either side lay an endless dark.

...

The forest park was much larger than they had imagined.

The jeep could only go as far as the foot of the mountain.

The five of them got out, turned on their flashlights, and followed a small path nearly swallowed by overgrown grass, heading deeper into the mountains.

The beams of their flashlights danced in the darkness, illuminating the loose rocks and dead branches underfoot.

The forest was dense, and the tree shadows on either side looked like countless menacing monsters.

An occasional bird call echoed from the distance, sounding especially jarring in the silent mountain forest.

Professor Song led the way, holding the deciphered map. He stopped from time to time to get his bearings.

Li Weiran and Chen Chong followed, carrying packs on their backs. Sun Beixi walked in the middle, glancing around nervously every so often. ’He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching them from the darkness.’

Wan Ze brought up the rear, ready to act at a moment’s notice.

After about half an hour of walking, Professor Song suddenly stopped.

”We’re here.”

A flashlight beam cut through the darkness, landing on a steep cliff face ahead, which was covered in vines and moss.

In the middle of the cliff, about twenty meters off the ground, a recess could be faintly seen.

The beam traveled upward, revealing a stone statue.

It was an enormous stone statue, embedded in the recess on the cliff face, twenty meters above the ground.

It depicted a seated, cross-legged human figure. Its features were blurred and indistinct, with only a faint outline remaining visible.