Tomb raiding: Today is another day I don't want to go home.

Chapter 92 The Starry Night Gate

Xisha Island, Hainan Province.

With about two weeks left until the end of the typhoon season, the rain on the sea shows no sign of stopping these past few days, while beneath the surface, dust swirls and churns the water, making it murky...

“Master, Zhang Qiling’s current location is very strange. That place does not belong to the underwater tomb, but it is connected to the underwater tomb. Moreover, there are objects that repel the system’s energy there. I can only teleport you here.”

Qi Yu's voice was somewhat distorted by the churning seawater, but Yan Huai heard it. He did not reply, but instead increased his swimming speed, his dragon body heading straight towards the black bloodline.

Meanwhile, deep within the underwater tomb, Zhang Qiling stood in a passageway large enough for four people to pass side by side, his right hand gripping the black-gold ancient sword, while the mournful yet melodious opera lyrics of the forbidden women reached his ears.

"Flowers fall, water carries their crimson hue; a thousand sorrows linger; speechless, I lament the east wind..."

"Who has painted the frost-covered forest with such vibrant colors at dawn? It is always the tears of those parting..."

"Gazing at him until his eyes are brimming with longing, her delicate features are furrowed with worry."

The blood in his palms had long since stopped flowing, dripping densely onto the bluestone bricks beneath his feet, making Zhang Qiling's face even paler and more translucent.

A white shadow flashed behind him. Zhang Qiling's eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not turn around. He continued walking forward, but doubts arose in his heart once again.

This was the fourth time he had been surrounded by the Forbidden Women. He had used fire to drive them away before, but now, even if he held a torch close to them, they wouldn't necessarily be afraid.

Blood is still useful, but there will always be times when it can't be released. Moreover, although the Forbidden Woman is wary, the fact that she stays at a distance from Zhang Qiling, neither rushing forward nor leaving gracefully, can only mean that she is wasting time.

But that's the reality. Zhang Qiling can't afford to waste any more time. He must find a way to get rid of these things that are so different from what he remembers as soon as possible, and then find out the reason that brought him back here.

With this in mind, Zhang Qiling simply maintained a strange and brief balance with these forbidden women in the shadows. Fortunately, after walking a few more minutes into the tomb passage, he was able to see the tomb door at the end of the passage thanks to the light from the lamp embedded in his shoulder strap.

The distance was quite far, and Zhang Qiling could only vaguely see that there seemed to be a circular stone platform in front of the tomb entrance. When he got closer, he could see the patterns carved on the stone platform, which were some overlapping star totems.

The tomb door in front of us also features the same star patterns, but they have been magnified many times over, extending to almost every corner of the tomb door.

It seems that the stone platform is a miniature version of the tomb entrance.

Zhang Qiling understood immediately. He shifted his gaze slightly and looked at the dark pool between the stone platform and the tomb door. His brows furrowed involuntarily—this pool was probably not just to prevent tomb raiders from investigating the tomb door.

Thinking back to the trip he took with Black Glasses to meet Wu Sansheng, Zhang Qiling pondered. Even if the operation was rushed, and even if Yan Huai was present, he wouldn't have been so careless about the tomb, failing to even notice the existence of this tomb door. Moreover, this tomb door wasn't hard to find...

Zhang Qiling took a slight step back, taking in the entire view of the tomb door—combined with the ancient, mossy traces around it, he was certain that no one had entered the tomb until now.

But is that possible? The mechanism can be restored and recast, but given Wu Sansheng's familiarity with the underwater tomb, would he not have entered this tomb door?

A sense of incongruity suddenly filled Zhang Qiling's mind. The existence of this tomb door was truly bizarre. It seemed to have appeared out of thin air, both out of place in this underwater tomb and in line with the strange phenomena encountered along the way.

Before setting off for the underwater tomb, Zhang Qiling had a premonition that something unexpected might happen again, just like last time. This was why he didn't want Yan Huai to come along. After all, if he got distracted, he would not only put himself in danger but also implicate Yan Huai, and he didn't want that.

Zhang Qiling lowered his eyes and shook his head, feeling helpless. Recalling the expectant yet tentative look on Yan Huai's face when he asked him to wait for him to come back that day, Zhang Qiling couldn't help but feel guilty.

If Yan Huai knew the truth, he would blame him...

Zhang Guilty Qiling pursed his lips, concealing his unnatural expression. He slowly walked to the front of the stone platform, refocusing his attention. He switched the Black Gold Ancient Sword to his left hand, while his right hand lightly stroked the stone platform.

Let's think about apologies and making amends later, once we're out of here! The most important thing right now is to get out of here.

With his long, yet unobtrusive, finger-like fingers sensing the mechanisms within the stone platform inch by inch, Zhang Qiling withdrew his hand after discovering that the key to solving the mechanism lay in finding the correct outline of the only set of corresponding constellations.

The ancient Chinese constellation consisted of twenty-eight mansions: seven in the north, seven in the south, seven in the west, and seven in the east. It was impossible to verify each one individually, but to delineate the specific direction of the mansions on the overlapping constellation patterns was equally daunting.

Zhang Qiling's expression remained unchanged. He took out bandages from his backpack, wrapped them up simply, and stood in front of the stone platform again.

No matter how remote this tomb entrance may be, it is still within the scope of the underwater tomb. Therefore, it must be inseparable from its tomb owner—Wang Zanghai.

The Wang family...

"The Wang family members all have a phoenix tattoo on their backs that appears when exposed to heat. This is just a symbol, and you should not try to look at it unless absolutely necessary or if you cannot be sure of its safety."

Yan Huai's previous instructions were still fresh in Zhang Qiling's mind. He wondered if the star totem that could solve the mechanism might also be related to the phoenix.

According to records, the phoenix's predecessor was the Vermilion Bird, which was located in the south and had seven constellations: Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Extended Net, Wings, and Chariot. This narrowed down the possible range considerably.

Even so, Zhang Qiling still felt something was amiss, not because of the solution to the puzzle, but because of a dangerous intuition...

Whether it was the forbidden woman who had been following him in the shadows or the pool where nothing could be seen, Zhang Qiling had to be cautious and on guard. He touched his lower back, moved the black gold dagger that Yan Huai had given him to a more accessible position, and then raised his right hand, reaching towards the stone platform carved with constellations.

Jingxiu (井宿) is also known as Dongjing (东井). It consists of eight stars arranged in a well shape and is the first constellation in the south. The constellation is arranged in a net-like pattern, hence the name.

The finger strike landed on the first star of the Well constellation, but nothing happened. Zhang Qiling, however, did not lower his guard. He followed his memory and placed his finger on the second star, but still nothing occurred. He continued...

Even after placing his finger on the eighth star, the surroundings remained strangely calm. Yet, accidentally triggering a mechanism still resulted in a trap. What was this all about?

Zhang Qiling was somewhat stunned and slowly withdrew his hand. But just as he thought he had used the wrong method, a loud bang came from the underground passage not far behind him, followed by a second bang...

Dragon-Slaying Stone...

Zhang Qiling instantly realized the source of the sound, but it was too late. The moment the Dragon-Slaying Stone touched the ground, he was already trapped there.

For a moment, Zhang Qiling didn't know whether to marvel at his good or bad luck. The traps weren't close enough, and there weren't any particularly strange tricks, but he was truly stuck on this stone platform, determined to fight to the death.

The first attempt yielded an obvious result: it wasn't the totem of the Well constellation. So, let's continue with the Ghost constellation.

The Ghost Constellation belongs to the metal element, is associated with the sheep, and has twenty-nine stars. Zhang Qiling hesitated for a moment. The uncertainty of its location was one issue, but the key point was that if the Ghost Constellation was indeed the totem for breaking the mechanism, then it meant that the tomb door in front of him was an ominous door.

When the Ghost Star gathers, the Gate of Evil Spirits opens—no one knows what will happen, but one thing is certain: it won't be as simple as the Dragon-Slaying Stone.

The Tomb Raider's Finger traced a circle around the four outer stars of the Ghost Constellation, finally settling on the dim cluster of stars in the center. However, before Zhang Qiling could decide where to land next, a gust of wind came from behind him...

Zhang Qiling blocked the pale and ferocious face of the Forbidden Woman with his sword. As he flipped the blade, countless strands of hair wrapped around her.

Zhang Qiling's gaze sharpened, and he held his breath, but behind him, the sound of something breaking through the water followed immediately...