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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
"As we have traveled this way, the stream has shown no abnormalities." Qingcheng looked at the clear water pool and said this without much thought. Brother Five and I naturally understood that Qingcheng meant there had been no unusual occurrences along the way, so the entrance to the ancient tomb was likely around this pool.
Xiao Qingcheng glanced at Jin Luoer and raised an eyebrow at me, indicating that we should quickly get rid of the girl.
I also felt that it wasn't appropriate for Luo Er to stay with us at this moment. Once Brother Five began his probing, and the professional tools from the suitcase were taken out, most people would guess that these were tomb raiding tools. At that point, Jin Luoer could easily embarrass us by saying something like, "You from the Ministry of National Defense Science and Technology Engineering of the People's Republic of China, is this what you do? Scientific exploration? What you're exploring is probably history!"
I called Luo Er aside: "Luo Er, you should head back for now. This water pool is quite peculiar, and we need to conduct research here. It might be very late before we return."
"Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Jin Luoer stammered. "It's not even noon yet. If I go back, I really feel bad taking so much of your money. How about I refund half of today's payment?"
"Refund? What refund!" I put on a fierce expression, and seeing Jin Luoer's face turn pale, I had to soften my stern demeanor: "This is what you deserve. Tomorrow I'll find you to guide us to see the Nine Dragon Pool, okay?"
Jin Luoer responded with an "Oh": "So I can head back now?"
I nodded and was about to remind her to keep it a secret when I thought better of it. The more mysterious I acted and insisted on secrecy, the more likely others would leak it. So instead, I simply said, "Be careful on your way."
After Luo Er walked away, Brother Five opened the suitcase. With a series of clicks, a finely crafted Luoyang Shovel was assembled. Brother Five inserted it into various spots around the pool, probing six or seven locations in no time. Four or five of those were random probes; he pulled out some soil but didn't pay them any further attention.
However, there were two spots where Brother Five examined particularly closely. He even attached several iron pipes to the Luoyang Shovel. Based on the length and number of pipes, I calculated that these two spots went down at least three or four meters deep.
Three or four meters deep—shouldn't that have reached the top of a burial chamber? I thought so naturally.
Unexpectedly, Brother Five shook his head: "I've checked; there are no signs of a tomb below."
Upon hearing this, I was somewhat surprised. How could he be so certain? Of course, I couldn't voice such doubts; after all, Brother Five was an authority in this field. So I forced a laugh and asked, "Should we probe a little deeper?"
"No need," Brother Five replied seriously. "I've examined the soil; there are no signs of a tomb below. The soil is different down there. Even if I dig a few more meters down, the conclusion would remain the same."
Tsk, since Brother Five is like this, whether there is a tomb below remains unknown, but at the very least, the entrance to the tomb must not be here, because the entrance connects to the outside world and it is impossible that we cannot detect it even at a depth of three or four meters.
How strange, where could the entrance to the tomb be? Lin Tao clearly indicated that the entrance is related to the stream.
The three of us exchanged glances; in this situation, Qingcheng and I had no say. Brother Five seemed to understand his role as well, his brows tightly furrowed.
After a while, Qingcheng suddenly said, “Brother Five, Zheng Nan, I have an idea; let’s see if it’s possible.”
Both Brother Five and I nodded in agreement.
“Let’s assume that Liu An’s tomb is guarded by a Demon. Now let’s think from the perspective of that guarding Demon. If I discover someone trying to invade the tomb, under what circumstances would I take action against them?” Qingcheng paused for a moment and continued, “For example, if someone wants to steal something from my house, under what circumstances would I stop them?”
“Definitely when they are in the act of stealing or breaking in!” I instantly understood Qingcheng’s point; only when we approach the entrance of the tomb would the guarding Demon take action.
In other words, the grassy area by the stream where we were ambushed is very likely the entrance, or at least close to it. From this deduction, it seems highly probable that the one who attacked us was indeed the guarding Demon. This somewhat explains why someone would plot against us.
No further evidence was needed to support this viewpoint; we three turned around and headed back. Evidence? Brother Five’s Luoyang Shovel was evidence enough.
We descended much faster this time; in less than half an hour, we reached that grassy area. Strangely, we didn’t encounter Jin Luoer along the way; it turned out this girl was quite nimble on her feet.
Without hesitation, Brother Five took out his Luoyang Shovel and began to investigate. Compared to his earlier examination by the pond, this time Brother Five was much more cautious. He wandered around on the grass for quite some time before choosing three spots to dig. Each spot had iron pipes driven into it for a length of ten pipes each, with each pipe being fifty centimeters long. This meant that at each location, Brother Five dug down five meters deep.
After examining the soil at all three locations, Brother Five’s expression gradually became heavy. He shook his head with a bitter smile and said, “Zheng Nan, the entrance to the tomb is not here.”
This statement undoubtedly overturned Qingcheng’s judgment; this place was not the entrance, and those who plotted against us might not necessarily be the guarding Demon.
Damn it, how can finding an entrance be so elusive? It’s ridiculous! And who exactly is behind this plot against us? They must be out of their minds.
Another awkward silence ensued; I really disliked this feeling. I spoke up: “Brother Five, can we just pick any random spot and dig down without worrying about whether it's an entrance or not? After all, Liu An’s Peach Blossom Ancient Tomb is right beneath our feet. If we dig down several dozen meters, we’re bound to hit the tomb eventually, right?”
"Brother Five" shook his head, looking unconvinced. "A Ghost, that's not how it works. First, you need to understand that a tomb is not just a big room; it's made up of several rooms connected by passages. Secondly, Shoushan spans several dozen miles and rises four to five hundred meters high, while Liu An's tomb is hidden deep within the mountain. If you dig in the wrong spot, even if you dig down hundreds of meters, you might not find the tomb. You could end up digging right through the earthen walls between rooms and miss the tomb entirely."
That seemed quite reasonable. It looked like we had to find the entrance first, but where could that entrance be? It couldn't be that we had to have "Brother Five" dig along the creek all the way down, could it? However, returning to the point, although this method seemed foolish, it was definitely effective.
As I hesitated on how to bring this up with "Brother Five," I noticed something out of the corner of my eye—a shadow moving in the distant trees.
"Who is it?" I shouted sharply, pulling out my shotgun and quickly chambering a round before sprinting toward the moving figure. Qingcheng showed no hesitation and followed closely beside me.
I didn't know what was happening; the figure ahead was blurry, making it seem as if they were enveloped in a cloud of mist. I couldn't even tell whether the person was male or female or what color their clothes were. All I heard was rustling in the bushes ahead as that person moved swiftly among them, almost like a monkey rather than a human. As I chased after them, the figure grew further away, and I knew I couldn't catch up anymore. Frustrated, I stopped and fired a shot at the figure.
With a loud bang, the gunshot echoed crisply across the silent mountains.
Although the shotgun had great power, its range was limited; firing that shot was merely an outlet for my frustration. Watching the figure disappear into the distance left me feeling quite vexed.
Returning to where "Brother Five" was waiting, he saw my displeased expression and casually offered some words of comfort. After a moment of silence among us three, Xiao Qingcheng suddenly said, "Zheng Nan, Brother Five, did you not see what that person looked like?"
"Yeah, I couldn't see clearly; it felt like they were shrouded in mist," I nodded in agreement.
"This is an illusion technique mentioned in that book 'Yin Yang Essays.' It's called 'Blindness,' similar to the Taoist 'Rainbow Mist Technique.' Both use light and shadow to obscure one's form for a short time; it's somewhat akin to visual misdirection in magic." To prove her point, Qingcheng recited an incantation and cast a Rainbow Mist Technique on herself. Sure enough, she radiated hundreds of golden beams of light from behind her, dazzling and painful to look at.
"Damn, your Taoist light is too overpowering! I feel like you're resembling Chairman Mao with all that golden glow," I exclaimed while shielding my eyes.
Xiao Qingcheng smiled slightly and quickly muttered something under her breath.
I didn't catch it clearly at first. "What did you say?"
Qingcheng repeated it again; this time I understood her words: "Tansiduoboluwangdanaocong."
"What does that mean?"
"Recite it again!" Qingcheng said, raising her chin at me.
I followed her and recited it once more. Suddenly, the golden light surrounding Qingcheng diminished significantly, and I could see her eyes, which resembled a clear autumn lake. Meanwhile, Brother Five continued to shield his forehead with his hand, squinting his eyes into a narrow slit. In Brother Five's eyes, Qingcheng still appeared as a dazzling array of golden light, blindingly bright. It seemed that because I had recited the spell, it was ineffective against me.
Xiao Qingcheng put away the spell and said, "I'm not showing off; I'm telling you that since it's a spell, it can be broken. Yes, when I was chasing her with Zheng Nan, I recited the spell and saw this woman's silhouette!"
"Woman?" I instinctively repeated.
"Yes, the clothes she was wearing were the uniforms from Shoushan Grand Hotel," Xiao Qingcheng said with a smile.
"Are you saying that this figure is Jin Luoer?" I was taken aback.
"I'm not saying she is Jin Luoer; I'm just saying she was wearing the staff uniform from Shoushan Grand Hotel," Xiao Qingcheng corrected me.
Qingcheng's implication was obvious; the girl in the Shoushan Grand Hotel uniform had already narrowed down the identification range significantly. Moreover, Jin Luoer had just come up the mountain with us, so it wasn't surprising for her to appear nearby.
If it really is her, why did she run away? And why did she run so fast?
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