There was only one passageway at the bottom of the well, and He Sui’an couldn’t worry about anything else and just ran. The passage was narrow, with echoes all around; she could hear her own rapid footsteps but couldn’t slow down.
Halfway through, He Sui’an saw Qi Buyan standing in front, examining the stone wall closely. He seemed unaware of the group of skeletons controlled by puppet worms chasing them from behind, and he didn’t notice her running up to him.
As He Sui’an looked at Qi Buyan, she also saw the mural he was staring at.
The mural was shocking.
He Sui’an couldn’t help but stop in her tracks.
On the mural, strange and diverse types of worms were scattered everywhere, and among them stood a young man in white clothes, looking up at the sky. The worms were gnawing at him, his white clothes stained with blood.
There were so many worms that they could engulf the tall young man in an instant, densely packed. Beside the mural was an inscription: “Rather betray the world than let the world betray me.”
At the end were two words.
Yan Wuheng.
He Sui’an only had time to read this sentence before she reached out and pulled Qi Buyan away because the skeletons were just a few steps away from them, and they had to leave this place immediately.
As they ran into a burial chamber, a stone door rose from the ground. Before the skeletons could rush in, it reached the top, becoming a wall that blocked the suddenly aggressive skeletons.
But it also blocked their way out.
He Sui’an gasped for breath.
The situation had been too dangerous; it felt like if they had left a moment later, they would have been torn apart by the skeletons’ claws. She was filled with lingering fear as she looked back at the stone wall.
This burial chamber was not large, shaped like a “田” character, with fourteen wall lamps that never went out, lighting up the tomb as bright as day. Aside from the newly risen stone wall, the other walls were all painted with murals.
In the center was a redwood coffin.
Vines grew around the edge of the coffin, winding around it like layers of chains, as if firmly binding it. Clusters of purple wisteria flowers bloomed, bizarre yet beautiful.
Upon closer inspection, these beautiful wisteria flowers were not real flowers but worms shaped like flowers. Their bodies were neither long nor short, just the length of wisteria flowers, hanging from the vines.
He Sui’an held Qi Buyan tighter.
This tomb was so strange.
As if afraid of disturbing the corpse in the coffin, she spoke very softly, “Do you know who this tomb was built for?”
The redwood coffin was placed higher than the rest of the burial chamber floor. To get closer, they needed to step over four steps in front. Qi Buyan ascended the steps, and He Sui’an, holding his hand, had to follow.
He said, “This tomb should be related to the Yan royal family from hundreds of years ago.”
He Sui’an perked up her ears and listened attentively.
Yan royal family.
The youth in the mural at the tomb entrance was also part of the Yan royal family from hundreds of years ago? Yan Wuheng—could he be both the one who left that sentence and the young man in the mural?
The Great Yan dynasty had long since fallen, replaced by the Great Zhou. He Sui’an had heard this gossip while wandering the martial world. People mentioned the Great Yan in hopes of finding treasures in the King Yan’s tomb. Could it be that this place is the King Yan’s tomb?
She speculated.
The abundance of Gu in this ancient tomb, with some mechanisms set through Gu techniques, indicated that the tomb’s builder was also well-versed in Miaojiang Gu arts. Thinking of this, He Sui’an recalled the mural.
Why did the young man in the mural leave such a message? Was there a deeper meaning?
She looked up at the redwood coffin in front of her.
Qi Buyan touched the coffin, his fingers trembling slightly, as if sensing what they might encounter next in the tomb. His nerves tingled with excitement, a natural inclination towards destruction.
He Sui’an suddenly hooked his pinky.
He was slightly taken aback.
She glanced at his face and then at his thin clothes, “Are you cold?”
Qi Buyan lowered his eyes. The hand held by He Sui’an moved slightly, his fingertip brushing her soft palm. For a moment, he wanted to withdraw his hand, and in another moment, he wanted to use a barbed Gu to pierce her palm.
“No.”
He calmly looked back at her, seeming to consider something, finally deciding to follow his heart, seemingly liking being held by her. The barbed Gu silently retreated, “I’m not afraid of the cold.”
He Sui’an puffed her cheeks, thinking.
She still hesitated, “But I felt you shiver just now. If you’re cold, I can give you my cloak. It’s very large, and even though you’re taller than me, it will still fit you.”
He still repeated, “I’m not cold,” then began to untangle the vines. The wisteria Gu lurking in the vines all avoided him.
The wisteria Gu seemed to have intelligence.
The world operates on the principle of survival of the fittest, and most humans and animals fall into this circle.
Wisteria Gu like to eat human flesh and drink human blood, particularly wanting to bite Qi Buyan. He had a special aura about him, as if fused with the Heavenly Silkworm Gu. They wanted to devour him to grow stronger.
But wisteria Gu also feared Gu stronger than themselves.
The most powerful Gu achieved their status by devouring other Gu. They could sense the Heavenly Silkworm Gu’s aura in Qi Buyan and naturally sensed that he nurtured Gu within him. A single red snake could consume them all.
Thus, the wisteria Gu restrained their ferocity.
Qi Buyan had Gu as his protection, but He Sui’an did not. The wisteria Gu bullied the weak and feared the strong, swarming towards her. They couldn’t fly, only squirming along the ground’s bricks, like purple flowers moving in unison.
A red snake darted out from Qi Buyan’s wrist guard.
With a hiss, it landed on the ground.
Qi Buyan tapped the coffin with his knuckles and stepped forward, crushing a wisteria Gu under his boot. Purple mucus left a noticeable stain on the brick.
He leaned against the redwood coffin without any hesitation, looking at the wisteria Gu with a gentle expression, like a merciful Buddha pitying all beings, but he ruthlessly said, “Leave none, eat them all.”
The red snake moved in response.
All the wisteria Gu were swallowed into the red snake’s belly.
He Sui’an couldn’t bear to watch the scene of the wisteria Gu being eaten by the red snake; the leftover purple mucus was nauseating. To distract herself, she asked Qi Buyan what they should do next.
Qi Buyan glanced around the tomb chamber, saying that this was not the main burial chamber. Only by reaching the main chamber of this tomb could they find what he was looking for.
In other words, they had to delve deeper.
He pushed open the redwood coffin, revealing a skeleton dressed in what appeared to be ancient Yan dynasty attire.
As they were about to check for mechanisms on the coffin, a stone wall moved. Someone stumbled in with chaotic steps, muttering, “What the hell are these things, they almost killed me.”
Shen Jianhe grimaced in pain, his black nightwear torn to shreds by the skeletons, looking quite disheveled. His handsome face bore several scratches, but his compass remained intact.
Hiding behind the coffin with Qi Buyan, He Sui’an recognized this person as the young man from the inn.
What was he doing in the tomb?
He Sui’an’s eyes widened.
With the coffin blocking his view, Shen Jianhe hadn’t noticed them yet. He knocked on the stone wall here and there, listening to the sound to gauge its thickness, ensuring the skeletons couldn’t break through before he felt relieved.
Surviving the ordeal, he patted his chest, sat on the ground, and muttered to himself, “Is this really the King Yan’s tomb from hundreds of years ago? Not a man-eating tomb? Damn it! Was I deceived?”
He Sui’an wanted to speak to Qi Buyan.
But with Shen Jianhe nearby, she leaned close to whisper in his ear.
Unexpectedly, Qi Buyan, sensing someone approaching, turned his head defensively, causing He Sui’an’s lips to brush against his earlobe and cheek.
