554: Chapter 431 General’s Tomb 554: Chapter 431 General’s Tomb “Drip, drip, drip…”

Water droplets echoed in his ears as Zhang Xiaoman was walking through this ancient tomb, buried for nearly a thousand years.

At his side, the Star Guards were like his most loyal bodyguards, protecting him closely.

In his hand, a small ball emitting a bright white light hovered above his palm, illuminating the surrounding space.

This was naturally the Lighting Technique he was using, a skill said to be essential for Mages.

“If it weren’t for the lack of Dark Energy Fluctuations, I might even think I’ve encountered another Emperor Vine.”

Zhang Xiaoman reached out to brush aside a vine that dangled before his eyes, surveying his surroundings.

The environment here differed more than he had initially imagined.

To enter the Underground cave, one had to first get through the General’s Tomb.

In his conjecture, the General’s Tomb probably wasn’t anything too grand, at most consisting of a main tomb, an antechamber, and a couple of passageways.

But who would have thought the size of this General’s Tomb would far exceed that of those little known, smaller tombs.

Just the corridor in the antechamber seemed large enough to accommodate two sedans driving side by side.

Now, after a long period of decay, the walls here were crumbling.

Water was dripping in some places, and they were covered with strange ancient plants.

It’s uncertain whether these plants were native to Water Blue Star or had come from another dimension.

“Now I’m getting curious – which General’s tomb is this, to be of such scale, yet has never been discovered?

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have never heard about it until now.”

Zhang Xiaoman didn’t know how deep underground he was at this point; the passage had been leading downward all along.

After walking some distance, he finally arrived at the end of the passageway and entered a spacious hall.

The space was massive, with three stone coffins placed in the center.

The surrounding area was intricately decorated, and there was even a man-made hill with a cascading water curtain to one side.

All three stone coffins were very large, and one of them had been broken open by external force, revealing a skeleton inside along with some gold and silver jewelry.

Zhang Xiaoman glanced at those objects and then around the room, noticing that various porcelain pieces were scattered around, some broken and others luckily preserved.

“These must be antiques…

An ancient general’s tomb from over a thousand years ago, these antiques should be worth quite a lot…”

A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, and then he felt something was slightly amiss.

“Alright, I clearly came here to fight monsters, so why do I suddenly feel like a Tomb Raider Captain?”

Zhang Xiaoman shook his head, no longer paying attention to these objects.

If it were his former self, he probably would have been overjoyed by now.

But then again, if it were his former self, how would he have the courage to enter a place like this?

He walked further into the hall, but suddenly noticed three passageways at the far end, all the same size and pitch-black, with no sight of what lay beyond.

“Three paths?

Am I supposed to choose one?”

Zhang Xiaoman’s expression turned peculiar, feeling that this setup seemed vaguely familiar.

If someone with knowledge of Fengshui Burial Secret Techniques were here, they could recite a mnemonic and find the correct path, avoiding danger.

Unfortunately, he did not possess that knowledge.

However, he had his own methods.

After giving instructions to the three Star Guards, Zhang Xiaoman instructed them to explore the three dark passageways to see which was the correct path to take.

About a minute later, two of the Star Guards were attacked.

The attackers were arrows shot from the surrounding walls, likely part of some sort of trap mechanism.

“So it seems I should take this path, right?”

Zhang Xiaoman arrived at the last passage, and was just about to step through when he received a message from the Star Guard up ahead, who had also been attacked.

“Not here!?”

He looked at the end of the passage with some surprise, feeling puzzled.

According to usual patterns, among these three paths, there should be at least one that didn’t have traps and was safe.

Zhang Xiaoman focused his thoughts and then suddenly slapped his forehead, grumbling:

“Alright, I was misled.

What am I looking for the main tomb for?

I am not here to explore tombs; I’m trying to find the underground cave.”

He immediately issued new instructions to the three Star Guards, telling them to look for a pathway leading downward.

After issuing his orders, Zhang Xiaoman took another look at the walls of these three passages.

Although they were covered with plant growth and had significantly deteriorated, there seemed to be no traces of scratches.

If it were the correct entrance, those monsters coming out from inside should have left some footprints or signs.

Unless the underground cave had other entrances and exits, but even so, there should at least be some traces here.

He waited for a moment, and all three Star Guards came back, having not found a way down.

All three passages were dead ends.

“Strange…”

Zhang Xiaoman walked around the hall, although he clearly followed that monster down here, how did he lose track of it upon reaching this point?

Could there really be some junction that he had missed earlier?

Just as he was considering whether to go back and check, he suddenly caught sight of some characters beside a stone coffin.

“Hmm…

These are…”

Zhang Xiaoman leaned closer to have a look, his eyes revealing a trace of surprise.

The characters on this stone coffin were undoubtedly ancient Huaxia script from a thousand years ago.

Though blurred, they were still legible.

“Eldest son, Lin Xuan.”

He read aloud the content on it

With the presence of All Language Mastery, as long as it’s Huaxia script, even if it’s ancient characters, he could understand it.

“This one is…

Second son…

Lin Qing.”

“Young daughter…

Lin Lan…”

“Are all three children of the general inside these coffins?

What happened here?

Did the entire family die together?”

An image instantly flashed through Zhang Xiaoman’s mind.

The master of this tomb must have committed some offense in the past, resulting in the emperor ordering the execution of his entire household.

However, perhaps the latter remembered his contributions and still built this mausoleum for him.

“Since the children are all accounted for, might the wife be here as well?”

He mused, his gaze instinctively shifting to the stone platform positioned between the three coffins.

He gently wiped away the dust from it to see a line written in ancient Huaxia script:

Loving wife Yu Hui, join me in eternal rest, stay with me for eternity.

Silver Bamboo forms the door, the boundless sky serves as the house, spending every dawn and dusk together.

Shen Zhou at the edge, laying beside the earth itself, ceaselessly through the years.

To the Yellow Springs we return, at the ends of the Nine Netherworld, parting without regret on the Heartbroken path.

To our full capacity, this desire is insatiable, this affection is eternal, nothing but a Heaven and Earth Swapping could sever it.

—— Lin Hai’s last words.