Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The dark yellow leather was spread out on the stone slab of the base. Under the beams of several flashlights, the dark red lines and twisted ancient characters appeared exceptionally clear, yet also exceptionally eerie.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" squatted on either side of the leather, their gazes fixed on the pattern of the bronze door in the center. They remained motionless and silent for a long time. The surrounding air seemed to become even more stagnant because of their stillness.

Wu Xie, Xie Yuchen, and the others gathered around, squatted down, and looked at the leather map. Jiang Xun Gu craned his neck to look from behind.

"This is..." Wu Xie stared at the pattern on the bronze door, then looked at the ancient-looking, winding characters next to the door. He felt that they looked familiar, but he couldn't recognize them.

"It's 'door'." Xie Yuchen pointed to the word, his voice soft and tinged with uncertainty. "But this writing style... is more archaic than any known ancient Dian script, or even oracle bone script. Looking at the structure, it's somewhat like a variant of the character 'door' in bronze script, but with more decorative strokes, making it more like a... symbol."

"What place does this map depict?" Fatty Wang pointed to the eye symbol in the center and the lines radiating outwards. "This eye looks familiar, somewhat like the mark on the jade eye in Jingjue Kingdom, but not quite the same. These lines... are roads?"

Huo Xiuxiu pointed to a line extending from the eye symbol with her finger. At the end of the line was a simple mountain with a few small characters next to it. "This line seems to point to the mountain range of the Xianwang Tomb where we are. Look at these small characters, their shapes are six or seven parts similar to some inscriptions in the Xianwang Tomb, so they may be an earlier source of writing."

"What about the other lines?" Ah Ning asked.

"Look here," Xie Yuchen pointed to another line, at the end of which was drawn water ripples and a small dot. "This might represent an area with water, or... a lake or sea. And look at this one, at the end is a simplified drawing of what looks like a building, the style of which is neither like the Central Plains nor like the Yunnan region."

"Is this... a map?" Jiang Xun Gu pondered. "Guiding people to these places? Does the eye in the center represent the starting point? Or does it represent... some core element?"

"It's the 'eye'." Zhang Qiling suddenly spoke, his finger pointing to the eye symbol in the center of the map, then slowly moving it down to the bronze door below. "Look at the door."

"Does it mean that the location of this 'eye,' or what this symbol represents, is used for 'gazing' or 'accessing' this door?" Xie Yuchen tried to interpret.

Zhang Qiling nodded. He pointed to the ancient character next to the bronze door pattern, then to the various symbols at the ends of the surrounding lines. "The door is the target. These are signposts, or... where the key is."

"A key?" Wu Xie was taken aback. "The Muchen Pearl? The Jade Eye?"

“Maybe more,” said Zhang Qiling. He pointed to a line on the map leading to a mountain-shaped symbol, then to their feet. “Here, we’ve arrived. We found the Jade Eye and used the Muchen Pearl.” His finger moved to another line. “Other lines, other points, there might be other ‘components’.”

"Is this diagram telling future generations that to find or open this bronze door, we need to gather items scattered in different places?" Huo Xiuxiu concluded, her expression slightly changing. "This...this is an enormous undertaking. And what exactly is this bronze door?"

Everyone looked at Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling," the two who reacted the most strongly to the bronze gate.

Zhang Qiling stared silently at the door on the leather, his eyes as deep as an ancient well. After a few seconds, he said briefly, "The place to go in."

"Go in?" Zhang Qiling repeated, his tone carrying a faint, elusive, complex emotion. "We must go in."

Wu Xie recalled the fragments of memories they saw in the Jingjue Ancient City when the vortex pattern triggered their memories, as well as the occasional words they uttered about "the door" and "going back." He had a vague guess in his mind, but he also felt that it was too shocking.

"Young man," he asked cautiously, "this door...it's related to you, isn't it? The answer you're looking for is inside?"

Zhang Qiling looked up at him and nodded. It was a soft nod, but a firm one.

Zhang Qiling nodded as well.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Fatty Wang slapped his thigh. "We have a map, let's follow it and find them one by one! Who cares if it's a dangerous place? With these two guys here, what's there to be afraid of?"

"Fatty, don't be impulsive." Xie Yuchen shook his head, carefully touching the edge of the leather with his gloved fingers. "This leather is too old, the information on it may not be complete, and these locations may span a very wide area. With the passage of time, many places may have long been lost. We need more detailed research, comparing it with known ancient geography and history, to determine the specific locations of these markings."

"Moreover," Huo Xiuxiu added, "even if we find the location, those places will definitely be as dangerous as the Tomb of King Xian and the Ancient City of Jingjue. We need to be more fully prepared."

"That makes sense." Black Bear crossed his arms. "You have to eat one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time. What do you say, you mute Zhangs?"

Zhang Qiling carefully rolled up the leather map; some crumbly powder crumbled from its edges. "Let's go out first."

Zhang Qiling also stood up: "There's nothing else here."

The group once again surveyed the vast, dark space. Aside from the colossal bronze statue in the center, the scattered bronze fragments, and the leather retrieved from the pedestal, there seemed to be nothing else. King Xian, having exhausted all his efforts, even resorting to bizarre witchcraft and massive bronze mechanisms, seemed to be ultimately protecting only this clue leading to the "Bronze Gate." His own pursuit of immortality and his worship of "gods" were perhaps merely secondary details derived from this ultimate clue.

"Let's go," Xie Yuchen said.

They retraced their steps, retreating along the smooth, gray-white stone passageway, passing through the automatically closing black giant door (which "Zhang Qiling" skillfully pushed open again), and through the rotating wall passage, returning to the cave with its eerie blue "starry sky."

The floating live stream ball followed silently. A few comments briefly appeared as it passed through the wall passage:

Prophet: We've got the key map!

A solution to the experts' dissent: What exactly is the Bronze Gate?

The male lead's fan club: Our husbands finally have a clear goal!

They didn't linger in the cave. Following the direction of the crack they had emerged from, they found another, relatively easier passage, seemingly a backup route left by the original builders, and began their ascent. The passage was still deep and winding, but without the traps and monsters, only a long and tedious climb.

When they finally emerged from a cave hidden behind vines on the mountainside, breathed in the cool, damp air of the forest again, and saw that it was midday and the sunlight was struggling to pierce through the thick fog, casting dappled patterns of light, everyone felt as if they had been transported to another world.

This time, they've truly come out of the tomb of King Xian.

"Finally... out." Fatty Wang plopped down on the rock at the cave entrance, panting heavily, but a smile on his face. "My fat body has almost been drained dry by the yin energy in the tomb."

"It's because you lack exercise." Wu Xie was also exhausted, supporting his knees, his glasses askew.

"Hey, you little rascal, how dare you talk to me like that? Who pulled me up on that steep slope earlier so I didn't slip?"

"I was afraid you'd roll down and hit me!"

"You two are evenly matched." Black Bear leaned leisurely against a tree trunk, his sunglasses pointing at the two of them. "One is bloated, the other is fragile. Neither of you can say anything about the other."

"Hey, that's not funny," Fatty Wang protested. "I'm just being steady! Naïve is just superficial, I need to make up for it!"

"What are you trying to supplement? You're the one who's weak!" Wu Xie's face turned red.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" ignored their bickering, standing on higher ground to observe the surrounding mountains and determine their direction. Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu checked the remaining equipment and everyone's physical condition. A Ning silently wiped the dust off her face. Jiang Xun Gu looked around curiously, comparing the cave entrance they had emerged from with the surrounding environment.

"This way." Zhang Qiling pointed southeast, where the trees seemed to be sparser.

Zhang Qiling nodded and took the lead.

The path down the mountain was easier than the path up, but it was still physically demanding. It wasn't until the sun was setting that they finally saw the outline of the village hidden among the trees.

When they returned to the old bamboo house they had rented, the villagers were surprised to see that they had returned, though tired, but mostly unharmed. They then smiled warmly and brought them hot water and simple food.

Fatty Wang once again demonstrated his culinary talent, using some cured meat and vegetables given by the villagers, plus the last bit of braised beef prepared by Xie Yuchen in their bag (which caused Hei Xiazi and Jiang Xun Gu to scramble for it), to make a fairly sumptuous dinner.

They sat around the open space in the middle of the bamboo house, eating by the dim light of an oil lamp. The atmosphere was much more relaxed than yesterday. The curse had been lifted, the secrets of the King Xian's tomb had been largely revealed, and they had even obtained a crucial clue—the map. Although the road ahead remained uncertain, at least the immediate burden had been lifted.

"What's the next step?" Jiang Xun Gu asked vaguely, shoveling rice into his mouth.

"Let's rest for two days," Xie Yuchen said. "I need time to do a preliminary study of this leather map and compare it with some other materials. Everyone also needs to recover properly."

"and then?"

"Then," Hei Xiazi interjected, glancing at Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" who were eating quietly, "it's time to follow the mute Zhangs and go check out those 'good places' on the map."

Zhang Qiling put down his bowl and wiped his mouth. "No rush."

Zhang Qiling finished eating and nodded: "Let's settle down first."

Night fell completely. The sounds of insects chirping and birdsong filled the mountains and forests. Inside the bamboo house, the oil lamp shone warmly.

The chapter of the Tomb of the King of Xian slowly came to a close in this tranquil night, a mixture of weariness, relaxation, and vague anticipation.

A new journey has begun beneath our feet.