Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

"Time's almost up, haven't those people arrived yet?"

Xiang Ying asked Liang Si Niang.

Liang Si Niang replied, "I'll be there soon."

She had no confidence in Hu Laoliu and wasn't familiar with Li Xin, but she trusted Mao Lixia, believing that Mao Lixia would definitely arrive at the agreed time.

Sure enough, as soon as Liang Si Niang finished speaking, three figures landed in front of the "Wordless Stele," namely Li Xin and his two companions.

As soon as Li Xin landed, he immediately sensed a gaze as sharp as lightning. He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Xiang Ying, and their eyes met.

The two exchanged glances and instantly sensed each other's strength, becoming serious in their hearts.

This person is a master!

Li Xin and Xiang Ying thought to themselves at the same time.

Upon seeing Mao Lixia arrive, Liang Siniang was initially delighted, but then, remembering Mao Lixia's words that she should pretend not to know her, she immediately turned to Hu Laoliu and questioned, "Hu Laoliu, what are you doing bringing these two people here?"

Hu Laoliu quickly said, "Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand. These two are my helpers. With their assistance, we have a better chance of getting down to Qianling. Don't you think so?"

Liang Si Niang still refused: "No, this matter is of great importance, how can I let strangers join!"

As he spoke, he glared at Li Xin and Mao Lixia with hostility.

Li Xin and Mao Lixia: "..."

After much persuasion from Hu Laoliu, who explained Mao Lixia's identity as the successor of the "Xuanxin Zhengzong" lineage to Liang Siniang, Liang Siniang reluctantly agreed, "Alright, since that's the case, then let's add the two of them... But!"

Liang Si Niang stared intently at Li Xin and Mao Lixia: "If you two dare to ruin my important plans, don't blame me for being impolite!"

As Liang Siniang turned her head away, Li Xin transmitted his voice to Mao Lixia: "Lixia, is this woman really your friend?"

He and Maurice looked like complete strangers, and he seemed very wary of her.

Mao Lixia nodded almost imperceptibly. Although she didn't really want this childhood friend, it was the truth.

After "persuading" Liang Si Niang, Hu Lao Liu wiped his sweat and then smiled ingratiatingly at Li Xin, saying, "I'm sorry, Mr. Li Xin, you've been wronged..."

Then, lowering his voice, he said to Li Xin, "Mr. Xin, never reveal your strength unless absolutely necessary. You are my backup plan!"

He had deliberately not told Liang Siniang about Li Xin's strength. He hired Li Xin not so much to guard against the traps at Qianling, but to prevent Liang Siniang and Xiang Ying from betraying him after using him. The women of the "Yin Gui Sect" were the best at using men, and they would discard them after using them. He had to be wary of this tactic.

Hmph, you little wench, I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget – experience counts!

Hu Laoliu was quite pleased with himself.

Seeing that Hu Laoliu was completely kept in the dark, Li Xin felt that it was a bit unethical of him to deceive his employer like this. But then he thought that Hu Laoliu hadn't paid a deposit, which meant that, strictly speaking, this guy wasn't his employer. So Li Xin became confident again and nodded, saying, "Understood!"

Chapter 611 The Powder Box

Qianling Mausoleum is built into the mountain; simply put, the main underground palace of the tomb is inside the mountain, using the mountain as its protective shell.

During the Huang Chao Rebellion at the end of the Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao, who had captured Chang'an, mobilized an army of 400,000 to plunder the Qianling Mausoleum. They dug a trench more than 40 meters deep but could not find the entrance to the tomb. They had no choice but to leave disappointed.

During the Five Dynasties period, Wen Tao, the military governor of Chongzhou under the Later Liang dynasty, organized his army to excavate all the imperial tombs of the Tang dynasty. All the other imperial tombs were not spared, but strange things happened frequently when excavating the Qianling Mausoleum, forcing him to give up.

In the early years of the Republic of China, warlord conflicts led to rampant tomb raiding. A general surnamed Sun, under the guise of staging a play, mobilized a division of soldiers to blast many places on the mountain with explosives, but they couldn't even find the entrance to the tomb. This shows how sturdy the Qianling Mausoleum was, making it the only imperial tomb in thousands of years that has never been looted.

After giving a general account of the difficulties of robbing the Qianling Mausoleum, Hu Laoliu changed the subject, saying, "Although it is said that no one has been able to enter the Qianling Mausoleum for thousands of years, in fact, several of our ancestors have entered the Qianling Mausoleum!"

When Liang Si Niang found Hu Lao Liu before, Hu Lao Liu directly said that the "dragon vein" of Qianling was not easy to move and could not be touched, because someone from the "tomb raiding faction" had personally entered Qianling.

"What did he see and find in Qianling Mausoleum?"

Liang Si Niang immediately pressed for an answer.

Although extensive preparations were made for entering Qianling Mausoleum, Liang Siniang actually knew nothing about what was inside. Over the past thousand years, almost all the successors of the "Jade Maiden Sect" and "Mending Heaven Pavilion" who entered Qianling Mausoleum died inside. Only Lixia's father and Liang Siniang's master came out alive, but they were seriously injured. Mao Lixia's father endured for several years before dying from his injuries, while Liang Siniang's master had just returned to the "Jade Maiden Sect" and passed away before he could even finish making his final arrangements.

Afterwards, Liang Si Niang asked Mao Li Xia's father, who only told Liang Si Niang that Qianling was not to be entered and that she should give up on the "Heavenly Demon Strategy". However, he refused to mention what was inside or tell Mao Li Xia.

Liang Si Niang wanted to know more than anyone else what was inside Qianling, this den of iniquity that had harmed countless ancestors of the "Jade Maiden Sect".

"do not know."

Hu Laoliu spread his hands: "None of them came out alive."

Why else would Hu Laoliu be so terrified of Qianling? It's because an ancestor of the "Holy Ultimate Sect" also died at Qianling!

Liang Si Niang fell silent.

The ancestors of the Jade Maiden Sect, the Heaven-Mending Pavilion, and the Holy Ultimate Sect were all quite capable, yet they all became trapped in the Qianling Mausoleum. What exactly is inside the Qianling Mausoleum?

"How long are you planning to keep arguing here? Are you going to wait until dawn so that tourists will gather around and watch you rob a tomb?"

Xiang Ying snorted coldly, appearing extremely impatient.

Liang Si Niang snapped out of her daze and said to the others, "Alright, let's get started!"

What Xiang Ying said was harsh, but it made a lot of sense. Qianling was right in front of us, so instead of making wild guesses outside, we should go in and find out for ourselves.

For thousands of years, the tomb passage of Qianling Mausoleum has been searched for by countless people without success. It was only a few decades ago that the tomb passage was accidentally exposed when a few farmers set off blasting rocks.

After archaeological exploration, it was confirmed that the tomb passage of Qianling was intact and no new tomb robbery holes were found. Therefore, it was unanimously concluded that Qianling had not been looted.

But who says that you have to enter Qianling through the tomb passage?

Indeed, the main underground palace of Qianling is hidden in the mountain and protected by the thick mountain. The most convenient way to enter the underground palace of Qianling is through the tomb passage. If you want to enter from other places, you have to dig through the mountain, which is a huge and difficult project. But the "Jade Maiden Sect" has been eyeing Qianling for thousands of years, and these women are willing to go through all this trouble.

In the words of the "Jade Maiden Sect," anyone who dares to walk through the tomb passage left by that wicked and vile woman will be cursed for life.

In short, out of absolute distrust (or perhaps absolute trust?) of the tomb's occupant, the "Jade Maiden Sect" spent ten years carving out a passage leading to the Qianling Mausoleum from a hidden spot in the back of Liangshan Mountain.

For the next thousand years, the successors of the "Jade Maiden Sect" and the "Heaven-Mending Pavilion" entered Qianling through this passage, generation after generation, and then met their deaths.

Walking through this passage that could be described as a road to death, Liang Si Niang's feelings were extremely complicated.

On the one hand, there is anticipation, hoping to achieve something from this operation and fulfill the long-cherished wish of the "Jade Maiden Sect" for thousands of years.

On the other hand, there was fear, the fear that he himself would die in Qianling like those ancestors of the "Jade Maiden Sect".

No, that won't happen!

Liang Si Niang shook her head. This time, not only were there successors from the "Mending Heaven Pavilion" and the "Holy Extreme Sect," but also two extraordinary experts accompanying her. This time, she was sure she would be able to obtain the "Heavenly Demon Strategy"!

After walking through the dark, long passage, suddenly a bright yellow light appeared ahead, causing discomfort to everyone's eyes, which were already accustomed to the darkness.

"It's just ahead!"

Liang Si Niang pointed to a screen of light in front of her.

The group walked to the light screen, which looked sacred and awe-inspiring, with countless runes flowing on it. Hu Laoliu stared wide-eyed, carefully observing the runes. He couldn't help but reach out to touch them, but was immediately thrown back by a tremendous force.

Despite the pain in his arm, Hu Laoliu didn't care and said with a hint of excitement, "Is this the imperial tomb protected by the 'dragon vein'?"

The "Holy Ultimate Sect" made its fortune by tomb raiding, having plundered countless ancient tombs, including imperial mausoleums, but never touched any imperial tombs guarded by "dragon veins".

The "dragon vein" shifts slightly every hundred years and greatly every five hundred years. Only dynasties at the peak of their power have the ability to set up formations to keep the "dragon vein" in the imperial mausoleum. Moreover, the formations need to be continuously repaired afterward in order to keep the "dragon vein" intact.

Legend has it that imperial tombs protected by "dragon veins" cannot be looted, but the fact that the "dragon veins" still exist means that the dynasty has not fallen. Who the hell would be so stupid as to loot the imperial tombs of the current dynasty? Aren't they usually looting the imperial tombs of the previous dynasty?

Therefore, neither the "Tomb Raiders" nor its predecessor, the "Holy Extreme Sect," had ever raided an imperial tomb protected by a "dragon vein." That's why Hu Laoliu was so excited when he saw the formation inside the Qianling Mausoleum.

This is a "living" imperial tomb!

At this moment, Liang Si Niang said, "Be careful. This is the outer barrier of the underground palace, protected by the power of the 'Dragon Vein.' Even a top-level extraordinary person cannot forcefully break through the barrier."

Even a top-tier expert couldn't break the barrier?

Hu Laoliu couldn't help but look at Xiang Ying.

Xiang Ying shook her head: "Don't look at me. Although I can break this barrier, the commotion is hard to predict."

Otherwise, he would have entered Qianling alone long ago, so why bother going through all this trouble and bringing Liang Si Niang along...

Hu Laoliu thought about it and agreed. Although the country did not excavate Qianling due to policy reasons, it did not mean that the country did not care about Qianling. The country has always paid close attention to this imperial tomb that has never been looted. Therefore, the matter of looting the tomb must not cause too much of a commotion.

"Hey you, aren't you a successor of the 'Mysterious Heart Sect'? You should be able to break this barrier, right? If not, there's no point in keeping you around!"

Liang Si Niang looked at Mao Li Xia with an imperious air.

Mao Lixia took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and nodded to Liang Siniang, saying, "I'll give it a try."

In fact, there's no need to try; the techniques for breaking through the outer barrier of Qianling Mausoleum are practically a required introductory course for any successor of the "Butian Pavilion."

Back then, the successor of the "Jade Maiden Sect" spent ten years digging through the mountain, but was stopped by this barrier. The successor of the "Heaven-Mending Pavilion" who was traveling with them volunteered to hide their identity and sneak into the "Mysterious Heart Orthodox Sect" to learn Taoist arts.

That generation of "Mending the Heaven Pavilion" successors spent twenty years, even becoming one of the "Four Generals" of the "Mysterious Heart Orthodox Sect," whose status was second only to the sect leader. After learning all the Taoist arts in the "Mysterious Heart Orthodox Sect" except for those secretly passed down by the sect leader, they faked their deaths to escape. Then, they spent another ten years studying and finally figured out how to break this barrier.

The technique, which embodies the culmination of thirty years of hard work by the successor of the "Heaven-Mending Pavilion," was skillfully executed by Mao Lixia, and a large hole was quickly torn open in the light barrier in front of her.

"Hurry inside, my spell won't last long!"

Mao Lixia formed hand seals, struggling to maintain the entrance to the barrier while urging everyone on. Liang Siniang had already anticipated this and had acted before Mao Lixia reminded her, but she was still not as fast as one person, Xiang Ying.

Xiang Ying took the lead, squeezing through the barrier entrance to enter the Qianling underground palace, showing even greater eagerness than Liang Siniang, the successor of the "Jade Maiden Sect".

Liang Si Niang frowned slightly. She had long sensed that something was wrong with Xiang Ying. Although he said he was helping her, Liang Si Niang always felt that Xiang Ying himself had his own designs on Qianling.

But this wasn't the time to delve into that. Liang Si Niang's figure blurred as she swiftly rushed into the barrier.

After Liang Si Niang, Hu Lao Liu also jumped into the barrier entrance impatiently. After the three of them entered the barrier, Li Xin noticed that the barrier entrance was becoming unstable, so he quickly grabbed Mao Li Xia and entered the barrier with her.

After Li Xin carried Mao Lixia into the barrier, the entrance closed. Li Xin put down the sweat-drenched Mao Lixia and asked, "Are you alright?"

Mao Lixia shook her head slightly: "It's nothing, I'm just... a little tired!"

In terms of martial arts, Mao Lixia has already firmly reached the peak of the special-grade extraordinary person thanks to her father's skills, and is only one step away from the extraordinary powerhouse. However, in terms of Taoist arts, Mao Lixia has only barely reached the level of the first-grade extraordinary person. Therefore, it was a bit difficult for Mao Lixia to use the spell just now.

After taking a short break to catch her breath, Mao Lixia reminded Li Xin and the others, "I sensed it just now, and the entire underground palace is covered by the 'Mysterious Heart Orthodox Sect' formation. Within the formation, any martial arts or Taoist techniques other than the 'Mysterious Heart Orthodox Method' will be suppressed. Be careful."

Li Xin and Xiang Ying sensed it and, sure enough, the true qi that should have flowed freely within their bodies was somewhat obstructed. What was even more critical was that the ability of extraordinary experts to mobilize the surrounding天地元气 (heaven and earth energy) was suppressed to the extreme here. Although it couldn't be said that it was completely impossible to mobilize, both the amount that could be mobilized and the difficulty were vastly different from when they were outside.

Conservative estimates suggest that Li Xin and Xiang Ying's strength has been suppressed by about 50%.

If Li Xin and Xiang Ying, both extraordinary experts, were in such a state, then Liang Siniang and Hu Laoliu were suppressed even more severely, with only 20-30% of their martial arts skills remaining, which made both of them look very unwell.

For martial arts practitioners, martial arts skills are more important than their hands and feet. What is the difference between suppressing their martial arts skills and binding their own hands and feet?

This Qianling Mausoleum is indeed extraordinary; it dealt them a heavy blow even before they officially entered.

Before Li Xin and the others could adjust to this change in circumstances, a series of "thump-thump-thump" sounds rang out from inside the tomb, and a group of heavily armored terracotta warriors charged forward, wielding weapons.

These terracotta warriors, though seemingly made of metal, move swiftly and are more agile than living people. When they charge, their formations are perfectly aligned, like elite soldiers capable of taking on a hundred men single-handedly.

Upon seeing the terracotta warriors, Mao Lixia immediately warned, "Everyone be careful! These are Dao soldiers from the 'Mysterious Heart Sect.' They are impervious to swords and spears and will attack any intruders on their own!"

Ignoring Mao Lixia's warning, Xiang Ying charged straight into the terracotta warrior formation. He didn't even bother to draw the thick-backed broadsword he carried on his back, but instead used his hand as a blade, unleashing a burst of powerful lightning energy. With a single move, he swiftly and decisively shattered the terracotta warriors into pieces.

So what if he only has half his strength left? Does Xiang Ying think he's afraid of these pieces of scrap metal?

Hu Laoliu was shocked when he saw Xiang Ying make his move. Was this the unparalleled "Purple Thunder Blade Technique"? It was indeed terrifying. Even with his strength suppressed, he could still unleash such power!

With the terracotta warriors destroyed, the crisis was temporarily averted. Hu Laoliu finally had time to observe the underground palace. After looking around for a while, he couldn't help but say, "We're lucky. This is directly the rear burial chamber."

According to the Tang imperial tombs that have been excavated and related historical records, the Qianling Mausoleum should consist of a tomb passage, a passageway, a courtyard, a corridor, a side chamber, and three burial chambers: the front, middle, and rear chambers.

Traps and mechanisms are usually set up in the tomb passage and corridor. The side chambers are used to store funerary objects, while the front, middle and rear chambers are the core of the underground palace. Traps and mechanisms would not be set up here. The Taoist soldiers just now must have moved over from other places because they triggered the alarm.

"The 'Heavenly Demon Strategy' is either in the front chamber or the middle chamber. There's nothing we need here, let's go."

Liang Si Niang said directly.

The passage leading directly to the rear burial chamber wasn't just luck; it was because the descendants of the "Jade Maiden Sect" dug it based on the design plans of the Qianling Mausoleum. Compared to other places, the rear burial chamber was designed to resemble the deceased's former residence, making it the least dangerous. Resting here also made it easier to explore other burial chambers later.

"No rush, no rush, let me take another look!"

Hu Laoliu was now unable to move and looked around the back tomb chamber.

This is Qianling Mausoleum! The only Qianling Mausoleum that has never been looted in thousands of years! The Qianling Mausoleum protected by a "dragon vein"!

As a thief...and an archaeologist, how can I not take a good look at the Qianling Mausoleum if I'm not a professional?

Admittedly, Hu Laoliu was terrified before entering Qianling Mausoleum, but once inside, his professional instincts kicked in, and he was like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar, completely absorbed in the experience.

Liang Si Niang immediately flew into a rage. She had gone to so much trouble to invite Hu Lao Liu here, not so that he could visit the Qianling Mausoleum!

Just as Liang Si Niang was about to lash out, Hu Lao Liu suddenly said, "Eh, strange, this tomb... is quite peculiar..."

Liang Si Niang immediately swallowed her words and then asked, "What's strange?"

Hu Laoliu pointed to the tomb chamber and said, "Look at this tomb chamber, doesn't it feel too much like a place where people live?"

Liang Si Niang thought Hu Lao Liu was going to say something, but it turned out to be this, and she immediately sneered: "This back tomb chamber was originally set up to resemble the deceased's living quarters, so what's so strange about it?"

"That's true."