Nothing was scarier than a sudden awkward silence. When he sensed his body heat and the pain emanating from his leg, Ye Zichen suddenly forced a somewhat rigid smile.
Grumpyface was still glowering, his gaze as sharp as an unsheathed sword and so cold, it sent chills up Ye Zichen’s spine.
Chi Mi wasn’t much better. She glared right at him, her eyes brimming with fury.
Time passed in complete silence, each second long and drawn out.
“Ha ha ha……” Ye Zichen broke the awkward, heavy silence. He laughed freely, then rubbed his hands and smiled sheepishly at Chi Mei and Wu Yi.
“Don’t you feel much calmer now? I was afraid you were too tense to enter the mausoleum. I was just concerned about your wellbeing! Anyway, it’s getting late, so how about we hurry on in?”
His words didn’t soften Wu Yi and Chi Mei’s glass at all. Gradually, Ye Zichen’s smile became increasingly awkward. He put his hand on his head and rolled his eyes. He was inwardly speechless.
They were still alive!
But those lions obviously ate him alive mere moments ago! They devoured Chi Mei and Wu Yi too! Ye Zichen saw them die with his own eyes. Why had everything changed all of a sudden?
He glanced back at the mausoleum. Those lions were still stone status, and they were nowhere near one thousand feet tall.
“A brainless bimbo and a concubine. My cute act just makes you uncomfortable….. So, that’s what you’ve thought of me all along, huh?”
Chi Mei crossed her arms and smiled calmly, but underneath her smiling exterior, she was biting her lip, and he could tell she was gnashing her teeth.
“Don’t be like that! I told you, I was joking around. Why are you taking it so seriously?” This current situation was awkward as all hell. Ye Zichen had only spoken without any reservations since he thought they were all dead. He never would have guessed they were all still alive!
In order to avoid lingering on this topic, Ye Zichen licked his lips, arched his brows, and asked, “Goddess Chi Mei, just saw, It seems I saw the lions eat you and Grumpyface. What was going on? Was it an illusion? But I sensed no trace of any illusory technique. If it was fake, it was terrifyingly realistic.”
After hearing Ye Zichen call her “Goddess,” Chi Mei’s expression softened slightly, but her expression was still grim.
“You looked the mausoleum’s stone lions right in the eye, didn’t you?” she growled, “In life, those lions were the Five Elements Great Emperor’s guardian divinities; they protected his residence. After the Five Elements Great Emperor passed away, they transformed into stone and continued protecting his mausoleum. However, they never truly died. It’s impossible to tell whether they’re currently alive or not, but at the very least, they’re still sentient. You most likely fell prey to one of their soul attacks. Everything you just saw happened inside the world of your soul.”
“Ah, so that’s how it is.” Ye Zichen nodded in understanding. He no longer dared look the lions in the eyes. What he’d just experienced was utterly realistic and way too terrifying.
“Quit wasting time. Let’s go inside.”
At that moment, Grumpyface hugged his rusted blade, glanced coolly at Ye Zichen, and ignored him. He turned towards the mausoleum’s gates and walked right towards them.
When he caught Grumpyface’s eye, Ye Zichen smiled at him.
It was only when the others had walked straight up the gates and were no longer paying attention to him that Ye Zichen scratched his head and his expression shifted uncontrollably.
That was just way too awkward. They were the only three people here…..
What he’d said just now had offended both of them. Ye Zichen couldn’t help but smack himself on the mouth and mutter, “Ye Zichen, why can’t you keep a lid on your mouth? Even if you really had died, couldn’t you have stopped for a moment? This is just great! I already thought there was something suspicious about these siblings. If there really is a problem, it’ll only get worse after I go inside!”
After viciously berating himself, his gaze landed on Grumpyface, who was already standing in front of the gates. However, he didn’t push open the doors right away. Instead, he turned to the stone lions and bowed deeply.
After greeting them respectfully, he stepped right up to the gates.
The mausoleum gates were aged bronze, with a lion’s head carved on each side. Each lion held a metal ring in his mouth.
Grumpyface grabbed the rings and knocked a few times, then stepped back down the stairs.
Suddenly, the gate swung wide open of its own volition. Ye Zichen, who’d been fixated on the gates this whole time, felt his eyes widen with shock. He seemed to have seen someone open the doors: someone in a straw hat.
The oarsman!
An image instantly dimly surfaced in his mind, which overlapped with what he just saw. Ye Zichen gradually felt his heart rate speed up. He realized that, ever since coming here, things had yet to calm down even once. Everything here was far too startling. However, looking at Chi Mei and Wu Yi, they were still totally calm, as if nothing unusual were happening. They both bowed to the lions then walked inside.
Ye Zichen trailed afterward and imitated them, bowing to the lions before entering.
It didn’t matter why they’d done it; imitating them definitely wouldn’t lead him astray.
After stepping through the gates, he stepped into yet another self-contained world.
They were now in what looked like the mausoleum’s guarded. Soft rain pitter-pattered to the ground without pause. There were three cobblestone paths, each a hundred meters long, going to the left, right, and straight ahead. The sides of the paths were lined with dense and vibrant immortal grasses.
Every single one of those immortal herbs, if taken outside, would sell for enough money to purchase multiple cities. If they could take the herbs with them, they’d make an astonishing fortune.
Ye Zichen’s eyes practically popped out of his head. He licked his lips and reached for an immortal grass.
Whap!
Chi Mei smacked down his hand and scolded him, “don’t move.”
Grumpyface stood in front. He, too, frowned at Ye Zichen. Unusually, he took the initiative to speak. “If you don’t want to die, don’t touch anything in this courtyard.”
With that, he looked away. Ye Zichen had no idea how to interpret their behavior. This was supposed to be good fortune for later generations, so why couldn’t he take it? As if sensing Ye Zichen’s confusion, Chi Mei plucked a stone from the path and tossed it towards those immortal herbs.
Fwoosh!
Before the stone even landed in the garden, in burst into flames in mid-air, then disintegrated into powder.
“Did you see it?” Chi Mei pressed her lips into a smile and said, “Those immortal medicines really do exist, but the Great Emperor left a seal behind to protect them. This entire courtyard is covered in restrictions. Only these three cobblestone paths are safe. If you want to obtain everything here, you have to obtain the mausoleum’s approval first.”
“Chi Mei.”
Grumpyface snorted coldly from up ahead, then looked back and said grimly, “If you don’t want to die, keep up.”
