The Cycle of Reincarnation in the Four-Courtyard House: A Journey Through the Heavens

The dimly lit royal tomb passage descends, the dry, sandy air carrying with it the dust of bygone years, flowing slowly through the air.

Li Xiao held Evelyn's small hand and walked down the uneven stone steps. Their footsteps echoed softly in the enclosed passage, dispelling the surrounding silence.

In the original movie plot, Evelyn, through her keen observation, discovered subtle cracks hidden in the ground, thus deducing that Hamunaptra, the city of the dead, was not a single-layered structure, but rather that there was more to it deep underground.

The sarcophagus sealing the High Priest Imhotep is hidden at the very bottom of this royal tomb, at the feet of Anubis, the god of death. This is the most dangerous and most secret place in the entire tomb.

The two followed the winding passage straight ahead, and soon a massive, heavy stone gate suddenly blocked their way, completely cutting off the downward passage.

The stone gate is carved from a single block of granite, its surface covered with mottled traces of time, its texture ancient and heavy, exuding an unshakable and imposing aura.

Li Xiao stepped forward and gently tapped the surface of the stone door with his knuckles.

"Knock knock knock—"

A deep, resonant sound rang out, without any hollowness. Just from this sound alone, one could tell that the stone door was at least twenty centimeters thick and exceptionally sturdy.

Evelyn beside her had a calm gaze, and her extensive experience in exploring ruins allowed her to quickly grasp the intricacies of the situation.

She said softly, "Darling, this stone door should be locked from the inside. It can't be pried open with ordinary external force. We'll need professional demolition equipment to open it."

Li Xiao nodded slightly, turned to look at her and said, "Take a few steps back and stay away."

A hint of doubt flashed in Evelyn's eyes. She didn't know what he wanted to do, but she trusted Li Xiao completely. She immediately took a few steps back and fixed her gaze on the tall figure in front of her.

Li Xiao slowly raised his right hand, his palm flat against the cold, rough stone door.

With a slight exertion of his arm, a restrained yet powerful force quietly surged into the heavy stone door.

The next instant, a crisp "crack" sound clearly pierced Evelyn's ears.

The sound originated from behind the stone door; the door's supporting stone had been shattered by Li Xiao's spiritual power.

With a slight push from Li Xiao's palm, the hard and heavy stone door was slowly pushed open.

The heavy stone door scraped against the ground, making a low grinding sound. The gaps widened, and the scene behind the stone door appeared before the two of them.

A foul, stale, and rotten smell wafted over, choking Evelyn and causing her to cough repeatedly.

This place has been sealed off and isolated by giant rocks for thousands of years. The air inside has long been stagnant, decayed, and murky, making it completely unsuitable for human breathing.

Li Xiao had anticipated this, and he reached into his bag and took out two lightweight gas masks, handing one of them to Evelyn.

Evelyn understood immediately, took the mask, and quickly put it on, shutting out the surrounding polluted air.

After taking precautions, the two stepped into the dark stone chamber behind the stone door.

The moment the two stepped into the stone chamber, they somehow triggered a mechanism, and two orange flames suddenly shot up from the blue stone platforms on the left and right sides of the chamber, quickly dispelling the surrounding darkness and illuminating the entire chamber.

The dim, flickering firelight illuminated the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs carved on the walls of the stone chamber, making them appear both ancient and mysterious. Evelyn stared wide-eyed at the ancient text, her eyes filled with amazement.

"Wow, that's incredible! I never imagined that the candles the ancient Egyptians sealed away for thousands of years could light up on their own!"

Evelyn was deeply shocked by this ancient mechanism that could be described as a miracle, but Li Xiao's attention was not on it.

He shone the beam of his flashlight directly at the ceiling of the stone chamber.

Evelyn also looked up and followed the straight beam of the flashlight. She was shocked to find that in the center of the stone chamber, a stone coffin carved from a single block of stone was suspended in mid-air from the ceiling, exuding an ominous aura.

Li Xiao's gaze fell on the suspended stone coffin. He raised his hand and waved it gently. A wisp of extremely condensed and sharp spiritual energy suddenly shot out, instantly severing the ropes suspending the stone coffin.

"Boom!"

The heavy stone coffin crashed heavily onto the floor of the stone chamber, causing the entire chamber to tremble violently. The flickering candlelight swayed wildly, and the ancient tomb seemed on the verge of collapse. The deafening roar echoed for a long time in the enclosed space.

After the dust settled, the stone coffin was placed in the center of the stone chamber, its exterior completely undamaged.

Evelyn's gaze was not drawn to the sarcophagus; she remained staring blankly at the ceiling, her eyes filled with shock.

Noticing her unusual behavior, Li Xiao asked softly, "Evelyn, what's wrong?"

Evelyn slowly raised her trembling fingertips, pointing intently at the ancient, heavy circular base in the center of the ceiling. Her voice, trembling slightly through her gas mask, said, "This coffin... it was actually placed at the feet of Anubis, the god of death!"

"Oh, what does that mean?"

Evelyn took a deep breath, trying to suppress the turmoil in her heart, and explained in a solemn tone: "In the ancient Egyptian sacrificial system and funerary culture, only two kinds of people would be buried at the foot of the statue of Anubis."

"They are either powerful and influential nobles, guided and protected by the gods; or they are heinous sinners, placed under the feet of death, imprisoned for eternity, never to be reincarnated!"

Listening to Evelyn's clear and logical explanation, Li Xiao couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration and respect.

It must be said that Evelyn's knowledge of ancient Egyptian history and relics is indeed far beyond that of ordinary people.

Because he was familiar with the plot, he knew that the person sealed in the stone coffin was Imhotep, the high priest who committed the heinous crime of regicide three thousand years ago and was subjected to the punishment of being devoured by insects.

Evelyn, however, accurately deduced from the tomb layout and Anubisi funerary system that the person in the coffin was no ordinary person. Her profound knowledge and deep archaeological background are truly admirable.

Evelyn composed herself and took out a soft-bristled brush and cleaning tools from her archaeological tool bag.

With practiced ease, she brushed away the thick layer of dust and weathered debris that had accumulated over thousands of years on the surface of the stone coffin. Every movement was meticulous, as if she were afraid of damaging the ancient patterns on the coffin.

The flickering candlelight in the stone chamber illuminated the surface of the stone coffin, and as the layers of dust faded away, the complete outline of the top of the coffin lid gradually became visible.

After the last layer of dust was swept away with a brush, a peculiar groove was completely exposed to the two of them.

The groove is made up of eight regular triangular patterns, which are staggered and spread out, resembling an eight-petaled flower. The shape is simple and unique, and it is a special pattern that has never appeared in any known ancient Egyptian relics.

The moment the full view of the groove appeared, Evelyn's hand suddenly stopped. She stared intently at the octagonal groove on the top of the coffin, her brows furrowed, as if she was thinking about something.

Ten seconds later, as if remembering something, she suddenly became agitated, grabbed Li Xiao's arm, and said, "Did you notice? The grooves formed by these eight triangles perfectly match the opening pattern, size, and shape of the octagonal black box you gave me before!"

She murmured, her breathing slightly rapid, "Could it be... that mysterious black box is the key to unlock this thousand-year-old stone coffin?"