Prelude: The Forgotten War

  The story of the Qing Shan County ruins is one of deceit, sacrifice, and resilience, set against the backdrop of one of the most tumultuous periods in Xiana's modern history.

  Between 1933 and 1942, Iussia launched a full-scale war of aggression against Xiana, exploiting the chaos of internal conflicts and global instability. Their forces rolled into Xiana’s vast territories, sowing death and destruction. Millions of Xiana’s civilians were slaughtered, cities were razed, and cultural treasures looted. Yet, despite facing a vastly superior enemy, the valiant Xiana people waged a brutal and determined anti-aggression war, ultimately securing their victory after nearly a decade of bloodshed.

  However, the cost of victory was catastrophic. Tens of thousands of priceless antiques and historical relics were plundered. The nation's coffers were drained, leaving its economy teetering on collapse. The environment bore scars that would take decades to heal—forests burned, rivers poisoned, and farmland reduced to barren wastelands.

  Among the war's lesser-known consequences was the exposure of mysterious ruins buried deep within Xiana’s land. These ruins, some believed to be ancient and imbued with supernatural energy, became the subject of extensive Iussia’s documentation during their occupation. While most Xiana historians dismissed these records as wartime propaganda, the Iussia people knew better. They had uncovered something extraordinary, something their military minds believed could shift the global balance of power.

  After their defeat in 1942, Iussian quietly shifted their focus to exploiting what they had uncovered during the war—the mysterious ruins scattered across Xiana's territories. Among these ruins was the enigmatic site hidden beneath Qing Shan County, a place the Xiana’s people had long since forgotten.

  For decades, the Iussians had plotted to regain access to these ruins. Their intelligence indicated that the Qing Shan ruins were particularly significant, believed to house a vast and potentially limitless source of energy—energy that could be weaponized or harnessed to reshape the world. The only problem was that the exact location of the ruins had been lost amid the war’s chaos.

  By the mid-20th century, Iussian intelligence had colluded with traitors in Xiana’s political and military hierarchy to rediscover the ruins. Feng Gang, an ambitious and corrupt official, became one of their key conspirators. With his knowledge of Qing Shan County and his willingness to betray his country, Feng was placed as vice party secretary of the county under the pretense of economic development.

  Once installed, Feng Gang began working with Qing Shan County’s party leadership, including County Head Wei Tian. Feng subtly manipulated Wei, feeding him promises of wealth and power in exchange for cooperation. Together, they initiated secretive rituals, drawing from the Iussian intelligence records that described how to awaken the ruins and pinpoint their location.

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  Through these dark rituals—many of which involved horrifying human sacrifices—the ruins finally revealed themselves. A dark energy seeped into the land, its presence bringing devastation to Qing Shan County. Fields withered, rivers dried up, and the townsfolk began to change. One by one, they transformed into grotesque, inhuman monsters, their minds consumed by the ruin's curse.

  With the ruins exposed, Feng Gang secretly reported the findings to the Iussians. Their allies within the Xiana military orchestrated a plan to send troops into Qing Shan under the guise of suppressing local unrest. However, these soldiers were not sent to protect the people—they were tasked with extracting the ruin's energy and ensuring Iussian control over the site.

  As Iussians -aligned troops entered Qing Shan County, the energy from the ruins surged, devastating the entire region. Towns were overrun by monsters, their populations either slaughtered or transformed. The soldiers themselves were not spared, as the ruins’ corrupting influence seeped into their ranks, turning even the strongest men into twisted creatures. The once-prosperous county became a hellscape—a forbidden zone where no sane man dared to tread.

  Amid this chaos, the Iussians sent their elite operatives to descend into the ruins’ core. This team of three—powerful and equipped with unnatural abilities—sought to retrieve the essence of the ruins’ energy, believing it could give their nation unparalleled power. But they hadn’t counted on the intervention of two unlikely figures: Zhao Xi, a former county secretary, and Yin Yueqing, the heir to a lineage sworn to protect the world from the ruins’ horrors.

  Zhao Xi and Yin Yueqing encountered the Iussians deep in the ruins’ core, where the energy’s presence was strongest. The three Iussian operatives—each wielding supernatural powers of their own—proved to be formidable foes. The burly Iussian transformed into a monstrous bear, using brute strength to battle Yueqing. Another manipulated blood into deadly weapons, raining crimson blades upon them. The leader, a gaunt and sinister old man, controlled the very stone of the ruins, reshaping the environment to his will.

  Despite the odds, Zhao Xi and Yueqing prevailed. Yueqing’s mastery of her family’s ancient powers allowed her to overcome the monstrous bear, while Zhao Xi’s resilience and cleverness helped them outwit the blood manipulator. In the end, Yueqing’s transformation into a crimson tiger—a power awakened by the essence she had consumed—allowed her to defeat the old man in a titanic battle that shook the ruins to their foundation.

  Two of the Iussians were killed, but the third escaped, carrying news of their failure back to Feng Gang.

  As Zhao Xi and Yueqing struggled to escape the collapsing ruins, they encountered the Xiana’s military troops sent to secure the site. Yueqing, desperate to save Zhao Xi, who was gravely injured, cried out for help. Among the troops was Feng Gang, who approached with apparent concern. However, Zhao Xi, through his blurred vision, recognized Feng and immediately sensed something was wrong.

  Feigning ignorance, Feng Gang pretended not to know Zhao Xi and instead focused on Yueqing. He lured her away from the troops under the guise of discussing “confidential information.” Trusting him, Yueqing followed, only to be caught completely off guard when Feng Gang drew a knife and stabbed her in the abdomen.

  As Yueqing crumpled to the ground, Feng Gang revealed his true nature. He had been conspiring with the Iussians all along, and the essence she had consumed was the key to unlocking the ruin’s full power. His betrayal was not only of her but of the entire nation.