With the Pointed Hammer in hand, the Sun Family Brothers worked in seamless coordination, never ceasing their efforts. The bluestone, though not particularly sharp or hard, was said to be manageable in a day's work. However, with the collective effort of the group, it only took a few hours to complete the task at hand.
The Ox Nose Groove was then crafted, following the same method as before, with a Hook Needle used to thread the rope through.
"I'll count to one, then we pull hard. This thing's much smaller now; we should be able to get it right in one go," Third Elder Sun took the lead, picking up the rope, and we three quickly followed suit.
Taking a deep breath, his voice was a hushed whisper.
"Three... two."
"One!"
The rope snapped taut in an instant, our combined strength pulling to the left.
With a thunderous crash, the sound of the Natural Stone falling echoed loudly.
Third Elder Sun's prediction was spot on. With the experience from the first attempt, we had found the right method, and this time we succeeded on the first try.
Adhering to a principle of caution, Third Elder Sun first lit a White Wax Candle inside the crack of the door to test the oxygen level within the space.
The candle stood on the ground, its flame flickering, dimming and brightening. There was no perceptible breeze, yet the flame leaned to one side.
"Is everything alright, Third Brother?" I whispered my query.
He waved his hand, signaling us to observe for two more minutes.
After a few minutes, the candle burned just as before, without any sudden diminishment in size, indicating a stable oxygen content within.
"Watch your step," he cautioned, and together we pushed open the second Stone Gate.
The temperature inside was markedly low, instantly noticeable as one entered, even through our thick clothing. The cold was penetrating, and our exhaled breaths formed conspicuous white clouds.
"Whew... it's so cold, Third Brother. The temperature here must be several degrees lower than outside," A Mole rubbed his hands together continuously.
Third Elder Sun also found it strange, commenting, "The temperature around Moth Mountain is usually stable. It's odd that it's so different here; I can't figure it out."
"If you can't make sense of it, Third Brother, don't dwell on it. We're not geologists after all. Let's just explore further," Eldest Elder Sun offered his perspective.
"Second Brother, Third Brother, look up there," I said, haphazardly shining my Flashlight. Suddenly, I discovered something.
In the Southwest Corner of the stone wall, many brightly colored murals remained.
"Murals... these... these don't seem to be in the Western Zhou Style," Third Elder Sun looked up, illuminating the murals with his Flashlight, his expression one of disbelief.
"Not Western Zhou? What do you mean?" I took another look.
On the stone wall, the murals were predominantly black and red, numerous in quantity, and nearly everywhere the Flashlight's beam touched.
The themes of the murals were diverse and peculiar.
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There were men in ancient attire with hats, women with exposed chests, and even children tied upside down to wooden posts. At the center of this pattern was a Pure White Coffin, around which many raggedly dressed people knelt on the ground, seemingly worshiping the white casket. The overall style of the mural suggested some sort of Cult Worship.
Third Elder Sun suspected at a glance that the mural might not be from the Western Zhou period because of the mineral pigments it contained. Common knowledge suggested that this particular shade of mineral red did not appear until the early Western Zhou era; it became popular later in the Chu region during the Warring States period.
A tomb from the Western Zhou period adorned with a mural that wasn't... this was an inconsistency that defied explanation. And whose white coffin was depicted in the mural?
Up to this point, not a single burial artifact of note had been found. Yet Yao Yumen, with unwavering conviction, had declared this site to be a grand underground palace of national importance, surpassing even the standards of Mawangdui. She speculated that within lay an untouchable national treasure-level artifact.
But... where was it?
"Sanzu, come quick!" A Mole suddenly shouted.
We hurried over to take a look.
At the northwest corner of the wall, another mural with a bizarre style had emerged...
As we discerned the contents of the mural, everyone's complexion, including mine, turned ashen in an instant!
What I saw was this.
In the mural, where some pigment had flaked off, were three men and one woman, rendered with striking verisimilitude. The two men appeared to be in their forties, the woman in her thirties, and the last man was noticeably younger.
The mural depicted these modern figures, each holding a flashlight, gathered around, illuminating a white coffin!
I looked behind me in horror. The space was empty; there was no white coffin...
The four people in the mural were unmistakably us...
"Third Brother," I said, my voice trembling.
"Snap!" Third Elder Sun suddenly slapped himself hard.
"It can't be, it can't be. I must be seeing things," he said, his face deathly pale as he turned to A Mole. "Little Red, what do you see?"
A Mole spoke with a quivering voice, "I... I see the four of us... and a horned monster."
"Horned monster?" I rubbed my eyes vigorously. "No, where is there a horned monster? I clearly saw a white coffin!"
Third Elder Sun took a deep breath and said, "What I saw was the four of us surrounding two snakes entwined with each other."
Eldest Elder Sun also shook his head, "What I saw was different from all of you. I saw a child crouched on the ground, burying his head and weeping."
After speaking, we looked at each other, seeing incredulity reflected in each other's eyes.
A peculiar mural indeed.
Four onlookers, yet we perceived four disparate visions...
I saw a coffin; A Mole beheld a Horned Monster; Third Elder Sun discerned Two Entwined Poisonous Snakes; and Eldest Elder Sun glimpsed a child buried in tears.
Third Elder Sun, no stranger to the uncanny, found himself confounded by a single scene yielding four spectacles.
The only plausible explanation at hand was a collective hallucination. It seemed we were all ensnared by illusions.
"Something's amiss, everyone sit down, stay put," Third Elder Sun urged us to remain seated.
After minutes of contemplation, Third Elder Sun retrieved a Small Round Iron Box from his backpack. The iron box, fashioned from Old White Bronze and devoid of any emblematic patterns, was modest in size.
He unscrewed the lid and cautiously poured a smidgen of Yellow Powder into his palm.
The Yellow Powder's pungency was overwhelming, redolent of realgar yet far more intense.
Third Elder Sun instructed us to extend our right hands, into which he dispensed a pinch of the powder.
Bringing his hand to his nose, Third Elder Sun instructed, "In one breath, inhale through the nose."
He led by example.
"Achoo!"
"Damn, that's potent," he sniffed twice more, vigorously shaking his head.
The moment I inhaled the substance, a chill shot through my skull. Its invigorating energy was immense, far surpassing any Refreshing Mentholated Lotion, not even comparable.
Under the influence of the Yellow Powder, our eyes refocused.
Gone were the weeping child, the Horned Monster, and the venomous serpents. Now, the image before us was uniform.
On the mural, there were only oddly attired ancient figures, no animals or coffins in sight.
"Damn good thing I was cautious before coming here, got some Soul Awakening Medicine from a contact," Third Elder Sun cursed under his breath as he stood up, turning to where we had just passed.
"The Fragrance of Phoebe Wood, it was the Fragrance of Phoebe Wood we encountered earlier. An ancient Tomb Anti-theft Measure, concocted by Sorcery Practitioners of the time."
"The group from the south that entered before us must have fallen victim to the same illusions, which led to their infighting and mutual destruction."
"Fortunate for us, we were well-prepared and made the discovery in time."
Third Elder Sun concluded, then lifted his gaze back to the murals.
"Five minutes later, and we'd have perished, none the wiser to the cause of our demise."
"This is murder by proxy." (To be continued)
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