Chapter 642 - Chu He
Chapter 642: Chu He
The person’s hair was already gray and he looked to be in his fifties or sixties. He was thin. Although there were many wrinkles on his face, his chiseled edges were still there. It was obvious that he had been a handsome man when he was young.
When the old man was looking at the dice, he saw Zhou Wen and Liu Yun. He also knew that they were walking over, but he didn’t seem to have the desire to communicate with them. All he did was stand there dejectedly.
“How should I address you?” Liu Yun asked.
When the old man heard the voice, it was as if he had just woken up. He subconsciously answered, “My name is Chu He. I’m a professor at Imperial Capital College’s History department.”
“Peasant? Is your wife called noon[1]?” Liu Yun joked.
“It’s not that. It’s Chu He as in the Chu River.” The old man didn’t have any sense of humor. In such an environment, there was nothing that could make him laugh. Therefore, the old man explained seriously.
Zhou Wen’s eyes widened when he heard the elder’s words. He asked in disbelief, “Chu He? How many professors in the Imperial Capital College’s History department are named Chu He?”
“I’m the only one.” Chu He seemed somewhat numb. He didn’t care why Zhou Wen would ask such a strange question.
Zhou Wen looked at Chu He excitedly. In the entire Imperial Capital College, Zhou Wen only knew of one person named Chu He.
The reason Zhou Wen could remember this name wasn’t because Chu He was famous. No matter how famous Chu He was in his field, Zhou Wen couldn’t care less, much less remember his name.
However, this Chu He was different. This was because there was a history professor at Imperial Capital College. He was a member of the former principal’s expedition team.
Zhou Wen had seen Chu He’s name and information on the list, and he had also seen the picture of the expedition team.
However, Zhou Wen had only had a general look back then. Chu He wasn’t his target, so he didn’t pay much attention to him.
Now that he thought about it, this Chu He was indeed somewhat similar to the Chu He in the photo. However, the Chu He in the photo was slightly plumper. He wasn’t this thin and he looked better. He had a ruddy face and black hair. He wasn’t as pale as he was now. Back then, Chu He was in high spirits.
Is he really Professor Chu He from the expedition team? Shouldn’t he have entered the Zhuolu battlefield with the former principal and company? They went missing together, so how could he be here? Zhou Wen believed that the former principal had been killed, but for a person who had likely been killed with the former principal to appear in Netherworld City made him feel alarmed again.
Could it be that Netherworld City is really the place where humans come to after death? Could it be that the people in this city aren’t living humans, but dead ghosts? Then what about Liu Yun and me? Could it be that we are already dead without even realizing it? Did our souls enter Netherworld City? Zhou Wen shook his head and threw this ridiculous thought out of his mind.
“Professor Chu, have you been to the Zhuolu battlefield for research?” Zhou Wen asked as he stared at Chu He. He hoped that Chu He was Professor Chu He from the expedition team.
If they were really the same person, it was very likely that the former principal hadn’t been killed if Professor Chu He was still alive. After all, he hadn’t found the former principal’s corpse in Zhuolu, nor had he discovered any other relics.
Ever since he was young, there hadn’t been many people who had treated Zhou Wen well. The former principal was one of them. Zhou Wen felt that a good person like the former principal shouldn’t have died so early. At the very least, he didn’t wish for the former principal to die so early.
“No.” Chu He shook his head.
“How can that be? Think about it carefully. The Federation invited you to participate in the expedition team to Zhuolu. You, Professor Ouyang Ting, and a few other experts and professors went to Zhuolu together,” Zhou Wen said.
After speaking for a while, Chu He’s thoughts seemed to become more active. After hearing Zhou Wen’s words, he lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, “I remember. There was such an incident. Back then, an organization under the Federation did invite me to Zhuolu to carry out research work. I remember that there was an old professor Ouyang Ting on the list.”
“If you went to Zhuolu with them, why are you here alone?” Zhou Wen asked in excitement. He had already taken a look at the others on the street, but he hadn’t discovered the former principal or the other members of the expedition team.
To his surprise, Chu He shook his head and said, “No, no, no. I didn’t go to Zhuolu. I had a major discovery at that time and wanted to do research in the Taklamakan Desert, so I rejected the invitation and didn’t go to Zhuolu.”
“You rejected the invitation?” Zhou Wen looked at Chu He with disbelief.
He had read the information on the Zhuolu expedition team. Although there was no more information after they went missing, the records were still very detailed. There were even their punch card records when they were at the encampment.
Many people in the encampment had seen Professor Chu He before. Some had even chatted with him. Now, Chu He had actually said that he hadn’t gone to Zhuolu and had rejected the invitation from the beginning. This made many thoughts flash through Zhou Wen’s mind.
Is this Chu He lying? Or did he really not go to Zhuolu? If he really didn’t go to Zhuolu, then who’s the Chu He in Zhuolu? Is this Chu He fake? Or is the expedition team’s Chu He fake? Or is it the same person? Did the soul enter Netherworld City after Chu He died and he has already forgotten the past? That’s not right. He still remembers his name and knows that he’s a professor at Imperial Capital College. It doesn’t look like his memories have been washed away. Zhou Wen’s mind was in a mess; he couldn’t figure out what was going on.
“Yes, I rejected it,” Chu He said bitterly. “I was in a dilemma back then. If I had chosen to go to Zhuolu, I wouldn’t have been trapped in this place that’s akin to hell.”
Zhou Wen thought to himself, If you had gone to Zhuolu back then, your outcome might not have been better than now. At the very least, you’re still alive. I’m not even sure if the former principal and company are dead or not.
“Junior Brother, let’s chat about all of that later. We don’t have much time left. Ask the important questions,” said Liu Yun anxiously.
Zhou Wen nodded and asked, “Professor Chu, how did you enter Netherworld City? What’s the situation here?”
Chu He said, “Back then, I was studying the ruins of the Niya civilization in the desert. Who knew that I would encounter a sandstorm? After the sandstorm passed, I saw Netherworld City. Then, there was a huge fire around me. I had no choice but to escape into Netherworld City.”
The experience of Chu He and Zhou Wen’s entering Netherworld City was similar. However, Zhou Wen thought of another important problem.
[1] Chu He can be a homophone for a peasant. There’s a poem that says a peasant toils at noon. The toil here can be regarded as a sexual innuendo.