Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The steps go down very steeply.

The flashlight beam flickered in the narrow space, illuminating the slippery stone walls. The air carried a musty, earthy smell, mingled with a faint musty odor. Zhang Qiling walked in front, his steps steady and silent. "Zhang Qiling" followed behind, an arm's length away, equally quiet.

The people behind struggled to keep up. The steps were wet and covered in slippery moss. Wu Xie shuffled down, holding onto the wall, his glasses fogged up. Fatty Wang, panting, muttered, "That old man, why did he build so many steps? He's killing me!"

"Say less, save your energy," Xie Yuchen said from behind.

"Grandpa Flower, what do you think is down there?" Fatty Wang asked.

"I don't know, but it's definitely not simple."

The steps were long; it had been almost ten minutes since I'd lasted. The temperature was dropping, and I could see my breath in the cold air. The moss on the walls had turned from black to dark green, some of it still glowing faintly, just enough to illuminate my path.

Finally, we reached the bottom of the steps.

Ahead was a large, open space, so vast that a flashlight beam couldn't reach the edge. The ground was covered in smooth stone slabs, thick with dust. The air was stagnant, creating a stifling, oppressive atmosphere.

Zhang Qiling stopped, his flashlight beam sweeping around. "Zhang Qiling" also stopped, standing beside him, looking in the same direction.

"It's a stone chamber." Xie Yuchen walked to their side, shining his flashlight beam into the distance. At the end of the beam, the outline of the wall could be vaguely seen.

"It's very big," Huo Xiuxiu said softly.

"It's even bigger than the cavern above," Aning said.

The group entered the stone chamber. Their footsteps echoed in the empty space, carrying far. The beams of their flashlights sliced ​​through the darkness, illuminating blurry shapes.

They are stone pillars. Many of them, arranged very neatly, like some kind of formation. The pillars are square, with patterns carved on their surfaces, but they are covered with a thick layer of dust and cannot be seen clearly.

"Look here." Wu Xie walked to a stone pillar and wiped the dust off with his hand. The pattern revealed was a combination of eyes and snakes, very similar to what he had seen before, but more complex, with some fine lines in the pupils of the eyes.

"It's that symbol again." Fatty Wang leaned over to take a look.

"King Xian worshipped this," Xie Yuchen said. "The same goes for the Kingdom of Jingjue. These two places must be connected."

"Perhaps they all come from the same ancient civilization," Huo Xiuxiu said.

"Or, the same 'god'," Aning added.

Zhang Qiling didn't participate in the discussion. He walked to the center of the stone chamber, where there was a stone platform, not very high, about half a meter. The platform was hollow, but had grooves, irregularly shaped. He squatted down and carefully examined the patterns in the grooves.

Zhang Qiling also came over and squatted down on the other side. The two looked at each other for a while, then looked up at each other almost simultaneously.

"We're missing something," Zhang Qiling said.

"Jade eyes," said Zhang Qiling.

"But that's not right."

"The size is wrong."

"Um."

The brief conversation was packed with information. It meant that the groove was meant to hold a jade eye, but it didn't match the piece they had; they were probably missing another piece.

Wu Xie walked over: "Brother, what are you talking about?"

Zhang Qiling didn't answer. He stood up and looked into the depths of the stone chamber. "Zhang Qiling" also stood up and looked in the same direction as him.

"There's something over there," Zhang Qiling said.

"Let's go take a look," said Zhang Qiling.

The group ventured deeper into the stone chamber. After walking over a hundred meters, a wall appeared ahead. The wall was adorned with a large bas-relief, better preserved than the one above. The relief depicted a sacrificial scene, with many people kneeling in worship. On a high platform stood a figure in royal robes, holding a jade eye. The jade eye was glowing, its light shining towards the sky, where a massive vortex swirled.

"This is..." Wu Xie leaned closer to look, "Is the King of Xian performing some kind of ceremony?"

"Use the jade eye to communicate with heaven and earth," Xie Yuchen said.

"What are you communicating about?" Fatty Wang asked.

"That vortex," Ah Ning pointed to the pattern above the relief.

The vortex is drawn in great detail, with a blurry shadow in the center that looks like a person or a snake, but it's hard to make out.

"God?" Huo Xiuxiu guessed.

"Perhaps it's something they worship," Xie Yuchen said.

Zhang Qiling stared intently at the relief, his gaze deep. "Zhang Qiling" was also looking at it, his brows slightly furrowed.

"What's wrong, bro?" Wu Xie noticed their expressions.

"It looks familiar," Zhang Qiling said.

Zhang Qiling nodded.

"What looks familiar?"

"Whirlpool," Zhang Qiling said.

"The Bronze Gate." Zhang Qiling added three more words.

Wu Xie was taken aback and examined the vortex closely. Indeed, it resembled the vortex symbol from the Jingjue Ancient City and the bronze gate in their memories, but it wasn't exactly the same. This one was more complex, with more details.

"You mean... the things that King Xian worshipped were related to the bronze gate?" Xie Yuchen asked.

"Maybe," Zhang Qiling said.

Zhang Qiling nodded.

This discovery cast a somber shadow over the atmosphere. If the tomb of King Xian is indeed related to the bronze door, then it may hold even more secrets about the "ultimate" truth.

"Keep watching," Xie Yuchen said.

They walked along the wall, looking at the reliefs. The next scene depicted King Xian leading his people in digging and building the tomb, as well as scenes of human sacrifice. The sacrificed individuals all had holes in their chests, and their hearts were removed and placed in jade eyes.

"Use human hearts to sacrifice for the jade eyes." Huo Xiuxiu's face turned pale.

"Cruel," Aning said.

The last relief depicts King Xian lying in a jade coffin, with jade eyes resting on his chest. Then the jade coffin is sunk into the ground, and an underground palace is built on top of it.

"So the jade eye was a burial item," said Fatty Wang.

"But the one we found in the coffin above was a replica," Xie Yuchen said.

"They might still be down there," Wu Xie said.

"Find it," said Zhang Qiling.

The group continued their exploration of the stone chamber. The chamber was vast; it took them almost half an hour to reach the other end. There was a door there, a stone door, closed. The door was carved with intricate patterns—swirling patterns composed of countless eyes.

"Here we go again," Wang Pangzi sighed.

Zhang Qiling walked to the door and pushed it, but the door didn't budge. "Zhang Qiling" groped around the door and found a groove that looked very much like a jade eye.

"I need the key," he said.

"Shall we try that spot?" Wu Xie asked.

Zhang Qiling took out the jade eye he had retrieved from the corpse of the King of Xian and placed it into the groove. It was the perfect size, but there was no reaction.

"Not this one," said Zhang Qiling.

"The real piece is missing," Xie Yuchen summarized.

"Where is it really?" Fatty Wang asked.

no one knows.

At that moment, the levitating live-streaming sphere flew in from the hole they had descended from, hovering in mid-air above the stone chamber. The camera panned across the stone chamber, the reliefs, the stone door, and the people standing in front of it.

The comments scrolled by:

Prophet: This stone chamber is huge!

A solution to those who disagree with the so-called experts: the same swirling eye pattern on the door.

Brother's fan club: Have the husbands found the key yet?

Zhang Qiling glanced at the live broadcast ball but ignored it. He put away his jade eyes, walked to the center of the stone chamber, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes.

Zhang Qiling walked over to his side, leaned against the stone pillar, and closed his eyes to rest.

"What's wrong, bro?" Wu Xie asked in a low voice.

"Let's rest," said Black Bear. "We've been walking for most of the day, we're tired."

"Then let's take a break too." Fatty Wang plopped down on the ground.

The group found a place to sit down, drank water, and ate dry rations. The stone chamber was very quiet, with only faint chewing and breathing sounds.

Wu Xie took out his notebook and began recording the details of the relief sculpture he had just seen. Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu were discussing the meaning of the patterns in hushed tones. A Ning was checking her equipment: bow, arrows, and dagger. Hei Xiazi was sharpening his knife, making very soft noises.

Fatty Wang leaned closer to Wu Xie: "Tianzhen, where do you think the real jade eye could be?"

"I don't know," Wu Xie shook his head, "but it's definitely in this tomb."

"Of course, otherwise why would we be here?"

"I mean, perhaps deeper down. King Xian wouldn't have placed the real jade eye in an easily accessible place."

"That makes sense." Fatty Wang nodded. "Then we need to keep going."

"Um."

The two chatted, and time slowly passed. There was no natural light in the stone chamber, so they couldn't tell if it was day or night outside. But based on their sense of touch, two or three hours had likely passed.

Zhang Qiling opened his eyes. He stood up, walked to the stone door, and looked at it for a while. Then he turned around and walked to the other side of the stone chamber.

Zhang Qiling also opened his eyes and followed.

"What's wrong, bro?" Wu Xie asked.

"It's windy," Zhang Qiling said.

Zhang Qiling pointed to the wall on one side of the stone chamber: "There."

The group walked over. The wall looked intact, but upon closer inspection, they could feel a faint breeze seeping through the cracks. Zhang Qiling pressed his hand against the wall, and several bricks dented.

"Click".

The wall slid open silently, revealing a narrow passage behind it. The passage was low, requiring one to bend over to enter. A breeze blew through, carrying an even stronger dampness.

"Let's go," Zhang Qiling said.

He was the first to bend down and go in. "Zhang Qiling" was the second. The others followed one after another.

The passage wasn't long, only a dozen meters or so. Ahead was a small stone chamber, much smaller than the one outside, but exquisitely crafted. The walls were made of jade, and the floor was paved with gold bricks—though covered in dust, their quality was still evident.

In the center of the stone chamber, there was a stone platform. On the platform sat a jade plate with a groove in the center, shaped exactly like a jade eye. Around the jade plate were engraved characters in ancient Dian script.

"What does this say?" Fatty Wang asked.

Xie Yuchen leaned closer to look, and after a long time, he slowly spoke: "'Observe the heavens with your eyes, communicate with the heavens with your heart, and you will see the true God and enjoy eternal life.'"

"The same old routine again," Black Bear sneered.

"Look here." Huo Xiuxiu pointed to the bottom of the jade plate. There was a small map engraved there, a simplified map of the tomb of the Prince of Xian, with several points marked. One of the points was specially marked, with the words "The True Eye is Hidden Here" written on it.

"The true eye is hidden here?" Wu Xie exclaimed excitedly.

"But there's nothing here." Fatty Wang looked around. The stone chamber was empty, with nothing but the jade plate.

Zhang Qiling walked to the jade plate and touched the groove. He took out the jade eye and placed it in. The size was just right, but there was no reaction.

"Wrong?" Zhang Qiling asked.

"We're missing something," Zhang Qiling said.

"What's missing?"

Zhang Qiling remained silent for a moment, then looked at the inscriptions around the jade plate. He tapped the four characters "通天" (connecting heaven and earth with one's heart) with his finger.

"Heart?" Wu Xie guessed.

"A living person's heart?" Fatty Wang's expression changed.

"Not necessarily," Xie Yuchen said. "It could be symbolic. Or... it might require some kind of ritual."

"What ceremony?"

no one knows.

Zhang Qiling withdrew his jade-like eyes and looked towards the other end of the stone chamber. There was a small door there, slightly ajar. He walked over and pushed the door open.

Outside the door was a cliff. No, it was a deeper space within the underground palace, a dark, bottomless abyss below. The shadows of buildings could be vaguely seen on the opposite side, but they were too far away to make out.

"We still have to go down," Zhang Qiling said.

Zhang Qiling nodded.

It was almost dawn, but the road ahead was still long.