Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The voice was thin and high-pitched, reminiscent of a woman singing, but it was not a song; it was a melody from Ancient Times, lacking lyrics, just an “ah ah ah” echoing in the air. As I listened, the sound took on a hauntingly ethereal quality, drawing me in with its distant yet close presence, as if it were captivating my very soul, and I found myself gradually becoming addicted to it.
“I’ve heard this tune before,” A Li suddenly spoke up, startling everyone who had been entranced by the sound. He hummed a few lines along with it, surprisingly keeping the rhythm. “When I was at Li Mountain, I heard Kui Liu Ye hum this. It’s a local folk song that has been passed down for ages. The Kui Family has lived in Lintong for generations; their ancestors must have been Qin People.”
With A Li’s explanation, everyone finally understood.
A Chen chuckled, “Looks like we’ve really hit the mark this time! This must be Li You's Tomb!”
“Hmph,” the junior brother immediately retorted, “Qiao Ye’s Fen Jin Ding Xue technique is the real deal. If you think anyone’s fooling you, you can just go back now; no one’s stopping you!”
“What’s your problem? What kind of attitude is that?” Liu Zi chimed in angrily.
“This is my attitude! What’s your problem?!” The junior brother shot back, and the two began to bicker back and forth.
The group had tried to mediate their argument along the way, but their patience had worn thin. No one wanted to get involved anymore; after all, it was pointless—if they were enemies, they would clash anyway. So they decided to let the two sort it out themselves while they continued on their path.
Whether it was due to the tomb owner’s negligence or overconfidence, or perhaps benefiting from the previous Tomb Raider's luck, they encountered no traps along the passageway. With such a melodious and ethereal tune accompanying them, everyone’s previously tense nerves relaxed. It felt less like tomb raiding and more like visiting an archaeological park.
At the end of the passageway stood a pair of open Copper Doors, about two and a half meters high and one point seven meters wide. One side of the door was engraved with a strangely shaped large bird that resembled both a peacock and a swallow. Its wings sported feathers that looked like harpoons, and its scissor-like tail bore two snowflake-like symbols beneath it, elegantly framing two intertwined eggs—a majestic sight indeed.
I was taken aback and instinctively glanced at Cold Bench. I recognized that bird all too well; it was none other than the Qin Totem—Xuan Niao Yun Juan—engraved on the twelve long swords in the Li Mountain Armory! It had also appeared once on the bronze chains beneath the Qinling Shaft.
Cold Bench seemed to glance at me briefly but quickly turned away as Liu Zi asked what it was. Cold Bench turned his head to respond to him but inadvertently caught my eye for just a moment.
It seemed he was determined to create division among us.
I didn’t know why, but suddenly I found myself loudly explaining this totem as if I were an overlooked student trying to draw attention from a teacher: “This is the Qin People’s totem—Xuan Niao Yun Juan. It was first discovered in the 1990s in Records of the Grand Historian: ‘Xuan Niao Yun Juan, a daughter of Jiao Shi swallowed an egg and gave birth to Bo Yi,’ meaning that the ancestors of the Qin People had a daughter named Hua who swallowed swallow eggs and gave birth to Bo Yi—the male ancestor of the Qin People. This totem likely records that event.” I finished in one breath, surprised even by my own outburst.
In fact, A Chen's words expressed what was on all our minds; all the information clearly pointed to one thing—this was indeed Li You's Tomb.
After all, in the team, only Old Qiao was a Tu Fuzi, and he was only half-hearted about it. The rest of us were novices, skeptical about the strange and mysterious art of Fen Jin Ding Xue. How could anyone possibly determine what lay beneath the ground just by walking around on the surface? Unless they had x-ray vision or were some kind of deity.
In short, outsiders tended to believe in this ancient and mysterious geomantic technique, but not entirely. People can be quite contradictory at times.
However, having come this far, with the ready-made thief's tunnel, the ancient folk songs of the Qin people, and the Qin Totem on the door, everyone had at least come to believe ninety percent of it. But as long as we hadn’t seen Li You’s coffin, that remaining ten percent would remain elusive.
Liuzi, feeling impatient, was about to push the door when Old Qiao stopped him. “Liuzi brother, don’t be so hasty; let Old Man take a look first.”
“What are you looking at? If you look any longer, it’ll still just be a Copper Door,” Liuzi retorted. Though he said that, he withdrew his hand to give Old Qiao some space.
Once they were underground, Old Qiao's status in their eyes had clearly changed.
Old Qiao neither got angry nor paid him any mind. He placed three fingers of each hand against either side of the Xuan Bird Totem and began to feel from the top down. Suddenly, he paused at the first egg beneath the tail. With a firm press of his middle and ring fingers downward, there was a series of mechanical sounds as the Copper Door swung open.
Liuzi felt slighted after being ignored by Old Qiao earlier. But now that he saw the Copper Door opening, he exclaimed, “Damn! I thought there was some impressive mechanism or hidden weapon; turns out it’s just a door lock! I could smash it open with just one fist!” With that, he stepped inside.
Old Qiao barely had time to shout, “Don’t move!” but Liuzi had already stepped in.
Liuzi grinned and said, “I know not to step on the threshold when entering!” Just as he was about to lift his other foot, his expression suddenly changed. “What the hell!”
Old Qiao crouched down and shone his flashlight on Liuzi's foot. Everyone gasped in shock as they saw that Liuzi's foot had sunk halfway into the Copper Door—there was quicksand below!
His disciple sneered, “Hmph! Ignoring the advice of elders leads to trouble! Do you think Yuan Da Tou died for no reason? He was just like you—asking for trouble!”
Old Qiao added, “In places underground where there are doors, there must be sealing mechanisms; it’s hard to guard against! Liuzi brother, if you had just stepped on the threshold earlier, it would have been fine!”
As they spoke, Liuzi's foot had completely sunk down at an alarming speed and with tremendous force—there was no chance for escape. Liuzi panicked and broke into a cold sweat. “Stop talking nonsense! What do we do now? It’s sinking fast!”
"Don't move at all; the more you struggle, the deeper you'll sink," Old Qiao instructed, beckoning me and my junior disciple over. "Each of you hold one of his arms. Don't pull up; instead, pull sideways."
Everyone stepped back to clear some space. Although my junior disciple was reluctant to help Liuzi, he certainly wouldn't pass up the chance to watch the spectacle. Besides, saving Liuzi would be far more satisfying than letting him suffer. The best strategy in battle is to win without fighting, and making someone feel cornered is a clever tactic.
We worked together to support Liuzi, while Old Qiao pressed a dagger against the inner side of Liuzi's leg and angled it downward. "When I count to three, everyone pull with all your might. Remember, pull sideways; otherwise, he'll sink even deeper."
Liuzi was completely focused on his own leg and had no idea about my junior disciple's scheme. He nervously swallowed a few times, instinctively lowering his waist a few centimeters. His weight was almost entirely resting on my and my junior disciple's arms, causing my junior disciple to shake under the strain. "Damn it, are you made of lead? You're so heavy!"
Before Liuzi could respond, Old Qiao shouted, and the three of us pulled with all our strength in a nearly horizontal direction. Sure enough, the ground beneath us loosened a bit. With renewed determination, we pulled four more times before finally freeing Liuzi from the quicksand.
Immediately, all four of us collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Sweat mixed with the oil on our bodies created an unpleasantly sticky sensation that was unbearable.
A Chen stepped forward to survey the area and asked, "Qiao Master, how do we get past this quicksand layer?"
Hearing his voice, I tilted my head to take a look inside. Behind the door was a path about two meters wide—straight and long—though the beam from our flashlight couldn't reach its end yet. This path was completely filled with dark red quicksand. My goodness, this wasn't just a security measure; it was practically a gateway to hell!
It seemed that the tomb owner named Li You had no intention of allowing anyone to enter.
Comment 0 Comment Count