"Boss, Fatty brought a flint. Shall we start a fire first?"
Fatty took out two round black stones.
A smile spread across his face.
Zhang Tian looked around. Apart from darkness, he seemed to see nothing else.
Zhang Tian simply nodded, letting Fatty light the torch.
In this era, there were no lighters, and even if there were, they would have been ruined by water by now.
Fortunately, there was some air in the tomb. After a few strikes from Fatty, the torch was lit.
After the torch was lit, all the torches in the tomb miraculously ignited.
In an instant, the tomb was brightly illuminated, and even the murals on the walls were clearly visible.
Under the flames, the entire tomb was revealed. Zhang Tian's gaze swept across it.
The layout of the tomb was very strange.
The items inside were in a chaotic mess.
There were many burial objects around, but most of them were damaged.
On the ground, there were also many gold and silver treasures.
Not far away, there was a set of stairs, and on top of the stairs was a white jade coffin.
It did not look like a mermaid's coffin at all.
Below the white jade coffin, there were some small pills. There was no trace of any mermaid around.
"This doesn't look like a mermaid's tomb at all. Instead, it looks more like a laboratory, and that coffin seems to have been moved in later."
Zhang Tian looked at the entire tomb, his brow furrowed slightly.
The tomb gave him a very strange feeling.
Hu Bayi, on the other hand, was looking at the murals above the tomb with surprise.
"Boss, this seems to list the names of medicinal herbs and methods for refining elixirs."
Hu Bayi murmured. Zhang Tian withdrew his gaze from the coffin.
He looked at the murals around the tomb.
The tomb was circular, and the murals formed a complete circle.
From the murals, one could see the patterns of some medicinal herbs and their names.
Zhang Tian was most familiar with the snow lotus and ginseng. The others were not as familiar to him.
Below, there were also some methods for refining elixirs and their effects.
"Snow Lotus Pill, can restore hidden ailments and treat severe injuries for warriors."
"Netherworld Flower, a flower that blooms on the road to the underworld, can nourish the soul."
Looking at the names of the medicinal herbs, Zhang Tian took a deep breath.
He had already guessed that Wang Canghai could not have been an ordinary person. How could an ordinary person pursue the secret of longevity?
Seeing this, Zhang Tian became even more excited.
"Lao Hu, let's write these down. Perhaps we can find the herbs later."
As Zhang Tian spoke, Hu Bayi nodded in agreement. The two of them looked at the things on the wall and began to memorize them.
Zhang Tian and Hu Bayi had good memories, and they could remember all these things.
Fatty and Zhang Qilin, on the other hand, were looking at the coffin not far away.
The coffin was shaking slightly, as if something was inside.
"Second Brother, did that thing just move?"
Fatty looked at the coffin and swallowed.
Zhang Qilin said nothing more, only moving his footsteps lightly towards the coffin.
The white jade coffin was tightly closed, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to be shaking slightly.
Zhang Qilin held his Black Gold Ancient Blade and slowly approached the white jade coffin.
Zhang Tian and Hu Bayi carefully examined the絕學 (jue xue - ultimate skills) left by Wang Canghai on the murals.
This Wang Canghai was indeed an extraordinary person. Not only was his tomb layout ingenious with formations, but he also had some knowledge of alchemy.
Zhang Tian could tell from the walls that his alchemy skills were not particularly strong, but he was knowledgeable.
Zhang Qilin reached the jade coffin and gently placed his hand on it. Then, with a sudden push, the jade coffin was opened. Immediately, a paw reached out.
It was a small white paw, somewhat pink.
The small paw lunged at Zhang Qilin.
Zhang Qilin dodged it swiftly.
Then, a shadow darted out from the coffin at extreme speed.
Seeing this, Zhang Qilin immediately charged forward with his Black Gold Ancient Blade.
Under the blade's gleam, the white shadow kept dodging.
It was clearly no match for Zhang Qilin.
"Second Brother, go! Second Brother is the best! Defeat the evil spirits and marry Boss!"
Fatty cheered from the side.
Zhang Qilin soon cornered the white thing.
Zhang Tian also noticed the commotion and withdrew his gaze, looking towards Zhang Qilin.
Beside Zhang Qilin, Zhang Tian saw a furry little tail.
"What is that?"
Seeing this, Zhang Tian curiously walked over.
Fatty also quickly followed.
Soon, Zhang Tian saw the little creature that Zhang Qilin had cornered.
"A fox?"
Zhang Tian frowned slightly.
How could there be a fox in an underwater tomb? And one in a jade coffin?
Zhang Tian was somewhat perplexed.
The little fox in front of him had white fur, a plump little face, and chubby little paws. Its eyes were large, and it had a tail.
"What are you?"
Zhang Tian spoke, then immediately felt that his words were strange, but he didn't think much of it.
"I'm a little fox!"
The little fox tilted its head, looking arrogant.
Zhang Tian: "???"
Zhang Qilin: "!!!"
Fatty: "Boss, is your father a fox?"
"Get lost!"
Zhang Tian's face turned black. This fox, could it be from the Nanhe region?
"Why are you here, and how did you end up in a jade coffin?"
Zhang Tian panted, looking at the fox.
It wasn't strange that it could speak human language, after all, there was already a white-haired dry corpse.
A talking fox seemed normal.
"Tuantuan's hometown is Nanhe. Tuantuan is the favored pet of the noble consort under the Dragon City. How dare you, a little brat, bully Tuantuan? Unforgivable!"
The little fox stood with its hands on its hips, its confidence somewhat lacking.
Its large eyes occasionally glanced at Zhang Qilin.
It seemed a little scared, yet also curious.
"Hiss, still an uncivilized fox!"
Looking at the little fox, Zhang Tian wished he could seal its mouth.
"Besides, I didn't attack you. You attacked me first. Tuantuan is an honest fox!"
The little fox blinked, looking very honest.
Zhang Tian thought about it. It seemed true. Zhang Qilin attacked first. It didn't seem to be the little fox's fault.
However, one couldn't say that. After all, it was a dangerous place, and threats had to be eliminated.
Afterward, with the little fox's explanation, Zhang Tian understood the reason for everything.
The little fox was originally the pet of a princess in the Qing Dynasty, named Tuantuan. Because the Qing Dynasty had opened up to foreign trade, the noble consort lost it when she was passing through here, and it eventually ended up here.
The little fox knew nothing and, by chance, triggered many mechanisms.
This was why Zhang Tian encountered so many traps after entering.
The little fox, having barged through the tomb, evaded many dangers and finally reached this place.
It was also the little fox's arrival that unintentionally opened the tomb door.
This was why the tomb door had only opened slightly when Lin Tian entered earlier.
After entering, the little fox did not go through the second door but rather burrowed into the tomb's waterway.
It finally arrived here. Attracted by the bottles and jars on the ground, it found many elixirs refined by Wang Canghai back then.
This creature was a glutton for anything.
Finally, it gorged on elixirs and, as a result, could speak easily, even possessing some combat skills.
After listening to the creature's account, Zhang Tian was dumbfounded.
No wonder there were so many black pills lying on the ground. They were all elixirs!
All wasted!
And given how much this creature could eat, it must have consumed quite a few elixirs.
For a moment, Zhang Tian was filled with envy and jealousy.
Who was the protagonist? This fox's luck was simply heaven-defying.
The little fox was currently looking smugly at Zhang Tian and the others.
"Well? Aren't you impressed after hearing my story? Isn't it a miracle that I survived?"
The little fox blinked its large eyes.
It looked very proud.
"It's a miracle that you ate so many elixirs without exploding."
Zhang Tian was speechless at this little fox. Zhang Tian could only feel sorry for the medicinal pills...