Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Breaking the Blood Curse, The Reason for the Empty Coffin

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Hearing the commotion, Gu Mian’s gaze immediately shifted, following his sister’s line of sight. What met his eyes was a carved and colorfully painted mural, depicting a scene of a palace night banquet.

Courtiers were seated at the feast, yet none bore smiles on their faces; most expressions were of apprehension and restraint.

And seated at the highest position was a burly man with a nine-tassel crown upon his head. He was dressed in dark blue robes, embroidered with intricate circular dragon patterns.

According to the laws of the Jin State, only the emperor’s ceremonial dragon robe could be dark blue. This was the mausoleum of Emperor Ai, so the man’s identity was self-evident: Emperor Ai himself.

In his hand, he held a long-life lamp. What was eerie was that the lamp was currently burning.

A fluorescent green flame, it looked chilling enough to make one’s hair stand on end. One had to remember this was an ancient tomb, hundreds of years old.

Before he pushed open the tomb door, the air inside had long been depleted. How could a lamp possibly still be burning?

“Is this the medium upon which the blood curse relies?” Gu Mian couldn’t help but reveal a curious gaze.

Could such a small lamp so easily wear down so many lives?

This was Gu Mian’s first up-close experience with the forbidden arts of the Xuanmen; all he could say was that it was impossible to guard against.

“Mhm, mhm, it’s this thing.” Yaoyao’s large eyes sparkled.

What burned within this long-life lamp was precisely the lifespan of those who had come into contact with the cultural relics.

Once the candlelight extinguished, the lives of those people would also reach their end.

“What do we do now? Shall Second Brother help you take the lamp down?” Gu Mian said, a little anxiously.

This was burning real, tangible lifespan. Any further delay… his own mentor was already advanced in age and couldn’t withstand such a drain.

Yaoyao shook her head. “Let me. There’s something else inside this lamp!”

Activating her ocular technique, Yaoyao saw an evil spirit sealed within the lamp.

Based on the description, it should be the entity her second brother had encountered. No wonder it could disappear without a sound; it was, in essence, the artifact spirit of the long-life lamp.

A connection existed between the two; the evil spirit could borrow the long-life lamp’s power to easily teleport and return.

However, in front of her, it would have no chance to escape again.

Yaoyao took a step forward, extending her chubby little hand, and grasped at the lamp on the mural from a distance.

Under the terrifying pressure of her spiritual power, the lamp flew off the mural uncontrollably.

Just as it was about to fall into Yaoyao’s hand, a cloud of black mist suddenly erupted from the wick. Like a bird startled by the twang of a bowstring, it fled rapidly towards the door.

That was the artifact spirit of the long-life lamp. At this moment, it had no courage to confront Yaoyao head-on, because that immense spiritual power instantly let it know it couldn’t defeat this tough opponent.

Better to gamble for a chance at survival than be crushed!

“Still trying to run, hmph! Stay put!” Seeing the fleeing black shadow, Yaoyao’s lips curved into a sneer.

She pointed a small hand into the void, and soul-reaping chains instantly tore through space, binding the evil spirit like a zongzi. With another raise of her hand, it was dragged before her.

“You… You are an Impermanence?!” The evil spirit artifact was so terrified it felt like it was about to shatter.

This milk-doll before it was clearly a living person, so why would her attack be these blasted soul-reaping chains!

Isn’t that something only Impermanences possess? How could a living person have them!

The evil spirit was an ancient from hundreds of years ago. It had been captured by a Mystic Master and, after entering the mausoleum with Emperor Ai, had been imprisoned within the long-life lamp ever since.

It wasn’t until recently, when someone triggered the blood curse, that it had seen the light of day again.

But as soon as it got out, it was severely injured. If it hadn’t escaped quickly, it feared it would have perished on the spot.

It had originally thought never to go out again, to just hide obediently in the long-life lamp, but unexpectedly, it had been sought out.

The evil spirit was about to cry; it was truly having an unlucky streak, seeing the chains that were squeezing its soul-body to the point of near fragmentation.

It knew it was done for!

Yaoyao paid no mind to the evil spirit’s convoluted thoughts. Her fingers formed a seal, and she slowly tapped the long-life lamp.

Then, the ancient script on it twisted and shattered. The sinister lamplight flickered out bit by bit, finally leaving only a bronze-colored lamp stand, looking old and antiquated.

“Alright, the curse has been broken,” Yaoyao said softly to her second brother.

With the blood curse broken, their lifespans would no longer be consumed.

However, what had been drained before could not be restored. According to the lamp’s rate of consumption, they had lost roughly four to five years of life.

It wasn’t a lot, but it wasn’t a little either. At least their lives were saved.

“Good, good!” Gu Mian relaxed completely upon hearing this.

The major trouble was finally resolved. He wasn’t in a hurry to leave immediately, because there were caregivers at the hospital providing round-the-clock care for his mentor and the others; the nurses would discover their recovery at the first opportunity.

He was now in Emperor Ai’s mausoleum, and years of archaeological habit made him want to investigate thoroughly.

This emperor was too controversial in history. If he could make a discovery, it would be an indelible contribution to restoring historical truth.

Thus, Gu Mian called out to Yaoyao and then walked towards the coffin in the main burial chamber.

To understand the latter’s situation, the most direct way was obviously to start with the coffin.

“Huh? Why is it empty!” But when Gu Mian approached, he saw an empty inner and outer coffin.

He froze, his heart filled with disbelief. What was going on?

Judging by the burial customs evident in this main burial chamber, it was clearly Emperor Ai’s tomb.

But where were the remains? Could it be that Emperor Ai wasn’t buried here?

If so, the problem was significant. Without remains, how could he conduct his research? Seeing his excitement turn out to be for nothing, Gu Mian’s animated face couldn’t help but show a touch of disappointment.

This scene fell upon Yaoyao’s eyes at the side. She paused, not wanting to disappoint her second brother. Just as she was about to think of a solution, her gaze suddenly fell upon the bound evil spirit.

Then, her eyes lit up!

This evil spirit had lived for a long time, and it had always been in the main tomb. Perhaps it knew the reason!

Yaoyao looked at the evil spirit and said directly, “Where did the owner of this tomb go? Explain what happened here clearly, and I can consider sending you to the City of the Wrongfully Dead!”

This evil spirit hadn’t reached the level of a Red Ghost⁷, nor was it burdened with the karma of killing; it wasn’t absolutely necessary to destroy it.

But releasing it directly was also impossible, as it did indeed harbor malicious intent.

So, Yaoyao gave it a chance to redeem itself. If it could help her second brother, it would be considered atonement.

“Really?” Hearing it didn’t have to die, the entire spirit perked up.

“Of course, I don’t lie!” Yaoyao nodded seriously.

Looking at her sincere and confident little face, the evil spirit immediately believed her. After all, for someone so young to possess such strength, there was no need to deceive it.

Thus, it quickly recounted everything it knew about the tomb.

The result also shocked Gu Mian, because this evil spirit said that Emperor Ai was not interred in the mausoleum after his death!

This entire mausoleum was actually a decoy, designed to deceive the world into believing he was buried within.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep