Chapter 109: Your Excellency, Dharma King!

The palace complex consisted of nine sections, resembling a grand Forbidden City, including the main hall. The buildings were arranged somewhat irregularly, yet the layout exuded a mysterious aura.

They were now at the front hall, where a long, straight path paved with glazed tiles stretched out before them.

The term "glazed tile path" was somewhat intimidating.

Before even entering the hall, the eyes of Gong Jiu and his companions were already fixed on it.

Each pale cyan tile was embedded seamlessly along the two-meter-wide, hundred-meter-long road, the joints forming intricate patterns.

They looked like blooming flowers.

Magnificent and exquisite, a masterpiece of craftsmanship.

Among the many people, three bent down swiftly.

“Hurry, pry it open with a knife...”

“Where’s the hoe?”

“Th-this...”

Gong Jiu, the Flower Demon, and Brother Ma’s actions left Aguna and the others momentarily stunned, before their expressions turned fiercely hostile.

Damn it, you’re desecrating our sacred beliefs!

Fight! Let’s fight!

Ignoring their antics, Sui Yi stood on the tiled walkway in front of the hall, surveying the surroundings. After a moment, she turned to Aguna, furrowing her brow, asking strangely, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Aguna snapped back to reality, somewhat dazed, then shook his head lightly and said calmly, “Nothing…”

Because of Aguna’s subordinates’ interference, Gong Jiu and his three companions couldn’t continue meddling with the glazed tiles.

“Hey, it’s strange. Miss Hua, Miss Jiu, both of you come from decent backgrounds and shouldn’t be short of money. Why do you act like you’ve seen a treasure and gone crazy?” Brother Ma asked the two with lingering dissatisfaction.

What exactly do you mean?

Sui Yi glanced back and sneered, “He means like a dog seeing feces.”

Gong Jiu: Damn! You pretend to be proper but swear like a sailor!

Flower Demon: Damn! You’re the know-it-all!

Aside from the glazed tiles, the palace exterior was devoid of any other decoration.

“Looks like a temple, otherwise there’d be more adornments. In ancient times, wealthy people loved to flaunt their status and fill their golden nests with gold,” Gong Jiu said, touching a pillar as he led the group into the nearest front hall.

Meanwhile, from another forked path leading to a side hall, Cold She’s interior was far from peaceful.

Cadis wiped his gun and said coldly, “Why not just kill them? We still have a good chance of winning.”

“Don’t you think they’re somewhat useful? Especially that Gong Jiu…and that Sui Yi,” Cold She said with a snake-like smile, flicking his tongue.

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Inside the hall, beams of cloud-top sandalwood supported the structure, crystal jade walls lit the space, purple sandalwood beads formed curtains, and gold-plated bases upheld the pillars.

On both sides of the front hall, six-foot-wide silk curtains hung from the archways, embroidered with strange flowers woven with silver threads. The curtains swayed gently like clouds drifting over a sea of blossoms.

“Strange, if this is a temple, why are there no statues of deities?”

“Exactly, not even murals... It feels too cold and desolate.”

“There seem to be inner rooms as well…”

The group split into several parties. Some ventured deeper inside, others stayed in the main hall.

Sui Yi only glanced at the inner rooms but felt certain that this was where the temple attendants lived.

Overall, the place was elegant and refined, lacking the usual vivid colors of typical temples.

Gong Jiu touched this and that, stuffing the more valuable or favorite items into backpacks brought by Brother Ma.

No wonder Feng Sha was Gong Jiu’s loyal supporter—everything was prepared for her.

Of course, after packing, Feng Sha still carried the bags.

Gong Jiu’s excuse was that they were too heavy for her to bear.

Or rather, since the bags were brought by Feng Sha, naturally she should carry them... but the contents belonged to Gong Jiu.

Flower Demon sneered at such shamelessness, while Sui Yi smiled faintly.

They ransacked the front hall; though spacious, there were few items—mostly surface decorations, classical and mysterious. Gong Jiu and the others couldn’t even guess how many years had passed since their creation.

“Really strange... I’ve never seen anything like this, and there’s no historical record either,” Gong Jiu said, holding a jade cup placed on a shelf. The jade was top-grade mutton-fat jade, warm white and smooth, but its patterns and style were beyond the understanding of these tomb raiders.

Gong Jiu’s words drew a disdainful snort from Flower Demon. “History? You dare mention history? Let me see.”

She examined the cup carefully, her expression darkening as she pondered.

“It looks like from the Warring States period but doesn’t fit. There were no such vessels then. It’s impossible for common folk to have them, and even the palace was stricter—no one would carve such precious jade cups with ancient beasts unless they intended to defy the royal family…”

Only Sui Yi glanced briefly before her expression changed sharply.

She had just used her magnetic sensing ability on the jade cup, but—

It registered no magnetic energy whatsoever.

Impossible. Any artifact with historical significance should possess magnetic energy, yet this jade cup had none.

Generally, only one explanation exists—

It’s a modern craft.

Sui Yi was deeply suspicious but kept silent. She stepped forward, carefully touching and examining the cup, her face darkening.

“What? Have you figured something out?” Gong Jiu, who valued Sui Yi’s thorough investigations and knew her abilities from her time with the Tang elders, looked at her expectantly.

After a moment, Sui Yi’s expression returned to normal.

She said softly, “Yes.”

“What? What is it?”

“It’s jade.”

Gong Jiu and the others: ...

Sis, are you kidding me?

Gong Jiu snatched the cup back, rolling her eyes. “Fine, I’ll take it back and have someone research it. Don’t think you’re playing me!”

She was sure Sui Yi had noticed something but refused to share it—that irritated her the most.

--We’re so close, and you still won’t tell me!

Sui Yi had no time to respond to Gong Jiu’s petulance; her mind was tangled.

--The jade is genuine.

If the jade is real, even if made into modern crafts, the jade itself is historic. Jade forms through a long natural process of mineral transformation, not instantly created. So whether or not the artifact is modern, the jade is ancient.

But genuine jade with no magnetic energy?

Sui Yi suspected her special ability was malfunctioning—had it failed?

With abilities obtained through fate, one can be lucky or lose everything, but a sense of loss remains deep within.

Tilting her head, Sui Yi tested other items and found them indeed genuine, with craftsmanship impossible to be modern, yet none emitted magnetic energy.

“Just as I thought... sigh,” she sighed softly and set the items down.

Flower Demon’s gaze flashed. “Sui Yi, aren’t you taking any treasures with you?”

Who doesn’t come tomb raiding for treasures?

Sui Yi only looked, taking nothing, as if on a museum tour.

“Me?” Sui Yi pressed her lips and replied softly, “No need.”

Without explaining why, Shen Di and others immediately linked this to Gong Jiu’s earlier mention of Sui Yi being a descendant of the tomb’s original owner.

If so, shouldn’t she feel more entitled to take things?

Gong Jiu lowered her gaze. She knew Sui Yi had no real ties to the Ye family. Even if there were, Gong Jiu had researched the Ye family’s ancestral mountain for generations and found nothing impressive. This palace could hardly belong to the Ye family.

Perhaps Sui Yi knew something?

Sui Yi herself was puzzled. The Ye family’s involvement was likely limited to the pawnshop business that her seventh uncle mentioned.

No, that’s not right!

She recalled what her seventh uncle had told her: the tomb was built by Ye Zhang’s father, Ye Kai—Sui Yi’s ostensible grandfather after his death. The tomb connected to this strange underground world. The seventh uncle who advocated building the tomb surely knew, but he had kept this completely hidden, even fabricating a bizarre tale involving zombies and ghosts for Sui Yi...

Calling it a tale wasn’t entirely accurate—it was probably mostly true. But the role the seventh uncle played was far from simple.

Sui Yi’s profound expression drew more attention from Aguna and his men.

Yet, they could no longer hold back.

“The sacred place is where the revered one resides. If you continue to act out of line...”

Aguna showed no mercy, nocking an arrow to his bow, his intent clear.

Gong Jiu and her group had anticipated this.

“Heh, Aguna, you can’t say that. You keep saying this is the revered one’s place, but where is your revered one? Do you even know what they look like? Seems you don’t know anything either,” Flower Demon taunted him.

Aguna’s expression remained unchanged. He replied calmly, “We fought a war together. We have been more than patient by not stopping you. Take these items you’ve gathered, but the rest you must not touch. Otherwise, you’ll desecrate the revered one and provoke the Dharma Kings to come slaughter you all. Who can bear that?”

The unfamiliar term “Dharma Kings” startled Sui Yi and the others again.

“You sound like you’re forbidding us from taking anything. Then why haven’t you stopped Cold She and his group? Don’t tell me you think we’re easy to mess with,” Brother Ma brandished his weapon with hostility.

Feng Sha and the others sneered.

Used to running wild, with treasures right before their eyes, no one would let them be stopped!

Moreover, they knew the ladies had nearly been sacrificed by this group before.

“We will stop them, of course. And they won’t easily enter those palaces,” Aguna and his men, bows ready, stood in opposition to Gong Jiu’s group.

The standoff was clearly an attempt to force them to leave.

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please support it on Qidian by voting or donating monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.reading.)