Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 27: Return of the Swallow

Chapter 27: Return of the Swallow

In a daze, I only felt a cool fragrance rush toward my face. In a blink, there was suddenly a crystal-clear jade hairpin in Luo Shen’s hand. Its end was carved into the shape of a Bi’an.

Looking closely, it was clearly the jade hairpin Kunlun had gifted me.

“What are you doing with my hairpin?” 

I was startled and reached up to touch my hair. This ice block always acts unexpectedly—just now when she leaned closer, my heart felt like it had been lifted and hung high. I didn’t even understand why I would feel such a strange sensation.

“Didn’t you want to know? If you won’t regret it in the future, come with me,” 

Luo Shen’s deep eyes flashed with a light. And she turned to walk toward the back room. Her words made my head spin. This mysterious talk—what was she even saying?

Full of suspicion, I followed behind her at a slow pace. Once inside the room, I realized Luo Shen’s quarters were kept very simply. It was empty and quiet. It had only a few pots of flowers placed randomly in the corners.

Maybe because the room was too big and too silent, it lacked any sense of spring and instead felt a bit desolate.

Luo Shen stopped at the main hall, looked back at me, and then walked straight into the inner room. When she came back out, she held a small emerald-green box in her hands.

I recognized it—it was the jade box brought back from the tomb of Consort Chu. My gaze was fixed on that piece of shimmering green. And all the memories of the tomb of Consort Chu surged back like a flood.

That trip to the tomb left me with too many questions. With only my own wild guesses, even ten years wouldn’t be enough to figure it all out. Besides the whereabouts of the remaining gold foils, what I cared about most was this jade box. Why, when Luo Shen showed the red koi pendant, did Princess Chu so easily hand over this box? Most importantly, what secret does the box contain?

“Do you know what the master wants?” 

Luo Shen glanced at the small box in her hand and asked casually.

I came back to my senses and looked at her, sneering, 

“Someone of his status would only want three things: wealth, power…”

I paused and looked straight into her eyes: 

“And life.”

“Correct.” 

Luo Shen replied calmly. Her brows and eyes were always hiding depths I couldn’t read.

She continued, 

“Those Warring States gold foils that recorded the Jade Shuttle Record. Most of the foils were likely taken elsewhere by Liu Guizang. But even if we gather all the gold foils, it’s not enough. We still need other things. For example—this box in my hand.”

She handed me the jade box, and I took it. Seeing the totem on it again made me feel uneasy. Forcing myself to stay calm, I examined the jade box closely. I then noticed that the box was seamless. It was as if it were a single piece—truly extraordinary. When I turned it over, I found a strangely shaped hole on the bottom—its outline was irregular. But it was somehow familiar.

I frowned. Unexpectedly, Luo Shen handed the hairpin to me and said, 

“This hairpin is the key.”

My heart jumped. I took the hairpin from her hand and gently inserted it into the oddly shaped hole. It matched perfectly.

I was shocked. Then, with a click, the box split into two. Inside, in the bottom half, lay an ancient mirror with a faint golden glow around it. The carvings were intricate and hollow. In the center of the mirror surface was a cold, indifferent eye. It was carved vividly. The eye stared quietly at me.

As I stared, I felt as if a pale hand suddenly reached out from the eye. It grabbed my thoughts. And it began shaking them violently—as if trying to shake everything out of my mind, leaving nothing behind.

“The Mirror of Fate!” 

I stepped back in shock.

The Mirror of Fate—knows one’s destiny.

In Kunlun’s book “Exploring the Tomb”, this strange ancient mirror was described in detail. That eerie eye—I would recognize it even if I turned to ash. Legend says this mirror can know the past and present. And it can even glimpse a person’s lifespan, karma, and true nature.

Because the tales were so unbelievable, I always half-doubted it. But now, seeing it in real life, some of my long-held beliefs began to shift.

“Who exactly are you?” 

I looked at Luo Shen in fear and questioned her coldly.

Too terrifying. How could the hairpin Kunlun gave me be the key to a box brought out of an ancient tomb? And this so-called key could bring an artifact like the Mirror of Fate right in front of me. I, the owner of the hairpin, knew nothing. But Luo Shen knew everything.

She knew too much—so much that it frightened me. In front of her, I seemed to have no secrets. Even a small item I used daily might be, in her eyes, a strange clue I never thought of.

“Your expression looks like I’m going to eat you.” 

Luo Shen approached, her lips calm. 

“Am I… very scary?”

I had nowhere to escape and gritted my teeth. 

“The hairpin was a gift from Kunlun. I want to see her. I want an explanation.”

“No.”

“Take me to Kunlun. I want to see her now!” 

My voice suddenly rose, trembling.

“No. I don’t know where she is now,” 

Luo Shen said with tightly pressed lips.

“Aren’t you favored by the Prince? You used to serve at his side. How can you not know? You know everything—even that my hairpin is the key to this stupid box. Why don’t you know this?” 

This time, I nearly screamed at her.

“Qingyi.”

“Enough.” 

I returned the jade box and the mirror to her. My hands were trembling. I cut her off: 

“I don’t want to talk anymore.”

Too chaotic. Everything was too chaotic. I couldn’t take it. I turned and ran.

Stumbling back to my room, I leaned weakly against the bed. My mind was filled with fragments—all of Luo Shen.

Her unreadable face, her silent lips—like a magnet pulling me in. Maybe, I should rip off that mask of hers. But with her deep thoughts, even if I tore it off, would there be another mask waiting beneath?

At some point, Shao Jing came to bring medicine and food. I mechanically completed the task. As I sat there, time passed in great swathes.

Night gradually deepened. I looked out the window—it was another cold moonlit night. I walked over, closed the window, and lay down in my clothes.

As my emotions slowly calmed, I began to regret. Regret that I’d treated Luo Shen that way. Who was she to me? What responsibility did she have to help me find Kunlun? Why did I lash out at her?

In the end, it’s all because I was powerless.

For the first time in my life, I felt such intense loneliness.

Without Kunlun, the world had only me left.

And Kunlun—why did she give me that hairpin? Thinking further, she must be hiding many things from me. They all have secrets. They all hide things from me. Yet they drag me, someone who knows nothing, into it.

What should I do to get more clues?

Turning over and over like that, I fell asleep. Half-asleep, I faintly heard a knock at the window: *thump, thump*.

The sound was very light. I listened closely, got out of bed, and put on a thin robe. I then carefully opened the window—only to see Luo Shen standing quietly outside. She was bathed in the faint silver glow of moonlight.

I rubbed my swollen eyes. I was feeling embarrassed and surprised.

“Come with me,” 

She said in a low voice.

“For what?” 

Seeing her like this, my regret deepened.

“Who do you most want to see right now?”

At those words, my heart trembled. I jumped out the window to her side. Luo Shen said, 

“There are guards near the main entrance. We’ll go from under the east wall.”

“Guards?”

“This whole area is filled with the master’s secret watchers.”

I felt a chill. So, all this time, I had been living under someone’s watchful eyes.

Following Luo Shen, we took a winding path through the estate. The moon was high, and shadows danced. My heart beat wildly. This feeling was more nerve-wracking than being in the tomb. In the tomb, I dealt with mindless strange things. But now—I faced people watching every move.

Luo Shen led the way—not too far ahead, not too close. She left me only a faint, thin silhouette. It was like draped in silver gauze. We passed through a small grove and arrived at a secluded courtyard. It was elegant and refined—like a noble’s retreat.

“She’s inside. I followed Chang Wu this afternoon and found this place,” 

Luo Shen said quietly. She then turned to leave.

“Luo Shen…” 

I quickly called out to her.

She stopped and looked back at me calmly.

“I was rude today,” 

I said hoarsely, apologizing for my outburst. 

“Please don’t hold it against me.”

Her face was calm. She only nodded slightly, tapped her foot lightly, and leapt into the trees—like a lone egret in the night. She soon disappeared from sight.

I stared at the spot where she vanished. I then gathered my thoughts and jumped over the courtyard wall with light footwork. The shadows of the trees swayed. Occasionally, a few insects chirped. The place felt utterly detached from the mortal world.

One of the rooms still had light. I crept closer, poked a small hole in the paper window, and peeked inside.

There were two women. One wore luxurious clothes with ornaments that jingled. She looked delicate and was making tea. The other woman was dressed in plain blue. She sat with her back to me in a wheelchair. She was bathed in the dim yellow candlelight, focused on something. She was surrounded by quiet calm.

I stared at the woman in the wheelchair, covering my mouth in case I cried out.

Kunlun.

It really was her!

“It’s getting late, you should rest,” 

The well-dressed woman said gently—clearly very attentive to Kunlun.

“The work is almost done. But these gold foil fragments are too messy—I can’t piece them together yet,” 

Kunlun turned her head, took the tea, then asked, 

“Won’t he worry if you go back late?”

“It’s fine. He won’t say anything. But you—don’t overwork yourself.”

Kunlun lowered her head and said, 

“Princess… I’m just a lowly prisoner now. You needn’t lower yourself to care for a cripple like me.”

Princess? Could this woman be the Prince’s consort?

“You always treat me like a stranger. I… I’m your junior sister.” 

Her voice trembled. It was like she was almost in tears.

Kunlun turned around—finally letting me see her face. She looked thinner, with tiredness in her eyes.

“Xiao Yezi,” 

Kunlun sighed, 

“I was wrong. Don’t be angry.”

“You… you finally called me Xiao Yezi…” 

The other woman smiled sweetly. Her face was radiant—not looking like a married woman at all.

Kunlun held her hand and smiled gently. 

“How could I ever forget my Xiao Yezi? But you should go—he will worry.”

Xiao Yezi?

Ye Zixu. I remembered—Shao Jing had said her mistress was named Ye Zixu. So the noble Princess was Kunlun’s fellow disciple.

“Alright…” 

Ye Zixu hesitated, then said, 

“Senior Sister, I’ll go first. You… your legs…” 

She trailed off, gazing sadly at the wheelchair. Kunlun looked up lovingly. She then shook her head.

“I’m going.” 

Ye Zixu whispered, wiped her eyes, and left.

Kunlun sighed softly. And looking at the flickering candle, she murmured: 

“Jin Nian, is what I’m doing… right or wrong?”

Shi Jin Nian—my mother’s name.

Seeing there was no one else in the room, I quietly pushed open the window and entered.

Kunlun turned around suddenly. When she saw me, she froze.

Time seemed to stop. Her face was even paler than before. And in the dim candlelight, she looked just as beautiful as the day she left. Our reunion felt like a lifetime apart—as if the green lotus still stood quietly. It carried the breeze of West Lake.

Before I knew it, my eyes were wet.

“Kunlun.” 

I called her.