Lin Ying continued walking along the route, certain she was on the right path because she knew each formula by heart. However, it was undeniable that the medicinal herbs along the way were quite similar, and someone unfamiliar with the area might easily get lost.
Even those who understand traditional Chinese medicine, if they don't know that this requires the interpretation of the "Treatise on Cold Damage," still cannot enter into the understanding like Lin Ying.
Lin Ying didn't encounter anyone along the way; clearly, everyone was taking different paths.
If Lin Ying remembers correctly, three groups of people have already entered this place, and perhaps more than three groups, but in any case, so far, no one has followed the same path as her.
Lin Ying wanted to save people, that's true, but she needed to understand the situation inside before she could attempt to rescue them.
Lin Ying didn't believe that such a big fuss would be made here. Some people had even been trapped inside for years. If there wasn't anything good, why would they let people in?
With Tiger by her side, Lin Ying arrived at the entrance of a stone cave without encountering any danger.
She didn't rush inside, but instead looked at the two tombstones next to her.
One grave was intact, with a skeleton lying in front of the complete tombstone. The other had an open sarcophagus, but no body inside.
For some reason, Lin Ying unconsciously walked to the two stone tablets, slowly squatted down, and carefully examined them. The inscriptions on them had become somewhat blurred due to the erosion of time, but she still tried her best to make them out. From the few words she could barely make out, Lin Ying vaguely knew that the owners of these two tombs seemed to have intricate connections with the Lin family back then. Perhaps they were ancestors, or perhaps they were key figures who knew many of the Lin family's secrets.
She reached out and gently brushed the dust off the stone tablet, her heart filled with emotion and curiosity. She murmured to herself, "What kind of story is hidden here that is so closely connected to this mysterious place?" Tiger lay quietly to the side, as if sensing the heavy atmosphere, without making a sound.
Lin Ying stood up and circled the two tombstones again. She noticed that the skeleton next to the intact tombstone was in a strange position, as if it had been reaching out towards the stone coffin before its death, trying to grasp something but failing. She frowned, pondering the possible deeper meaning behind this. Could it be that there was something of paramount importance inside the stone coffin that this person had been obsessed with until its death?
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Ying decided to go into the cave first. She took out a flashlight from her backpack and shone it towards the entrance. The cave was deep and dark, exuding a mysterious and unpredictable atmosphere. Taking a deep breath, Lin Ying stepped into the cave, with Hu Zi following closely behind.
As soon as she stepped into the cave, a cool, damp atmosphere hit her, causing Lin Ying to shiver. The walls inside were covered with strange murals, mostly depicting scenes of ancient people practicing medicine and handling herbs. Lin Ying walked along, carefully observing the murals, trying to find clues that could help unravel the secrets of this place or connect her to the Lin family.
As she walked, a fork in the road appeared ahead. The left path faintly emitted the sound of flowing water, while the right path was accompanied by a gust of wind carrying a fishy smell. Lin Ying stopped, silently analyzing which path to take based on her understanding of the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, and the map she had previously comprehended. After some thought, she decided that according to the principle of the Five Elements' mutual generation, water represented vitality and agility, and perhaps the left path was more likely to lead to the key point. Therefore, she headed towards the left path.
As they ventured deeper, they began to see stone platforms displaying ancient books and jars. Lin Ying approached for a closer look; most of the text on the books was obscure and difficult to understand. However, a few contained information about rare traditional Chinese medicine treatments and lost prescriptions. She was delighted, thinking that if she could take these out, they would be a tremendous treasure for the world of traditional Chinese medicine. The jars seemed to contain prepared pills, but she wondered how much of their medicinal properties remained after so many years.
As they continued forward, the passage became increasingly narrow, forcing Lin Ying to squeeze through sideways. Hu Zi also struggled to pass, but thankfully they managed to get through this section smoothly. Suddenly, the space opened up ahead, revealing a larger area. In the center of the space stood a large stone platform, upon which rested an exquisite wooden box. Surrounding the box were several small mechanisms that emitted soft clicking sounds, as if warning anyone approaching.
Lin Ying's heart tightened. She knew this wooden box was no ordinary object; it was likely the most crucial item in the area. But to obtain it, she had to solve the mechanisms first. She cautiously approached the stone platform, carefully observing the mechanisms' structure. Drawing on her previous experience studying mechanisms and her understanding of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, she began searching for a solution. Tiger, meanwhile, stood guard nearby, vigilantly watching the surroundings, ready to respond to any potential dangers.
Lin Ying took a deep breath to calm herself down as quickly as possible, then slowly approached the stone platform, squatted down, and carefully observed the structure of the small mechanisms. She discovered that although these mechanisms seemed to be randomly distributed around the stone platform, they actually contained the subtle patterns of the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams.
Some of the mechanisms had a metallic sheen, which Lin Ying speculated corresponded to the element of "metal" in the Five Elements. They were connected by thin iron chains, the direction of which seemed to match the positions of the trigrams Qian and Dui in the Eight Trigrams. Other mechanisms were made of special wood, with runes representing the element of "wood" engraved on them, and their layout was related to the positions of the trigrams Xun and Zhen.
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