Datang: Longevity for Thousands of Years, Exposed by Xiao Sizi

Chapter 57 The last relic of the Qin Dynasty! Li Shimin arrives!

"I didn't expect this magical object to be real. How could it be here? It's sealed in the tomb of this immortal elder!"

Cao Kewei took a deep breath and couldn't stop being shocked.

of course,

All this was just his first glance, and he still needed to go forward to confirm.

After getting Li Junxian's consent, Cao Kewei immediately went forward to check.

Look left and right,

No matter where you look at it from, this thing is truly terrifying!
OMG!

This magical object actually exists!

Ok?
There...why is there a kneeling corpse?
Cao Kewei noticed that in front of one of the tripods, there was a corpse kneeling with only bones left.

He walked over quickly.

Li Junxian and others followed closely.

"Won't something go wrong if we move around so loudly?"

Li Junxian was a little worried.

Meng Xing shook his head: "No, as long as you enter a place where treasures are hidden, there will be no other traps. This is what is recorded in the ancient books."

After all, he had never been to the ancient tomb many times, and the fork on the left was completely dark, so Meng Xing added that sentence at the end.

Everyone walked up to the corpse.

They all saw that the corpse was kneeling down to worship the tripod.

In front of the tripod, there was a bamboo slip.

Li Junxian looked at the bamboo slips with his eyes flickering.

If he remembered correctly, the previous times he had seen bamboo slips, they were all records of people from the pre-Qin period. These bamboo slips...could they be the same?
"Let me open it and take a look."

Meng Xing took it up and opened it slowly.

[We lost the last battle. My name is Yun. I am a member of the mausoleum protection team appointed by General Zhang Han. We were mainly responsible for escorting the Nine Cauldrons to the ancient tomb. Then we set up a brick-turning trap in front of the Nine Cauldrons to protect the Nine Cauldrons and even... our remaining soldiers.]

……

[Huh… The failure of this battle also foreshadows the complete demise of the Great Qin. Even in this battle, His Highness Qin Yao also died on the battlefield. The Great Qin… seems to have no future. ]

[My brothers and I, a total of thirteen people, were lucky enough to return to Xianyang City alive. We originally wanted to continue to participate in the battle to defend the city, but we didn't expect General Zhang Han to ask for us to escort the Nine Cauldrons to the ancient tomb, to the tomb of the Qin army.]

[Master Qin, Master Qin, Master Qin, I am Yun, one of your students of the 23rd term. Do you still remember me? You passed away that year, and I was outside the Great Wall and didn't know about it. I didn't expect that when I returned to Xianyang, I would only hear the news of your death.]

[During that time, I was so miserable that I drank all night. I thought we would lose contact, but I didn’t expect that after so many years, I would still be able to enter the place where you were buried.]

[This place is really big. There are many treasures from the failure of the last battle. General Zhang Han didn't want Xiang Yu to take them, so he transported them all here. Although there are many people here, it's like a closed space. If we go to other places, we may encounter traps and die on the way, so we can't go there and can only stay here.]

[It's fine to stay here. There's food to eat and I can live a long time.]

[Do we count this as surviving a catastrophe? ]

……

[Two days later, Xiang Yu had probably led his army into Xianyang City. He didn't notice this place. Everyone was very happy and opened some wine to drink.]

【We drank to our heart's content and everyone started chatting. Jin even asked me to record my experience in the ancient tomb later. I was the only one who could write here, so they had to let me do it.】

[Speaking of this, Master Qin... Thank you for accepting me, an orphan, into the academy and teaching me how to read and write, and even... martial arts.]

……

[Five days have passed since the Nine Cauldrons were transported. During this period, no Xiang Yu soldiers have arrived. It is certain that we have survived. Everyone is very happy, including me.]

[Although I am hiding here and cannot leave, at least I am alive and I still have hope of seeing my family. ]

[My daughter Bai Yi, should her mother have taken her to seek refuge in Xianyang City? I wonder how she is doing, can she eat well? ]

[Bai Yi… Although many people don’t like daughters, Master Qin told me that daughters are actually better, and I think so too. I wonder how you are doing? If there is a chance, Dad will come to find you.]

……

[Fifteen days have passed since the Nine Cauldrons were moved in. It seems that...someone is beginning to get tired of this kind of life, unable to leave the life that can only be confined to this palace. He wants to go to other places in the ancient tomb, or even the main road where General Zhang Han is.]

[His thoughts were stopped by everyone. We are the Qin army, the well-ordered Qin army! Although we were defeated, we must not disrupt order! ]

[We need to continue to maintain order until Xiang Yu withdraws from Xianyang City, then we can leave the ancient tomb, or General Meng Tian leads the army back, then we can leave openly and look for our families.]

[By the way, Wen Wen’s birthday today, I sang him the birthday song that you, Master Qin, taught him, and asked them to sing it too. They sang it very poorly, not as well as I did. They are so stupid.]

[However, it was a very good day. It was as if I had returned to the Qin Dynasty when you were in power. The country was peaceful and the people were safe. I sang the birthday song to my mother again to celebrate her birthday.]

[I seem to miss them more and more. ]

……

[Forty-five days have passed, and the situation is getting worse. Last time, there was only one person who wanted to leave here, but now there are indeed three people. Although they were stopped, if the situation continues like this, there may be more people in the future.]

[Of those who left, two were unable to bear this life, and one was missing his family.]

[There is also a worse situation, the food will become less and less, and we have no way to regenerate food. If the food runs out, what should we do? ]

[Although there are many bad things, there are also things worth being happy about today. Wen told me about his daughter. His daughter is not well behaved, not as well behaved as my daughter Bai Yi. I am embarrassed to say good things about my daughter, for fear of hurting Wen's heart.]

……

[Ninety days have passed, and the number of people who want to leave has increased to five, almost over half of the total number. Although they are still suppressed, what about the next time? And the food situation is getting worse and worse. ]

[Dan Wen told me that he would follow me and protect the Nine Cauldrons until the end, until General Zhang Han arrived.]

……

[One hundred and fifty days have passed, and the number of people leaving has increased to seven, which is more than half of the total number. They seem to have forgotten General Zhang Han’s final order. They not only want to leave here, but also want to leave the ancient tomb.]

[Looking at the scene outside the ancient tomb, it is highly likely that Xiang Yu is there. If we leave and alert Xiang Yu, it will be equivalent to exposing this place. This... is absolutely not allowed. I have to persuade them again.]

[Wen will also help me. I have to say that with Wen around, many things seem difficult to do, but in fact they are very simple. It is really great to have a reliable person.]

……

[One hundred and sixty days have passed. I persuaded them last time, but this time a bigger crisis has come. The food has run out. If we don’t leave or go somewhere else, we will all die here.]

[They all want to leave, but I don't want to... Master Qin, I want to protect your secret and prevent Xiang Yu and his men from meeting you, but what I am doing is equivalent to letting them die here. No one wants to die this way, even if the people here were once the most proud soldiers of the Qin Dynasty.]

[But I really don’t want to leave, and I want to persuade them not to leave, but… people’s words are too light, and no one will listen.]

[If I can't convince them, and we all leave together, can I...see Baiyun? And the lady? I do miss them.]

[I told Wen about my longing for her, and he missed his daughter, too. From what we talked, I felt like he also wanted to leave.]

……

[One hundred and sixty-two days have passed, and we haven't left here yet, but... but someone died! And it's not an ordinary death, his hands and legs are gone, as if... as if someone ate it. ]

[No, this is too bad! We are all killing each other. I don’t know who did it, and neither do we!]

[This situation is getting increasingly strange. I…I have to suggest that they investigate this matter!]

[I asked Wen if he had done it. Wen said no, which made me feel relieved. At least Wen still kept his original intention.]

……

[One hundred and sixty-five days have passed, and everyone is getting hungrier and hungrier. In the past few days, more and more parts of the dead colleagues have been missing. We clearly have people on duty, two people in a group watching over the corpse to prevent our former partners from being treated inhumanely, but why are there still missing parts? ]

[Are there two people colluding with each other? Probably! We have started to rearrange the groups of two today. We must keep an eye on the bodies of our colleagues.]

[If there is fire, then... I can cremate my colleague and prevent him from being treated inhumanely after death.]

[Wen and I are together, but now it seems that we must separate. When on duty, I will keep an eye on one person, and Wen will keep an eye on one person. In this way, at least two people can be excluded from suspicion of killing colleagues.]

……

[One hundred and sixty-six days passed, and I was almost... so hungry that I could hardly see the front. On this day, someone left, and I lost four people. The other six people, including me, did not leave. ] [I did not leave, but I found that the way three of them looked at me was a little different. They seemed... to be looking at the food. ]

[And... Wen, Wen is looking at me like this too! What did I do wrong? How... how did they become like this? ]

……

Seeing this, Meng Xing and others took a deep breath.

"Look at the food. These former colleagues have ended up killing each other."

Li Junxian was extremely shocked.

The others did not answer because they were also shocked, not only by the actions of the Qin soldiers, but also by their despair.

I stayed here in darkness for more than 160 days, nearly half a year.

The food is gone and the future is bleak. How desperate is this?
Meng Xing continued to open the bamboo slips and read on.

[Day 168, I... I don't know what I did. I didn't want to, I didn't want to, Master Qin, I'm not that kind of person! ]

[You taught me to treat my colleagues as my own, and I…I listened, but what did I do? I…what did I do?]

Here, the protagonist Yun is somewhat mentally broken.

Even the part written on bamboo slips was mixed with blood.

Through this text,
In a hazy state, Li Junxian seemed to have come to another space, still in this palace, but this time there was only one Qin soldier in the palace, his eyes were full of panic and disbelief, his hair was disheveled, and he was writing... a book of crime in blood all over his body.

[I killed them! When I saw them that day, they looked at me like food. I…I was scared of Master Qin, I…I…]

[I killed Wen with my own hands. I killed him in his sleep. I could see it! I could see the knife piercing Wen's heart. He opened his eyes and looked at him in disbelief. I... I didn't want to kill him. I didn't want to.]

[His daughter... He originally said that he wanted his daughter to recognize me as her godfather. I really don’t want to kill him. I... I...]

The Qin soldier Yun became more and more anxious as he wrote, and tears rolled down his face uncontrollably.

[Before that night, I ate! I ate the flesh and blood of that colleague, I recovered some strength, and then... then I killed them one by one, I... what did I do? ]

[You once taught me that people who kill each other are the least worthy of being soldiers. I... I don't want to do this, but I have to do this. I still want to see Baiyun and my wife. I don't want to die here.]

[Either I kill them, or they kill me. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die! ]
.
……

[Day 172. Four days have passed since that day. Of the four people who went out to explore, only two have returned. The others have died.]

[I stopped them at the door. They wanted to come in, but I didn't let them in. When they were confused, I... killed them.]

[It seems that I am becoming more and more familiar with this, even numb.]

[Because I figured it out. Instead of worrying about them opening the ancient tomb and letting Xiang Yu find out, it would be better to just kill them all so that no one can leave the ancient tomb.]

[Have I figured it out? Or am I trying to excuse myself? What...what have I done? ]

[Is this the life I want, where I am the only one left? Can I really meet Bai Yi and her mother? ]

……

[Day 175, Lord Qin, I'm sorry for making you laugh and bringing shame upon yourself.]

[I never thought that, in the end, I, as a student, did not point my sword at others, but at my own people, Master Qin… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be your student. I am a stain, a stain on your life, and also a stain on the soldiers of the Qin Dynasty.]

[Bai Yi used to be proud of me, saying that I was a soldier of the Qin Dynasty and that my father was powerful, but now... I am no longer worthy of being her pride.]

[Huh….Master Qin, I dreamed of you last night, and I dreamed of everyone, the 23rd batch of students. That day you took us to see the river, and then you told us the story of the sea, saying that the sea is much bigger than the river, and full of azure blue, which is more beautiful than the sky.]

[I was fascinated at that time. I want to see the sea once in my life. It is worth it. I really want to see whether the sea you described is really beautiful.]

[I can’t see it in reality, but I seem to see it in my dream. The sea is not blue, it is blood red. The blood red is formed by the blood of the people. They are asking me why I killed them. I…I can’t answer.]

[Master Qin, I'm sorry to have brought shame upon you. I'm afraid that among the students of the 23rd class, I am the one who has brought the most discredit upon you.]

[There were a total of thirty people in the 23rd phase. I saw the battle report before. In fact, ten of them died in battle under the command of Cheng'an Hou, your eldest son. They never surrendered until their death, let alone slaughtering their colleagues like me.]

[There are eight people under General Zhang Han's command, two of whom are protecting His Highness Qin Yao. I don't know what happened to them, but they will definitely not bring shame to you. The same is true for the other students.]

[It’s me…I’ve brought shame to you and Daqin Academy. I’m not worthy of being Bai Yi’s father. I…I’ve committed a grave sin.]

[Huh… I am a stain, Master Qin, I am sorry, I am afraid I have to borrow your burial ground to commit suicide, perhaps committing suicide cannot wash away my sins, that would be more like escaping, but I… I really can’t stay here any longer.]

[In this palace, for the past three days, every time I wake up, I remember that I killed them here. It haunts me like a nightmare and I can't sleep well.]

[I think this is because they are reminding me that it is time for me to leave. Or maybe the King of Hell is reminding me that I have committed many sins and cannot stay in this world.]

[Bai Yi, mother of the child... In the end, I still couldn't go back to see you. I... I can't go back. I have no way to go back. ]

[Great Qin, Great Qin... The Qin soil on the ancient tomb was once as beautiful as a dream. It would be great if I could go back...]

[If people later find me kneeling in front of the Yongzhou Ding, please let me maintain the kneeling ceremony, because it was in front of this Ding that I killed my first colleague. It witnessed my sin, and I want it to witness my atonement, or... my suffering.]

[This is the punishment I deserve, Bai Yi. Daddy is still sorry for you. I couldn't make you proud of me again. I'm sorry... Master Qin, I'm sorry...]

The bamboo slips end here.

He explained how that group of Qin soldiers, a total of thirteen people, went from being happy after surviving a calamity when they first set foot in the ancient tomb, to gradually becoming anxious, and in the end they even started to speculate about each other and kill each other.

It... goes from joy to sorrow.

Just a piece of bamboo slips tells the life stories of these thirteen people.

Especially the changes in the clouds are recorded in great detail.

After reading it,

Meng Xing closed the bamboo slips and took a deep breath.

Subsequently.

He walked up to the kneeling skeleton and bowed down to it.

"You are not a stain, you...protected the ancient tomb."

Meng Xing spoke slowly.

then,

If that group of soldiers opened the ancient tomb and left, they would inevitably be discovered by Xiang Yu.

By then, will the old man still be able to sleep peacefully?

Li Junxian and others did not answer, but just remained silent, looking at the skeleton.

They also felt very uncomfortable in their hearts.

"So, the corpse of the Qin soldier outside is one of the thirteen of them back then?"

After a while, Li Junxian changed the subject.

Cao Kewei thought about it and nodded: "It should be, but why is the corpse's armor still there, even though it is worn out, but the skeleton is not? Did he take it off when he was suffering?"

Li Junxian let out a breath: "If I can't remember something that happened so long ago, what's the point of remembering it clearly? We still have to continue looking for the whereabouts of His Highness Xiao Sizi."

"Ah, that's not right! His Highness Xiao Sizi has returned. Let's find a way to continue exploring the ancient tomb. Just do what we can."

When Li Junxian was halfway through his speech, he remembered that before entering the ancient tomb, the Jinwu Guards told them that Xiao Sizi had returned and asked them not to be so nervous.

"Ah."

Meng Xing nodded.

A group of people began to sweep the place.

Also began to continue the next step of exploration.
.
….…….….….….
at the same time.

Wangyun Inn.

Li Shimin and Sun Simiao finally arrived here.

They all came in ordinary clothes, not showing off.
(End of this chapter)