Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

Behind the small door is a narrow passage, only wide enough for one person to pass through.

Zhang Qiling bent down and went in, with "Zhang Qiling" following closely behind. The narrow passage was short, and after walking a dozen steps, it suddenly opened up. Ahead was a stone chamber, not large, but very tall. The four walls were inlaid with luminous stones, arranged in the shape of stars. The floor was paved with bluestone slabs, polished so that they could reflect blurry human figures.

The most striking feature is the wall.

The walls were covered in murals, better preserved than any I'd seen before. The paint was vibrant, the lines fluid, as if they'd just been painted. But upon closer inspection, the paint had fine cracks, signs of age.

"Holy crap!" Fatty Wang exclaimed as he entered, his eyes wide. "This old man, Xian Wang, actually hired a top-notch artist?"

"It's a scene of a sacrificial ceremony." Xie Yuchen walked to a wall and looked at it carefully.

The mural depicts a grand ceremony. On the high platform, King Xian, dressed in a magnificent royal robe and wearing a tall crown, holds a jade eye in his hands—the very same jade eye they now possess. Below the platform, countless people kneel, some in official robes, some in armor, and many more dressed as commoners. All have their heads bowed and their hands raised high, as if in prayer.

The jade eyes were glowing, the light shooting straight into the sky. In the sky was a huge vortex, and at the center of the vortex, there was a figure that was vaguely visible, its face indistinct, but it gave off an immense sense of oppression.

"King Xian is communicating with the 'gods' through his jade eyes," Huo Xiuxiu said softly.

"Look here," Aning pointed to another wall.

This wall depicts excavation and construction. Countless laborers were digging in the mountains, building an underground palace. Some laborers died from exhaustion on the construction site, their bodies carelessly discarded. Overseers wielded leather whips, lashing those who were slow to move.

"A tomb built of blood and tears," Wu Xie sighed.

"All emperors throughout history have done this," said Black Bear.

The third wall depicts human sacrifice. The chosen sacrifice is tied to a pillar, its chest cut open, its heart removed and placed in a jade plate, offered to the jade eye. The jade eye absorbs the heart, its light shining even brighter.

"Cruel." Xie Yuchen frowned.

"But it works." Fatty Wang pointed to the mural. "Look, after his jade eyes brightened, Prince Xian became... younger?"

Indeed, in the subsequent murals, King Xian's appearance changes. He transforms from middle-aged to young, and finally to a boy. But his eyes grow increasingly somber, making him seem unreal.

"Can the Muchen Pearl make people young again?" Wu Xie asked.

"It might be a hallucination," Xie Yuchen said.

"Or, pay the price," Zhang Qiling suddenly said.

"What price?" Wu Xie asked, looking at him.

"Zhang Qiling" pointed to the last mural. It depicted King Xian lying in a jade coffin, his jade eyes resting on his chest. His eyes were closed, his expression serene, but there was a hole in his chest, the size of a fist, with charred edges.

"My heart has been replaced," Zhang Qiling said.

"To exchange a human heart for a jade eye?" said Zhang Qiling.

"What do you mean?" Fatty Wang didn't understand.

"The Jade Eye needs the offerings of human hearts," Xie Yuchen analyzed. "King Xian used his own heart to exchange for the power of the Jade Eye. That's why he regained his youth, but... he's no longer human."

"It has become the container for the Jade Eye," Black Bear concluded.

After viewing the murals, the stone chamber fell silent. Only the glowing stones emitted a faint hum.

"What about the Muchen Pearl?" Wu Xie asked. "Wasn't it supposed to break the curse? How did it become something harmful?"

"It might have been distorted," Xie Yuchen said. "The real Muchen Pearl should be an auspicious object. But King Xian used evil magic to refine it, and it turned into what it is now."

"Then what about this piece we have in our hands..." Wu Xie looked at the jade eye in Zhang Qiling's hand.

"It works," said Zhang Qiling.

"But we have to be careful," Zhang Qiling added.

Fatty Wang walked up to the mural, patted his belly, and sighed, "If I had those jade eyes, would I be able to look younger? At least I could lose some of this fat."

Wu Xie laughed at him, "Come on, Fatty, if you lose weight, will you still be yourself?"

"Why not?" Fatty Wang glared. "Even if I lost weight, I'd still be handsome and charming, captivating countless young women."

"Thousands of young girls?" Wu Xie scoffed. "Try charming a village girl first."

"Hey, Naïve, are you looking for a beating?"

"Come on, are you afraid of me?"

The two started arguing. Fatty Wang called Wu Xie a "weak scholar," while Wu Xie called Fatty Wang a "walking gas cylinder." The argument escalated, going from physical appearance to appetite, from courage to intelligence.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" stood to the side, listening. Neither of them spoke, but their expressions were subtle.

Zhang Qiling's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and the corner of his mouth turned down by a mere 0.3 millimeters. "Zhang Qiling" simply turned his head away, his eyes clearly saying: These two are so noisy.

Black Bear chuckled beside them, his eyes narrowed to slits behind his sunglasses. Xie Yuchen shook his head and smiled. Huo Xiuxiu pursed her lips. A Ning leaned against the wall, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.

A levitating live-streaming sphere flew in from outside the door and hovered in mid-air in the stone chamber. The camera panned across the murals, across Fatty Wang and Wu Xie bickering, and finally settled on the two Zhang Qilings who looked "disgusted".

The comments scrolled by:

The prophet: Fatty and Naïve are at it again.

These two guys' expressions are hilarious and will surely appease any so-called experts.

The male fan club: The husbands are cursing people with their faces, haha!

After arguing for a while, Fatty Wang got thirsty and took a sip from his water bottle. Wu Xie was also tired and leaned against the wall, panting.

"Let's get down to business," Xie Yuchen said. "This mural shows that the 'god' that King Xian communicated with through the jade eye may be the 'eye vortex' worshipped by the Jingjue Kingdom. Two civilizations, worshipping the same thing."

"That vortex," Huo Xiuxiu pointed to the sky in the mural, "what exactly is it?"

"It might be a passageway," Aning said.

"A passage?" Wu Xie asked.

"A passage connecting to another place," Aning said. "The Ghost Cave in Jingjue Kingdom and the deep pit in the Tomb of King Xian may both be entrances to this passage."

"Where does it lead?"

"I don't know," Ah Ning shook her head, "but it's definitely not a good place."

Zhang Qiling walked to the last mural and looked at the hole in the chest of the Prince of Xian. He reached out and pressed on the hole. The mural was flat, but when he pressed down, there was a slight "click" sound.

"There's a mechanism," said Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling exerted his strength, causing the mural to cave in. Then, the entire wall slowly slid away, revealing a narrow hidden compartment behind it. Inside the compartment was a stone platform, on which lay a scroll of bamboo slips, tied with a red rope.

"There's more." Fatty Wang's eyes lit up.

Zhang Qiling took out the bamboo slip, untied the red rope, and unfolded it. The bamboo slip was covered with ancient Dian script, the characters were neat, but some parts were blurred.

"Can you understand it?" Wu Xie asked.

Xie Yuchen leaned closer, examined it carefully, and slowly recited: "I, the King of Dian, received the mandate of Heaven, obtained the Divine Eye, which allows me to communicate with Heaven and Earth and attain eternal life. However, the Divine Eye devours the heart and requires human offerings. I fed it with my own heart and regained my youthful appearance, but gradually became less human. Later I realized that this was not the righteous way, but an evil art. The Divine Eye is divided into Yin and Yang. The Yang eye is hidden in the coffin, and the Yin eye is placed in the temple. If a later person obtains it, they should combine the two into one and place it on the chest of the true body of the King of Xian. This can break the curse and also... allow one to see the true god."

"A true god?" Fatty Wang asked.

"It probably refers to what's in that whirlpool," Xie Yuchen said.

"Where is the real King Xian?" Wu Xie asked.

"Perhaps in the deepest part," said Zhang Qiling.

"Did King Xian write these bamboo slips himself?" Hei Xiazi asked.

"Judging from his tone, yes," Xie Yuchen said. "He regretted it later, but it was too late."

"Now that we have the unified jade eye," Wu Xie said, "if we put it on his true form's chest, according to him, it can break the curse?"

"Maybe," Zhang Qiling said.

"It could also be a trap," Zhang Qiling said.

"Are we going or not?" Fatty Wang asked.

"Go." Zhang Qiling put away the bamboo slips.

"Let's go," said Zhang Qiling.

The group prepared to leave the stone chamber. Before leaving, Wu Xie glanced at the mural one last time. The King Xian lay in the jade coffin, his chest empty, his expression serene. He suddenly felt that the expression wasn't serene, but rather one of liberation.

"Brother," Wu Xie whispered to Zhang Qiling, "do you think the King of Xian...did he die or lived in the end?"

Zhang Qiling glanced at the mural, remained silent for a few seconds, and uttered two words: "Trapped."

"Trapped?"

"His soul is trapped by the jade eyes," said Zhang Qiling.

Wu Xie shuddered. Immortality is not a gift, but a prison.

Leaving the stone chamber, we returned to the small temple. The flame of the eternal lamp flickered weaker, now bright and now dim. In the swaying light, the face of the deity was blurred, appearing both to be smiling and weeping.

"Where is the official team?" Fatty Wang asked.

"They're behind us," Black Bear said. "There are many of them, so they're moving slowly, but they should be here soon."

"Should we wait for them?" Wu Xie asked.

"No, we won't wait," Zhang Qiling said.

"Let's go our separate ways," said Zhang Qiling.

Stepping out of the small temple, you'll find yourself at the dock for the underground river. The river is still swift, and the dock on the opposite side is deserted; the official team hasn't arrived yet.

"Which way?" Xie Yuchen asked.

Zhang Qiling looked downstream. It was dark downstream, but the sound of water, like a waterfall, could be heard.

"Next," he said.

Zhang Qiling nodded.

We walked downstream along the riverbank. The path was difficult, with jagged rocks and slippery moss. After about half an hour, the sound of the water grew louder, and the air was thick with moisture.

A light appeared ahead. It wasn't a flashlight beam, but a pale blue light shining up from below the waterfall.

It's a huge underground waterfall. The river plunges down from here into a deep pool with a deafening roar. Behind the waterfall, there's a cave entrance that's barely visible.

"Want to go in?" Fatty Wang pointed to the cave entrance behind the waterfall.

"Mm," Zhang Qiling said.

"How do I get in?"

"Charge!" Zhang Qiling said.

The water curtain was thick, but there were gaps in the middle. Zhang Qiling spotted the spot, took a running start, leaped, passed through the water curtain, and landed on the platform at the cave entrance. "Zhang Qiling," the second one, equally swift.

Hei Xiazi, Xie Yuchen, Huo Xiuxiu, and A Ning passed through one after another. Wu Xie and Wang Pangzi were the last to cross; they rushed through with their eyes closed, getting soaked, but arrived safely.

Beyond the cave entrance was an upward-facing passageway. The passageway was dry and windy. After walking about a hundred meters, a stone gate appeared ahead. Two characters were carved on the gate in ancient Dian script.

Xie Yuchen identified it as "Makotozuka".

"The true body of King Xian is here," said Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling pushed the door open. The door opened.

Inside, there was boundless darkness.

But deep in the darkness, there were faint lights, like stars.