Chapter 242: The Forbidden Ruin – Black Mist, Broken Bones, and Free Trap-Clearing

Gu Fan walked out of the restaurant, the fat waiter came scrambling after him like a man whose life depended on it.

He bowed so low his forehead nearly scraped the mud, hands trembling around the heavy spirit-stone pouch he had just received.

"Young Master, please... Wait just one moment!" the waited hissed as he tried to stop Gu Fan.

He stood up in front of Gu Fan, blocking his way with his back bowed to him by almost ninty degrees.

"What is it?" Gu Fan frowned. He had already paid this waiter for the information inside. Now is he here to beg more?

The waiter looked at Gu Fan’s frown and gulped.

"Can... Can you please come this side?" The waited asked nervously gesturing towards the shadows of a narrow alley.

Gu Fan looked at the alley and then at the waiter. He gestured at Song Tianyu and the others to wait there and he walked inside the alley.

"What is it?" Gu Fan asked impatiently, "If you want to beg for more. I will take away what I have given you."

"That’s not it, young master," The waiter quickly threw his arms wildly," It’s just that I feel you are going to check out that dungeon. I need to tell you some rumpours about that place."

"You don’t seem to be from around here..."

"I just wanted to help..."

"You have been very benevolent..."

"You are..."

"Stop with the ass licking," Gu Fan raised his hand annoyed, "get to the point."

"Yes! Yess! Young Master!"

"That dungeon didn’t just appear out of thin air," The waiter’s voice dropped a tone lower as he leaned in to whisper, "From what I have heard around in the short time, it chas cracked open directly on top of the Forbidden Weeping Grounds at the eastern edge of town."

"Forbidden Weeping Grounds?" Gu Fan was interested.

"Yes! Because absolutely no one has been allowed near those cursed grounds for over three centuries!" The waiter whispered.

The lazy amusement in Gu Fan’s eyes vanished as if it had never existed. His green eyes narrowed into cold, calculating slits.

To not allow anyone there for three centuries?

Did I write anything about it?

Forbidden Weeping Grounds in the Moonlight Town?

But he could not remember.

So he just grabbed the waited by the collar and yanked him closer until their faces were inches apart.

"Explain. And don’t stop until you have spilled every detail engraved in that big brain of yours."

The merchant swallowed hard, sweat pouring down his temples under Gu Fan’s gaze.

"At least three hundred years, Master! The local authorities have sealed these grounds for three hundred years."

"But from what I have heard, there is someone else behind it."

"Who?" Gu Fan narrowed his gaze and asked.

"It is the Murong Family."

"Murong Family?" Gu Fan repeated.

He knew about this family. Infact he even jogged up his memory about them when he visited the Gu Clan library a few days back.

To ordinary cultivators, the name alone was enough to inspire awe.

To Gu Fan, however, it carried a completely different weight.

He had written that name himself.

As the creator of this world, he knew far more about the Murong Family than any ordinary cultivator ever could.

The Murong Family was one of the Four Noble Families of the Great Yan Empire.

Their ancestral roots stretched back thousands of years, long enough for countless sects and clans to rise and fall beneath the shadow of their existence.

And their territory was the Southern Cloud Province.

It was one of the largest provinces in the Great Yan Empire, but also one of the most inhospitable.

Poisonous miasma covered vast stretches of land. Deadly swamps, barren wastelands, poisonous forests, ancient ruins, and territories inhabited by venomous Spirit Beasts could be found everywhere.

The Murong Family, however, had never viewed the province as a wasteland.

They had viewed it as a treasure vault.

The entire Southern Cloud Province is practically their backyard.

For thousands of years, the Murong Family had adapted to the harsh environment and gradually turned its dangers into advantages.

Even several resources that could not be found anywhere else within the Great Yan Empire.

Their knowledge of poisons and venom had reached an astonishing level.

Gu Fan remembered writing about their Poison Dao in particular.

The Murong Family had cultivated it for generations. Their younger disciples began learning about poisonous herbs and Spirit Beasts from an early age, while their more talented descendants could even refine deadly poisons capable of affecting cultivators several realms above themselves.

And as one of the Four Noble Families, the Murong Family possessed enormous political power.

They maintained private armies, controlled countless subordinate clans, and possessed an influence that extended far beyond their ancestral lands.

For the millions of mortals living throughout Southern Cloud Province, the Murong Family was practically the heavens above their heads.

The Murong Family was the ruler of Southern Cloud Province.

That was an undeniable fact.

Gu Fan’s fingers lightly tapped against his arm as another thought surfaced.

I really did make this family ridiculously powerful.

At the time, it had seemed perfectly reasonable while he was writing the novel.

After all, a world needed powerful clans and ancient factions.

The Four Noble Families were supposed to represent the pinnacle of mortal authority within the Great Yan Empire.

But now that Gu Fan was actually living inside the world he had created, those descriptions no longer felt like harmless words on a page.

The Murong Family was real.

Their armies were real.

Their poisonous Spirit Beasts were real.

Their ancient bloodline was real.

And most importantly...

They were conrolling the Forbidden Weeping Grounds. Why? Why would they personally take interest in tis place? The Ancient ruins appeared just today. But they have been controlling them for three centuries.

And he knew nothing about it? Shame on him.

Gu Fan’s eyes gradually became serious.

He knew the Murong Family’s reputation.

He also knew many of the things hidden behind that reputation.

"Yes, Young Master!" the waiter broke Gu Fan’s chain of thoughts, "And they have enforced the ban with lethal force."

"Anyone who tried to sneak past was either openly slaughtered or never seen again. Not a single person has survived."

Gu Fan’s eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

The waiter hesitated.

"That... no one really knows."

"Then how do you know so much?"

"I don’t know the truth!" The waiter hurriedly raised both hands, "I am only telling you what people around here have been saying. There are quite a few rumours about those grounds."

Gu Fan’s interest deepened.

"Rumours?"

"Yes, Young Master."

The waiter glanced around nervously before lowering his voice.

"Some say there used to be an entire village near those grounds. One night, every single person in the village disappeared."

Gu Fan’s brows furrowed.

"Everyone?"

"Everyone. Men, women, children. Not a single corpse was found. Not even a trace of them."

The waiter swallowed before continuing.

"Others say people can hear crying coming from the Forbidden Weeping Grounds after nightfall."

"Some claim they’ve heard women sobbing. Others say they heard children crying."

He shuddered.

"But no matter who tells the story, everyone agrees on one thing. The crying never comes from the same place twice."

Gu Fan’s expression remained calm, but his mind was already turning.

An entire village disappearing... strange sounds at night...

None of that existed in his memories of the Southern Cloud Province.

The waiter looked around once more before leaning even closer.

"And there is one more rumour."

"What is it?"

The waiter lowered his voice until it was barely more than a whisper.

"Some people say the Murong Family isn’t actually protecting the Forbidden Weeping Grounds from outsiders."

Gu Fan’s eyes sharpened.

The waiter continued.

"They say the Murong Family is protecting whatever is inside from getting out."

Silence.

For the first time, the lazy amusement disappeared completely from Gu Fan’s face.

Protecting something from getting out?

Song Yan watched Gu Fan’s face carefully from a few steps away. Bai Bing’s icy blue eyes narrowed with quiet suspicion. Song Tianyu looked both confused and deeply uneasy.

Gu Fan released the merchant’s robes, satisfied.

"Change of plans," Gu Fan announced. He pulled out a few more spirit stones and stuffed them in the waiter’s palm before pushing him away to leave.

He then walked towards the group with a smile on his face.

"We will be taking a little detour," Gu Fan announced.

"You want to take a look at the dungeon?" Bai Bing asked with anticipation practically oozing out of her eyes.

"Yes!" Gu Fan nodded, stroking her hair gently.

"Are you sure it is worth it?" Song Yan could not help but ask. She had heard the commotion, and in her experience, there is never a good possibilty that someone would find anything worth the risk in dungeons.

It is always one or two people who manage to acquire treasures, lost techniques or inheritnaces.

And even then there is an even smaller chance that they are able to leave the dungeon grounds alive.

"We are not looking at just a treasure dungeon anymore."

"And it is worth it because one of the four noble families of the empire is interested in it."

"And if they are interested."

Gu Fan gave Song Yan the sweetest smile she had ever seen.

"I am interested."

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[A/N: Hehehehe... My Preciouses! If you enjoyed the new story arc. Don’t forget to Vote the Story with Power Stones, Give me Golden Tickets, and Send me Gifts! And I love you guys for sticking till now.]