No one expected the earthquake to come so suddenly.
Facts proved that in the face of natural disasters, human power was too insignificant.
Yan Shouyi's mind went blank as he fell into the fissure.
He had only thought about saving people just now and hadn't considered himself at all.
By the time he came to his senses, the exit of the fissure was getting smaller and smaller, meaning he was constantly falling. Da Feng Xiao Shuo Wang
Suddenly, he heard the chirping of birds.
Then Yan Shouyi saw a paper bird suddenly grow larger, fly to his side, and fan its wings, carrying him upward!
"A paper bird?"
Yan Shouyi flipped over on the paper bird, his heart full of surprise.
Was it a paper effigy that saved him?
Before he could think further, he suddenly realized that the fissure was actually closing.
If it had flown any slower, he might have been crushed to death by the closing fissure!
This made Yan Shouyi finally realize how dangerous his situation was.
Seeing the fissure getting smaller and himself getting closer to the entrance, Yan Shouyi took a deep breath and leaped out of the fissure at the last moment!
But the paper bird wasn't so lucky; it couldn't fly out in time and was directly caught between the closing fissure, losing its vitality.
This was not the end. After Yan Shouyi jumped out, the closing fissure squeezed, forcefully pushing the ground up by more than ten meters!
What was once a flat and open square now had a small mound more than ten meters high.
"Big idiot!"
Lin Zitong, holding the frightened child, met up with Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi immediately hugged Lin Zitong, shielding her as they ran to safety.
"That paper bird just now..."
"Senior Li Chongxi made a move," Lin Zitong explained.
Yan Shouyi's heart grew tense. This Senior Li was truly extraordinary.
He had been wondering what abilities the tomb keeper possessed. Now it seemed that Senior Li was not only a tomb keeper but, like himself, a descendant of Lu Ban, who had "stolen" many other skills.
Soon, the earthquake stopped.
The ground fell silent, and people stared blankly at the surrounding ruins.
Just a few minutes ago, everyone was living their happy lives as usual.
But a few minutes later, the earth was scarred, the familiar square was unrecognizable, and some people had even lost their lives.
"Child!"
The child's parents found them. The mother cried tears of joy while holding her child, and the father excitedly thanked Yan Shouyi, even wanting to kneel before him.
Yan Shouyi naturally refused and, after some perfunctory responses, pulled Lin Zitong away.
The scene had been too chaotic; no one noticed Yan Shouyi fall into the fissure, nor did anyone see him fly out on a paper bird.
The priority now was to quickly contact others and see if they were all right.
Lin Zitong took out her phone and began contacting people, while Yan Shouyi went to thank Li Chongxi.
Li Chongxi stood amidst the ruins, his brow furrowed, his expression more solemn than ever.
"Thank you for saving my life, senior," Yan Shouyi said.
Li Chongxi nodded, ignoring Yan Shouyi, as if pondering a very complex issue.
At this moment, Lin Zitong sighed with relief and said to Yan Shouyi, holding her phone, "Everyone is safe and sound. They'll be here soon."
"That's good," Yan Shouyi said, his worried heart finally at ease.
The next second, Taohua Ying suddenly floated down from mid-air, saying with a strange expression, "Miss, young master, there's something you must know..."
"What is it?" Lin Zitong asked.
Taohua Ying continued, "I flew into the air just now and took a look. It seems the earthquake's range was limited to this Qin Shihuang Mausoleum; other places were not affected at all."
"What?"
Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong looked astonished. They exchanged glances, finally understanding why Li Chongxi wore such a grave expression.
This was no ordinary earthquake!
It might not even be a natural disaster!
The earthquake was confined to the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum. Could it be that ghosts were haunting the tomb, or perhaps... Qin Shihuang had awakened?
Even the knowledgeable Yan Shouyi had no conclusion in his mind at this moment.
A short while later, Long Feicheng and the others walked through the ruins and met up with Yan Shouyi.
Wei Changqing saw Li Chongxi from afar and was taken aback.
It was obvious that Wei Changqing had directly sensed something different about Li Chongxi. After a brief deduction, he confirmed that this person was indeed Li Chongxi, the tomb keeper.
"Is everyone alright?" Yan Shouyi asked.
Long Feicheng shook his head. "When the earthquake happened, we happened to be strolling around the periphery. Strangely enough, just across the road, nothing happened on our side, but here, the ground was shaking violently..."
Li Chongxi's old mobile phone rang. He walked aside to answer it, presumably a call from relevant leaders to understand the situation.
After about five minutes, Li Chongxi hung up the phone and turned back, saying to Yan Shouyi with a stern face:
"I don't know whether to be happy or depressed, but for you, today's earthquake might not be a bad thing."
"How is it not a bad thing?" Yan Shouyi sighed. "So many innocent civilians were injured, or even lost their lives."
Li Chongxi was silent for a moment, then said:
"This earthquake created a large breach on the north side of the mausoleum. The Qin Shihuang Mausoleum, sealed for thousands of years, was opened under these circumstances."
"The higher-ups are organizing personnel to prepare for a rescue excavation of the cultural relics in the mausoleum tomorrow morning."
"I know you came to Chang'an wanting to enter the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum, and with me here, you wouldn't have been able to. But now that fate has decreed it, I have no reason to stop you. Go back and prepare, and meet me here tomorrow morning. I'll recommend you join the archaeological team and enter the mausoleum with them."
Hearing Li Chongxi's words, even Yan Shouyi was stunned.
Their hope of entering the mausoleum had vanished, but unexpectedly, fate had played a trick, and a major earthquake had revealed the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum.
Since the breach had appeared, not entering was no longer an option, so even Li Chongxi yielded.
However, Li Chongxi now wore a look of relief.
Tomb keepers had guarded tombs for generations, but if the tomb was gone, they had nothing left to guard. In other words, due to this night's earthquake, Li Chongxi had finally gained his freedom.
This was the freedom that Li Chongxi's ancestors had longed for but could never obtain.
It was no wonder he felt happy.
However, the fact that things were proceeding so bizarrely smoothly gave Yan Shouyi a strange feeling.
It was too smooth, so smooth it felt as if someone had deliberately orchestrated it.
If Yan Shouyi didn't enter the mausoleum this time, many secrets might remain forever unsolved by him once the archaeological team went in.
Not to mention the dangers within the imperial tomb, Lin Zitong's other half of her soul might still be inside.
What if the archaeological team made a mistake and caused that soul to dissipate completely?
Therefore, Yan Shouyi was, in a way, forced to enter the imperial tomb this time; he had no other choice.