Ye Kunlun sensed something unusual in his words.
He opened his mouth and asked, "Besides sleepwalking, do these people who have it exhibit any other strange behavior?"
Yan Shuo continued, "Those who suffer from sleepwalking go out onto the streets every night, walking all the way north. Once they reach the sand river north of Kanda Town, they kneel there and mutter gibberish."
"Ah, right. Some people have also written some scribbles by the riverbank, which look like some kind of script."
"It's not far from here!"
Saying that, Yan Shuo pointed north of Kanda Town.
As a border town, Kanda Town, although not large, was only three kilometers in a straight line from north to south.
"Let's go take a look!"
Ye Kunlun was piqued by Yan Shuo's words.
Apart from the barbarians, any unusual occurrences in the Northern Frontier could potentially be related to Long Qi's cursed bloodline.
Therefore, Ye Kunlun wouldn't let any clue slip by.
Yan Shuo continued to chatter beside Ye Kunlun, and Ye Kunlun didn't interrupt him.
A few minutes later, the two left Kanda Town and arrived at a sand river.
It was called a sand river because the riverbed was long dry, without a drop of water, only yellow sand at the bottom and along the banks.
"My lord, this is the place."
Yan Shuo, as if seeking merit, quickened his pace by two steps and pointed to the sand river before him, saying to Ye Kunlun.
"The scribbles are here."
Yan Shuo was clearly familiar with the area and pointed to a patch of sand on which strange symbols were indeed drawn.
Those who couldn't understand them naturally thought they were mere scribbles, after all, they were left by a group of people afflicted with a peculiar sleepwalking disorder.
Ye Kunlun walked over and peered closely, his eyes suddenly narrowing!
Because the scribbles on the sand beach were something he had seen before – it was the tattered yellow map that Shang Yan Daoist had given him when he was at the Zhou family, in exchange for his life.
The scribbles on the map were the same as the symbols on the sand beach before him.
Ye Kunlun remembered that Xiao Yu had told him that 'Apaka' was the Five Elements Mountain, and also a dividing mountain.
Later, he had learned some simple ancient script from maps with her.
Both of these mountains were ancient divine mountains, unseen by anyone, and no one knew if they existed, let alone where they might be if they did.
He never expected to see the ancient script from that map in this border town!
However, that map had been given to the puppet substitute of the Witch God in exchange for news of his grandfather.
"My lord, do you recognize these scribbles on the sand beach?"
Seeing Ye Kunlun's troubled expression, Yan Shuo quickly asked.
Ye Kunlun nodded.
"What? Really? You recognize these strange things? What do they say?"
Yan Shuo looked at Ye Kunlun with great curiosity, eager to know the meaning of the scribbles on the ground.
Ye Kunlun collected his thoughts, looked at the slightly blurred writing on the ground, and said to Yan Shuo, "This is ancient script. These two characters mean 'misfortune'... I don't recognize the others!"
Xiao Yu hadn't taught Ye Kunlun much, so he could only vaguely recognize a few characters among the scribbles on the sand beach.
"Misfortune?" Yan Shuo was a bit bewildered. "My lord, you're not joking with me, are you? I've never heard of ancient script."
Ye Kunlun gave him a cold glance. "Do you think I have the time to joke with you?"
Yan Shuo shivered and forced a sheepish smile. "No, no."
Ye Kunlun examined the ancient script on the ground, his heart stirred. "It seems the Northern Frontier truly holds secrets, even ancient script has appeared here."
"Sir."
At this moment, a rustling sound came from a distance; clearly, she had arranged their accommodation.
"What is sir looking at?"
Shasa approached and also saw the ancient script on the sand beach, asking curiously, "Who's so bored as to draw scribbles here?"
"Yeah? I also think it's scribbles, but my lord says it's ancient script,"
Yan Shuo mumbled.
Shasa instinctively looked at Ye Kunlun. If these words came from Ye Kunlun, she would naturally believe them!
Shasa smiled, and seeing that Ye Kunlun was deep in thought, she asked Yan Shuo, "What else did sir say?"
"My lord also said that these two characters mean 'misfortune'."
Yan Shuo pointed to two symbols on the sand beach.
Unexpectedly, when Shasa heard the word 'misfortune,' her delicate body trembled slightly, and her face turned extremely pale!
Misfortune—
She recalled an ancient legend her mother had told her, a legend known to very few people!
Her mother had been told by her grandmother, who had also cautioned her mother to only pass it down to her own children, so it would be passed from generation to generation.
"Uh, miss, why is your face so pale?"
Yan Shuo hadn't expected Shasa to have such a strong reaction.
Shasa quickly regained her composure, hiding the shock in her eyes, and shook her head. "It's nothing, I just find it a bit frightening."
"It is quite frightening!" Yan Shuo nodded. "Misfortune, it sounds like nothing good!"
Ye Kunlun snapped back to attention, his gaze falling on Shasa. "Do you know something?"
Shasa pondered for a moment and then said to Ye Kunlun, "If sir wants to know something, you can investigate the people in Kanda Town who are suffering from sleepwalking!"
Shasa neither confirmed nor denied.
Her mother had explicitly warned her not to reveal the secret to anyone, as it would bring disaster to the barbarian tribe!
"Alright, then we'll stay here tonight."
Ye Kunlun thought for a moment and decided to stay in Kanda Town to investigate why some people had developed sleepwalking and come here to write ancient script.
"Sir, I'm a bit hungry, can we grab something to eat first?"
Shasa changed the subject, patting her rumbling stomach and looking at Ye Kunlun with a hint of embarrassment.
"I know a place that serves particularly delicious hand-grabbed mutton!"
As soon as food was mentioned, Yan Shuo's eyes lit up.
Ye Kunlun had no objections; even if he were to investigate the sleepwalking, it wouldn't be until the early hours of the morning.
Soon, the three arrived at the hand-grabbed mutton restaurant Yan Shuo had mentioned.
The owner was a native of the Northern Frontier, with the ruggedness of a Northern Frontier man on his face and a hearty demeanor when he spoke.
Before Ye Kunlun and the other two could even order, he directly brought over a large platter of hand-grabbed mutton and three servings of secret dipping sauces.
"My lord, should I call you boss or sir?" Yan Shuo was about to reach out to grab a piece but quickly withdrew his hand, rubbing his palms together, and asked Ye Kunlun with a grin.
"Whatever you wish!" Ye Kunlun replied indifferently.
"Then I'll call you boss." Yan Shuo was naturally gregarious.
He then grabbed a piece of mutton and popped it into his mouth, mumbling as he ate, "Boss, are you investigating the sleepwalking thing tonight?"
He had grasped Ye Kunlun's intention to stay.
Upon hearing this, Shasa also looked at Ye Kunlun.
Ye Kunlun nodded and replied, "Perhaps the sleepwalking can be a good breakthrough for my objective this time."
"Boss, I'll go with you! I love adventure!"
Yan Shuo's eyes gleamed.
Shasa also looked at him with anticipation.
"Alright!" Ye Kunlun replied.