Chapter 1: The Tomb of King Wen

  In the year 2140, in the village of Hekou, eight kilometers east of Qixian County, a burst of green light shot up into the sky from the north side of the Qihe River Bridge, followed by a torrent of thunder and lightning that overturned the entire sky, which was a deep purple. The tomb of Zhou Wang, already desolate, was blasted open by the thunder and lightning, and the Qi River water poured in like it had no regard for its own life...

  "This damn task, when will it ever end..." The man muttered to himself as he wrung out his wet clothes with all his might, and the murky yellow water dripped down onto the surface of the water once again. Since the entire river was being diverted into the tomb of King Xiang, despite three days of continuous effort to drain the water, the water inside the burial chamber still overflowed above their ankles.

  The person who spoke was Zhang Disheng, and it's unknown what his parents were thinking when they gave him such a name that meant "not detailed", fortunately the time was too long ago, so no one paid much attention to the fact that his name was the same as that of the tyrannical King Zhou of Shang.

  Zhang Disheng is the captain of the Heavenly Special Police Force in China. In 2140, an era where a falling brick can kill a group of scientists, his job relying on "physical labor" is considered particularly special.

  When the Tian Gan Special Police Team was first established, they could still do tasks like counter-terrorism, rescue and assassination. But now in a highly developed communist society, people are too busy enjoying their lives at home to bother with those high-risk, high-reward illegal projects. Even someone like Zhang Di Xin, the team leader, can only do boring work like helping aunties carry vegetables or playing chess with uncles. I thought when we received the notification from our superiors that there was an important task, but it turned out we were just sent to this Zhu Wang Tomb to be security guards...

  "Not building jade walls on high mounds, but not making excellent cities in deep pools; the waves are rolling like thunder, I suspect it is the voice of remonstrance from that year." Zhang Emperor Xin murmured the words on the stone tablet of Zhou Wang's tomb, and his heart couldn't help but sigh for Zhou Wang. An emperor of a generation was blackened and scolded by people, now buried for over three thousand years, yet heaven still wouldn't let him go.

  Heaven's will is hard to defy. Although Zhang Emperor Xin was not reverent of the gods in his daily life and did not believe in fate, upon seeing the miserable state of Zhou Wang's tomb, he couldn't help but sigh. If Zhou Wang had known that he would end up like this, he probably would have regretted stealing the elixir, just like Chang'e, with a heart chilled by the icy waters at night.

  "Boss! Boss! There's a whirlpool here!" Someone shouted from afar, Zhang Di Xin didn't dare to be careless at all, and rushed over directly. Before the tomb of King Zhou was excavated, everything related to the tomb of King Zhou needed him to take responsibility, this is like a package deal, can't even think about slacking off.

  As Zhang Disheng walked over, a two-meter-square hole had already appeared outside the tomb passage. It was dark and bottomless, and the water in the burial chamber was constantly flowing towards it, as if it were pouring into the Hundred Rivers and then into the sea.

  "This seems to be a bit of trouble..." Zhang Di Xin looked at the dark and deep hole, his eyebrows furrowed into a川character shape. If the tomb chamber of King Zhou was behind the big hole, wouldn't it be flooded by now? If that's the case, the things inside King Zhou's tomb would probably have been destroyed by more than half. At this rate, his own rice bowl would probably...

  Zhang Di Xin fiercely shook his head and regained clarity: "Quickly call everyone from outside in, if we can't protect the things inside, we'll have to close up shop!"

  That person listened, nodded, and turned to run. Zhang Di Xin was left standing alone on the spot, his eyes involuntarily turning to the tomb gate above. The dark stone gate had faintly drawn marks that had experienced too much vicissitude and had become somewhat blurred. From a distance of over two meters, only the outline of a large bird could be vaguely made out, seemingly a peacock, yet not quite...

  Zhang Di Xin was so absorbed that he suddenly heard a loud rumbling sound behind him, which felt like the sound of a huge flood.

  Water?! Zhang Di Xin was taken aback, and when he looked down, he found that the water had already risen to his knees. The dull sound was the sound of water falling into a black hole. How could this happen suddenly? Had the outside collapsed, causing the water to rush in?!

  What's going on! How can I still see someone coming now, Zhang Di Xin instinctively glanced at the watch on his wrist, but found that it had been a whole hour since that person left!

  An hour?! It's just a flash of time, how can it be an hour?! Zhang Di's forehead was already covered in fine sweat, and he didn't dare to stay any longer in the tomb of Emperor Xuan of Han, rushing out with his life on the line.

  The more Emperor Zhang wanted to move forward, the more his feet seemed to be entangled in something, and his legs felt as if they were filled with lead. Every step he took was extremely difficult!

  Damn it! I've seen a ghost! Zhang Di Xin cursed in his heart, but the rumbling sound of the tomb's entrance grew louder and louder. In an instant, a massive wave had already surged to his face!

  If he was washed up to the tomb gate by this water, he would either be dead or crippled! Zhang Di Xin took a look at the dark and deep hole, and without thinking much, he jumped down directly!

  Under the black hole, there seems to be a huge attraction. Zhang Di Xin is in the water flow, his body is like a leaf flying in the crazy wind, and it's hard to control. Even the so-called lifesaving skills he learned before are all invalid at this moment. There is no space around him that can be grasped.

  Zhang Di Xin felt his body being torn apart in the water column, and his mind was a complete blank. At this moment, he only had one request: to stop this endless tearing and let him land, even if it was just for a moment!

  "Boom!" A dull thud, Zhang Di's body was like a bomb, directly splashing onto the water surface, his whole person was like crashing into an iron plate, instantly it was as if his bones and flesh were about to fly apart!

  "Ah...ah!" Zhang Di Xin loudly exclaimed from his mouth, using this to alleviate the pain all over his body. The sound reverberated repeatedly in the darkness.

  Zhang Di Xin only then noticed that this seemed to be a cave, the dome above had already opened up a large hole, the water column that had swept him down earlier was now flowing straight down, falling into the deep pool and making a thunderous sound.

  What is this place? Zhang Di Xin struggled to get up, dragging his tired body, and walked onto the stone shore. In the entire space, there was only a small piece of land, but he didn't care about that much. Zhang Di Xin directly lay down on the stone shore, panting heavily. Just then, the surroundings suddenly lit up, and several torches suddenly rose, illuminating the dark cave.

  This is... Zhang Di Xin narrowed his eyes, and above his head was the strange bird he had seen before. Its body was black all over, its wings seemed to be rising flames, and for a moment it was beautiful. Behind its body, a raised tail wing showed off its pride and nobility, with an exquisite sparrow-like head, but in its eyes there was a patch of red. On top of its head, three feathers stood out!

  Dark Bird! Could this be the tomb of King Zhou? The Dark Bird is a totem of the Shang Dynasty and also the ancestor of the Shang people. In the Book of Songs, it says: "Heavenly Mandate of the Dark Bird, descended and gave birth to the Shang, dwelling in the land of Yin, luxuriant and dense." I never thought that I would actually see it in King Zhou's tomb!

  Looking around, everything is black, even the dragon in the painting is a mass of ink blackness, faintly visible on the surface. The large dome above is adorned with Shang Dynasty paintings, either court music, bell ringing and food serving, or war drums clanging, one after another, complete Shang Dynasty scenes carved on the wall murals.

  Zhang Di Xin, although not having studied history, roughly understood that the records on the dome were the major events of King Zhou's life. Ancient emperors seemed to have this habit, all liked to depict their lifetime achievements for posterity to cherish.

  However, Zhang Di Xin didn't have the leisure to admire these paintings. As he walked up to the wall, a layer of transparent glaze had already formed on its surface. Not to mention humans, even geckos would slip if they tried to climb it, let alone digging holes through the wall. Over thousands of years, the wall had become as hard as granite, and it was impossible to shake it in the slightest!

  Was he destined to stay here? Zhang Di Xin gazed at the empty cave behind the waterfall, also speechless. What bad luck, what a tortuous fate...

  Zhang Di Xin looked around, his eyes involuntarily falling on the stone statue in the center of the dome, a man as tall as multiple people. The man wore a magnificent robe, with intricate carvings of dragons and phoenixes on it. At his waist was a black jade belt with a carved dragon buckle, and in his hand was an unsheathed tiger knife. On his head was a nine-dragon crown with a pearl pendant, exuding an aura of dominance over the world!

  Zhang Di Xin looked at the stone statue and involuntarily took a few steps forward. However, he saw that the person's face was not as depicted in ordinary TV dramas - arrogant and domineering - but rather majestic and even had a hint of elegance between his eyebrows. This... could it be the statue of King Zhou?

  "Tall and majestic, the best in the world; with strength surpassing that of a hundred men, an enemy to be feared by all." - Xunzi's "Fei Xiang" chapter. The description of King Zhou of Shang (Di Xin) is indeed true! Who would have thought that the king who indulged in wine and women had such another side? If the tomb of King Zhou were to be excavated, I'm afraid countless beautiful female fans would go crazy for him!

  "Hum!" At this moment, the black jade at the waist of the stone statue suddenly shook violently. In an instant, under the entire stone top, a burst of flying sand and rocks appeared, and in the midst of the black smoke, a ferocious beast head suddenly emerged, opening its huge mouth and taking a fierce suck!

  The beast's head was like a black hole, and it didn't reject anything that came its way. Even the waterfall that fell from the top of the cliff was sucked into its mouth!

  What is this thing! Zhang Di Xin was shocked and hugged the stone statue, but unexpectedly, a huge suction force directly sucked him and the stone statue in at the same time!

  The huge storm made Zhang Di Xin unable to open his eyes, and in his ears was a loud roar of raging wind!

  Is this really how it's going to end... Zhang Di Xin had ten thousand unwilling thoughts in his heart, but he was also helpless. His entire body was torn apart by the fierce winds and he flew helplessly towards the black hole...

  Time had passed unknowingly, and Zhang Disheng slowly opened his eyes. The ceiling above him was an ancient and strange pattern, and at this moment, he was lying on a large bed!

  Where is this? Am I not in a black hole myself? Have I died or something?

  "Your Highness! You're awake!" A woman's voice beside the bed exclaimed, "You've been asleep for three days and three nights."

  Your Highness? What Your Highness? Zhang Di Xin looked at the woman with a puzzled expression, his fatigue washing over him, and he slowly lay down...