Upon hearing his words, we couldn't help but look over and found there was indeed no coffin.
The catafalque was empty, with nothing on it.
This left us all a bit bewildered.
No coffin in the tomb?
This was quite strange.
Song Bing lit a few more coal lamps and placed them in the niches. Soon, the entire tomb chamber was illuminated.
I went over to Wang Yang, examined the catafalque, and then looked around. "Where did the coffin go?"
Wang Yang said, "This tomb is peculiar. It's possible this isn't a tomb prepared for the dead."
"If not for the dead, then who is it prepared for?" I asked.
"The living," Wang Yang grinned.
"Be serious," I retorted.
Wu Tingxiu seemed to have discovered something at this moment and called out.
I went over to her side and found many inscriptions carved on the wall.
She asked if I could understand them.
I illuminated them with a coal lamp and saw that the script was a mixture of seal script and clerical script.
As many characters were weathered and illegible, I could only grasp the general meaning.
The inscriptions on the stone walls essentially stated that this tomb was built for someone named "Jue" and recorded many of his life's deeds.
The accounts were extremely exaggerated, claiming he could fight a hundred enemies without defeat, heal himself from injuries, and understand the heavens and the secrets of life and death.
Ancient people often made exaggerated claims in their records.
After a long time, I found no useful information. After explaining the general meaning to Wu Tingxiu, she became thoughtful, lost in her own musings.
I knew that the information she had previously shown me about the Suihou Pearl was incomplete.
The true core information was known only to her. Therefore, I was completely in the dark about the purpose of coming here and whether we could find the Suihou Pearl.
"Are there any clues?" I asked.
Wu Tingxiu shook her head. "Let's check the other side chambers."
I nodded. Just as we were about to proceed to the other side chambers, a faint cry sounded.
At first, I thought I had misheard, but seeing Wang Yang's expression, I knew he had heard it too.
"Where is Miss Bai?" Wang Yang asked.
I looked around. "One... two... three... four..."
Only four people remained in the tomb chamber. Bai Hanyan had disappeared.
"Bai Hanyan," I called out, but there was no response.
Wu Tingxiu frowned. After a moment, she signaled to Song Bing. Song Bing then picked up a coal lamp and went to search for her in another tomb chamber.
"You two stay here and don't move. I'll go check over there," Wu Tingxiu instructed me.
I nodded.
After Wu Tingxiu left, Wang Yang sidled up to me. "Don't you think this tomb chamber is a bit..."
Before he could finish, I interrupted, "Can you stop saying these nonsensical things?"
Some things were better left unsaid. Once spoken, they became even more unsettling.
Wang Yang chuckled. "It's fine. What are you afraid of with me here?"
He then casually sat down on the catafalque. I told him to get off, but he wouldn't listen, saying that sitting for a moment wouldn't kill him.
Feeling a little helpless, I stood my ground and observed the inscriptions on the wall, trying to ascertain if I had missed anything.
"Xiang Fei," Wang Yang called out to me.
Without turning, I replied, "What is it?"
"What size shoes do you wear?"
I was baffled as to why he would suddenly ask me about my shoe size.
I replied reflexively, "Size 42."
"Then, what size shoes do you think Song Bing wears?"
I was getting impatient with him and turned around. "Are you just bored..."
Halfway through my sentence, I noticed his expression had become serious, his eyes fixed on the ground.
I looked in the direction he was staring and saw a huge footprint on the floor.
"What is this?" I asked, walking over.
Wang Yang said, "Look at the footprints on the ground. Besides ours, this one is the most distinct, and it looks very recent..."
My heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran up my spine from my tailbone.
Before I could say anything, Wang Yang suddenly jumped off the catafalque and shouted behind me, "Who? Who's there?!"
By the time I turned around, Wang Yang had already rushed forward and disappeared into the passage.
In an instant, I was alone in the main tomb chamber...
Although the surroundings were brightly lit, being alone here made me feel a little uneasy.
After waiting for about seven or eight minutes, no one had returned.
I tried calling Wang Yang's name a couple of times, but there was no response.
Waiting was the most agonizing thing. After a few more minutes, I decided to go find him.
Carrying a coal lamp, I headed towards the passage Wang Yang had gone into. This passage was about the same width as the entrance.
According to the sketch Wu Tingxiu had drawn, the tomb's general structure was roughly a "丰" character shape.
Entering from the initial tomb path led to the antechamber, which had two side chambers. Moving further forward was the central chamber, with one side chamber, and then beyond that was the rear chamber.
Of course, I couldn't be sure if Wu Tingxiu's drawing was accurate, but judging by the antechamber, it was likely quite close.
Holding the coal lamp, I walked steadily forward through the passage. After several minutes, I still hadn't emerged.
As I was wondering about the unusual length of the passage, I suddenly felt an inexplicable wave of goosebumps all over my body.
Instinctively, I whipped my head around. I saw only a dark silhouette. Immediately after, something knocked over the coal lamp in my hand, plunging the surroundings into complete darkness!
I cursed inwardly and roared, "Who's playing tricks?!"
There was no response.
I felt something in the darkness inching towards me.
Damn it, could there really be some kind of zombie or ghoul?
The thought made my legs tremble.
Gritting my teeth, I turned and ran, my hands outstretched in front of me to avoid colliding with anything.
After running for about ten seconds, I tripped over something and flew forward.
Fortunately, there was nothing in front of me, though the fall felt like my bones were about to scatter.
However, thanks to this tumble, I remembered that I had a backpack on, and there was a flashlight inside.
I rummaged through it as quickly as possible. The moment I turned on the flashlight, I was mentally prepared for a fierce battle with a zombie.
But to my surprise, as the flashlight beam swept across the area, it revealed nothing but emptiness, including the direction I had come from.
Damn it!
I got up from the ground and pulled out the exquisite dagger Bai Hanyan had given me.
I thought, whether it's a zombie or a ghoul, if it dares to mess with me, I'll give it a few stabs first!
With that thought, I felt much less afraid.
Confirming my location, I decided to continue forward.