Return of an old friend
"How come these words are so similar to a poem in a book I read before? Who copied whose?" Song Shiwen muttered. That book was written by his great-great-grandfather, and he was too embarrassed to show it to anyone. Plagiarism was a stain, and he couldn't let anyone know about it. But then he wondered, why would his great-great-grandfather have copied it here? Could he have been here before and seen this painting? But this was the tomb of the Hui family's ancestors.
An incredible possibility occurred to him. "Is this some kind of tourist attraction? The kind that anyone can visit?"
He Ai was not happy to waste any more time with him, but after hearing this, he did not offer a pleasant explanation. "Actually, this is the Hui family's private territory."
"Which Hui family?" Song Shiwen had never heard of such a prominent family. If it was Hui Zifeng's family, Song Shiwen would have started to make a fuss. "Hui Zifeng Hui family?"
"Of course, for generations."
His kind eyes flashed red.
Song Shiwen immediately became obedient, "Really? With talents like you, of course it will last for generations."
So how did his great-grandfather's great-grandfather manage to imitate such a similar poem? It wasn't a masterpiece, just some sour gossip about love affairs, so why would he imitate it?
"Zang Yue, it's really unlucky to have our name Zang Yue hanging there." Even though the poem in my great-grandfather's great-grandfather's book also contained the two characters "Zang Yue," he began to try to convince himself that the name had been tarnished, because of his love for this person.
Little deer, little deer! Song Shiwen was filled with joy, looking forward to seeing her.
The tomb was like a vast courtyard, winding and seemingly endless. Walls lined either side, and Song Shiwen couldn't help but knock, sensing solid stone or soil behind them. Even in this seemingly enclosed place, there was always a breeze flowing overhead or beneath. Lighting came from luminous materials embedded in the walls or floor. The more Song Shiwen walked, the more excited he became, feeling no sense of oppression from such a place.
He'ai's footsteps were so light, like a gust of wind, as if they didn't exist. Song Shiwen saw He'ai's true face on the wall, where a shadow shouldn't have appeared. He's acting out his past story, like a fairy tale, guarding his legacy...
Also, the people before me.
The light in the main chamber wasn't as bright as in the corridor. It was unclear where the light came from, but it seemed similar to sunlight, like a beam of morning sun, slanting into a perfectly defined triangle in the pure darkness. There weren't many of those triangles, but they were just enough to create a hazy image of the entire space. Important objects wouldn't be exposed in the beam, but the surrounding objects could still be roughly discerned.
Song Shiwen tilted his head, walked around the kind figure, and saw two heads popping out from the other side of a coffin. With some sense, he instantly recognized one of them as Lu Cangyue.
The coffin was more than spacious enough to hold two people. As Song Shiwen passed He Ai and went to look for Lu Cangyue, he passed by the coffin and had this thought in his mind.
The moon is not hidden in the coffin...
Is he talking about the seemingly fragile girl in front of him? Song Shiwen still remembers the first time he saw her. It's so strange, why does it feel like I've seen her many times, but every time it feels like the first time I've seen her?
"Little Deer!" Song Shiwen approached her with the same love and expectation as when he embraced his lover before, but his beloved seemed indifferent.
"Open your mouth," Lu Cangyue said, her lifeless eyes fixed on Song Shiwen. At this moment, the monk leaning against her back collapsed. He Ai quickly came over to check on him. Perhaps nothing serious had happened, he simply reached out to check his forehead and quickly focused his attention on Lu Cangyue. His demeanor clearly showed that of a loyal dog deeply in love with its master.
Although Song Shiwen sensed Lu Cangyue's indifference, he still obediently followed her orders to prove his feelings for her. Could he possibly outdo this obstructive pet? He pondered this, his mouth opening in obedience.
Lu Cangyue took out a pill from his waist and slowly put it into his mouth, saying, "This will restore your body to its original state. You will never be troubled by illness again and live a long and healthy life of a hundred years."
Song Shiwen spit it out immediately before swallowing it, and the pill fell into his hand. "Such a good thing should be left to you."
Like brushing away an annoying fly, he gently pushed Song Shiwen. Song Shiwen threw the pill towards his body with his own hand, but he couldn't find it no matter how hard he tried. However, he felt that something was changing inside his body.
He Ai helped Lu Cangyue to stand up, and Song Shiwen grabbed her hand, "Xiaolu, don't you recognize me? We clearly..."
It was like they had been in love. Song Shiwen had this memory in his mind, but at this moment he had some doubts that it was fake, because that feeling had not accumulated bit by bit, it suddenly came between the two of them.
"I'm sorry, I recognized the wrong person." Lu Cangyue's cold expression revealed the helplessness and sadness that could not be concealed, "I have someone I like, and he is back."
After saying this, the two of them only felt a gust of cold wind blowing around them. They instinctively shrank their bodies and closed their eyes. When they carefully looked around again, they saw that the whole room was filled with black clouds and mist, and shadows were hazy. From among them came the sound of wood breaking little by little. Soon, those sounds shifted their positions and began to move towards other passages. Occasionally, bricks were shattered, and dust slowly floated over from the depths of the passage.
The kindness around them is gone.
"This place has existed for too long and really should disappear."
The sound of leather shoes hitting the bluestone floor suddenly came from behind them, gradually approaching. Song Shiwen immediately protected Lu Cangyue behind him and turned to look at the face of the man in the shadows.
He emerged from the shadows, the beam of light shifting across his face, sometimes illuminating his forehead, sometimes his cheeks on either side of his nose, sometimes his chin.
Isn't that Hui Zifeng? This realization shocked Song Shiwen.
Finally, the man's entire face was exposed to the light. He smiled, his gaze passing over Song Shiwen and fixed on Lu Cangyue's face.
Then, he looked at Song Shiwen with reluctance, "Since you have received the favor of the Hui family, I advise you to stay away from my wife, otherwise I will not let you go."
After he finished speaking, the entire tomb was silent. Song Shiwen was thinking about a countermeasure when he heard Hui Zifeng laugh to himself, "I said this before, too. How ridiculous. None of you are very obedient."
"Hui Zifeng, are you possessed?" Song Shiwen asked. Hui Zifeng was a gentle, polite, and modest gentleman, and now he was no longer pretending?
Hui Zifeng put away his smile and slowly approached. He didn't care about Song Shiwen's provocation at all. He raised his hand lightly, flung him aside like a whisk, and pulled Lu Cangyue up, "Let's go."
Lu Cangyue clung to the coffin and dragged Hui Zifeng. "What did you mean by that? Isn't this the place you reserved for me? Why are you destroying it?"
"Haven't I destroyed enough things for you? Yue'er, we will have a new home in the future and we won't need this place anymore." Hui Zifeng pulled Lu Cangyue hard and almost dragged her out of the tomb roughly.
"What about them? We can't leave them here!" Lu Cangyue was forced to walk out and tried to slow down to remind Song Shiwen to hurry up. He was also worried about how to help Wen Jie, who was lying on the ground and sleeping, escape.
After hearing this, Hui Zifeng grabbed Lu Cangyue's arms, his movements rough but his eyes gentle, "Don't worry, after the two brothers finish fighting, they will send the unrelated people out safely. The Hui family cemetery cannot allow outsiders to exist. Now let's go."
Lu Cangyue was overwhelmed by her lover's resurrection. She didn't like being forced into a decision, but her love for him overcame this discomfort. She would tolerate anything, just to be with him again.
"I have someone I like, and he's back." Seeing them leave in a hurry, Song Shiwen not only did not worry about his own safety, but also began to think about what Lu Cangyue meant when he heard the sound of collapse coming from deep in the tomb.
Why did she suddenly fall in love with someone else? Obviously, the person she liked was Hui Zifeng. So why did she say that he was back? This Hui Zifeng was not the same Hui Zifeng. Who was Lu Cangyue, and who was her lover?
Song Shiwen turned around. The platform in front of the coffin was filled with ancestral tablets. He spotted the two at the bottom. One had Lu Cangyue's name written on it, with small characters on the left explaining her origins: "Daughter of the Prince of Luqi Mountain."
Those characters weren't modern simplified Chinese, but rather resembled the precursors of small seal script. Song Shiwen was, however, very familiar with them. He had read them many times in his great-grandfather's great-grandfather's book. That book also mentioned the heroine's identity, but it didn't specify the era in which Lu Cangyue lived.
How is this possible? Is this a coincidence?
As if someone was secretly telling him the answer, Song Shiwen turned his head and saw Lu Cangyue's portrait on the opposite wall, but the face was hidden in the shadows and could not be seen clearly.
Song Shiwen quickly grabbed the night-shining pearl enshrined beside the seating area, grabbed a stool, and prepared to step forward for a closer look. Just three steps away, a powerful impact suddenly struck from the other side, blasting a hole through the wall. Song Shiwen was also sent flying by the dislodged masonry.
However, he saw it. When his body flew out uncontrollably, he threw the night pearl over and saw her appearance before the portrait was destroyed.
It’s Lu Zangyue.
To be precise, a lady from 4,323 years ago had the same face as Lu Zangyue today.
The wall was knocked open, and the smoke and dust cleared, but it was impossible to tell what had struck it. The wall was as thick as the Great Wall. On the other side of the hole, a pungent, yellow mud was slowly pouring into the tomb.
The secrets of this tomb have yet to be uncovered. Song Shiwen, always adept at sensing danger, was in no hurry to leave. He turned around and saw another tablet next to Lu Cangyue's. He only recognized the characters "及" (ji) and "夫" (fu).
The coffin in front of him was already showing signs of being opened. He ignored everything else and pushed it open with all his might. The heavy lid slid to the other side, and the light falling from above focused right into the coffin.
The skeleton of a man in black official robes lay on the left, holding a glittering golden incense burner. On the right was only a set of women's clothes.
The corner of the tomb wall that had been breached collapsed. The lid of the coffin suddenly snapped back into place, and the immense force filled Song Shiwen's ears with a rumbling sound. His legs were locked, and he couldn't move.
With this collision, his body would probably break into two.
But someone tackled him. Song Shiwen lay on the ground, still in shock, gasping for breath, and feeling dizzy from inhaling the pungent smell. He heard the sound of water gurgling under the floorboards, becoming increasingly rapid, and then water seeped out from the cracks in the floorboards.
Wen Jie clenched his fists, bracing himself for strength. He felt like he would collapse at any moment, driven only by the desire to survive. He reached out a hand and struggled to pull Song Shiwen up.
"Let's go."
Something crashed down from overhead, creating a large crater in the floor beside them. Smoke filled the air, obscuring everything. Song Shiwen felt wetness beneath his feet, and as he lifted his foot, he heard the sound of water splashing. In the blink of an eye, the water had risen from his ankles to his knees.
"This isn't water."
We are all going to die here, Wen Jie thought.
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