In the same tomb chamber, Su Yang and the others leaned over the spot where He Sui’an and Qi Buyan had fallen. They called out for a long time but received no response, as if the two had vanished into thin air.
Shen Jianhe picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the closed stone slab.
There must be more to it inside; otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken in two living people.
No matter how hard Shen Jianhe smashed the stone, the slab remained intact, only showing some marks from the impact, as hard as diamond.
Using a stone to smash a slab was clearly not a wise choice. He was drenched in sweat, threw the stone away, and turned to Su Yang, panting. “Did you bring any explosives?”
Su Yang asked, “You want to blow it up?”
He wiped his sweat. “What else?”
She shook her head. “No, we don’t understand the structure of the tomb. Using explosives recklessly could have unpredictable consequences.”
Having explored many tombs with his master, Shen Jianhe suddenly became confident.
“Although I don’t have a map of the tomb, I can tell at a glance that blowing up this spot won’t affect other areas. The tomb is so large that blowing up a small area won’t cause a collapse.”
Su Yang seemed convinced by his words.
Shen Jianhe reached out to her for the explosives.
“We don’t have any,” Su Yang said apologetically. “We had prepared some, but my father saw them. I made an excuse, but he still took the explosives away.”
Since they didn’t bring explosives, why had they discussed it so much?
The atmosphere grew tense. Shen Jianhe’s mouth twitched. “If your father took them, couldn’t you get more?”
Su Yang had indeed thought of that.
But time was tight, and she hadn’t been able to find more.
Explosives weren’t something you could buy anywhere. The Great Zhou had strict control over them. If you wanted to buy them, you’d need connections.
Zhong Kong scolded, “How dare you speak to our lady like that?”
“With my mouth,” Shen Jianhe said, confident they wouldn’t kill the innocent. He shrugged, “Don’t you use your mouth to speak?”
Su Yang rubbed her temples. “Enough, stop arguing. I believe Mr. Qi and Miss He will turn danger into safety.”
Shen Jianhe thought that made sense.
Qi Buyan, with just a bone flute, had wiped out a group of puppets. His strength far surpassed theirs.
Maybe Qi Buyan and He Sui’an, who were separated from them, could find the main chamber of King Yan’s tomb before they did. So, what they needed to do now was to solve the mechanism of this chamber.
Su Yang was unfamiliar with ancient tombs and had little knowledge of mechanisms.
As for Zhong Huan and Zhong Kong, they were martial artists and somewhat proficient in mechanisms, but the mechanisms of King Yan’s tomb, built over a hundred years ago, were not easy for them.
At this point, they had to admit that Shen Jianhe was useful. He excelled at solving ancient tomb mechanisms.
Shen Jianhe lifted his robe and got to work on the tomb’s mechanism, seriously focused, shedding his usual nonchalance and appearing more reliable. Su Yang found this side of him somewhat refreshing.
The mechanism on the stone wall was complex and ever-changing, with characters that occasionally moved. Su Yang watched, dazzled. The characters were ancient and incomprehensible to her.
If she couldn’t even understand them, solving the mechanism was out of the question.
All she could do was wait patiently.
Shen Jianhe, however, seemed to handle the characters with ease. With a “click,” the mechanism was completely unlocked. The stone door opened inward, revealing statues of various sizes inside.
They walked in.
Soon, they noticed that although the statues varied in size, they all had the same face, that of a young woman.
If He Sui’an were here, she would have recognized that the statues’ faces were all modeled after He Hua, with a lively expression, gentle and serene, almost lifelike.
Shen Jianhe marveled, “This tomb really has all kinds of strange things.”
Su Yang, as the lady of Fengling Town, did not know He Hua and had no idea who the statues represented. There were many people in Fengling Town, and it was impossible for her to know everyone.
*
In the ice chamber.
Without any barriers, He Sui’an’s body temperature continued to rise as she stayed close to Qi Buyan.
The two were almost inseparable. Fearing it wasn’t enough, He Sui’an hugged him tighter, her chin resting on his neck, her arms wrapped around his waist, silently praying that this would help.
Occasionally, she looked up at Qi Buyan’s face to see if he had woken up.
The young man’s expression remained unchanged.
He Sui’an found herself slightly dazed, thinking he seemed like someone who would remain the same even if he slept forever. Was this characteristic common among the people of Miaojiang Tianshui Village, or was it just him?
Apart from the butterfly silver chain on Qi Buyan’s ankle, this was also a fatal weakness.
If those who wanted to kill him discovered this…
They would only need to break the butterfly silver chain on his ankle or lure him to a place with an extremely low temperature, making him fall asleep, and then take action to ensure success.
This was something that must not be discovered by anyone else, He Sui’an resolved.
She was facing Qi Buyan, hugging him.
Her back was directly touching the cold air, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin. She glanced at Qi Buyan’s hand, which was still hanging by his side. After a moment’s hesitation, she lifted it and placed it on her back.
In the face of life and death, everything else could be put aside.
Even though He Sui’an couldn’t see their overall posture, she could roughly guess that it must be a very intimate position.
After about a quarter of an hour, she felt his hand, which was resting on her waist, move slightly. He Sui’an happily called out to Qi Buyan and then remembered that she wasn’t dressed. She hurriedly started putting on her clothes.
The more she rushed, the slower she became.
Before she could finish dressing, he opened his eyes.
The first thing Qi Buyan saw was her pale body, as white as snow. Unlike his flat chest, hers had gentle curves that led down to her lower garments.
He sat up. “What are you doing?”
He Sui’an’s actions paused.
Then she sped up, fumbling awkwardly, not looking at Qi Buyan, thinking of an explanation.
“You couldn’t wake up in the cold, so I hugged you, using my body heat to warm you, hoping it would help you wake up,” He Sui’an explained as she tied the last knot on her skirt.
Qi Buyan also closed his robe. “Your body seems different from mine.”
His tone was no different from usual.
He Sui’an was embarrassed.
How could she explain to someone who had lived alone on a secluded mountain for years why their bodies were different?
She fiddled with the ribbon hanging in front of her, a nervous habit, and changed the topic. “We need to leave quickly. If you fall asleep again, it won’t be good.”
He Sui’an helped Qi Buyan up.
He walked to the ice wall and ran his fingers over it.
Ice flakes fell onto Qi Buyan’s fingertips. He lowered his head to smell them. Ice should be odorless, but these had a faint smell of decay.
He Sui’an leaned in to smell as well, her breath warming his fingers. The ice flakes melted into water and dripped through his fingers.
When she smelled the scent of decay, she looked at Qi Buyan uncertainly.
“What is that smell?”
He replied, “The smell of corpses.”
He Sui’an straightened up, unconsciously moving a bit away from the ice wall. “Why does the ice smell like corpses? Could there be bodies inside?”
Qi Buyan replied, “Perhaps.”
“But some of the ice has this smell, while some is clean and odorless.”
After saying this, he felt drowsy again, the Heavenly Silkworm Gu acting up within him. Qi Buyan took out a dagger, lifted his wrist guard, and aimed the tip at his exposed wrist, preparing to make a cut.
Before he could make the cut, someone grabbed his hand. Qi Buyan looked up at He Sui’an. Her hair was disheveled, her hair ribbon slightly wrinkled, and her face dusty, but her eyes were bright and clear.
Those eyes showed surprise as she asked, “You want to stay awake by doing this?”
Qi Buyan responded, “I’ve always done it this way.”
He Sui’an was incredulous. “What?”
He smiled, “Yes, isn’t this the simplest and most effective method?” When alone, he could sleep in the cold. If someone was around, he would cut his wrist to stay awake. It was a normal thing for him.
When they fell into the ice chamber, Qi Buyan had just dealt with the puppets above, exhausting his strength. The Heavenly Silkworm Gu punished him, causing him to faint upon landing, leaving no chance to cut his wrist.
He pushed aside the silver chain on his wrist, revealing a network of old scars.
He Sui’an was momentarily stunned.
Seeing her silence, he assumed she understood and was about to make the cut.
Unexpectedly, He Sui’an knocked the dagger out of his hand, leaving Qi Buyan puzzled. She hugged him. “If I hold you, as long as you don’t feel cold, you won’t fall asleep, right?”
Qi Buyan, smelling her faint fragrance, lowered his gaze. “If you’re holding me, how can I walk and leave this place?”
“Can you carry me?”
She asked.
“Carry you?” Qi Buyan replied, “Of course I can.”
He Sui’an took a step back, then lunged forward, jumping and wrapping herself around him, firmly holding onto his neck. “Do you feel warm now? Do you still want to sleep?”
Qi Buyan needed higher temperatures to wake from deep sleep. Now that he wasn’t in a deep sleep, perhaps a simple hug, without skin contact, would suffice.
It was worth a try.
In truth, He Sui’an also felt it was convenient for her, not having to walk. But if the situation allowed, she wouldn’t resort to such measures.
“Alright,” he said.
Qi Buyan took a few steps with her clinging to him. Her legs dangled at his sides, and she had to exert effort to hold on. Lacking strength, her legs slipped, but he caught her and lifted her back up.
