Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 46: Shadows of the Past Within the City

Chapter 46: Shadows of the Past Within the City

Luo Shen furrowed her brows slightly. She said calmly from the side, 

“What happened to you, for you to end up in this state?”

Yu Linxing straightened her clothes and brushed the dust off her red robe. She was waving her hand repeatedly, 

“Don’t bring it up! Earlier, I arrived at that damned sea of flowers, and was too busy admiring them. I didn’t realize you two had disappeared in the blink of an eye—not even a shadow left! So I hurried to search for you with Ah Que and the others.”

She snorted angrily and continued, 

“Who knew the formations nearby were all over the place. And in our confusion, we stumbled into here. After that, I lost consciousness. It was as if I had a nightmare. When I woke up, I got a slap from you, you damned ghost!”

At that point, she glared at Luo Shen. She was seemingly still upset. Luo Shen simply let out a soft snort, turned her head aside, and acted as if she hadn’t seen it.

My throat was still dry and rough. But I managed to ask, 

“Where are Ah Que and the others?”

Yu Linxing quickly replied, 

“They must be nearby. Let’s hope they didn’t get caught up too. Let’s go find them!” 

She turned to leave. But after a few steps, she noticed something and looked back—seeing me still standing there. I was staring hard at her.

My gaze made her flustered. She faked a cough and raised an eyebrow,

“Shishi, why are you staring at me like that? Could it be that I’m too beautiful and you’ve fallen for me? No worries, once we get the treasure from Dragon Ravine, I’ll come close to you every day so you can look your fill. How about that?”

“Stop spouting nonsense,” 

I spat at her. 

“Who the hell did you think I was when you went crazy? You hit me so hard! If we’d waited just a bit longer, I’d be dead!”

Her expression instantly darkened. Her eyes clouded with a deep, heavy gloom. It was completely different from her usual cheerful self.

She was dazed for a moment before she finally said, 

“It wasn’t anyone in particular. That Bewitching Miasma was too strong—it suddenly made me see the image of a female ghost. I was scared out of my wits and rushed forward to strangle it. I didn’t know it was real.” 

With that, she briskly turned and walked ahead.

Luo Shen and I exchanged a glance. She lightly shook her head. Seeing that, I sighed and let it go.

We then went looking and soon found Ah Que and a group of disciples from Mo Yin Valley. They were all collapsed around a crumbled building. Their faces were pale and lifeless—it seemed they’d fallen unconscious from the Bewitching Miasma.

Yu Linxing stepped forward without hesitation and slapped each of them hard across the face. The crisp *pah pah* sounds echoed as she woke them all up.

Watching this, I smacked my lips and looked at her with disdain, 

“Demoness, you’re taking your frustration out on them.”

Demoness that she was, she did bad things swiftly. And she shamelessly defended herself with a straight face: 

“They were under the miasma! If I didn’t wake them, they’d be kicking the bucket! They’re my subordinates—I have to take care of them. I can’t just watch them die, can I?”

Ah Que stood to the side. He was covering his face with an awkward smile. I could only throw him a look full of sympathy.

Luo Shen was unfazed by Yu Linxing’s antics. She walked off like a breeze and started surveying the area. Only then did I finally get a clear look at our surroundings. Collapsed houses lay everywhere, wooden frames rotted and scattered, large stones piled haphazardly—everything was desolate and in ruins.

Luo Shen stopped ahead. She was standing in the middle of the street. A mournful wind blew past. It lifted her soft hair. She spoke in a low, distant voice, 

“This city… is a grave.”

Yu Linxing looked up at her in shock.

A grave?

I repeated the words silently in my mind. She was right. The whole place was filled with a lingering sorrow, thick or faint. And it even held a barely perceptible scent of bl00d. Some of it hung in the air, some gathered in corners. When I exhaled lightly, those breaths seemed to scatter and float to a farther place.

In that daze, I could almost hear the sounds of maddened slaughter—wailing cries echoing, bl00d flowing everywhere… it was like hell itself.

My fingers brushed over a rotting wooden beam. They were trembling slightly. I wondered—had these structures once supported a solid house, with a man and woman living inside, leading peaceful lives?

Then one massacre destroyed them—and the city.

Suddenly, chaotic voices rose again in my mind. They were noisy and unbearable.

A restless feeling spread. It was as if the seal on a bag had come undone and everything inside was about to spill out. Kunlun’s warning rang in my head: 

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

I fought it down for a long moment before barely suppressing the unease and exhaling slightly.

Looking up, I realized Luo Shen was already standing in front of me. She pursed her lips, said nothing, and gently wiped my forehead with her hand. It was cool and smooth like the finest silk. I saw my sweat glisten on her fingertips.

I heard her murmur, 

“If you feel unwell, tell me.”

There was a soft ripple in her eyes. It was like water—gentle and warm. My face flushed immediately and I mumbled, 

“It’s nothing. I’m just sweating. It’s hot.”

As I fumbled to explain, she casually brushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen on my face, like a light breeze. My heart trembled slightly. Just as I was flustered and unsure what to do, Ah Que suddenly shouted from over there, 

“Valley Master! We’ve found something!”

Luo Shen turned toward him and walked over. I steadied myself and quickly followed. We found Ah Que squatting by a massive hole in the ground. Fresh dirt was mounded around it—clearly recently dug.

“A thief’s tunnel?” 

Yu Linxing frowned. 

“Is there a tomb below? But who the hell builds a tomb right beneath their house?”

Luo Shen said nothing. She took out a fire striker, lit a faint yellow flame, and tossed it into the hole. Then she knelt on one knee to peer inside. I leaned over too. The tunnel stretched deep into darkness. The faint light flickered a few times and died out.

It was a very deep hole.

“Damn it, is this tunnel dug like a well or something?”

Yu Linxing grumbled. She then had Ah Que tie one end of the hook rope to a nearby pillar and let the other end down the tunnel.

Luo Shen simply said, 

“I’ll go first and check.” 

She tied the rope around herself and leapt down like a swift swallow. Her white figure was soon swallowed by the tunnel’s depths.

I stared into the hole without blinking. My heart was in my throat. I was afraid something might happen to her. Thieves’ tunnels often had bad air or even poison. If someone passed out inside, they might never come out.

“Shishi, your face is white—so worried?” 

Yu Linxing patted my back. I turned and saw her examining me with interest.

“Something’s changed about you lately,” 

She said.

“What’s changed?” 

I asked curiously.

She giggled, 

“It’s the way you look at that dead ghost—it’s like a little wife looking at her husband, so tender.”

*Cough, cough!* Her words choked me, and I knelt by the tunnel. I was unable to speak. I was glaring at her with all I had.

She covered her mouth and laughed with the usual joy she found in teasing me.

At that moment, a rustling sound came from the tunnel. A pale hand gripped the edge of the hole.

Luo Shen emerged. Her hands were holding the rim. She said softly, 

“It’s safe below. Yu Linxing, come down.”

Then she nodded at me, reaching out a hand. I quickly leaned down, grabbed the rope with one hand, and instinctively looped the other arm around her neck. Her body tensed slightly. Then she wrapped her arm around my waist. We dangled on the rope and slowly descended. We were using our feet to press against the wall.

There were many protrusions on the walls. And it grew damper the further we went down. Dirt crumbled and fell. I was always afraid of heights—last time climbing the cliff at the tomb of Consort Chu, my heart nearly gave out. When my feet finally touched solid ground, I felt my heart settle. The soil below was hard, and the ground slightly damp.

I lit a fire striker and saw a long tunnel stretch ahead. It was vanishing into darkness. I couldn’t help but sigh,

“So deep… but at least the air is breathable. Doesn’t smell bad.”

Soon Yu Linxing and Ah Que came down one by one. Each held a torch. The glow cast a golden haze on their faces. It was surreal like something out of another life.

It was completely silent.

The further in we went, the more the tunnel walls showed signs of deliberate construction—blue stone tiles lined them. They were weathered with age. Dark moss was creeping along them in patches of deep blue-green.

“This isn’t some thief’s tunnel—it’s a massive underground project,” 

Yu Linxing muttered as she walked. 

“Looks like this place was here long ago. Wonder who was the first to find it and dig a tunnel inside.”

Luo Shen led the way in silence. Her white figure was dyed yellow by the firelight. It was fading into it like it was part of the glow, insubstantial. A sudden melancholy crept into my heart.

Then she stopped.

The group froze, as if pinned in place within the endless tunnel.

I saw a human figure ahead. The flickering light didn’t reach far. So I could only barely make out a silhouette—it seemed to be a man.

But this man was kneeling. It was in a way that felt utterly chilling. From a distance, it looked horrifying.

Yu Linxing drew her crimson sword and asked lowly, 

“Who goes there?”

The figure didn’t respond. Silence.

“If you keep playing ghost, I won’t be polite!”

She shouted again. But the man remained eerily still.

A faint chill drifted in from deeper within the tunnel. My eyelid twitched. And a sudden cold rose up on my face.