Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 34: The Night of Qisha

Chapter 34: The Night of Qisha

Suo’erhan stammered: 

“Ch-chief, w-we…”

A’erzhen flicked his sleeve and said coldly in anger: 

“You are all sons of Qisha, being brothers. Yet what are you doing arguing noisily every day. Now even fighting—before the great enemy has arrived, you start internal strife. Do you wish for Qisha to truly perish?”

“I’m not!” 

This honest man Suo’erhan was so frightened by A’erzhen’s words that he kneeled down. A’erzhen stepped forward to lift him up, saying: 

“Today’s matter ends here. Each of you return and go about your own tasks.” 

Hearing this, Kasha beside them snorted coldly from his nose, made a courtesy gesture, and then slowly left through the crowd.

A’erzhen looked at Kasha’s back and sighed slightly. He then swept his dignified gaze toward us, stepped forward, and said calmly: 

“Distant guests, you’ve been made to laugh. If there’s anything, please come inside and talk.”

We looked at each other. Then Yu Linxing said: 

“Then we shall disturb you.” 

She turned to instruct Ah Que and the others to settle the horses and packs. The three of us followed A’erzhen into a felt tent. The inside of the tent was extremely large. The surroundings were adorned with silk ribbons embroidered with complex patterns. The ground was covered with a soft white sheepskin rug—stepping on it felt like walking on clouds.

At the innermost area was a table made of ram’s horn. On top was a small red clay stove, flames blazing as it heated a pot of wine.

A’erzhen sat at the table and said: 

“I wonder what matter brings the guests from afar?” 

His gaze was cold and sharp. It was sweeping directly across us. It made one feel chilled to the core. I thought to myself silently—this man is not ordinary. He’s likely not easy to talk to.

Yu Linxing also saw the situation clearly. So she got straight to the point and said: 

“We dare not hide anything from the chieftain. Our journey here is to search for a place called ‘Dragon Gorge’.”

A’erzhen’s expression tightened. And his eyes grew sharper. He said faintly: 

“Our tribe has long lived in this place, and has never heard of such a location.”

Yu Linxing furrowed her brows and observed A’erzhen for a while. She then suddenly covered her mouth and laughed: 

“Really? The books say Dragon Gorge is a place where an ancient city rises from flatlands, the moonlight like silver, and golden pathways line the road. We all wanted to see such a scene—so it turns out it was all nonsense from some bookworms? What a pity.”

A’erzhen’s cold brows furrowed slightly and he said: 

“Even if I’ve never heard of Dragon Gorge, the guests have traveled far and must be tired—please stay the night and rest.”

I gave Yu Linxing a look. She glanced at me from the side. She then smiled at A’erzhen and said: 

“Thank you for the chieftain’s kindness. Then we shall indeed trouble you.”

A’erzhen tapped the table without much expression and called out: 

“Suo’erhan!”

As soon as his words fell, the felt curtain was lifted. And Suo’erhan walked in. He was giving us a goofy smile.

“Take the guests to a felt tent to rest, and treat them well.”

“Yes, chieftain.”

We followed Suo’erhan out of the felt tent. As I lifted the felt curtain, I looked back and saw A’erzhen’s gaze unmoving. He was staring straight at us. When my eyes met his, I felt a chill deep in my heart and quickly turned my head back.

Once we arrived at the tent, the enthusiastic Suo’erhan insisted on going out to fetch milk wine and meat. We couldn’t stop him and had to sit together on the rug to eat and drink. It was my first time drinking this Qisha milk wine. Although it had sheep milk added, giving it a faint milky aroma, its strength far surpassed the wine of the Central Plains. In no time, I felt dizzy and lightheaded. Meanwhile, Yu Linxing and Luo Shen had each had several bowls. But their faces were still pale and delicate. They were not like people who had touched wine at all.

During the meal, Yu Linxing tried to subtly ask Suo’erhan about the whereabouts of Dragon Gorge. This man was naturally honest and kept shaking his head. He said he didn’t know. Eventually, Yu Linxing didn’t have the heart to deceive him. When he got a little drunk, she quickly had someone take him back to rest.

“Sigh, it seems A’erzhen definitely knows something. But he refuses to speak. Tomorrow, we’ll have to scout the area ourselves,” 

Yu Linxing said as she stood up and sighed. She lightly leapt onto the soft wool bed. Luo Shen also silently walked over. She sat down on the bed inside. She then swept her long, soft hair behind her, and made it as if to sleep.

“Only one bed?” 

I rubbed my eyes. With a bit of drunkenness still in me, my vision was slightly blurry. Looking at the two women on the bed, I even saw double.

“Didn’t Suo’erhan say there weren’t many spare tents? Besides, this wool bed is huge. With your small frame, even ten or eight of you would fit just fine!” 

Yu Linxing giggled and even hooked her finger at me. She was giving me goosebumps all over. Helpless, I walked over. I then took off my deerskin boots. I saw Luo Shen closing her eyes leaning in the innermost spot. She hadn’t said much earlier. She was likely tired.

So I said: 

“Then I’ll sleep in the middle.” 

Saying so, I gently lay down in the empty space beside Luo Shen.

“Tsk tsk, why sleep in the middle? If you want to be close to your dead ghost, just say so.” 

Yu Linxing snorted. She pulled the big wool blanket over me and Luo Shen. She then smiled and said: 

“Still, we better cover up. Shishi, since you’re next to this dead ghost, better keep warm so you don’t catch a chill from this ice lump.”

I glared at her fiercely. It was only to see her sitting on the bed and beginning to undo her crimson thin robe. As her collar opened, two delicate, crystal-clear collarbones were revealed. She already had a face that could topple cities—now with these undressing actions, it looked even more seductive. My mind buzzed as I exclaimed, 

“What are you doing?”

“Undressing!” 

Yu Linxing looked at me like I was an idiot. 

“How else to sleep? That dead ghost can stay clothed if she likes. But Shishi, you shouldn’t learn bad habits from her!”

After speaking, she pounced like a hungry tiger. She was grinning wickedly and trying to remove my clothes. I was so scared I broke into a cold sweat and instinctively blocked her. Who knew, I accidentally kicked her off the bed. She cried “Ouch” as she fell—but luckily, the bed was only about a foot above the ground. And the floor was soft. So nothing serious happened.

“You demoness… how dare you!” 

I pointed at her fiercely. 

“If you dare mess around again, I’ll kick you out of the tent!”

“So fierce… Just because you didn’t want to undress, why kick me? You make it sound like I was trying to force myself on you or something…” 

Yu Linxing looked up at me from below. Her peach-blossom eyes were watery, looking pitiful.

At that moment, I felt a cold aura behind me. Trembling, I turned around—it was Luo Shen sitting up. Her cold eyes were glancing at me, then at Yu Linxing on the floor. Yu Linxing and I were so intimidated by her cold stare that we didn’t dare make a sound. Then she slowly lowered her gaze and said faintly: 

“You two, are noisy.”

With that said, she lay back down as if nothing had happened. And she closed her eyes.

So this time, Yu Linxing and I didn’t dare joke around anymore. We both quieted down and lay properly on the bed.

I slightly opened my eyes and looked at the high top of the tent. The ceiling was filled with incomprehensible patterns. They were spinning and swaying. I didn’t know how much time passed. The breathing of the two beside me became even and steady. It seemed they had both fallen asleep.

Outside the tent, the wind howled. The wind of the grasslands was even eerier at night. Some mischievous cold breezes slipped through the not-so-tightly sealed tent flaps. My hand exposed outside the blanket was chilled to the bone by the breeze. I quickly retracted it under the warm wool blanket—only to unexpectedly touch a smooth, icy surface inside the blanket.

My heart trembled. Luo Shen’s hand—how could it still be so cold under the warm wool?

Glancing sideways, I saw Luo Shen lying on her back. From the side, her profile was elegant. Her black hair was flowing like water. It draped randomly like entwining vines. Seeing this made me dazed. And suddenly, a thought arose.

If I just… lightly touched her hand, that shouldn’t be too excessive, right?

I comforted myself. I then cautiously placed my hand over the back of hers.

Under the blanket was warm and slightly steamy. But her hand remained cold. I traced the contours of her bones—her skin was smooth. It was like the finest jade from Kunshan. I don’t know why, but I felt itchy inside. I was a little sweaty. Yet, I couldn’t stop caressing that cold hand. I didn’t want to let go for a long time.

Suddenly, Luo Shen’s cold hand moved slightly. She then flipped over and grasped mine in her cold palm.

I was so scared I didn’t dare breathe. She—she was awake?

Pretending to stay calm, I turned my head slightly. I barely opened my eyes to peek. I saw Luo Shen’s eyes were still closed. Her beautiful lashes trembled gently like butterfly wings.

I let out a breath of relief, thinking I’d dodged a bullet. But I didn’t dare go further and carefully tried to pull my hand back. Unexpectedly, it was tightly held. It was as if it was rooted in her palm—unable to be pulled away.

Then, I saw Luo Shen’s eyes slowly open.

My face instantly burned. The feeling was like being caught red-handed while stealing—embarrassment, awkwardness, shame—all rushing in together.

How was I going to explain? That I did it by accident? Or was sleepwalking?

Luo Shen turned her head and stared at me. We just looked at each other like that. I didn’t know how long we froze. And she never let go.

After a while, the corner of her lips lifted in a faint smile. She said softly: 

“How does it feel?”

Her warm breath brushed against my nose. My heart shrank, and my face burned even more. I stammered for a long time but couldn’t speak. At that moment, a loud thunderous sound suddenly exploded outside the tent—followed by chaos. It was like many people were running in panic. It was like water splashing into boiling oil, all bursting into motion.

This sudden commotion made Luo Shen and me immediately alert. We sat up instantly. Yu Linxing was also awakened by the noise. The three of us quickly jumped off the bed and rushed to the tent door. We were just in time to see Suo’erhan, panting, lifting the curtain and rushing in. He shouted to us:

“Guests, bad news—a wolf pack has come out of the valley!“