Once you enter this secret realm, you'll find bones everywhere. There were probably tens of thousands of skeletons in that giant pit outside, and you've encountered thousands more along the way. It's foreseeable that there are also many skeletons in the royal tomb ahead. Finding Jiang Jiang's head among so many skeletons will be a truly arduous task.
The key issue is that her head wouldn't necessarily look the same now. After so many years, it would have long since turned into a skeleton similar to others, making it impossible to find.
The girl said, “I overheard some people talking in this palace. It seems that because of my special status, they eventually put my head in a steamer and boiled it. There shouldn’t be many prisoners who have had this experience. If you find a head in the steamer that matches my age, that should be the one.”
Zuan: "..."
Pei Mianman: "..."
Mi Li: "..."
This girl is truly pitiful. Not only was she captured and beheaded by the enemy, but her head was also boiled after she died.
Seemingly sensing their emotions, the girl smiled slightly: "It's alright. Although it was painful back then, I've long forgotten about it after all these years."
Zuan said in a deep voice, "Jiang Jiang, I will definitely find your head and jade cong so that you can rest in peace."
"Thank you, big brother." The girl smiled sweetly. "I'll take you to the entrance of the royal tomb."
The girl then led the two forward, with the Kuman Thong crawling alongside them.
I don't know why, but before I only felt that these Kuman Thong were eerie and terrifying. Now I find them quite cute.
"Be careful, this girl's background is unknown, she might be lying to you." Mi Li's voice echoed in my mind.
Zuan shook his head: "Empress, you were betrayed back then, so don't doubt everything."
Mi Li snorted: "Then why did all her clansmen turn into unconscious evil spirits, while she alone retained her mind? You must know that she was so young at the time, and her strength was probably not even comparable to the strong members of her clan."
“That is indeed a bit strange,” Zuan said in a deep voice, “but I trust her. I can feel her sincerity from her eyes and words.”
"Hehe!" Mi Li sneered a few times. "Don't you know that many women are born good at deceiving people? Moreover, government agencies also train female spies. They are all skilled at disguise, and people are being deceived while they are still counting money for them."
Zuan shook his head: "I know there are people like that, but she obviously isn't."
"You'll regret it when you suffer the consequences." Seeing his resolute tone, Mi Li didn't bother to persuade him any further. "By the way, do you know what a 'yan' is?"
“I know, the upper part is used to hold food and is called a zeng. The bottom of the zeng has a perforated grate to allow steam to pass through; the lower part is a li, used to boil water. The high legs can be used to heat the water, just like a steamer in later times,” Zu’an replied.
Mi Li was utterly shocked: "I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable, you even know this?"
She had originally planned to give him some pointers to make it easier for him to find his target, since few people had heard of this ancient cooking utensil these days.
Zu An smiled slightly but did not answer. In fact, there was another reason why he believed the girl but did not say it. When he watched that documentary, it did mention that a bronze vessel containing a human head was found in Yin Ruins. That bronze vessel was a yan (a type of cooking vessel), which was introduced in the program.
By comparing the two, we can see that the girl was not lying.
After walking for a while, the group arrived at an underground passage. The girl pointed inside and said, "The tombs of the Shang kings throughout history are inside. The Shang people have placed a restriction around this area, so my brothers and I can't go in, but you should be able to."
"Jiang Jiang, I will definitely find your head and jade cong," Zu An promised again, mainly because he truly pitied her plight and wanted to free her as soon as possible.
"Thank you, big brother!" The girl's eyes were filled with tears. "Please be careful on your journey, there may be some dangers along the way."
Zuan nodded. In fact, she knew without being told that one could not be careless in a place like this.
After saying goodbye to him, Zuan walked towards the underground passage, only to find that he seemed to bump into a transparent membrane.
"A seal?" Zuan's expression changed as he noticed a light blue screen lighting up around him, covered with familiar Taotie patterns, as well as various black birds and cloud dragons. It looked much more advanced than the seal in the giant pit outside.
"Oh!" the girl exclaimed, looking somewhat dejected. "I didn't expect that even you couldn't get in. I thought these seals were only for beings like us."
Zuan comforted her, "Jiang Jiang, don't be discouraged. Let's think of a way to get in."
Since the exit is inside, he's determined to go in no matter what.
He thought of the oracle bone script on the stone tablet when he entered this secret realm before, and he tried to find similar mechanisms around the passage, but unfortunately there was nothing.
Zu'an was at his wit's end, so he had no choice but to ask Mi Li, "Empress, do you have any ideas?"
Mi Li snorted: "If I were in my prime, how could such a seal stop me?"
"And now?" Zu'an hurriedly asked.
Mi Li was somewhat embarrassed: "Right now, I don't know what to do either."
Zuan: "..."
If you don't know how, why are you pretending? Are you trying to act cute?
Just then, Pei Mianman's voice suddenly came from the side: "Azu, I think... I can go in directly."
Zu An was taken aback. He turned around and saw Pei Mianman tentatively reaching her hand inside. Her hand passed through the seal without any hindrance.
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