Chapter 62: Within the Underground Palace

Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Leng Ying.

Leng Ying seemed to relish the attention and deliberately kept them in suspense, asking, "Can you guess what I've figured out?"

Chen Shangke was practically dying of anxiety, rattling the five-emperor coins in his pocket as he urged, "My dear little sister, just spit it out, what are you playing at?"

Cheng Xiangru was equally frantic, his heart itching with curiosity: "What did you find out?"

Leng Ying walked back to the front of the tomb-guardian beast, once again taking out the soul-awakening incense and lighting it. This time, however, she held the incense against her chest, tilted her head, and gazed into the beast's eyes. "Earlier, when I noticed that the beast's eyeballs had a hypnotic effect, I thought it was very strange. Logically speaking, going to such great lengths to set up something like this shouldn't be very practical. Which grave robber, upon coming here, would have nothing better to do than stare into a tomb-guardian beast's eyes?"

With that, she turned around, faced a certain direction, and beckoned to Cheng Xiangru.

Cheng Xiangru walked over and, at Leng Ying's signal, took the soul-awakening incense. "What is it?"

Leng Ying pointed at the other tomb-guardian beast and said, "I've been thinking about it, and I came up with a possibility. Could it be that beneath the intersection point of the directions the two beasts' eyes are looking, there is a hidden passage leading into the underground palace?"

Hearing this, Cheng Xiangru's eyes lit up. He hurried over to the other tomb-guardian beast, sniffing the soul-awakening incense to keep his mind free from hypnosis while his heart pounded wildly as he looked into the beast's eyes.

The beast's eyeballs were perfectly round, painted with pitch-black irises in a spiral pattern, edged with tiny graphic symbols. To call it a witchcraft formation was no exaggeration. That pair of eyes was intensely focused, staring diagonally toward a specific direction.

Cheng Xiangru also turned around and faced the direction the beast was staring at.

Leng Ying raised three fingers and said, "Listen to my command, we'll walk together. Three! Two! One! Go!"

As her voice trailed off, Leng Ying and Cheng Xiangru stepped forward in perfect unison, moving at a similar pace. After about nine steps, they stopped side by side, right upon a complete stone slab.

Leng Ying tapped the stone slab with her red-tasseled spear. Judging by the sound, she could tell that the space beneath the slab was hollow!

This discovery boosted everyone's morale.

The others quickly gathered around, and under Boss Zhou's direction, they took out various tools to pry and smash the stone slab.

Through their concerted efforts, the stone slab was broken, revealing a pitch-black opening beneath. Inside the opening was a flight of stone steps sloping downwards. Judging by its direction, it indeed led inside the tomb gate.

Holding a flashlight, Leng Ying crawled in first, then looked back and beckoned, "Goatee, hurry up and follow!"

Boss Zhou was stroking his beard in satisfaction, but upon hearing Leng Ying's uninhibited nickname, he hurriedly dropped his hand and his mouth twitched stiffly.

"This child, so lacking in manners," Zhulov muttered under his breath, and Lin Xiaqi nodded in agreement.

Boss Zhou shook his head helplessly, said nothing, and quickly followed them down.

Maintaining the formation decided upon earlier, the group stepped onto the stone steps and entered the tunnel one by one.

The tunnel was very narrow. Unlike a proper tomb passage, except for the steps paved with stone bricks, all the other surfaces were bare, uneven layers of earth. Some parts shed dirt at the slightest touch, and the air quality was extremely poor.

Yet precisely because of this, Leng Ying didn't have to worry about traps and could safely and boldly lead the way ahead.

After walking for about twenty meters, they encountered another flight of stone steps sloping upwards. Climbing them, they met no obstacles whatsoever and entered a small, enclosed chamber.

The chamber was completely empty except for a wooden door.

The wooden door had no lock and was left ajar; it looked as though a gentle push would open it.

Leng Ying did not rush forward recklessly. She turned to look at Cheng Xiangru, her brow slightly furrowed.

Knowing what she was worried about, Cheng Xiangru was about to step forward and check for traps using the knowledge from the five transcribed volumes when he saw Chen Shangke rushing eagerly toward the door, raising his hand to push it open.

"Wait!"

Cheng Xiangru shouted in a panic, wanting to stop him, but it was already too late. He watched helplessly as Chen Shangke pushed the wooden door open with a creaking sound.

"What is it?" Chen Shangke asked, turning back with a puzzled expression.

At that exact moment, Leng Ying darted forward like a bolt of lightning, swinging her red-tasseled spear in a low horizontal sweep right across the floor.

With a cry of pain, Chen Shangke was swept off his feet and knocked to the ground by Leng Ying.

Accompanied by the piercing sound of rushing air, two arrows shot out from beyond the door, skimming right across the top of Chen Shangke's head before striking the wall with a pair of metallic clangs, kicking up a shower of sparks that left everyone shaken to the core.

Clutching the ankle that Leng Ying had swept, Chen Shangke forgot the pain and forgot to pick up the scattered five-emperor coins covering the floor. He stared blankly up at the two arrows, his face turning entirely green.

Fortunately, Leng Ying's reflexes and speed were top-notch; otherwise, Chen Shangke would probably be lying on the ground reciting his last will right now.

Leng Ying walked over, looked down at Chen Shangke, and smiled. "Don't bother thanking me for saving your life. From now on, you can just be my beast of burden."

It was only then that Chen Shangke regained his wits, rubbing his ankle while groaning, "You hit me, yet I have to thank you. And as if that's not enough, you want me to be a beast of burden? What kind of logic is that?"

Boss Zhou helped Chen Shangke up and said with a stern expression, "Shangke, you're the professional on the surface, but down here, you must be cautious and follow our arrangements. You can't be so reckless anymore."

With a mournful expression, Chen Shangke replied, "Okay..."

Leng Ying walked slowly to the doorway, flashed her light outside for a moment, and probed the path ahead with her red-tasseled spear before stepping out with peace of mind.

Chen Shangke had taken a pretty heavy blow from Leng Ying and would likely need a while to recover. To save time, Boss Zhou had to ask Zhulov and Cheng Xiangru to help support him.

Although the others didn't know Leng Ying very well, the experience, wisdom, and martial prowess she had just demonstrated made them feel deeply reassured having her lead the way.

Since Leng Ying dared to walk out with confidence, the others had nothing left to worry about. Even the arrogant Zhulov and Lin Xiaqi now looked upon Leng Ying with admiration.

Especially when remembering that Leng Ying had been personally trained by Cheng Zhifeng and the others, Zhulov and his companions felt a growing sense of reliance on her.

As Cheng Xiangru supported Chen Shangke through the wooden door, he expected to enter a corridor, to see exquisite murals and successive doors, or perhaps coffins and various precious burial objects.

However, when he saw five magnificent, resplendent palaces standing in the gloomy and serene underground, he was once again deeply shocked.

Stars made of luminous pearls were embedded in the dome, covering the entire underground palace like a giant lid.

Within the underground palace, five palaces were arranged in a cone shape, featuring carved beams, painted pillars, red walls, and green tiles, forming a visually staggering architectural complex.

Leng Ying cleared her throat with a light cough, smiled, and said loudly, "Welcome everyone to the Great Qing Dragon Vein! Not a decoy tomb, oh no, but the real Great Qing Dragon Vein. There should be background music playing right now!"

Boss Zhou hurriedly asked, "You're not going to..."

"The gates of my home are open wide, welcoming you with open arms..."

Boss Zhou raised a hand to his forehead, utterly speechless.

He knew it!