The two plummeted downward, surrounded by absolute darkness, not a sound to be heard. Just as Li Man'er hesitated whether to enter her spatial dimension for a buffer, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed her. In the dark, a familiar scent enveloped her, followed by Qi Yihan abruptly turning and pushing her upward.
With a clang, they both crashed onto the ground. Li Man'er landed on top of Qi Yihan, their positions somewhat intimate.
Qi Yihan let out a muffled groan, unable to get up for a long time.
"Qi, are you trying to die?"
Li Man'er, thinking he was injured, quickly retrieved a small flashlight from her spatial dimension and pressed it. The entire area was instantly illuminated.
Qi Yihan stared at the object in her hand, dumbfounded. Li Man'er, however, scrambled off him and started examining him, "How is it? Are you hurt?"
Their eyes met, and an unspoken awkwardness hung between them.
Only then did Li Man'er notice that Qi Yihan was lying on thick, soft dry grass, which should have cushioned his fall.
"If you're not hurt, sit up. Don't scare me."
Qi Yihan sat up, clutching his chest, and said, "I was trying to protect you, fearing you would get hurt, and you're this fierce."
Li Man'er had already put away the flashlight and discreetly switched to a tinderbox, significantly dimming the light.
Qi Yihan thought to himself, "Does she think I'm blind and wouldn't notice?"
Li Man'er mused, "There was quite a commotion just now. He probably didn't notice anything, right?"
Both of them tacitly agreed, neither mentioning the switch from flashlight to tinderbox.
"Where is this place?" Li Man'er held up the tinderbox and peered around for a long time, only to find stone walls everywhere, nothing else.
"Do you think this might be a grand tomb of the Wu tribe?"
"The air here is fresh, clearly indicating it's a place with constant ventilation. It's unlikely to be a tomb."
Li Man'er agreed with his assessment. They searched for a while but found nothing. Unwilling to give up, Li Man'er tapped the walls with her small dagger and, to her surprise, discovered something.
"Your Highness, come here."
Qi Yihan quickly walked over, "What is it? Did you find something?"
Li Man'er tapped two bricks separately, letting him listen to the sounds. It was easy to discern that one was solid, and the other was hollow.
Qi Yihan took the dagger and fiddled with the hollow stone brick for a moment, triggering a mechanism. A dark, gaping hole appeared, and to their surprise, there were stone steps within.
"This is amazing."
Li Man'er eagerly went to the edge of the opening and extended the tinderbox. The flame flickered slightly, indicating ventilation below.
"Let's go down."
Qi Yihan took the tinderbox and led the way, with Li Man'er following closely behind. With no other apparent exit, they could only take it one step at a time.
Stepping onto the last stone stair, Li Man'er was astonished by the sight. In the stone chamber, about a hundred square meters in size, stood more than a dozen stone coffins.
This was rather reminiscent of the ancient tomb sect! Had Master Jin Yong already known of such wonders?
"Are the people in these stone coffins all from the Wu tribe?"
Qi Yihan's expression was somber. He shook his head.
Li Man'er produced another tinderbox and examined the surrounding walls. To her disappointment, there were no carvings or patterns, just bare stone. It didn't seem to be the work of the ancient tomb sect.
However, Qi Yihan discovered a secret on the stone coffins. Each one was carved with pictograms, a language they couldn't understand, likely a unique script of the Wu tribe.
"Are these their names?"
"I don't know." Qi Yihan turned to Li Man'er, "Do you have paper and pen?"
Li Man'er desperately wanted to say no, but she knew this was important to Qi Yihan. She pretended to rummage in her embrace and produced a charcoal pencil and paper.
"Use them sparingly; this is all I have."
Qi Yihan took the paper and pen, sighed softly, and said with a hint of helplessness, "You need to be more cautious. Don't reveal your secrets so readily. If someone asks, will you give it to them?"
Li Man'er could clearly hear her heart pounding faster. Like a child who had made a mistake, she mumbled, "I'd only give it to you. I wouldn't give it to anyone else."
Qi Yihan's lips curved slightly, but he continued his lecture with a serious expression, "Look at the things you've produced. Which one doesn't attract undue attention?"
"Um..." Li Man'er quickly changed the subject, "Should we open the coffins to take a look? What if there are some secrets inside?"
As long as no zombie popped out, she could handle it.
"It's disrespectful to the deceased." Qi Yihan refused without hesitation. He then had Li Man'er hold the tinderbox while he meticulously copied the pictograms on each stone coffin.
Well, only a descendant as uninhibited as her would think of opening coffins.
Before long, Qi Yihan finished copying all the inscriptions. He then returned the charcoal pencil and paper to Li Man'er.
"You keep them!"
Great, more work.
Li Man'er reluctantly tucked the items away.
"We need to find a way out!" Li Man'er said, "I don't think returning the way we came is likely." They had already searched for a long time above and found no exit.
"Let's search around here; we might find an exit."
Each holding a tinderbox, they searched the area. After half an hour, they found not a single clue.
Li Man'er grew disheartened. "This place is so small, and we've searched it four or five times. We can't find anything. How about we open the coffins? Maybe there's a mechanism inside."
"Don't be reckless."
"Why is it reckless..." Li Man'er was exhausted and sat down on the ground. Just as she was about to rest, she noticed something at the bottom of a stone coffin.
"Huh? What's this?" Li Man'er beckoned Qi Yihan over. "I've never heard of anyone putting a compass at the bottom of a coffin."
Qi Yihan looked closely and couldn't help but smile. "This isn't a compass. This is likely the mechanism that opens the exit."
He murmured a prayer of sin and reached into the bottom of the coffin, gently turning the circular plate.
A rumbling sound echoed, and a stone door opened as if by magic, revealing the exit.
The two rejoiced, quickly scrambling to their feet and passing through the stone door at their fastest pace.
Outside the stone door, overgrown with weeds, it was evident no one had passed through for a long time. The scenery was beautiful, and the air was fresh. They had returned to the mountains.
By the time Li Man'er came to her senses, the stone door behind them had already closed, as if it had never been there.
"Fortunately, the ancestors of the Wu tribe didn't keep us behind." If she hadn't accidentally spotted the mechanism, they might never have gotten out. Even with her spatial dimension, she couldn't perform the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth! She would have been trapped there forever.
"It's your good fortune."