As Wu Tianzhen and Fatty re-emerged into the daylight, the war had already reached its final stages.
The downfall of Song Shuning's faction accelerated the defeat of the Zhang family's internal clan. After all, such disputes were inherently clandestine, and the sudden involvement of official forces was akin to a descent-level attack.
Fatty's persuasion of Song Shuning didn't take much effort. The primary reason was the Zhang family's internal clan members' arrogance at the time. They had directly attacked official systems in pursuit of information about Zhang Qiling, thus drawing significant animosity.
There was no reason for Song Shuning to refuse the opportunity to accelerate the demise of these feudal forces while also gaining a share to deepen their understanding of the Bronze Gate.
Who would have thought the Zhang family's internal clan would choose such a location, establishing their ancestral land within the Forbidden Land of Changbai Mountain?
It was a universally accepted rule: areas within forbidden lands were considered no-man's-land.
Zhang Qiling was wrapped tightly by Wu Tianzhen and Fatty with their clothes, fearing he might catch a cold. When he was placed on a stretcher, he resembled a strange bundle of clothes, adding a touch of humor to the solemn battlefield.
The moment Zhang Haike received the news, he rushed out of the command center, leaving the task of cleaning up the battlefield to Xie Yuchen and his uncles and elders.
He then attempted to enter the emergency room and was promptly refused.
It was at this moment that Zhang Haike finally remembered the important matter. He cleared his throat and said to Wu Tianzhen and Fatty, "...I heard the clan leader found the Mother Bell? As expected of the clan leader, with this token, his position as clan leader will be more secure, and those old stubborn individuals who opposed him will also be silenced."
"Ah, the Mother Bell—" Wu Tianzhen seemed to recall something suddenly. He frantically rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a pile of miscellaneous stolen goods.
Zhang Haike silently averted his gaze, pretending not to see the suspicious jade ornaments. After a few minutes, Wu Tianzhen finally found the Mother Bell.
However, at this moment, the Mother Bell had lost its luster. Its ancient bronze exterior was devoid of any brilliance, seemingly having completely lost its energy.
"I don't know why, but this Mother Bell suddenly stopped ringing after we passed through the bronze formation," Wu Tianzhen shook the bell again, but it remained silent as if welded shut. "Could it be... broken?"
As he uttered the word "broken," Wu Tianzhen looked around and lowered his voice, fearing that his Xihaiwang power might manifest and he would break the Zhang family's heirloom, becoming the culprit that ruined their alliance.
Zhang Haike examined it carefully and smiled, "It's alright, this is just because the power within the Mother Bell has been depleted."
"The Mother Bell's power is not self-generated; it needs to be replenished from the divine stone at the altar from time to time. After the Mother Bell was lost, it should not have been replenished. The clan leader likely didn't have a chance to study the divine stone after finding the Mother Bell, so the Mother Bell completely depleted its power and entered dormancy after you emerged."
"This is normal. We can replenish its energy with the divine stone when we go in again later."
After hearing these explanations, Wu Tianzhen and Fatty breathed a sigh of relief. They patted their chests, and then Fatty suddenly became interested in this divine stone that sounded so precious.
"Hey, what does your divine stone look like? What precious material is it made of?"
"Hey Fatty, don't—"
Just as Wu Tianzhen was about to stop Fatty's sudden whim, he was horrified to hear Zhang Haike's explanation.
"Ah, the divine stone! It looks very peculiar, rough and uneven like the surface of the moon, about... this big."
Zhang Haike gestured to indicate the size, describing it very precisely, so much so that Wu Tianzhen and Fatty found it increasingly familiar as they listened.
Wu Tianzhen swallowed nervously and exchanged a look with Fatty.
They remembered the carvings on the metal plate in the coffin; it should have been this divine stone, but that wasn't the main point.
The main point was—
They suddenly remembered that when they fell straight down from the burial area and crashed into the altar, they seemed to have hit something hard and protruding.
And that protruding thing was directly shattered by their impact.
At the time, they were eager to find Zhang Qiling and didn't pay close attention to what the debris beneath them was. Upon recalling it now, the more they thought about it, the more they felt that thing was indeed the so-called divine stone.
Fatty and Wu Tianzhen: ...Holy crap!
They fell silent for a moment, their faces ashen as if they had lost their parents, until Zhang Haike realized something was amiss and stopped explaining.
"Um, that..." Fatty hesitantly began, a smile on his face that was more akin to crying, "your divine stone, it sounds quite important, doesn't it..."
"Of course. The Mother Bell became the clan leader's token precisely because it was the only object capable of absorbing the divine stone's energy. Legend has it that it appeared along with the divine stone and has been bound to it ever since."
"Without the divine stone, the Mother Bell would completely lose its power."
Wu Tianzhen and Fatty: Terrified! (Their expressions suggested a desire to commit suicide)
"...You guys, you didn't, did you?" Zhang Haike finally realized something, his mouth opening to utter a futile sound.
Then, with pupils dilated in shock, he watched Wu Tianzhen force a stiff, unnatural smile and ask tremblingly, "You said, if, and I'm just saying if, if we both sat on the divine stone and broke it, could Little Brother save our lives?"
Zhang Haike: ?!!
—
Wu Tianzhen and Fatty didn't know what reasons Zhang Haike used to deceive the other Zhang family members, but no one ever came to hold them accountable for the destruction of the divine stone.
They also didn't have the energy to concern themselves with that mysterious stone anymore.
The day after the war ended, Zhang Qiling woke up in the hospital.
And as he looked at Fatty and Wu Tianzhen, who were diligently tending to him by the bedside, he remained silent for a long time, only to softly utter a single sentence.
"Who are you?"