What exactly happened to that locust corpse?
How did he turn into a monster that was neither human nor insect?
What was depicted in the two missing murals?
Who set up that teleportation formation?
Where did this secret realm come from?
How did the people from Great Xia enter this place?
After finishing the murals, Nan Zhi felt her mind was in a state of chaos. The seemingly disordered clues were like half-exposed threads waiting for her to unravel them.
She circled the stone chamber once more and noticed several fresh palm prints on the shelves that should have been used to store books. The varying thickness of the dust allowed her to guess what had happened:
The furniture was ordinary, but the items kept inside were gone.
The exploration team had arrived before her; any valuable items in this stone chamber had likely already been taken by them.
In the mural, the locust corpse had been clutching a jade slip while slumped over the table before its death. That jade slip might very well be among the items they took.
If she could find that jade slip, she might make an unexpected discovery.
However, for Ma Guniang to take the initiative to ask for a single jade slip—
What if the other party raised the price astronomically or stubbornly refused to give it up?
Killing for treasure was out of the question; as someone who had grown up in Great Xia, she could not cross that psychological hurdle.
As Nan Zhi's thoughts shifted, she quickly came up with a plan.
...
...
As soon as the spider venom in her system was neutralized, Qin Yue forced herself to rally her spirits and come to see Nan Zhi. However, before she could even get close, she was stopped outside the stone chamber by a young girl who looked to be only in middle school.
"Shh, Ma Guniang is inside. Don't be noisy. You cannot enter. Wait here while I go in to announce your arrival."
Seeing Nan Zhi deep in thought before the murals earlier, Hongluo had quietly stood guard at the entrance, refusing to let anyone in to disturb her.
These mortals dressed so strangely and spoke in such odd ways. She had no idea what kind of gibberish they were spouting and could only understand about half of it.
This child—
What was she saying? Was it a dialect? It sounded rhythmic and cadenced, almost like an ancient language.
It stood to reason that anyone following Ma Guniang, that old ghost from the Song Dynasty, would likely be some kind of spirit or minor ghost as well.
"I apologize for the intrusion. I have come to thank Ma Guniang for the medicine. May I enter?"
Qin Yue sensed something unusual about Hongluo, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Leaning on Hu Manni for support, she spoke gently,
"Little sister, how should I address you?"
"You are a strange person. You look refined enough, so why are you so ill-mannered? I already told you to wait for me to announce you."
Hongluo stood at the door, and the two of them were essentially talking past each other, gesturing wildly, yet both instinctively kept their voices low.
Fortunately, the silent Hu Manni eventually seemed to grasp Hongluo's meaning. She tugged on Qin Yue's sleeve and spoke in a voice so low it was almost inaudible, like the buzzing of a mosquito.
"Section Head Qin, I think she means for us to wait."
Realization dawned on Qin Yue. She took a step back, and seeing this, the young girl looked satisfied. She nodded and turned to enter the stone chamber.
"I truly didn't understand a single word that child said."
Qin Yue took a breath and stood steady with her companion's help. Noticing that Hu Manni seemed dazed, as if her soul were wandering elsewhere, she fell silent as well.
The price they had paid for this scientific exploration was far too high.
Of the three fox immortals accompanying Hu Manni, two had been eaten while protecting her, and the remaining one was severely injured, showing no signs of waking even after taking medicine.
To prevent that giant centipede from escaping, they had chosen to blow up the underground passage.
During this time, they had been actively searching for a way out, but as their map of the surrounding terrain became more complete, they grew increasingly discouraged.
This place seemed to be a completely sealed, independent space. It wasn't that it had no boundaries; it was surrounded by water on all sides, leaving them with no way to leave.
Now that the passage to the underground Imperial Tombs was destroyed, the information Professor Liu brought back also indicated that they were very likely no longer on the familiar Blue Star.
Therefore, their only hope of leaving now rested entirely on this unfathomable Senior Ma.
Based on what she knew of this Senior Ma, the woman appeared kind and gentle, but her temperament was unpredictable.
If someone caught her eye, she might freely gift them cultivation methods or pills. But if someone displeased her, she was also capable of using living people as bait on a fishing line to catch demon beasts.
However, she wasn't impossible to trade with.
The fact that Ma Guniang was willing to give them a chance to exchange gathered spirit herbs and minerals for life-saving medicine showed that she at least possessed a bottom line and a sense of order.
Perhaps it was her nature, or perhaps she was influenced by that Demon Suppression Commissioner.
At the very least, for those of them trapped in the secret realm, it meant one less threat to their lives.
The other party wouldn't have ventured deep into the secret realm and appeared here for no reason; she must be looking for something.
Now, it remained to be seen if their sincerity was enough to move this "Ma Guniang."
...
Qin Yue and Hu Manni waited quietly outside the stone chamber for quite a while before they saw the young girl from before skip out and wave to them.
"Ma Guniang is willing to see you. Follow me."
Though they didn't understand the words, they understood the gesture. They immediately rallied their spirits and followed behind Hongluo.
Upon entering, they were greeted by a faint, elegant fragrance. Looking closely, they saw Ma Guniang sitting before a stone table, brewing tea.
A small red clay stove held several pieces of brightly burning golden silk charcoal. A teapot sat atop it, the water inside already boiling, the white steam making the lid rattle.
On the table was a set of simple, ancient-looking tea implements, along with three plates of small, lovely tea snacks and a plate of fresh, golden loquats.
These items would look at home in a lavishly decorated tea room or a scenic mountain pavilion.
Seeing them here, in this empty and lonely burial chamber, only inspired a sense of dread.
"You've come?"
Ma Guniang was reclining lazily on a stone chair, a blue-covered book held loosely in her hand. Beneath her were several soft cushions woven from fine silk and satin, and two bolsters rested behind her back.
She looked as relaxed as if she were in a tea house or a tavern rather than a secret realm full of hidden dangers and demon beasts. Her greeting was equally casual and nonchalant.
"Sit. Taste the tea brewed by my young attendant."
Four prayer mats were placed by the stone table. Hongluo walked over, lifted the teapot to brew the fragrant tea, and following Nan Zhi's lead, placed two cups before the two women. Only then did she begin to crunch on the snacks on the table.
Despite their host's casual greeting, the two of them didn't dare to respond too familiarly.
Qin Yue and Hu Manni each chose a prayer mat and sat cross-legged, mimicking Hongluo's posture. They picked up their tea, blew on the steam, and took a sip. The former nodded and offered a few words of praise to show respect.
"The tea's fragrance is crisp, and the brew is sweet. Truly fine tea."
In reality, it was just coarse tea bought for fifteen wen a catty from a roadside foot-shop.
Nan Zhi was glad for her hamster-like nature; when she had first set out with the Wang family servants, she had hoarded a bit of everything, no matter how useless it seemed, into her bag.
She pushed the three plates of snacks toward Hongluo and tilted her chin slightly.
"I know why you have come. I asked you to seek me out as soon as you woke for this very reason."
"Senior Ma, I will not speak falsehoods before you. I'll get straight to the point."
Qin Yue set down her teacup and stared at the curling steam rising from the bowl.
"I want to make a transaction with you. If you can lead us out of here, I swear on my character and my country that the authorities will do their utmost to provide a price that satisfies you."
"Of course you can afford the price."
Nan Zhi smiled. The rising mist made her face appear even more otherworldly.
"I want seventy percent of the items found in this stone chamber. I will give you only three days to consider; I have other matters to attend to.
"Naturally, because of the Commissioner's orders and my duty to the Demon Suppression Division, I cannot kill indiscriminately. But if you are unwilling, this old woman can simply wait a few days until you have all died out before coming back to claim these things."
Qin Yue's breath hitched for a moment.
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