Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

It was just dawn inside the sinkhole, and the fog had not yet dissipated.

Zhang Qiling opened his eyes, and the "Zhang Qiling" beside him opened his eyes at the same time. The two looked at each other and got up. The campfire had gone out, leaving only embers. The soldiers on night watch were dozing, but they immediately looked up when they heard the noise.

The fat man was still groaning in his sleeping bag. Wu Xie nudged him and said, "Fatty, get up."

"Stop fooling around..." The fat man rolled over. "Let me sleep a little longer..."

"If you keep sleeping, you can lie here." Black Bear's voice floated down from the tree.

The fat man scrambled to his feet, rubbing his eyes. "Hey, Blackie, why do you always like climbing trees?"

"Good visibility." Black Bear jumped down, his sunglasses covered in dew.

The others woke up one after another. Kun Ge yawned, while Chen Man and Wang Yihan leaned against each other, their faces still pale. Professor Zhou Xu'an immediately reached for the bamboo slips in his backpack, and Jiang Shouyi was organizing his notes. Lin Guoce and the soldiers were checking their equipment.

Breakfast was simple; we ate and then packed up. No one spoke; everyone was staring at the temple on the opposite rock face. We came from there yesterday, and we had to go back today.

"Go down again?" Kun asked in a low voice.

"We have to go down," Xie Yuchen said. "We didn't get everything."

"What is it?" Fatty Wang asked.

"If you take the jade eye and the stone together, a map will appear." Zhang Qiling rarely spoke at length.

"The image in the white light yesterday?" Wu Xie asked.

Zhang Qiling nodded.

The procession set off again. They crossed the stream, entered the temple, and descended the steps. This time they moved quickly, familiar with the route. As they passed the circular hall, the human heads on the walls were still "watching," but the procession didn't stop, passing directly through the bronze gate and returning to the underground riverbank.

Cross the river, descend the metal steps, push open the dark red wooden door, and enter the Jingjue Queen's palace.

The female corpse still lay on the ground, her golden mask askew to one side. The jade coffin had a crack, and the layer of black ash inside remained.

Zhang Qiling walked to the jade coffin and took out the jade eye and the black stone. "Zhang Qiling" walked over, and the two stood side by side.

"Together," Zhang Qiling said.

"Hmm," Zhang Qiling replied.

The two simultaneously brought the jade eye and the stone close together. The instant they touched, a white light shone again, even more dazzling than yesterday. An image appeared within the white light, this time clearer.

It is a map.

It's three-dimensional, like a sand table. Countless points of light are marked on it, each point representing the outline of a mountain, with a simplified map of an ancient tomb below. The points of light are scattered throughout, some densely packed, some sparsely spaced.

In the center of the map, there is a particularly bright spot; its location is... Changbai Mountain.

In the image, the black-robed man (the high priest) stands before the map, holding a jade eye and a stone in his hands. He presses the two items onto the Changbai Mountain dot in the center of the map, and the dot explodes, transforming into a phantom of a bronze gate.

The door opened a crack, revealing boundless darkness. Deep within the darkness, something moved, enormous and indistinct, its nature unclear, yet it exuded an extreme sense of oppression—neither malice nor kindness, but pure "existence," like a mountain, like the sea, like the unchanging sky.

The man in black knelt down and kowtowed towards the door.

The video ends here.

The white light dissipated. Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" swayed simultaneously, steadying themselves against the jade coffin. Their heads didn't hurt, but their hearts felt heavy. They had seen what was behind that door before, in fragments of their memories. It was the "Ultimate," a secret guarded by the Zhang family for generations, and the source of their amnesia.

"Did you see that?" Black Bear asked.

Zhang Qiling nodded.

"What is it?" Fatty Wang asked curiously.

"The door," said Zhang Qiling.

"What door?"

Zhang Qiling didn't answer. He separated the jade eye from the stone, and the light disappeared. Then he walked to the female corpse, squatted down, and rummaged inside her black robe. After a moment, he found a small leather pouch, already dry and hard. He opened it, and inside was a piece of leather, tanned, and very thin.

Unfold the leather cover; it reveals a hand-drawn map. It's exactly the same as the one in the video, but simpler, marking only a dozen or so locations, each with annotations in the Jingjue script.

"This is the picture." Professor Zhou Xu'an excitedly leaned over.

Zhang Qiling put away the leather map and stood up: "Let's go."

"Wait a minute," Wu Xie suddenly said, "Brother, look at her face."

Everyone looked at the woman's face. Without the golden mask, her young face was pale, but at this moment, something began to appear on her face.

They are red spots.

They were small, like cinnabar moles, but dark red in color, distributed on the cheeks, forehead, and neck. The spots multiplied, becoming dense and unsightly.

"What is this?" Chen Man's voice trembled.

Professor Zhou Xu'an squatted down to examine it closely, his expression changing: "This...this is 'Ghost Eye Spot'! Ancient records state that the Jingjue Kingdom has a curse that causes people who come into contact with the core of the Ghost Cave to develop these red spots, resembling eyes, hence the name 'Ghost Eye.' This curse is hereditary, and those afflicted will not live more than three years."

"What?!" Kun was so shocked that he took two steps back.

Wu Xie's expression changed, and he subconsciously touched his neck. It didn't hurt or itch, but something felt wrong. He pulled open his collar and shone a flashlight on it.

A small, but noticeable, dark red spot appeared on the side of my neck, above my collarbone.

"I...I'm pregnant too." Wu Xie's voice was dry.

"Let me see!" Fatty Wang pulled down his collar, revealing another one on his collarbone.

Xie Yuchen, Hei Xiazi, and Huo Xiuxiu looked at each other and checked themselves. Everyone had it. Kun Ge, Chen Man, Wang Yihan, Zhou Xu'an, Jiang Shouyi, Lin Guoce, all the soldiers... except for Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling", everyone had that dark red spot on their bodies.

"When...?" Lin Guoce's face turned ashen.

"Did you touch the female corpse? Or did you enter this palace?" Jiang Shouyi's voice trembled.

"It's the Ghost Cave," Zhang Qiling said. "Anyone who has entered the Ghost Cave will be infected."

"Then why don't you have any?" Fatty Wang pointed at Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling".

"Qilin blood," said Zhang Qiling.

"Can your blood withstand it?" Wu Xie asked.

Zhang Qiling nodded.

"Then...what do we do?" Kun was almost in tears. "We won't live past three years?"

"There is a solution," Zhang Qiling said.

"What's the solution?"

"The Dust-Repelling Pearl".

"What is the Muchen Pearl?" Professor Zhou Xu'an asked.

"A treasure," Zhang Qiling said, "that can break curses."

"Where is it?" Lin Guoce asked anxiously.

Zhang Qiling looked at the leather map in his hand: "It's marked on the map."

The crowd immediately gathered around. Zhang Qiling unfolded the leather map and pointed to one of the locations. That location was in the mountains, and the annotation in the Jingjue script next to the map read: "The Eye of the Serpent God can break all curses."

"Is this the Muchen Pearl?" Wu Xie asked.

"Maybe," Zhang Qiling said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find it!" Fatty Wang said urgently.

"No rush," Xie Yuchen said. "Let's get out of here first. We can't stay here any longer."

"Yes, let's go out first," Lin Guoce said. "We can discuss this further once we're outside."

The group quickly left the palace. This time, no one stopped; they ran all the way. They climbed the metal staircase, crossed the underground river, passed through the circular hall, ascended the steps, exited the temple, and returned to the sinkhole.

Standing in the sinkhole, bathed in sunlight, people finally felt as if they had returned to the human world. But the red marks on their necks remained, a constant reminder that they only had three years left.

"What do we do now?" Kun asked.

"Let's go back to the oasis first and rejoin the people who stayed behind," Lin Guoce said. "Then we'll leave the desert and discuss things further."

No one objected. The team packed up their camp and prepared to leave. Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" stood at the edge of the sinkhole, looking in the direction of the temple.

"The Muchen Pearl," Zhang Qiling said.

"We need to go find him," said Zhang Qiling.

"Together."

"Um."

A brief conversation, and it's settled.

Wu Xie walked over, touched the red spot on his neck, and smiled wryly: "Brother, we really have to rely on you guys this time."

Zhang Qiling glanced at him and nodded.

Zhang Qiling nodded as well.

The fat man leaned over and said, "It's alright, with these two young men here, what curse can't be broken? Right?"

No one responded. The atmosphere was a bit somber.

A floating live-streaming ball flew over, and the camera panned across the somber faces of the crowd.

The comments scrolled by:

The prophet said: We've all been hit by the same trick.

Is this curse real or fake? It's designed to quell any dissent from so-called experts.

The male fan club: Husbands, you must save them!

The group began their evacuation. The road back to the oasis from the sinkhole was difficult, but eager to get home, they walked quickly. In the afternoon, they could see the poplar trees of the oasis in the distance.

The soldiers who remained behind saw them return and waved to them. But as they got closer, they noticed the strange expressions on their faces, and their smiles froze.

"Team Leader Lin, what's wrong?" a soldier asked.

Lin Guoce didn't say much, only ordering: "Pack your things and leave immediately. Return to Shazao Post Station."

The soldiers left behind were confused but carried out orders. The convoy quickly assembled, and people boarded the vehicles. Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" rode in one vehicle, while Wu Xie, Fatty, Xie Yuchen, Hei Xiazi, and Huo Xiuxiu squeezed into another. Kun Ge and the others shared a vehicle with Lin Guoce.

The convoy drove out of the oasis and headed towards the edge of the desert.

In the car, Wu Xie looked out the window at the receding yellow sand and suddenly said, "Fatty, do you think this is karma for our tomb raiding?"

"What retribution?" the fat man said. "We didn't do anything heinous, just took some artifacts. Besides, those two young men came down too, and they weren't hit."

"That's because they have special bloodlines," Black Bear said. "We ordinary people have to pay the price if we get involved with things we shouldn't."

"Three years..." Xie Yuchen repeated in a low voice.

"That's enough," Huo Xiuxiu said. "Three years to find the Muchen Pearl and break the curse."

"That's right!" the fat man slapped his thigh. "With these two young men here and a map, how can we not find it?"

Wu Xie didn't speak. He looked at the car in front of him, and through the window, he could see the backs of Zhang Qiling's and "Zhang Qiling's" heads. Both of them were sitting upright, like two statues.

With them around, I do feel more at ease.

The convoy drove through the desert overnight, and by noon the next day, they could see the outline of Shazaoyi. Upon entering the town, they drove directly to the guesthouse. The people got out of the cars, their legs trembling.

Lin Guoce went to contact his superiors to report, while Professor Zhou Xu'an and Jiang Shouyi returned to their room to organize materials. Kun Ge, Chen Man, and Wang Yihan lay sprawled on the sofa, motionless.

Wu Xie and the others returned to their rooms, quickly washed up, and changed into clean clothes. Then they gathered in Wu Xie and Fatty's room.

"What's the next plan?" the fat man asked.

"Let's rest for a few days first," Xie Yuchen said. "Then we'll study the map and pinpoint the location of the Muchen Pearl."

"Where is that place?" Wu Xie asked.

Xie Yuchen looked at Zhang Qiling. Zhang Qiling took out a leather map and spread it on the table. Everyone gathered around to look at it.

The map was simple, but the outlines of the mountains and rivers were recognizable. The Muchen Pearl was located in a large mountain, shaped like a coiled snake.

"This mountain..." Black Bear squinted, "I feel like I've seen it before."

"Where?" Huo Xiuxiu asked.

"The southwest," Hei Xiazi said, "the area in southern Yunnan. The locals call this mountain 'Snake Coil Mountain,' and legend has it that a snake god lives there."

"The Eye of the Serpent God..." Wu Xie read the annotation, "Could the Muchen Pearl be the eye of the Serpent God?"

"Perhaps," said Zhang Qiling.

"We'll have to go," the fat man said.

"No rush." ​​Zhang Qiling put away the map. "Let's rest first."

"Yes," Xie Yuchen said. "Everyone is cursed, but we still have three years. We can't panic; we need to plan carefully before we go."

Everyone nodded.

That evening, we ate in the guesthouse canteen. The dishes were simple, but hot. People ate in silence, no one spoke. The red spots on their necks hung like death warrants over everyone's hearts.

After dinner, Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" walked out of the guesthouse and stood on the edge of the town. The desert night wind was cool, making their clothes flutter.

"Three years," Zhang Qiling said.

"Hmm," Zhang Qiling replied.

"Enough to find."

"Um."

"After finding it..."

"We'll see."

Neither of them spoke, gazing at the darkness of the distant desert.

Three years. Not long, but not short either. Enough time for them to do a lot.

But what happens after finding the Muchen Pearl? What happens after breaking the curse? The bronze gate, the ultimate truth, the truth behind amnesia, and the other ancient tombs marked on that map…

The road ahead is long.

But for now, let's deal with the curse first.

As the night wind blew, the lights in the town went out one by one. The desert returned to silence.