Imperial Treasure

Chapter 576 - 372: Room within a Room

Sui Yi and his team could only assume it was a coffin.

A coffin suspended by a strange rope, whose material was unknown...

It hung approximately nine or ten meters above the ground.

And about nine or ten meters below the tomb’s ceiling.

Mount Mover estimated the distances with his fingers and eyes, muttering, "Nine meters!!?"

"It is nine meters..." Sui Yi narrowed his eyes, "Nine for each direction... The owner of this tomb must have been an ambitious vassal king or a Warring States emperor!"

Such a person, however, left no trace of their name, which was unbelievable during the Warring States Period when one’s family name and personal name were held in high esteem.

Unless there was some special secret.

But to uncover all this, they would have to bring down that coffin first.

Despite its size, this chamber had no other burial objects, its bare emptiness lending an eerie feel.

Especially above, where a giant wall loomed with that "rope" dangling from its center point.

And that thing that looked like a delicate rope could actually hold the substantial weight of the coffin steady in mid-air.

It seemed they had only one way to retrieve the coffin—snap the rope and let it crash down from nine meters high!

But this tomb was inherently strange, and full of incessantly emerging perilous traps; could one really expect the ultimate BOSS’s coffin to smash down from nine meters without any unforeseen event, quietly allowing them to open it and take the treasures?

That was simply too naive!

So the foreigner couldn’t take a brute force approach; instead, he sought to learn the method for retrieving the coffin from others.

For instance, could there be some sort of mechanism involved?

The foreigner watched Sui Yi and the other two groups with a beaming smile.

Counting them, that made four groups present here.

What was strange, though, was that as soon as the foreigner asked, Wei Feng and the others were openly and covertly glancing towards Sui Yi...

The cunning foreigner reflexively looked towards Sui Yi as well...

"Gu Demao you~ oh~ I’m so fortunate to meet such a beautiful girl in a place like this~~~ Miss, I need your help"

The foreigner seemed eager to plant a kiss, and though there might be differences in aesthetic preferences between China and the West, it was not that exaggerated; to Westerners, someone like Sui Yi utterly embodied the mysterious Eastern beauty they imagined.

Of course, the foreigner had a favor to ask, so in his eyes Sui Yi was his Muse, his Athena...

Sui Yi glanced at the man, fingers hooked on Demon Que, and said indifferently, "I’m looking for someone."

Uh...

That excuse was really... Are you joking?

Coming to an ancient tomb to find someone?

Why not say you’re here for rice dumplings?

Wei Feng’s group, who had not been particularly focused on Gong Jiu recently, were surprised by the statement, but Wei Feng, who knew Sui Yi better, quickly thought it through, and glancing at the Palace Family group behind, guessed pretty accurately.

It seemed that the eccentric neurotic woman had fallen into this ancient tomb.

But while he believed it, others didn’t.

The foreigner stroked his little beard, his eyes squinting with a smile, while Rui Ziling and the others were looking puzzled. Apparently two of them knew Sui Yi was not to be underestimated, while those born into Sect pride just thought she had an unusual appearance and demeanor, nothing more.

Still, that didn’t concern Sui Yi, who simply looked up at the coffin and knit her brows slightly—her Magnetic Sensation couldn’t penetrate it.

There was a very strange power within that coffin.

And along that rope...

It was not a rope.

Sui Yi retracted her Magnetic Sensation, telling Mount Mover and the others, "Go ahead with your own activities."

Actually, Mount Mover and his people were more interested in the treasure; helping others was somewhat reluctant, but since they had already agreed to it, and there were rules to follow, they did not have the heart to refuse.

And they regretted it deeply.

That treasure would definitely...

Yet to their surprise, Sui Yi took the initiative to let them go about their business. Wasn’t that a bit odd?

"Miss Sui, we didn’t mean that, don’t overthink it. Since we promised, we will certainly honor our commitment..." Third Lady Yin was the first to state her stance, then Mount Mover stroked his beard, "Whatever Third Lady thinks, I concur..."

The others quickly expressed their loyalty.

Then Sui Yi looked at them and said one thing.

"Too weak, you’d be of no help."

Ouch, my keys! That’s so harsh!

Not one to care about being looked down upon, Sui Yi ignored them and turned to walk towards a different area...

It was another entrance to a passage.

On the right side of the Main Tomb Chamber.

Wow, she’s really not interested in the tomb’s treasure, huh!

Yhan Qingwu did not follow, and Third Lady Yin looked at her, "Miss Yhan, you..."

The former smiled slightly, "I’m also very weak."

Third Lady Yin: "..."

Did you guys agree to come here and wound us as a group?

Your coordination is damn impeccable.

Ghost Teeth’s group, who had hoped Sui Yi, an expert in ancient tombs, would solve some of their mysteries, could only quietly feel disgruntled as they faced off with the other two groups.

They knew the Sect group by sight, but where on earth did that thieving gang of foreigners come from?

Liang Qing said, "Boss, I heard you have connections spanning the globe, reaching into the Americas and Africa; maybe you could enlighten us about this gang of foreigners."

Wei Feng replied, "They have Inner Strength; they can hear us, so why ask so openly?"

Liang Qing responded, "You’re not interested in them, so how could a look convey understanding? If we don’t talk, should I sing?"

Wei Feng: "..."

What is this woman mocking?

This subordinate is too cunning; it’s actually quite frustrating, but Nalan is considerate towards beauties and whispers softly, "Old Wei, are they..."

The two exchanged a glance, full of meaning and very deep.

A bad premonition.

Then Liang Qing and the other subordinates silently ridiculed, "Can the ghosts even understand this crap?"

But... as Liang Qing’s gaze swept around, lo and behold, where had that woman Anayi and Yang Rui gone off to?

It seemed that people were missing from the opposite side as well.

Sui Yi entered the corridor, the first time she had ventured into an ancient tomb on her own. This corridor seemed to run adjacent to the one she had entered before, as if there were many passages leading here. The one they had come through should be the first one on the right, neighboring the tomb’s canal, which was the escape route.

Now the one in front of her was the first on the left.

Some might wonder why she chose this particular corridor, as if certain that the person she was looking for was within...

Because...

About ten minutes after Sui Yi entered this corridor, strange noises suddenly emerged. A dark figure squatting at the end began to hop lightly. Sui Yi’s steps were steady, yet silent. A moment later, she approached the figure, and the beam of her flashlight fell on him.

Hou appeared in front of Sui Yi just like that.

How many people noticed that Hou, who led them in at the beginning, had disappeared without a trace from the start?

How many noticed that Sui Yi initially pretended not to understand the ancient language, but later demonstrated high proficiency?

She had been on guard from the beginning, and it was only when alone that she truly began searching for Gong Jiu and the others.

Hou seemed very happy to see Sui Yi, making some odd noises while waving its arms slightly...

Sui Yi listened and after a while said, "Are you saying that they are locked in a tomb chamber here, and you’ve seen the person who locked them up?"

Aside from Yhan Qingwu, probably no one in their group knew that Sui Yi had been aware from the start that Gong Jiu and the others weren’t dead.

——Hou recognized Gong Jiu and the others from the forest, where it had seen them before. Later, following Corpse Hover in and out of the ancient tomb, it also encountered Gong Jiu’s group...

It was a humanoid existence, not low in intelligence, at least on par with that of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old human youth. Remembering in secret, it later encountered Sui Yi...

It didn’t know why Sui Yi could understand its language, but that gave it a favorable impression, and her aura... was enough to make it submit.

So, outside the ancient tomb, when Sui Yi asked it some questions, Hou didn’t hide anything...

It just found it strange why she didn’t tell the others?

Until it just now saw that person...

Hou nodded, then lowered its head to draw on the ground with its hand. It seemed to be drawing, using some sand and dirt to sketch a rough outline.

Several bamboo poles, with the foremost one encircled. It pointed to that first person...

Sui Yi showed no surprise, nor did she ponder deeply, merely asking lightly, "Is it that one...?"

Hou nodded fiercely and made a few low calls.

Sui Yi’s eyebrows shot up.

"Not long ago, he was just in and out of that tomb chamber... It seems he is ready."

"Let’s go..."

The tomb chamber was actually quite inconspicuous, very ordinary—in fact, too ordinary, which was why it didn’t attract much attention.

And the door to this chamber was a massive stone.

Sui Yi did not need Hou to mimic the way it had seen the mechanism being operated to find the mechanism herself, click.

The Gate opened.

Sui Yi didn’t rush in. At the entrance, she scanned the room. Inside... it was empty.

Hou scratched its head and turned to look at Sui Yi.

"No rush, there’s a secret chamber inside..."

Sui Yi walked in.

After observing the walls, after a moment, she found a hidden compartment.

Hou had likely only seen the person enter this tomb chamber from outside and didn’t know about the inside.

Standing in front of the hidden compartment, Sui Yi opened it, and inside were Gong Jiu and the others, imprisoned.

Why that person had detained Gong Jiu and the others, Sui Yi had her suspicions, although there were still some uncertainties.

It seemed she would know soon enough.

All she had to do was open this door...

Click.

The hidden compartment was pressed in...

The wall slowly opened...

Sui Yi watched the gap in the door grow wider until she saw...

A face.

Pale and a bit decayed, with bulging eyeballs staring straight at her.

A very frightening person.

Or rather, not a person.

A rice dumpling.

The Green-Haired Rice Dumplings.

Swoosh!

The Green-Haired Rice Dumplings lunged at her in an instant...

Meanwhile, Hou watched as it knocked Sui Yi down... and with a vicious bite aimed at her neck!

Simultaneously, at the entrance of the chamber, which was the outer tomb chamber’s entrance, a person stood there, a strange smile on their face.

Calm and graceful.

"Welcome to this place, Sui Yi... I’ve been waiting for you for a long time" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile phone users please read at m.qidian.com.)