The three of us arrived at the main hall. When we pushed open the door, a cloud of dust billowed towards us, making it difficult to even open our eyes. We had to quickly step aside.
After the dust settled, we approached the entrance again.
Standing at the doorway, I shone the flashlight inside. The space was surprisingly large, and there were many shadowy figures…
At first, I was startled. How could there be people in this room?
As I looked closer, I realized they were all wooden statues, each wearing clothes. At first glance, they truly resembled people.
The vast hall was mostly filled with these wooden statues.
The statues were depicted with various expressions, but their postures were identical: all were bowing and offering greetings in one direction.
The direction of their bows was towards the main seat in the hall.
Seated on the main seat was a figure wearing a yellow robe, sitting on a dragon throne, and adorned with a crown.
I had to admit, the craftsman who carved these wooden figures was truly skilled. Each one had a clearly carved face, and their expressions were lifelike.
"It seems Zheng Maisi wanted to be the Emperor of the Great Tang," Wang Yang remarked. "He actually set up a 'carving ducks to mock geese' situation here."
I replied, "Aren't the desires of emperors throughout the ages all quite similar?"
Wang Yang said, "It's a pity that he, from the Great Changhe, could never contend with the Great Tang. He could only indulge in such fantasies here."
Saying this, he walked over to the dragon throne and examined the statue of Zheng Maisi.
I also went closer. From the statue, this Zheng Maisi did possess a certain imperial aura, except for his eyes, which looked peculiar.
Something felt off.
As I shone the flashlight on it, the eyes suddenly moved!
My mind went blank with a "boom," and the flashlight I was holding fell to the ground in fright.
To be honest, my legs felt weak.
In this underground palace over a thousand years old, a wooden figure had actually moved?!
The thought alone was chilling!
"What's wrong?" Wang Yang asked me.
"The eyes…" I tried to calm myself and managed to say.
Wang Yang looked puzzled. He shone the flashlight on Zheng Maisi's statue again, and this time, even he was startled.
He cursed in English and raised his foot to kick it. I quickly grabbed him.
I felt this place was extremely strange and pulled Wang Yang along as we ran out.
Li Zhasi had been waiting at the entrance and hadn't gone in. Seeing us run out, he thought we had encountered something and, brandishing his entrenching tool, struck a fighting pose.
Wang Yang and I exchanged glances, our eyes filled with fear.
"Could we have been mistaken?" Wang Yang asked.
I shook my head. "Impossible…"
"It can't be… that thing is alive, can it?"
I didn't know what to say for a moment, my heart pounding "thump-thump."
"Whatever it is, we have to go back in and check!" Wang Yang gritted his teeth.
"Let's not go in for now," I advised. "This place is very eerie. Let's check other areas first."
Li Zhasi interjected, asking what happened. I explained the situation to him. After listening, he immediately said, "Why don't we just go back up? Let's find another way out…"
"Let's look around a bit more. Perhaps there's a secret passage we haven't found," I said.
Although I was greatly frightened by the incident, I still found it hard to believe there was anything supernatural in this place. In fact, I wondered if there was some mechanism inside the wooden figure.
"No! I have to go back in and see," Wang Yang insisted. "If I don't get to the bottom of this, I won't be at peace."
With that, he drew the gun from his waist, holding the flashlight in one hand and the gun in the other.
Seeing his determination, I steeled myself and said, "Alright, then let's go back in."
Li Zhasi, whether scared or for some other reason, decided to accompany us as well.
Wang Yang led the way, I was in the middle, and Li Zhasi followed close behind me.
The hall was enormous. From the entrance to the dragon throne was at least forty meters. This hall should have spanned over a thousand square meters.
As we walked towards the dragon throne, I felt as though the wooden figures on either side were staring at us.
Arriving before the dragon throne, Wang Yang raised his gun and pointed it at the wooden figure, then shone the flashlight onto its face again.
My gaze slowly followed, my heart pounding with tension.
When Wang Yang's and my flashlights simultaneously illuminated the wooden figure's face, this time we saw clearly. The wooden figure's eyes were made of something that reflected light, creating the illusion that the eyeballs were moving when the light shone on them.
Knowing the reason, I breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Yang went forward and touched the "eyeball" on the wood. "It seems to be made of glass."
Recalling the earlier scene, I felt a bit amused. Two grown men being scared like that by a wooden figure was quite something.
Having confirmed it was a false alarm, everyone's mood relaxed.
On the pillars of the hall, we found oil lamps and lit them all.
Soon, the entire appearance of the hall was revealed.
Besides the wooden figures, there were many seats and vessels.
Next to each wooden figure was a table, with pastries and wine still on it.
Those items were also carved from wood. If not for the incorrect colors, they could have been mistaken for the real thing.
I asked Wang Yang, "Why did he put all this here in the underground palace? Could it really be just to satisfy his desire to be the Emperor of the Great Tang?"
Wang Yang replied, "Who knows."
I shook my head in resignation and walked over to a bookshelf in the corner to look. It held many calligraphy scrolls and paintings. I didn't dare to flip through them carelessly.
Ancient calligraphy and paintings like these were very fragile. Touching them rashly could easily destroy them.
Although I was curious, I felt it was best not to damage these antiques.
Soon, I had circled the entire hall without finding anything peculiar. Instead, it felt like I was visiting the Forbidden City.
"Xiao Fei, come look at this. What is it?" Wang Yang called out to me.
When I walked over, I saw a bronze vessel. The bronze ware had a very unique shape; it was cylindrical overall, supported by three legs. On both sides, there were two leopard-like animals, hanging like ears.
The top was flat, with many small figures squeezed onto it, seemingly engaged in some activity.
I must say, the craftsmanship of this bronze ware was superb, truly ingenious.
But what was this item used for?