When I rushed out of the corridor through the secret passage, Qu Ruilin was already almost at the entrance of the main hall. Wei Shengnan heard Song Laosan's shout and grabbed his arm.
"Bang! Bang!"
Just then, two gunshots rang out from inside the hall, followed by Leopard's voice: "There are countless palaces and towers, but later generations should not board the boats of their predecessors! Bronze coffins and granite outer coffins, greed will ignite the flames of the underworld! Friends outside, the outcome here is decided. I advise you all to abide by the rules and leave on your own. Do not risk your lives for a moment's gain!"
I heard the leopard's voice and stood outside the main hall, shouting, "Duan Jinyan, I know you're in there. Let's talk!"
Hearing my shout, the leopard yelled from inside, "Little brat, I told you long ago, Boss Duan's relationship with you is over. He doesn't acknowledge you as his son at all. Before things get to the point of mutual destruction, you should leave on your own. Otherwise, if you really rush in and tear things apart, you'll suffer an even worse death!"
"Duan Jinyan and I have long since severed our father-son relationship. We're not talking about our own affairs, but about the life and death of everyone on both sides!"
Suppressing my anger, I shouted into the main hall, "Do you know what's behind that third door?"
"You don't need to worry about that. I've already said what I needed to say! The Miao Jiang Immortal Palace is fraught with danger. You're lucky to have survived until now. Don't be stubborn and ruin your precious youth."
After shouting that, the leopard added, "I've said everything I needed to say. If you keep pushing your way in, I'll have to communicate with bullets."
Seeing that Duan Jinyan hadn't responded, I shouted into the gate, "Duan Jinyan, what's inside that third door isn't gold or silver treasures at all, but a radioactive meteorite! Once that door is opened, not only will you be trapped, but we won't survive either!"
"..."
The hall was silent, and no one answered my question.
"Duan Jinyan!!"
I took a few steps forward, stood outside the palace gate, and shouted, "Opening the third door is pointless except for getting yourself killed. If you want to die, don't drag others down with you!"
Hearing my shout, Song Laosan quickly walked to my side and asked in a deep voice, "Xiao Duan, were you just bluffing Duan Jinyan, or is what you just said true?"
"Of course it's true, I have no reason to lie about something like this."
I looked at the stone gate of the main hall with frustration: "I thought that after capturing Duan Jinyan, we could solve everything, but I didn't expect him to have tricked us all!"
Qu Ruilin snorted coldly: "Isn't this all your doing? If you had just handed Duan Jinyan over, would there be so many problems?"
When I heard Qu Ruilin say that, I retorted, not to be outdone, "Why don't you say that it was because of your interference that Duan Jinyan had the opportunity to escape? If you hadn't drawn our attention, would Duan Jinyan have had a chance to run away?"
Wei Shengnan looked at the two of us and said helplessly, "Alright, now is not the time to argue. I beg you both to calm down! Duan Jinyan surrendered himself to the authorities just to see us fight amongst ourselves. Are you still going to do as he wishes?"
When I saw Song Laosan looking at me, I didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "I found a large hall covered with murals. Inside, there are detailed records of the origin of the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace. This ancient tomb was built during the Xia Dynasty by the leader of a primitive tribe for his clan."
Later, due to inbreeding, the people of this clan became somewhat insane. Their widespread slaughter angered the rulers of the Xia Dynasty, who dispatched troops to suppress them.
Before I could finish speaking, Song Laosan asked with a look of suspicion, "The Xia Dynasty? It was just a country made up of tribes. The size of each tribe was probably not even as big as a county town today. How could they have built a mausoleum of this scale in such a primitive state?"
"In this world, there are always intelligent people who act as pioneers! Machinery, electricity, aerospace, all the conveniences we enjoy were invented by these human elites. Moreover, some technologies have been used for hundreds of years without being updated. Even among primitive people, there are intelligent people. Just like everything in this world, there is a first person who tries it."
I continued, “According to the inscriptions, the people who built this tomb were defeated by the Xia Dynasty and fled to the deep mountains. They accidentally obtained a meteorite, whose radiation could cause mutations in people. This attracted the attention of the Xia Dynasty king, who sent extraordinary people to subdue them and seal the berserkers and the meteorite in this unfinished tomb.”
After hearing my explanation, Song Laosan became more convinced: "No wonder I felt this place was strange all the way here. It turns out that this tomb was only half-finished, and the feng shui application is different from what we have learned."
"The existing feng shui theories are basically derived from ancient society's astrology, divination and other witchcraft, so when we see the feng shui layout here, we have a feeling that is both familiar and unfamiliar."
Wei Shengnan turned her gaze to me: "Does the mural record what the consequences would be if the third door were opened?"
"No, it's just that according to the mural, the meteorite carries extremely strong radiation. If a human gets close, their flesh will be dried up and they will be left with only a skeleton."
I shook my head and said, "The people of Ping'an Village are the descendants of those capable people who suppressed the tribe back then. Moreover, judging from the content of the murals, those people who were irradiated cannot be killed."
Qu Ruilin frowned: "So that's why Ping'an Village creates the dried corpses, their purpose is to deal with these monsters?"
"That's what I think too."
I peered through the crack in the door into the main hall, but all I could see was darkness. "I don't know if there's any treasure behind the third door, but the threat of that meteorite is deadly! The men in black robes are all armed, and it's too risky for us to force our way in. So my advice is to leave as soon as possible and not linger here."
"You can leave if you want, but I have to stay!"
Qu Ruilin said with a determined look in his eyes, "Duan Jinyan has already slipped through my fingers once, and I absolutely will not allow him to escape a second time!"
Wei Shengnan advised, "Brother Lin, if what Duan Shenxing said is true, the situation inside is indeed beyond our expectations. So I suggest we leave this place and set up an ambush at Duan Jinyan's retreat route."
"If you want to leave, then leave. Today, neither Duan Jinyan nor I will be leaving!"
Qu Ruilin threw down a sentence and then resolutely rushed into the main hall.
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