Chapter 35: White Jade Bell (I)
The old man who was rescued from the bottom of the well said that decades ago, when he was in the Magic City, a man with eyes tattooed on his palm asked him about the tomb. This led him to return to Darong Village again.
"Is it him?" Ling Xiaozi rubbed his chin.
Chu Ziyi shook his head: "It's not important. What's important is... the person himself."
"He helped us solve the most important piece of the puzzle!"
He tried to take the bag, but Hong Si Niang handed it to him immediately. He took out a marker from the bag and began to draw on the wall with cold sweat on his forehead: "First, the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum took a total of 38 years to build. Many modern scholars have raised doubts. It took 700,000 civilians nearly 40 years to build it, and the things they cast were definitely not the current scale. Therefore, many scholars believed that the Lishan Tomb was not the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum. It was not until 15 years ago that the internal structure was detected by seismic waves that it was confirmed."
He paused, took a few breaths, and continued, "But...their guess was right."
"The Mausoleum of the Qin Emperor is a shadow tomb, and Mount Li is just its appearance. Its real things are hidden here."
"Second, there is no record in history of where the laborers who built the tomb went." He looked at the Great Wall that stretched hundreds of meters and said hoarsely, "This... is likely to be part of the 700,000 laborers who built the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang."
"People in the Qin Dynasty didn't live long. Forty years was enough for half of them to die. Countless people died of exhaustion. The ones on the underground Great Wall... should be the remaining craftsmen."
Jiang Xian nodded. According to records, not only the common people, but also his "childless" concubines, palace maids, and even his children were buried with him in large numbers.
"Third." Chu Ziyi paused, looked at everyone, and said solemnly: "Before the imperial mausoleum was closed, all the laborers were driven here. Maybe someone told them that there is a way to survive here. In fact, it is to measure the practicality of the long river of mercury."
The scene was completely silent, with only the occasional roar of arrow rain. Chu Ziyi took a deep breath and said tremblingly, "This is the first time the Mercury River has been activated."
He pointed at the corpse of Chongxu Sect and said, "Next, it's this person... The existence of this person is very important. Perhaps he and his team discovered something and had to come here, and finally died in the mercury river. This is the crucial second activation of the mechanism."
"And for us, it's the third time."
His eyes burned: "Three times... and we know that one cubic meter of mercury is equal to 13.6 tons. Ladies and gentlemen... how much mercury was poured out just now?"
Ling Xiaozi seemed to have grasped something, but when he thought about it carefully, it was just like a mirage. He frowned and replied, "At least more than a thousand tons, right? Two thousand tons is not impossible."
"It's more than 8,000 tons." Chu Ziyi said faintly: "13.6X200X3... a total of more than 8,000 tons. Okay, next question, how much storage space is needed to store more than 8,000 tons of mercury?"
Everyone was thoughtful. Chu Ziyi continued, "The last question is, how did people obtain mercury in ancient times?"
Jiang Xian was shocked by these questions. He looked at Chu Ziyi in surprise and said with emotion, "Old people are always wise."
"What do you mean?" Hong Si Niang and Eight-Armed Arhat didn't understand and asked in confusion.
Jiang Xianwei pondered and said, "It's very simple. The agencies we have encountered so far are all large agencies . They are different from small agencies. Small agencies can be avoided if you are well prepared. Large agencies... are usually killer weapons."
"There won't be too many large machines in a cemetery, because they would take up too much space to be placed. It would affect the Feng Shui of the tomb. More than 8,000 tons of mercury... How much space would be needed to store it?"
"Plus, in ancient times, there were not many people and tools to obtain mercury. Ling Xiaozi...you are familiar with this, so you can explain it."
Ling Xiaozi finally understood, and looked at Chu Ziyi in surprise, and continued: "Mercury...actually, it was not until the middle and late Han Dynasty that it began to be vigorously developed. At that time, due to the emergence of Taoism, alchemy almost reached its peak. Although there was some in the Qin Dynasty, it was definitely not much. More than 8,000 tons of mercury...it is very likely that the Qin Dynasty had exhausted all its national strength!"
Jiang Xian licked his lips, took a deep breath, and looked at everyone solemnly: "Everyone, I think... there is most likely no mercury mechanism in this cemetery!"
silence.
No one spoke, but their eyes were burning. No tomb could be entered rashly. First, the age of the tomb was inferred from various clues, and the scale and pattern of the tomb was determined from the age. This was why Jiang Xian stayed in Darong Village for several days.
Finally, we can speculate the possible mechanisms through scale and historical records. If we can speculate one, especially a large mechanism that is almost certain to kill, it will be of great help for the rest of the journey!
All eyes turned to Jiang Xian. He paused, closed his eyes and pondered for a few seconds, then suddenly opened his eyes and said solemnly, "No."
"I am sure there is no mercury mechanism inside!"
"Why?" Chu Ziyi was surprised. He only speculated that there might not be any mercury based on the three times of mercury activation and the weight of mercury, and then combined with the mercury production in the Qin Dynasty. But he did not dare to assert that there would not be any mercury. Where did Jiang Xian get such confidence?
"Because of the last trip to Wowokeng!" Jiang Xian said firmly: "Don't forget, there are unknown primates in here. If there are still mercury devices, the radiation will make it impossible for them to survive!"
Everyone nodded in understanding.
"Thank you." Jiang Xian smiled and bowed to Chu Ziyi, then looked at the body on the ground, took the other's necklace and put it in his trouser pocket, and bowed: "Senior, thank you too. I will personally hand over your relics to Chongxu Sect."
Then he raised his eyes, as if he could see the core of the underground palace not far away through the wall of the city tower.
"There will always be a certain amount of arrow rain stored..." He licked his lips and raised the corners of his mouth: "As soon as it stops, we will set off immediately!"
……………………………………
Time always becomes anxious while waiting. After a full hour, the rain of arrows finally calmed down. After waiting for another fifteen minutes, Jiang Xian nodded to everyone and then rushed to the front first.
In front of him, there was a dense rain of arrows on the ground, like a dark carpet. And further ahead, there was an endless underground palace just like Ironforge in the game!
Under the ground, thousands of lights are lit and the Great Wall is winding. The flickering firelight drags ghostly shadows. In the dim colors, this castle that has never been explored for thousands of years looks magnificent and mysterious. The palace wall that divides the entire underground cave in two is like the sky made of Qin bricks, and even the Great Wall seems to have become the tongue of a giant beast. The underground palace is the giant beast with thousands of eyes that has opened its eyes.
People running along the Great Wall seem to be climbing a ladder to heaven. The contrast between the extremely large and the extremely small strongly shakes everyone's soul. They are like lonely worshippers, trying to find the secrets hidden in the pages of history in this long-ago relic.
Anticipation, nervousness, pride... many emotions converged in their hearts, and no one stopped. Although more than a dozen people had paid the price of their lives to get here, Chu Ziyi also stayed in the previous tower. But... after paying such a huge price, how can we justify everyone's efforts if we don't open this chapter?
No one wants to retreat.
Two hundred meters... one hundred meters... As they got closer, a huge stone door appeared in everyone's eyes. It was probably about fifty meters high and thirty meters wide. There was a clear black bird engraved on it, but because of the long time, the color had become blurred.
And there was a big hole in the lower center of the gate!
Tap tap! After dozens of seconds, everyone rushed to the gate. They all stopped. Jiang Xian was the first to walk to the gate, looking at the two-meter-wide cave, and said in deep thought: "The stone gate is one foot thick... It was blown out by the explosives."
"Is it the senior from Chongxu Sect?" Ling Xiaozi raised his eyebrows.
"It should be him." Jiang Xian smiled: "But it saves us a lot of effort."
After observing for a moment, he turned around and looked at everyone solemnly, "Everyone, go in here. It's the core of the underground palace. Our first target is the main tomb chamber - all the valuable things are there."
If there is any clue to the Black Death Butterfly, it may be hidden in the most precious burial objects!
He stroked the stone door gently and said quietly, "Although there shouldn't be any mercury traps, there are definitely murderous intentions inside. Everyone, be careful."
His eyes swept across everyone's faces, and he solemnly clasped his hands together and said, "I initiated this exploration. If anything goes wrong with you, I will take responsibility for what happens next. If I die in there..."
He paused, then spoke in a deep voice: "Everyone better leave immediately, either report to the Archaeological Bureau or issue a martial arts order. Do not stay any longer."
Everyone nodded solemnly.
Jiang Xian took a deep breath and took out the broken black umbrella. When he was resting in the tower, the arrows on the umbrella had been pulled out. Now only the hideous umbrella ribs were left.
He grabbed both sides of the umbrella ribs and pulled hard. With a clang, a sword as thin as autumn water was slowly pulled out.
The sword is simple in style, with two rows of Qin Xiaozhuan characters carved on it. The sword body is clear, like sunlight shining on clear water, clearly reflecting Jiang Xian's young face.
"Dragon Slayer." Ling Xiaozi sighed, "I saw your master use it once when I was a child and never saw it again. It's a token of the mountains and seas... I thought you sold it."
The solemn atmosphere was instantly dispersed by Ling Xiaozi's inappropriate words. Jiang Xian sneered, "You're almost begging for food. Didn't you sell the 'Living Lotus' in your whisk?"
Ling Xiaozi sighed: "As a human being... you always have to have a dream..."
"Stop nagging." Jiang Xian threw the ribs at the other party: "I'll be in front, you and Eighth Sister... Sister Luo will be in the middle, and Fourth Lady will be the last."
"Hollywood~~"
The team was quickly formed. Jiang Xian covered his chest, took several deep breaths, and walked inside first.
One foot apart, two completely different worlds.
Jiang Xian walked in first. The underground palace was brightly lit, as if Yan Luo had opened his eyes. However, when he saw the scene in front of him clearly, he couldn't help but gasp.
Behind the gate, everyone walked in quickly. But when they saw everything clearly, they opened their mouths wide at the same time and looked around in disbelief.
"This is..." Hong Si Niang was extremely alert, and she felt her hair stand on end: "What... did they encounter?"
Corpse.
There are corpses all over the ground!
The corpse of a modern man.
No... to be exact, the ground was full of bones.
This was clearly an exploration team. Their bodies were almost completely decayed. But the well-made camouflage uniforms had not yet completely decayed. In addition, guns were scattered all over the ground. The bodies fell in all directions in an extremely unscientific posture. And the hall where they were was full of traces of violent destruction.
The floor was turned upside down, the pillars were smashed to pieces, and it was clear that many of the bodies had incomplete bones. Just like...
It was as if... there was a monster, or a group of monsters, tearing them to pieces!
"The seniors of Chongxu Sect... were forced out." This thought instantly rushed into Jiang Xian's mind, making his spine go cold. He held the sword tightly and held it across the front. He thought quickly in his mind: "Is there something here..."
"Kill the entire exploration team!"
"They didn't chase them out. First, they might not be able to open the stone door. Second, ..."
He gritted his teeth and said, "There are even more terrifying monsters below the Great Wall!"
