Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 28: Night Talk

Chapter 28: Night Talk

“Yi’er.” 

Kunlun’s eyes lowered slightly. Inside of them seemed to carry sorrow: 

“You finally came. I originally still had the vain hope that he would spare you.”

She said no more. She then smiled gently and beckoned me over.

I wiped my eyes. I walked to her chair and knelt beside it. Looking up, I saw that familiar face—like being in a dream. Every day I longed to see her. Yet now that the wish had come true, I couldn’t utter a single word. Her light brows like smoke, her bright and fair face. They fell into my eyes like that ancient wine hidden deep in a cellar—clear, rich, and lingering.

“Kunlun.” 

I choked up.

Kunlun gently stroked my head: 

“You seem to have lost a lot of weight…” 

She grabbed my hand, saw the bandages, and lightly furrowed her delicate brows: 

“How did this injury happen? Yi’er, you’re not living well…”

I hurriedly shook my head. At the same time, I realized I had too many questions to ask her. Yet I didn’t know which thread to begin with. I only said: 

“I’m fine. Just some minor wounds. I’ll explain everything to you later. But you, Kunlun—That prince was holding your jade pendant. I thought you had been…”

“I’m fine.” 

She suddenly smiled faintly, as if to comfort me. I couldn’t recall how long it had been since I’d seen her smile like that. Now that I did, my heart ached even more unbearably.

Then, she casually began talking to me about some recent trivial matters—nothing more than small things about food and daily life. I quietly leaned against her wheelchair. I then looked up and listened. I felt as if I had returned to our past days in Shu. Living with her, depending on each other for survival, life had always been so peaceful and calm.

Kunlun’s hand brushed past my hairline. And she suddenly asked in a low voice: 

“Where’s your jade hairpin? Why is your hair down today?”

I suddenly remembered that I had left in such a hurry during the day. It seemed I had forgotten the hairpin in the Jade Garden of Luo Shen.

The scene of that jade hairpin and the emerald jade box rushed back into my mind. It cruelly dragged me back to reality. Kunlun and I—what situation are we in now? Is there anyone who can unravel all the thousands of doubts in my heart?

“Kunlun, that jade hairpin—what is it exactly? Why would the Mirror of Fate…”

I looked into her calm eyes and asked softly. And just as I said the three words “Mirror of Fate”, her hands suddenly trembled. It almost dropped the tea cup she was holding.

“What did you say?” 

Kunlun asked with a trembling voice. The shock on her face—I had never seen before.

I stood up and sighed. I then slowly told her everything I had experienced these past few days. Kunlun’s expression changed like shifting clouds. And by the end of my brief explanation, her face was already completely drained of color.

I continued, saying: 

“Kunlun, there are some things you surely understand. But why won’t you tell me? Am I not your family? I’ve already grown up—can’t I be someone you rely on? If you need to find something, I’ll help you look. If you have wishes, I’ll help you fulfill them. If anyone bullies you, I absolutely won’t let them off! I only beg you, please don’t hide things from me anymore. This feeling… is just too unbearable.”

I was emotional. Kunlun was stunned for a moment. She then looked at me with a touch of sorrow: 

“Yi’er, in these days, you’ve gained a lot of hostility. Do you remember how I used to teach you?”

I bit my lip and replied: 

“Let the spirit be like drifting silk, the heart like still water—no shock, no anger, no sorrow, no impatience.”

She pulled me in front of her, her hand stroking my face. And she smiled bitterly: 

“Yes, you remember those four phrases. But why can’t you follow them? Yi’er, you’re different from others. This added hostility will ruin you in the future. You mustn’t let your emotions fluctuate too much. Lately… have you been having nightmares again?”

“Mm.” 

I nodded. Since returning from the ancient tomb, those nightmares had been coming more and more frequently. It was becoming increasingly vivid. They seemed to turn into countless poison bugs. They were burrowing into my skin and bones, biting inch by inch from head to toe. It left me no peace at night.

“Yi’er, I know you resent me for not telling you many things. I had hoped for you to live without worries, to go on peacefully like this. All those mundane troubles, you shouldn’t have to bear. But now…”

She paused. The look in her eyes under the candlelight seemed extraordinarily hollow.

“Jin Nian, Xie Ziyuan—now the Prince—and my junior sister Ye Zixu, the four of us were old acquaintances. Back then, Xie Ziyuan was not yet a titled prince. He was just a wandering tomb raider. Your mother Jin Nian was the daughter of Master Lang, an officer of a tomb-raising clan. And Zixu and I were disciples of the geomancer master Nie Wuying.

The four of us had a deep bond. In our youth, we recklessly explored tombs for treasure. But many years ago, after returning from the tomb of a high official from a previous dynasty, all our lives changed because of one thing.”

I listened quietly. I was vaguely guessing what that thing might be.

Kunlun continued: 

“We discovered that the secret to immortality truly exists. We saw records of the Scroll of Immortality, the ‘Jade Shuttle Record’. We even saw living people inside that tomb—people who had lived for who knows how many years!” 

Her expression was horrified, as if reliving the scene. I pressed my lips together. I thought silently—this must’ve been the same expression I had when I saw the Consort of King Chu.

“In the past, I didn’t believe such things. But the facts were in front of us—I had no choice but to believe. Xie Ziyuan was never one to settle down. From then on, he became obsessed with the ‘Jade Shuttle Record’ and set his heart on finding the secret to eternal life. Later, too many things happened in pursuit of that record—truly, too many…” 

She sighed. She was seemingly overwhelmed: 

“In the end, we were scattered, married, dead… all turned to dust…”

Kunlun looked steadily at me. Her eyes rippled slightly: 

“Yi’er, do you know what I want?”

“Kunlun… you also want that ‘Jade Shuttle Record’?”

Kunlun nodded, then shook her head. She slowly said each word: 

“What I want… is nothing more than for Jin Nian to live again. If she can be brought back, I’d be willing to do anything.”

This sentence was like a bolt from the blue. It made me tremble and step back: 

“Mother… can live again?”

My memories of mother stay frozen at her most radiant moment. She must have been the most beautiful, most gentle woman in the world. She had the most skillful hands and the sweetest voice. But that man didn’t know how to cherish her. He let others slander and trample her cruelly.

Thinking of all that past, my heart throbbed painfully. It was as if a whip had been raised high. It was lashing fiercely at the darkest memories deep inside me. What puzzled me most was that mother never seemed to mind others’ insults. She was too used to being gentle. When she cared for me, she always spoke of someone named Kunlun. I can’t forget the gentle smile that bloomed on her face whenever she mentioned Kunlun.

At the time, I even had a strange illusion—that mother didn’t love that man at all. Instead, she liked Kunlun more.

Later, she died—forced to death by that malicious empress. And on the day she passed, I completely broke down. I became the most despised monster in the palace. After that, I killed that woman. And just before I was sentenced to death, it was Kunlun who saved me and brought me to Shu. We lived there… for ten years.

Then Kunlun spoke again. She pulled me from my drifting memories: 

“Yi’er, in the ‘Jade Shuttle Record’, the Scroll of the Living can bring people back from the dead…”

Just as she finished speaking, the window was suddenly tapped lightly a few times. We both turned pale at the sound.

“Someone’s coming.” 

I lowered my voice. I thought to myself—was that Luo Shen tapping the window? Was she warning me something was happening?

“Hurry and leave. Xie Ziyuan must have sent someone to question me.” 

Kunlun urged me anxiously. I bit my lip. And in a hurry, I had no choice but to push open the window and leap out.

Just as I landed outside, someone suddenly dropped down from the rooftop above. It startled me.

That person’s palm was cold and smooth. They grabbed my hand in one move, flipped me up, and we both gently landed on the blue-tiled roof.

“Shhh.” 

The person made a hush gesture at me. I looked and was overjoyed—it was indeed Luo Shen.