Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 29: Moonlight Shadows

Chapter 29: Moonlight Shadows

At that moment, under the faint moonlight in the distance, a blurry figure appeared vaguely. Footsteps sounded. It was coming nearer and nearer. As the person approached, it turned out to be—

A short and stout man. He had a very familiar face—it was actually Chang Wu, who always stayed by the Prince’s side.

I looked at Luo Shen with suspicion. Luo Shen pressed her lips together and gently lifted a piece of green tile on the rooftop. Immediately, the candlelight inside the room leaked out through the opening. I bent down and looked down through the hole. That Chang Wu had already entered the room. Kunlun had her back to him and was silently writing at the desk. She showed no panic at all. It was as if the traces of my earlier visit had long since vanished without a trace.

“Senior.” 

This Chang Wu previously appeared eerie and frightening. He surprisingly understood courtesy. He cupped his hands toward Kunlun and then took out something wrapped in soft gold-threaded silk from his chest. It looked very valuable. He stepped forward carefully and placed the wrapped bundle on the table beside Kunlun.

Kunlun turned around and furrowed her brows: 

“What is this?”

“This is a batch of goods the Master just acquired today.” 

Chang Wu gently unwrapped the gold-threaded silk. And a heap of golden items immediately jumped into my sight. My heart suddenly trembled. Those rare, delicate, gilded fragments—I knew them all too well. It was actually a sizable collection of gold foil pieces!

I instinctively looked at Luo Shen. Luo Shen also lifted her face to look at me. A rare glimmer lit up in her pitch-black eyes—she seemed somewhat surprised as well.

“How could so much gold foil appear again in such a short time?” 

Kunlun picked up one piece and examined it. She was speaking casually.

“The Master received a guest today. This batch of goods was a greeting gift from that guest.”

A guest?

I frowned. What kind of guest had such a high status to offer such a valuable tribute to the Prince? What did it mean?

Kunlun smiled faintly: 

“Did that guest offer any terms of exchange?” 

Her smile carried a hint of contempt. 

“Xie Ziyuan is surprisingly shrewd in business. How did I never notice his talent before?”

Chang Wu fell silent for a moment and did not respond. Then he said, 

“The Master instructed that you, Senior, can rest assured and focus on deciphering the gold foil. As for the follow-up goods, we will gradually supply them.”

“Naturally. Go back and tell him there’s no need to be anxious. Now that he and I are in the same boat, I will, of course, plan well for him and give my full effort.” 

Kunlun’s face was as calm as still water. She spoke slowly. Every word was clearly enunciated. Her cold eyes stared at Chang Wu. It was as if she was trying to see through him completely.

Chang Wu seemed slightly uneasy. He quickly bowed and said, 

“Then Senior, please rest well. I will return and report.” 

Then he turned and pushed the door open. He left like drifting clouds.

After Chang Wu closed the door, a while passed before Kunlun finally raised her head. She then gave me a meaningful glance. She shook her head toward me.

I understood immediately. Gritting my teeth, I waited until Chang Wu had gone far. I then whispered to Luo Shen, 

“Let’s go.” 

I flipped over the courtyard wall and landed in the outer grove of flowering trees. Luo Shen followed gracefully.

I walked in silence under the dappled shadows of the trees. Apart from the rustling of leaves in the breeze, there was not a single sound. The moon had risen high now, and the silver light from the moon spilled down like from a silver plate. It cast a soft glow on the ground.

This small path seemed endless. I walked slowly on the scattered moonlight. And behind me, a faint cool fragrance followed all the while.

It was very quiet all around. But my heart surged with waves. At one moment, I saw Luo Shen’s figure in my mind, then Kunlun’s voice and presence, and then the dazzling gold foil brought by Chang Wu. These things gradually mixed together. They were tangled with each other. And they slowly pieced together an image—my mother’s gentle smiling face. She wore a plain robe and cypress hairpin. She stood gracefully at the end of the path. She was smiling as she called me, “Yi’er.”

Looking at that illusory scene, my heart trembled. My steps subconsciously quickened.

Could my mother truly be revived as Kunlun said?

Her departure had been too long ago. Thinking of it now, it felt like a dreamlike illusion. But even such an illusory hope, because of Kunlun’s words, had filled me with great expectation. I clenched my fingers and made a silent decision—no matter how difficult or uncertain the future may be, I must take the risk.

As my thoughts drifted, suddenly someone lightly tugged on my sleeve from behind. My body froze. And I stood there in a daze.

“Don’t rush. Can you stop for a moment?”

It was the calm voice of the woman behind me. Her hand through the thin garment made my skin heat up instantly. I quickly pulled away, flustered. 

“Luo Shen, is there something you want to say to me?”

“Nothing important. Qingyi, can you walk with me for a while?” 

Luo Shen’s tone was as calm as ever. But it somehow carried a subtle charm that was hard to refuse.

I didn’t speak for a long while. I was surprised that she would say such a thing.

She had always been cold and distant. Why now would she ask me to walk with her?

I stared blankly at the woman under the moonlight. Her quiet and cold aura appeared even more detached under the silver moon. Her graceful figure was outlined by the moonlight like flowing water. Yet, what a pity—beneath that half-covered white jade mask, her face remained obscured behind clouds and mist. It was always hard to see clearly.

In my daze, I felt that the outline of that mask, the calmness in those eyes—they seemed familiar. It was as if I had seen them somewhere before.

As I thought of this, my mind suddenly stirred into confusion. It was as though a thick vine were sprouting from the depths of my heart. It slowly grew leaves and branches. They brushed away the dust covering memories, revealing something beneath. But when I tried to think more deeply, I found nothing.

When was it, under such moonlight, that I had once seen Luo Shen?

“All right.” 

After some hesitation, I nodded.

“You always seem to be thinking about something,” 

Luo Shen said with a slight curl of her lips. It formed a soft arc. Though faint, up close it was enough to outshine the moonlight. Like a crystal-clear epiphyllum quietly blooming in the dark. It exuded a cool fragrance—this kind of beauty, hidden in the depths of midnight, was hard to grasp.

I rarely saw her smile. Seeing even this subtle curve on her lips, I was stunned for a moment. My heart, as if touched by that smile, suddenly felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

“If all of you would just tell me these strange things plainly, would I have to worry and think so hard every day?” 

I also smiled.

She began walking. She came beside me to walk shoulder to shoulder: 

“You know, some things can be said, but some things cannot.”

“Can or cannot be said—no matter. I’ll sort them all out eventually. Now that Kunlun is safe, I can do what I must. Didn’t your Master forbid me from leaving? Then I’ll fulfill his wish and make a deal with him.”

I could tell that in the Prince’s eyes, I surely had other uses. He imprisoned Kunlun only to threaten me. It was to force me into accepting his demand to find the method of eternal life. I didn’t know what role I could play. But the “Jade Shuttle Record”—real or not—for my mother, for Kunlun, I would search every river and mountain to find it.

I could finally understand Kunlun’s thinking. In this world, who better to make a deal with than a prince who possessed clues, wealth, and manpower?

“You’re really going to agree to the Master’s request to find the ‘Jade Shuttle Record’?” 

Luo Shen seemed a bit incredulous. 

“That shouldn’t be you—”

“If not me, then who, Luo Shen? You tell me—what should I be, then?”

Luo Shen stopped walking, pursed her lips, and said nothing.

I smiled. 

“If you don’t know, then I really don’t know what I’m supposed to be. When I was young, the palace servants called me a monster. It was as if avoiding me wasn’t enough. I used to wonder—was I really that scary? Later, as I studied and trained with Kunlun in the Xuanhua Pavillion day by day, I forgot what kind of person I used to be. That time at the royal tomb, when I killed that Yazi, the way you all looked at me—like you were seeing a ghost—reminded me. I must be some kind of inauspicious being.”

Maybe I really am cursed. That’s why Kunlun always told me to stay calm, not to get angry, not to be agitated. Otherwise, nightmares would haunt me every night, giving me no peace.

Before I finished mocking myself, my shoulder suddenly felt a cool touch—it was the nearby woman’s hand. It was pressing gently down.

The sudden contact made my heart tremble. It felt as if a large, intangible hole opened up inside me. And something unnameable began to spill out—making me feel a little helpless and lost.

“Don’t move.” 

Luo Shen stopped me and took out the Bi’an jade hairpin from her bosom. Leaning in, a faint fragrance surrounded me. Then, she gently lifted a few loose strands of my hair and pinned the jade hairpin back in place.

“This is yours, after all. It suits you best when worn on your head.” 

Her eyes narrowed slightly. They quietly stared at me.

“Th…thank you.” 

I stammered. I touched the jade hairpin now peacefully returned to my head. My face had already grown hot. But I could tell there was another meaning in her words.

“It’s getting late. I should be the one thanking you for walking with me. Go back now.” 

She started walking forward again. I hurried to follow her with a flushed face.

Strangely, the rest of the walk was silent again. I kept a distance behind her, always just a few steps away.

Every time Luo Shen got close to me, my heart would become restless. But I couldn’t figure out why I felt this strange way. Though I was full of doubts, I didn’t dare to think too deeply—perhaps deep down, I had a hidden fear of this unfamiliar feeling.

With Luo Shen accompanying me, I carefully avoided detection and returned safely to the guest room in Changfeng Courtyard. Luo Shen didn’t stay long. After sending me back, she quietly left for the Jade Garden.

I sat quietly on the couch. The room was extremely silent—only the sound of my own breathing remained. Staring at the cold tables and chairs, I was thinking of all that happened today. My mind gradually drifted far away. And I eventually fell into a dazed sleep.

Perhaps tonight again, it will be a restless night.

And what scenes will I see in my dreams, deep into the night?