Chapter 20: Outside the Underground Palace

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  I and Su Qin quietly followed the three "black buttons", and after a while, I didn't know how long we had been walking, when I saw a stone staircase appearing in front of us. I shone my flashlight down and found that this section of stone steps extended downward for several meters, with an arched stone gate built inside, and on the gate stood a statue of two "barbarian" birds. The stone carving took up a lot of space, so at first, it was hard to see what the scene inside the door looked like.

  I said to Su Qin, "The tomb emphasizes the protection of energy. Generally, in front of the main chamber of the underground palace, there will be a strange beast guarding the door. It seems that behind this stone archway is indeed the main chamber."

  Su Qin lowered the flashlight and shone it on that "barbaric" statue, saying to me: "I still find it hard to understand why the ruins of the Witch King would have a 'barbaric' cult. Although they are divine envoys, superior to the demigod tribe, they are also an institution under the banner of the three-eyed goddess, so shouldn't they be worshiping the three-eyed god?"

  I said to Su Qin, "The Three-Eyed God was a later addition to the Ya Shen tribe. Perhaps before the Three-Eyed God, they worshipped 'Man Man'. Didn't you see many carvings of 'Man Man' on the altar when you excavated the 'Man Man' temple ruins? As far as I know, the Wu Wang Temple in Tengchong County's volcanic area was built by the Ya Shen tribe in their later period. The pattern of 'Man Man' is a fertility cult. When Wu Wang divined the heavens and asked about the hexagrams, 80% of what he predicted was probably the future fate of the Ya Shen tribe."

  Su Qin nodded in agreement after hearing what I said, and interjected: "Your inference is very reasonable. This is also why the mural you discovered earlier depicted the Queen of the Ya Shen letting the Witch King divine the fate of the Ya Shen tribe."

  After a pause, Su Qin suddenly asked me: "Do you think... the 'Black Button' stole the horned golden number this time, what is their purpose? When they succeeded before, they could have left with it, why did they need to take the risk of being caught and run all the way to the Wu Wang tomb?"

  I furrowed my brow, also feeling puzzled. If they came here to rob the tomb and get rich, they wouldn't have stolen the Jiao Corner Golden Halberd first, drawing the attention of the police, before entering the Wu Wang Tomb. If it were me, I would definitely enter the Wu Wang Tomb first, grab all the treasures, and even if I coveted the Jiao Corner Golden Halberd, I would wait until after robbing the Wu Wang Tomb to go steal that halberd. This way, once they got their hands on the Jiao Corner Golden Halberd, they would be overflowing with riches. If they escaped then, wouldn't they have avoided many unnecessary risks?

  So I said to Su Qin, "These people are probably not seeking wealth, at least they won't be so simple as to enter the Wu Wang tomb to steal and get rich. As for what purpose they have now, we can't think of it for sure. Let's just follow those three people closely, maybe we can find some clues."

  Su Qin walked down the stone steps first, and said to me in a low voice: "The Golden Horn is the most important thing, we must get it back. As long as we get the Golden Horn, we can definitely restrain these people. When Officer Li and the others catch up, everything will be fine."

  I said to Su Qin: "You're right, the Jiao Jiao Jin Hao is the most important thing. The curse on me and You Zi's body can only be lifted with this thing."

  Little did I know, sensitive Su Qin had sensed that there was more to my words. She glared at me fiercely, tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, turned her face away and said, "I understand, you don't need to emphasize it."

  I thought to myself, why did this woman's face fall again as soon as I mentioned that artifact? Is she trying to go back on her word? So I asked Su Qian: "Miss Su, do you and your fellow archaeologists understand folk customs and street legends?"

  Su Qin was very curious about how I suddenly brought this up and turned back to ask: "What's wrong?"

  I said to Su Qin, "I've been studying the legendary hell recently. It's said that hell has eighteen levels, each with different punishments specifically designed for those who did evil deeds when they were alive. However, I found some discrepancies in my research. Let's take those who lied and cheated, and didn't keep their promises, for example. There are three different accounts of the punishment they receive after death. The first one says that they will be thrown into the Tongue-Pulling Hell, where little demons will pry open their mouths and pull out their tongues alive. The second one says that they will be thrown into the Scissor Hell, where little demons will cut off their ten fingers with scissors. And the third one says that they will be thrown into the Iron Tree Hell, where they will be hung from the back of their skin by the blades on the iron tree, like a salted fish. Which one do you think is the most authoritative?"

  Su Qin thought for a moment and said to me, "I'm not quite sure about this, but I know there's a 'Pianyu Hell' where people who dug up graves while they were alive will be thrown after death, suffering the pain of being cut into pieces."

  I was stunned by her words, realizing that I had inadvertently implied something and instead let this woman take advantage of me? But she's also too unscrupulous, isn't this a veiled curse on me? No way, I have to get back at her for this.

  Just as I was about to retort, Su Qin suddenly let out a snicker and said to me: "Look at your face, it's all green. I'm just joking with you, don't worry, I keep my promises. But we also agreed that once the curse on you and Youzi is lifted, the Jiaolong Golden Token must be returned to the museum."

  I said to Su Qin, "Since Miss Su is a sensible person, then that's for the best. Anyway, I had already made an oath in front of our ancestors, so let's take heaven as witness and fulfill our promise."

  Su Qin furrowed her brow and said to me, "Don't use that set of Taoist social skills on me, it's very uncomfortable. Now we're on the same boat, and we've been through life and death together, what can't be trusted?"

  I smiled and said, "No way, we're just doing business as usual. I believe in the saying 'man proposes, God disposes.' People on this path have their own rules. How about this, Miss Su? Why don't you make a vow too? Let's say... if you go back on your word, then in the future, you'll have to marry into my family of tomb raiders and help our declining clan flourish..."

  I hadn't finished speaking, when Su Qin suddenly pinched me and said: "At this time, can't you be serious for once? Think carefully about how to deal with those 'Black Button' people."

  I saw that she had finally found her way back, so I stopped teasing her and said: "Who says I haven't been thinking of a solution? You only heard the second half of my words, but the first half is actually the key. Didn't I say that people on the road have their own rules? Since those three are 'Black Button' thieves sent to steal from Wu Wang's tomb, they must be insiders in the underworld. Do you know what common trait all underworld artisans share?"

  Su Qin said: "I'm not a grave robber, how would I know?"

  I said to Su Qin, "Actually, it's nothing, but I once heard my father say that the most taboo thing in a tomb raid is when something unusual happens during the opening of the coffin and touching the gold. This indicates that the owner of this ancient tomb is very stingy and doesn't want them to take away the funeral objects. At this time, people who follow the rules will definitely put all the funeral objects back in their original place, cover the coffin, and then respectfully kowtow three times before exiting. What if those three people encountered such a situation while touching the gold, and they were determined to get the things in the ancient tomb? Wouldn't this group of people fall into a dilemma?"

  Su Qin pondered for a moment, then said to me: "Your meaning is... when they're about to open the coffin, we secretly create some trouble, making them suspect and doubt each other, first throwing their formation into chaos, and then we take advantage of the situation? This method is indeed feasible, but what if they don't open the coffin? How can you be sure they entered the main tomb chamber for the sake of something in the coffin?"

  I said to Su Qin, "Isn't this a draft I made predicting what they might do? And I think their goal is the main tomb chamber, so they must be heading for the coffin. What else would they go in there for? To feel around for some pottery and jars?"

  Su Qin no longer refuted and continued walking down to the bottom of the stone steps, saying in a low voice: "Let's go take a look and we'll know what's going on."

  I followed Su Qin down the stairs, about twenty or so steps, and arrived in front of that "Mang Mang" statue. The statue was very tall, nearly three meters high. According to legend, "Mang Mang" had one wing and one eye, but the two "Mang Mang" on this stone statue were different. They had two wings and two eyes, just like ordinary birds, except that their wings were of different sizes, with the shorter wing being hooked in shape. Perhaps it was a distinction between male and female, as their long and short wings were opposite each other. As a result, the two small hooked wings could be hooked together, and their inner claws were also tightly grasping each other. Only one long wing on each side was spread open, making a flying posture, just like the legend described: "Mang Mang" birds must have one male and one female relying on each other to fly.

  Su Qin and I borrowed the "Man Man" stone statue as cover, quietly sticking out half of our heads to take a look, and saw that inside the stone archway was indeed a large hall.

  The grand hall is very spacious, with a depth of over 100 meters and a dome height of over 10 meters. It was supported by giant pillars that five people could wrap their arms around. As we were worried about being discovered by the three "Black Button" members, we covered most of the flashlight's light with our clothes, standing behind the stone statue to observe, not knowing what was in the darkness for a while.

  Su Qin said softly to me: "Listen, it seems like there's a river ahead."

  I hastily leaned in and listened carefully, and indeed heard the sound of flowing water coming from a distance. I turned to Su Qin and said: "It's not surprising that there is a river here. The Ya Shen tribe is well-versed in mystic arts and must have utilized the terrain to excavate a small river to surround the main tomb chamber. This way, they can gather the vital energy of the site and create an extremely yin environment around the coffin, allowing the corpse to remain intact."

  Su Qin poked her head in again, still unable to see the three "black button" members and Zhou Xing, who had slipped in first. She asked me, "I have a question that I've never been able to figure out. Since you discovered on the mural that the Witch King had the Ya Goddess build the Orchid Palace for his future resurrection, why wasn't the Witch King buried inside the Orchid Palace? Why was he buried alone at the 'Man Man' ruins instead?"

  I said to Su Qin, "Actually, this is easy to explain. Since ancient times, people who cultivate themselves often think they have obtained the Way of Heaven and will ascend after death. This Shang Wang has such extraordinary powers, how can he not wish to ascend to immortality? He lies alone here, certainly thinking that he has already approached liberation from the corpse, no need to be reborn as a human like the Ya Shen Queen."

  Su Qin listened and asked, "If it's really like you said, wouldn't the witch king be very confident about his own ascension to immortality? However, both of us should be clear that in this world, there can't possibly be any gods or immortals."

  I said to Su Qin, "Actually, I don't really believe in the idea of ascending to immortality either, but just because we don't believe it doesn't mean that those ancient mystics didn't believe it. In fact, the more one understands the mysteries, the more obsessed they become with such things. From ancient times to the present, there have been many high-ranking officials who are enthusiastic about this kind of post-mortem ascension practice. No need to mention distant examples, let's just talk about our own Yunnan province. You know about Xianwang, the branch of the ancient Dian kingdom? I heard from Youzi that more than 20 years ago, three Jinwu school officers came to Yunnan and stole the tomb of Xianwang. It is said that Xianwang was so obsessed with ascending to heaven after death that he built his mausoleum on top of a waterfall's dragon cave."

  Su Qin listened to me and felt that I was getting more and more off track, so she reached out to stop my words and said: "If it's like you say, this Wu Wang should also be a self-proclaimed extraordinary person. From what I know, people of this kind often think they have surpassed the heavenly way and are not among the five elements. When they die, they will either be buried in a tree hole or dig a big ship to sink into the sea. They won't be like this Wu Wang tomb, pursuing Feng Shui creation everywhere."

  I thought about it later and felt that Su Qin made a lot of sense. As an archaeology expert, although she wasn't very good at our method of using techniques to explore tombs, she was more familiar with mysterious things in history. Maybe it's true what she said, the reason why the Wu Wang tomb wasn't built in Lan Gong is because of some secret that we don't know about. It's possible that the "Black Button" people came here for this very thing.

  So I stopped arguing with her and was about to take her into the underground palace when we suddenly heard footsteps behind us. We knew it might be our companions catching up, so we didn't dare to delay and quickly walked back up the stone stairs to listen carefully for any movement.

  I listened carefully and found that there were indeed four footsteps behind me. I turned on the flashlight to take a look, and it was my companions who were walking in front of me. Li Xiang, the police officer, was leading the way, while Youzi, Aixia, and Gao Yexiong followed closely behind him. When they saw the light from our flashlights, they were initially cautious, but after seeing that it was me and Su Qin, they relaxed and hurried over to us in a small run.

  The four of them, apart from being a bit pale, were uninjured, and must have also narrowly escaped the seven-room tomb. Oil asked me where Zhou Xing went and what we encountered, I told them everything that happened, Ai Xia listened and let out a long sigh, saying to me: "Dragon brother, it seems like the four of us are relatively lucky, originally thought we would be trapped to death in the tomb, but Gao brother accidentally found the opening mechanism, so we escaped, and along the way, nothing else happened."

  Youzi's face didn't look as good as Aixia's, and when I told him that Zhou Xing had turned into a woman, his eyebrows never relaxed again. I quietly pulled him over to ask, and only then did I find out that he had previously been suspicious of something, having used the small mirror left to him by his uncle to take a look at Zhou Xing. From the reflection in the mirror, it was clear that this Zhou Xing should be a human being, not some kind of evil spirit. But how could this kid turn into a woman for no reason?

  I said to Oil, "If it's like you say, then it's not the problem of this kid himself, but he has been affected by some kind of evil spirit. Anyway, his performance just now was really too weird, we can't take it lightly."

  After finishing speaking, I whispered to Youzi: "Brother, keep an eye on that intern under Su Qin, he's got a problem."

  Youzi heard me say this, and suddenly felt very strange. He raised an eyebrow, just about to ask me how I knew, when a gunshot was suddenly heard coming from the underground palace.

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