Chapter 20: Innate Wisdom

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Xu Chen stared at the information on the screen, his mind filled with profound questions. Among them, one stood out as the most pressing. After pondering it twice, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you believe that the Taihao mentioned by them is the same Taihao from the Taihao Mausoleum I discovered? These two things don’t seem connected, do they?”

Team Leader Zhu set down his cup. “It’s not just our assumption; it’s what Elder Yang Tianyou believes.”

“Elder Yang?”

Before Zhu could continue, Captain Chu waved his hand to interrupt. “Although the situation isn’t urgent right now, I believe the longer this drags on, the harder it will become. If you don’t mind, could you tell us what you know?”

Xu Chen nodded. “No problem.”

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt uneasy. The origin of this matter, frankly, stemmed from a typhoon wind field map that triggered a disaster. Yet, to his knowledge, Taihao—even in the realm of mysticism—was not associated with any power related to typhoons.

Moreover, humans rely on high-tech meteorological stations to observe wind field maps. If the equipment hadn’t been upgraded initially, this wouldn’t even have happened. Has the typhoon also embraced modern technology?

And even for coastal regions frequently battered by storms, the neighboring island nations must have meteorological capabilities no less advanced than the mainland’s. So why does it seem like they are unaffected? Could it be that their focus was diverted by the garrison incident?

Xu Chen had little information but many questions.

“Why don’t you tell me what you want to know? If I can, I’ll tell you,” Xu Chen cautiously suggested.

Captain Chu nodded, thinking briefly before deciding on the question he most wanted answered.

“What exactly is ‘Taihao’?”

Xu Chen’s face twitched. He hadn’t expected such a basic question, but from the information available, Taihao was indeed a crucial point.

The history of this world seemed to have lost its continuity; even the identity of Taihao was unknown—both tragic and pitiful.

“Taihao… is the cultural ancestor of the Chinese civilization. Without him, there would be no Chinese civilization,” Xu Chen explained.

Captain Chu glanced at Elder Ge, then back at Xu Chen, his expression serious. “How did he cause this Taihao contagion?”

Xu Chen was dumbfounded. “Wait, why do you think I know the answer to that? If you want, I can tell you more about Taihao.”

“No need. The excavation of the Taihao Mausoleum is proceeding rapidly. We’ve already obtained a significant amount of data and have conducted research.”

“…”

Xu Chen was utterly speechless. He didn’t know much himself; honestly, the inscriptions on the steles were far more detailed.

“Then why did you come to see me? I really don’t know anything.”

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“Alright, then let’s try another question.”

“Okay, go ahead,” Xu Chen sighed in relief.

“Why did Taihao spread this contagion? Where did he spread it?”

Xu Chen wanted to smash his computer. The way they asked made Taihao sound like some extremist group leader wearing stockings on his head, planting bombs and causing chaos everywhere.

“I honestly don’t know. Can we change the question?”

“You really don’t know?”

Xu Chen replied wearily, “I really don’t.”

“Alright, I’ll ask something else.”

“Go ahead, just please don’t ask me who or what Taihao is.”

“We noticed that you discovered the location of the Taihao Mausoleum from ancient texts, which raised some questions…”

Xu Chen relaxed again, thinking, finally a relevant question.

When excavating the Taihao Mausoleum, he had noticed a gap: how did he know its location in the first place?

There were many records, but the mausoleum remained undiscovered in this world, which proved that historical records about Taihao Mausoleum were scant. Xu Chen immediately planned to fabricate one as evidence.

He obtained copies of historical records and searched for the rituals related to the Taihao Mausoleum. Many were incomplete, but with effort, they could be pieced together.

However, this was a massive undertaking. Xu Chen resorted to some methods to fill in the gaps.

Although he used his own known results to retroactively forge evidence in the ancient texts, no one could detect any problems. His contribution to the history department was so convincing, fooling the professors and experts there was like a game.

The testimonies Xu Chen received from history professors and experts were officially certified. These people lacked the knowledge to uncover the lies embedded within.

Thinking of this, Xu Chen couldn’t help but smile faintly.

“We commissioned the police to investigate. Police psychologists and forensic experts noticed a strong overlap between your behavior before and after excavating the Taihao Mausoleum and your concealment of information. Psychologists unanimously believe you deliberately withheld important information before the excavation,” Captain Chu said.

“!”

Xu Chen was stunned. If he could curse, he’d shout, “No honor among you all!”

He thought they could just ask a few questions, but who would have guessed he’d be put under a microscope by a group of forensic experts.

He felt truly scrutinized.

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Xu Chen considered refusing but then looked at the stern face of Captain Chu and hesitated. If they dared say it outright, did that mean someone already had evidence against him?

He hadn’t thought there would be forensic or psychological experts investigating him. Many of the pieces of evidence were quite rough, but then again, he hadn’t done anything criminal…

Suddenly, Xu Chen’s eyes brightened. Right, he hadn’t done anything wrong—was he supposed to be afraid of these soldiers?

Captain Chu frowned, watching Xu Chen. He sensed the young man’s sudden pride. Was it just his imagination?

“Oh, that. I knew from the start where the Taihao Mausoleum was. I just didn’t want them to doubt me, so I supplemented the ancient texts to prove it. That’s not a bad thing, right?”

Xu Chen was telling the truth.

“Hm? Then what information did you conceal?”

“I already said, I knew where the Taihao Mausoleum was from the beginning.”

Captain Chu’s frown deepened.

Team Leader Zhu chimed in, “No, why did you know the location of the Taihao Mausoleum from the start?”

“Because I just did.”

“So you’re saying you knew before seeing any books related to Taihao?”

“Yeah, what’s the problem?”

Captain Chu’s eyes widened. This was more than just a problem—it was a huge issue. At worst, this kid was an accomplice of Taihao or somehow connected to him.

But after reviewing the archaeological department’s recent data, he understood Taihao was a nearly mythical figure from thousands of years ago. How could there be any connection?

An aged voice nearby asked with interest, “Then, where did you get your information about Taihao?”

Xu Chen glanced aside; it was Elder Ge.

“Born knowing,” he replied.

It was an honest answer, not wrong, though he didn’t care how others interpreted it.