As Zhang Qiling stepped away, this place was about to become a sweet two-beast world for it and the giant cat. The water monkey shivered all over and scrambled to follow Zhang Qiling's footsteps.
Zhang Qiling paused slightly, and the water monkey immediately clung to his small leg with all four paws, closing its eyes, seemingly intending to settle here from now on as a decorative item.
Zhang Qiling: ...
He didn't drive the water monkey away, but he didn't pay too much attention either, just continued forward at his previous pace.
But it was clear that the monkey's plan had gone awry.
Because it wasn't the only one that had followed. The cat let out a long meow and slowly ambled over.
It followed Zhang Qiling from the side, staring at the monkey with a playful gaze, occasionally pretending to accidentally poke it with its paw. Clearly, it had found new amusement with its former food source, finally awakening the innate talent of ordinary cats to tease mice.
For a time, Zhang Qiling was surrounded by three different types of animals: a cat, a monkey, and an insect, on the verge of starting a new venture and establishing a zoo.
... Although the parasitic worm was desperately wrapping itself in cat meat to isolate the aura of the Qilin blood, it didn't dare to show its head at the moment.
Under the constantly flashing beam of the flashlight, this passageway was illuminated for the first time in a thousand years.
It was intricately carved with numerous complex images. Although blurred by the long-term erosion of water flow, the craftsmanship and meticulousness of the ancient artisans were still evident.
Compared to the previous passage used for transporting stone materials, this path appeared exceptionally luxurious. Zhang Qiling walked a considerable distance along the path, and the decorations on the surrounding walls did not diminish at all.
This indicated that the artisans had not lowered their work quality for a second time.
And this, in turn, suggested that this passageway held a very high level of importance.
Zhang Qiling steadied his mind and advanced slowly. After three to five minutes, a tightly shut door appeared before him.
This door was also made of bronze. The passage of time had made it appear old and heavy. Zhang Qiling scraped off some of the rust with the back of his knife, revealing three slender, intertwined creatures carved on the surface.
Upon closer inspection, it was recognized that these were actually only two types of creatures. One was the one-eyed worm that lived in the bronze tree, and the other was the double-bodied snake that had appeared repeatedly earlier.
It was only because the double-bodied snake had a unique structure with one head and two bodies that it had initially appeared as three creatures.
The meaning of the double-bodied snake was the subject of much speculation, with some saying it represented longevity and others power. It was now impossible to discern the truth, but the frequent appearance of the double-bodied snake totem here clearly proved it was the totem of this mysterious civilization.
... But what merit did this one-eyed worm have to be listed alongside the double-bodied snake? What was its purpose in being so carefully cultivated within the bronze tree?
Zhang Qiling didn't ponder at the door for long, but cats, after all, were impatient creatures.
It probably assumed that Zhang Qiling's combat strength had been greatly reduced and that it desperately needed its protection, hence its constant trailing. Even so, a full minute of pause made it restless, and it gently tapped Zhang Qiling's boots with its tail.
Zhang Qiling glanced at it, then withdrew his thoughts and began to disarm the mechanism with his Faqiu Finger.
But for some reason, perhaps due to spending too much time with Fatty, his thoughts were inevitably influenced. Looking at his own actions of opening the door, he suddenly thought of something strange.
... Actually, besides the White Horse Club and venturing into the film industry, he could also choose to become a proud locksmith.
... It's just that he wondered if, with the technological level of this world, such a profession still existed.
With a "click" from his hand, the sound of the door opening interrupted his wandering thoughts.
The door slowly creaked open, emitting a "creak, creak" sound as it scraped against the ground. The cat, already impatient, darted inside with a "whoosh" before even getting a clear look at what was inside.
Even the water monkey, which had been clinging to his leg pretending to be dead, couldn't help but open one eye to peek. After enduring a series of crises, it still hadn't given up its hobby of watching the excitement, truly unchanged in its original intentions.
Zhang Qiling glanced at it, then stepped inside. As soon as he moved his leg, the monkey immediately focused its gaze on its nose, returning to its usual docile state, terrified that Zhang Qiling would abandon it.
Behind the door lay a expanse of mist, a vast white expanse with very poor visibility.
Zhang Qiling shone his flashlight, unable to even see where the cat that had just entered had gone.
It was as black as a piece of coal and, by all rights, should have been very conspicuous in this white world.
Just then, a piercing cat scream was heard!
The mist was instantly pierced. Zhang Qiling saw a black sea urchin lunging towards him. Realizing it was the cat returning, he paused the knife he was about to swing.
But the cat clearly had no self-awareness of its prickliness and pounced straight up. Zhang Qiling even began to suspect whether the pricks on his body were caused by stones or by its mischief.
Dodging the black cat, he looked ahead—
He saw that behind the mist disturbed by the cat, a smiling human face was revealed!!!
Zhang Qiling tensed instantly, but soon, he realized it was just a dead woman.
Or rather...
He took a few steps forward, twirling the Black Gold Ancient Saber in his hand, its sharp aura dispersing the surrounding white mist.
With the mist cleared, the space before him was clear. The space was filled with row upon row of stone platforms, and on each platform lay a dead person with a smiling face!!
These dead people were men, women, old, and young, even newborns were wrapped in cloth and quietly laid on the stone platforms. They wore rough cloth embroidered with the double-bodied snake, their appearances ancient. They had remained uncorrupted in this mysterious white mist for over a thousand years, appearing like pale, sleeping living people.
And on the stone platforms where they lay, at the head position, the image of the one-eyed worm was deeply carved!
The one-eyed worm's mouth was wide open, facing the top of the corpse's head, as if it were about to devour and completely absorb these people.
The sound of heavy objects falling "pata pata" came from the side. Zhang Qiling looked over; it was the cat, frightened and resentful, now using its paws to knock over the corpses on the platforms one by one.
He was speechless for a moment but still stopped the cat from overthrowing all the corpses.
"Cat."
Just one word. He didn't know if the cat understood, but it stopped anyway.
The water monkey made strange "ji ji ji ji" sounds on his leg, as if mocking him, truly having forgotten its pain once the injury healed.
Zhang Qiling couldn't discern the exact size of this space, so he could only walk deeper, stepping over corpse after corpse.
The beam of the flashlight flickered through the white mist and darkness, making it seem as if he were trapped in an overly terrifying dream.
But soon, a towering carved stone statue appeared before him, halting his steps!
The statue was two meters tall, dressed in luxurious attire, with a stern face, and entwined with several giant one-eyed worms. It appeared solemn yet sinister.
And in the palm of its outstretched hand, something familiar was placed!
... The Ghost Seal?!!