Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 14: Red Lotus Fire

Chapter 14: Red Lotus Fire

Feng Jun clutched his chest and nodded, saying:

“Yes… it is…”

“Then there’s nothing more to say. Surrender your life!” 

Qing Songzi let out a low shout. His longsword slided out with immense resentment and fury. It was as if he wished to cut Feng Jun into pieces.

At that moment, Luo Shen turned her body. She was like a white crane gliding through flowing clouds. She sidestepped the sword. As she landed lightly, she had already seized Qing Songzi’s longsword and casually threw it to the ground. It produced a sharp clanging noise.

“His life was saved by me. Taoist priest, if you want to kill him, have you asked me first?” 

Luo Shen glanced sideways at him. Cold air was layering out from her entire body.

Seeing this, I quickly stepped forward to mediate:

“Taoist priest, this grudge — why not first explain it to us clearly? Let’s not draw swords at the slightest spark. We still don’t know what happened. It’s not too late to act after sorting things out — lest a good person be mistakenly killed.”

Qing Songzi stood there in dejection. Sorrow was pouring out from him. Under the firelight, his face was filled with weathered grief. After a long pause, he trembled and said:

“Qingxu Sect… all four hundred people of Qingxu Sect… all gone, all gone… All because of you!”

Then he suddenly burst into rage again. He pointed at Feng Jun and shouted:

“It’s all because of your Mo Yin Valley’s bloody massacre! My sect was wiped out, my family lost, I’ve wandered in hardship all my life. I had no choice but to take up this business of handling corpses! Your Mo Yin Valley is infamous in the jianghu. It brings disaster to life. I, Qing Songzi, once swore that if I ever encountered anyone from Mo Yin Valley, I would cut them into a thousand pieces to comfort the spirits of the four hundred from Qingxu Sect!”

I was shocked to hear this — so this Mo Yin Valley, marked with the red lotus emblem, was actually an evil organization in the jianghu?

But I didn’t know much about jianghu factions. So I turned and whispered to Xiao Jian beside me:

“Xiao Jian, have you heard of Mo Yin Valley? What kind of organization is it?”

Xiao Jian shrugged and said:

“Mo Yin Valley made a name for itself in the jianghu over a decade ago. It’s extremely wealthy, its movements are mysterious, and its martial arts style is especially sinister. But I heard the old valley master died long ago. And now, his daughter has taken over. They say the new master is called Yu Linxing — her beauty is astonishing, a true peerless beauty. She’s driven men crazy all over the land. Some chivalrous heroes from prestigious sects even went mad over her. But in the end, they were all tormented and toyed with to death by this demoness. Shishi, you’ve been in Shu for years. So it’s no wonder you haven’t heard.”

“Bah!” 

Xiao Jian had just finished speaking when Feng Jun spat at him and said,

“Benefactor… don’t listen to this brat’s nonsense… You can insult me, but how dare you insult… my lady. When has my… lady ever been like your rumors? And we never destroyed any Qingxu Sect either. Our Mo Yin Valley wouldn’t even bother with such a small sect!”

He may have spoken too urgently — the movement pulled at his wounds. And he coughed up another mouthful of bl00d.

I quickly stepped forward to support Feng Jun and anxiously said:

“Taoist priest, look how badly he’s injured. If you kill him now, wouldn’t you be shamed in the eyes of the righteous path? Please calm down for a moment.”

Actually, Xiao Jian and Cheng Yun only wander around the jianghu to do tomb raiding. People like them don’t really differentiate between good and evil. But Qing Songzi came from a Taoist background. Even though he switched to tomb work, he still considered himself part of the righteous path. I deliberately emphasized the righteous path in hopes that Qing Songzi would calm down for now.

But who knew that Qing Songzi, blinded by hatred, would say fiercely:

“I will not forget the vow I once swore. Evil will always be evil. If I let him go today, would I be letting him live to commit more crimes in the jianghu later?”

What a stubborn old man.

I helplessly looked toward Luo Shen. She stood still, somewhat lost in thought. It was as if she was no longer paying attention to what was happening before her — more like she was listening closely for something.

Her hearing is sharper than mine — could she be hearing some danger right now?

Just as I was thinking this, I suddenly heard a few seductive giggles close to my ear. Then a charming voice came from the darkness:

“Old Taoist, didn’t you want to kill all the people from Mo Yin Valley? Why haven’t you done it yet?”

Before I could react, a red figure flashed into the tomb chamber like a breeze. It was lightning-fast. It passed right before my eyes. When I looked again, the heavily injured Feng Jun beside me had already disappeared.

Standing there — I didn’t even know when she arrived — was a woman in red. Her slender waist swayed, her black hair flowed down like silk, her brows were like painted ink, her lips as red as frozen crimson. Under the firelight, her enchanting and seductive face wore a slight smile — like a celestial being descending to the mortal world. Yet, she was more like a burning red lotus fire emerging from hell.

This stunning, radiant woman was like a red spider lily. She dazzled everyone present. Even the men nearby were momentarily dazed by her.

The beautiful woman cradled Feng Jun in her arms. Her eyes were full of love and distress. She said with heartache:

“Ah Jun, the people here are so bad. Look at you, already like this, and that old Taoist still wants to kill you.”

A glint of killing intent flashed in her eyes. And with a raised brow, she said to Qing Songzi:

“You want to kill Ah Jun, right? If you hurt him by one point, I’ll break one of your legs. If you hurt him by two, I’ll break both. I’ll make sure your life is worse than death. Old Taoist, how’s that sound?”

Such cruel words, spoken from her red lips as if it were child’s play. It sent chills down everyone’s spine.

The red-clothed woman looked around the room. Then her gaze fell on Luo Shen. Luo Shen looked back at her as well. One with a slight smile at the corner of her lips, the other with her face hidden — expression unreadable. Their auras were incredibly strange. One red, one white — one fire, one ice — one like cinnabar underwater, the other like an ice sculpture on a snowy mountain. They were complete opposites.

Then, the red-clothed woman let out a giggle and threw Luo Shen a flirtatious glance:

“No wonder this place feels cold enough to freeze someone — turns out a dead ghost like you is here. But if you find that thing first, don’t blame me for turning ruthless and stealing it from you!”

It seems… she and Luo Shen were old acquaintances. Luo Shen only let out a cold snort, not replying.

“Yu… Yu Linxing!”

Over on the other side, Xiao Jian’s mouth was wide open — he could probably fit a bun in there. He looked extremely shocked.

“Aiya~ This handsome young master even knows Linxing? Linxing is flattered~”

Yu Linxing’s eyes sparkled as she turned to look at Xiao Jian.

Xiao Jian gave a goofy laugh and said:

“I… I have your portrait, I’ve kept it for a long time… I spent a fortune to buy it…”

Judging by his reaction, he had become completely stupid under Yu Linxing’s gaze.

I grumbled internally: this guy’s really lost face — all the way to his hometown.

Yu Linxing paid him no more attention and turned to look at me. Her gaze was deep, and I couldn’t read it. I stood there frozen for a moment until she suddenly burst out laughing. Her eyes were hooked into a smile as she looked at me and said:

“Oh, so it’s you. I didn’t expect you’d find the mechanism exit and make it out. How interesting.”

Looking at her flame-like red clothes, I suddenly remembered the mysterious red shadow I had seen in the tunnel. Back then, I thought it was a ghost — but it turned out to be her.

“Demoness, take this!”

Over there, Qing Songzi was furious. He raised his sword and charged. Yu Linxing clicked her tongue. Somehow, a crimson longsword had appeared in her hand. Like a spirit snake, it danced forward.

Her movements were strange. And in just a few moves, Qing Songzi was defeated. His sword hand was dripping with bl00d — clearly, she had deliberately slashed him a few times.

Yu Linxing’s expression darkened, and she sneered:

“With this kind of half-baked kung fu, you dare to show off in front of me?”