Chapter 270: The Hidden Manual

How could someone have carved a martial arts manual into its walls without being discovered?

The people in the palace were deeply traditional. Burials were never conducted at night, as it was said to invite misfortune.

They were always carried out in broad daylight, with ample light.

Just like now.

If Yue Mingxuan had been able to notice it, how had the laborers who built this place failed to see it?

“Don’t think too much about it,” Gongsun Xing said at last. “Mingxuan, do you recognize what kind of martial art this is? It looks… strange.”

The manual carved into the wall consisted partly of text and partly of illustrations, two small human figures demonstrating each movement and stance, as if to ensure that the viewer could follow clearly.

Yue Mingxuan shook his head.

The martial arts he had encountered all came from Shang Qinghua’s instruction.

Any manuals he had studied were also given by him.

He had not had much exposure beyond that and he knew almost nothing about the broader martial world of this realm.

Judging by Gongsun Xing’s expression, he did not recognize it either.

He kept tilting his head, studying the movements of the two carved figures.

Yue Mingxuan focused as well.

After standing there for a long while, the smell of decay began to creep into his awareness, the faint stench of decomposing bodies mingled with the musty scent of aged wood from the old coffins.

It was obvious that those laid to rest here were not favored by the Emperor.

Otherwise, how could their tomb be so crude?

Gradually, he began to notice something odd.

It did not seem to be two separate figures at all.

It looked like a single person, almost as if he had split into two versions of himself.

The figure appeared to be fighting… himself.

The entire manual was written in ancient script.

Yue Mingxuan could barely recognize a few characters and those were in complex traditional forms.

A headache began to form at his temples.

What was he supposed to do now?

So it was not that the workers had failed to notice the carvings.

It was that even if they had noticed them, it would have meant nothing to them.

The ancient script handed down from distant ages had, by now, become something only a handful of people could understand.

That included even the so-called noble families, most of their descendants were idle and undisciplined, unwilling to devote time to studying characters that seemed useless in the present day.

Yet not everyone thought that way.

Discoveries like this proved otherwise.

True masters all knew that the finest martial manuals were written in ancient script and it was left behind by the ancestors that has been long gone.

And yet, almost no one could read them anymore.

What a tragedy.

“Eh?”

Yue Mingxuan had intended to step closer, hoping to pick out a few characters he might recognize.

But his foot suddenly gave way and sank into something.

It was a small hole, very small and it’s likely a burrow dug by rats.

Just as he tried to pull his foot free, something caught his eye.

It was a small box that was exquisitely crafted and most likely made of fine green jade.

The edges were trimmed with gilded metal, giving it a lavish air that nearly dazzled him.

He lifted it out carefully and brushed away the clinging dirt.

Gradually, its full appearance emerged before him.

It was a mechanical box.

The lock mechanism was intricate, far beyond anything he could decipher at a glance.

It was not large, only about the size of his palm.

Yue Mingxuan examined it for a long time before turning to look at Gongsun Xing.

The latter was still staring at the figures that was carved into the wall.

He seemed completely absorbed as he squinting his eyes and leaned closer for a better look.

In doing so, he accidentally kicked Yue Mingxuan who was crouched near the edge.

That was when he finally snapped out of his daze and glanced down.

“What’s wrong? Why are you squatting here?” He reached out and pulled Yue Mingxuan to his feet.

Yue Mingxuan shook his hand lightly and held up the box he had just cleaned.

Gongsun Xing froze when he saw it.

The box was adorned with beautiful patterns.

Now that he thought about it, the design looked strangely familiar.

Yue Mingxuan walked toward the entrance of the tomb and glanced back at the cave mouth.

He remembered.

Weren’t these the same patterns carved at the entrance of the mausoleum?

Just then, Gongsun Xing seemed to notice something as well and called Yue Mingxuan back quickly.

“What is it?”

Gongsun Xing pointed toward a section of the mural further along the wall.

“It’s not two people. It’s one person. And it’s not a sparring match… He’s fighting himself. Could this be… reversed internal energy flow?”

Yue Mingxuan’s heart jolted.

Reversed internal energy flow?

He looked carefully.

It truly was as Gongsun Xing had said.

The figure was fighting himself, but not in the way described in martial arts legends, where someone split into two forms to refine their skills.

This was different.

The man had genuinely lost control as though his mind had fractured and battling his own reflection like a person torn apart from within.

“Then… does that mean this person carved these while he was still sane? And left the manual behind?”

Gongsun Xing nodded.

That seemed to be the most likely explanation.

The light in the cave gradually dimmed.

Yue Mingxuan could no longer clearly make out the details of the mechanical box in his hands.

Gongsun Xing glanced outside.

The sun was setting and dusk had fallen.

They could not remain here for long.

He called out that it was time to return to the palace.

Yue Mingxuan continued turning the box over in his hands and searching for some clue.

There was no obvious way to open it.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep