"Brother Xu, you should be alright?" Li Chonglou leaned against the brazier, eyes closed in thought.
He knew Xu Lie wouldn't die. If he and Lan Ying could survive, Xu Lie certainly could.
It was Su Yinchuan who needed more worry, given his age and lack of exercise.
However, worry wouldn't change what had already happened.
He had expected Xu Lie to reach here via this strong current, but that wasn't the case.
The palace before them, suspected to be the tomb of the true Qiang King, stood silently, exuding an unsettling aura in the darkness.
This place was unlike any tomb structure Li Chonglou had ever known.
He wasn't exactly an expert on tombs.
Perhaps it was because his senior sister had met her demise in a tomb in his past life, but he harbored a deep aversion to tomb robbers and funerary objects.
Consequently, he had never delved into their study.
Yet, having read extensively, he understood a bit.
The Western Sea region was a melting pot of ethnicities, with Han, Tibetan, Hui, Tu, Salar, and Mongolian people all present.
Each ethnic group also possessed its unique customs and styles.
And this was just among those existing; countless races had perished or migrated in the past.
For instance, the Tuyuhun were responsible for the renowned Nine-Story Demon Pagoda.
The golden silk rug he found in the ghost market was their work.
Therefore, it was plausible for this underground palace to be strange.
However, several people had already died from traps in the antechamber of the previous tomb, purportedly belonging to the Qiang King.
It was hard to guarantee that such a vast palace wouldn't harbor ambushes, and the fact that no one seemed to have been here before made it even more perilous.
But no matter how dangerous, they had to go. Otherwise, there wouldn't even be a way out.
Li Chonglou allowed Lan Ying to sleep on his lap for two hours, remaining still without waking her.
Until she woke up on her own.
Seeing the drool stain on his leg, her face instantly flushed crimson: "You... why didn't you wake me?"
"You were too tired. You don't know what you'll face next, so you must rest well," Li Chonglou replied nonchalantly. "I thought you'd sleep for at least six hours, but you woke up in just two."
"I'm used to it... I've always had trouble sleeping," a trace of sadness flickered in Lan Ying's eyes. "Ever since my father was murdered, I've had nightmares."
"If my godfather hadn't taken me in, I would have been a corpse on the street by now."
"I don't know where he is now... if he's still alive..."
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, turning them red.
The haughty demeanor she had earlier was completely gone.
Now, Lan Ying was just a pitiable young girl.
"We should worry about ourselves," Li Chonglou said, not offering comfort. He then shifted his numb thigh and stood up.
He wasn't a universally kind person, with no obligation to comfort any woman.
Moreover, they hadn't escaped yet; their exit was cut off, and they could face death at any moment.
If a person cannot be strong on their own, relying on others for support would be futile.
"What... what are you going to do?" Lan Ying, seeing him stand, quickly suppressed her sorrow and asked.
"Look for a way. Generally, places with major tombs are chosen for their feng shui. I don't understand the profound principles, but I know water cannot be cut off," Li Chonglou pointed at the waterfall and pool. "Since the underground river flows here, there must be other channels."
"But this place has been artificially modified, diverting the water from the pool to an unknown location."
"It's very likely inside the palace. Diving into the pool is too risky. The best way is to go inside and find it."
Li Chonglou was rational, choosing the lesser of two evils.
Who knew what the craftsmen might have done in the underwater passage when they built this place?
Or they could suffocate from lack of air over time.
Although the palace was dangerous, at least its dangers were upfront.
"I'll listen to you," Lan Ying nodded in agreement.
However, as she stood up, she hugged her arms, seeming a bit cold.
Her down jacket had been lost when it got wet. While it was fine being soaked in water and then dried by the fire, she felt a chill as soon as she stood up.
Seeing this, Li Chonglou took off his still damp down jacket and threw it to her. "Put it on so you don't catch a cold."
"What about you..." Lan Ying took it, feeling secretly grateful.
Li Chonglou paid her no mind, walking directly towards the palace gate.
His bones and physique were much stronger than ordinary people. Although he had no true energy now, he could at least endure the cold better than a woman.
As he neared the gate, the light from the LED lamps also gathered more intensely.
Only then did he get a clear view of the gate.
Two wooden doors, their vermilion lacquer already mottled, stood about three meters high.
Intricate thunder patterns and meander patterns were carved on them, and the massive bronze rings were covered in verdigris, exuding an ancient and weathered aura.
"It really is the style of the Qiang people..." Li Chonglou's pupils contracted slightly.
"How can you tell?" Lan Ying asked, wearing the down jacket, looking puzzled.
Just from this gate?
Apart from some meaningless patterns, she couldn't tell anything else. How could Li Chonglou be sure it was Qiang?
"Every ethnic group has its unique architectural carvings. The Qiang people originated from the ancient Qin, and it can even be said that they are closely related to us Han people," Li Chonglou replied calmly. "Therefore, their culture has integrated many of our traditions."
"The thunder patterns and meander patterns represent heavenly might and reincarnation. Besides the Han, only the Qiang people would carve these two patterns side by side."
"But this kind of palace is an octagonal structure, which is not the Han style."
With these few sentences, he explained it clearly.
A peculiar glint appeared in Lan Ying's beautiful eyes, mixed with admiration.
The more she interacted with Li Chonglou, the more she realized how extraordinary and deep this man was.
He never spoke superfluous words, and his statements were always to the point.
To achieve this at just over twenty years old, he must have suffered many injuries in his youth.
For a moment, she was filled with curiosity about Li Chonglou's past.
Of course, it was his private matter, and Lan Ying wasn't so foolish as to ask directly.
Creak...
Lost in thought, Li Chonglou gritted his teeth and forcefully pushed the door open, stirring up dust.
The heavy wooden door, having been underground for who knows how many years, let out a teeth-grinding shriek.
In such a grim and dark place, it involuntarily sent shivers down their spines.
Lan Ying, being a girl, her pretty face paled, and she quickly moved closer to Li Chonglou.
"Still cold?" Li Chonglou asked after opening the door.
"No... no, I'm a little scared... could there be zombies or something?" Lan Ying swallowed with difficulty, looking at the pitch-black space beyond the open door.
Boom, boom, boom...
As soon as she spoke, basins of flames ignited one after another, illuminating the interior of the hall.
Both covered their mouths and noses to avoid being choked by the dust as they entered the hall.
The moment they stepped inside, Li Chonglou's expression changed instantly, and he shouted, "Get down!"
Before Lan Ying could react, Li Chonglou pulled her down beneath him.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Overhead, a series of whistling sounds pierced the air.
A row of iron arrows embedded themselves in the door in succession.
Indeed, there were traps inside.
But fortunately, these traps weren't advanced, and Li Chonglou's reaction and eyesight were exceptional. He managed to push Lan Ying down in time, narrowly escaping disaster.
Even so, it was quite a fright.
Li Chonglou knew he lacked experience in tomb raiding. If an experienced tomb robber were here, they wouldn't have entered the main hall directly.
"You... can you get up now?" Lan Ying lay on her back, her eyes meeting Li Chonglou's, her pretty face flushing red.
Their distance was barely two fingers apart.
Pressed closely together, Li Chonglou's hand had unconsciously rested on her chest when he pushed her down in his haste.
Lan Ying's faint, natural fragrance wafted into Li Chonglou's nostrils.
It made his heart flutter.
He immediately withdrew his hand and stood up, saying, "It was just a moment of urgency, don't mind it."
Though his words were calm, he felt a bit awkward inside.
After all, they weren't intimately close, and that action had already crossed the normal personal safety boundary.
"I know you did it to save me." Lan Ying was also a woman of the martial world, not one to dwell on minor details. After a moment of awkwardness, she felt better.
As she stood up, Li Chonglou was already surveying the entire palace hall.
This place resembled a massive altar.
On three sides of the hall stood three tall stone statues. In the center was a circular platform, piled with dozens of white cubical quartz stones, forming a tall, staggered stone pillar.
The statue directly in front was majestic, with its eyes closed and a long beard and whiskers.
To the right was a creature with a sheep's head and a human body, and to the left, a mighty man holding a battle-axe.
"These are the Heavenly God, Mountain God, and Sheep God, worshipped by the Qiang people," Li Chonglou explained. "The white quartz pillar in the middle represents other deities."
"The Qiang people believe that all things have spirits and practice polytheism."
"The layout here should be a mountain-worshiping ritual called 'Sutu Bu'."
"The circular platform is the altar, presided over by the Shibi, or the Qiang King. After the Qiang King's death, this ritual would be brought underground, praying for the tribe's peace."
"It seems this is the true tomb of the Qiang King. What Liu Zhibo led us into before was merely a shadow tomb."
"He was obsessed with tomb robbing, but unaware that the wisdom of the ancients had already played him like a fiddle."
Li Chonglou spoke with admiration as he said this.
Looking at the vast, empty palace hall, and the giant stone carvings and blocks within.
How much manpower and resources must have been needed to transport these things here.
And these items also brought him a sense of joy.
The statues could have been directly carved in the mountains, but these square quartz stones must have been transported from outside.
That meant there had to be an exit.
But at this moment, he was no longer in a hurry to find an exit. His gaze was attracted by something at the toes of the divine statue.
He walked over cautiously.
It was a palm-sized plaque, shimmering gold, clearly made of pure gold.
One side had an indentation.
The front of the plaque was inscribed with a large character he didn't recognize.
It looked somewhat like the Chinese character "Xu."
But he couldn't be sure.
There was a hole at the top of the plaque, where a hanging string should have been. Perhaps the string had corroded and broken over time, causing it to fall at the statue's toes.
Li Chonglou picked it up and examined it in his hand, his eyes filled with shock.
Research on the history of the Qiang people had always been incomplete.
After all, their cultural heritage and civilization were far less developed than those of the orthodox Han people, resulting in significant gaps.
Even after decades, it hadn't been pieced together.
But this palace hall and this gold plaque he saw here would provide unprecedented reference and basis for research in this field.
It was a priceless treasure!
The crystallization of a civilization!
If it were seen by archaeologists specializing in Qiang culture, they might even faint on the spot from excitement.
But this was not all. Another item instantly drew Li Chonglou's attention away from the gold plaque.