Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 20: Past Events

Chapter 20: Past Events

“Tsk, how come you’re injured too?” 

Yu Linxing grabbed my hand. Seeing the bl00d-stained white silk cloth, her delicate brows immediately furrowed.

“Luo Shen already applied medicine for me, it’s nothing serious.” 

I smiled.

“Medicine applied once can last a lifetime? You think there’s no need to change it?” 

She suddenly shot me a sideways glance. She then pulled off the white silk cloth. I saw that the wound on my hand didn’t seem to be healing well. It was bloody and mangled. Yu Linxing snorted lightly. She then took out a small jade-green bottle, scooped out some jade-green ointment, and applied it to my hand. A cool sensation immediately spread.

“Ziqing Rain Dew Ointment?” 

Smelling the unique fragrance of the ointment, I blurted out.

“You’ve got good eyes.” 

She smiled teasingly and said, 

“This is top-grade ointment, even the Emperor can’t get it. You really have some good fortune.”

I could tell she was mocking me. Seeing the woman sleeping not far away, I quickly changed the subject and asked, 

“When did you meet Luo Shen?”

“A long time ago.” 

Yu Linxing blinked her beautiful eyes, as if recalling. She then said: 

“That year, I was only fifteen. It was the first time I went tomb-robbing with my father. Outsiders all say our Mo Yin Valley is rich and powerful. But actually, a large portion of our wealth came from my father and his men digging up graves. My father even set up a branch hall in the valley just for Dragon Pointing and Acupoint Searching.”

I gave a sound of acknowledgment. I thought to myself, starting tomb-robbing at fifteen, how bold.

“That day it was raining heavily. The mountain winds were fierce. We were resting at a pavilion at the foot of the mountain. I leaned against the railing and saw a shadow slowly walking over from afar. The woman was dressed in white, completely soaked. But she didn’t seem to care at all. As she slowly walked into the pavilion, I saw she wore a white jade mask. Her eyes made people feel cold inside. I was still young then. And just one glance from her chilling eyes gave me the illusion that I was already dead in her eyes.”

Listening, I also shivered inside: Luo Shen’s appearance was that terrifying?

Yu Linxing saw my reaction and giggled, saying: 

“You better believe it. She’s a lot better now. Before, she was, hmm, how to say… very weary of the world.”

“Weary of the world?”

“Yes, weary of the world. Poor ghost. Probably not loved by her uncle or grandma as a child. She was carrying a gloomy aura all over.” 

She sighed dramatically, then continued: 

“She was carrying a sword on her back. My father saw the sword and immediately changed expression. That sword was exactly the one we were after—the Giant Que Sword. Who would’ve thought it had been taken by a woman? The brothers in the valley were itching to snatch it back. No need to explore anymore—being a bandit would get us the treasure.”

I was shocked hearing this. The Giant Que was one of the ten famous ancient swords. It was forged by Ou Yezi during the Spring and Autumn period. It had wandered through history. And now it had fallen into Luo Shen’s hands. The first time I saw her ancient sword, I had felt its chilling aura. I didn’t examine it closely then. I never thought it was the Giant Que.

“She didn’t speak. Suddenly drew her sword with a ‘shua’ and stared at us coldly. My father is experienced in the Jianghu. He thought if a lone girl could retrieve the Giant Que from a tomb, she must be very capable. Seeing she looked hard to deal with, he waved his hand. He was signaling us to drop the idea of robbing her. That woman turned and walked out of the pavilion. I thought her white clothes were very pretty. Her figure was cold like mist. She walked into the rain and disappeared.”

I was fascinated listening, when suddenly pain tightened my hand—Yu Linxing had tied a hard knot in the white silk cloth. The elegant white figure I had imagined was immediately scattered by the sudden pain.

Yu Linxing saw me gritting my teeth in pain while trying to stay composed. The corners of her mouth curled up, and she continued: 

“After that, I don’t know why, but I kept running into her during tomb-raiding. I was puzzled why she seemed to be against me. She was going wherever I went. We even fought a few times. But later we got familiar. She seemed to always be looking for something. Like a wandering ghost, she was roaming back and forth in this underground world.”

Like a wandering ghost?

I pictured a lonely white figure wandering in the darkness. I suddenly felt a bit sorrowful. After a while, I softly said: 

“You guys seem to treat tomb-robbing like visiting neighbors.”

But at this moment, Yu Linxing rolled her eyes at me and said: 

“You think I want to run around in a place like this? So many pleasures in the Jianghu—fine wine on boats, riding horses and singing wild songs. So many fun things waiting for me. Who wants to go into these gloomy tombs?”

She finished and quickly stood up. Her face showed some loneliness. Without looking back, she walked into the distance. That fiery red, enchanting figure was hidden in the surrounding shadows. It was like a red spider lily wilting after blooming—listless and gloomy. That kind of red—too bright, too passionate—but ultimately, there was a deep sorrow of death beneath the surface.

I shook my head, thinking, why are all the people I meet so hard to understand?

Turning around, I saw Luo Shen had already woken up. She was leaning there alone, staring blankly at the void, like a stone.

“You’re awake?” 

I got up and walked over. I sat beside her, and looked in the same direction—into a patch of pitch-black nothingness.

“What is there?”

“Time.”

“Time?” 

I was a bit confused.

“Gui Zhi… who is that?” 

I remembered the name she shouted in her delirium. She even asked this Gui Zhi to kill her. Curious, I casually asked.

Unexpectedly, Luo Shen suddenly stopped speaking. She reverted to her icy demeanor. Looking at her, my goosebumps returned. I thought, the cold fragrance I had felt while holding her earlier must’ve been my imagination. I had even felt tender-hearted then. Now she’s acting like she doesn’t know anyone?

Just as I was complaining inwardly, a flash of fire appeared before my eyes. The entire hall lit up—it was Yu Linxing firing two flaming arrows to light the eternal lamps on the pillars of the main hall.

With that, the full view of the main hall of the tomb of the Consort of King Chu came into sight. In the center, a white jade staircase ran from front to back. On both sides of the staircase, two rows of high platforms stood. A strange stone beast was squatting on top of each of them. The beasts were short-bodied, large-eared—clearly the same Taotie beasts that had attacked us earlier.

Those previously vague statues turned out to be huge fierce gods. They each were coiled with a giant serpent. The snakes looked familiar—just like the ones we encountered in the tunnel. It had a red spot on their heads, much like a crane’s crown.

I walked under the fierce gods, reading their names aloud: 

“Tuozhe, Zhaohun, Leishen, Fenshi.” 

I was shocked: 

“These are clearly the fierce gods worshipped by a southern tribe called the Wuyi Clan. Does that mean this Consort of King Chu was from the Wuyi Clan?”

“Wuyi Clan.” 

Yu Linxing, who had walked over, frowned immediately.

Historically, the southern tribes were placed in the southwest region. Some say Chu was part of it. While others say Chu, being a prosperous central kingdom, was only adjacent. The Wuyi Clan took the black snake as its totem. They were skilled in witchcraft and demon refinement—a tribe steeped in dark energy. It was said the tribe’s people had extremely long lifespans. And they were obsessed with immortality.

“Valley Master, look over there.” 

The refined man named Ah Que pointed to the front of the main hall. Yu Linxing and I looked over and saw two figures standing beneath a mural. They were inlaid with gold and jade.

I thought, how are there two people? Walking closer, I realized—it was a pair of lifelike jade statues of a man and woman.

The man wore a golden crown. He had sword-like brows and starry eyes—a truly noble and handsome figure. The woman had a slim waist, long hair like a waterfall. Looking closely at her facial features—bright as the moon, with a hint of enchantment—a rare beauty. They stood very close. And I immediately recalled the painted scenes in the passage earlier.

Turns out, these were the jade statues of King Chu and his Consort.

As I looked more carefully, my heart suddenly trembled. I saw the jade statue of the woman wore a shining golden robe. But it looked tattered—like someone had torn it. On the ground near her feet, scattered pieces of gold foil were everywhere—a mess. Around the gold foil, there was a dark stain.

It was a puddle of dried bl00d.