Ever since they had entered this dungeon, they had seen bones everywhere. The pit that they had fallen into on the surface had contained more than ten thousand skeletons, and the skeletons they had seen while exploring this palace numbered well into the thousands as well. Since they were proceeding further into a tomb, it was obvious that there would be even more of them waiting ahead. Finding Jiangjiang’s head out of all of them was really going to be a huge issue.
The worst part of it all was that her head would probably bear no resemblance to what it had looked like before. After so many years, it was bound to end up looking like a normal skull. It was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack.
The young lady said, “I heard some people mention that, because of my special status, they placed my head in a Yin and boiled it. I don’t think this happens too often. If you find a skull in such a vessel that is roughly the size of someone my age, that would probably be the right one.”
Zu An was horrified, as were Pei Mianman and Mi Li.
This girl’s fate was truly tragic. She’d been captured by her enemies, and her head had even been boiled after she had been decapitated.
As if she could sense what they were feeling, the young lady smiled and said, “It’s all right. Even though it was painful back then, a long time has passed, and I’ve already forgotten all about it.”
Zu An’s voice was filled with quiet determination. “Jiangjiang, I will definitely bring your head and that jade badge back to you. All of you will be able to rest in peace.”
“Thank you, big brother.” The young lady smiled sweetly. “I’ll bring you to the entrance to the tomb.”
The young lady led them further in, the Guman Tong following alongside them.
They had been terrified of these Guman Tong earlier on, but they seemed quite adorable now.
“You should be careful. We don’t know what’s really going on in this girl’s head. She might be tricking you,” Mi Li warned him in his mind.
Zu An shook his head. “Big sis empress, you can’t keep being so paranoid, even if you were betrayed in the past.”
Mi Li snorted. “Explain this to me, then. Why did all of her clansmen turn into mindless malicious spirits, while she alone retained her will? She was so young back then, and she was probably much weaker than most of the experts in her clan.”
“I agree that it does seem a little strange,” Zu An said in a low voice, “But I trust her. I can sense the sincerity in her words, and in her gaze as well.”
“Hah!” Mi Li sneered. “Could it be that you don’t know that women are naturally gifted liars? Many countries make use of female spies, and all of them are masters of acting. Those who fall for their tricks are always left clueless in the end.”
Zu An shook his head. “I know that such people exist, but she is definitely not one of them.”
“You’ll regret it once you’ve realized you’ve been tricked.” Mi Li could see that he had made up his mind, and did not bother to try to convince him otherwise. “By the way, do you know what this Yin she’s talking about looks like?”
“Of course. It’s a traditional vessel for cooking. The upper section, called the Zeng, is used to hold food. Beneath the Zeng is a perforated Bi, which allows steam to pass through. Under that is the Ge, the section where water is boiled. The entire thing is similar to a modern steamer,” Zu An replied.
Mi Li was shocked. “You actually know some stuff, huh? Even things like this.”
She had wanted to give him some pointers to make it easier to find, especially since not many people knew about such an ancient cooking device. It seemed her advice would be unnecessary.
Zu An smiled without replying. There was one other reason why he trusted that young lady that he didn’t speak about. The documentary about Yinshang that he’d watched in his previous life made mention of a bronze artifact with a head inside. That bronze artifact was called a ‘Yin’, as the documentary explained.
Clearly, this young lady wasn’t lying.
The group of them walked on for a while before arriving at the mouth of a tunnel. The young lady pointed inside and said, “The graves of successive Shang monarchs are buried inside. The Shang people have set up a restriction that prevents my younger brothers and I from entering, but I believe that the two of you can enter freely.”
“Jiangjiang, I will definitely find your head and the jade badge,” Zu An promised her again. He was truly sympathetic to her plight, and he wanted to help release her from this burden as soon as possible.
“Thank you, big brother!” The young lady’s eyes sparkled. “You guys have to be careful. There might be dangers along the way.”
Zu An nodded. He would’ve been careful even if she hadn’t said anything. How could he let his guard down in this sort of place?
After bidding her farewell, Zu An made to go in. However, he felt as if he had rammed straight into a glass door.
“A seal?” Zu An’s expression grew perturbed. He noticed the outline of a light-blue barrier. The familiar taotie runes ran along its surface, as well as all sorts of mysterious birds and dragons. However, this looked like a much higher-level seal than the one in the giant pit on the surface.
“Ah!” The young lady cried out in alarm, and her jovial mood deflated. “I didn’t think that it would prevent you from entering as well. I thought that this restriction only applied to us.”
Zu An consoled her immediately. “Jiangjiang, you don’t need to feel dejected. Let’s try to find another way to go inside.”
The entrance was right there. He had to go inside no matter what.
He recalled the oracle script on the stele that took them into this dungeon, and tried to find a similar mechanism. Unfortunately, his search was in vain.
Zu An’s head began to throb, and he had no choice but to turn to Mi Li. “Big sis empress, do you have any suggestions?”
Mi Li snorted. “If I was at my peak, this sort of seal wouldn’t be able to stop me at all.”
“What about now?” Zu An pressed her.
Mi Li seemed a little embarrassed. “Now, I have no idea either.”
Zu An shook his head.
Why did you have to show off if you can’t do anything about it now? Are you trying to act cute?
Pei Mianman spoke up. “Ah Zu, it seems that I… can go straight in.”
Zu An was stunned. He turned around and saw Pei Mianman reach her hand inside the tunnel. Her hand passed right through the barrier without any resistance.
He quickly ran over to give it a try, but his hand would still not pass through.
“This woman might have some type of connection with Yinshang. It looks like it really was heaven’s will that the two of you entered this dungeon together,” Mi Li said.
Zu An remembered how various fragments of memory had appeared in Pei Mianman’s mind from time to time, and he nodded in agreement.
Pei Mianman held his hand. “Let’s see if we can both enter if we do this.”
Zu An held her hand and tried to enter. To his shock, the wall-like barrier immediately became intangible, and his hand was able to easily pass through it.
He pondered for a moment, then turned around towards the young lady behind them. “Jiangjiang, let’s take you inside as well.”
The young lady was excited as well. Unfortunately, they tried several times, but they couldn’t find a way to physically link hands, the formation still prevented her from entering the tunnel. “Big brother, big sister, it looks like I can’t go in,” she said. “All I can do is trouble you guys to help me with those tasks.”
Zu An didn’t try to force the issue. After saying a few words of consolation, he followed Pei Mianman through the seal.
The two of them went down a flight of stairs. It felt like they had gone down another level before the ground flattened out again.
They proceeded onwards carefully, and soon enough, a temple loomed in front of them.
Zu An was shocked. Why would there be a temple in this sort of place?
The two of them went inside to take a look. It didn’t take them long to realize that it wasn’t a temple, but a small sanctuary. This was a place where a memorial tablet had been consecrated, a place where sacrifices were offered to departed spirits.
Mi Li recognized the characters on the tablet. “Ya Zhang’s tomb.”
“Who is this Ya Zhang?” Zu An asked.
Mi Li shook her head and said, “Yinshang existed more than a thousand years before the Qin Dynasty, and many records were lost. I have never heard of this name. But from the weapons arranged nearby, he was probably a general when he was alive. The fact that he was buried together with a king means that he commanded great status. The jade badge you are looking for might just be up ahead. You should head inside and take a look.”
“Go further in?” Zu An froze.
Mi Li said, “The sanctuary and the tomb would not be located too far apart from each other. Traditionally, in the Shang Dynasty, the coffin would lie right beneath the sanctuary. Take a look around. There should be a way to go down.”
Zu An recalled the sorrowful past of the girl that they had left outside. He didn’t want to pass up any chance to help her, so he agreed to Mi Li’s suggestion and began to look around. He thought that finding the entrance into the tomb would be difficult, but it was actually right behind the sanctuary. He saw it as soon as he walked around.
This made sense as well. This was the tomb of a Shang monarch, after all. There were layers of defenses outside, including vicious beasts, malicious spirits, and a skeleton warrior. The final entrance to this place was even sealed off by a formation. There was no way an ordinary person could get inside, so there was obviously no need to make this area more complicated than necessary.
Zu An and Pei Mianman walked over to the opening. There was a chunk of a broken dragon statue behind it, but it was not big enough to obstruct the two of them. They used their ki to move the dragon statue aside, then pushed open the door to the tomb.
Pei Mianman produced a flame to light up the interior. The inside of the tomb was simple. It was only several square meters in size, and a massive coffin lay in the center of it.
Mi Li suddenly spoke up. “Huh? Something’s not right!”
