I don't know why, but from the moment I jumped into this hidden chamber, my eyes were drawn to the four murals painted on the walls. Each depicted a distinct scene.
Starting from the east, the first mural showed a vast desert with a nation founded on an oasis. Countless subjects knelt or bowed before a blue-faced king. The king, with a strange blue complexion, cradled a baby of the same hue in his arms.
Though his face looked odd, his expression was gentle and kind. Around him, the people knelt or worshipped, gathering closely. Their faces all bore joyful expressions, and their luxurious clothing indicated that the nation's people lived in great wealth and prosperity, revering their king sincerely from their hearts.
The second mural showed the blue-faced king aged, with white hair and beard. The infant had grown into a graceful blue-faced princess standing beside him. From the east arrived a group clearly of Central Plains Han ethnicity—different from the desert people. They carried swords and knives, and nearly every one of them had several heads of the desert nation's people hanging from their belts.
The leader stood before the king, speaking to him, while holding the princess's hand.
The king seemed to listen intently to the Central Plains man's words, but his eyes were fixed on the confused princess. A faint sorrow and helplessness showed in the king's gaze.
The third mural shifted to a palace scene of the Zhou dynasty era in Central Plains. The Central Plains soldiers from before now pierced the blue-faced princess's chest with a sword. In the desert beyond, countless Central Plains troops had reached the palace gates. The ground around was stained with blood and fallen citizens. The king, clad in battle armor and wielding a curved sword, stood atop the palace walls, staring toward the palace.
The fourth mural depicted this very hidden chamber. The blue-faced king held an oil lamp in his hands, performing some kind of ritual. Outside the chamber, the Central Plains army had breached the palace walls, and a black tornado was sweeping across the desert, bearing down on the palace.
After I finished examining the murals, Sun Fatty shuffled over, mumbling unhappily, "LaZi, did you push me down just now?"
I looked at him in surprise. "DaSheng, you're blaming me? You clearly stepped on the soul-gathering spike, slipped, and fell into the coffin yourself."
Sun Fatty shook his head. "No, I stepped on the spike, but I didn't slip — someone pushed me. Are you sure it wasn't you?"
"I wasn't even near you at the time. How could I push you?"
He looked doubtful. "How can you prove it?"
My irritation flared at his whining. I shouted, "If I pushed you, then I'll… huh? Where did this oil lamp come from?"
Suddenly, a familiar oil lamp appeared on the bare coffin lid — identical to the lamp in the mural. I asked, "Did you put it there?"
"Not me," Sun Fatty shook his head again. "It's just an oil lamp. What's the big deal? There's even oil inside, perfect for lighting it." He raised his lighter flame toward it.
"Don't light it!" Hao Wenming and Po Jun were watching the murals but realized too late.
With a sudden whoosh, the lamp ignited, releasing an eerie rushing wind. Then, a thick white smoke billowed out of the lamp's spout.
"Don't inhale that! Get back up!" Hao Wenming and Po Jun were genuinely alarmed. Hao snatched the lamp from Sun Fatty's hands. Po Jun shoved the coffin toward where we fell, grabbed one corner, and with a grunt, flipped it upright. "Climb out through here!"
The smoke was dangerous! Suddenly, my vision blurred. More figures appeared in the chamber as if out of nowhere.
In front of me stood a large blue face — the blue-faced king from the mural, with curling white hair and beard.
His Majesty glared at me fiercely, brandishing a curved sword and shouting, "Traitor! Return my daughter's life!" Without giving me a chance to explain, he swung his blade fiercely!
The strike was lightning fast, but I was skilled enough to duck and dodge backward, narrowly avoiding the blade. As his sword dropped, I aimed a kick at the king's groin.
Just as I was about to land the blow, something bizarre happened. The blue-faced king dissolved into smoke, scattering in all directions. The smoke reformed about five or six meters away, becoming the king's image once more.
I pulled out my pistol and fired at his forehead. The shot cracked loudly, but the bullet seemed to hit a cloud — no damage at all.
What's the point of shooting this thing? Retreat!
I turned and noticed three identical blue-faced kings entangling Hao Wenming, Po Jun, and Sun Fatty.
Hao Wenming and Po Jun were faring better, dodging and weaving to hold out for now. But Sun Fatty was in bad shape — he had more than a dozen fresh wounds, blood gushing, and looked close to collapse.
I didn't have time to think much. I raised my hand and fired three shots at Blue-Face King No. 2. Just like before, the three bullets hit him as if a clay sculpture of an ox had fallen into the sea — causing no damage at all.
"Switch weapons!" I put away the pistol and drew my collapsible baton. Swinging it straight, I struck the back of Blue-Face King No. 2's head.
With a whoosh, the baton dispersed King No. 2's smoky body. His misty form floated over to King No. 1's front. Without hesitation, King No. 2's spirit merged into King No. 1's body. The newly combined King No. 1 doubled in size and started moving slowly toward me and Sun Fatty.
I helped Sun Fatty up and limped toward the coffin. After a few steps, I heard a scream. Director Hao failed to dodge and was slashed across the shoulder blade by King No. 3's blade. Hao Wenming screamed in pain and turned, running toward the coffin. That left an opening for King No. 3, who slashed diagonally at Hao's back. Poor Hao Wenming was cut in two, blood and entrails spilling everywhere.
Po Jun was nearby and stunned by the scene. Seeing an opportunity, King No. 4 struck with his curved blade while Po Jun was distracted. Blood exploded in the dark room. Po Jun's head fell to the ground, blood from his neck spraying over ten feet high. His body shook a few times before collapsing.
The combined Blue-Face King was chasing closely behind. Just as he was about to catch up, Sun Fatty suddenly shook off my support and said, "Lazi, I'll hold them off! You go." He pushed me toward the coffin and charged back at the combined Blue-Face King.
No suspense. With a flash of the blade, Sun Fatty fell to the ground.
Seeing my three teammates who were just alive moments ago now gone, my hair stood on end, and my body trembled uncontrollably.
No more running. There was no need. The three Blue-Face Kings advanced on me. Strangely, my heart calmed and my body stopped shaking.
Watching them raise their curved blades as they approached, I thought, "Is this the end? I'm still a bit unwilling." One last look at this world.
Hmm? The last thing I saw was the oil lamp on the ground, still flickering flames. Without thinking, I raised my hand and fired a shot.
Bang! The oil lamp shattered, and as it broke, the three Blue-Face Kings disappeared without a trace.
Just like that, it was over? My mind went blank. How could this be? The three people who were joking just moments ago were now lying on the ground, their bodies already starting to cool.
What now? I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts. Four living people were lost — Ouyang Pianzuo's side must be anxious. They probably already sent people everywhere to look for us. I wouldn't think about anything else; I'd wait and see when they come.
There was only one way out. I walked to the coffin that Po Jun had propped up. I jumped up, grabbed the coffin edge, took a breath, pushed hard with my waist, and kicked off the coffin board with my toes. Following this momentum, I could climb onto the coffin lid and then up to the main tomb chamber.
Just as I was about to reach the top of the coffin, clang! — the coffin lid suddenly fell to the ground without warning.
What's happening? My head went boom, my legs went weak, and I almost fell. Without hesitation, I tightly grabbed the coffin edge with one hand and reached for my pistol with the other.
Just as my fingers touched the grip, a blue, glaring face suddenly emerged from the coffin. It twisted at an impossible angle until it was face-to-face with me.
"Are you done yet?" After overwhelming fear, I no longer cared. Could it get worse than this? At worst, it's death.
I gripped the pistol, but before I could draw it, a pair of hands reached from behind and tightly hugged me and my still-un-drawn right hand like an iron hoop.
The person holding me had no head! It was Po Jun! Seeing him, I felt the blood in my body turn ice-cold. Two minutes ago, I saw his head get chopped off, and now his body was actively making close contact with me.
That wasn't all. From afar, Sun Fatty shakily stood up, and Hao Wenming crawled toward me, using both hands to support his half body while dragging a lower half.
My clothes were soaked with cold sweat. Po Jun's strength was enormous. I tried to break free several times but couldn't move an inch.
The blue-faced man from the coffin slowly came out, his eyes almost touching my face. In a familiar tone, he said, "Seriously, how long are you going to sleep?"
How long to sleep? Was I dreaming? I stared blankly. Was that Hao Wenming?
The half of Hao Wenming lying on the ground suddenly stood up but spoke in Sun Fatty's voice: "Hao, what you did won't work. It's no good. We need something stronger."
Stronger medicine? Before I could react, there was a smack — and suddenly a burning pain on my face.
"Who hit me!" I shouted angrily and opened my eyes. The scene changed the moment I opened them. Hao Wenming and the others were all around me. My head was fuzzy and familiar with the place, but I couldn't remember where. Was I dreaming? How could it feel so real?
At some point, the three had lifted me out of the main tomb chamber. After recovering a bit, I realized I was lying in the small chamber holding the petro-monument. I looked up and saw Sun Fatty raising his palm, about to hit me again. I glared and said, "Sun Dasheng, why are you hitting me?"
Maybe he didn't expect me to wake up so suddenly. Sun Fatty flinched but immediately put on an innocent face, "You were confused, Lazi. How could I hit you? You just fell asleep and still can't tell dream from reality."
"Not you? Then why is your hand raised? And why does my face feel tight and burning?"
"You worry about my hand? You probably hit your head when you fell asleep," Sun Fatty rolled his eyes. He was clearly getting revenge for the few slaps I gave him earlier.
Though I was at a loss, inside I was swirling with confusion — I had really fallen asleep? But it felt so real. Even though I was still a bit dizzy, seeing Hao Wenming and the others fine in front of me, even if this was still a dream, I was willing to keep sleeping.
"All right, Lazi, good you're awake," Po Jun said to smooth things over.
I still didn't understand what happened. When I was in the army, I had endured five days and nights without sleep to train my sniping willpower. It was impossible to fall asleep without noticing, let alone have such nightmares. I asked, "What just happened? How could I fall asleep?"
Before Po Jun could answer, Sun Fatty cut in, "You weren't sleeping, you had sleepwalking episodes — dreaming and pulling your gun, even firing several shots."
His words shocked me. I instinctively touched my waist — the gun was gone. Then I saw Po Jun holding it, hesitating before returning it to me.
I checked it. The barrel was still warm, and the chamber smelled of gunpowder. Hao Wenming stood nearby, not denying it, so probably Sun Fatty wasn't lying. I asked, "Did I hurt you? I've never sleepwalked before. How did I fire?"
"No injuries, but you scared us," Sun Fatty said nervously, still afraid. "After you smelled that smoke, you fell asleep standing up, talking in your sleep, mumbling, and even pulling out your gun and firing four or five shots. One bullet flew right past my hair. Lazi, what did you dream about?"
I didn't answer and asked, "We all smelled it. Why didn't it affect you?"
Po Jun smiled bitterly, "That was your hallucination. The bodies in the embalming bronze coffin were coated with Soul Departure Incense. You were closest and noticed it first. When you tried to warn us, it was too late — you got affected."
"Soul Departure Incense? In the embalming bronze coffin? No, I smelled that smoke in the dark chamber under the coffin. It was Sun Dasheng who lit the oil lamp. Hao tried to stop him but was too late — the lamp was lit," I explained, gesturing to help them understand.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Po Jun frowned, clearly thinking I was still half-asleep, so he explained how I was drugged. Soul Departure Incense is originally used to prevent tomb robbers — typically applied on the corpse. Inhaling it causes hallucinations. There was a case where a tomb-robbing gang inhaled a large amount, causing all members to hallucinate, go mad, fight each other, and die.
Just now, when Po Jun and I were pushing the coffin lid and a crack appeared, Po Jun noticed something was wrong. Before he could warn me, I had started acting wildly, talking to myself. The Soul Departure Incense in the embalming bronze coffin began to take effect. We couldn't stay in the main tomb chamber, so the three of them struggled to lure me into this small chamber.
"We can't go back to the main tomb chamber. What do we do now?" I asked Hao Wenming, who hadn't spoken much since I woke, only glancing at his watch from time to time.
"Almost done. The Soul Departure Incense should have mostly evaporated. Let's go back to the main tomb chamber and check," Hao Wenming said, watching the time.