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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
Looking for death? I was startled by Brother Five's words.
With Xiao Qingcheng's Taoist skills and my current combat power, the term "looking for death" should be far from us. Brother Five was also aware of our abilities, yet he still used such a dramatic phrase.
"Who are you? Are we going to get killed if we go down?" I asked uncertainly.
"I'm not joking with you. Let's find a place, and I'll explain it to you in detail," Brother Five said as he looked around, leading us to a green area in the center of the district. There were four stone benches, and the three of us sat down. The area was small, and we were only about ten meters away from the swimming pool.
Brother Five cleared his throat: "The reason I retired is because of this ancient tomb."
"Brother Five, didn't you retire ten years ago?" Xiao Qingcheng asked in surprise.
"That's right. We learned about this ancient tomb ten years ago."
"You guys?" I interjected this time.
"Yes, we four brothers are known as the Four Great Kings of the Tomb-Robbing World."
"Aren't you Brother Five? How can there be Four Great Kings?"
"My ranking is based on my family order and has nothing to do with the Four Great Kings. If you keep getting hung up on these issues, how am I supposed to explain?" Brother Five said, somewhat annoyed.
I repeatedly cupped my hands in apology, smiling and indicating that I would no longer ask questions.
"We Four Great Kings are led by Cao Shangfei Xu Wuji, followed by Open Tomb Hand Lan He, and Old Four Earthwalker Wang Basan. I am ranked third and known as Pangolin. Back then, we were full of ambition, daring to do anything and dig any tomb. Our leader Xu Wuji learned about this ancient tomb through various coincidences and discovered that countless treasures and gold were buried within it. Thus, we infiltrated this ancient tomb." At this point, Brother Five couldn't help but sigh, seemingly filled with regret.
"I don't want to talk about what happened next. Anyway, Boss Xu Wuji and Second Brother Lan He both ended up in the ancient tomb, and after Old Four came out, I stopped having any contact with him. I heard that once he was riding a motorcycle and saw a Black Cat, so he accelerated and crashed into it, shouting, 'This is for not eating mice!' In the end, the Black Cat was fine, but he ended up dead." Brother Five sighed and fell silent.
"What happened next?" Xiao Qingcheng asked when I didn't respond.
Actually, I had a question but felt embarrassed to ask: why were you the only one who came out unharmed when the four of you went in?
Brother Five seemed to understand my thoughts and gave a bitter smile. "Honestly, my life was saved by Boss Xu. He pushed me out at the exit, but he was dragged in by something from inside..."
At this point, Brother Five paused for a long time before finally clearing his throat and continuing. "Later I found out that there were no treasures in that ancient tomb; it was just a cage—the Black Mountain Ancient Prison."
"The Black Mountain Ancient Prison?" Xiao Qingcheng suddenly stood up, her face filled with astonishment. "The Black Mountain Ancient Prison is here? This is the Black Mountain Ancient Prison?"
I looked at Qingcheng in shock. Was the Black Mountain Ancient Prison really that impressive to make her look so pale?
Brother Five forced a smile and nodded. "My three brothers lost their lives because of this Black Mountain Ancient Prison; I wouldn't mistake it. I can forget about revenge in this lifetime because I know some things are beyond human reach. After watching Boss Xu being dragged into the darkness by an unknown entity, all my courage was taken away."
Licking his dry lips, Brother Five continued, "That entrance was blown up by Old Four; I didn't even have the courage to dig it open and take a look again. From then on, I washed my hands of it because I no longer had the courage or confidence to enter any tombs. When this place was developed by a real estate developer, I bought a house here immediately; at least here I can feel the presence of my brothers."
With a long sigh, Brother Five stood up. "I also saw the Nine Beams of White Light earlier; it's certain that something has changed inside this Ancient Prison. Whatever was imprisoned may have been released. Anyway, I've told you what I know; what you choose to do is up to you. If you insist on going, don't drag me along. However, I can tell you that the entrance is around the Swimming Pool area. Uh... I think this real estate developer knows something."
With that, Brother Five got up and left, his back looking particularly despondent. The weight of what he carried inside seemed to suffocate him. Just as I was unsure of what to say, his voice came from a distance: "By the way, I've got the train tickets; it's for the train at four o'clock next afternoon."
As soon as Brother Five left, Xiao Qingcheng looked at me with flickering eyes. For a moment, I didn't understand what she meant. After touching my face to confirm there was nothing on it, I asked, "Qingcheng, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Zheng Nan, do you know who built this Black Mountain Ancient Prison?" Xiao Qingcheng looked at me with a half-smile.
"Could it be the Black Mountain Old Demon?" I asked uncertainly.
Xiao Qingcheng smiled and shook her head, softly uttering a name: "Liu An!"
"Oh! It's Liu An!" I repeated. Who is Liu An? The name sounded familiar, and suddenly, it felt like someone had poked me with a needle, causing me to jump up: "You mean, Huainan Wang Liu An?"
Xiao Qingcheng nodded.
"Isn't Liu An Huainan Wang? His hometown, Feng City, is over a thousand kilometers away from where we are now in Mountain City. Don't think I'm ignorant just because I'm a bit rough around the edges; in ancient times, these kings and nobles couldn't just leave their territories. Otherwise, it would be considered treason, and they would get executed!" I immediately raised my doubts.
"Your reasoning is just theoretical. Back then, there was no internet, no cameras. Even if Liu An were standing right in front of you, how would you know he was Liu An?" Xiao Qingcheng scoffed.
"So what do you mean?" I squinted at Xiao Qingcheng.
"Since this Ancient Prison was built by Liu An, if we go down and take a look, we might learn something about his burial techniques. That way, when we enter the Peach Blossom Ancient Tomb, we'll be more familiar with it, right?" Xiao Qingcheng's eyes sparkled as if she were a child seeing her favorite toy. For someone who practices cultivation, this Ancient Prison was very enticing to her. This must be why she readily agreed to go to the Peach Blossom Ancient Tomb with me.
"Brother Five's train ticket for the next afternoon?" I reminded her.
"How big can this Ancient Prison be? It probably isn't much larger than a swimming pool; otherwise, the tall buildings nearby would collapse too, right?" Xiao Qingcheng pointed at the surrounding buildings. "We might just need a few minutes to make a round."
I was also swayed by Xiao Qingcheng's enthusiasm and nodded: "Let's go take a look!"
The two of us walked to the side of the swimming pool and circled around the oval-shaped Swimming Pool looking for an entrance.
"I forgot to mention something while talking to Brother Five earlier," I said as I sat down on a lounge chair beside the pool after searching for a while without finding an entrance.
"Oh? What do you want?" Xiao Qingcheng looked at me with some curiosity.
"That Master Yudi is the one who planned the Nine Yin Soul Capture, right?"
"Yes!"
"Did you initially think her Taoist skills were low?"
"Uh, maybe I misjudged her, or perhaps she was hiding her true abilities."
"Exactly, that's what I wanted to discuss with you. Why would she hide her strength?" I expressed my confusion.
"That's right, I was the one hiding my strength." Just as I was about to continue analyzing, a faint voice came from a distance. The voice was soft and delicate, yet it reached both me and Xiao Qingcheng. Following the direction of the voice, I saw a figure approaching in a Daoist robe, Dust Whisk; it was Master Yudi.
Yudi moved quickly and soon stood before us, nodding slightly: "You two should have an idea of what’s going on now, right?"
I frowned. "I know a little bit, but not completely. What confuses me the most is that while we are not enemies right now, we certainly aren't friends either. Aren't you afraid I might attack you? Honestly, I have no good feelings about your use of those children."
"Then let me explain everything from the beginning." Yudi smiled lightly, her youthful face instantly bringing a refreshing feeling. Youth is indeed wonderful.
Xiao Qingcheng and I exchanged glances, both seeing a few words in each other's eyes: let's hear her out first.
"The Nine Yin Soul Capture requires nine girls' pure yin essence to activate the jade bracelet's energy. However, this activation does not affect the girls themselves, which is why I chose to cast this spell. I believe this sister understands this well; actually, the moment I saw you, I knew you were from a Taoist background. That's why I hid my strength and preferred to act in a way that seemed deceptive." Yudi bowed slightly to Xiao Qingcheng to express her apology.
Xiao Qingcheng did not speak but waved her hand to indicate it was no trouble and urged her to continue.
"This real estate developer is my grandfather. After we discovered this ancient tomb, many real estate developers had already set their sights on this wasteland. Rather than letting others uncover this secret, it would be better to invest in the development ourselves. Whether we make money or not is not the main concern; the key is that if we develop it ourselves, we can conceal the secrets beneath the ground. By the way, my grandfather's name is Gao Jianfeng." Youdi paused for a moment, "My name is Gao Youdi."
Xiao Qingcheng exclaimed softly, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Youdi, "Gao Jianfeng? Are you descendants of the Gao Family? I am Xiao Qingcheng from the Xiao Family."
A look of realization suddenly appeared on Youdi's face: "So you are from the Xiao Family, no wonder."
Hearing this, I felt a bit confused and quickly asked, "What is the Gao Family?"
"A long time ago, Daoism was not just about Nan Kong; there were also Eastern Song and West Gao. I won't go into too much detail about those old stories, but anyway, in Daoism, the Gao Family is a very powerful clan." Xiao Qingcheng casually explained a bit to me and then turned to Youdi: "So what do you mean by doing this? Are you planning to release something that has been imprisoned?"
"Imprisoned things? Hehe, Sister Qingcheng, do you know what has been imprisoned? Liu An imprisoned the divine beast that protects our Gao Family, Bixi." Youdi looked aggrieved.
What is Bixi? I was completely puzzled and interrupted Youdi: "Wait a minute, Liu An imprisoned your family's divine beast? What is this Bixi?"
"It’s Bixi, one of the Dragon's Nine Offspring; Bixi ranks sixth." Seeing that I was still confused, Xiao Qingcheng had to continue explaining: "It's like the turtle under various ancient stone tablets. That’s Bixi."
So it's a turtle! I couldn't help but laugh a little: "You said Liu An imprisoned that Bixi? Liu An has been gone for at least two thousand years; hasn't that divine beast... ascended?"
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