Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 182 Crypt
Li Fang stared at the map for a while, then said:
"To get here, it would take a whole day to travel along the official road."

"Shall we stay at the governor's mansion tonight?"

Han Wangzhi asked.

“Let’s skip the governor’s mansion,” Li Fang said, clearly also disliking the local customs. “It’s still early. Heading north will take us to a neighboring town and shorten the journey.”

Everyone agreed that finishing the task as soon as possible was the best course of action.

Without delay, the group entered the city, retrieved their horses, and galloped out of the city along the stone-paved road.

As the group rode away, the three-tiered vermilion pavilion on the shore of Qingni Bay was filled with lively music and singing.

This building is called Lin Hai Ya, a top-tier restaurant in Qingni Bay. It is usually kept closed, and only distinguished guests are treated to delicacies.

"Brother Ao, please taste this wine. It is a rare vintage of Daxing's famous 'Half a Dot of Red' wine, aged for twenty years."

Governor Lü eagerly raised his cup, which the man in the brocade robe opposite him accepted with a smile.

He took a small sip and exclaimed, "It tastes good."

Despite saying that, he didn't drink much.

Governor Lü could tell that the other party didn't really like the wine, but he didn't care too much.

After all, that's how social interactions at a dinner table are—everyone just has a good time and that's it.

As for the dishes on the table, this man ate quite a lot, especially enjoying chicken soup. Governor Lü already knew this and had several more dishes prepared.

The man before me is Ao Cheng, the Grand Herald of the Great Yin Kingdom, who is in charge of promoting this region. Moreover, he is the fourth grandson of the Great Yin Emperor, and his status is not low.

The reason why someone of royal blood like him had to become a Grand Master of Ceremonies was mainly because he was skilled in a kind of overseas travel technique.

If this method is used to cross the sea to Daxing, it can be reached in twenty days with favorable winds, and usually in a little over a month; however, if an ordinary ship wants to take this route, it will take at least three or four months, and at most half a year. This round trip would take a whole year, which is really time-consuming.

Just as the banquet was in full swing, Governor Lü was about to exchange a few more pleasantries with Ao Cheng when he suddenly saw a figure moving outside the door.

Upon closer inspection, it was Ao Ning, Ao Cheng's personal bodyguard, carrying a little girl as they stepped across the threshold.

Ao Cheng was taken aback when he saw his daughter, then shook his head with a wry smile:

"You little rascal, did you sneak out again?"

"I didn't!"

As soon as Ao Xichun landed, she pouted, but shrank back when Ao Ning's gaze swept over her:

"Just for a little while."

"You little rascal, you're such a worry."

Ao Cheng beckoned for someone, but the girl, who thought she was about to be scolded, only felt a warm palm on her head.

As soon as her father put his arm around her, Ao Xichun immediately sat down on his lap with a smile in her eyes:
"Father, I met an extremely handsome young man, and he had a very interesting little thing hidden in his sleeve! I like him very much!"

The spoon tapped lightly against the rim of the porcelain bowl, and Ao Cheng's hand holding the spoon trembled almost imperceptibly.

"Male and female?"

"It's a guy. He's really good-looking."

"……Yeah?"

Ao Cheng lowered his eyes and stirred the soup, his expression unreadable, but the speed at which he stirred with the spoon increased.

"This little girl ran out of the city and met some enthusiastic people from Daxing. They claimed to be from the capital."

Ao Ning truthfully told him everything.

When Governor Lü heard these words, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

The image of the group of people I had seen during the day immediately came to mind, and indeed, there was a very handsome young man among them.

They must be talking about them.

How did they end up outside the city?

He quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Children love these fancy faces."

"..." Ao Cheng calmed down, smiled, and affectionately patted the little girl's head: "If we can find him then, we'll take him on the ship and send him back to Dayin."

Before the little girl could cheer, the rather tactless Ao Ning shook his head:
"That handsome young man was able to see through my method; he must be close to the Star-Pointing Realm."

The room fell silent instantly.

Ao Cheng turned to look at Governor Lü, who thought for a moment and then smiled.

Although I had no idea what was going on, I felt that this was the safest course of action.

No, the capital has actually sent such a master?

I knew this case was important, but I didn't expect it to be taken this seriously.

The banquet fell silent for a moment, but Ao Ning seemed completely unconcerned about what he had just said.

She sat down in one of the empty seats, picked up her glass, and took a sip.

He smacked his lips twice.

"taste not good."

She was very direct.

As night fell and the crowd dispersed, Governor Lü returned to his residence and summoned his adjutant. After inquiring about the situation for a while, Governor Lü frowned.

"They haven't come back?"

"Yes." The adjutant nodded. "They plan to perform a ritual, but without your document, I naturally cannot agree to it. By now, they should have found a place to stay in the city."

"If they come to the manor again tomorrow, be sure to be more polite."

The adjutant was slightly puzzled by what he heard. Based on his understanding of his superior's usual style, such words were quite unusual.

He made a note of it but said nothing, simply following the established procedure.

As a result, the group did not return by the next morning. The adjutant did not take the matter to heart until Governor Lü came to find him again.

Hearing that the departing people had not returned, Governor Lü's expression changed slightly.

"Perhaps they've headed straight for the scene of the crime?" The adjutant asked in a low voice, noticing a slight change in the governor's expression.

Upon hearing this, Governor Lü let out a long sigh.

He didn't tell his adjutant anything about what happened yesterday, but secretly thought that he would probably have to go to the capital to apologize next time he went there.

……

Beizhen is located north of Qingniwa. After passing through this town, you need to continue north and cross Beishan Pass before you can see the target mountains.

Beyond the pass lies the northern border. Lin Jiang recalled that Master Zhao's residence was here, but he didn't know its exact location.

Lin Jiang remembered that Master Zhao's residence was in the northern border region, but he didn't ask Master Zhao where the residence was when they parted. If he wanted to find it, he would probably have to ask the people around him.

After lunch, Li Fang opened the map again. After looking at it for a while, he couldn't help but sigh:
"The North, it's been so long since I've been here."

"You've been to the North before?" the square-faced woman asked suspiciously.

“After some time,” Li Fang said, “he was originally a soldier in the Ministry of War who was wounded and forced to retreat while fighting against the barbarians of the northern grasslands. He was transferred to the Ministry of Justice because of Gao Qing’s favor.”

At this point, Li Fang didn't show much expression, but Han Wangzhi became quite proud of his master:

"My master was incredibly powerful on the battlefield back then, and he killed countless barbarians with his own hands."

“Just a bandit.” Li Fang waved his hand.

"Won't we run into grassland people after we pass Beishan Pass?" Lin Jiang asked from the side.

Li Fang waved his hand and smiled:
"Of course not. The northern border is vast and boundless, with a buffer zone of tens of thousands of miles in between. Even if you ride at full speed northward, it would still take half a month to reach the front line. Moreover, the nomadic tribes are not all barbarians. Half of them have been assimilated into our Great Xing. They are skilled in trade and animal husbandry, and can be considered good citizens."

Seeing that Lin Jiang was interested, Li Fang simply went on to say more.

According to him, at the northern border of Daxing, there are rolling hills and valleys. Beyond this natural barrier lies the lush and fertile northern plain, where dozens of tribes have lived by following the water and grass, and have had constant friction with the Central Plains for centuries.

According to Li Fang, the steppe cavalry were skilled in using unorthodox battle formations and also raised many extraordinary individuals, making them quite troublesome for the border troops.

Lin Jiang also remembered that there were probably two coffins on the northern grasslands, but he wasn't sure how to get there.

After speaking, the group whipped their horses and galloped north.

Finally, as the sun was about to set, the majestic peaks behind the North Mountain Pass came into view.

As dusk deepened, with the finish line within reach, the group proceeded along the mountain path without hesitation.

Upon entering the mountains, Gongxuan took out several grains of white rice from his bosom and gently placed them on the stone steps.

The grains of rice stood up, swaying slightly, and slowly moved down the stone steps, bathed in moonlight, like guiding fireflies.
Xiaoshan, overjoyed at the sight, slid down from Linjiang's sleeve to the ground and bounced along, mimicking the swaying motion of rice grains.

With the moon high in the sky, the group followed the trail of the spirit creature through the forest and trees.

About half an hour later, the secluded valley suddenly appeared before them.

Two giant rocks stood facing each other like gatekeepers, with a stone tablet-shaped blue stone embedded in the middle, completely blocking the entrance to the rock wall.

"Is this here?"

Li Fang asked Gong Xuan, who then looked down at the rice grains circling the large rock on the ground and nodded.

Lin Jiang dismounted and slowly walked to the huge stone tablet.

This must be the Dragon-Slaying Stone that Tin Man mentioned.

Before Lin Jiang arrived, he never imagined that he would come to this underground palace under such circumstances.

However, after seeing the Dragon-Slaying Stone, Lin Jiang understood why the internal organs could have arrived here overnight.

It seems they really did use coffins from the capital.

When Lin Jiang reached out and touched the broken dragon stone, the slightly uneven texture made him frown slightly.

The moonlight, like water, washed over the monument, revealing the dense inscriptions on its back.

He examined it carefully for a while and found that the handwriting above was not the commonly used font in Daxing, but some earlier style of writing.

It looks like...

It's somewhat like the kind of text that the little golden figure showed him in the inner palace.

"Liu Fangyue."

"exist."

"Write all these words down and show them to the Oscar winners to see if they know anything about them."

"Ok."

Liu Fangyue began to record the words in front of her.

"What should we say now? Should we just go in?"

The square-faced woman asked from the side.

Jiang Jinyue looked up at the sky, where the Milky Way was seeping through the gaps in the clouds:

"Let's do it tomorrow, it's too late today. Let's set up camp here for now."

It was indeed getting late, and going down into the underground palace in the dark was clearly not a wise choice.

They simply set up camp on the spot.

Since they hadn't eaten dinner, Lin Jiang took out some spare food from his storage bag, and Jiang Jinyue started cooking.

The campfire crackled as everyone began preparing the items needed for their descent into the underground palace.

Lin Jiang also sat down by the campfire; he didn't need to tidy up anything.

He felt a little bored and stared at the grains of rice that Gong Xuan had thrown on the ground.

As Lin Jiang watched, he suddenly noticed that the grains of rice had changed direction and were no longer trying to climb the stone tablet, but were heading to other places.

I subconsciously looked in that direction.

Under the moonlight,

Lin Jiang saw under the trees in the distance,

A mass of internal organs stood there.

(End of this chapter)