"This should be ancient Jin script. I didn't expect such complete ancient Jin script to be here, and these murals look so lifelike."
The middle-aged expert spoke, his voice filled with a hint of excitement.
Professor Li's gaze also fell on the inscriptions and the surrounding carvings, and he was somewhat shocked.
"I didn't expect this ancient tomb to be so well preserved. It's truly a once-in-a-century discovery."
"Xiao Liu, photograph them first. I'll look around."
Professor Li instructed, his eyes fixed on the now open grand entrance.
The Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird carved on the door made Professor Li curious.
"Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird are usually paired in ancient texts. This door must have been opened by someone triggering a mechanism."
"I didn't expect those people to be more capable than I thought."
Professor Li stared at the carvings on the door, somewhat astonished.
He had been an archaeologist for so long and knew some things.
Such mechanisms usually require a deep understanding of knowledge to open.
"Professor Li, this stone carving seems like it can be moved."
Fang Ling spoke from the side.
Everyone's attention shifted.
"Don't touch it. Be careful, there might be mechanisms. Tombs are full of traps. A slight mistake could lead to death."
Professor Li was extremely cautious.
"Where are there so many traps, Professor Li? The door is already open, so the mechanisms must have been disarmed. Thieves might have already taken all the good stuff."
Xiao Liu chimed in.
He felt Professor Li was being overly nervous.
Since the main door was open, talking about mechanisms seemed a bit out of place.
"For everyone's safety, you still shouldn't touch it. Take pictures of these things, and then we'll go inside to have a look."
Professor Li said sternly, glaring at everyone.
Seeing this, the others dared not say anything more and quickly took out their cameras to start shooting.
The cameras of this era were not like modern ones. They were the kind that produced flashes, which was convenient for shooting in the dark.
Following a series of flashes, the inscriptions and patterns on the walls were all photographed. This way, even if the tomb collapsed, they would still have a direction for their research.
After the photography was complete, the expert team proceeded inward.
The air was a bit damp, and everyone walked slowly.
Passing through a long tomb passage, strange noises could be heard from within.
"Quiet, do you hear anything?"
Qin Guang spoke, and everyone became alert.
The captain took the lead.
Several team members protected the expert group.
"Lights."
The captain gestured, and the searchlights were turned on.
The next moment, the high-intensity searchlights illuminated the surroundings of the long tomb passage.
Their gaze fell to their feet.
Upon seeing what was on the ground, countless people gasped.
The girls even shrieked.
"Ah! Cockroaches!"
Following a piercing scream, the corpse-eating insects on the ground seemed to awaken and all turned their attention to the expert team.
Some were already charging towards them.
"They're not cockroaches, they're corpse-eating insects! Quickly, do you have fire?"
Professor Li's heart sank. With so many corpse-eating insects, if they were swarmed, they wouldn't be able to escape.
"I have incendiary bombs. I don't know if they'll work."
The captain said, producing a glass bottle of incendiary bomb retrieved from a Kwantung Army fortress.
"They'll work, throw it quickly!"
Professor Li almost shouted, sweat beading on his forehead.
The captain didn't hesitate, quickly ignited it, and threw it at their feet. With the protection of the incendiary bomb, the small corpse-eating insects slowly retreated.
Corpse-eating insects prefer to inhabit places of extreme yin. They fear fire and heat, unless they are spirits.
Seeing the corpse-eating insects disperse, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Professor Li, are these corpse-eating insects? Aren't they the big cockroaches from the south?"
Fang Ling, still shaken, patted her chest.
"Southern cockroaches are much larger than these. These are small corpse-eating insects, not considered large."
Professor Li said calmly. He had seen larger corpse-eating insects during his archaeological work.
Everyone drew in a collective breath.
"With so many corpse-eating insects, how did those people get in, and even draw us a map?"
"They must be incredibly skilled."
An older expert remarked, and everyone else shook their heads.
Xiao Liu, however, was somewhat disdainful. Why were all the praises for tomb robbers?
"They might have risked their lives to scout the terrain. In fact, many of the mechanisms here were already destroyed by them. Otherwise, we would have perished long ago."
Professor Li spoke with great seriousness, indicating his high regard for Zhang Tian and his companions.
From the main door, Professor Li could tell that Zhang Tian and his group must have been affected by some mechanisms, otherwise they wouldn't be here.
"Professor Li, we're not belittling ourselves. Those are tomb robbers. It's not good to praise them like this."
Xiao Liu said. Although Zhang Tian had given them the blueprints, Xiao Liu was competitive and arrogant. How could he admit that tomb robbers were stronger than them? This could be seen from his earlier complaints about the villagers upon arriving at the tomb; he looked down on those people.
Professor Li shook his head and said no more. The group continued their journey.
Soon, they passed through the passage.
Upon reaching the end, everyone was again stunned by the sight before them.
They saw that on a bottomless precipice, countless iron chains were suspended.
The chains seemed to be swaying, and they were as thick as a woman's waist.
"So spectacular..."
Looking at the waterfall, the mountain-coiling chains, and the bottomless abyss, many in the expert team were astonished.
They were like "Grandmother Liu visiting the Grand View Garden."
"Hush, listen, do you hear something..."
Suddenly, the captain interrupted the stunned chatter.
Everyone held their breath.
"Deng deng deng..."
Indeed, from the depths of the tomb, the sound of a zither arose, filled with murderous intent, evoking the grandeur and vastness of men battling on a battlefield.
"Gulp..."
They swallowed.
One crisis after another. The red-haired monster had already terrified everyone, and now this.
"Could it be... alive?"
Fang Ling's voice trembled.
"Don't be afraid, stay calm, stay calm..."
Professor Li reassured everyone.
He looked around.
"During the Jin Dynasty, there was a Jin prince who could lift a thousand-jin cauldron with one hand, and a consort who was incredibly beautiful."
"The consort's zither music could stir the blood of countless men. I believe this sound must be the consort's zither music."
Professor Li's knowledge was quite extensive.
In the field of archaeology, having such knowledge within the orthodox community was commendable.
"Then, Professor Li, is the consort playing the zither in there?"
Xiao Liu curled his lip.
"I'm not sure. Let's head to the prince's tomb first. The consort's situation is too peculiar, let's not investigate for now."
Professor Li immediately decided to temporarily abandon the consort's tomb. It was too strange.
Everyone nodded in agreement. No one wanted to go in for a look.
They continued forward, towards the prince's tomb.
Upon entering, there were three branching paths.
The expert team had no ability for "dividing gold and locating the tomb." They couldn't discern the direction.
Fortunately, Zhang Tian had left them markings, which was a good deed.
"They actually left us thoughtful markings..."
A young man exclaimed upon seeing the arrows on the ground.
It was truly like a baby exploring a tomb, smooth and safe.
"It must be fake. They might be tricking us."
Xiao Liu frowned slightly.
"But we have no other way now. If you can do it, you go."
Fang Ling retorted. Xiao Liu was momentarily speechless; he also didn't know which way to go.
"Let's go and see."
Professor Li considered it. He believed Zhang Tian wouldn't deceive them.
After all, they had come this far, and there was no animosity between the two parties. There was no need for deception.
They entered the path indicated by Zhang Tian and soon came across a tomb door. In front of the door were kirin heads.
There were also traces of being touched on the kirin heads.
"There really is a tomb."
Seeing this, everyone rejoiced and felt a surge of gratitude towards those masked individuals.
"This kirin must have a mechanism. Look, they've given us a hint."
Professor Li pointed to the kirin's head.
"Professor Li, I think you trust them too much. We haven't seen any mechanisms along the way. This should just be a guard."
Xiao Liu felt annoyed thinking about how those tomb robbers always stole the spotlight, and seeing his admired Professor Li siding with them made him even more unhappy.
He walked towards it directly, wanting to prove himself right.
However, halfway there, the kirin's head suddenly spewed fire, and in the next moment, the person was gone, reduced to ashes, without even a scream.
For a moment, everyone was stunned into silence.
"Gulp..."
Professor Li swallowed.
This flame must have been at least a thousand degrees, instantly incinerating. Was this truly ordinary fire?
Silence descended upon the surroundings.