Tomb raiding: Trying to become a little painter

In the center of the dark tomb, a charred, mummified skeleton lay in the center, with thick black ash scattered on the ground around it.

"All done. Let's keep looking for the mechanisms. This tomb is empty; there's obviously nothing good in it!"

Seeing the mummified corpse lose its last breath, Qin Henian frowned. The smell of burning flesh made him not want to stay there any longer, so he hurriedly urged the others to hurry up.

Because of the strong smell in the tomb, everyone sped up their search for mechanisms, and this speed paid off handsomely.

Click!

"Oh my god, this stone slab can move!"

Wang Pangzi and Wu Xie were sneaking around the tomb, discussing where the tomb owner would have put valuables and where the meteorite jade they were looking for for Qin Henian might be. But as they were talking, Wang Pangzi absentmindedly touched Wu Xie's shoulder, intending to put his arm around him so they could discuss things together. However, as soon as his hand touched Wu Xie, Wu Xie suddenly slipped as if he had twisted his ankle and was about to fall towards him.

Fortunately, they were close by, and Fatty Wang caught the person easily. Then he heard what Wu Xie said, and his eyebrows twitched.

"Tsk tsk tsk... Looks like your evil tricks have kicked in again, Tianzhen!"

Knowing that the stone slab was moving, Fatty Wang and Wu Xie looked in the same direction at the same time.

Qin Henian and his group overheard the conversation between the two. These were all talented individuals who had managed to get here, and those who served as close-combatants under Qin Henian were all quite skilled. In other martial arts worlds, they would all be considered minor experts in one-on-one combat. Therefore, after everyone noticed the situation with Wu Xie and his companion…

"Zalarova, go check the mechanism!"

Zara Rova is Zara Rossi's older brother. On the surface, both of them are Qin Henian's personal secretaries. However, Rova is more capable than Rossi, which is why Qin Henian demoted him to lead a team.

This time, the purpose of summoning the person was to test him. After all, the Zhala person who could follow him was equivalent to his representative, and could also be said to be the next semi-de facto ruler in charge of the remaining forces of the Hundred Schools of Thought. After he left, the person would listen to Zhao Zheng's will while Zhao Zheng was still alive.

In other words, over the past thousand years, he has carried forward the manpower that Zhao Zheng had given him, and his descendants have made great use of it, just waiting for people to come back to life so they can "reap the rewards".

"Okay, Your Highness!"

Zhala Rova wore a bronze tusk boar mask, representing the "Zhu" surname. The fact that the plan was brought forward meant that these people who had been hiding in the city could finally see the light of day.

Zalarova was also very happy. After training in the military region for so long, he finally had the ability to use his skills. He didn't like to waste his brain on politics at other times.

Zhala Luo walked to the spot where Wu Xie had noticed something amiss, squatted down, and first took out a small golden hammer and a pry bar from his pocket. He then inserted them into the crack in the stone and began to strike... clang, clang, clang...

With the sound of knocking, a crack appeared in the stone floor in no time. After the pry bar was used to pry it open, others came forward to help. With great strength, they quickly pried up a stone slab about 1.3 to 1.4 meters long, revealing a stone staircase leading downwards.

The stone steps were not long, and soon the group arrived at the next level. When the flashlight shone on them, they saw an area about ten meters in size, with the stone walls on all four sides full of pits. Various porcelain-carved bottles were placed on them, with dense characters engraved on them, covering all four walls.

On the left and right sides of the four stone walls, there were stacks of jade slips and stone musical instruments such as pipa, qin, and xiao. In front and behind were large drums, tanggu, large and small yueqin, octagonal zithers, hulei, guqin, zheng, and a series of other small instruments with large bodies.

The tomb chamber contained a wide variety of exquisite and beautiful musical instruments made of different materials, all covered in dust...

"So many musical instruments! They're so beautiful!"

Wu Xie, standing nearby, was practically staring wide-eyed. Qin Henian tilted his head, glanced at the other man, and moved closer.

"Beautiful, isn't it! Made of human skin!"

Qin Henian's slow voice rang out, startling Wu Xie, who shrank back towards Xie Yuchen, seeking a sense of security.

Previously, I thought these musical instruments were beautiful, and their ancestors had excellent taste. But after hearing Qin Henian's words, I was utterly horrified, and my scalp tingled with fear...

"Don't touch any of the musical instruments in this tomb. If you take them out, you'll likely end up in jail. You'd be better off looking for the next mechanism and seeing if there are any more valuable items in other tombs!"

After descending the stone steps and entering the tomb chamber, Qin Henian felt a surge of anger stirred within him by the resentment emanating from the place. He wouldn't have flinched amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, but what he saw now only made him sigh inwardly, "Feudal superstition is no good!"

"Sigh! We can't really say anything about how the ancients did things. Don't be angry, my dear Henian. We can't let our purpose in coming here be forgotten."

"We're here to find the meteorite this time, so you'd better look carefully to find where it is, my dear."

Hei Xiazi is quite adept at sensing people's emotions. After noticing that the person next to him was uncomfortable but still had to force himself to maintain his strong heart, he walked over to the person, winked at Zhang Qilin opposite him, and changed the subject.

Qin Henian could tell that the transition was abrupt, but he still nodded in agreement.

Indeed! Each race has a different method of elimination.

There was no coffin in this tomb chamber; apart from what they saw, there was nothing else. Finding the mechanism would definitely require many people to search separately.

With a swift step, Qin Henian walked towards a dulcimer under a stone wall. Looking at the bamboo instruments placed on both sides, his hands, which hadn't played for a long time, suddenly grasped them as if enlightened. He raised his hands, about to try playing the percussion, when suddenly Qin Henian's eyes noticed something special about the dulcimer.

The various inscriptions merged together, arranged in a dense and orderly fashion. Qin Henian, having lived in this world for so long, naturally recognized them. They contained densely packed, lost musical scores. Anyone knowledgeable in music would surely hug this dulcimer, wiping away tears and howling with delight.

“These must be musical scores carved by ancient people! The winding and twisting of these characters clearly indicates that they are from the Song Dynasty.”

"The most popular things during the Song Dynasty were poetry, lyrics, and songs, especially lyrics. There were many talented people at that time. As for music composition, the Yuan Dynasty was the most prosperous. The tomb owner was a prince who liked to enjoy life. It is not surprising that he collected these musical scores and engraved them on musical instruments to take to his tomb."

Xie Yuchen suddenly appeared from nowhere behind Qin Henian, along with Wu Xie and the onlooker Wang Pangzi. The three of them arrived behind Qin Henian and their gazes fell on Yangqin.

Wu Xie, who has a certain ability to translate documents, can deliver a definitive analysis in one go.