A tomb-guarding beast?
Hearing the name, it was definitely no ordinary treasure.
Yan Shouyi's eyes lit up, but his face showed a shy smile, and he declined, "The tomb-guarding beast is your ancestral treasure, is it suitable for me?"
Li Chongxi shook his head, unfazed, "I am no longer a tomb keeper, and the tomb-guarding beast will not serve any purpose in my hands, take it quickly."
Since Li Chongxi was so "enthusiastic," Yan Shouyi did not refuse. Li Chongxi's personal belongings were on the bedside table, and Yan Shouyi easily found the pair of tomb-guarding beasts.
The tomb-guarding beasts were cast in bronze, one was a Taotie, and the other was a Qiongqi.
Taotie and Qiongqi, along with Hundun and Taowu, were known as the Four Fierce Beasts of antiquity. Legend had it that they were the transformed bodies of four divine beings after death, namely Sanmiao, Huandou, Gun, and Gonggong. Due to their wicked deeds and lack of virtue, they were banished to the mortal realm and transformed.
The "Classic of Mountains and Seas: Inner North" states: "Qiongqi resembles a tiger, with wings, and devours humans starting from the head. Those it devours have their hair disheveled. It is located north of the Lingquan. Another says it devours from the feet."
The "Classic of Mountains and Seas: Northern Mountains" states: "On Mount Gouwu, there are many jades on its top and much copper below. There is a beast there, which resembles a sheep with a human face, its eyes are under its armpits, with tiger's teeth and human claws. Its cry is like an infant's, and it is called Paoxiao; it devours people."
The pair of tomb-guarding beasts in Yan Shouyi's hand, the Taotie had a ferocious head, its eyes shone brightly, as if divine. Its nose was prominent, its giant mouth was wide open, its sharp teeth like a saw, and its head bore a pair of curved horns, curving inward like ram's horns.
The Qiongqi resembled a tiger, covered in hedgehog fur, and had wings. Its ferocity was no less than that of the Taotie.
These two tomb-guarding beasts were no larger than a palm, their size similar to ancient imperial seals. However, they lacked seals beneath their bases and instead resembled two miniature stone lions.
Weighing these two tomb-guarding beasts, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but doubt: could these two small stone carvings really have the effect of guarding tombs?
Tomb-guarding, as the name suggests, prevents things from inside the tomb from coming out, and also prevents things from outside from approaching.
Li Chongxi explained softly, "There are a total of four tomb-guarding beasts. I only have the Qiongqi and Taotie in my hands. The Hundun and Taowu are long lost, but even so, the Qiongqi and Taotie are extremely powerful."
"In the past, placing them outside the imperial mausoleum, any approaching evil entities would either be sealed by the Qiongqi or devoured by the Taotie. They never failed for hundreds of years!"
Upon hearing this, Yan Shouyi's heart leaped, and he felt as if the two tomb-guarding beasts in his hands were about to come alive at any moment.
He sensed them carefully and did indeed detect a slight anomaly within the bodies of the two tomb-guarding beasts. However, it was clear that the tomb-guarding beasts were merely inanimate objects, tools that obeyed their owners, and would not attack proactively.
"From now on, if you don't want evil entities to approach, you only need to place these tomb-guarding beasts outside your door. With them here, even ordinary ghost kings cannot break through."
"Indeed, a great treasure!" Yan Shouyi was deeply grateful, "Thank you, Senior Li!"
"No need for thanks, rather it is I who should thank you for lifting the shackles of our Li family," Li Chongxi added, "If you have the chance to find the other two tomb-guarding beasts in the future and gather all four, you can set up the Four Fierce Beasts Formation. As for the effect... you can imagine it."
Yan Shouyi nodded solemnly.
Two tomb-guarding beasts were already enough to stop ordinary ghost kings. If there were four, how astonishing would that be?
He suspected that even powerful ghost kings like Shi Jing could not get close at all!
Having received the gift from Li Chongxi, Yan Shouyi was content and chatted with Li Chongxi for a while longer, only stopping when Old Jin came in to tell Yan Shouyi to leave.
Li Chongxi was still in the recovery phase and needed ample rest, so he couldn't talk with Yan Shouyi for too long.
Thus, after bidding farewell to Li Chongxi, Yan Shouyi walked out of his room and said to Old Jin:
"Old Jin, we're heading back to Rongcheng immediately."
"So soon?" Old Jin asked in surprise.
"I'll explain the specific situation later, but how are your patients now? Can you get away?"
Old Jin was the "team doctor" in Yan Shouyi's team. Although his combat strength was not strong, Yan Shouyi always wanted to keep him by his side in case of emergencies.
Old Jin nodded, "All patients have passed the critical stage and only need to rest and recuperate. It's fine even if they are transferred to a regular hospital."
"That's good, go pack your things. I'll go inform Master Qin Six, and we'll meet here in ten minutes and head straight to the airport."
It was two o'clock in the afternoon, the hottest part of the day.
Old Jin lifted his tank top, revealing his plump belly, and began packing his things while wiping sweat.
Yan Shouyi, on the other hand, went directly to find Master Qin Six to inform him. After greeting him, he also inquired about the condition of the Ma siblings.
Ma Jinxuan was fine, but Ma Xingping still needed some time to recover. Therefore, Ma Jinxuan decided to stay with Master Qin Six for now and would join Yan Shouyi in Rongcheng after Ma Xingping had fully recovered.
Having narrowly escaped death this time, the two owed their lives to the help of Yan Shouyi and his group. Upon learning of Yan Shouyi's decision to establish his own faction, they did not hesitate to join.
There were many reasons for this.
For example, Yan Shouyi had saved them, and they were tired of their itinerant life...
But most importantly, they recognized Yan Shouyi as a person.
"Brother Ma, just recuperate here in Chang'an. I know there are still many things to handle here, so I will leave Old Wang and Old He behind. Once the matters in Chang'an are settled, you and they can come to Rongcheng to find me," Yan Shouyi consoled.
Chang'an was in a mess, especially with Li Chongxi still recovering, the civilian sects leaderless, and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in utter disarray.
If Liang Yinqiu and the others encountered further problems, it would be difficult to find someone to resolve them quickly.
Therefore, Yan Shouyi decided to leave the most reliable Wang Jiwang and He Xiping to handle the aftermath for the time being.
After arranging everything, Yan Shouyi bid farewell to Master Qin Six and the other two and met up with Old Jin.
The car had already been prepared. The two got into the car and headed straight for the airport, with the others also on their way.
Watching the receding streetscape outside the car window, Yan Shouyi thought to himself: Goodbye, Chang'an!
In Chang'an, he had experienced several thrilling events and had also bid farewell to General Qing Jiang and Princess Yu Shu.
From now on, in times of crisis, no one could be Yan Shouyi's backing anymore.
Although he had lost the strong support of General Qing Jiang, Yan Shouyi had also gained much, such as the True Dragon Purple Qi, the Ancestral Dragon Sword, the inheritance of the First Qin Emperor, and most crucially, the unraveling of Lin Zhitong's life tribulation.
Oh right, and also, the news that he was going to be a father.
Thinking of this, a warm smile reappeared on Yan Shouyi's face. He secretly vowed that he would definitely protect his wife and child.
Anyone who dared to harm his wife and child would have to ask Yan Shouyi's permission first!