Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

Xie Linyuan stood at the end of the stone chamber.

Before them lay a complete stone wall, upon which was carved a massive star map. The positions of the stars were inlaid with silver minerals, gleaming faintly in the darkness. In the center of the star map was an image of a cicada, its wings outstretched, covering most of the wall.

He stretched out his hand and gently traced his fingers across the star map.

When the fingertip touched the edge of the cicada wing, the sound of a mechanism turning came from inside the stone wall.

The entire stone wall slowly parted to both sides.

The space behind is revealed.

A circular burial chamber.

It wasn't large, about ten meters in diameter. In the center of the tomb chamber, there was no coffin, only a stone platform. On the platform sat a skeleton, its legs crossed.

The skeleton was dressed in Han Dynasty everyday clothes, the fabric long since decayed into ash, leaving only the frame. The skeleton was in a very upright posture, with its hands resting on its knees and its head slightly lowered, as if in meditation.

On the stone platform in front of the skeleton, there was a jade tablet.

It is about the size of a palm, pure white, and emits a soft light in the darkness.

Xie Linyuan walked over and picked up the jade tablet.

The jade tablet was engraved with characters, small but very clear:

"I am Huo Yun, General Zhennan. In the third year of Yuanshou, I obtained a jade cicada, which I believed to be a gift from heaven. After consuming it, I gained a lifespan of a hundred years. However, every time the moon is full, I suffer excruciating pain to the bone, only then realizing that this was a curse."

"For a century, I have tried every method to relieve this pain. Alchemy, medicine, cultivation, sacrifice... all to no avail."

"I finally realized: immortality is not the way of Heaven. Forcibly prolonging one's life will surely incur divine retribution."

"Now I shatter the jade cicada, severing this ill-fated bond. I leave this inscription here as a warning to future generations—"

Do not seek immortality. Immortality is a prison.

The last four characters were carved very deeply, almost piercing through the jade tablet.

Xie Linyuan looked at those five words.

Immortality is imprisonment.

The Qilin tattoo on his shoulder blade was so hot it looked like it was about to burn.

Fragments of memory surged through my mind once again.

This time, it's clearer.

—Within the bronze gate, endless darkness. He is inside, guarding something. Ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years.

—The faces of the clansmen appeared one by one, and then disappeared one by one. They called him "Qiling", "Clan Chief", and "Gatekeeper".

—For the last time, he stepped through the bronze door, which closed behind him. He said, "Wait for me."

—Waiting for whom?

—I can't remember.

He pressed his forehead, his fingers turning white from the pressure.

The amnesia is acting up.

who am I?

What am I doing here?

The jade tablet slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

The sound brought him to his senses.

He bent down, picked up the jade tablet, and stuffed it into his inner bag.

Then I looked at the skeleton.

Huo Yun.

He sought immortality, attained immortality, and ultimately destroyed immortality with his own hands.

It took a hundred years to understand this principle.

And what about yourself?

Zhang Qiling.

Gatekeeper.

The immortal.

How long have you lived?

Can not remember.

How much longer do I have to live?

do not know.

He turned around, ready to leave.

But just as he turned around, he heard a sound.

It came from the top of the tomb.

Very slight, but dense.

It looks like many claws crawling on a rock.

He looked up.

The ceiling of the tomb chamber is covered with countless tiny holes.

Something is moving inside the small hole.

It's black, segmented.

Centipede.

Each one was as long as an arm, entirely black, with a glossy carapace. They crawled out of the holes and hung from the ceiling of the tomb, their yellow compound eyes gleaming in the darkness.

Hundreds of them.

No, thousands.

They smelled the scent of living people.

Start climbing down.

Xie Linyuan gripped the black gold ancient sword tightly.

---

On the other side, in the storage room where the team was located.

Professor Zhou Xu'an was carefully packing the bamboo slips. Jiang Shouyi was helping him, and Brother Kun was holding a flashlight for illumination.

Chen Man sat in the corner, her eyes still red. Wang Yihan handed her a water bottle: "Have some water."

"Sister Yihan," Chen Man whispered, "where is Mr. Xie now? Is he safe?"

"He's safer than us," Wang Yihan said, "but..."

She didn't finish speaking.

But what?

But I'm very lonely.

But it was very painful.

But they may be paying a price they can't even imagine.

Lin Guoce was checking the equipment. They had enough food and water, but the batteries were almost dead. The flashlight beam was dim, barely bright enough to last another two hours.

"We must find an exit as soon as possible," he said into the communicator. "Report your location and request backup."

A hissing sound came from the communicator, followed by a broken message: "Received...signal...weak...hold on..."

The signal is terrible.

Sun Shuanzhu suddenly stood up and pointed deep into the storage room: "There! There's light!"

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing.

In the innermost corner of the storage room, there was a very thin crack. A faint, green light shone through the crack.

Like the light of a firefly, but more stable.

"Let's go take a look," Lin Guoce said.

They went over and cleared away the clutter in the corner.

A hole was revealed.

The entrance was very small; you could only crawl inside. The green light was coming from inside.

Lin Guoce lay down and shone his flashlight inside.

Inside was a very small space, about three square meters. In the center was a stone platform, on which sat a lamp—the lamp oil was green, and it burned with a green flame.

"An ever-burning lamp?" Professor Zhou Xu'an exclaimed excitedly. "Legend has it that it's fueled by mermaid oil and can burn for a thousand years!"

"Let's go in and take a look," Lin Guoce said.

He was the first to climb in.

Others followed suit.

The small space was empty except for the ever-burning lamp. But the four walls were covered with inscriptions.

It's Huo Yun's handwriting.

"I have attempted to concoct an antidote to alleviate the pain of the full moon. I record the formula here, so that if any destined person in the future may see it, they may try it—"

Below is a list of dozens of medicinal herbs, some of which I recognize, and some I've never heard of before.

"But all to no avail." The last line read, "The pain remains. I now realize that this pain is not physical, but the pain of the soul. Immortality tears the soul apart; this pain is incurable."

As Chen Man looked at those words, tears streamed down her face again: "He... he has endured this kind of pain every month for the past hundred years..."

Kun murmured, "Mr. Xie... will he also have to endure this kind of pain?"

No one answered.

Live stream chat:

[The ID is too cruel]

[Identity Immortality is a Curse]

[The guy with the ID might be suffering like this too]

[My ID is so upsetting]

Just then, the flame of the eternal lamp flickered.

Then, it started to change color.

It slowly turned from green to red.

"Back off!" Lin Guoce shouted.

But it was too late.

The ground in the small space began to sink.

It wasn't the entire area that sank, but rather several specific stone slabs.

After the stone slab sank, a black hole was revealed.

Black smoke billowed out of the black hole.

The smoke has a pungent smell.

"Poison gas!" Jiang Shouyi shouted, "Cover your mouth and nose!"

Everyone covered their mouths and noses, but the smoke was so thick that it quickly filled the small space.

Some people started coughing, and their eyes stung.

"Get out! Quickly!" Lin Guoce shouted.

However, the opening is too small, allowing only one person to pass through at a time.

The order was chaotic, and everyone was crammed together.

The smoke grew thicker and thicker.

Kun was coughing so hard he could hardly breathe, and his eyes were burning. Chen Man had already fainted, and Wang Yihan was desperately dragging her out.

Lin Guoce was the last to come out, and immediately used his backpack to block the entrance to the hole.

However, some of the toxic gas had already leaked out and was permeating the storage room.

"We have to get out of here!" he shouted. "Go deeper in! Find Mr. Xie!"

This is the only option.

The path Xie Linyuan took was probably safe.

The group stumbled and ran in the direction Xie Linyuan had left.

---

Inside the tomb.

Xie Linyuan has already dealt with the first batch of centipedes.

A flash of light, the black carapace shattered, and yellow fluid splattered everywhere. Centipede corpses piled up on the ground, but more poured out from the holes.

They are not afraid of death.

One after another, they sacrificed themselves.

Xie Linyuan frowned.

We can't kill them all like that.

He remembered Ghost Whistle.

But centipedes are not corpse beetles, so the ghost whistle might not work on them.

He wielded his knife while observing the structure of the tomb.

The tomb chamber was circular, with only one exit—the one he came in through.

But those holes at the top could be ventilation openings, or they could be...

He saw it.

In the very center of the tomb chamber, beneath the stone platform where the skeleton sat, there was a very small recess.

The shape of the groove is exactly the same as that of the jade plate.

He understood instantly.

Huo Yun left behind a final test.

Or rather, the final act of mercy.

If the later visitor understands his warning and is willing to give up the jade cicada, then put the jade plate back into the groove.

If you don't want to...

These centipedes are punishment.

Xie Linyuan did not hesitate.

He took out the jade tablet from his inner bag, weaved through the swarm of centipedes, rushed to the stone platform, and pressed the jade tablet into the groove.

Perfectly fitted.

Instantly, all the centipedes stopped.

They were suspended in the air, motionless, as if the pause button had been pressed.

Then, it slowly retreated back into the hole.

disappear.

The tomb chamber returned to silence.

The stone platform began to sink.

After sinking about one meter, the steps below were revealed.

Downward steps.

Xie Linyuan glanced at the withered bones.

Huo Yun's final resting place is below.

He stepped down the stairs.

In my mind, a system notification sounded:

[Understanding the essence of longevity]

[Character compatibility: 85%]

[Warning: The symptoms of soul loss are worsening. Please remain true to yourself.]

He paused for a moment.

Then continue downwards.

The steps are not long, about twenty.

Below is a very small space.

There was only one stone coffin.

The coffin lid was open.

It's empty inside.

A line of text was engraved on the bottom of the coffin:

"I, Huo Yun, have come to this. The jade cicada is shattered, the curse is lifted. I am free, and will enter the cycle of reincarnation. Those who come after me, take care."

Xie Linyuan stood in front of the coffin and looked at it for a long time.

Then he turned around, ready to leave.

But just then, he heard hurried footsteps and coughing.

It came from above.

The team has arrived.

Moreover, they encountered trouble.

He stood there, hesitating for a second.

Then take a step and walk uphill.

---

In the passageway leading from the storage room to the tomb.

The team is making difficult progress.

The effects of the gas were still lingering; everyone's eyes were red and swollen, and they were coughing incessantly. Chen Man was completely unconscious and was being carried on her back by Wang Yihan and Kun Ge in turns. Sun Shuanzhu was panting like a broken bellows, and Jiang Shouyi was supporting him.

Lin Guoce led the way, but the flashlight beam was so dim that it could only illuminate half a meter below his feet.

"Hang in there...we're almost there..." he said, panting.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of them.

Black clothes, black pants, black boots.

His head was covered by a hood, only the lower half of his face was visible.

He was holding a knife.

Xie Linyuan.

He stood there, watching them.

His eyes were indifferent.

"Mr. Xie!" Kun shouted excitedly.

Xie Linyuan remained silent.

He walked over, glanced at the unconscious Chen Man, and then took out a small bottle from his inner bag—it contained herbal powder that he had prepared beforehand to relieve the symptoms of poison gas.

He handed it to Wang Yihan: "Let her smell it."

Wang Yihan quickly did as instructed.

Chen Man coughed a few times and woke up.

Xie Linyuan then looked at the others and handed the small bottle to Lin Guoce: "Pass it around."

Then he turned around and continued walking forward.

"Keep up."

Only two words.

But everyone felt as if they had heard heavenly music.

They followed him into the tomb.

I saw the skeleton, the sunken stone platform, and the stone coffin below.

I also saw the words at the bottom of the coffin.

"Gain freedom, enter the cycle of reincarnation."

Professor Zhou Xu'an murmured, "He finally... found peace."

Xie Linyuan stood beside the coffin without saying a word.

He just stared at the empty coffin.

His eyes were very deep.

It's like they're looking at Huo Yun.

It's like looking at your future self.

The live stream chat fell completely silent at that moment.

Everyone was watching the black figure on the screen.

lonely.

powerful.

Tragic.

Like a god walking among humans, yet not belonging to them.