Chapter 190: Entering the Hall

The moment I heard the time Lu Ayao mentioned, I lost all desire to enter the Stone Ship in front of us. Entering the Main Hall would undoubtedly waste a significant amount of time. I didn’t care much about whatever gold, silver, or jewels might be buried inside; I cared far more about the lives and safety of my team.

I looked up, shining my flashlight toward the hollow upper levels of the Stone Ship, but the ceiling of this Main Hall was too high. Our small flashlights couldn’t reach the top.

At that moment, I remembered Qiao Sangui, who was still sitting on the ground. He wasn’t the type of person to leave himself without an escape route. Since he had the nerve to dig a grave-robber’s tunnel all the way here, he must have planned an exit.

I turned and walked back to Qiao Sangui, then crouched down and asked, “Third Master, you’re older than all of us, and you used to work under Liu Sanshui. I respect you as an elder, so let’s not play games. Tell me, how do we get out of here?”

Qiao Sangui smiled when he heard my question. “Oh, so you don’t know how to get out? If you want to know, then release me and those other idiots, give us back our guns, and I’ll tell you immediately how to leave.”

He Yu’s temper flared instantly. Without a word, he kicked Qiao Sangui. “Screw your ancestors! You think asking you a question gives you some kind of leverage? Old Man Qiao, get one thing straight: we’re the ones interrogating you. You don’t have a choice but to talk. We aren’t fucking begging you!”

Qiao Sangui chuckled and shut his mouth, refusing to speak. I felt that getting information out of this old fossil would be difficult, but since I didn’t know our current location, I couldn’t think of any particularly effective methods yet. I simply stood up and left him.

Tian Xiaoqi walked over and said softly, “Staying here isn’t helping. We might as well go into the Main Hall and look around. We don’t have flares, and this Stone Ship is very tall. We might be able to see more from inside it.”

Her words woke me up. We couldn’t see the entire space from our current position, but since the Stone Ship was stacked high like a building, we could use that height to observe the structure of the area.

No sooner said than done. I slung on my pack and called out to He Yu, “Old He! Dig out your bag, pack up, and let’s go into the Main Hall. Bring this old guy along; tie the others up and leave them outside.”

I hauled Qiao Sangui up from the ground. Once He Yu had dug out his mud-covered bag, I grabbed Qiao Sangui’s arm and dragged him toward the tomb doors. We gathered in front of the entrance, discussing how to open the heavy stone gate.

He Yu spoke first. “In my experience, these doors usually have massive ‘flying stones’ blocking them from behind. No matter how many people push, they won’t budge.”

I looked the stone gate up and down. It was at least ten meters high, crafted from a single massive slab of stone. However, the workmanship was quite crude; the surface was bare, with no carvings or special locks. This simplicity left me a bit confused.

Before I could move closer to inspect it, Lu Ayao stepped ahead of me. He gave the door a gentle push, and the stone gate suddenly swung open, leaving a gap wide enough for one person to pass. It turned out the door had already been opened by someone else.

He Yu couldn’t help but let out a “holy shit” next to me, which drew a sneer from Qiao Sangui.

“What are you laughing at?” He Yu cursed.

Qiao Sangui gave a cold snort. “You bunch of greenhorns… you dare to come down this deep without knowing any of the rules. You’ve certainly got more guts than brains.”

I said, “If you’re so experienced, how did you end up in the hands of us greenhorns? I only call you ‘Third Master’ out of respect for the Five Masters. Word on the street is that your relationship with Yujingzi has always been bad. If she knew you were in this state, wouldn’t she be delighted?”

“You!” Qiao Sangui was so infuriated he nearly choked, his face turning beet-red as he began to cough.

“So I suggest you stay quiet. Once we’re inside, don’t say a single word unless I ask you something.”

Lu Ayao stepped into the hall. Having just vented some frustration for He Yu, my friend was in a much better mood. He told me to stay close and quickly slipped inside as the second person. I held onto Qiao Sangui and ruthlessly shoved him in first toward He Yu before gesturing for Tian Xiaoqi to follow.

It was pitch black inside the Stone Ship. We switched on our flashlights, and the hall became relatively bright.

Guiding my way with the light, I felt my way toward the pillars at the four corners of the hall. Sure enough, Ever-Burning Lamps were hanging there. I stood on my tiptoes to check; there were actually wicks inside and some remaining oil. He Yu leaned over and flicked his lighter; the wick caught fire instantly.

He Yu went around and lit the lamps on the other pillars. In an instant, the great hall was brilliantly illuminated. The four walls of the Main Hall were composed of countless Ship-Burial Coffins, supported by numerous stone crossbeams that extended into the darkness.

The center of the hall was recessed. This section was crafted differently from the rest, featuring a very fine set of jade steps. The floor was also jade—a translucent, crystalline variety. Two Snake-Tortoises were carved into the jade surface, and at the point where the two creatures met sat a four-layered Giant Golden Silk Phoebe Coffin.

I took one look at that giant coffin, and my heart jumped into my throat. This sarcophagus was an exact replica of the one I had seen in my vision. But in my vision, the giant coffin had already been moved to a research institute by an archaeological team and opened.

Yet here, the Golden Silk Phoebe coffin sat perfectly intact.

“I told you already, using your hallucinations to make deductions won’t work. You said the coffin was taken by archaeologists, but here it is, clearly untouched,” He Yu said, patting my shoulder.

I stared at the giant coffin, a strange feeling in my heart. Finally, looking at the “flying stone” that had been moved aside behind the door, I countered, “But the blocking stone was moved, and the lamps still have wicks and oil. Someone has definitely been in here before.”

“Tch, you just refuse to give up,” He Yu laughed.

I ran my hand over a stone pillar. Every pillar was carved with the same Snake-Tortoise found on the prow of the Stone Ship. I asked, “These tortoises are everywhere. Is there some special meaning to them?”

He Yu walked a circle around the tomb chamber before coming back to sit at the base of a pillar. He unscrewed his canteen and took a sip. “That’s no ordinary turtle. That’s the most primitive totem of the Black Tortoise, technically called a Snake-Tortoise. Most people think the Black Tortoise is just a turtle, but that’s a bit of a misconception. The original image of the Black Tortoise was a divine beast composed of a snake and a tortoise, the head of all insects. As for the specific meaning of carving it here, I can’t say for sure, I can only guess.”

I turned to look at him.

“What else could a tortoise mean? Longevity, obviously. Maybe they wanted the tomb owner’s descendants to live long, or maybe they hoped the owner would achieve immortality after death. Anyway, there are so many theories about divine beasts that any guess could be right,” He Yu said.

At that moment, Qiao Sangui, who was sitting to the side, chimed in. “From the moment we entered this hole until now, whether it’s the damn murals or the stone carvings, there hasn’t been a single item related to immortality. We haven’t even seen a broken brazier. If the tomb owner wanted immortality, they’d have buried an alchemy furnace in here at the very least. A tomb chamber shouldn’t be like this—no proper style, no standard specifications. It’s neither fish nor fowl. What kind of mess is this?”

“Maybe they just liked the ‘mix and match’ style. What’s it to you?” He Yu was determined to antagonize Qiao Sangui.

Qiao Sangui didn’t back down. “You, kid from the He family… I suggest you watch your tongue. Don’t think our two families won’t have business to do in the future.”

“Piss off. Who wants to do business with your family? Don’t worry, my family has never taken anything from Yunnan. If we do, I’ll tell the warehouse to pack it all up and send it right back to you. My family’s business is huge; who needs yours?”

I noticed a strange detail. Ignoring the content of their argument, I paced over to Qiao Sangui and asked, “What did you mean just now when you said it has ‘no standards, no style, and is neither fish nor fowl’?”

Qiao Sangui gave a cold snort. “Exactly what it sounds like. Whoever built this place had a surface-level understanding of Feng Shui at best. They just followed that book, The Yin-Yang Eight Directions Almanac, and haphazardly threw together a Yin-Yang Thirteen Palaces out of stone to swindle people. That’s the extent of their ability.”

He cleared his throat. “Look, the exterior is incredibly crude. The entire burial site uses commoner Ship-Burial Coffins from the seabed, and they were clearly scavenged at that. Yet, the Main Hall uses the most precious Phoebe zhennan wood. Even though they dug a moat, there’s no water in it. The Main Hall has no murals, no epitaphs… calling this a solitary grave wouldn’t be an overstatement. The style and standards are an absolute mess.”

I didn’t understand the intricacies of Feng Shui, so after he finished, I looked toward Lu Ayao. He was standing before the only stone wall in the Main Hall, staring at it incessantly.

I called out to him, “Old Lu, did you hear what Third Master Qiao said?”

Lu Ayao didn’t turn around, nor did he acknowledge me. He kept staring at that wall, and I couldn’t fathom what could possibly be so interesting about a piece of broken stone.

After a long silence, he finally spoke. “He’s right. No matter which dynasty you look at, the standards of this tomb would be spat upon.”

Qiao Sangui was self-taught, relying on years of practical experience, whereas Lu Ayao had been immersed in the craft since childhood. He had received a formal education and possessed vast experience; his mastery of Feng Shui was far superior to Qiao Sangui’s. Seeing that even Yin Pozi didn’t disagree, Qiao Sangui became visibly smug.

However, Lu Ayao added one more thing at the end: “Standards are set by men, so naturally, men will criticize them. But from a Feng Shui perspective, this can hardly be called ‘chaotic’.”

He turned to look at Qiao Sangui, his gaze clearly that of an elder looking at an ignorant junior. “You know the ‘what’ but not the ‘why’. This tomb cost you so many men, yet you still haven’t learned your lesson. You’re just showing off before a master. When you get back, you’d better spend more time with your books.”