(five)
After hanging up the phone, Cui Yongle collapsed onto the sofa, feeling utterly exhausted. There's a saying that a man doesn't easily shed tears, but the next line is always forgotten—simply because he hasn't reached the point of heartbreak yet.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down the middle-aged man's face as he was overwhelmed by memories of his time with Zhou Ziqiu. Whether it was when his father was away and no one was there to take care of him when he was still young, Zhou Ziqiu took him to his home, or when he was just beginning to learn about Taoism and Zhou Ziqiu taught him knowledge and skills little by little.
To him, Zhou Ziqiu was both a father and a friend.
He should be happy, he should be happy. As long as Zhou Ziqiu returns to the underground palace, he will be free, he will be free.
On the sofa, Cui Yongle silently tugged at the corners of his mouth, a smile that seemed more like a cry of sorrow than a cry of grief.
After a long while, he opened his eyes again and sent a message to Zhou Ziqiu and Wen Su, informing them of the message.
After receiving the news, Zhou Ziqiu paused for a moment, then looked at the book "Zhou Dynasty" that he had placed on the table. He had previously turned to the page that recorded the story of Emperor Jing of Zhou.
"Brother..." he murmured.
Anyone who has studied history knows that in all the recorded historical records of the Zhou Dynasty, the account of Zhou Qinghe, the younger brother of Emperor Jing of Zhou, is that he was born with an illness and died young. However, the records of his life are all full of praise, praising this second prince as intelligent as his brother. Even the two generals of the Xie family are all full of praise.
Zhou Ziqiu knew that these were all left behind by his elder brother, and he also knew that Zhou Gushan didn't have to go to such lengths to do this. He could have easily labeled him and Xie Xingzhou as rebels. The only reason Zhou Gushan would do this was probably because he felt guilty.
Do you regret killing your own brother and parents, or do you regret accidentally harming innocent people?
Zhou Ziqiu couldn't figure out what Zhou Gushan was thinking, but he knew the most basic thing: Zhou Gushan did not die of natural causes as recorded in the book, because the body that was dug up in later generations was not his.
Zhou Gushan's scheme was one that even he himself had taken into account.
Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that Zhou Gushan's scheme was a heaven-defying formation, forcibly reversing the natural order to prolong the life of the Zhou Dynasty. Naturally, it required not only the sacrifice of human lives, but also the lives of those who cast the spell, whether it was Zhou Gushan or the Grand Preceptor who helped him cast the spell.
This is a rebellion against fate that was destined to be a tragedy.
Wen Su didn't react much after seeing the message. He simply threw his phone on the table, went into the shower, took off his shirt in front of the mirror, revealing his strong and capable upper body.
His chest was covered with knife marks, which vaguely formed a rune, but its purpose was unknown.
"Perfect, all done."
Wen Su looked at the dagger placed next to the sink, picked it up, and held it up to his chest until he found a suitable spot before slashing his own flesh with the dagger.
Instantly, the knife wound on his chest began to spread on its own, connecting the rune that had been drawn with the knife. However, Wen Su's body suddenly lost its strength, the dagger fell to the ground with a "clink," and Wen Su's body fell uncontrollably.
He gritted his teeth and endured the churning pain in his mind, his internal organs felt like they were being crushed into a pulp, his soul felt like it was being forcibly squeezed, and the pupil of one eye even lost focus.
"Almost there...almost there...almost there..."
Wen Su murmured, "As long as we can get through this period, we can keep Zhou Ziqiu."
There was nothing he couldn't tolerate, nothing.
The date for entering the underground palace was set for late at night two days later. No one else joined except the three of them. Wen Su's expression remained relaxed, as if he did not know what would happen next. However, Zhou Ziqiu and Cui Yongle knew. Unable to suppress his sadness, Cui Yongle reached out and hugged Zhou Ziqiu.
See you in a bit.
They had agreed on the way there that Cui Yongle wouldn't go down there. First, he would stay up there to prevent anyone from accidentally wandering in. Second, he wasn't good at exorcising ghosts and evil spirits, and he might get hurt if he encountered anything down there. Third, and most importantly, Cui Yongle didn't want to see Zhou Ziqiu disappear before his eyes.
So he said those words to Zhou Ziqiu as if everything was just as usual, and that Zhou Ziqiu would reappear in front of him soon.
Zhou Ziqiu paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay."
The ruins left from the initial demolition have been cleared away, and a deep pit the size of a football field has been dug out. In the center of the pit, at its deepest point, there is a stone cave that is only two people wide. This cave was dug out in advance by the construction team, releasing most of the foul air that had accumulated for thousands of years.
However, because he was worried that there might be poisons like corpse poison in the air, Wen Su put glutinous rice flour under his nose beforehand. Zhou Ziqiu noticed that his movements were a little slow and asked with concern, "Are you alright? Maybe you shouldn't come down with me."
Wen Su smiled and shook his head: "I'm fine."
He's just not used to not being able to feel half of his body yet; he'll get used to it.
Zhou Ziqiu glanced at Wen Su with some skepticism and decided that if Wen Su continued like this, he would leave him on the ground.
Holding onto the ground, Wen Su jumped into the cave first, then nimbly flipped on the ground to avoid the scattered items. He frowned and looked around, the flashlight shining a golden light on his head.
There's gold underneath!
"Come down."
Wen Su turned his head, and the smooth surface reflected the light from the flashlight into the surroundings, which then reflected it back into the surroundings, creating a dazzling display of gold jewelry.
But we can be sure there is no danger down there.
After Zhou Ziqiu descended into the cave, he saw the burial goods and was immediately stunned, wondering why Zhou Gushan had put so much gold inside.
The two painstakingly searched for an exit from the pile of gold. Sure enough, they found a closed door not far away. Zhou Ziqiu reached out and touched the wall, and the door opened with a rumble, releasing a putrid and foul odor.
Wen Su and Zhou Ziqiu immediately covered their noses and stepped back, looking warily behind the door.
Based on past experience of entering tombs, such tombs usually have many mechanisms, but this door had no mechanisms at all. Behind the door was only a downward staircase, which was not wide, only three people could fit through it, and it spiraled downwards.
Wen Su took the first step up the stairs, but his gaze was drawn to the surrounding walls. With the help of the overhead light, Wen Su saw the stone paintings carved on the walls. Zhou Ziqiu obviously saw them too, and the two of them were momentarily stunned.
This painting depicts the story of a child's birth.
Although there are no words, the joy on the faces of the little figures is evident, clearly showing how happy they are about the child's birth. Next, a little figure wearing a crown places his crown on the baby's head, while attendants surround the infant like stars around the moon, and someone nearby is pounding medicine.
The two moved their feet little by little following the painting. When they saw a child who was not quite grown up holding the baby, Wen Su suddenly realized that the painting was probably of Zhou Qinghe.
Wen Su glanced at Zhou Ziqiu and saw the same astonishment in his eyes.
But there couldn't possibly be only murals here. Wen Su looked up at the ceiling. They had already walked down a distance, but hadn't seen a single side chamber.
There must be some kind of organization here.
Wen Su reached out and gestured at something on the mural, then looked back little by little until his finger touched the crown in the hand of the person putting a crown on the baby. He raised an eyebrow slightly and pressed down on the crown.
Another deafening roar followed, and the mural in front of the two receded slightly, revealing the space hidden behind it.
But Zhou Ziqiu saw a dark figure rushing towards Wen Su in the darkness, and with lightning speed, he swung his knife at the figure.
It's a poisonous insect!
Upon seeing the dark figure, Wen Su immediately pulled out the Karmic Fire Talisman from his pouch and struck it at them. The blood-red Karmic Fire Talisman began to burn the moment it was unleashed, scorching the surrounding air with its red flames. The flames then instantly grew into a wall of fire, blocking the overwhelming swarm of poisonous insects. The ear-piercing chirping and crackling sounds filled the air, along with the acrid smell of burning poisonous insects.
However, these poisonous insects were not very strong, nor were they numerous. They had just swarmed out in a frenzy, which looked rather eerie. Now, they had all been burned to death by the karmic fire, leaving the ground a dark, charred mess of their corpses. Wen Su's boots could be heard crunching as he stepped on them.
The two entered the hidden space and saw a room full of gold and silver treasures, which stunned Zhou Ziqiu once again.
In the exorcism business, there are times when one has to go down to a grave. Whether or not to take any burial goods is up to the individual; some will take a share, while others will consider themselves superior. Wen Su didn't care much for these gold and silver treasures, so he just turned his gaze around and sighed, "Your brother put a lot of things in there."
“I…” Zhou Ziqiu was at a loss for words.
He couldn't understand why Zhou Gushan had done this; did he feel guilty towards him?
The two left the room and continued looking at the murals on the wall.
The paintings on the wall seemed to be continuous. The baby in the painting seemed to be a bit older, toddling alongside a toddler. The baby seemed to have tripped over a stone on the ground and was sitting on the ground crying loudly. The toddler in front of him didn't know how to comfort a child and was at a loss for what to do. Then the baby was picked up by a woman with many attendants.
Zhou Ziqiu was embarrassed to have his childhood embarrassing moments seen, but it was impossible to stop Wen Su from seeing them. Judging from what he had just seen, Zhou Gushan had probably hidden the room behind the murals, so he tugged at Wen Su's sleeve, trying to get Wen Su to focus on finding the mechanism. However, Wen Su did not notice Zhou Ziqiu's actions and was completely focused on looking at the painting on the wall.
This is Zhou Qinghe, who has never been recorded in historical books.
Seeing that he couldn't pull him, Zhou Ziqiu couldn't help but call out to Wen Su. Only then did Wen Su turn around and look at Zhou Ziqiu: "What's wrong?"
"Hurry up and find the relevant authorities, don't look at anything else."
18:58:26
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