Chapter 99 - 92: "This Is Called Solid-Liquid Separation.
Chapter 99: Chapter 92: "This Is Called Solid-Liquid Separation.
"Paydirt."
Zhou Mo, Lame Monkey, and the others stood by the edge of the Deep Pit, their faces alight with excitement as they gazed at the Ghost Stones mixed in with the dirt below.
"Station Head, we really found them! There are so many Ghost Stones here."
"But it doesn’t look like a latrine. It looks like someone deliberately hid the Ghost Stones here."
"I’ve figured it out!" Zhou Mo said, a look of sudden realization on his face. "I should’ve realized it sooner. Didn’t I say it just now? That big shot must have had a lot of attendants. Before he left, he had them dig out all the Ghost Stones from the latrine for him, right?"
"But people are selfish. Those attendants must have gotten greedy. They didn’t hand over all the Ghost Stones. Instead, they dug a Deep Pit and hid some of them here, planning to come back later and retrieve them."
"But for whatever reason, they never came back."
"..."
Chen Fan stood rooted to the spot, a complicated look on his face as he stared at the Ghost Stones mixed with dirt in the Deep Pit.
He glanced over at the enlightened-looking Zhou Mo and the equally enlightened-looking crocodile.
Yes, it wasn’t just Zhou Mo who had suddenly understood; even the crocodile seemed to have figured something out.
’The latrine they’d just excavated was too old. Even the crocodile couldn’t pick up a scent from the bottom. The feces had all fossilized, leaving not a single trace of stench.’
’Zhou Mo’s guess was wrong.’
’If that were the case, it had been 180 years. Since that big shot’s Cultivation was so high, he surely could have extended his attendants’ lifespans. It made no sense that they wouldn’t have returned for their buried Ghost Stones after so long.’
’If their lives couldn’t be extended, they’d have died long ago.’
’Besides, attendants of such an important figure wouldn’t be so foolish. Would they really do something so stupid, getting greedy over such a small number of Ghost Stones?’
’That left only one possibility, but it was so disgusting that he really didn’t want to voice it.’
"Alright."
Chen Fan cut off their speculation with a smile. "Stop worrying about all that. It doesn’t matter who they belonged to. We found them, so they’re ours now."
"Let’s get to work. Bag up all these Ghost Stones and let’s go home."
「An hour later.」
All the Ghost Stones in the Deep Pit had been excavated. During that time, Chen Fan had searched the surrounding area but couldn’t find a second pit like it.
"Station Head, there’s something that feels really strange."
The group was already on the crocodile’s back, heading down the mountain toward camp. Zhou Mo gripped a raised piece of the crocodile’s Scale Armor, his face a mixture of an irrepressible smile, excitement, and a little confusion.
"So, where do you think the Ghost Stones in the Deep Pit actually came from? An unknown source like this... it makes me feel a little uneasy using them. It feels like someone could show up at our door to collect on a debt at any moment."
"Plus, there were so many Ghost Stones in that Deep Pit."
"Far more than the number of Ghost Stones from Hey Hey’s other two latrines combined."
"..."
Chen Fan remained expressionless. He glanced at Zhou Mo, who was brimming with curiosity, paused for a moment, then sighed and said grimly, "That wasn’t a Deep Pit. It was a latrine. It was Hey Hey’s parents’ latrine."
"The Ghost Stones inside were, naturally, pooped out by Hey Hey’s parents. Where else would they have come from?"
"That’s not right." Zhou Mo scratched the back of his head, looking baffled. "If Hey Hey’s parents pooped them out, why wasn’t there any... poop? The other latrines all had poop in them. Even though it’s been a long time, the poop should have turned into something like stone, right?"
"Because Hey Hey’s parents are rather refined."
Chen Fan repeated grimly.
The moment he finished speaking, Lame Monkey and Wang Mazi, who were sitting nearby, exchanged a look. They understood instantly.
Silently, they held out their hands to let the falling rain wash them clean.
"Refined?"
Sitting on the crocodile’s back, Zhou Mo looked blankly at the others. ’Why does it feel like everyone understands but me?’
’So that Deep Pit really was Hey Hey’s parents’ latrine? And not where some big shot’s attendants secretly buried the Ghost Stones?’
...
「Soon.」
The group returned to the camp. It was already getting late; night would fall soon.
Chen Fan jumped off the crocodile’s back and landed inside the Celestial Pit. He looked at the main City Wall of Cave No. 1. ’It feels good to be home,’ he thought. Smiling at Wang Kui, who had come out to greet them, he said,
"Are the stones we sent back earlier all stored away properly? We brought back another haul of Ghost Stones. Put them all in the Warehouse."
"You got it," Wang Kui replied, striding forward with an excited grin. "Station Head, did you bring back this much?"
"Not bad."
Chen Fan waved his hand with a chuckle and looked toward Qi Chong, who was walking over. "Get a fire going and cook something up. Boil that octopus head for Hey Hey, too. Let’s crack it open for him tonight. He’s earned it today."
Then, he walked into the camp alone to take stock of their haul and begin planning the next phase for the camp.
"Brother Lame Monkey."
After the Station Head left, Zhou Mo, scratching his head in frustration, stopped Lame Monkey as he was about to leave. He asked, completely baffled,
"What did the Station Head mean by that? What does ’Hey Hey’s parents are refined’ mean? If that Deep Pit was a latrine, why wasn’t there any poop in it? Or any poop-stones?"
"..."
Lame Monkey paused for a moment, then said with a world-weary sigh,
"It means that in the other latrines, Hey Hey’s parents pooped solids. In the last one, they pooped liquids."