There werenât many people inside this place that stayed empty for thousands of years, so the ending of the question formed a leisurely echo in the empty space. However, in the end, no answer was heard from Qin Cheng.
Like a stone dropped in the sea <sup>1</sup> âŚâŚ
âQin Cheng?â Wu Hai climbed up the wooden ladder, and shouted again tentatively. However, just like before, he didnât get a single anwer. While holding a flashlight, he tried to look at the other side, but all he could see was that everything seemed to be covered by a thick fog. The searchlight could lit up a few meters of the passage, but he couldnât see the end of the rope. Wu Hai suddenly felt very nervous and hurried down the stairs.
âLetâs pull the rope back! Iâm afraid something has happened to Qin Cheng!â
The few people that were holding the rope looked at each other and then quickly pulled the rope back.
Zhang Jun immediately noticed something was wrong the moment he pulled the rope.
The rope was straight, but it wasnât hard to pull it back at all. It was likeâŚ. likeâŚ..
âThereâs no one at the end of the rope!!!!â
He Xing screamed in horror, dropped the rope, squatted down and held his head while his body was shivering all over.
Zhang Jun looked ahead without looking at He Xing, so he pulled the rope at a much faster speed. Within ten seconds, the whole rope was successfully pulled back. At the end of the rope it wasnât Qin Cheng, but a few irregular marks, showing that rope mustâve been cut by somethingâŚ.
Meanwhile, Qin Cheng was looking at the white marble gate, specifically the Jade plaque at the top of the door. The single character âMoâ made Qin Cheng wonder.
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The ancient Emperors would name the place in which they would live in after death based on their own hopes. Itâs said that on the plaque of the Underground Palace of the First Emperor of Qin, there were three words written: âHall of Eternal Lifeâ. The first Emperor of Qin, while still alive, pursued eternal life and immortality, and since this couldnât be reached before his death, he would naturally desire it after his death. Many archeologists still believed in this too.
The Underground Palace in front of him had only one âMoâ character written on it, and if the Jade pendant he had picked up was really the tomb ownerâs, then the tomb ownerâs name could really be Su Jingmo.
Qin Cheng guessed that the owner of the tomb could be a man who loved writing and ink <sup>2</sup> . Of course, only one character from his name was used as the door plaque, which may also represent that the owner of the tomb was a very selfish type of personâŚâŚ
There were two large doors made out of marble, with a gap of about five centimeters wide between the doors. Qin Cheng pointed his flashlight at the crack to see what was on the other side. The only thing that came into view was a tall white stone tablet. With the help of the flashlight, Qin Cheng observed from top to bottom along the gap of the doors, but he couldnât find the bolt. He tentatively pushed the stone door, but he couldnât move it at all.
Qin Cheng squatted down and carefully observed the ground under the light and found that the ground behind the door was higher than on his side. This should be a door device placed in the coffin chamber. This kind of door device was meant to avoid stealing, and appeared for the first time in the Han Dynasty. A small rectangular groove is dug on the ground, placed at the east end of the doorway, and in the middle of the threshold. In the central part of the coffin chamber, a device relying on gravity made out of copper is placed. The door opener is rectangular in shape; the rear end of the device is heavy, and in the middle, a circular axe would run through it. Both ends of the shaft are inserted on both sides of the groove,and because it was light in weight at the front, and heavy in the back, the back end was sagging, and the front end was out of the ground. When the door is closed from the inside to the outside, the front end of the door device will be pressed down, and after closing, the front end of the door device will be naturally raised again, holding the double doors shut, making it impossible to push them open from the outside to the inside.
This kind of door device was used in the tomb of Liu Sheng, the Jing Wang <sup>3</sup> of Zhongshan. If this tomb is from that same era, then according to the style of that era, a small rectangular groove was chiseled on the left and right sides near the lintel on the top of the doorway. Originally, a wooden tenon and other devices should be installed to support the upper parts of the two doors, but the wooden tenon should have long decayed, due to the passage of time.
It was absolutely impossible to open the coffin chamberâs door with one personâs strength. When Qin Cheng stood up and tried to walk back, the white marble gate beside him suddenly creaked.
He thought that the door was about to collapse, so Qin Cheng quickly walked away. However, the door was just opening little by little on its ownâŚ..
Because there was a door device, the door pressed back made a roaring sound, and the stone floor in front of it broke due to the lifting of the door device buried under it.
Qin Cheng was dumbfounded at what was happening. It was such a bizarre situation, and he felt that he should run away, but Qin Cheng was intensely staring at what was slowly revealed in front of himâŚ..
He then began to walk forward, a step at a time, carefully stepping through the open gate, and what wasnât clearly seen beyond the doorway, was becoming more and more clear now. Unlike the all-white patch outside the Underground Palaceâs doors, the entrance is a long, dark corridor. This pavilion, on either side of the long hallway <sup>4</sup> , has retained its original condition for thousands of years to this day. Qin Cheng estimated that this shouldâve been built with stone materials <sup>5</sup> . When he approached the pavilion, many of the bricks and tiles had fallen off from the top due to the passage of time. At the end of the long hallway connecting the pavilion, Qin Cheng only saw a row of broken bricks and tiles. He estimated that this shouldâve been a wooden corridor beforeâŚ..
The round and smooth tomb roof is filled with exquisite murals, and while holding the searchlight in one hand, Qin Cheng could clearly see the tomb walls depicting some picture scrolls. In the west, there were some chariots and horses rolling through the Gobi desert, which was so desolate, just like the ancient war in the Shura field <sup>6</sup> . In the centre, it was a lifelike depiction of some streets, showing the prosperity of an Imperial City. In the south, there were some green hills and water; and in the north, everything was covered with ice and snowâŚ.
This⌠this describes the whole society of that time!
Qin Cheng took a camera and hurried to take some pictures. This kind of mural, which hasnât been in contact with the outside world for thousands of years, will quickly fade out once it comes into contact with the outside air.
This was the most beautiful coffin chamber Qin Cheng has ever seenâŚ..
Taking one step forward, Qin Chengâs full attention was on the sarcophagus at the end of the corridorâŚ.
He wasnât able to see the handles to the two chambers, one that should be at the east and the other that should be at the west side of the coffin chamber, in which some treasures should be hidden. Nor did he see the fifteen lamps and lanterns carved with images of Dragons and Phoenixes beside the sarcophagus. Qin Cheng then approached the sarcophagus made out of white marble step by step.
â Who the hell are you? And what went wrong with history that covered up your DynastyâŚ. â
The sarcophagus was nearly one meter high, and the wooden frame under the sarcophagus has long since decayed. Qin Cheng slowly stepped up the stone stairs looking at the beautiful landscape pictures carved on the side of the sarcophagus.
A number of pearl gems were scattered on the stone stairs, which shouldâve been scattered when the grave robbers dug them trying to steal them.
Since the Mausoleum had been robbed, and the Jade pendant he found could be the tomb ownerâs personal belongingâŚ. Qin Cheng squeezed it tightly and kept walking towards the sarcophagus.
The edges of the sarcophagus werenât sealed, and Qin Cheng guessed that after the grave robbers broke open the sarcophagus to take the tomb ownerâs belongings, they closed it at will. Maybe the tomb ownerâs bones have long since decomposed, and he didnât know what other things could be left behind. But he prayed for some seals or Jade carvings, whatever that could tell him who this person used to be in life.
As if he had made up his mind, Qin Cheng took a deep breath and raised his hand to slowly push open the sarcophagus.
At that moment, Qin Cheng almost forgot how to breatheâŚ.
The long dark hair was pulled up, the exquisite Imperial crown couldnât cover the full forehead of the person in front of him, his eyebrows and eyes were deep, his nose was high and straight, and his thin lips were a bit pale due to the lack of blood; however, this didnât weaken his dignity.
Qin Cheng could already imagine that this man would be extraordinarily handsome if he could see him with his eyes opened.
As if in response to what he thought, the closed eyes suddenly opened. The curved peach blossom eyes seemed like they were smiling. The black eyes were like the thick ink, so thick that it cannot be melted, like the dark night sky illuminated by the bright moon.
At that moment, his medium-thick lips were now filled with a dazzling smile, which could make anyone who looked at it fall under his grip if they werenât being careful enough. Qin Cheng held his breath and kept staring at him, refusing to look awayâŚ. he didnât want toâŚ. heâŚ..
Right at that instant, Qin Cheng suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly tried to run away from the sarcophagus. However, before he could escape even two steps away, he was overturned by a strange force coming from behind, which resulted in him falling to the ground.
Before he could get up, the ghost stepped on Qin Chengâs face.
âDid you wake me up?â
âWh-what?â
âHeh, your ears arenât very good either, thenâŚ.â
âQIN CHENG!!!â
Before that man could finish speaking, ten or so people entered through the gate of the Underground Palace. Su Jingmo moved his feet away from Qin Chengâs face and sneered: âTake them out, or else, Zhen <sup>7</sup> will kill you all.â
ML is so fierce!! ! ! And whatâs even funnier to me is the fact that QC saw a handsome dude in the sarcophagus, probably though: âa ghost!â And right the next second he was like âno brain here just hornyâ LMAO ????
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â(*´â˝`*) â
Footnotes
<ol><b>çłć˛ĺ¤§ćľˇ</b> <b>shĂ chĂŠn dĂ hÇi</b> ; Itâs a Chinese idiom, it means that if you throw a stone into the sea, this one will sink and you will never find it again. Itâs used as a metaphor for never receiving any more news from now on / Never being heard from again. Itâs also used as a metaphor for never getting back what you invested. From <b>ă輿ĺ˘čŽ°ă</b> ( <b>xÄŤ xiÄng jĂŹ),</b> âRomance of the West Chamberâ, written by ( <b>çĺŽçŤ</b> <b>wĂĄng shĂ fÇ</b> ) Wang Shifu [1295-1307], a writer from the Yuan or Mongol Dynasty [1279-1368]. The ( <b>墨</b> <b>mò</b> ) Mo in ( <b>čćŻĺ˘¨</b> <b>sĂš jÇng mò</b> ) Su Jingmoâs name means Ink. <b>ç</b> <b>wĂĄng</b> ; Wang, or âKingâ is the title of a leader, usually a Monarch. In Chinese history, the title of Emperor was invented and used by Qin Shi Huan (The First Emperor of Qin), so later, the Monarchs of some feudal states were also given the title of Wang by the Emperor. In addition to Monarchs, this title can also be given to local chiefs, such as vassal Wang ( <b>čŠç</b> <b>fÄn wĂĄng</b> ) and feudal Wang ( <b>诸䞯ç</b> <b>zhĹŤ hĂłu wĂĄng</b> ). This can also be a title with no real ruling power, for example: A royal title, such as a Prince ( <b>亲ç</b> <b>qÄŤn wĂĄng</b> ), a county Wang ( <b>éĄç</b> <b>jĂšn wĂĄng</b> ), etc. Wang can also appear as a surname. <b>éżĺť</b> <b>chĂĄng lĂĄng</b> ; Also called âlong corridorâ or âPromenadeâ, itâs a corridor/veranda with a roof. This corridor usually leads to compartments or rooms. <b>çłć</b> <b>shĂ liĂ o</b> ; Rocks or substances similar to rocks used as materials for construction, sculpture, etc. The âstone materialsâ usually refer to all stones that can be used as materials, such as: Granite, shale, mud slate, etc. Rockfill, masonry and stone slag are also considered stone materials. <b>俎ç˝ĺş</b> <b>xiĹŤ luĹ chÇng</b> ; Shura field (also called Asura) is a term that originated from a Buddhism idiom and refers to âThe Tragic Battlefieldâ. In Buddhist legends, there are two kinds of beings, Asura and Zhutian (led by Emperor Shitian). Asura has beautiful women but no food, while Zhutian has delicious food but no beauty. The two sides are jealous of each other and often fight, so later generations used this word to describe a fierce war situation. <b>ć</b> <b>zhèn</b> ; In ancient China, with the establishment of the Qin Dynasty [221-207 BC], Ying Zheng (personal name of the First Emperor, Qin Shihuang) created the title of Huangdi (Emperor), specifying âIâ (Zhen) as the self-address of the Emperor, and can only be used by the Emperor himself.</ol>