After Yan Shouyi and his companions returned to the hotel, they made phone calls to Ma Jinxuan and Old Jin, informing them of the evening's events and their plan to enter the imperial tomb the next day.
Ma Jinxuan, unable to accompany them into the tomb, was naturally filled with worry and disappointment. She had been eager to lead Yan Shouyi and the others into the tomb as a way to repay them for saving Ma Xingping.
However, since Li Chongxi had forbidden it, Ma Jinxuan could do nothing. She could only ask Old Jin to send Yan Shouyi some tomb-robbing equipment.
This included fire starters, wolf-eye flashlights, ropes, candles, black donkey hooves, and more.
There were many items that Yan Shouyi hadn't even thought of, but upon seeing them, he knew they would be incredibly useful.
It was fortunate to have Ma Jinxuan, a Mojin Xiaowei, with them; otherwise, Yan Shouyi and Lin Zhitong would have suffered greatly upon entering the imperial tomb.
The next morning.
Upon waking, Yan Shouyi immediately took out his Yanxing Compass to perform a divination for himself.
However, after seeing the卦象, Yan Shouyi fell silent.
Lin Zhitong, who had also woken up, hugged her blanket and asked, "Are you doing a divination? What's the result?"
Yan Shouyi moved his lips and said, "Shang Men."
Shang Men signifies a destructive magnetic field. It is dangerous to force one's way out of Shang Men, as it can easily lead to bloodshed. Therefore, it is generally not suitable for auspicious events.
This was considered an ominous divination, though better than Si Men. If the result had been Si Men today, Yan Shouyi might have reconsidered letting Lin Zhitong enter the tomb.
Seeing this result, Lin Zhitong also felt a bit worried.
But as a dutiful wife, Lin Zhitong did not show her concern on her face. Instead, she comforted Yan Shouyi, "Second Uncle is still with us."
"I'm not afraid of getting injured myself; I'm just worried about you," Yan Shouyi said with a frown.
"Isn't Old Jin with us too?"
"Old Jin he..."
Just as Yan Shouyi was about to say something more, his phone suddenly rang.
When they parted yesterday, Yan Shouyi and Li Chongxi had exchanged phone numbers. The incoming call was indeed from Li Chongxi.
Yan Shouyi gestured for Lin Zhitong to be quiet and answered the phone, "Hello? Senior Li, we just woke up and were about to come over."
Lin Zhitong got out of bed and pulled back the hotel curtains. Outside, a torrential rain was falling.
The hotel's floor-to-ceiling windows were being washed by the heavy rain.
The sound of rain could also be heard from the phone. It was likely that Li Chongxi was in an open area, either under an umbrella or a canopy, or perhaps standing in the heavy rain wearing a raincoat.
His reply was very simple, only three words: "Something happened."
Yan Shouyi's heart skipped a beat. What could have happened overnight to make Li Chongxi so serious?
Li Chongxi's next sentence was, "You guys come over quickly."
After saying this, he hung up the phone, seemingly overwhelmed and busy.
"What happened?" Lin Zhitong asked curiously.
Yan Shouyi was already starting to get dressed and pack his things, saying, "Something has happened at the imperial tomb. Senior Li didn't say what, but he told us to hurry over."
Even Li Chongxi was so "alarmed," it must not be a small matter. Lin Zhitong also quickly changed her clothes.
Fortunately, Lin Zhitong was naturally beautiful. Even without makeup, her appearance was far superior to that of television stars. Thus, she didn't need much to adorn herself. She simply put on the prepared hiking and exploration attire, grabbed her luggage, and left with Yan Shouyi.
They left in a hurry, so they didn't have time to say goodbye to everyone. They could only call Long Feicheng on the way.
As it turned out, Long Feicheng was sleeping too soundly and didn't answer the phone at all. Yan Shouyi, helpless, had to call Wei Changqing.
Upon inquiring, it turned out that Wei Changqing had already left the hotel and had quietly stationed himself outside the tomb early in the morning.
Yan Shouyi had complete faith in his reliable second uncle. He took the opportunity to ask what had happened at the imperial tomb.
Wei Changqing replied, "At around five this morning, a large group of people arrived. They seemed to be the expert team Li Chongxi mentioned. I saw them eager to enter the imperial tomb, and Li Chongxi was trying to stop them. In the end, he couldn't dissuade them and let them go down."
"At six-thirty this morning, all the experts who went in came out, but most of them were carried out."
Yan Shouyi glanced at the time; it wasn't even seven o'clock yet.
It seemed that Li Chongxi had called him immediately after the incident.
This meant that after the expert team from Yanjing entered the imperial tomb, some accident seemed to have occurred.
It was possible that the expert team had suffered casualties.
If there were any fatalities, it would be a major issue, as the knowledge in the minds of those experts and professors was immeasurable by money.
Each expert was equivalent to a mobile library. If an expert died, an entire library would disappear, and future generations would have no one to consult for their inquiries.
No wonder Li Chongxi's tone was so grave.
Half an hour later, the car finally arrived outside the imperial tomb.
The two got out of the car and saw that the square from yesterday had been cordoned off, with many armed police officers guarding it.
Yan Shouyi did not want to argue with them, so he obediently called Li Chongxi from outside.
Upon receiving the call, Li Chongxi hurried over immediately.
From a distance, Yan Shouyi noticed that Li Chongxi was still wearing yesterday's clothes, but with a transparent raincoat draped over him. The raincoat was covered in mud and even some tree roots.
"These two are experts I invited. Let them in," Li Chongxi said, holding up his work badge.
The two successfully passed through the cordon and were led inside by Li Chongxi. Lin Zhitong held up her Hongshen umbrella, and not a drop of water touched her.
Yan Shouyi, however, had half his shoulder wet, but he didn't seem to care.
"Those experts are knowledgeable, but they're all a bunch of bookworms!"
As soon as Li Chongxi met the two, he couldn't help but start complaining. "I told them to wait before going in, but they refused. They were so eager to enter the imperial tomb that they didn't care about their lives! I couldn't dissuade them, and then something indeed happened!"
"Senior Li, please don't be angry. Tell us what happened slowly," Yan Shouyi comforted him.
Li Chongxi took a deep breath and said solemnly, "There were sixteen experts in total, along with two cave guides. Not long after they entered, they all claimed to have seen ghosts and were terrified to the point of mental derangement. The two guides managed to drag out only three experts, and the rest are still unaccounted for. Moreover, the three experts who were brought out have all gone mad!"
Yan Shouyi was not surprised by this outcome, as it was the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, and it was unlikely to be without mechanisms and traps.
As for the supernatural forces, the science-believing experts would not believe in them. When they entered the imperial tomb, what they saw and heard exceeded their understanding, and it was normal for them to go mad in the end.
It was likely that once they recovered, their sanity would return to normal.
However, the tricky part was that thirteen experts were still in the imperial tomb, their whereabouts unknown...