The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 247 The Reason for the Existence of the Bagua City...

With Lang Jiuchuan acting as a charlatan ahead of them, Gong Qi, on the way into the city, tried to get Ma Qiao to talk about things like when and why the monument was erected, and why it was so important that people were not allowed to do bad things in front of it.

Ma Qiaoxin was in high spirits after having a son, and with the good words he'd received from the fortune teller Lang Jiuchuan, he didn't mince words when he saw Gong Qiwen's question. He said, "You all don't know this, but this Martyrs' Monument is a landmark of our Bagua City. When you see this monument, you know you've arrived at Bagua City. Oh, you asked how long it's been there? Well, it's been there for a very long time. My great-grandfather kept it there, and it was erected after Bagua City was rebuilt. We value this monument not only because it's a memorial to the martyrs, but also because it's a feng shui marker for Bagua City."

Gong Qi's eyelids twitched; it really had existed for many years.

Ma Qiao continued, "Why is it called the Feng Shui Stele? According to the elders, our Chiyang Pass, whether in the previous dynasty or now, has always been a strategically important military location, a crucial border defense that the Western Rong barbarians wanted to cross. During the chaotic times, countless battles were fought here, and countless people died. I heard that before the fall of the Liang Kingdom in the previous dynasty, the loss of Chiyang Pass alone resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of soldiers."

He sighed, “With so many people dying, there is a lot of resentment. Moreover, they died to protect their homes and country. When Dadan was established and the Bagua City was rebuilt, it was specially built in the shape of the Bagua and a stele was erected. This was not only to commemorate the heroes and resolve their grievances, but also to hope that their spirits in the heavens would protect the people on the border so that they would no longer suffer from the ravages of war or be invaded by foreigners. Therefore, it became a feng shui stele.”

He looked at Gong Qi and the others, his tone rather sarcastic, and said in a mocking tone, "You people who have grown up in Wujing and enjoy peace do not understand the suffering of the people on the border. Although after the founding of Dadan, all nations came to congratulate us, that was only a hundred years ago. When the country was first established, everything was in ruins. How much effort did it take to make this burned city prosperous again and to bring peace to the people? Although there were no large-scale wars in the past, there were still occasional small-scale plundering battles, which were quite alarming."

The so-called submission is also dependent on the timing. When the Great Dan Kingdom is strong, foreign tribes can only endure and hide, while simultaneously developing themselves. As they gradually grow stronger, their ambitions naturally increase. Even without major wars, when the weather turns cold, they will still plunder for food, supplies, and people. Otherwise, why would people on the vast grasslands, without food, water, or clothing, obediently submit and act like lapdogs?
Since I'm going to die either way, why not die standing up!
The existence of the Bagua City and this stele is a huge feng shui formation, intended to protect the border people from the suffering of war. Therefore, its importance is self-evident.

It is so important that every year the city lord leads the people to worship here, and no one is allowed to disrespect the monument to the martyrs, lest it ruin the feng shui and cause the city to suffer from war again.

Therefore, if anyone is found to be disrespectful to the monument to martyrs, they can receive a reward if the report is successful.

Gong Qi realized why the honest man had become dishonest; he was after the money.

Lang Jiuchuan asked, "So, this Bagua City and these stone pillars are the well-known feng shui formations used to bless the people?"

“That’s true. There are also rules about the feng shui of a house. If a city is built and planned well, it can bring peace and prosperity to the land, right?” Ma Qiao said. “We have been military households for generations, so we long for a peaceful and prosperous life without war.”

Lang Jiuchuan and Gong Qi exchanged a glance, their expressions slightly hardening.

Whether it's a genuine feng shui formation or just a gimmick to intimidate people and prevent them from touching the pillar that holds the formation in place, if it's a gimmick and no one touches it, then it's genuine, thus avoiding the situation where the pillar is destroyed and the formation is broken.

"This stele, has it truly never fallen since the moment it came into existence?" Gong Qi asked Ma Qiao.

Ma Qiao said, "We have to perform sacrifices every year. Even if it collapses, we have to report it to our superiors and have it straightened."

Gong Qi frowned.

Upon entering the city, the two politely declined Ma Qiao's invitation to stay at his home and instead found an inn to settle down temporarily. As soon as the door closed, Gong Qi couldn't wait to ask, "Do you think what he said is true or false?"

“They believe it’s true, but what exactly it is is something we need to investigate,” Lang Jiuchuan said. “Right now, it’s obvious that everyone believes this feng shui formation is blessing the people of Bagua City, so naturally no one will bother to investigate whether it’s a feng shui formation or a soul-trapping formation.”

Gong Qi frowned and said, "If the feng shui formation is real, why use the method of suppressing and trapping souls? Those stone pillars are clearly used to suppress souls and suppress the formation. What exactly is the purpose of trapping those soldiers?"

A strange thought flashed through his mind, and he said, "Hey, do you think we might be mistaken? Is it possible that there are evil spirits here, which is why they set up such a Yin Soldier Formation, using the soldiers' baleful aura and heroic spirits as the core of the formation, forming a killing array to suppress that thing, just like suppressing demons? In fact, that stele is actually the core of the formation?"

Lang Jiuchuan looked over. This person had gone back to his clan and come out again; his mind was much sharper, but...

“Unlikely.” Fu Qi couldn’t help but float out of the tower again and said, “If that’s the case, the Fu family army and I are willing to sacrifice our lives to destroy evil.”

“General…” Gong Qi’s eyes were filled with admiration.

Fu Qi said, "If that stele is the core of the array used to suppress evil, I will not feel disgust or suffer damage to my soul when I approach it. That stele does not seem to be used by the spirit that suppresses evil, but rather by the spirit that suppresses heroes."

Lang Jiuchuan nodded: "At the top of the stele, a stone guardian is used to suppress the White Tiger. The White Tiger is a general star, so it is often used to suppress heroic spirits... Most importantly, if the existence of this Bagua City and the stele is really to suppress evil spirits, even if it uses heroic spirits, wouldn't your Xuan Clan ancestors have made any record of it when they built the city?"

Gong Qi was annoyed. He had overthought things again. Indeed, if the Xuan Clan had really suppressed an evil spirit two hundred years ago, there would surely be records for future generations to know. But he had never heard of it, which proved that it didn't happen, or perhaps they were ashamed to record it.

After all, using heroic spirits as the core of the formation is somewhat inhumane and goes against the natural order.

"If we really want to investigate, we'll find out. Speculation is useless; we need to take action. We still need to search according to the location of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation to see if it's a living or dead formation. In addition, we need to go and explore the stele pillar area again tonight to see if we can find anything else. Also, we need to see if the Xuan Clan has any records of the original construction of this Eight Trigrams City." Lang Jiuchuan said, "The Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation must exist. I only have one question: why are the Fu family army being trapped on the day of the fire? If we don't understand this, we can't help them pass on to the afterlife."

Unless she disregards cause and effect and only seeks to ferry people across, even if it harms innocent people, but that is not her principle of conduct.

She tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her eyes slightly closed. What wondrous use could a soul consumed by flames have?

This is so hard to write! I stared at it for an hour after I finished, but something felt off. I kept thinking about how to revise it, but my mind was completely blank. Why did a noob like me have to fall into the suspense genre? I can't write well, and I can't even stop writing. I should change my name to "Useless," emmm!

That's why I said I just hope to finish writing this story smoothly—because my brain is completely overwhelmed!