Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 18: The Beauty

Chapter 18: The Beauty

I didn’t know if what awaited me below was being shattered to pieces or pierced by blades and swords. My heart was pounding wildly, the wind howled in my ears. I could only use all my strength to hold tightly to that icy-cold woman. My whole body felt like it had shrunk into itself. A stabbing pain was coursing through my bones.

Actually, the time from falling to hitting the ground was very short—just a fleeting moment. But to me, it felt like an eternity. After all, in that instant, I was about to witness the difference between life and death. And so, that moment became unbearably long and painful.

“Ugh…” 

The muffled groan from the woman beneath me finally brought me back from my dizzy, disoriented state. My body hadn’t suffered too badly—most of the impact had been absorbed by Luo Shen, who was beneath me.

When I realized this, I hurriedly rolled off the soft form beneath me and exclaimed, 

“Luo Shen!”

But she didn’t answer. Everything around was eerily quiet. It was dark like ink had been poured over it. The only sound was her faint breathing.

Anxiously, I reached with my left hand to find the fire striker. But my left hand was sticky, numb, and completely powerless. I suddenly remembered I had been struck by a hidden arrow before falling, and had lost a lot of bl00d. The wound throbbed painfully. I couldn’t help but let out a pained hiss.

Suddenly, a dim light lit up before me—Luo Shen had propped herself up halfway and lit the fire striker. She cast light around us. Under the firelight, her skin appeared almost translucent. There was a faint trace of bl00d at the corner of her lips. And a few red marks bloomed on her clothes like plum blossoms. She was injured, but thankfully not seriously.

I knew that if she hadn’t cushioned my fall, I would’ve already died in this cold tomb. A surge of gratitude filled my heart. But then I thought about how I had dragged her into this. And guilt followed closely behind.

Luo Shen gave a light cough. She shifted her body to lean against a short lamp pedestal behind her, and said, 

“Take a look… where are we?”

Her voice was rarely soft and weary. It was so different from her usual cold, hard tone that it stirred a strange pity in me.

I looked around and realized this place was vast and tall. In the distance, it was pitch-black—no walls or ceiling in sight. Faint shapes of enormous statues loomed in the dark. They were wrapped in unknown materials. In the center was a long path, flanked by tall platforms. Each of them was spaced evenly. Some kind of object seemed to be squatting atop each one. Fortunately, they all remained motionless—likely stone statues buried with the dead.

“Judging by the layout, this must be the main chamber of the tomb,” 

I said, enduring the sharp pain in my arm as I sat down beside her against the pedestal. The pedestal itself was bizarrely shaped—it was carved into the figure of a kneeling maid. It was holding a palace lantern with such lifelike detail I nearly mistook it for a real person.

“Are you okay?” 

I asked, worried that the fall might’ve hurt her internal organs.

“I’m fine. But you…” 

Luo Shen turned and gestured for me to come closer.

I leaned toward her, and she said, 

“If you don’t get that arrow out of your hand soon, you might lose it entirely.” 

As soon as she finished speaking, she swiftly leaned over, gripped my arm, and pulled.

I was stunned by her sudden move. In a blur, a wave of piercing pain shot through my left hand. It was so sharp I almost bit through my teeth. I screamed in agony, the cold air rushing into my lungs and nearly choking me.

As the arrow was yanked out in a sudden motion, my body instantly went limp. It was like all my strength had been drained. I collapsed against her shoulder.

A faint scent of cold dew entered my nose.

Her shoulder seemed to stiffen for a moment. Then she supported my back and helped me sit properly. She took out medicine powder and began applying it to the wound.

Leaning against the human-shaped lamp pedestal, I saw ghostly shadows flicker before my eyes. The air was damp and chilling—it felt like I was in another world. After staying underground for so long, all my senses seemed distorted. My pores were filled with the tomb’s ancient and mysterious aura. And my chest tightened until I could barely breathe.

“Xie Long is really dead.” 

I let out a long breath and bore the sharp sting of the medicine on my wound. 

“After all these years, seeing someone familiar die right in front of me again—it’s been so long since I felt this pain.”

I recalled the image of that quiet man being shot to death. A wave of grief and fear swept over me. 

“Xiao Jian, Qing Songzi… I wonder what’s happened to them.”

“I don’t know. But life and death aren’t really that different. Just a walk across the bridge of helplessness. Most people in this world strive to live, but some long to die,” 

She said quietly, tearing a strip of white cloth from her clothes and expertly wrapping my wound.

Her words shocked me. For a moment, I forgot to stop her. I was unable to speak for a long time.

She looked up, clearly guessing my surprise. She paused, then a slight curve appeared at the corner of her lips. 

“Do you think I’m cold-blooded?”

I quickly shook my head.

She tied the cloth into a knot and said, 

“If you were me, you’d be more than cold-blooded…” 

Her white jade mask suddenly came close to my face. Her cold eyes gazed deeply into mine, as if trying to see through my soul. Her breath was sweet, and her lips softly whispered:

“You’d go insane.”

You’d go insane.

Those three words made my heart tremble. I stared at her for a long time. And without thinking, the question that had long been buried in my heart blurted out:

“Can I see your face?”

She paused her movement. Her eyes, beneath the mask, were deep as a spring. She replied lightly, 

“In life, whether beautiful or ugly, it’s just a shell. When you die, it turns into piles of white bones—what is there left to say? Besides…”

She trailed off for a moment, then added, 

“If I’m ugly, wouldn’t I scare you to death in this eerie tomb?” 

Her tone was teasing.

Looking at her crystal-clear skin, I secretly pouted. With a figure like that, if she were truly ugly, then all women in the world might as well walk into a wall.

While I was lost in thought, I heard her softly hum and say, 

“I’m tired. I’m going to sleep for a while.” 

She curled up slightly and really closed her eyes. She leaned against the lamp pedestal.

The main hall was vast, and a cold wind blew in from some unknown place. Combined with the underground dampness, the chill was unbearable.

Worried she might get cold, I endured the pain in my left hand and gently pulled her shoulders onto my lap.

In the past, I had never really looked closely at her in all the dangerous moments. Now, up close, I saw her fair neck was like fine porcelain. She had strands of soft black hair trailing past her delicate ears. It softened her usual cold and distant aura. It gave her a quiet gentleness. Under the dim firelight, her plain white clothes were pure as moonlight. It was like jade from the realm of immortals.

Looking at her crane-like figure, I couldn’t help but marvel—how could anyone wear white clothes so beautifully?

It was just a shame that she seemed to have seen too much of the world. She was indifferent to everything, like the cold mist of the mountains or the night-blooming cereus—something you long to approach to see clearly. But once you do, the mist disperses, the flower fades, and all that’s left is scattered remains.

As soon as I had this thought, I realized how inappropriate it was. I’m a girl myself—what am I doing thinking such nonsense about another woman? My face flushed, and I shook my head to clear away the thoughts.

After all the running, fear, and injury, my body was completely exhausted. Drowsiness quickly overtook me, and I drifted off to sleep. I was surrounded by the faint cool fragrance of the woman in my arms.

I had no idea how long I slept. The fire striker had long since gone out, and darkness once again enveloped everything.

I instinctively reached out to touch the woman in my arms—only to find that Luo Shen was tightly curled against my waist. She was trembling all over. Faint moans escaped her lips. They were filled with unbearable pain. It was just like that night we stayed at the inn.