7227, Mingsue Lu.
Xing Yuanche has stood on this observatory for three full hours.
Moonlight spilled over the stone tablet in his hand. The "Star Gate Key" he had received from Zhulong, the guardian of the pyramid tombs, now glowed with a faint, deep blue hue. The light was so subtle that without close inspection, one might mistake it for moonlight's reflection. But Xing Yuanche knew better.
The stone slab is hot.
He raised his hand to touch the stone slab's surface. The ancient constellations seemed alive, pulsing faintly beneath his fingertips. For three thousand years, this was the first time the slab had changed like this.
Still awake?
A gentle voice came from behind. Xing Yuanche didn't turn around; he knew who it was.
Ma Rao walked over carrying two cups of hot tea and stopped beside him. Her blue curly hair still habitually covered half her face, but her elf-like long ears flickered faintly in the moonlight—the mark of Star-Scarred bloodline. She kept her head down as if afraid to be seen, yet Xing Yuanche noticed she wasn't hiding as much as before. A few strands had loosened, revealing a faint carbon-black birthmark beneath.
"I can't sleep." Xing Yuanche took the tea, his gaze never leaving the stone slab. "It's been glowing this whole time."
Ma Rao leaned in. On the stone slab, the constellations were slowly shifting—not an illusion; they were truly moving. The three stars of Orion were converging toward the center, and Sirius flickered like it was transmitting a message.
"The positions of these stars... don't match the current night sky." Mara frowned.
"Mismatch." Xing Yuanche nodded. "I verified it. The three stars of Orion's Belt are currently in this position." He pointed to another spot on the stone tablet. "But according to the tablet, they should be here—a full 30-degree difference."
"Thirty degrees..." Mara murmured. "How long has that deviation lasted?"
"Two thousand years? Three thousand?" Xing Yuanche shook his head. "I don't know. But this tablet doesn't point to today's sky—it points to the night sky from three thousand years ago."
The moment the words left his lips, the stone slab suddenly shook violently.
A blinding flash erupted from the stone tablet, projecting a massive map onto the wall—mountains, rivers, and plains rendered with crystal clarity, like a satellite image. At the center of the plain, a single red dot was marked.
Ma Rao gasped sharply: "This is...?"
Sanxingdui." Xing Yuanche's voice was low. "The ancient Shu Kingdom ruins. A civilization that vanished suddenly 3,000 years ago."
The two exchanged glances, both seeing the same thought in each other's eyes: this wasn't a coincidence.
"We need to check it out." Xing Yuanche folded the tablet. "We leave tomorrow."
Ma Rao nodded silently. But she gripped the teacup tightly, her knuckles turning pale.
Xing Yuanche noticed and softly asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Ma Rao shook her head, hiding her face in the shadows. "It's just... a little unsettling."
What's to fear?
Ma Rao fell silent for a moment before whispering, "I'm afraid I won't be of much help. Last time in the pyramid, I..."
"Ma Rao." Xing Yuanche interrupted her, his voice soft yet firm. "As I said, you are lightning. Lightning doesn't need to be present all the time; it only needs to appear at the critical moment. And that moment will come."
Ma Rao lifted her head and looked at him through her scattered hair. In the moonlight, his eyes were bright, like two distant stars.
Suddenly, she felt he might be right.
Deep within the observatory's shadow, a slender figure stood silently. Yi Sheng watched the scene with cold eyes, a glint of malice flashing within. She had already targeted Xing Yuanche—not out of affection, but because he was Qing Mingzi's most trusted disciple. Controlling Xing Yuanche meant planting an eye right beside Qing Mingzi.
Ma Rao... Lightning..." she murmured, a calculating glint in her eyes. "Enjoy your triumph for now. Once I'm done with that wretch Qian Lan, I'll come after you."
She turned and vanished into the night, leaving behind a faint wisp of purple mist.