"Shouldn't be necessary, right? The boss's intention is that it's not needed."
"But merfolk have soul pearls, don't they? Will this work? Won't something happen?"
"Then ask the boss? Maybe they have other ideas. The boss knows what they're doing, we just need to observe."
"Your professor might not be good at other things, but their ability to collect money is truly remarkable. I've never seen such a greedy professor before."
"Exactly, our professors in Sakura Country wouldn't be like this."
"That's hard to say. Your Professor Jingxia is really a disgrace. They move money home in piles. Our boss charges openly and with justification, while yours does it sneakily, in a way that can't be seen in the light."
"Exactly, if you say it out loud, it won't sound good for you. Ours is above board, yours is not."
...
Inside the tomb.
Zhou Lin and the others walked through the ancient castle, and a cliff suddenly appeared before them. In the middle of the cliff was a wooden bridge, and beyond it stood an ancient building that strongly resembled a Han Dynasty palace.
Pavilions, towers, and buildings with antique charm, their blue bricks and green tiles exuded a sense of grandeur and magnificence at first glance.
Several palace lanterns were hanging above, emitting a faint green glow.
In the pitch-black environment, such a pavilion looked more like a haunted house than an ancient building.
"This ancient building is very similar to a Han Dynasty palace, and the high platform inside is almost identical to the palaces of the Han Dynasty."
"Could it be that we've reached the main burial chamber?"
Huo Qi looked at the building, which bore a striking resemblance to the Jiaofang Hall of the Han Dynasty, and began to speculate.
"No, this is not the main burial chamber."
Zhou Lin shook his head and denied it.
"Why? If this palace wasn't in this tomb, I would have thought I'd arrived at a Han Dynasty palace. Isn't this the Jiaofang Hall?"
The professor of metaphysics also felt that this was very much like something from a Han palace.
"Yes, it looks like it to me too."
"I think so too. I've been there before, maybe it is."
"But what's going on? It's not the main burial chamber? Then why build it so magnificently? It looks so grand and impressive, who could it be?"
The students nearby had some knowledge of Han palaces and recognized it as such.
As for the people from Sakura Country, they could only watch silently, completely unable to understand their conversation, mainly because they didn't understand their history and culture very well.
In the livestream.
"This is the first time I've seen such a palace appear in a tomb. Why was this magnificent Jiaofang Hall built here?"
"Does the queen also have someone she likes?"
"So what? The queen is also human, isn't it normal?"
"I'm starting to get curious about who this queen likes, haha."
"Me too."
...
Inside the tomb.
"This is the Jiaofang Hall, not the main hall. In the Queen Demon Kingdom, the Jiaofang Hall is where the empress resides. There is a significant difference between a dragon and a phoenix."
"If you become emperor, would you still want to be a phoenix?"
Zhou Lin's question left everyone speechless, and for a moment, they didn't know how to respond.
It really made sense.
"Could it be someone the queen likes? Perhaps this palace was built for him? The Jiaofang Hall in the Han Dynasty symbolized the imperial consort's residence, and it should be the same here, right?"
Huo Qi was silent for a moment, and finally decided that this was very likely the case.
"Yes, that's very possible. Let's go in and take a look. How will we know if we don't go?"
Zhou Lin saw that there were some broken wooden planks on the wooden bridge, and for a moment, he didn't know where to step.
"Uh... how do we get across? This wooden bridge is over a thousand years old, will it hold?"
Huo Qi asked, confused and a little nervous.
"Don't rush. Do you smell anything?"
Just as Zhou Lin was about to step forward, he suddenly retracted his foot and looked at the people beside him.
Everyone sniffed their nostrils and indeed smelled something.
"Is this a bad smell? It smells like ink."
The professor of metaphysics sniffed again, saying uncertainly.
"It's not a bad smell, it's the fragrance of ink, the smell of ink."
Zuo Lin sniffed his nose and said with certainty.
"How do you know?"
Huo Qi was startled.
"As professors, we often study brush, ink, paper, and inkstones in our spare time, and we practice calligraphy to cultivate our minds. We appreciate good ink, so we are familiar with this smell."
Zuo Lin's words made the professors behind him feel ashamed.
They were professors, but...
Their spare time was mainly for fishing, eating, and drinking. Cultivating their minds had nothing to do with them.
"Ink fragrance?"
Upon hearing this, a smile flashed in Zhou Lin's eyes, as if he knew something.
Just then—
A sound of breathing came from below, along with a strong scent of ink.
"Listen carefully, what is that sound?"
Zhou Lin's ears twitched, and he took a few steps back.
"It's the sound of something rubbing, and breathing."
Captain Zhao listened carefully and quickly retreated, pulling the mercenaries and professors with him.
The sound was coming from beneath the ground.
As everyone heard the breathing grow heavier, they became alert and instinctively retreated several meters.
The next moment—
Whoosh—
A dark figure shot out from below, its body appearing segmented.
When everyone got a clear look, they saw a giant centipede. The centipede looked very imposing, its eyes glowing red as it stared at the people around them.
The mercenaries and students felt their hair stand on end as they were stared at.
This was truly...
"Why does this giant centipede have a scent of ink on its body?"
Zuo Lin's heart tightened, but he still asked, confused.
"Ink fragrance? Was that ink fragrance coming from it just now?"
Professor Fang, who happened to overhear his conversation, looked at Zuo Lin sharply.
"Yes, if you can't smell the ink, can't you smell the foul odor on its body?"
Zuo Lin looked at them speechlessly.
"We did smell something, but we were too nervous just now and didn't pay attention."
Huo Qi had indeed smelled it, but he had been startled by the centipede's enormous size and hadn't noticed the situation.
"What do we do? Our guns can't be used. They were soaked in water just now and are useless. Can we use knives?"
Song Lin took out the dagger in his hand, ready to fight.
"This thing is so big? Will our military knives be effective? And can they pierce it? Won't we get hurt?"