Chapter 20: The Terracotta Array

It wasn’t until I saw Tian Yuqing’s reaction that I realized my sensitivity to danger was far too low. I was still wondering if this Tomb Raider had suffered severe injuries before dying here, but a little thought would tell you that couldn’t be the case—there wasn’t a single fatal wound on the body.

I tightened the straps of my backpack and stood up alongside Tian Yuqing. He clearly had no interest in the Mummified Corpse on the ground anymore. “In ancient times, workers building Burial Pits needed to move through them, so there must be passages connecting to other Burial Pits at the end. We should try not to linger and push through in one go.”

Easier said than done. Whether you’re an archaeology student or just an ordinary person like me, seeing these lifelike Terracotta Figures makes you stop in your tracks for a moment.

So, we hadn’t gone far into the Burial Pit before only a few people were left following Tian Yuqing at the front.

Though I was curious about these vividly carved Terracotta Figures, my grasp of history was poor, so I couldn’t make much sense of them. At most, I glanced at them out of curiosity, unlike the professional archaeologists who were utterly fascinated.

Little Xu was gently brushing the dust off the Terracotta Figures with a portable brush, his eyes shining. “These Terracotta Figures seem to be from the Warring States period. We’ve never seen such complete figures from that early on. Their expressions and postures are just beautiful.”

I stopped listening to his exclamations, only noting how surprisingly large these Terracotta Figures were—some even taller than me by half a head.

Moreover, I noticed that although these figures varied in posture, their facial expressions were uniformly smiling, with some poses that seemed impossible for humans to achieve. My imagination ran wild, and the more I looked, the more eerie they seemed.

But these Terracotta Figures from the Warring States period were incredibly valuable; otherwise, Wu Yili wouldn’t have been staring at them for so long. Our group moved in fits and starts, with the figures in the pit standing in irregular sizes and arrangements. Sometimes, Tian Yuqing would lead us far ahead, only to look back and find no one following, forcing him to turn back and wait.

I could sense that ever since we entered this Burial Pit, Tian Yuqing had been on edge. I knew that discovering the cause of the Mummified Corpse’s death was crucial, but at the time, we couldn’t delve into it and had to grit our teeth and leave quickly, aiming for the next Burial Pit or the entrance to the tomb passage.

This stop-and-go was a torment for Tian Yuqing.

I had no habit of wearing a watch, so I could only pull out a bottle of mineral water during breaks and ask He Yu, “It feels like we’ve been walking for ages. This pit is really big.”

He Yu rolled up his sleeve to check the time and exclaimed, “We’ve been walking for five hours already. Is this pit really that big?”

Hearing our conversation, Tian Yuqing gathered his group and joined us. I noticed that at some point, he had been holding a complex compass, marked with symbols in red ink at various points, and its needle was spinning wildly.

He glanced at Lu A’yao and said softly, “We’ve been going in circles. The Magnetic Field here has changed.”

Tian Yuqing remained calm, without a hint of panic, as if he were merely stating the situation to us. “This isn’t an ordinary ghostly maze. No matter how powerful, a ghostly maze can’t break the Eight Directions and Five Elements. Whatever trapped an experienced Tomb Raider can’t be a ghost; we’ve encountered something more formidable.”

Having seen numerous cross-sections of tombs since childhood, I mainly studied the traps within. Though not formally trained, entering such a place for the first time didn’t make me overly anxious. A typical tomb’s Burial Pit would usually feature chariots, horses, and sacrificial figures, and no matter how many Burial Pits there were, they wouldn’t exceed this.

Our initial goal wasn’t to tour these Burial Pits but to find a passage to the lower levels. From Tian Yuqing’s words, the passage for a Dragon-Trapping Formation wouldn’t be randomly set and would require a compass to locate. However, the Magnetic Field at the pit’s bottom was highly unstable, rendering the compass nearly useless.

Lu A’yao took a solo turn around the area and returned, stating firmly, “We haven’t been here before; this is a new location.”

His tone was unusually resolute, leaving no room for doubt. Lu A’yao was meticulous and sensitive, reliable and thorough in his work. Once he spoke, we had little ground to question him.

Aside from the archaeologists brushing the Terracotta Figures nearby, the atmosphere among us suddenly grew heavy, and no one could propose a good idea.

Finally, Tian Yuqing gave the order, “We can’t wander aimlessly anymore. Until we come up with a feasible plan, rest here and conserve your energy.”

He Yu and I rested beneath a large Terracotta Figure. He asked me, “Have you heard that in ancient times, tyrannical rulers would order craftsmen to make Terracotta Figures and then kill them to bury them inside? Do you think these figures around us might also contain bodies?”

I shoved him, threatening, “Stop trying to scare me. I’m a staunch young socialist. If you’re superstitious, don’t drag me into it. Even if there are bodies, they won’t come back to life.”

Just as I finished speaking, there was a loud “clang” beside me. A Terracotta Figure inexplicably toppled over, its head shattering completely on the ground, startling me so much I nearly grabbed He Yu beside me.

We froze for a minute, and when the Terracotta Figure remained still, we finally relaxed.

“See, I told you to watch your mouth. Now it’s come back to life to make you its son-in-law,” He Yu laughed so hard he nearly fell over.

“Get lost!” I snapped at him.

I stood up and walked over to inspect the fallen Terracotta Figure. Its head was completely shattered, leaving only the body. However, cracks had already spread from the head to the shoulders, ruining this exquisite work of art.

As I lamented, I heard a familiar sound and turned back to shout, “He Yu, what are you up to? Are you trying to scare me again?”

He Yu was puzzled. “Who scared you? I’m not that bored.”

I didn’t retort but instead rolled up my sleeves. He Yu noticed something was off and quickly crawled over to kneel beside me.

He looked at me in shock as I reached under the Terracotta Figure, motioning for him to help. “Quick, it’s heavy. Give me a hand.”

“What are you doing?” He Yu asked, though he didn’t stop moving. He switched from kneeling to squatting, lifting the figure’s feet with both hands, raising it by at least half.

Once he had a grip, I pulled my hand out and looked at He Yu. “Just like that, hold it steady for five more minutes.”

He Yu looked at me, bewildered. “Why are you suddenly so strong? Did you find something?”

Lu A’yao, hearing the commotion, came over and stood silently watching us fiddle with the figure.

I pulled a small flashlight from my belt, clamped it in my mouth, and began prying at the connection between the head and shoulder, widening the crack until it was big enough for my body to fit through.

I removed the flashlight and said, “I heard a faint sound earlier, like springs colliding and vibrating. I yelled at you to confirm. There are no bodies inside this Terracotta Figure, but there should be something else.”

There were too few details I could fully express with words. My boldness in reaching inside showed I had a theory. We weren’t caught in a ghostly maze but had encountered a rare mechanism designed to confuse Tomb Raiders.

With the flashlight in my mouth, I leaned into the Terracotta Figure. Lu A’yao, seemingly distrustful of my skills, crouched down and grabbed one of my arms, a protective gesture to pull me out quickly if needed.

Halfway in, I was stunned by the structure inside. The figure was filled with dense copper wires, each tied to a spring. When springs touched, they created a massive resonance. The louder the resonance, the greater the springs’ vibration.

I flipped over and found that the figure’s cavity revealed little; half the mechanism was embedded directly into the heavy figure. I understood the basic principle, but what practical purpose did these copper wires serve?

Lu A’yao pulled me out, and without bothering to shake the dust from my hair, I stood with the flashlight, scanning the area. I focused on a Musician Figurine to my left, shining the light inch by inch.

Soon, Wu Yili’s voice echoed behind us, “What are you doing? These are priceless ancient artifacts! Not only are you not protecting them, but you’re also damaging them! Tian Yuqing, who are these people you’ve brought?”

He Yu retorted, “It fell on its own, okay? We didn’t touch it. Why are you picking a fight?”

The voices were amplified several times over by the Burial Pit, like an ancient concert hall where a shout could be heard clearly from any corner.

I crouched, staring at the ground beneath the Musician Figurine. As the voices grew louder, the figurine began to move in one direction.

Lu A’yao noticed too. He watched the three nearby Terracotta Figures, which moved very slowly and simultaneously. If someone were walking, they wouldn’t notice, thinking they were seeing things.

The sight of the moving figures was eerie. We were in an area filled with Musician Figurines, and once they started moving, it was as if they were truly playing music in the tomb.

I went to find Tian Yuqing, who pulled out a sheet of notes from his pocket. “I marked the number and position of each Terracotta Figure when we entered, just in case. But clearly, that’s useless now.”

I saw a red-inked route on the paper, the quickest path to the other side. If we had moved quickly, the sound of our footsteps might not have triggered the figures to move enough to change the environment completely.

He Yu shrugged. “At least we know it’s the figures causing this. As long as it’s not supernatural, it can’t trap us.”

He patted my shoulder. “No rush. Think it over, Master Gan. You’re the only one here who understands mechanisms. I know you’ll figure something out.”