Chapter 245 – Blackwave Zither (1)
Sponsored chapter by Julianri and Cia
Release earlier as a reward for shanagi’s best April’s Fools comment
Ning Xuemo nodded. “Of course we’re entering! However, we cannot knock on the door. It’s very likely that it is contains a trap. You wait here. I’m going to examine it first.” They currently had no other way out, so they could only try to open this white onyx door first.
There was indeed a mechanism installed on the door. Fortunately, Ning Xuemo was an expert at dismantling traps. She carefully touched here and there while knocking at other places. From time to time, she would also use her fingers to push on the door.
After a while, a rumble resounded as the jade door parted on both sides, opening widely by itself. In a moment, the dark tunnel was flooded by the light of a candle.
The instant the jade door opened, Ning Xuemo pulled the little qilin and dodged to the side. It was easier to guard against any surprise attacks that could come from behind the door by using the terrain to their advantage.
The moment she saw the candle light, she was slightly shocked. ‘How could there be candle light in such a place?’
She held her breath and waited for a short moment. The warm light of the candle made it easier for her to see. There wasn’t anything terrifying emerging out of the door.
She coordinated with the little qilin to probe out what’s behind the door. However, after she saw everything inside, she blanked out.
The first thing she saw was a hall. Oil candle holders filled with black oil were embedded on both sides of the hall. Only a small part of the wick could be seen emerging out of the oil, faintly emitting a yellow flame. As soon as she saw the oil, Ning Xuemo knew this was the legendary mermaid oil lamp[1] that won’t extinguish even after a thousand years.
The arrangement of the hall was incredibly simple, devoid of tables and chairs, with only a bed placed in the middle of the room. On the bed laid a transparent coffin…
When she saw the coffin, she couldn’t help letting out a sigh.
‘In the end, this place was a tomb!’
However, the structure of the tomb was extremely simple. For a distinguished and eminent person’s tomb, this was rather unusual, unlike the usual complicated layout.
When her sight landed on coffin, her heart slightly trembled.
‘A crystal coffin!’
In such a simple and crude tomb, the only priceless object she saw was this crystal coffin!
A complicated and difficult to understand design was etched on the crystal coffin. Part of the design was somewhat odd, looking like fish intertwined together in a yin-yang pattern. It was the first time she saw such a design. She indistinctly felt that the design exuded some type of ancient and mysterious aura.
Finger-thick chains wrapped the corners of the coffin and, in middle of the each sides, the chains extended to the ceiling. The chains appeared to also be carved out from crystal, clear and sparkling with luster, displaying the same design as on the coffin. The whole design made it seem like multiple repeating patterns were progressing toward the ceiling of the hall.
The chains looked as if they were there to keep the coffin lid sealed. ‘What could such thin chains seal?’
Ning Xuemo believed that, even with her strength, she could use two fingers to break the chains. ‘Are these chains meant to be ornamental to decorate the crystal coffin?’
Her gaze fixed on top of the coffin.
Through the translucent crystal coffin, she could see the body of person inside, black haired and clothed in red. The light emitting from the oil candles reflected on the crystal coffin from all directions, causing the illumination to be warped in multiple colors, rendering one’s vision to be unclear.
Ever since the little qilin got into trouble, it had become more cautious. It slowly moved to the coffin and examined the person inside. It exclaimed in surprise, “How could someone who was alive be sealed inside?”
The sealed person had both arms raised with the hands pressed on the coffin lid as if the person was attempting to push off the lid but to no avail. The movement was eternally frozen for who knew how long…
Ever since she entered the tunnel, she could constantly feel an indescribable fiendish aura, but now that she was inside the hall, the aura could no longer be felt.
[1] In Chinese legends, the fat of mermaid / merman have the properties of keeping the flame burn for thousand of years without extinguishing when turned into fuel for oil lamp or oil candle.