"There were rumors in Western Hunan at that time that a group of tomb raiders accidentally dug into the tunnel of a Warring States ancient tomb and got some treasures, which caused a sensation all around, attracting almost all the tomb raiding gangs from across the nation to Western Hunan. Later, those gangs met their demise one after another, rumored to have encountered ’zongzi’ in there... At that time, my uncle and aunt were very young, both exceptionally talented and having a fondness for Warring States culture, as well as a passion for adventure, so they led a team to Western Hunan and entered that Warring States ancient tomb... Later..."
Gong Yi lowered his voice, "Afterward, there was no more news from them. My uncle was the rightful heir of our Palace Family, the successor everyone looked up to. Just like that, he disappeared. At that time, my grandfather was in great pain, but what hurt even more was Ah Jiu..."
Hmm? Such a young child at the time, she shouldn’t have known too much, right?
It seems there’s more to the story.
"My uncle and aunt often went on adventures, and to keep their daughter reassured, they gave her a special cell phone to contact her regularly to report their safety. That night... that is, one month after my uncle and his team had set off, Ah Jiu was sleepless, holding onto that cell phone... Concerned for her well-being, my grandfather arranged for my third aunt to accompany her. That very night, the cell phone, which had been silent, received a message. There was a picture in the message..."
Gong Yi’s face, originally expressionless, suddenly became very pained, suppressed, and enduring.
"It was the face of my uncle and aunt, who had died tragically..."
Sui Yi and others’ expressions changed.
Gong Jiu, she...
"You can never understand how we, as family members, felt at that time... It was as if the sky had fallen, devastation itself. My third aunt collapsed on the spot, let alone Ah Jiu, who was still just a child at the time."
The car was silent until they set foot on the land of Western Hunan.
——————
Western Hunan is well-known. Perhaps in that age not yet dominated by science and modernization, Western Hunan had become a place of baffling myths: corpse driving, Witchcraft Gu, ancient tombs, and so on - legends that began or flourished here. Its very name is filled with an indescribable and enigmatic mystery.
After all, those are just legends, and today’s people probably remember Zhangjiajie most vividly when it comes to Western Hunan. Thɪs chapter is updated by novelꞁire.net
That fairyland-like region dispels much of Western Hunan’s ghostly fears, leaving behind emotions of wonder and desire.
However, to the tomb raiding and martial artist circles, Western Hunan remains as mysterious as ever.
After disembarking from the airplane, a group of people took a car, and those who had come to meet them said to Gong Yi as soon as they saw him, "Young Master Gong Yi, those people have already arrived; they are just waiting for you. But a few of them requested some additional preparations..."
"Agree to their demands; as long as they can achieve the objective of this mission... Give them whatever they want," Gong Yi had recalled a painful memory earlier and was now indifferent to material possessions, moreover, the items these people wanted were likely to increase their chances of survival.
After agreeing to the man, Gong Yi turned to Sui Yi and said, "We cannot afford any mistakes on this trip. To be on the safe side, we’ve also invited others. Once we arrive, you two will get to meet them."
Sui Yi and Yhan Qingwu were not concerned about this and simply nodded in acknowledgment.
Feng Sha, who was most familiar with Sui Yi, handed him some documents while on the car: "The place we’re heading to is the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. It’s quite primitive, so we’ve prepared a lot of things, but they’re all already with another team. Once we get there and meet up, we can distribute them. These are some documents left by Ninth Miss; Miss Sui, take a look."
Sui Yi flipped through the documents; there was little of use. There were many rumors about the Warring States ancient tomb, but very few verified facts; just one stood out.
"Warring States amulet?" Sui Yi looked at the photo of the green jade pendant and frowned slightly.
"Yes, Ninth Miss set her heart on finding that Warring States ancient tomb again after getting this Warring States amulet..."
"Is it related to the events of that year?" Yhan Qingwu sat next to Sui Yi, leaned in to have a look. It really seemed to be a Warring States amulet...
"Yes, Ninth Miss said that the two people who came out of that Warring States ancient tomb indeed had a Warring States Jade Pendant, but the fight for it was fierce at that time. The Palace Family, grief-stricken, lost the opportunity to get this jade pendant, but they did not expect that more than ten years later, this Warring States Jade Pendant would end up in her hands..."
Feng Sha was both sentimental and somewhat resentful of this jade pendant; if it weren’t for the Warring States Jade Pendant, Gong Jiu and the others wouldn’t have ended up...
"Sui Yi, do you think this jade pendant is real?" Yhan Qingwu turned her head and could see Sui Yi looking down, seemingly in deep thought.