Anxi on the other end of the mental link was a little worried.

{Boss, the city departments have united to go to the temporary command office. I hear they’ve already hired a lot of professional lawyers. I’m afraid… }

Yang Zicang looked at a few sheets of paper with the villagers’ signatures and thumbprints lying beside the pillow made of folded clothes.

“You’re worried the villagers might be led around by the nose? “

{Yeah, how can you compare a villager’s mouth to a lawyer’s? The things recorded on those few sheets compared to the legal documents the lawyers hold… Even though we managed to force the negotiation, I’m afraid the outcome might be hanging by a thread. }

“Hmm… ” Yang Zicang fell into thought.

……

Since we’ve come this far, if this matter succeeds, it will undoubtedly be something that can give birth to a Radiance.

Yang Zicang and Anxi each tallied up the Radiance they currently had and what might be generated. Everything put together was barely enough to handle one Floor’s single challenge.

{Chairman? Maybe we should think of another way. }

“Let me think. “

As he spoke, Yang Zicang pulled the memoir of Saint Sjøl Nuhmin from his breast pocket, tucked against his shirt.

{That… }

Anxi clearly knew about the precognitive arrangements Yao Xiaoqin had made for him—things Yang Zicang had disclosed. He also knew the contents of this memoir didn’t cover this region. Although he had no idea what Chairman Yang planned to do, being able to witness a “sacred relic ” with his own eyes was a rare experience in itself.

-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi is watching my life unfold before him.｝

{That one doesn’t have records of here, right, Chairman? }

“Yeah, it doesn’t have records of here. “

{Then why are you taking it out now? }

Yang Zicang looked at the twisted text in his hand, emitting a faint red glow. Because the very reason this world was born was to rewrite the endings recorded in it, borrowing its power was a special privilege—it wouldn’t cause Glory to vanish. On the contrary, whoever possessed it could easily birth a “Radiant Glory. “

“It doesn’t record this place, but the people here should have been to the seaside. “

Anxi across from him instantly grasped Yang Zicang’s intention.

｛I wish to read the memoirs of the past.｝

｛The memoirs of Saint Sjøl Nuhmin have been fully displayed. To read the past, every memory of every day, costs 1R.｝

“Every day for every person costs one day… ” It doesn’t sound like much, but… when it accumulates, it’ll be an astronomical number.

Can’t do it directly like this; at least the target needs to be narrowed down first.

……

In the darkness, Darui was sleeping soundly. Suddenly, a hand shook him awake. “Come out for a bit. “

The man in his fifties behind him cracked open his eyes, caught a glimpse of a Fogfolk member, and then closed them again.

“What’s the matter? ” Darui, called to the wall, rubbed his bleary eyes.

That Fogfolk member had run out in the afternoon and came back in the evening, drawing wave after wave of people to the Stone Mill to pry for information.

The sight left Darui, Old Pipe-smoker, and even Stone, who had heard the news later, completely dumbfounded. Was this the efficiency of a Fogfolk?

What’s more peculiar was that Nuoneike and his men, who passed by, seemed completely unaware that this Fogfolk was the one behind it all. Yet this guy behaved as if nothing had happened at dinner, like everything was unrelated to him.

So Darui really admired him for that.

“You said before, ‘This land, in name, has nothing to do with White Violet City anymore,’ and they’re not heading to the Grand Duke’s territory, ” Yang Zicang lowered his voice, his gaze locked on Darui. “What exactly does that mean? “

“Oh, you’re asking about that. “

Darui scratched his arm. The temperature had been shifting between hot and cold these past couple of days, and now, in the night breeze, goosebumps were rising all over him.

-｛Distributor February. Di’an is watching the glorious prelude I’m cultivating.｝

“I’ve only heard it, too, ” Darui said, thinking. “Ah, it’s all old history from half a civilization ago. “

“That old? “

“Yeah, must be two hundred years at least. “

“… ” Yang Zicang was briefly lost for words.

Only two hundred years? What did that mean—was the alien civilization recorded in this memoir born just over four centuries ago when it reached the end of the industrial age?

Or did they count years using a calendar based on a founding moment, just like America on Earth?

Just as he was pondering to himself, Darui spoke again: “Long story short, this land originally belonged to two ancient families—or rather, one ancient family split into branches. But they never meddled much with the farmers who built houses and tilled the soil here. “

Yang Zicang’s eyes lit up.

-｛Distributor February. Di’an, rich in experience, has marked a new node in the glorious prelude for me.｝

“And you saw it too, right? ” Darui said, stifling a yawn. “There’s no mill there anymore. There used to be a big one—built by some merchant—but he got chased away. “

“……“

_”And that sort of thing didn’t just happen once. Over time, people caught on: this place wasn’t without an owner, it’s just that its owners… how should I put it? It’s like a temperament handed down through the ages:

They’re generous to farmers trying to make a living and can’t be bothered to care. But if you want to take over some land to do business, build a factory, or raise a castle? Hmph… _”

Darui spread his hands, “Rest assured, it was barely set up before they got chased out. Whatever’s left behind, you’re lucky if you recoup some costs; unlucky, and it’s all theirs for the taking. “

With a soft click, Stone limped out.

“Are you talking about the Hawthorn family? “

Old Pipe-smoker followed him out.

“Actually… strictly speaking, ” Samson lit his pipe, blowing a smoke ring before finishing his sentence.

“Qiaoshi Village belonged to the Hawthorn family back in the day. But during the time of the grand duke before last, that is, several decades ago, someone built a factory here and got away with it. “

Got away with it?

No sooner had Yang Zicang thought that, when suddenly, the beacon of another distributor rang in his mind.

-｛Distributor May Valkyrie, with vast experience, marks a new prelude of radiance for me.｝

The turning point, right here?

Just then, Old Pipe-smoker said, “Over the next few decades, one by one, more people came to build things. In time, Qiaoshi Village became just like any other village—fights over boundaries, grabbing house foundations, seizing water sources, digging up field ridges… It’s all a noisy mess, but people have gotten used to it. Now even the city’s Land Office claims the land’s theirs. “

-｛Distributor Loki. Tata Mingqi exclaimed: “Whoa~ “｝

Yang Zicang rubbed his chin with his hand and asked, “May I ask, when did Qiaoshi Village stop being part of the Hawthorn family’s land? “

The atmosphere grew somber. Darui and Stone both looked baffled. The older man chuckled:

“The young folks don’t know about it anymore. I only heard it when I was a child. It must be around sixty-two years ago. A scandal broke out in Qiaoshi Village, and the Hawthorne family cut all ties with this place after that. “

……

Back in his own bedroom, standing by his bed, Yang Zicang held the piece of paper in his hand and turned it over. A scandal that had been buried decades ago… he hoped someone who knew this tale had talked about it by the seaside.

｛I begin to read the sage’s memoir.｝

In his mind, he rapidly pinpointed the date sixty years ago and worked his way backward, day by day.

｛I begin to search for memories regarding… “Hawthorne. “｝

So many people… the entire mental space was filled with faint, indistinct human silhouettes. Farmers, merchants, fishermen, soldiers, doctors, teachers… the vague information of tens of thousands of individuals passed by like flowing waves of noise—unintelligible, yet stirring within his mind.

“Still far too many… “

A slight frown creased Yang Zicang’s brow. He began to narrow his search to memories of visiting merchants and government officials who regularly came and went. He started by reading precisely a thousand people’s memories each day, preferentially selecting those who frequently traveled or traded with White Violet City.

｛I begin to read the daily experiences of Hersey, Ole, Sa’id… and select others, set on March 1st of the year 368…｝

｛I expended 1001N Chronogold principal.｝

“Nothing… “

｛I begin to read the daily experiences of Shukri, Dain, Loren Rupp, Rong Lyrias… and select others, set on February 28th of the year 368…｝

｛I expended 1001N Chronogold principal.｝

“Still nothing. “

He continued delving further back.

｛I begin to read the daily experiences of Kaelin, Laurelin, Hampton… and select others, set on February 27th of the year 368…｝

｛I’ve consumed 1001N units of “Temporal Principal. “｝

｛February 26, 368, 11:32, Malvin Rosen exchanged thirty Silver Coins of Duke Horn… 15:23, Malvin told his companion Yorich about some past events of the Hawthorne family.｝

Yang Zicang’s eyes snapped open; this was promising…