Feasibility of Mermaids Infiltrating Qilin

When they reached the foot of the mountain they were about to enter, the Zhang family members who had stayed behind were already waiting there. Zhang Fukong and the others left the horses, carriages and other items they had brought at the foot of the mountain and left people to guard them.

Zhang Fukong then led the rest of the Zhang family, carrying their tools, into the mountains.

They encountered no accidents on the way, and three days later they successfully arrived at the location of the Chu Tomb.

The entrance to the tomb is located at the foot of a low, rocky hill.

Su Xingze looked up at the temple ruins at the foot of the mountain. This temple, which had stood for countless years, had been reduced to ruins after years of wind and rain.

Zhang Fukong led the way, bypassing the ruins, and came to the open space between the temple and the foot of the mountain. There he pushed aside the lush vines that were spreading on the ground, revealing a tomb robber's hole.

The group silently entered the hole, which had taken an unknown amount of effort to dig. After walking for about ten minutes, they finally entered a slightly larger tomb chamber.

While the Zhang family was organizing their tools in the tomb, Su Xingze turned around and looked at the long passage behind him.

It's unclear how they determined that this was the tomb chamber. The tomb robber's hole was long and deep, sloping downwards, yet it connected directly to one of the tomb chambers in the underground ancient tomb.

“We’ve explored the area ahead several times and there’s nothing left. Let’s go straight to the main burial chamber.”

The group walked silently through the tomb passage. As Zhang Fukong had said, they had already explored this tomb. Su Xingze followed them skillfully, avoiding the traps, and successfully arrived at a slightly spacious tomb chamber.

Zhang Fukong stopped in his tracks, his gaze passing over the empty tomb chamber and pointing to the stone door in front of him, which was carved with strange patterns.

"That is the main burial chamber. What I need you to do is open the stone door mechanism, enter the main burial chamber, and destroy the trap array set up by Chu Wu."

"Based on our years of studying ancient books and the murals and bamboo slips left in the tomb, there should be an illusion array set up by a Chu shaman here. I speculate that the core of the illusion array is a mirage pearl, which is the purpose of our trip."

"Once you retrieve that mirage pearl, your mission will be accomplished. You can then freely take a few artifacts from the main tomb chamber, and you won't need to worry about your adventures."

"Whether you want to go back to the Zhang family or go somewhere else afterward, we won't ask you."

Mirage pearl?

Su Xingze raised an eyebrow in surprise, not expecting that there would be a treasure like the Mirage Pearl in this tomb.

The Shen is a mysterious creature recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, called Shenlong, which is said to be a close relative of the dragon.

The mirage dragon can exhale mirage gas, creating all sorts of strange phenomena. In reality, the mirage dragon is a mythical beast that is proficient in illusion.

His mirage pearl also has the power to keep people awake in illusions, dispel illusions, and create illusions.

Knowing that it contains a mirage pearl makes things much easier.

Upon entering, Su Xingze smelled a strong, putrid stench, as if many people had died and rotted here. However, the empty tomb chamber before him was completely bare, with nothing inside.

His green eyes flickered, and Su Xingze looked up again. The empty tomb chamber now looked different to him.

The tomb chamber, which was about 20 square meters in size, was no longer as simple and old as before. The walls were covered with dried and smelly bloodstains, as well as strange vines that were red to black. Among the intertwined vines, you could see strange insects the size of fists that looked like ticks crawling around.

The tomb floor was littered with corpses in varying degrees of decay, with viscous green liquid and black blood flowing everywhere. Long, tapeworm-like worms slithered among the corpses, and the roots of vines on the walls grew out from among the displayed bodies. Coconut-sized corpse beetles were everywhere.

Su Xingze turned his head away, his face pale, not wanting to look at it a second time.

It's really disgusting!

The thought of crossing those obstacles to reach the stone gate made Su Xingze feel resistant, and he began to have second thoughts.

He remained motionless for a long time, and Zhang Fukong looked at him in confusion: "What's wrong?"

Su Xingze's face was full of refusal: "Do you even know what's there?"

Zhang Fukong has good mental resistance and is very resistant to illusions. He can vaguely see what the original appearance of the tomb is like.

Upon hearing his question, Zhang Fukong immediately looked away, somewhat embarrassed.

"The illusion array here is too strong. Even if I get any closer, I will fall into it. We have no way to collect the bodies of those who die here."

They discovered the tomb more than ten years ago. In order to enter the main burial chamber, they organized people to explore the tomb several times, and each time many people perished here.

The Zhang family, the tomb raiders they brought from outside, and the bandits they captured to be used as disposable tools—people died here and their bodies could not be recovered. Over time, this place became a pile of corpses.

He knew about Su Xingze's obsession with cleanliness. In fact, the Zhang family all had a lineage of obsession with cleanliness. However, the Zhang family had encountered many disgusting situations when going into tombs, so it was difficult for them to keep things clean in the tombs. Their obsession with cleanliness was almost imperceptible to others.

Zhang Fukong offered a pale, comforting remark: "It's just a little nauseous. It's only a short distance away. Just bear with it and it will pass."

Behind him, Zhang Xiafei teased and urged, "It's dirty, but that's how it is in the tomb. You'll get used to it sooner or later. Hurry up, Xiao Zhang, the sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back."

Because Su Xingze refused to go over, some people in the crowd began to question him.

"This kid, isn't he scared?"

Someone scoffed, "How could such a pampered kid possibly solve the illusion array that so many of us couldn't? I think Boss Fukong has been tricked."

Those who questioned him were the same people who had stayed at the foot of the mountain. Regardless of whether they were genuinely contemptuous or feigning disdain, Su Xingze refused to walk past the place filled with rotting corpses.

He had already proven his ability to see through the illusions in the tomb, and with the hope of obtaining the Mirage Pearl within reach, how could Zhang Fukong possibly let this opportunity slip by?

"Zhang Xingze, don't forget our deal."

Su Xingze's expression darkened at the mention of this deal.

His original plan was to take the wild beast and leave the Zhang family with the little Qilin, but he was suddenly threatened by Zhang Fukong, who came to his door, with the fact that he had used illusion magic to murder Zhang Ruifeng.

It's one thing to blackmail him, but he dared to do this in the Zhang family's home. Isn't he afraid of being unable to get away once the Zhang family finds out?

But Zhang Fukong, that old fox, actually saw through their desire to leave the Zhang family and used that as a bargaining chip.

The Zhang family has stood on this land for a thousand years, with surveillance agents in various places, and they also hold more than one method to control their clansmen.

Otherwise, the Zhang family wouldn't have been able to hold on for so long despite the impact of new ideas.

Influenced by new ideas, the Zhang family members gradually stopped regarding the clan rules as sacred.

There were many people who had their own ideas and were unwilling to stay in the corrupt Zhang family, but those who wanted to leave the Zhang family, no matter how restless they were, had to suppress their thoughts and obediently stay in the family.

All of this is because the Zhang family has the means to ascertain the whereabouts and life or death of its members. Once any abnormality is discovered in the whereabouts of a member, the family will conduct an investigation.

Whether they were trapped, dead, or betrayed the Zhang family, none of these could be concealed by the Zhang family's mysterious methods.

Why is it that the Zhang family doesn't outwardly comply with the controversial practice of endogamy?

Given the longevity of the Zhang family, there is no mandatory requirement for every member to return to the clan every year.

It's not difficult to secretly set up a home outside the Zhang family's residence under the guise of going out for activities, but few people would violate the clan rules, and that's why.

The Zhang family has a way of tracking down the whereabouts of its members, and those who tried to escape from the Zhang family were eventually punished by the clan.

In other words, even if he leaves with the little Qilin, it won't matter. As long as the Zhang family's method of monitoring their clansmen still exists, the little Qilin will eventually be found and taken back by the Zhang family.

So Su Xingze secretly made a deal with Zhang Fukong: he and Zhang Fukong would go down into the tomb to retrieve what he wanted, and in return, Zhang Fukong would let them leave the Zhang family.

He wanted to leave the Zhang family openly and honestly with the little Qilin, so he agreed to the deal.