Chapter 1 The Beginning

Qin, Third Year of the First Emperor.

"The choice is yours."

"This is His Majesty the First Emperor's mausoleum. Now that progress has reached this crucial juncture, His Majesty has entrusted me with a heavy responsibility, and I must leave. However, the construction of the Lishan mausoleum cannot be halted even for a day. Someone trustworthy and knowledgeable in the art of mechanisms and secret passages is needed to oversee the progress."

"You are both trusted by His Majesty and utterly loyal to our Great Qin."

"Well then, which of you two will become the Shaofu Administrator, and which will become the Halberd-Bearing Guard?"

The speaker was a middle-aged man dressed in black.

He was the Giant of the Mo School.

At least, he was the Giant of one branch of the Mo School, the Qin Mo, also known as the Xiangli clan's Mo.

Below him stood two teenagers clad in black armor. They could both see the glint in the eyes of this Xiangli clan Mo. After Mozi's death, the Mo School had splintered. Besides the Qin Mo, there were also the Dengling clan's Mo in Chu, and the Xiangfu clan's Mo in Qi.

With Qin's conquest of the six kingdoms, the Mo School, which had been divided and developing in different ways for hundreds of years, could finally be unified. The Xiangli clan's Mo was also able to glimpse the texts of the other Mo factions.

One of the teenagers was about to step forward, but his tall companion held his shoulder.

"Yuan, your personality is aloof, I'm afraid you're not suited to staying at Lishan for so long."

He smiled and said, "I will be the overseer. You go and protect His Majesty the First Emperor."

The teenager Yuan hesitated, "Zhang Han..."

Zhang Han said, "Whether outside or inside, both are to serve Great Qin."

He paused, lowered his voice, and chuckled, "Let me also try my hand at managing people. Managing hundreds of thousands is comparable to being a Great General. The Black Ice Terrace doesn't offer such opportunities."

The teenager was surprised, then couldn't help but laugh. Since this was his friend's wish, he didn't say anything more, only bumped his shoulder against his friend.

Thus, the destinies of the two were decided.

One carried a sword, accompanying the First Emperor on his travels throughout the realm, ultimately both protecting and supervising, watching over Xu Shi as he sailed to seek immortal mountains; the other left the Black Ice Terrace, overseeing the construction of the Lishan mausoleum. During occasional brief rests when the Emperor returned from his travels, the two would meet, and Zhang Han would speak of matters concerning the mausoleum.

In truth, it was only the less critical parts.

For example, that the mausoleum had been prepared since His Majesty the First Emperor ascended the throne.

Most of it was personally designed by Prime Minister Li Si.

As for the mechanisms, they were the work of Mo School artisans.

Hundreds of alchemists throughout the land had found the best location for Lishan, a mountain range symmetrical from left to right, with lush forests, interspersed valleys and peaks, the most marvelous thing being that the entire mountain range unfolded in an arc to the south, shaped like a lotus flower.

And the imperial mausoleum was located within the embrace of the Lishan peaks, integrated with the entire Lishan mountain, like a lotus seed residing in the center. This was a natural grand formation.

Waterways were also opened up, guiding three streams to flow around the mountain.

The tombs of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, King Zhuangxiang of Qin, and Queen Dowager Xuan of Qin were all buried west of Lintong County, but the First Emperor wanted to build his tomb on the east side, different from the other Qin ancestors, to demonstrate his merit surpassing the Three Sovereigns and his achievements overshadowing the Five Emperors.

Later, it was heard that Xiangli had successfully combined the methods of the three Mo factions into one.

Forging the Twelve Metal Colossi.

Afterward, Zhang Han seemed to invite the Xiangli clan's Mo into the imperial mausoleum to complete the final part of the mechanisms. Although it was said to be the final part, it would actually take a long time to complete, and by the time this happened, Yuan had already set sail.

Later, later, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang launched their uprising.

The rebel army pressed all the way to the vicinity of the imperial mausoleum.

They encountered Zhang Han.

And the eight hundred thousand convict army.

………………

"Curator Wei? Curator Wei?"

"What's wrong with you?"

Dong Yuefeng's voice startled Wei Yuan from the flood of memories.

After hearing his words, the other party had clearly lost his focus. At first, Dong Yuefeng thought that he was just like him, unsettled by the target of this expedition, but later he realized that something was amiss.

Wei Yuan was dazed for a moment, then his eyes refocused.

The old professor said with some concern, "Curator Wei, are you perhaps tired? Otherwise, why don't you go and rest first? We can talk about this matter another time? Heh... anyway, this isn't something that can be decided in a day or two. No rush, no rush."

Wei Yuan steadied himself and said in a calm tone:

"I was just a little too shocked to hear this news."

"After all, that's an imperial mausoleum..."

Imperial mausoleum?

Dong Yuefeng was taken aback by Wei Yuan's calling the Qin First Emperor's tomb an imperial mausoleum.

That's not usually how it's referred to.

After all, there were too many emperors, kings, and generals in ancient China.

However, he didn't think too much of it, and just said, "It is indeed the tomb of the First Emperor."

Wei Yuan hummed in acknowledgement and raised his hand to drink tea. He really wanted to ask.

Who approved this, and what was the extent of their courage?

That imperial mausoleum was based on a grand formation constructed using the principles of heaven and earth, its blueprints personally designed by Li Si, the foremost Legalist of the time, and it contained mechanisms hidden by the Xiangli clan's Mo and the Black Ice Terrace, as well as the Twelve Metal Colossi forged by gathering the weapons of the realm and the luck of the six kingdoms.

He said, "Professor Dong, what are your thoughts on this?"

"Why do you want to excavate the imperial mausoleum?"

Dong Yuefeng drank his tea and sighed self-deprecatingly, "I study history and cultural relics. The First Emperor's mausoleum took a full thirty-nine years to build. It was built according to the specifications of Xianyang City. The surrounding burial pits alone are astonishing. Now, my student has shown me a kind of, a kind of miraculous method."

The old man thought for a moment and could only use the adjective 'miraculous.' He said:

"That method can prevent artifacts from being oxidized and damaged."

"This is a golden opportunity."

"The First Emperor ordered that the texts of all the kingdoms be gathered in Xianyang City. After his death, Liu Bang only took away maps, mines, and the like. Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, after looting treasures and women, simply burned down Xianyang Palace. Five hundred years of texts from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were burned just like that."

"I think it's highly likely that these books are in the Xianyang Palace underground palace."

"That would be of immense value to our history and culture. The sooner we can retrieve them, the sooner they can be put to use. Even an old fellow like me, who doesn't have many years left to live, can't ignore such a temptation."

He paused and said, "How about it, Curator Wei, would you like to participate as well?"

"However, you can only be my assistant."

He looked somewhat apologetic.

Wei Yuan thought for a moment and said, "I need to consider this matter first. It may take a while before I can give you an answer. Is that alright, Professor?"

Dong Yuefeng smiled and said, "That's perfectly normal."

"Take your time, take your time. Contact me when you have any ideas."

Wei Yuan seemed to have just remembered something and asked:

"By the way, I haven't asked yet, but your student is..."

Dong Yuefeng was not vigilant about this matter, because it was not a secret to begin with, so he told Wei Yuan his student's name. After sitting for a while longer, the old man took the initiative to get up and say goodbye. Wei Yuan saw Dong Yuefeng out of the museum.

While waiting for a taxi, Wei Yuan looked ahead and said, "In any case, Professor Dong."

He smiled and said, "Thank you for telling me about this."

"Hm?"

Dong Yuefeng didn't quite understand the meaning behind these words, was taken aback for a moment, and just nodded, saying:

"You're welcome."

……………………

"Ye Yucheng..."

After watching Dong Yuefeng leave, Wei Yuan casually took out his phone and searched the name.

He easily found the information of this researcher.

Below the photo was a long list of titles and resumes.

Wei Yuan stared at it for a while, memorized this person's information, then turned off his phone, silently thanking the convenience of this era. In the past, to find a person's information would require using a considerable amount of power to accurately complete an assassination.

But now this is a society ruled by law. He has no interest in picking up the old trade of the Black Ice Terrace.

He only intends to find a way to figure out the cause and course of this matter, and then decide what to do. Anyway, he definitely wants to stop this matter. The only difference is whether he can find a way to stop it before it happens, or if he can't stop it, he'll join the research team and rely on the Mo School's mechanisms to block the door.

In short, he can't let them enter the depths of the imperial mausoleum.

Actually, if you really think about it, Wei Yuan would only allow half a person to truly enter the imperial mausoleum.

As for who that person is.

Of course, it would be the head of that Mr. Xu Shi.

………………

Wei Yuan put away his phone, pushed open the door and walked into the museum. The little Daoist A Xuan was in the inner room just now, and had been honestly silent. Wei Yuan pushed open the door and saw the little Daoist sitting obediently on a small stool, holding a bottle of soda in both hands.

The water ghost in front was loudly proclaiming, proselytizing to the little Daoist.

"You must know, what is the meaning of life, of ghost life?!"

"It's happiness!"

"What can give us happiness?!"

"Sugar, bubbles, put together, what is this, this is happiness!"

*Duang*, the water ghost placed a bottle of soda on the table in front of him and said, "Look, this is the perfect creation that combines sugar, convenience, and bubbles. Soda without bubbles is just a bowl of sugar water, with no value whatsoever. Pour the soda into a chilled metal cup, and be sure to shake it."

"This will create a lot of foam, increasing the flavor and preventing contact between the air and the soda."

"Maintaining a more perfect taste."

"One degree is the best temperature. It won't freeze, but it will have the best icy flavor."

The water ghost wore white gloves, bowed gracefully, and poured a glass of soda.

Then he modestly pushed it towards the little Daoist, "You try it."

"Oh, oh, I see."

The little Daoist was stunned by the deception, reached out to take it, but was stopped by Wei Yuan, who gave the water ghost a flick on the forehead and said, "Don't drink it yet. It's almost time to cook. If you drink it now, it'll fill you up, after all, you're not like this guy."

A Xuan remembered the chopped pepper fish head that Wei Yuan had mentioned, and his eyes lit up.

So the two came to the museum's refrigerator.

They opened the refrigerator with anticipation.

They saw a fish head.

A grass carp head.

The bright eyes of the little Daoist and the smile on Wei Yuan's face slowly froze.

Where's my fish head?

Where's my big fish head?

Where did it go?!

Why is it so small?!

Wei Yuan's ears twitched, and his perception told him that the black cat had stolen it, and was now waiting at the corner of the wall, sticking its head out, as if expecting Wei Yuan's reaction. Sure enough, it's a cat. I can tolerate you stealing the fish head, after all, you've helped with many things, I can't throw you out.

But you ate a carp demon with eight hundred years of cultivation, and left behind a grass carp head...

You're insulting me.

And the little Daoist came back to his senses, stammering, "Grass... grass carp head is also delicious."

Wei Yuan's mouth twitched, he waved his right hand, and a gust of wind came, directly pulling the black cat over, but after all, it was a spirit cat, and with an agile leap, it actually broke free. The little Daoist also quickly realized what had happened, gritted his teeth, and reached out to grab.

Just like when dealing with the shikigami of that yin-yang master in Sakura Island, he skillfully pinched the back of the black cat's neck. This time, Wei Yuan saw clearly that this was clearly the supernatural power of controlling wind and fire, softening a move from the Wudang Mountain style, grasping the bird's tail, the wind and fire forming a vortex, the five fingers turning into a force, there was no escape at all.

One can imagine how hard the little Daoist A Xuan had to work to catch cats on the mountain to develop this supernatural power.

The black cat was being held by the neck.

Its whole body hung down.

The little Daoist shook the black cat back and forth with both hands, shaking out afterimages, almost crying:

"Give me back my chopped pepper fish head, Lei, why did you steal it."

The black cat looked utterly lovelorn and said:

"I don't know how to tell you."

"After all, I'm just a cat."

Wei Yuan clenched his fists, preparing to have a friendly physical exchange with the black cat, to enlighten this little kitten. With a clanging sound, the door opened, Wei Yuan raised his eyebrows, stopped threatening, and greeted, "Just a moment, I'll be right there."

Before he could finish, footsteps sounded, and someone had already walked in skillfully.

The young woman, dressed in modern clothes, with her hair tied into a high ponytail, carried a gift in one hand, looked at Wei Yuan in the room, at the thirteen- or fourteen-year-old Daoist boy with the mark of a flame between his eyebrows, and the water ghost watching the show and eating melon seeds, and the lovelorn black cat, and was stunned, saying, "This is..."

"What's wrong?"

Wei Yuan was taken aback and said, "Jue?"

ps: Today's first update... three thousand eight hundred words, a little late, thanks to Shun Gui's Meow Meow for the 20,000 starting coins~

py recommends a book, 《Starting as a Corpse Fisherman from Huangquan》, everyone who likes this style can try reading it~