Chapter 2 The Second Year
The second year saw the absence of the hardship remembrance program. Early visitors, unable to experience it, felt a mix of disappointment and relief, glad that the children would not have to endure too much suffering.
Tian Jing, however, had no time to concern herself with village affairs. She was in the maze's computer room, watching her younger son undergo heart training via the surveillance feed.
Accompanying Li Weixin in his heart training was Zeng Jingrong.
He felt he had been influenced by the rules, that his resolve was not strong enough. Even factoring in emotional reasons, he shouldn't have made such a critical decision-making error.
Fortunately, because of Ranran, he had not yet acted on it and still wanted to ask Tiantian for her thoughts. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
On the surveillance screen, Tian Jing clearly saw her younger son displaying a spectrum of emotions: surprise, joy, loss, and sadness.
Zeng Jingrong, on the other hand, showed only sadness and grief.
There was even a hint of ferocity.
Tian Jing watched Zeng Jingrong tensely. As he raised his hand to harm himself, she activated the intercom beneath the monitor and softly reprimanded, "Zeng Jingrong, what about your ambition to restore the Zeng family's glory?"
Zeng Jingrong, who had closed his eyes, paused. He then opened them.
Upon realizing his surroundings, his back instantly broke into a sweat.
Li Weixin, who had been at the white tomb, vanished. Zeng Jingrong left the tomb and walked towards the control room.
Tian Jing, watching her younger son effortlessly dismantle various mechanisms on the screen, spoke to Zeng Jingrong with a sense of relief.
"You were agitated enough to harm yourself just now, your state was very wrong."
Zeng Jingrong wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I asked the team members who suggested breaking the maze and releasing the rules. Their emotions were also very volatile. After they harbored the thought of breaking the rules, their emotions calmed down."
"Just now, as I internally insisted on not breaking the rules, more scenes that caused me unbearable heartache appeared, making me lose the will to live."
Tian Jing stared at the black and white tombs on the monitor:
"Captain Zeng, do you feel the black tomb has become blacker, as if it's about to ooze oil? And the white tomb seems to have lost some of its whiteness."
As she spoke, Tian Jing noticed what appeared to be a strand of thread rising from the black tomb, then falling towards the white tomb.
What was this?
She left the control room. "You watch the monitor."
Tian Jing moved with extreme speed into the center of the maze. The black tomb was even blacker than it appeared on the monitor, and the white tomb was grayer than it looked on screen.
She looked up at the sky, bathed in sunlight. The blue sky and white clouds were beautiful.
Beautiful?
She immediately suppressed any thoughts of her own.
When her gaze returned, she saw a hazy sky. Despite the sunlight, it seemed unable to penetrate.
Just then, Li Weixin walked over. Tian Jing beckoned him, signaling him to leave the maze with her.
Li Weixin's eyes, however, shifted. A vine whipped towards Tian Jing.
Tian Jing grabbed the vine with one hand and, with a forceful pull, brought Li Weixin to her. Shouting directly into his ear, she commanded, "Block all thoughts and get out!"
Li Weixin's body jolted violently. His eyes cleared, and he quickly exited the maze.
Tian Jing followed closely behind him, exiting the maze. She waved at Li Weixin, who was outside, "Go to the control room."
Zeng Jingrong anxiously asked Tian Jing if she was alright. He had seen Li Weixin attack her on the monitor.
Tian Jing shook her head. "This place cannot be used anymore for now. There are too many negative emotions."
"Call the master who dismantled the maze formation. The formation outside the maze is gone, and the rules can influence people too easily."
Zeng Jingrong took out his phone and dialed Xie Wensheng.
Xie Wensheng stated that the formation was too ancient; he could dismantle it but not restore it.
Tian Jing stared at the black and white tombs, still seeing threads moving. She took a deep breath. "Ask him if he can dismantle the black and white tombs."
After Zeng Jingrong inquired, he received an affirmative answer.
Tian Jing focused on the tips of the black and white tombs. "Tell him to come and dismantle them! Come quickly."
Xie Wensheng also heard Tian Jing's voice and the urgency within it. He agreed to depart immediately and would arrive the next day.
After hanging up, Zeng Jingrong asked Tian Jing about the situation.
Tian Jing gritted her teeth. "The black tomb has likely collected too many negative emotions, and the rules are using these negative emotions to influence the white tomb."
"Regardless of whether the maze will still function after the black and white tombs are gone, they cannot remain."
"Moreover, the black and white tombs were later built by the Chen family. I don't know if they might have been influenced by the rules, like the underground storage, and done foolish things."
Zeng Jingrong worried, "Then will Xie Wensheng also... The formation outside the maze was dismantled by him."
Tian Jing shared this concern. "Tomorrow, we will follow him the entire time."
As she spoke, Tian Jing looked at Li Weixin. "Ranran, remember, when entering the maze, you must block all thoughts."
"It's best not to speak at all. If you discover anything, discuss it after leaving the maze."
"Tomorrow, if you notice anything strange about the master coming to dismantle the tombs, immediately intervene and pull him out of the maze."
Li Weixin, having just recovered from the shock of his mother's attack, heard her words and wanted to know what exactly was going on with the maze.
Tian Jing glanced at Zeng Jingrong, picked up a pen and paper from the desk, and asked if there was monitoring and recording in the control room.
Zeng Jingrong wrote back that there was.
Tian Jing wrote, "Let's go out to talk."
The three of them left the maze entrance. Tian Jing led the way, leaping onto a hilltop and walking into the distance.
Only after they were far from the maze did Tian Jing stop and begin telling Zeng Jingrong and Li Weixin about Grandpa Chen.
Starting from when Grandpa Chen told her about the private vault, she recounted the tombs she and Li Zhengguo had experienced, the reason for Ranran's birth, the formation in the private vault, and her feelings about the rules...
Naturally, Chen Yaoshi was omitted.
"I noticed threads rising from the black tomb, then falling onto the white tomb. The white tomb's color is no longer as white as before, while the black tomb has become even blacker."
"I suspect that when team members come for heart training, the rules use the black tomb to absorb their negative emotions and influence the white tomb."
"I don't know if the white tomb will remain contained once it turns black too. It might release itself without needing you, Zeng Jingrong, to set it free."
"If that were to happen, I would be a sinner in this world."
Zeng Jingrong broke into another sweat. "It's also my fault. I let the team members train too many times, accelerating its progress."
Tian Jing waved her hand. "It's useless to talk about that now. Tomorrow, Xie Wensheng's actions are what we need to focus on."
If there were psychics, they could block Xie Wensheng's thoughts.
Unfortunately, no such special abilities had been discovered among the specialty team.
Tian Jing sent a text message to Li Zhengguo, informing him that she would be staying at the specialty team's accommodation for the night.
The three returned to the control room, waiting for Xie Wensheng's arrival.
The next morning, Xie Wensheng called, stating he had unavoidable commitments and could only come in a few days.
Tian Jing waved at Zeng Jingrong. "Don't rely on him. We'll handle it ourselves."
Zeng Jingrong hung up the phone. "How do we do it?"
Tian Jing stared at the threads still unhurriedly ascending and descending above the black and white tombs on the screen. She listed the items needed:
"Two mirrors, a drill, and a large amount of hydrofluoric acid."