Chapter 5

Gao Wen didn't know if this little girl named Rebecca had been knocked out during the fight with the monsters, but he still patiently said, "Although I've been 'living' here for many years... I was already dead back then, okay? Can you know what your grave looks like after you die?"

Rebecca thought for a moment, intending to remind her ancestor that the imperial mausoleum of the Ansu Kingdom's founding monarch was built while the king was still alive, and the king himself even participated in the design. However, after some consideration, she felt that if she pressed the issue, Aunt Hedi might kill her on the spot, so she swallowed her words and awkwardly smiled, "Ahaha... That makes sense."

"We can't go back the same way," Hedi sighed, calmly analyzing the situation, "The castle's courtyard and the entrance to the ancestral tomb have been occupied by those monsters. Going back the same way would be a dead end."

"We need to find another way," Gao Wen said, recalling the inherited memories, "Seven hundred years have passed, and the castle's structure is probably not the same as it was back then."

"The upper structure has been renovated several times, but the foundation remains unchanged," Hedi quickly added, "The entrance you mentioned should still be in its original location."

"That's good," Gao Wen said, extending his hand to a nearby soldier, "Lend me your sword."

Taking the longsword from the soldier, Gao Wen began drawing on the ground. He first drew a top-down view of the castle's outline, then a side view roughly divided into three layers. Although they were hastily drawn sketches, the general layout was clear.

"The entrance is here, on the second underground level, next to the wine cellar and the grain storage—what used to be the wine cellar and grain storage. There are two passages leading to it, but both require going through the ground, so they're probably not feasible."

Rebecca curiously looked at the sketch Gao Wen had drawn, "Those are still the wine cellar and grain storage now, but I never knew there was a third room between them..."

"It's not a room, but a hidden compartment, a small architectural trick hidden between the walls and support beams," Gao Wen smiled, "Back then, this land was far from peaceful. It was a frontier, and monsters from the ruins of the Gondor Empire and the deranged soldiers of the old empire would attack every few weeks. The early Cecil territory was built to the standards of a war fortress. In such a situation, secret passages and hidden compartments were essential for emergency evacuation and supply delivery during sieges."

Knight Byron carefully examined the simple map, then drew a line on the ground below it, "So we need to go to the entrance on the second floor of the castle... and we can't use any ground-level passages, including the courtyard. This is our current position. The ancestral tomb is an underground structure built to the southeast of the castle, with about a third overlapping with the castle's foundation..."

"Right in this overlapping area, there should be a passage," Gao Wen interrupted Byron, "The tomb was built seven hundred years ago, and the craftsmen who built it were the same ones who built the war fortress. These structures were built according to the standards and rules of that time, so a backup passage must exist."

Saying this, he looked at Rebecca strangely, "You really don't know about this? This should be knowledge passed down through generations of the Cecil family."

Rebecca lowered her head in embarrassment, "I..."

"Ancestor, we have failed to uphold the glory you brought to the family," Hedi bit her lip, speaking with difficulty, "The Cecil family has gone through many things in the past seven hundred years..."

"Alright, I understand," Gao Wen waved his hand, "This isn't the time for storytelling. After we leave here, I'll find out more about what happened in the past seven hundred years. Right now, our priority is to find a way from the tomb to the secret passage."

Rebecca, Hedi, and Byron huddled around the simple maps, studying them. While they were familiar with the ancient castle of the Cecil family, they knew nothing about the structure of the tomb. This seven-hundred-year-old mausoleum was not a tourist attraction that cost two silver coins per ticket. Even a hundred years ago, when the tomb was not sealed, the family heirs could only enter a few times in their lifetime and were not allowed to approach the resting place of the ancestors.

Who knows where the secret passage is!

In this situation, even Gao Wen's memories were of no help, as he certainly didn't expect to have to crawl out of his grave one day...

But just as they were at a loss, Amber, who had been quietly standing aside, suddenly spoke up, "Hey... I might know the way..."

Instantly, everyone in the tomb turned their gaze to the half-elf thief.

Amber's neck shrank.

Hedi frowned, "How do you know?"

"I...," Amber was a bit scared, but she gained courage from Gao Wen's encouraging look, "I crawled in from that direction... The direction should be about the same, I guess that's the secret passage."

Gao Wen nodded, "Good, lead the way."

Amber patted her chest, "As long as you don't hold it against me for digging into your family's tomb..."

Hedi glared at the blunt half-elf, picked up her staff, and walked towards the tomb's entrance. Gao Wen, however, stopped before taking a step.

"Ancestor?" Rebecca looked at him curiously.

"I need a weapon too," Gao Wen said. Although he was not the legendary duke who had expanded the territory seven hundred years ago, he still knew the common sense of finding a weapon for self-defense in a dangerous place.

His gaze swept the tomb, and a soldier offered his sword, but Gao Wen waved it off. Guided by his memories, he approached the black steel coffin and peered inside.

He found a heavy longsword, entirely black, with a faint red glow near the hilt.

The moment he picked up the sword, a familiar and comfortable feeling washed over him, as if every groove on the sword matched his palm perfectly. Gao Wen instinctively swung the sword a few times, each movement as if it had been honed through countless repetitions.

He knew this was the memory left by his current body—though his soul had changed, each muscle still remembered how to use this weapon.

This was a pleasant surprise, but not entirely unexpected.

In addition to the residual memories of his body, his mind also contained all the combat knowledge of Gao Wen Cecil, including basic sword and riding skills, as well as supernatural powers that seemed almost magical to him. This knowledge was undoubtedly exciting, but now was not the time to experiment or learn.

Let's deal with the current dire situation first.

Rebecca's eyes widened when she saw the black longsword, and her voice trembled slightly, "This is... the legendary Ansu Pioneer's Sword?"

Hearing Rebecca's voice, Hedi, who was already at the door, instantly turned around. She stared at the sword in Gao Wen's hand, her face filled with excitement, "The Pioneer's Sword?!"

"It's just a relatively sharp sword now," Gao Wen sighed, "Seven hundred years have passed. Even with the blessing of the elves, the weapon's magic has dissipated, and it will take a long time to recharge."

As he spoke, Gao Wen turned his gaze to a small stone platform in front of the coffin, which was empty. This made him frown, "Wait, I should have a shield that never left my side, right? Was it not buried with me? How could I lose such a large shield?"

Hedi's expression turned grim, "Ancestor... Your descendants have once again failed to honor your legacy. The Guardian's Shield of the Ansu Kingdom was taken from the tomb by your descendant, Gruman Cecil, a hundred years ago and subsequently lost in battle..."

Hedi spoke hesitantly, clearly holding back more information, perhaps fearing that mentioning the major event a hundred years ago would cause her ancestor to die of shock on the spot—though it would be easy to re-bury him in the nearby coffin...

Gao Wen noticed Hedi's hesitation but didn't press the issue. Instead, he frowned and cursed, "Wasteful brat... Fortunately, the sword was in the coffin. That Gruman wasn't crazy enough to break into the ancestor's coffin to complete a set!"

Hedi and Rebecca could only listen with cold sweat, the pressure of having their ancestor emerge from the coffin and scold their great-grandfather was overwhelming!

Fortunately, Gao Wen was only annoyed by the loss of a potentially useful piece of equipment. After cursing once, he didn't say more and led everyone out of the tomb.

After leaving the tomb and entering the stone hall, Rebecca looked around and waved to a corner, "Betty! Come out! It's safe now!"

Gao Wen looked curiously and saw a thin, small girl, possibly younger than Rebecca, timidly emerging from the shadows. The girl wore a rough dress, had a few freckles on her face, and her flaxen hair hung behind her. She tightly held a frying pan in her hand.

Seeing Gao Wen, the girl, called Betty, clearly showed hesitation and tension, her simple mind probably unable to comprehend where this sudden stranger had come from...

"This is a maid from the castle. We don't know how she was left behind by the first group that broke through, but she somehow ended up here," Rebecca introduced the girl simply, "Betty, this is..."

A slight tremor from above the tomb interrupted Rebecca.

"This isn't the time for introductions," Gao Wen raised his sword and looked at Amber, "Now, lead the way."

(Second update! Time to cast your votes!)