Tomb raiding: Intercepting Yin Xinyue and building a family of immortals

Upon hearing the sound, Su Chen picked up a flashlight and shone it into the depths of the cave.

There was indeed a lot of mud and sand inside the cave, as well as pieces of wood lying across it.

Both sides of the cave walls are marked with water stains from the flood.

Having determined the direction, Jin Suanpan instructed Chen Changqing to leave a small squad of soldiers behind to wait at the crossroads.

The rest of the people continued to venture deeper into the side tunnel.

This side tunnel is much narrower, requiring you to crouch down to move forward.

After going in for over a hundred meters, the cave became much more spacious, allowing people to walk upright.

At this moment, the group discovered the second stone sculpture.

The same palace-dressed standing figure lies horizontally in the cave.

Then came the third, the fourth...

Along the way, within a distance of two or three hundred meters, there were about ten crooked, standing statues.

Upon reaching the deepest part of the cave, Su Chen discovered a large hole above it.

The dozen or so stone sculptures of palace maids in front were all washed down from above.

Jin Suanpan stepped forward and shone his flashlight into the cave entrance.

A moment later, he frowned and said, "It's over, we're too late. This hole was made by gunpowder, someone went in beforehand."

Upon hearing this, Huang Zhankui was the first to shout.

"Damn it, if I find out anyone's trespassing on my turf, I'll kill them!"

Su Chen remained noncommittal, simply using a flashlight to survey the surroundings.

Before long, he saw a mural on the stone wall at the end of the cave.

"Senior Jin, come and take a look, there are murals here!"

Upon hearing the sound, Jin Suanpan quickly came over.

Following the beam of his flashlight, he turned his gaze to the murals on the stone wall.

The paint on the mural has faded considerably after being washed away by the water.

However, the mural is in the form of relief, and you can feel the uneven texture on it.

Jin Suanpan observed it carefully for a while before confirming, "This should depict the life and deeds of Emperor Taizu of Liao, and there is also Khitan script below."

"Khitan script?"

Chen Changqing shook his head and whispered, "We don't understand such obscure characters!"

The Khitan script was long lost to history after the fall of the Liao Dynasty.

Even if someone does understand it, they are most likely experts in ancient writing systems.

Chen Changqing, a rough man, has an elegant name, but in reality, he is a complete brute.

However, Huang Zhankui burst into laughter upon hearing his words.

"Hey, what a coincidence! Old Huang is a true expert in ancient scripts. He has studied the scripts of many ancient kingdoms in the Western Regions, not to mention the Khitan script!"

Jin Suanpan, without any modesty, nodded and said, "The Khitan script actually evolved from Chinese characters and is not very complicated. The inscription on the back of this mural means that Emperor Taizu of Liao was wise and powerful during his lifetime. He once shot and killed a black snake with horns on its head. Moreover, he obtained a snake egg from the snake's belly."

"A black snake? Isn't it a black dragon?" Huang Zhankui was taken aback and asked subconsciously.

Jin Suanpan wasn't too surprised and explained with a smile.

"I don't know if dragons exist in this world, but I do know that the so-called Emperor Taizu of Liao shooting a dragon is mostly just his boasting."

Su Chen couldn't help but smile inwardly upon hearing this.

It makes sense, really. In order to maintain stable rule, ancient emperors would often fabricate or create stories with a touch of mythology to show their unique status.

For example, Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Historical records state that before his birth, his mother dreamt of a dragon, and after mating with it, Liu Bang was born.

There were also the Sui Dynasty emperors Yang Jian and Yang Guang, father and son.

Yang Jian said that he had five fleshy pillars on his forehead and dragon scales on his body.

Not to be outdone, Yang Guang, the son of Yang Guang, claimed that when he was born, the sky was filled with red light and all the cattle and sheep in the world were bellowing in celebration of his birth.

Of course, the most outrageous was Empress Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history.

After she ascended the throne, a story circulated that her mother saw a divine dragon one day, and then became pregnant and gave birth to Wu Zetian.

This is even more amazing than Liu Bang's mother; one look and you're pregnant.

After hearing Jin Suanpan's words, Huang Zhankui quickly asked again, "Old Jin, is there anything else?"

Jin Suanpan looked at the Khitan script below the mural and continued translating.

"After Emperor Taizu of Liao obtained the dragon egg, a small black snake hatched from it and named it Black Dragon. Black Dragon was miraculous, growing to a length of ten feet every three years. In less than twenty years, the imperial garden of the palace could no longer contain it, so it had to be released into the mountains to be raised."

"A few years later, Emperor Taizu of Liao died during an inspection tour. His tomb was buried in a mysterious place. That place was neither in the sky, nor on the ground, nor in the water."

Everyone present was stunned when they heard Jin Suanpan's last words.

Huang Zhankui frowned and said, "That's the same thing again. Are we not standing on the imperial tomb of Emperor Taizu of Liao?"

Jin Suanpan shook his head and said, "I don't know. We'll find out if we go up and see!"

The opening above everyone's heads was quite large, easily large enough for two or three people to pass through.

Yi Xiao was the first to move. She leaped up lightly, grabbed the edge of the hole, and with a little effort, flipped herself up.

Seeing this, Su Chen and the others followed and climbed into the tunnel.

Next came Jin Suanpan, Huang Zhankui, and others...

Before long, the entire group of over a hundred people had climbed over the wall and entered.

Once everyone had steadied themselves and shone their flashlights around, they were immediately stunned by the sight before them.

What appeared before them was actually a city.

It should be noted that Tiger Cave stretches for hundreds of miles, with most of it located underground or inside the mountains.

The city before us is so large that it would have taken almost a mountain to build it.

"Good heavens, Emperor Taizu of Liao was so extravagant! His imperial tomb is so exquisite!"

Chen Changqing stared at the city before him, his mouth agape in shock.

only……

Jin Suanpan saw the appearance of the city before him clearly, but frowned and said, "Something's not right!"

"What's wrong?"

Chen Changqing was taken aback for a moment, then quickly and humbly asked for advice.

After all, this Mr. Jin in front of them was a highly respected figure whom even Marshal Zhang treated with utmost respect.

Jin Suanpan shook his head without speaking, but instead took out a palm-sized, pure gold abacus from his sleeve.

In fact, this is Jin Suanpan's unique skill.

It was a treasure specially made for him by his master, Zhang Sanlianzi!

The tomb raiders are not only skilled at identifying and locating burial sites, but they can also serve as feng shui masters. They have a deep understanding of the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, and the energy of dragon veins and the earth.

The abacus in Jin Suanpan's hand was not used for accounting, but for calculating feng shui.

That's how he got his nickname.

Jin Suanpan's fingers flew across the golden beads.

After fiddling with the keys for a while, he shook his head, looked up at the crowd, and said, "You've made a mistake. This isn't the tomb of Emperor Taizu of Liao!"

"Ah! If it's not the tomb of Emperor Taizu of Liao, then whose tomb could it be?"

The group looked at each other, all puzzled.