Free Web NovelChapter 178: Chapter 178: Four Words Too Many
After the Tower Simulation Mission, the assembly hall remained quiet longer than usual.
The supervisors reviewed the simulation records in private before announcing evaluations. That alone told Qin Yuheng the event had not been ordinary.
Yu Qingmei came to him first.
"Did you read anything?"
"Four words before the bookmark sealed it."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Exact words."
"Key beneath false—"
She repeated them softly.
"Key beneath false..."
Qin Mo looked miserable.
"False sun? False seal? False crown? False something?"
Jiang Yuexuan, standing nearby, said, "Do not complete unknown phrases casually."
Qin Mo immediately closed his mouth.
Yu Qingmei nodded.
"Correct. Some forbidden concepts become more active when guessed."
Qin Yuheng felt the weight of that.
Even incomplete knowledge could be dangerous.
The simulation supervisors eventually announced the results.
Heavenly Gate-Jiang-Military mixed group received Excellent+, one of the highest ratings of the mission. They had rescued all researcher remnants, sealed the fallen sun core, retrieved a valid safe record, and resisted forbidden record compulsion.
Duan Xirong’s group completed primary objectives but failed to seal the core. Combat score high, corruption exposure high.
Bai Yunshen’s group retrieved two valid records and sealed a side archive, but lost several researcher remnants in simulation. Strategy score high, rescue score moderate.
Qin Yuheng’s team rose further in the assembly rankings.
But he did not care about rankings that evening.
He cared about the four words.
The sealed note before the simulation had said:
Seek the place where the first shadow bowed to the false sun.
The forbidden record fragment now gave:
Key beneath false—
False sun seemed likely.
Too likely.
Was that the intended completion?
If so, the enemy had successfully placed a phrase in his mind without forcing him to read the record.
At the guest court, Yu Qingmei organized a secure discussion.
Present: Qin Yuheng, Qin Yuchen, Qin Lian, Qin Mo, Yu Qingmei, Lin Xian’er, and later Jiang Yuexuan by invitation.
Jiang Yuexuan hesitated before attending.
"This may involve old clan knowledge."
Yu Qingmei said, "Share only what you choose."
Jiang Yuexuan accepted.
Qin Yuheng placed the two fragments on the table.
First note:
Crimson Eclipse anchors require a living key and a sleeping seal.
If the moon counterweight still holds, the key has not yet turned.
Seek the place where the first shadow bowed to the false sun.
Simulation words:
Key beneath false—
Qin Mo carefully wrote possible completions without speaking them aloud.
false sun
false seal
false crown
false altar
false shadow fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Jiang Yuexuan looked at the list.
"False sun is the obvious lure."
Lin Xian’er added, "Which means it may be true or bait designed to look too obvious."
Qin Mo sighed.
"I hate when obvious things become complex."
Yu Qingmei asked Jiang Yuexuan, "Your clan records?"
Jiang Yuexuan was silent for several breaths.
Then she said, "Only fragments. Crimson Eclipse was not a single ritual but a ritual framework. It used opposition: sun and moon, blood and seal, life and death, command and obedience. False sun may refer to an artificial authority source pretending to be solar law."
Qin Yuheng’s eyes narrowed.
"Blood Sun Hall?"
"Perhaps. But older than the current organization. Blood Sun Hall may have inherited or imitated parts of it."
That matched Qin Wanshan’s suspicion.
Blood Sun might not be the origin.
It might be a descendant.
Or scavenger.
Jiang Yuexuan continued, "The phrase ’first shadow bowed’ may refer to a subordinate ritual node acknowledging the false sun core. In old ritual architecture, shadows are often secondary anchors."
Qin Mo wrote quickly.
"So external ritual center may have core and shadow nodes?"
"Possibly."
Qin Yuheng looked at the map.
Living key.
Sleeping seal.
Moon counterweight.
False sun.
First shadow.
External ritual center.
The structure slowly formed.
But not enough.
Yu Qingmei closed the discussion.
"No action. We record, compare, and wait for safer confirmation."
Qin Yuheng agreed.
After Jiang Yuexuan left, Lin Xian’er leaned back.
"She shared more than expected."
Qin Mo asked, "Why?"
Lin Xian’er smiled faintly.
"Because if Crimson Eclipse spreads, ancient families with moon, river, seal, or star inheritances may all be affected. Helping Qin Yuheng avoid stupidity helps her clan too."
Qin Yuheng accepted that.
Mutual interest.
Not alliance yet.
The next assembly stage was Free Challenge Ranking.
Candidates could challenge others under rules. Rankings would affect final invitations and resource access.
Duan Xirong sent a challenge request to Qin Yuheng within an hour.
Yu Qingmei placed it on the table.
"You can refuse."
Qin Yuheng looked at it.
Refusing would be reasonable after a mentally heavy simulation.
Accepting would reveal more.
But Duan Xirong’s challenge was public, direct, and within rules. If Qin Yuheng refused every combat-focused candidate, others would frame him as only a commander hiding behind teams.
That was not fatal.
But not ideal.
He accepted.
Qin Mo stared.
"Of course."
Qin Yuheng said, "Controlled rules. Good opponent. Manageable risk."
"People always say manageable before things become unmanageable."
The duel was scheduled for the next afternoon.
That night, Mo Cangyan received the simulation report.
Qin Yuheng had refused the record.
Twice.
But saw four words.
Mo Cangyan smiled.
"Enough."
Xue Rong asked, "Will he act?"
"No. Not yet."
"Then why is it enough?"
"Because now he carries an unfinished phrase. The mind dislikes incomplete doors."
Mo Cangyan placed the report aside.
"Next, let the assembly exhaust him through legitimate means. Duan Xirong first."
Xue Rong frowned.
"Duan is not ours."
"Exactly," Mo Cangyan said. "Pressure is best when delivered by clean hands."
