Page 548
Gu Xiaoxi also felt the same.
Actually, she did not have much research on ancient tombs, and now that she saw this place, she felt nothing but curiosity.
As everyone went deeper, the passage became wider and wider.
Soon, everyone arrived at a tomb chamber as big as two rooms.
Six coffins were placed inside the tomb chamber.
Seeing this, everyone was stunned for a moment.
"Gu Xiaoxi, do you think there might be treasures inside these?" Shao Changfeng asked, holding a flashlight and looking at the peony flowers carved on the coffins with a face full of anticipation.
"These should be the accompanying palace maids.
Dalan Kingdom adored butterflies; hence they also loved flowers.
Most women used flowers as hair decorations.
Of course, this includes gold and silver carved floral accessories," Mu Fei explained.
Then he answered Shao Changfeng, "Aside from jewelry, there should not be any valuable items on a palace maid. The real treasures would not be here."
Gu Xiaoxi nodded, "Exactly! Everyone, be sure not to touch anything here. Our main goal this time is to find a way out, while also witnessing the rare treasures of ancient times, but we cannot steal anything from inside. If we trigger some curse, I’m afraid I might not be able to save you all then. "
Zhao Zilong and Shao Changfeng nodded.
However, now that they had arrived at this tomb chamber, they saw no doors leading out...
"There’s not even a door here, do we need to go back?" A villager said anxiously at this moment.
Mu Fei looked around and couldn’t discern any possible exits.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Don’t panic, everyone. As long as it’s an ancient tomb, there must be a way out. The passage leads up to here, and it is not possible for there to be an exit anywhere else."
"Everyone, be careful. Shao Changfeng, Zhao Zilong, let’s search together. Check if there is any mechanism on these walls," Gu Xiaoxi said, also turning her gaze toward the walls in front of them.
Compared to the murals in the passage, these stone walls were much simpler, seemingly chiseled out, with marks left on the stones visible.
Gu Xiaoxi and the others studied for a full two hours but found no entrance to the passage.
Mu Fei could only speculate based on the books he had read and the experience he had gathered.
"If we really can’t find an exit, we can only study these coffins; maybe a passage lies inside. Generally, a tomb chamber wouldn’t be sealed shut. As long as it’s a grand tomb, there must be an exit unknown to others."
"You mean... to open the coffin?" Gu Xiaoxi asked, furrowing her brows.
"Yes!" Mu Fei affirmed decisively, looking at everyone, "Only by opening the coffin to see if there are any secrets inside can we avoid being trapped here, ultimately starving to death!"
Gu Xiaoxi walked over to a coffin and fell into deep thought.
If there were something unpleasant inside the coffin, it could be dangerous.
But waiting like this wasn’t a solution either.
Gu Xiaoxi looked at everyone, and spoke sincerely to the people inside the coffin, "I’m sorry for disturbing you. We too have fallen on hard times and are just seeking a way to survive. If we find a way out, we will leave immediately."
Zhao Zilong and Shao Changfeng also looked at the coffin with solemn expressions.
Moments later, at Gu Xiaoxi’s command, the four of them approached the peony-decorated coffin lid and slowly pushed it open.
As the lid slid off, everyone saw a woman lying inside.
Her long hair was neatly done up, and she was dressed in silk that was of no great value.
Though only a pile of bones remained, from her hair ornaments, the ribbons on her dress, and the bracelets she wore, it was clear they were maids and did not have much wealth.
"There are no mechanisms, no passages," they observed.
Gu Xiaoxi’s brows deepened, and she motioned, "Cover it back up!"
They proceeded to open the other coffins.
Under the heavy stone lids, six maids lay there, their height, attire, and accessories all identical.
"That doesn’t make sense, does it?" Mu Fei murmured, deep in thought.
Gu Xiaoxi felt, "We should go back to the entrance and wait for rescue."
If Young Master Quan came, he should be able to get everyone out successfully.
Zhao Zilong sighed, "That’s all we can do now!"
Unable to find an exit, and with the villagers not knowing martial arts. A Tomb Raider was just a half-baked practitioner who has never had real experience.
Gu Xiaoxi did not dare to place her full trust in Mu Fei.
Although giving up like this was a bit regretful since it was a grand tomb from two thousand years ago, it was also unavoidable.
Just as Gu Xiaoxi was about to lead everyone away, a villager slowly made his way to one of the coffins under the cover of darkness and quietly pushed the lid open.
He quickly found the silver hairpin on the head of the maid inside.
Just as he quietly reached out to take it off, he accidentally stepped on a stone platform beside the coffin.
Immediately, the ceiling of the cave shook violently, and the path they had come from collapsed.
Gu Xiaoxi and Shao Changfeng and others thought it was another aftershock.
Startled, they instinctively led everyone to retreat step by step.
Clearly, the subsequent collapse wasn’t limited to the passageway they had used, even the cave ceiling they were under was collapsing, with huge rocks falling from above, instantly causing dust to fly.
Mu Fei took a big scare and, seeing the squarely cut stones, he seemed to understand something at once and began to search around with his flashlight.
Soon, he shouted to everyone, "Please follow me!"
With that, he strode forward, leading everyone to push against a square stone wall not far away.
Gu Xiaoxi used all her strength to push, expecting it to give way.
At that moment, the ceiling was continuously dropping dust and the collapse was rapidly approaching their position, the situation was extremely dangerous.
Unexpectedly, the wall they were pushing sprung out from the inside.
Behind one complete wall, there was a pitch-dark exit.
Without hesitation, Gu Xiaoxi pushed everyone into it.
Just after they entered, the wall behind them returned to its place, and a rumbling noise came from outside.
"How come there are so many aftershocks? This year’s earthquake is really terrifying!" Shao Changfeng worried to himself.
Mu Fei immediately explained, "That wasn’t an earthquake just now, it must have been someone accidentally triggering a mechanism in the tomb chamber.
Those huge rocks were clearly artificially split.
They are placed on top so that when someone tries to steal the coffin, the mechanism is triggered.
The rocks then collapse from the passageway ceiling.
First, blocking everyone’s exit, and then crushing everyone with the rocks!
This is a common setup in ancient tombs. "
"How did you find the door then?" Gu Xiaoxi asked, shining her flashlight around. Having just escaped from death’s door, she was now more cautious and vigilant.
"The room was only thirty square meters, and the stones were falling in sequence from the top, leaving almost no gaps. When the collapse happened, one of the wall panels cracked open. I guessed that the wall could be pushed, but I didn’t expect it to spring out automatically."
Shao Changfeng took a deep breath, dusting off his clothes, and exclaimed, "It’s unbelievable that such wondrous constructions existed two thousand years ago!"
"Never underestimate the wisdom of the ancients," Mu Fei said as he continued to lead everyone forward.
The villager who had secretly taken the Silver Hairpin was so frightened that he was trembling and had no choice but to quietly discard the hairpin.
At the end of the short passage, as soon as everyone emerged, the space was suddenly illuminated by firelight.
To everyone’s surprise, a row of oil lamps had automatically lit up.
On both sides of the passageway stood rows of soldiers clad in armor, holding huge axes.
Everyone stood on this dazzlingly lit path... their hearts filled with unspeakable awe!
For a moment, everyone was somewhat dazzled by the light in front of them, and it took a while for Gu Xiaoxi to start walking carefully along a solemn passage.
"It’s spectacular! This is a real grand tomb, look at the scale. The burial chamber we just entered must be one of many," Mu Fei said excitedly. As a descendant of the Tomb Raider, he felt his life was complete.
Gu Xiaoxi naturally knew that they were hundreds of meters underground, and this ancient tomb, connected to a towering mountain, must be more complex than what meets the eye.
Besides, the stones on this mountain could withstand earthquakes without breaking.
Now, nothing she saw could surprise her.
Shao Changfeng and Zhao Zilong had never seen anything like this, and their hearts were filled with surprise and excitement.
Walking on this path was like walking in the ancient imperial court; the solemnity and austerity made them feel panicked.
Gu Xiaoxi led everyone for a good twenty minutes before they reached the end of the passage.
It was only when they stood at the end of the passage that they were truly stunned.
What did they see?
Gu Xiaoxi rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
Before them was a vast space, its size beyond estimation.
The ceiling of the space was inlaid with Luminous Pearls.
Their glow brightly illuminated the ancient city and palace below.
This was no less than a large imperial palace, wasn’t it?
And the place where they were standing was just half-way up a steep cliff.
From their vantage point, they could take in the sight of a resplendent grand palace.
"My heavens!" Exclaimed Shao Changfeng. "To construct a city underground. Isn’t this the Imperial City?" "No, it’s even more glorious than the Imperial City. Was this really built two thousand years ago?"
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