Chapter 245 Sakura Island and the Imperial Tomb

Sakurajima, the Shrine of Amenominakanushi.

Xu Shi, still dressed in the garb of an ancient alchemist, stared at the information before him, his face pale, lost in a deathly silence. When one of the shrine maidens poured tea, a slightly louder movement than usual sent him into an uncharacteristic rage, and he flung his sleeve, sending the maiden flying out of the shrine.

"Go and be punished!"

The shrine maiden, her forehead broken, knelt on the ground, anxious and uneasy, yet still maintaining a remarkable, enforced obedience. "Yes, yes…"

The shrine maiden retreated, cowering.

Xu Shi picked up the tea and slowly exhaled, his face regaining its rationality and composure.

The Mountain Lord, appearing as a modern man, crossed his arms and leaned against the side. He saw the information written there: a disturbance had occurred at the Imperial Mausoleum of Mount Li. This was a deliberately released message, but as the chief deity of Sakurajima, Xu Shi, even if he had been weathered by the years and could not compare to his prime, still had ways to obtain deeper intelligence.

One of the Twelve Golden Men of the First Emperor had appeared.

Xu Shi murmured to himself, his hand clenching unconsciously, his fingers turning white.

"Is it necessary?"

The Mountain Lord said, "The First Emperor is already dead."

Xu Shi replied, "He is indeed already dead…"

The Mountain Lord scoffed, "To be intimidated by a dead man, Xu Shi.

"Don't you understand life and death?"

"No!"

The alchemist's eyes held fear and terror. The nightmare of more than two thousand two hundred years hung over him like a shadow. He had thought that this fear had vanished with the death of that man, but now he realized that the fear was still there, like a lurking viper, never gone.

He replied, "It is you who do not understand the First Emperor."

Xu Shi finally rose and looked towards the East Sea in silence for a long time.

The appearance of one of the Twelve Golden Men of the First Emperor made him toss and turn, never able to settle down, and the fear of those two thousand two hundred years finally fermented. In the end, Xu Shi sighed silently and took out the weapon he had used when he left Shenzhou.

He stepped out of the East Sea and headed towards Shenzhou.

In the days after receiving the news,

he had to find out what exactly had happened to the First Emperor's Mausoleum.

If he did not resolve this matter,

even if he had become a local god-king, he would still not find peace in his heart.

…………………

Inside the Jingjiao church.

Xiang Hongbao focused on his own affairs, trying to study and master the more professional and effective sacrificial methods he had obtained from the angels. Only the old man who had raised him and his brother knew about this matter, so it did not cause any waves in these few days.

And in the flower shop not far from the Jingjiao church,

Xiang Hongyu was still tidying up his flower field. Everyone knew that he was looking for the most beautiful poppy flower, and had been doing so for almost ten years. This actually made the Jingjiao monks who had watched him grow up breathe a sigh of relief.

Because Xiang Hongyu's character was not always so steady and calm.

At first, he was extremely domineering and self-centered. If left unchecked, who knows what would happen. But there was one very awkward thing: Xiang Hongyu's strength was too great. If Xiang Hongbao caused trouble, he would be picked up and given a beating. If it was Xiang Hongyu, they would likely be the ones getting beaten.

Everything changed one day during a heavy rain when a believer brought a poppy flower.

Although no one knew what Xiang Hongyu meant by the most beautiful poppy.

Even he himself didn't know.

He still searched tirelessly.

While reading botany papers, he jotted down points of interest. On the table lay the broken spear that he had found at the door a few days ago, after Xiang Hongbao had left. He himself didn't know why he, who had always been so fastidious, had brought the spear blade inside.

But because of his fastidiousness, Xiang Hongyu scrubbed the spear blade for a full two hours, until it was as good as new. Only then was he satisfied and placed it on the table. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Is that Hongbao?"

Xiang Hongyu replied, wearing a blue shirt with the top two buttons undone. The shirt was angular because of his well-developed muscles. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing his arms. He called out, put the frameless glasses that he only wore when reading on the book, and walked lazily in his house slippers to open the door.

……………………

Wei Yuan's pace was fast, and he easily caught up with the main group.

Most people, whether researchers or cultivators with their own agendas who had sneaked into the group, had their attention completely captured by this massive and vast underground palace. No one noticed that someone had quietly left the main group and then quietly returned.

Only Zhang Shaorong found him and asked, "A'Yuan, where did you go just now?"

"Why didn't I see you?"

Wei Yuan looked at Zhang Shaorong, paused, and replied, "I was looking at the style of the terracotta warriors next to us."

"They're much more refined than the ones outside, so I was a little lost in thought."

Zhang Shaorong laughed heartily, "That's normal. The terracotta warriors in the imperial mausoleum are arranged according to the army. Most of the ones that have been excavated before were just the vanguard. The highest-ranking one was a Great Governor, probably a general of the vanguard. Now we should be reaching the central army."

"Different legions have slight variations in the details of their armor, used to distinguish units."

"We should be somewhere between the inner and outer cities now."

Wei Yuan nodded.

He recalled the words of a friend from the past.

Inner and outer walls, gates on all four sides of the walls, the three-entrance style was reserved for the Son of Heaven.

The real underground palace was completely modeled after Xianyang.

"Treating death as life."

His friend from memory sighed. Zhang Shaorong next to him happened to say the same sentence at that moment. Wei Yuan paused and looked at the young researcher beside him. The researcher turned and smiled, "What's wrong?"

"…Nothing."

Zhang Shaorong smiled, then took out a bottle of Bingfeng and threw it to Wei Yuan, smiling, "Just bought it."

"Thirsty?"

Wei Yuan said, "A little…"

It seemed to be a habit from the Qin Dynasty. Every battle and fight was fought with all his strength, and every time he was exhausted and needed to drink water. He was just considering whether to use magic to get some water, but now Zhang Shaorong had actually brought a drink.

This stuff tasted much better than water made with magic.

Wei Yuan's Adam's apple bobbed. He said, "Is drinking Bingfeng appropriate in this place?"

Zhang Shaorong blinked and smiled, "Are you trying to secretly drink alcohol?"

"I think I'll pass on that."

Wei Yuan took the Bingfeng, used the hilt of the sword concealed by illusion to pry open the bottle cap, and clinked it against Zhang Shaorong's. Shining a flashlight, he walked between the outer and inner cities, exchanging ideas from time to time. Wei Yuan said, "Shaorong, after this is over, will you be evaluated for a promotion?"

Zhang Shaorong said, "Probably."

Wei Yuan said, "Want to go for a drink afterwards?"

Zhang Shaorong smiled, "No problem, I'll definitely drink you under the table."

The two of them walked at the back. Suddenly, a commotion came from the front. They exchanged a look, their expressions changed, and they quickened their pace to catch up. Parting the crowd, they saw that a new burial tomb had been discovered here.

"It's a burial tomb, higher in scale than the burial tombs of ordinary artisans."

"This is an official, and not a low-ranking one. Logically speaking, such a person shouldn't be buried here."

Dong Yuefeng muttered to himself, his face full of confusion.

The tomb inside was open, and a man, already turned into white bones, was lying there.

The ground was covered with scattered bamboo slips.

"It's the Mohist doctrine!"

"This is the last Grand Master of Qin Mohism!"

The crowd exclaimed, their voices filled with rare joy. Wei Yuan looked at the white bones, but suddenly remembered the Qin Mohist Grand Master who was unkempt but had amazing talent, who cast the Twelve Golden Men and built the mechanisms of the First Emperor's Mausoleum.

'You two make a choice.'

'One of you will be a halberd-bearer, responsible for guarding His Majesty outside, and the other will be a Shaofu, to manage those convicts.'

'I'll do it, Yuan. I've always wanted to be a general...'

In the midst of the noise, Wei Yuan was like an outsider, looking at the white bones, his mind seeming to remember that rough but arrogant face, and the still-naive self.

The most important thing to the tomb owner must be inside the tomb.

There were only scattered bamboo slips here. After more than two thousand years, the writing on them was still clear, the harvest that everyone expected and was most important. Wei Yuan walked in, not finding any trace of the Mohist sword. He turned his head and saw Zhang Shaorong bending down.

Looking at the white bones, he finally sighed and took out some things from his pocket and placed them next to the white bones.

Walnuts, raisins.

Finally, a cell phone.

No one noticed his actions.

Except for Wei Yuan.

Zhang Shaorong glanced at Wei Yuan and said, "He must have felt that there was nothing left to regret after finally building the First Emperor's Mausoleum, so he chose to be buried here as a burial object. Looking at these bamboo slips, he was already prepared."

"He wanted to guard his greatest masterpiece forever."

"Before that thought, life and death are not a big deal. No matter who it is, no one can choose how to be born, but they can choose to leave the world in a way they like."

Some people stayed here to collect and sort out this part of the Mohist classics.

The rest planned to continue exploring forward.

At this moment, Dong Yuefeng stood up. After all, he was old. His eyes suddenly went dark, and he took a step backwards. After the bluestone was stepped on, it made a crisp mechanical sound. Then, everyone's face suddenly changed, and they shouted loudly.

"Get down!"

One after another mechanical crossbow appeared on the surrounding walls.

Powerful crossbow bolts shot out.

The Five Thunder Talisman Daoist who had come along raised his hand to cast a spell, but for some reason, his spell didn't even manage to exert one-tenth of its original effect, and he could only barely block all the deadly crossbows. Dong Yuefeng was unable to block them and fell directly.

Wei Yuan was next to him and directly pulled the old man.

Immediately, he felt the strangeness of this pit, and a huge force pulled him down.

Wei Yuan's mind raced, and he took the opportunity to step down.

Zhang Shaorong subconsciously grabbed his sleeve. At this time, Zhang Shaorong was just an ordinary person. He stumbled and fell directly. The mechanism closed instantly, and everyone was startled into a cold sweat, filled with deathly silence.

Wei Yuan and the other two were no longer here.

ps: Second update today...

Three thousand and two hundred words, there should be another update, currently writing, word count may be slightly less~