Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

The stone steps extend downwards from the depths of the crack.

The stone steps were carved more regularly than before, with polished edges. Every five meters on both sides of the rock wall, there was a groove with traces of black grease in it—ancient lamp holders, but the oil had long since burned out.

The procession moved very slowly.

Physical exhaustion, mental stress, and the shadow of Zhou Hao's death made everyone's steps heavy. The sound of breathing echoed in the narrow passage, mixed with the flickering shadows of flashlights, creating an exceptionally oppressive atmosphere.

After walking about twenty meters, the space in front of us suddenly opened up.

A huge natural cave was transformed into a sacrificial site.

The cave is circular, with a diameter exceeding thirty meters. Countless stalactites hang from the cave ceiling, some with their tips polished into sharp cones. The floor is flat, paved with neatly cut bluestone slabs. The surface of the slabs is engraved with intricate patterns filled with dark red pigment, which has not completely faded even after thousands of years.

In the center of the cave stands a three-tiered stone platform.

At the top of the stone platform, there is a huge bronze cauldron.

The ding is nearly two meters tall, with three legs and two handles. The body of the ding is covered with green rust, but the surface decorations can still be seen: cloud and thunder patterns, kui dragon patterns, and densely packed sacrificial scenes.

Dozens of skeletons were scattered around the stone platform.

Some of the skeletons are kneeling, some are lying on their backs, all in different postures, but their heads are all facing the bronze tripod. Some of the skeletons' hand bones still retain the posture of offering, and there are rusted fragments of bronze and jade artifacts between the metacarpal bones.

"This is... human sacrifice..." Professor Zhou Xu'an's voice trembled, but his eyes blazed with fanaticism. "So many... such high-status... the identity of this tomb's occupant..."

He walked quickly to a skeleton, squatted down, and carefully brushed the dust off the skeleton's chest with his gloved hand.

A bronze dagger was stuck between his ribs.

"Warriors who volunteered to be buried alive with their enemies," the professor murmured. "A short sword pierced the heart, a fatal blow. This was the practice of burying sacrificial victims in the tombs of high-ranking nobles during the Zhou Dynasty, but previously discovered cases only contained a maximum of a dozen or so sacrificial warriors. Here..."

He swept the surroundings with his flashlight.

Dozens of skeletons gleamed eerily in the darkness.

"At least fifty people," Lin Guoce said in a deep voice.

"Not just that," Jiang Shouyi pointed behind the stone platform, "there's more over there."

The flashlight beam shone over. In the shadows behind the stone platform, more bones were piled up, haphazardly, as if they had been carelessly discarded.

"Those were probably slaves or prisoners of war." Professor Zhou Xu'an stood up and walked towards the bronze cauldron. "Those who were truly of high status and were buried alive with the deceased were placed around the stone platform. This cauldron... the specifications of this cauldron..."

He looked up at the bronze cauldron, his hands trembling.

The cauldron was much taller than him, requiring him to look up. The sacrificial scene carved on the belly of the cauldron was clearly detailed: a group of small figures knelt in worship, while a tall figure sat in the middle, with sun and moon patterns above the figure's head. Behind the figure was a huge door, half-open, with wavy lines flowing out from the crack.

"This door..." Professor Zhou Xu'an adjusted his glasses, "...is the same pattern as the one on the cauldron in the stone chamber, but more intricate. What exactly is this door?"

No one answered.

Xie Linyuan stood in front of the stone platform, looking up at the cauldron.

His gaze fell on the handles of the cauldron.

The handles of the ding are two bronze animal heads, with their mouths wide open, each holding a black ring. The rings stand out conspicuously against the rusted bronze—the material is smooth and free of rust.

Black Stone.

It is made of the same material as the thin sheet.

Xie Linyuan took a few steps back, ran, and jumped.

He pushed off the edge of the stone platform with his foot, his body rising high. He grabbed the protrusion on the beast's head with his left hand and reached for the black stone ring in the beast's mouth with his right.

The moment the finger touched the ring, a muffled sound of a mechanism turning came from inside the cauldron.

The entire cave shook.

Dust fell steadily from the stalactites.

"Watch out!" Lin Guoce shouted.

Several of the bluestone slabs surrounding the stone platform suddenly sank.

The bones fell into the pit, and the sound of bones cracking echoed.

Xie Linyuan had already removed the black stone ring from the left beast's mouth. He released his left hand, lowered his body, stepped on the edge of the stone platform, and used the momentum to leap to the other side of the cauldron.

Grasp the beast's head with your right hand and remove the black stone ring from the right side with your left.

Both feet landed on the ground.

The vibration stopped.

The pit stopped expanding.

Xie Linyuan opened his palm. Two black stone rings, about three centimeters in diameter, with fine serrations along their edges. He took out the first two thin slices and placed the rings on the serrations along their edges.

Perfectly fitted.

The ring is a connector.

Four thin pieces and two rings, when put together, will form a complete pattern.

"This is part of the key." Jiang Shouyi leaned closer to look. "A ring connects to a thin plate... The complete key is probably disc-shaped."

Xie Linyuan put away the ring and the thin slice.

Professor Zhou Xu'an was still immersed in the awe of the bronze ding. He carefully shone his flashlight on every detail of the ding's belly, muttering to himself, "The craftsmanship... the exquisite detail of the decoration... far surpasses all known Zhou Dynasty bronzes. And the number of human sacrifices... the scale of this tomb is at least that of a feudal lord, perhaps even..."

He turned to Xie Linyuan: "Mr. Xie, you said this is the gatekeeper's tomb. What exactly is a gatekeeper? There's no record of it in historical texts."

Xie Linyuan looked into the darkness deep within the cave.

"It's not a position," he said. "It's the family."

"family?"

"Generations have guarded this door." Xie Linyuan paused, "With blood, with lives."

His tone was calm, but the weight of his words seemed to freeze the air in the cave.

Live stream chat:

[ID History Student: Gatekeeper Family? Never heard of them]

[ID Research Maniac: The Zhou Dynasty's enfeoffment system did not have such families independent of royal power]

[ID Conspiracy Theory: Hiding History!]

[ID Believes Party: What this guy says must be true]

Lin Guoce walked up to Xie Linyuan and lowered his voice: "Mr. Xie, you said before that your blood is special and related to this gatekeeper family?"

Xie Linyuan glanced at him.

They neither admitted nor denied it.

Lin Guoce understood. He didn't press further and turned to the group: "Check the surroundings and find an exit. We can't stay here any longer."

The crowd dispersed.

Kun Ge, Chen Man, and Wang Yihan sat resting by the stone platform, their faces still pale. Liu Desheng squatted beside a skeleton, staring blankly at the bronze short sword. Xu Jiashu hid far away from the skeleton, clutching the wet book in his hand. Jiang Shouyi examined the patterns on the stone slab, his compass lying flat on the ground, the needle spinning wildly.

Professor Zhou Xu'an walked to the side wall of the cave.

There are murals on the wall.

It wasn't carved; it was painted directly onto the rock face with mineral pigments. The pigments are remarkably well-preserved, and the colors are vibrant: vermilion, azurite, ochre, and black.

The mural is divided into three layers.

At the top: a group of people knelt in worship, with a tall figure sitting in the center, behind whom was the enormous door. The door was tightly closed.

Middle level: The door opened a crack, and light poured out from the crack. Among the kneeling crowd, some people's bodies began to change—some grew scales, some sprouted wings from their backs, and some had their heads turn into beast shapes.

Lower level: The door was wide open. Light engulfed everything. The crowd vanished, leaving only a pile of bones. Deep within the door, there was a blurry outline, resembling a human, yet also some enormous creature.

"Is this... a mythological narrative?" Professor Zhou Xu'an muttered to himself. "The light emanating from the door is causing strange changes... Is this punishment? Or a blessing?"

He took a picture, but there was no signal and it couldn't be transmitted.

Xie Linyuan walked up to the mural.

He looked at the blurry outline inside the lower door.

Fragments of memory are churning.

The ultimate truth behind the bronze door.

The secret to immortality.

The truth of the world.

The Qilin tattoo on his shoulder blade was so hot it looked like it was burning through his clothes.

"Mr. Xie," Professor Zhou Xu'an adjusted his glasses, "what are your thoughts on the content of this mural?"

Xie Linyuan remained silent.

The professor, used to this, continued, "From an archaeological perspective, this could be an ancient people's mythological explanation of a certain natural phenomenon. For example, an earthquake, a volcanic eruption, or a plague. The door symbolizes the source of the disaster, the light symbolizes the catastrophe, and the anomaly symbolizes death or disease."

Xie Linyuan turned to look at him.

"You're overthinking it," he said.

Then walk away.

The professor stood there, stunned.

Xu Jiashu leaned closer and said, "Professor, ignore him. His mystical nonsense is nothing compared to our scientific reality."

Professor Zhou Xu'an shook his head: "No... he might know things we don't."

He looked at Xie Linyuan's back.

The figure stood alone in the darkness, as solitary as a mountain.

Lin Guoce found the exit at the other end of the cave.

Another passage led downwards, its entrance blocked by a stone slab. The slab was engraved with a seven-star pattern, and in the positions of the seven stars were seven black stones—again, black stones.

There is a groove in the center of the stone slab.

The shape of the groove is exactly the same as the outline of the thin piece in Xie Linyuan's hand after they are pieced together.

"We need a key," Lin Guoce said.

Xie Linyuan walked over and looked at the stone slab.

The arrangement of the seven-star pattern matched a certain mechanism or array he remembered from the Zhang family. The seven black stones corresponded to seven directions; forcibly breaking through them might trigger a destructive mechanism.

"Wait until we collect all the flakes," he said.

"How many more are needed?" Lin Guoce asked.

"One piece." Xie Linyuan looked into the depths of the passage. "Down there."

The team regrouped.

Professor Zhou Xu'an reluctantly left the bronze tripod, taking dozens more photos. Jiang Shouyi recorded the seven-star pattern on the stone slab. The others packed up their equipment, preparing to continue their journey.

Liu Desheng suddenly spoke up: "Captain Lin, Haozi's body... is it just lying there?"

Lin Guoce remained silent.

"When we go back... can we take him with us?" Liu Desheng asked in a low voice.

"It depends on the situation," Lin Guoce said. "Let's get out of here alive first."

Liu Desheng stopped speaking.

Chen Man whispered to Wang Yihan, "Sister Yihan, can we still go out?"

Wang Yihan squeezed her hand: "Yes. I can. I'll go with Mr. Xie."

This statement has now become a consensus among everyone.

Live stream chat messages:

[ID Realism: These people have become psychologically dependent on the guy in black]

[ID Analysis Party: Team Leader Lin is the official representative, but his skills and knowledge are inferior to Xiao Ge's.]

[ID's concern: If something happens to this guy, the whole team will die.]

The temperature inside the cave was much lower than outside. A chill seeped up from the ground, making even a coat feel cold. Water droplets condensed on the stalactites dripped down, creating a rhythmic patter in the silence.

Xie Linyuan sat by the stone platform, closing his eyes to rest.

He was organizing the information in his mind.

Black stone slabs, rings, seven-star stone slabs, bronze tripods, murals, and a family of gatekeepers.

People in this world think that ancient tombs are just some kind of traps.

They were unaware that real ancient tombs held things that defied conventional wisdom.

Zhang Qiling's memories are slowly merging. He now understands more clearly what the role he plays carries.

It's not about protecting cultural relics.

It's about protecting secrets.

Protect those secrets that, if leaked, would cause disaster.

Lin Guoce walked over and handed him a bag of compressed biscuits.

Xie Linyuan took it, tore open the packaging, and ate it slowly.

"Mr. Xie," Lin Guoce sat down, "I've participated in five official archaeological expeditions. Each one was a low-risk ancient tomb; the most dangerous thing was either a landslide or poison gas. Compared to this..."

He didn't finish speaking.

But the meaning is clear.

Xie Linyuan swallowed the biscuit: "Those before weren't real tombs."

What, then, is a true tomb?

"There's a gatekeeper's grave," Xie Linyuan said. "There's a door that shouldn't have been opened."

What's inside the door?

Xie Linyuan glanced at him.

That look sent chills down Lin Guoce's spine.

"There is an answer," Xie Linyuan said, "but those who knew the answer are all dead."

He finished the biscuits, put away the packaging, and stood up.

"I've rested enough. Let's go."

The team set off again.

Walk deeper into the passage.

Heading towards the location of the last thin slice.

Towards a deeper secret.

Professor Zhou Xu'an turned around and took one last look at the bronze cauldron and bones in the cave.

He murmured to himself, "If I can make it back alive this time... the history of archaeology will be rewritten."

Then he turned around and caught up with the group.

The cave fell silent once more.

Only the mutated figures on the murals watched silently in the darkness.

It's as if they're waiting.

Waiting for all the keys to be collected.

Waiting for the door to open.

Waiting for the secrets of a thousand years ago to see the light of day again.