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墨書 Inktalez
Mei Shuang was retching violently to the side, too preoccupied to think about opening the door behind her. Nangong Nuo patiently waited for her to finish and feel better before commanding someone to bring Mei Shuang to the stone door.
Mei Shuang waved her hand, signaling for them to wait.
Sure enough, after a short while, the stone door began to open automatically from the bottom up.
Once the door was opened, a thick darkness was revealed inside, shrouded in heavy mist. Fearing that something ominous might emerge, everyone had already hidden themselves away in high places.
After a long pause, there was still no sign of movement.
Nangong Nuo then ordered a few people to step forward and hold up torches to see what lay within.
To their surprise, the light from the torches barely penetrated the darkness, as if the mist absorbed all illumination. They could only see a layer of white fog swirling inside.
Nangong Nuo furrowed his brow and asked Mei Shuang, "What’s inside?"
Mei Shuang weakly shook her head and replied coldly, "How would I know? According to our agreement, I’m only responsible for opening the door. As for whether anything inside can be taken, that depends on your luck!"
Nangong Nuo nodded, his silver mask gleaming with a cold light in the fire's glow, his eyes dark like the sea. "Miss Mei Shuang, someone has to take the lead and check it out. The coachman beside you is quite skilled in the jungle, and this envoy from Yamataikoku might as well go first."
Mei Shuang was speechless and finally spat out two words through clenched teeth: "Shameless!"
Cong Fei and Anriyan stepped forward. Mei Shuang stood up and said, "Count me in; we’re going in. If there are any treasures inside, Zhao Prince better not regret us getting there first."
Nangong Nuo hesitated for a moment but seeing Mei Shuang's determination, he concluded that there wouldn’t be too much danger inside and signaled for everyone to follow.
As they entered the mist, Mei Shuang, Cong Fei, and Anriyan took out their drug-soaked cloths to cover their faces, fearing the inhalation of toxic gas.
Nangong Nuo's subordinates also followed suit, pulling out their own gear to cover their mouths and noses.
Upon entering the mist, Mei Shuang felt as if she had stepped into a fairyland. The surrounding ethereal fog did not seem as dense as it appeared from outside; in the light of the torches, it resembled delicate ribbons floating in the air. However, it was extremely cold inside, and within a short time, she was shivering all over. Looking down, she realized that the ground was made of large, perfectly smoothed blue stone tiles.
The group was wary that there might be traps on the tiles, so they cautiously stood at the edges, none daring to take a second step.
After lingering in the mist for a while, it gradually began to thin out until it finally dissipated.
"It seems this space has been sealed for too long and has a significant temperature difference with the outside, which is why the mist lingered for so long. Now it has finally cleared," someone remarked.
Once the thick fog cleared away, everyone noticed that they were in an incredibly spacious hall.
In the center stood a statue made of white jade, about ten feet tall, seated with its eyes looking down. It wore a golden crown and a yellow robe; the statue was remarkably lifelike. Mei Shuang glanced at it but could not identify which emperor it represented.
However, Nangong Nuo and Cong Fei's expressions suddenly changed upon seeing it.
In a state of panic, Cong Fei immediately knelt down and said, "Junior Cong Fei pays respects to Founding Ancestor. I did not mean to disturb Founding Ancestor; I hope Founding Ancestor will forgive me!"
Although Nangong Nuo's expression shifted dramatically, he did not kneel but stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking arrogantly at the statue.
Mei Shuang and Anriyan exchanged glances; Anriyan shook his head, clearly unfamiliar with the Founding Ancestor of the Great Qin Empire.
Mei Shuang was speechless. What the hell is going on?
Clearly, it was previously said that the treasure of the Founding Ancestor had mysteriously gone missing here. How could the statue of the Founding Ancestor appear in this place?
However, knowing the words on that small piece of human skin, she wasn't too surprised.
On the other hand, Nangong Nuo silently stepped aside after locking eyes with the white jade statue. His subordinates, upon seeing the statue of the Founding Ancestor, were filled with inexplicable panic.
They shared Mei Shuang's thoughts; if the treasure had mysteriously disappeared from this location, how could there be a statue of the Founding Ancestor here? Moreover, the statue was so lifelike, standing as if it were a living person. Was the Founding Ancestor personally guarding this treasure?
Due to the presence of the Founding Ancestor's statue, everyone present was filled with various thoughts, and a sense of fear spread among them. Noticing his subordinates' unusual emotions, Nangong Nuo scolded, "What are you panicking about!"
He spoke in a deep voice, "The Founding Ancestor spent his life in battle, conquering the southwestern vassal states and secretly burying treasures here. He must have hoped that one day these treasures would see the light again to protect the Great Qin Empire! Now that I have the fortune to witness this, how can I just stand by and watch the Founding Ancestor's hard work go to waste?"
His words were powerful and resonant, instantly igniting the ambitions of the previously anxious Attendants.
Then, under Nangong Nuo's lead, they paid their respects to the statue of the Founding Ancestor, seeking his blessings!
"It seems that the treasure did not get lost here but was intentionally buried by the Founding Ancestor. However, why did he choose this place instead of transporting the treasure directly to the capital? This place is already fraught with danger and difficult for ordinary people to access. Yet, the Founding Ancestor still built even more perilous mechanisms. It seems this treasure is extraordinary!"
Mei Shuang circled around the statue of the Founding Ancestor, muttering to herself.
Naturally, Nangong Nuo agreed with Mei Shuang's words. If it weren't extremely valuable, why would the Founding Ancestor go to such great lengths?
Anriyan, who had been silently observing the Founding Ancestor Statue, faintly sensed that there was an underlying meaning in Mei Shuang's words.
Mei Shuang pondered for a moment and turned around just in time to see a shadow flash across the Silver Mask on Nangong Nuo's face. She quickly looked back, but in the light of the torch, there was nothing unusual.
However, she was certain that she had not misinterpreted the shadow reflected on the Silver Mask.
Her heart tightened, and she hurriedly called for those still kneeling on the ground to rise. "Everyone be careful; it seems there is something here."
As soon as she said this, the atmosphere suddenly became tense, and everyone readied their weapons, entering a state of alert.
Nangong Nuo also noticed something unusual from Mei Shuang's expression and immediately instructed everyone to form a circle. This way, they could illuminate a larger area and feel safer back to back.
After waiting for a while, there seemed to be no movement. Yet in the eerie silence, everyone still sensed an unusual presence.
During this waiting period, Mei Shuang's heart raced irregularly, and her palms began to sweat. The empty hall was already eerie enough with just the Founding Ancestor statue, and coupled with the fleeting shadow reflected by the Silver Mask, she now felt as if unseen eyes were watching their every move.
To be honest, as an archaeology enthusiast, Mei Shuang had read many books on this subject, including various accounts of entering underground palaces for tomb raiding—both real and fake. However, experiencing something like the Underground Palace firsthand was a first for her.
She wasn't afraid of any danger here; rather, she feared accidentally turning around to see something horrifying like a ghost that would make her heart stop.
However, they were not here to rob graves; there was a fundamental difference between encountering dead bodies or zombies and supernatural phenomena that science could not explain. So at most, they might encounter some traps or perhaps some uncommon creatures. In any case, it should not involve ghosts or other ethereal entities. Even the legendary "curse" of the Eastern Kingdom ultimately turned out to be nothing more than tangible poison.
With this thought in mind, Mei Shuang felt much more at ease.
She turned her gaze to Anriyan beside her, thinking that the treasure came from the southwest, and even if there were strange occurrences, Anriyan, who must have inherited the true teachings of Queen Himiko, would be able to handle it.
After comforting herself several times, she found that she was not so afraid anymore.
Dozens of people surrounded Nangong Nuo and Mei Shuang, holding various weapons and standing ready.
Nangong Nuo also watched the surroundings cautiously. Mei Shuang was less than two feet away from him. To be honest, after being hurt by Nangong Nuo's words, she completely lost the little good impression she had of the man in front of her. Fortunately, she had not been too moved by him; otherwise, her heart would have shattered into eighteen pieces!
She intentionally wanted to keep her distance from Nangong Nuo. When she inadvertently looked up, she saw something slowly falling from the high vaulted ceiling made of blue stones. Upon closer inspection, the black shadow resembled black yarn, with its lower end slightly wriggling. In no time, it had extended downwards by more than half a foot.
With Mei Shuang's exclamation, everyone looked up and saw that black yarn-like things were starting to emerge from the cracks in the blue stone bricks, appearing like black snakes from a distance.
Everyone was startled and didn't know what to do.
Anriyan did not expect to recognize this object; his expression changed slightly. "This is a type of root unique to the southwest. It has a very strong growth ability and can penetrate through cracks. Moreover, it is highly toxic. The air here is usually stagnant, so they are in a dormant state. Now that we have entered, we have awakened them. Everyone be careful; do not let them touch you."
"They will drop down soon, and it will be difficult not to come into contact with them."
The group could no longer hesitate and rushed towards the back of the Founding Ancestor Statue with their torches held high.
In a short while, they saw those dangling roots touching the ground, leaving everyone dumbfounded. What was this? They could stretch and retract freely and extend so long?
However, there was one detail that Mei Shuang firmly remembered: when one of the roots touched the statue, it recoiled as if scalded and then remained still in place without moving again.
It seemed that the statue was indeed quite peculiar.
The torches illuminated the vast hall, which appeared to come to an end. Everyone held their torches high, searching around, yet they found nothing. Strangely, behind the statue was like a dividing line; those black roots were only present in the front half, while there were none in the back.
Once they felt temporarily safe, Nangong Nuo asked Mei Shuang, "What do you think we should do here?"
Mei Shuang replied irritably, "Zhao Prince, do you think I am the Founding Ancestor from back then? Familiar with every blade of grass and tree here? Besides, are you the one looking for treasure or am I? If I find it, does all the treasure belong to me?"
After being retorted by Mei Shuang, Nangong Nuo wasn't angry. He knew that cooperation was the only way out of their current situation; Mei Shuang was just being a bit too quick with her tongue.
However, Mei Shuang's pouting expression and raised eyebrows were rather amusing.
He chuckled lightly, "Miss Mei Shuang, I was just asking. Why are you so anxious? If it weren't for me holding off those Vampire Bats earlier, you might have been in danger."
Not wanting to dwell on it further only made Mei Shuang more upset. "Damn it! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have recklessly opened that door!"
As she said this, her gaze flicked over to the statue. Suddenly, an idea struck her—could it be that those roots were protecting the statue?
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