The stalagmite charged at her so fast that it looked as if it had wheels beneath it. She leaped up and swung her dagger, intending to split the stalagmite.
In a flash, she saw a vague humanoid object within the stalagmite. It was pale and colorless. Shocked, she quickly retracted her dagger. The tip of the dagger brushed past the stalagmite. Unable to withstand the sharp blade, the stalagmite split open with a crack, and a white object rolled out.
Ji Yu whistled, and everyone immediately spread out with their weapons in hand. They stared at the object warily, but it seemed to have a life of its own and kept rolling in front of Meng Fuyao. Meng Fuyao pointed at the ground with the tip of her dagger, and the bright light of her dagger shone in the dark cave like the Milky Way. The object seemed to be afraid of such a godly weapon and stopped three feet away from her.
As soon as it stopped, everyone could see clearly that it was the corpse of a naked girl. Her head was slightly tilted to the side, and she was bent over hugging her legs. There was no hair on her body, and her skin was abnormally white, almost the same color as the stalagmite. No one noticed her when she was buried at the base of the stalagmite.
"Crooked limb burial?" Meng Fuyao mumbled to herself. In her previous life, she had participated in the excavation of the Guangfulin culture and discovered a crooked limb burial. However, the shape of this child's corpse was unusual. It was neither crooked limb upward nor sideways. It was then that she recalled that she was now in a foreign world, and the changes of dynasties and cultures were different from her previous life. The archeological dating, epigraphy, cultural stratification, and even the taboos and customs of the various dynasties were no longer applicable. What she could use were the intuition and basic deductions that she had formed during the archeological process.
For example, this human corpse was alone in the stalagmite, which was unusual. This stalagmite was probably not a stalagmite either. Meng Fuyao examined it carefully and realized that it was actually a thin layer of jade. It was probably a huge piece of jade that had been hollowed out and placed into the corpse.
The corpse's finger was slightly raised and pointed in a certain direction. Meng Fuyao straightened her up with her knife. Indeed, she was pointing at the bottom of the stalagmite, where a hole had appeared due to the broken stalagmite.
A gust of wind blew from the bottom of the cave and whistled through the spacious cavern. Everyone stared at the body of the little girl lying quietly at Fuyao's feet. Her skin and flesh glowed a pale green under the reflection of the stalactites, and their hearts trembled.
Ji Yu helped up the soldier who had pushed down the stalagmite. He had only been shocked for a moment and was now lowering his head in embarrassment. However, everyone smiled at him with tolerance. Even though he had been through hundreds of battles, it was normal for him to be shocked when he suddenly saw this thing in this cave filled with danger and under his feet was the thousand-year-old tomb of the Great Monkey Tribe, which was known as the strangest in history.
However, the soldier looked up at the child's corpse and suddenly cried out in fear again.
"She was looking up just now! That's not it! "
Ji Yu frowned. "Did you see wrongly because of the shock?" Fuyao's body trembled in shock.
"No!" The soldier said hurriedly, "I saw it clearly just now. She raised her head and looked at me. The whites of her eyes were green. That's why I, I …"
"Burn her." It was Zhan Beiye who suddenly spoke. He strode over and pointed his long sword at the child's corpse. The blade glowed red, and the corpse tried to roll away as if it had sensed it, but was blocked by Meng Fuyao's knife.
"This should be the Great Monkey Tribe's' Guardian Virgin ', a girl born on a Yin Year, Yin Month, and Yin Day. From the moment she was born, she never saw her parents. She was fed goat cheese mixed with a secret recipe to nourish her skin until it glistened. When she was five years old, she was killed in the most cruel way possible to guard the entrance of the tomb. This thing is filled with resentment and must not be left alive."
"No." Meng Fuyao thought about it and shook her head. "If this thing could be solved by burning it, the Great Monkey Tribe wouldn't have used it to guard the tomb. They must have other plans for leaving it here. "
She looked around, and her gaze landed on a hawksbill turtle embedded in the pouch on Ji Yu's waist. She couldn't help but be delighted, and said, "This is good. Come, come, offer it first."
Ji Yu looked troubled and hesitated for a moment before taking it off. Meng Fuyao laughed. "A gift from your lover? It's alright, I'll explain it to you next time. "
Ji Yu blushed and turned his head away. Meng Fuyao could not help but smile even more when she saw the determined young man's expression. Everyone smiled knowingly, and the atmosphere in the gloomy cave became slightly more relaxed.
Meng Fuyao split the hawksbill turtle into two and sprinkled it on the corpse. When the hawksbill turtle powder fell, the corpse suddenly shrunk and raised its head!
Her green eyes flashed with a demonic light in the darkness. Her gaze was unfocused, but it seemed to be looking at everyone. Everyone who came into contact with such a gaze filled with death could not help but feel a chill from their lower abdomen. On her abdomen, a transparent piece of her belly faintly emitted an earthy yellow light. The light became brighter and brighter, like a cluster of demonic fire.
The surrounding temperature suddenly rose, as if someone had used a huge cauldron to cook hot soup. There was no steam, but the temperature was bone-chilling.
Everyone took a step back, but Meng Fuyao stood still. Zhan Beiye stood beside her, shielding her. She pushed him away and said, "Your Yang Qi is too strong. This thing is afraid of you and will only cause trouble. Don't worry, it'll be fine."
She took a step forward, looked into those green eyes, and said in a low voice, "Go."
The Hawksbill Turtle powder fell, and the pair of green pupils gradually turned white. His stomach also bulged up and down, as if there was something inside his body that couldn't come out. It shook the corpse so much that it kept making banging sounds, and the earthy yellow light kept flickering. After a long while, it gradually disappeared.
Meng Fuyao stared at it anxiously. When the glow disappeared, she let out a long sigh and returned the half of the hawksbill turtle to Ji Yu. "The hawksbill turtle is a holy item to ward off evil, and one of the favorite items of grave robbers. Keep it well."
Meng Fuyao walked to the entrance of the cave and said, "You can go down now."
Ji Yu snatched the hawksbill turtle and was about to slide down when Meng Fuyao grabbed it and stuck her head in to take a closer look. "Don't slide! Put your hands and feet on the wall and go down slowly. Don't slide down just to save trouble! "
Without another word, Ji Yu followed Meng Fuyao's instructions and climbed down slowly. The rest followed. This time, Zhan Beiye refused to let anyone follow him and insisted on bringing up the rear.
Meng Fuyao walked in the middle, touching the soil around the cave as she walked. Suddenly, she said in a low voice, "Quick! Extinguish the fire! "
Her nervous tone sent a shiver down everyone's spines. One of the soldiers immediately blew out the flame and asked, "Why?"
Meng Fuyao's eyes were as bright as stars in the darkness, but she did not answer. "Let's go down first. If I'm not wrong, there should be something down there."
The cave was not very long, and after a while, light appeared. The entrance gradually shifted to the left, and it became more and more spacious. They could no longer use their hands and feet to support themselves, so they climbed down the cave wall and stepped on the protruding tongue. After about ten meters, Ji Yu, who was at the bottom, suddenly exclaimed.
At the same time, everyone closed their eyes.
The light was dazzling.
Crimson, dark blue, emerald green, yellow, lustrous purple, and five other colors rushed out from the bottom of the cave. From afar, it looked like a colorful cloud slowly rising from the depths of the dark underground. It was magnificent, magnificent, transparent, crystal clear, resplendent, and dazzling.
It was a huge crystal mine that was hard to come by, and its value was almost immeasurable.
However, this was not the only thing that shocked everyone.
These crystals were all huge, towering, cylindrical crystals, their tips as sharp as swords. They were slanted and crisscrossed, like a forest of trees. It was not hard to imagine that if they had slid down the cave in one go, they would have fallen straight into the crystal forest, pierced through the beautiful crystals, and become eternal sacrifices for the thousand-year tomb of the Great Hou Clan.
This crystal forest looked beautiful, but in reality, it had stood here for thousands of years, waiting to be killed by those who wanted to take their lives.
In fact, in the northwest corner of the crystal forest, there were indeed a few skeletons, struggling painfully to be pierced through the crystal. They were probably grave robbers from many years ago who had dug their way down but were unlucky enough to become dried corpses. Looking at the corpses, everyone felt as if they were looking at themselves, and shuddered.
Zhan Beiye whispered behind Meng Fuyao, "How do you know there's this down there?"
How? Meng Fuyao smiled. All large-scale tombs had anti-theft measures, such as quicksand, three-in-one soil, mercury and fire, fake coffins, and stone ceilings … But in tombs that used mountains as their base, there were those that used natural conditions to kill and prevent theft. Meng Fuyao had once discovered an ancient tomb of the Warring States Period, where she had seen a formation set up using mountain stones. She had thought of it for a moment and was just being cautious.
This was her professional intuition, and she could not explain it. Behind her, Zhan Beiye did not ask any further, but suddenly let out a low sigh.
They had reached the entrance of the cave, and Ji Yu immediately went down. The cave was very bright, and the walls were filled with mica and agate, reflecting the light of the crystals, forming a dark shadow on the ground. In front of the crystal forest was a huge, strange bird statue.
It looked like a white crane, but its feathers were scarlet, and there were strange patterns on it. It had only one leg, and a long white beak.
Meng Fuyao looked up at the strange bird statue and murmured, "'Classic of Mountains and Seas', Chapter Zeshan: There's a bird that looks like a crane, has one leg, scarlet and green, and has a beak. Now, there's fire … This is the Bi Fang, the God of Fire."
Zhan Beiye suddenly stepped forward and sniffed the surroundings of the statue, and his expression changed.
"Kerosene …"
"Yes, this statue is hollow, and it's filled with flammable kerosene. If I'm not wrong, there's a fuse buried under the statue all the way to the entrance of the cave, and the soil at the entrance is saltpeter soil. "
"So you're telling us to extinguish the fire?" Zhan Beiye's expression changed. "Not only that, but we can't even burn the child's corpse. If we do, it'll explode, right?"
Meng Fuyao smiled without replying, but she felt a chill in her heart towards the Da Hou Clan. The designer of this tomb was a psychopath. Just the child's corpse at the entrance alone required at least three levels of killing. He had predicted that the inauspicious object would be destroyed by those who entered the tomb, and the only way to do so would be to burn it with fire or slash it. Thus, he buried the fuse to connect it to the statue. Once there was an open fire near the entrance, there was a possibility that it would explode below. If those who entered the tomb chose to dismember the child's corpse, there would be demonic insects in the child's stomach that would force their way out. Even if someone managed to pass two levels consecutively, most people would let their guard down and slide down the hole. That way, there would still be a crystal sword array waiting for them.
At this point, Zhan Beiye had also figured out how terrifying it was. "Fuyao, you've saved us three times."
Meng Fuyao smiled and shook her head. "You save me, and I save you. Why do we have to be so calculative?" She strode over, bypassed the statue, and passed through the crystal sword array. Finally, she stopped in front of a stone door. "Behind this is the path of the tomb."
On the stone door, there were some strange words written in cinnabar or fresh blood. Meng Fuyao shook her head without lifting her head. She muttered, "Anyone who dares to issue my Qiu Writ will not escape."
Zhan Beiye was carefully deciphering the Da Hou Clan's secret language. Upon hearing this, he asked in surprise, "You know the Da Hou language?"
Meng Fuyao giggled. "All the tomb owners in the world only know this curse."
Zhan Beiye looked at her and smiled. "I really like your foolishness and boldness."
Meng Fuyao pretended not to hear him. She leaned on the door and looked at the huge hinges. "I don't know if it opens inward or outward. Let's try."
The result was that it opened inward, but it couldn't be pushed open. Meng Fuyao stuck a dagger into the gap of the door and poked it up and down. "There's a door and a floor, and there's a lock on both sides. There seems to be a mandarin duck buckle. It's a rather complicated door opening device."
She stretched out her hand. "Fatty! Qiao Gun! "
There was silence behind her. Meng Fuyao was stunned for a moment before she remembered what she had said. She slowly turned her head and saw that everyone was looking at her with a strange expression.
She twitched her mouth and said embarrassedly, "It was a slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue …"
Two Black Wind Cavalrymen handed over two steel awls. "Will this do?"
"Make do." She took it and started fiddling with it. The gazes of the people behind her were all on her back, which made her feel a little awkward. She guessed that Zhan Beiye was looking at her with a 'so you're a tomb robber' gaze. Sigh, this was too embarrassing. Her illustrious reputation had gone down the drain.
But to be honest, Meng Fuyao's technique was indeed in the category of tomb robbing and not archaeology. In the past, when the country encountered some difficult facilities, they would invite some 'commoners' to assist in the excavation in order not to destroy the site and maintain a high degree of integrity. Meng Fuyao had learned this from an old 'Daoist Faqiu'.
After a while, a 'kacha' sound was finally heard. The door of the tomb was finally opened by Meng Fuyao.
A thousand-year-old stench rushed out from the deep and dark passageway and crashed into the people at the door. Meng Fuyao had already pulled Zhan Beiye aside.
At a glance, the passageway was about 50 meters long. There were no walls or doors, which was completely different from the Han and Tang Dynasties in her previous life, which used heavy boulders to seal the passageway. Meng Fuyao was slightly relieved. If there were too many boulders in the passageway, it would be impossible to blow them up with the current gunpowder technology and weight.
The group entered the passageway cautiously. Only then did Meng Fuyao give the order to light a match. She looked up and saw that the top of the passageway was painted with brightly colored murals. Most of them were pictures of sacrifices and battles. Occasionally, there were strange statues of gods. Meng Fuyao glanced at a corner of the mural and vaguely felt that something was amiss. However, in a flash, the Black Wind Cavalry had already passed by the mural. The fire source was precious, so Meng Fuyao had no time to stop and study it.
As she moved forward, she smashed a few pieces of crystal that she had picked up earlier to test the path ahead. The cavalryman walked in front and kept answering Ji Yu's whispered questions. Suddenly, his body stiffened as if he had seen something. His body tilted and crashed into the wall of the passageway.
With a loud boom, the wall cracked, and a large amount of golden sand poured out like a spring. The sand landed on the ground and poured into a barely noticeable crack. The crack was filled in an instant, followed by another loud boom.
The cavalryman's body bent and he suddenly fell straight down.
"Whoosh!"
Zhan Beiye, who was walking at the back, suddenly appeared at the front and picked up the cavalryman with a black shadow. At that moment, the ground beneath him suddenly flipped, revealing a pit with a diameter of four to five meters. Sharp blades flickered in the pit, as if they were waiting to devour someone.
Zhan Beiye, who was carrying a person, did a somersault in mid-air and stepped on the top of the passageway. Using the momentum, he leaped twenty feet and passed the pit.
Just as he landed on the ground, another loud boom was heard. The top of the passageway he had just stepped on suddenly split open, and a large amount of soil mixed with sharp gravel fell like a torrential rain. In an instant, the pit was filled up, but it did not stop falling. When the pit was full, a cracking sound could be heard from somewhere.
Meng Fuyao had already raised her arms and shouted, "Go! Hurry! The passageway is about to be sealed! " The wall beside her cracked, and a large amount of yellow sand flowed out. In an instant, a layer of yellow sand piled up under her feet. Before long, the entire passageway would be filled with yellow sand.
Ji Yu had already kicked the Black Wind Cavalry over. "Hurry! Miss Meng, hurry!" He shouted again.
"You first!" Meng Fuyao kicked one of the cavalrymen away and shouted at Zhan Beiye, who was about to rush through the sand and smoke to receive her, "Don't come over, or they'll all die together!"
Zhan Beiye's body froze halfway through his charge, and the muscles on his face contorted.
The mountain rocks were falling rapidly, and it looked like they would not be able to pass them. The crack that was half a man's height was still closing up, revealing Zhan Beiye's anxious face. He suddenly gritted his teeth, turned around, and knocked down a few Black Wind Cavalrymen that were charging over. Then, he raised his leg and ran.
There were still two Black Wind Cavalrymen in front of Ji Yu and Meng Fuyao, and the yellow sand was already knee-deep. The two of them looked at each other and leaped up, grabbing and kicking the cavalrymen. The cavalryman that Meng Fuyao kicked passed through the crack that was only a few centimeters wide and crashed into Zhan Beiye, who had no choice but to reach out and take a step back. The one that Ji Yu kicked suddenly slid behind Meng Fuyao like a swimming fish, and without saying a word, he gave it a hard push.
The crack was only wide enough for a person to lie down, and no one would be able to pass if they didn't.
Meng Fuyao was anxious as she stared at Zhan Beiye, who was about to rush back. She did not expect the cavalryman to have such a trick up his sleeve, and was sent flying towards the crack. She only had time to grab hold of Ji Yu.
Rocks continued to fall, and sand quickly filled up the crack. To make matters worse, one of the stones at the top suddenly loosened, and a huge rock weighing half a ton came crashing down!
The direction of the falling rock was right in the direction of Meng Fuyao, who was about to pass through the crack. She was unable to change her position in mid-air, and it looked like she was about to be squashed into a meat patty.
Zhan Beiye suddenly pounced over, and with his sword in its sheath, he used his shoulder to block the falling rock.
"Pfft!"
He spat out a mouthful of blood on the rock.
The weight of the rock was more than a thousand kilograms. Coupled with the immense gravity of the sudden fall, even the innately strong Zhan Beiye would not be able to stop himself from bleeding on the spot.
Amidst the sound of the falling rocks, the sound of Zhan Beiye's sword bending slightly under the weight of the rock. Perhaps there was also the sound of his bones being squeezed by the gravity, but Zhan Beiye did not budge an inch. He held on with all his might, and blood began to seep out of the corner of his mouth.
The Black Wind Cavalryman who came last pounced over, using his weapon and shoulder to block the rock as well.
With a whoosh, Meng Fuyao finally passed through the crack that was only wide enough for a person to pass through. Zhan Beiye pulled her to safety with one hand.
There was another sound. Ji Yu's body also came over, but he was one step too late. The instant his body came over, a huge rock that weighed dozens of kilograms suddenly fell. The sharp tip of the rock was aimed right at Ji Yu's left arm.
"Kacha!" A slight bone-cracking sound could be heard. Ji Yu's left arm was pressed under the rock.
Blood drained from his face, but he did not even look at his hand. He pushed Zhan Beiye away and pulled out the sword that was about to bend.
The sword shot out, bouncing off the tunnel and landing on the ground. Zhan Beiye staggered backward and spat out another mouthful of blood.
The sword flashed.
Blood splattered everywhere.
Ji Yu used his sword to chop off his left arm that was pressed down.
Then, he flipped over and rolled to the ground.
The huge rock came crashing down, splitting the tunnel into two and blocking it forever.
One of Ji Yu's arms would forever remain in the Great Hou Clan's tomb.
Along with his arm, the cavalryman on the other side of the rock was also left behind. The moment he pushed Meng Fuyao away, he was already doomed to die.
Ji Yu clung to the rock, blood gushing out of his severed arm. Ignoring it, he pounded on the stone door with all his might and shouted, "San 'er! San 'er! "
There was no sound from the other side, but there was a faint commotion.
Meng Fuyao pounced over and pressed her ear against the stone door. She could vaguely hear the sounds of struggling, struggling, and panting, as well as the screams from the throat.
What was happening on the other side?
What had suddenly appeared in the other half of the tomb that was separated by the boulder?
And what had that lonely soldier, who had given her the chance to live, met with?
Was it not just quicksand that could bury people alive?
Judging from his panting and roaring, he must have encountered something extremely terrifying, something that was beyond what he could bear. As a Black Wind elite who was determined to die and had killed countless people, what could cause him to be so terrified before his death?
Because she did not know, she became even more panicked.
Meng Fuyao clung to the huge rock, imagining the moment he faced the empty tunnel, his inevitable death, the sudden appearance of a ghost, his desperate struggle, the fear that drove one crazy, and the pain of loneliness.
She felt the pain in her heart, and a sweet taste filled her throat. She banged her head against the boulder, but she didn't know why she did it. She only felt that by banging her head against the boulder, she could stop the pain in her heart for the young man. But no matter how she banged her head against the boulder, she couldn't save him. All she could do was "listen" as he struggled against the unknown fear in his final moments of life.
A warm palm suddenly appeared in front of the huge rock, and her head slammed into it.
The palm was stained with blood and mud, but it was placed between her head and the huge rock, preventing her from hurting herself.
It was Zhan Beiye's hand.
Protecting her forehead, he pulled her away from the huge rock and pulled Ji Yu out. Zhan Beiye remained calm and did not even look at the huge rock. He only silently pulled Meng Fuyao into his arms.
This was a hug that did not contain any hint of intimacy. It was purely a comforting hug. His embrace was wide and warm. His body was stained with the dust, blood, qi, and steel of his journey, but even more so, there was the faint masculine fragrance that was hidden in his blood. It was the scent of a pine tree at the top of a mountain that had just received fresh snow. It was vast, comfortable, and just by smelling it, one could feel the strength and straightforwardness that penetrated deep into their bones.
Meng Fuyao leaned on his shoulder and allowed herself to be weak for a moment. This hug had nothing to do with love between a man and a woman, but it was just a remembrance of the sacrifice.
Ji Yu remained silent as he allowed his subordinates to wrap up his broken arm. He sat on the ground and looked at the stone door that could never be opened. Everyone here was his brother among brothers, companions that he had sworn to follow through life and death, especially San 'er, who was his hometown and childhood friend. He had brought him out of his hometown to join the Black Wind Cavalry, which had given them a lifetime of glory. He had promised to make the Black Wind Cavalry famous because of them, but in the end, he had no choice but to abandon them.
When San 'er turned around and pushed Meng Fuyao, he could have stopped him in time. But at that moment, he did not.
Between Meng Fuyao and San 'er, he chose Meng Fuyao.
Because she was the person that his highness loved.
His highness had led a miserable life and was lonely to this day. All these years, he had prayed countless times that he would meet someone who could warm him up. Now, he had finally met her. That girl was bright, bright, and sparkling like a pearl. She would be his highness' salvation in this life. What reason did he have not to protect her?
'Brother … forgive me for my choice.'
After a long time, Zhan Beiye slowly let go of Meng Fuyao. Ji Yu turned around, leaving behind some worries in his heart. He still had to continue on his journey.
The group moved forward in silence. There were no more traps in the tomb, but the murals on the walls were very strange. As they moved forward with a torch in hand, the murals gradually faded away. Meng Fuyao said in a low voice, "It's oxidized."
She glanced at the murals from the corner of her eyes, thinking about the abnormality she had seen earlier. She vaguely felt that the style of the painting was completely different from the rest of the murals, but she did not have the time to see it clearly.
The tomb was connected to a corridor made of small bricks with an arched roof. On both sides of the corridor were patios that symbolized a courtyard. On the left and right side of the patio were small niches that were not dedicated to a deity, but to two golden lamps. There were words under the golden lamps.
Zhan Beiye walked forward and murmured, "Offer my God's Elixir to my soul. Those who pass through the tomb drink it. Those who violate it will bring misfortune."
Meng Fuyao was stunned. "You want us to drink it? Do you think we're pigs? That we can drink anything in the tomb? Even if it looks like Bejeweled Elixir, we'll turn into a ghost after drinking it. "
She moved closer to see what was in the golden lamp and almost vomited. It was half a cup of pitch-black liquid that looked like wine, giving off a slightly fishy smell and the faint smell of alcohol. At the bottom of the golden lamp was a white ball that looked like an unhatched egg.
"Only a pig would drink this!" Meng Fuyao raised her leg to kick it. "Disgusting!"
Suddenly, her chest moved. A certain lord popped his head out with sleepy eyes. Meng Fuyao stared at the disheveled Lord Ingot and asked in surprise, "You're still awake?"
Lord Ingot ignored her and stared straight at the golden lamp with a strange expression. Meng Fuyao's hair stood on end as she mumbled, "Rat, you're not possessed, are you?"
Lord Ingot suddenly squeaked loudly and pointed at the golden lamp. He pointed at the wine, then at Meng Fuyao's mouth. Then, he tilted his head back and made a gesture of drinking to his heart's content.
Meng Fuyao finally understood, and her eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets. "You … you're asking us to drink?"
Lord Ingot nodded vigorously.
"Brother," Meng Fuyao dragged him to a corner and whispered, "are you asleep? This is wine from the tomb. You can't drink anything from the tomb because its shelf life has passed … "
"Squeak squeak!"
"Let me tell you a story. In my previous life, there were a few tomb robbers who went to rob a large tomb. Wine was placed in front of the coffin. It was much more delicious and fragrant than this. The tomb robbers drank it and left the tomb. When the sun shone on them, their skin and flesh turned to ash …"
"Squeak squeak!"
"Brother … I really can't drink that thing …"
Lord Ingot grabbed Meng Fuyao's clothes and slapped her repeatedly.
"Alright …" Meng Fuyao touched her face and walked back helplessly. "Rat told us to drink it."
Zhan Beiye raised his eyebrows. "Alright!"
Meng Fuyao grinned and reached for the golden lamp. Instantly, several hands reached out. However, no one was faster than Zhan Beiye. He took it and said without any hesitation, "I'll go first."
Before Meng Fuyao could snatch it, he closed his eyes and gulped it down. Everyone watched nervously. Zhan Beiye wiped his mouth and smiled. "Fortunately, it's not as bad as I thought."
After waiting for a while, and seeing that he was safe and sound, everyone took turns to close their eyes and drink. They were only stuck at the last Black Wind Cavalryman. That youth frowned and said, "Your Highness, Miss Meng, I can't drink this."
Meng Fuyao wanted to persuade him, but the young man smiled bitterly. "Before I joined the army, I was a drunkard who indulged in wine all day long. I didn't work and relied on my wife to sell needles and thread. She was a virtuous person and never blamed me. That winter, it was snowing heavily. She went out to sell needles and thread and walked ten miles back, only to fall into an ice cave … She was a month pregnant at the time …" His eyes reddened and he couldn't continue.
Meng Fuyao fell silent. The young man looked up at the sky and sniffed. "I swore in front of her grave that I would never touch wine again. Anyone who disobeys will be punished by heaven and earth …"
Meng Fuyao looked at him and pulled Lord Ingot to the corner again. "Will you die if you don't drink this wine?"
She planned to knock the young man out and force him to drink if she did. That way, it wouldn't count as him breaking the oath.
Lord Ingot hesitated. He didn't seem to be dying if he didn't drink the wine, but … he shook his head and nodded after a while.
Meng Fuyao was speechless. She stared at him and hesitated. Suddenly, she heard a cry behind her.
She turned around and saw that the door to the main chamber at the end of the tunnel had suddenly opened.
An unknown darkness appeared in front of them.
Meng Fuyao gasped. "Why did it suddenly open?"
Zhan Beiye looked thoughtfully at the wine cup that had been placed back in its original position. "There's a spring under the wine cup that connects to the door of the main chamber. When the wine is drunk and the weight changes, the spring will spring open and the door will open."
Looking at the wine glass, Fuyao thought that the designer of this chamber was an expert in psychological warfare. Starting from the entrance, he had made use of the human instinct to protect themselves. From the Ominous Child's corpse at the entrance to the Shadow Bumping Wall Trap in the passageway, any grave robber who could enter this chamber would never drink this wine. That way, the final door would never open.
Anyone who dared to enter and drink this wine should be a core figure who knew the secrets of the Great Hou Clan's tomb. It could be said that the design was extremely safe.
Of course, no matter how clever this person was, he would never have predicted that there would be someone as valiant as Lord Ingot in this world and that he would coincidentally enter this tomb.
In front of them, the door of the chamber opened. Zhan Beiye stopped all the soldiers who wanted to explore the path ahead and walked in front with his sword.
Meng Fuyao insisted on bringing up the rear, driving Ji Yu and the rest of the soldiers to the center.
The passageway was very short, but the tomb door was very wide. When Meng Fuyao passed by the door, she took a closer look and realized that the door had no hinges. It was made of a one-meter-thick slab of stone. It could be imagined that even modern explosives might not be able to blast it open.
She took a step into the door and suddenly, her vision went black.
Then, Ji Yu's figure disappeared.
Endless darkness, as thick as ink, rolled over and wrapped around her like layers of demonic fog. The fog gathered and dispersed, condensing into all kinds of sinister shapes, such as a two-headed snake, a giant ant with iron pincers and steel teeth, a poisonous vine with barbed thorns, a bat with wings as big as cattail fans, or the corpse of a little girl with a curved body and green eyes … It was as if the God of Hell had opened the cursed door and released countless vengeful spirits from the underground. It was as if the God of Heaven had stirred up the dust of the mortal world, taking away the brightness of the day and replacing it with the monsters of the Three Thousand Worlds to wreak havoc.
Meng Fuyao widened her eyes and roared, "Back off!" With a whoosh, he sent out a palm strike toward the fog. The fog began to ripple, and the poisonous creatures he had encountered along the way faded away. However, it was immediately replaced by a faint white fog that was as thick as milk. Within the fog, a familiar figure appeared.
There was the eternally frozen soldier by the pool, the corpse hung upside down by the poisonous vine in order to not stink Meng Fuyao, Wang Hu, who had chewed his tongue to commit suicide in the swamp, Hua Zi, who had been engulfed in flames and rolled towards the colony of ants, San Er, who had pushed Meng Fuyao out of the tomb and left her alone to deal with the darkness and despair … These were the people who had died in front of Meng Fuyao along the way.
Blood flowed, flesh fell, and various organs fell off their bodies. They staggered towards Meng Fuyao, led by the young Hua Zi, who had been burnt to a skeleton. He reached out his hands, which were only left with white bones and burnt flesh.
He said, "It's so cold down there … Where are my clothes?"
Meng Fuyao panted.
Waves of dizziness washed over her. Her rationality and consciousness were washed away by waves, but there was a string in her heart that was pulled taut inch by inch, causing her heart to ache. She widened her eyes in fear as she looked at the young man standing in front of her. His face was burnt beyond recognition, but she could vaguely make out a strange and disdainful smile. His face was so close and so real that Meng Fuyao could smell the burnt stench and the stench of blood coming from his skin.
He said softly, "Meng Fuyao, when you were preparing to save His Highness, you saw my strange expression. Deep down, you were waiting for me to restrain you, weren't you? Otherwise, with your martial arts, how could I restrain you? Did you think that we, as soldiers, should be sacrificed more than you? "
It was a question that pierced through her heart.
Meng Fuyao felt a chill from her fingertips to her toes.
Wasn't that right? Wasn't that right?
Was it because she didn't want to sacrifice herself? Was it because she was selfishly waiting for Hua Zi to restrain her?
No, no, no, no, no!
Meng Fuyao screamed in a low voice. She panted and retreated, desperately waving her hands to drive away the illusions. "No! No! It's not like that! I … I was taking off my clothes. People who take off their clothes will react slower because of the fluctuations in their state of mind … It's not like what you said! "
Hua Zi's hand froze in mid-air, floating faintly. He didn't seem to have expected Meng Fuyao to remain clear-headed and defend herself under such circumstances. His face flashed in and out of the smoke, and every time it did, Meng Fuyao felt dizzy. Every time she fainted, her consciousness would become a little blurry.
Just as she was about to fall into darkness, she felt a sharp pain in her neck. A large front tooth had bitten her.
A pair of small claws stepped on her shoulders and began to slap her face again.
Meng Fuyao snapped out of her daze and jumped up. She spat and cursed, "Monster! How dare you conjure a hero! "
All of a sudden, the smoke dissipated, and Hua Zi and the rest disappeared. Human saliva had the power to ward off evil, not to mention that all evil creatures feared Awe-Inspiring Qi of Righteousness. With the rise of Dao, evil would disappear.
Meng Fuyao leaned against the wall and panted. She thought about how the soldier had crashed into the wall and how San Er had struggled and roared on the other side of the boulder. Was it because of this thing?
Was it using the weakness of one's self-doubt to control one's state of mind and cause them to fall into eternal darkness?
She struggled and wiped the cold sweat off her forehead. She hugged Lord Ingot and rubbed his smooth fur, thanking him for the few slaps.
When the milky white smoke dissipated, the black fog returned. She couldn't even see her own fingers. She put Lord Ingot down and tried to light a match, but the black fog fell like iron. The light from the match turned green and illuminated nothing but her ashen face. She extinguished the match and slowly walked forward. As she walked, she called out in a low voice, "Zhan Beiye … Ji Yu …"
There was no reply.
She reached out to touch her surroundings, but found nothing. It was as if she had entered a different dimension the moment she stepped through the door of the tomb. In an instant, she was isolated from everyone else, and she was searching alone in the unknown.
Her voice became nervous. There was no one, no reply. Where was Zhan Beiye? Ji Yu? The Black Wind Cavalry? Where did everyone go?
She shouted,
"Zhan Beiye! Zhan Beiye! "
Her voice crashed into the black fog and reverberated back, filling the entire room with the echoes of "Zhan Beiye! Zhan Beiye! Zhan Beiye!"
Her hand reached forward and searched carefully. Suddenly, her fingertips touched an object. It was slightly cold and wore silk clothing. It was of a certain height.
She called out in surprise, "Zhan Beiye …"
= = = =
'I accidentally wrote ten thousand words again … It's my fault, I broke my promise.'
'I was struck by lightning yesterday, so I wanted to stop updating today. But once I stopped updating, I felt as if I had lice on my body. So I ran a few miles to the internet cafe under the scorching sun, but the poison in the cafe ruined my thumb drive. I went home and moved my laptop back to the internet cafe to continue updating … I'm in tears. If I had known this would happen, I would have just grown a few lice.'
'Whoever dares to provoke me will not be able to return home.' Translation: Whoever digs my grave will have no descendants.
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