Chapter 1031 A Joke of Near-Death Experience
Upon hearing this, everyone was greatly surprised!
Ashina Zhuxie immediately frowned: "What did you say!?"
Zuo Tian had just fought with him, and now their eyes met. There was still some lingering hostility between them. He took a deep breath to suppress the fire in his heart, and then said coldly, "I said, it's all gone."
"..."
“The golden head you just saw is the last bit of treasure that my brothers and I left behind after we used up all the treasures our father had hidden.”
"..."
“I cast that head and buried my brother.”
"..."
"The suspected tomb of Zuo Gong has no value to the world!"
Even Wo Xue's face showed surprise—she was the least concerned about the so-called treasure of Zuo Gong's suspected tomb among the entourage. Firstly, it had nothing to do with her, and secondly, even if it were found, it would not fall into her hands. However, after hearing Shang Ruyi and Lü Xiao keep mentioning it along the way, she still had a slight fantasy about the wealth of the enemy country hidden inside.
Even if I can't get my hands on it, it's good to see it.
Unexpectedly, the treasure that everyone coveted, and that caused them so much hardship and death, some even losing their lives in the dark tomb passage, had long been spent!
This is truly a joke with a slim chance of survival.
Wo Xue murmured, "How could that be?"
Zuo Tian, who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, slowly stood up, supporting himself on his knees. His thin body swayed in his charred and unrecognizable Taoist robe, like a aimless ghost. As he slowly walked towards the east room, he said, "My father did indeed accumulate astonishing wealth during his lifetime, and he was richer than a country."
"That--"
"But no matter how much wealth you have, it means nothing in the face of war."
"..."
The room fell silent again.
Zuo Tian walked to the east room, which had just been a mess from the chaos of a group of people climbing up and desperately trying to survive. Now he closed the wooden planks covering the underground tomb passage again. Black smoke was still rising from below the passage, but now it was completely shut off. He then placed the futon back on the planks and bent down to pick up the shrine, wooden fish, and bronze chime that had been kicked over.
It was only at this moment that Shang Ruyi realized that what was enshrined in the shrine was a memorial tablet.
A sign without a nameplate.
At this point, everyone was speechless. Even seeing the blank memorial tablet, they had lost interest in figuring out who it was dedicated to; it didn't matter anymore. Shang Ruyi's throat tightened, and after a long struggle, she finally managed to utter a hoarse voice, tinged with a self-deprecating smile: "So that's how it is..."
Zuo Tian turned to look at them, her gaze like that of a bear that had fought with all its might, its head covered in bee stings, looking utterly pathetic. After its gruesome victory, it climbed a tall tree to retrieve a beehive, only to find that it contained none of the honey it had been hoping for.
His disheveled appearance was a complete joke.
But isn't this scene just like when the brothers were defeated and had nowhere to turn many years ago?
Who among the living doesn't resort to all sorts of ugly behavior in order to survive?
Green Silk looked at him with a complicated expression and said, "Then why didn't you say so sooner?"
If things had been made clear earlier, these people wouldn't have had to waste so much time here, and they wouldn't have been led underground to go through that near-death experience. Fewer people would have died.
Zuo Tian didn't look at her, but remained silent for a moment before saying, "If I had told you earlier, you wouldn't have believed me."
He then turned his head, his cold gaze sweeping over the faces of Shang Ruyi, Wo Xue, Ashina Zhuxie, and Lei Yu, before he sneered, "Even now, you might not all completely believe that if you found even a single clue in this house, you would still continue searching, wouldn't you?"
"..."
Everyone remained silent, but silence itself was an answer.
Indeed, human greed is insatiable. Even though Shang Ruyi prides herself on not doing anything immoral for the sake of treasure, she doesn't think she can remain calm and accept the good fortune if she is really faced with such wealth. After all, the life of Wang Shaoqiu and the gains and losses of Xiazhou are not worth the scheming and plotting she has put in all this time, and even the risks she has taken.
Seeing everyone's tacit agreement, Zuo Tian sneered, "That's right, the previous tomb keeper also died for this."
"..."
"Therefore, you don't need to believe me, because I don't believe you either."
The atmosphere in the room became even more silent.
No wonder, he fled here after Zuo Heng's rebellion failed. But this little wooden house looks like it has been weathered for more than ten years. It turns out that this was where the tomb keeper used to live. He said that the tomb keeper died for this. I'm afraid that before them, other people had calculated that Tian Ding Mountain was the real burial place of Master Zuo and came to search for the treasure.
Everything today is probably just a replay of many stories from many years ago.
People change, but human nature never changes.
Realizing this, Shang Ruyi suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness, even more so than the exhaustion she felt after escaping death. She even looked at Ashina Zhuxie and Lei Yu with the same dazed expression. As for Lüxiao... she had been silent ever since she came up, as if a wisp of her soul had been left in that dark and sunless underground. Shang Ruyi understood that the shock of what had just happened was too great. Even if Lüxiao was experienced and had escaped death many times, she might not be able to remain calm and composed every time.
So they said nothing more.
Although there was no point in staying on Tian Ding Mountain, they decided to stay for another day because many people were injured, and would deal with everything after they came down the mountain the next day.
Afterwards, everyone dispersed—though not really, they remained in the small wooden hut, each sitting quietly to calm their own emotions, while the soldiers and guards outside either tended to their wounds or rested. Having said all that, Zuo Zhen ignored them and continued chanting his sutras and striking his wooden fish in the east room.
After dinner, the people on the mountaintop watched the sun set and night fall once again.
Shang Ruyi washed herself briefly with the hot water that Wo Xue had brought. When she turned around, she found that Lüxiao was not in the house. She went out for a walk and saw her standing alone behind the house. The cold moonlight shone on her. It was originally a beautiful scene, but the silent scene exuded an indescribable loneliness and helplessness.
Shang Ruyi watched for a while, but didn't go over. She just turned around and quietly retreated.
But after taking only two steps, he looked up and saw a familiar figure standing in front of him, clearly waiting for him.
Her bright face, illuminated by the moonlight, revealed a hint of coldness.
It is Lei Yu.
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