Chapter 26 – Entering the Tomb

“Some things cannot be measured by cause and effect.”

“Even if it is detrimental to your future cultivation?”

“If you want to do something, just do it — why dither and hesitate?” Zhan Changfeng said. “The only thing I worry about is that after all the bloodshed, it still amounts to nothing.”

Master Huang had grown up deep in the mountains from a young age, studying the art of fate and destiny. He had been barely touched by the worldly prejudices of gender, social rank, and class distinction. Though he sometimes keenly felt the hardships faced by women and the suffering of the poor, he had never once thought to change any of it.

Firstly, because the karmic weight of mortal affairs was too great. Secondly, because the path of cultivation was, by its very nature, a gradual process of severing ties with the mundane world — one could barely run far enough away, let alone entangle oneself in such matters.

This was the attitude of most cultivators. They might pity the ignorant masses, but pity was all it would ever be.

Having heard with his own ears Zhan Changfeng’s declaration of overturning the old order, the last trace of resentment he harbored over his own fallen state was completely extinguished.

In terms of vision and boldness, he was far, far inferior to the young child standing before him.

“For the journey to Flag Mountain, I am at your command.”

Zhan Changfeng half-closed her eyes. “That scarecrow of yours — what is the principle behind it?”

“This is the Shadow Veil Technique. One takes the aura of a person to cast the spell, indirectly transferring their three souls and seven spirits,” Master Huang saw Zhan Changfeng glance over at him and laughed awkwardly. “This Poor Monk’s cultivation is shallow and lacks such ability — I can only manipulate the puppet to replicate some behaviors and movements from the original person.”

Zhan Changfeng couldn’t be bothered to take issue with what he had done before. “This time, you won’t need to enter the tomb yourself. Just send the puppet in.”

“Then whose aura shall serve as the anchor?”

“Mine.”

After Zhan Changfeng and Master Huang had discussed how to proceed, they prepared to set off for Flag Mountain.

At that moment, troubling news arrived from Flag Mountain. Apparently, a young boy had gone missing after heading up the mountain to chop wood, and the villagers of Flag Mountain Village were organizing a search party.

“The guards stationed there — did anyone see him?” Perhaps he had fallen into the tunnel they had dug.

“Your Highness, rest assured, no one has discovered it yet. The boy likely encountered some wild beast and disappeared on his own.” Jiang Wei said.

“Lest complications arise, we set out today.”

Zhan Changfeng, Jiang Wei, Master Huang, Songshi Zi, and Qiao Shan Ke traveled through the night to reach the foot of Flag Mountain.

Flag Mountain covered a vast area. At a glance, one could see range upon range of peaks, with thin mist swirling throughout. The paths were treacherous, and unless one was a local, few dared venture in alone.

When Zero-Three’s group had first entered the mountain to search for the tomb, they had hired a local guide to lead the way.

Old Gao was the one left outside the tomb to provide support, and it was also he who had brought Chong Mingxian down the mountain.

He said, “The mountain paths are extremely difficult to follow and easy to get lost on. Stay close behind me.”

“Young master, your family’s ancestral tomb really chose quite a fine location — treacherous, truly treacherous,” Songshi Zi surveyed the terrain around them, his brow knitted and refusing to relax.

“It’s to ward off thieves, isn’t it,” Qiao Shan Ke thought privately, half in contempt, half in admiration — just look at how wise the ancestors were, hiding the tomb so well. What a pity, though, that in the end it was their own descendants who had come to loot it.

Zhan Changfeng, hearing this, glanced sideways at Jiang Wei. Jiang Wei didn’t dare meet her eyes and quickly pulled Old Gao aside to change the subject.

Jiang Wei sighed to himself — wasn’t he having a hard enough time? For the sake of getting one small child to enter the tomb, he had told so many lies that his hair had nearly gone white. In the end, he had vaguely said “some important door inside can only be opened by a blood relative” before finally quieting their suspicions.

Zhan Changfeng had no intention of blaming him. She simply felt that now was not a good time to enter the mountain. “Let’s find somewhere in the forest to rest.”

“There’s a village not far away. Perhaps we could lodge there for the night?” Songshi Zi was not keen on making camp in the open.

“The villagers are searching the mountain. Running into them now would only arouse suspicion.” Once Jiang Wei explained the situation, everyone gave up on the idea of staying in the village.

They found a sheltered, hidden corner out of the wind, set up three tents, and took turns keeping watch through the night.

The night sky here was brilliantly clear, with stars as countless as grains of sand in the Ganges. Zhan Changfeng gazed upward for a long while, then composed her expression and retired into the tent to rest.

Early the next morning, the group packed up and set off.

“This route is terribly hard to memorize. Even with a map it’s useless. If we hadn’t had a guide last time, we surely would have gotten lost,” Old Gao muttered as he checked the secret markers they had left behind, confirming their direction.

“Indeed, the terrain here is very deceptive — one easily loses all sense of direction.” Songshi Zi sighed.

Threading through paths that rose and fell unpredictably, Qiao Shan Ke noticed the shrubs along the side of the trail had been cleared away. “Has someone passed through here recently?”

“There was no path here originally. It was only about a month ago that we trampled one into existence.” Old Gao replied.

No one spoke further. They kept their heads down and pressed on. When the sun had climbed nearly to its peak, Old Gao said: “Almost there.”

Just then, a figure dropped down from a tree above. “Old Gao, you’ve finally come.”

His gaze swept across the faces of the group. When it landed on Zhan Changfeng, he paused, cupped his hands, and bowed. “Greetings, young master.”

“Mm,” Zhan Changfeng unconsciously turned the archer’s ring on her thumb. “Lead the way.”

Xiao Zhao was also one of those left behind as support. This time, when Old Gao had descended the mountain to escort Chong Mingxian, Xiao Zhao had stayed to guard the tomb entrance.

The tomb was not far — just a few steps away. Songshi Zi walked ahead and stopped at the edge of the excavated tunnel, bending down to pinch some soil between his fingers, rubbing it, then raising it to his nose.

“A strong smell of vinegar. Is there a rammed earth layer here?”

On the other side, Qiao Shan Ke tapped the tunnel wall with an entrenching tool — solid and unyielding. “It seems you used vinegar to erode the rammed earth layer before digging the tunnel.”

Rammed earth layers were typically as hard as stone and served as an extremely important line of defense for burial chambers. Vinegar, however, could break down its components. Xiao Zhao sighed. “Exactly — at the time we poured in a full large barrel of vinegar.”

Zhan Changfeng gazed at the pointed tombstone whose inscriptions could no longer be made out, her eyes subtly hardening. “Old Gao, what about the guide?”

Ah?

Old Gao paused, then said, “Dealt with.”

This matter was of grave importance and could not be known by outsiders — there was no way the guide could be allowed to live.

“He led you all the way here?”

“That’s right. The locals aren’t affected by the terrain, and can navigate accurately. The guide followed the map you provided and led us straight here.” Old Gao lowered his voice, hesitating. “Young master, is something wrong?”

Zhan Changfeng shook her head and stepped aside to speak with Master Huang. “Find a hidden spot to conceal yourself, and have the puppet follow behind me.”

“Understood.” Master Huang darted into the forest in a few quick movements and vanished from sight.

“Four people is still too few. Xiao Zhao, come down with us. Old Gao, stay outside to provide support.” Zhan Changfeng said.

The two named responded in acknowledgment. Zhan Changfeng then asked, “Two esteemed seniors, are you ready to descend?”

“Anytime!” Qiao Shan Ke unshouldered his thick rope, tied one end to a tree, and tossed the other end down into the tunnel entrance. “I’ll go first, Songshi Zi second, young master in the middle, the other two bring up the rear.”

Qiao Shan Ke and Songshi Zi moved with remarkable speed, climbing down along the rope. Before long, a shout came from below.

“All clear. The tunnel walls are wet and slippery — young master, take care.”

Songshi Zi had barely finished calling up when the rope swayed, and a figure dropped silently down — not a sound.

His mustache gave a startled twitch, and he felt considerably relieved. “So the young master has practiced martial arts after all.”

At least he won’t hold us back. Qiao Shan Ke’s expression softened noticeably as well.

Zhan Changfeng had done far more than merely “practice martial arts” — just three months ago, she had been a peak Postnatal martial arts master. It was only because her meridians had been damaged that she had scattered all her inner energy.

The downside of having no inner energy made itself immediately apparent: her five senses could not be sealed off, and the reek of decay and the bone-chilling cold of the tomb passage hit her all at once. Zhan Changfeng immediately furrowed her brow, a sensation like ten thousand ants gnawing at her heart washing over her — her whole being was thrown into discomfort.

Filthy. Utterly filthy.

Songshi Zi and the other found themselves inexplicably gripped by a sudden chill.

Jiang Wei and Xiao Zhao descended as well. Zhan Changfeng suppressed her irritation. “We know nothing of what lies below — two esteemed seniors, please lead the way quickly.”

“Young master, this cannot be rushed. Ancient tombs are most notorious for their deadly traps.” Qiao Shan Ke was about to reach for his fire starter, when Zhan Changfeng stopped him.

Jiang Wei quickly said, “Don’t use fire — use these instead.”

With that, he produced several night-luminescent pearls, each as large as a fist.

Songshi Zi and Qiao Shan Ke exchanged a glance. My, just one of these would probably exceed their entire fee.

With such lavish generosity, just how priceless must the treasures inside the tomb be.

“Just now I tested at the tunnel entrance with an open flame — there appear to be no spontaneous combustion barriers in the tomb.” Songshi Zi said.

“It’s still safer to use these for light.” Jiang Wei distributed the night-luminescent pearls.

Chong Mingxian’s body had shown signs of corrosion. They suspected that somewhere inside the tomb there was Rotting Jade.

Rotting Jade was deeply mysterious. If an open flame came near it, it would produce vast quantities of black smoke that corroded flesh and blood. Wherever it appeared, it invariably served as the most powerful trap in the tomb.

Among Zero-Three’s group, there had been experts in tomb-raiding, in mechanisms, and in martial arts — and yet they had still ended up completely annihilated. How could one not be wary?

Regardless of anything else, every possible precaution had to be taken.

Of course, none of this was shared with Songshi Zi and Qiao Shan Ke — lest they be frightened off.

(End of Chapter)