Chapter 40

（Thank you for the generous encouragement from Zizhijinmi and Momo Wuwen!）

In the midst of cherry petals dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written inside.

Each member of the摸金校尉 (Mojin Xiaowei) carries a "摸金符" (Mojin Fu), which is made from the sharpest claws of a pangolin and then undergoes many specific processes to complete, giving it the power to ward off evil.

However, Zhao Zhu had once heard another use for the Mojin Fu from Old Man Han's stories. Taking out a lighter, Zhao Zhu directly lit the Mojin Fu in his hand. White smoke rose, enveloping him. The two stone lions that had been staring at him turned their heads away, and the green light in their eyes completely faded, returning to their original state.

Only then did Zhao Zhu take a step forward, heading inside. The Mojin Fu in his hand would not burn for long, so he had to hurry. When the Mojin Fu was completely burned out, Zhao Zhu turned his head and could no longer see the stone lions behind him, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

After continuing deeper for about fifteen minutes, Zhao Zhu noticed that the floor of the tunnel began to change, becoming more intricate and neat, with patterns, mostly of animals. They were not mythical creatures like the qilin or phoenix, but ordinary beasts from the mountains. This was quite understandable, as the Manchu culture was not highly developed at the beginning. Nuerhachi means "wild boar skin," "Dorgon" means "badger," "Dodo" means "placenta," and the 12th son Ajige, when translated into Chinese, means "old pimple." The name "Hoholi" for a son-in-law means "upper teeth clashing with lower teeth." The names of other nobles were not much more refined. Prince Yoto's name means "fool," and General Xituku's name means "bedwetter."

The deeper Zhao Zhu went, the colder it became. Finally, he saw a door. This door was large and wide, similar in scale to the grand gates of the Forbidden City, and it was half-open, not closed.

"Was it opened by tomb raiders before, or was it originally open?"

Zhao Zhu approached the door and observed it. The idea that it had been broken open by tomb raiders was quickly dismissed. First, there were no signs of violent or tool marks on the door. Second, there were no locks or seals on the door.

All of this indicated that the ancient tomb's door was designed to be half-open, not closed.

In Zhao Zhu's view, there were two purposes for this. First, since the tomb was built within the dragon vein, serving as the foundation for the Aisin Gioro family's rise to power, it would naturally receive high attention from future Aisin Gioro emperors. Perhaps a Manchu emperor, on a whim before his death, decided to be buried here, or sent someone to check it out. The second purpose was to convey a message: the one who lies in eternal rest here would one day rise again and walk out of this door. Therefore, the door could not be closed.

However, regardless of the purpose, Zhao Zhu now had no trouble entering. When he stepped inside the door, the first thing he noticed was an immediate change in temperature. It was only slightly cold outside, but inside the door, it felt chilling and heart-stopping, as if he had entered a freezer. Zhao Zhu even rubbed his arms to warm himself.

Despite the door being open, there was a sense of separation, and the temperature difference was indeed significant.

Moreover, the illumination from the flashlight decreased significantly, to only about half of its original brightness.

Zhao Zhu shivered and continued forward. He had no choice but to keep moving; he could not retreat or linger. He could not let the people behind him catch up. Although there were unknown dangers ahead, the danger behind was real and immediate.

After walking about a hundred meters inside, he encountered a staircase. The staircase was not very high but was very wide. As Zhao Zhu climbed step by step, he noticed sculptures on both sides. These sculptures were not of mighty soldiers like those in the Terracotta Army, but of... eunuchs in a kneeling position.

Yes, they were indeed eunuchs.

Due to being preserved underground and through special methods, the polychrome on the sculptures was well-preserved, allowing the details of the figures to be clearly visible.

Each sculpture was of a man, but these men displayed a kind of femininity, lacking the masculine vigor. In that era, this specifically referred to eunuchs.

"Ha, which Manchu emperor had this preference, placing two rows of eunuchs here?"

Zhao Zhu mused to himself. By this time, he had climbed about a hundred steps. Finally, besides the eunuch sculptures, he saw something different. On the stairs, there were rows of fruit platters and delicacies, likely used for sacrifices. The scale was large, with about five or six hundred platters. Due to the "large freezer," the fruits and delicacies had not rotted, but after four hundred years, they were no longer fresh. The fruits had turned purple, and the pig heads and meats had also turned purple, resembling many purple ambers.

"Who are these sacrifices for? Using a group of eunuchs and so much food?"

Zhao Zhu had already ruled out the possibility that these were for the emperor, as the grandeur seemed a bit low in tone. He continued climbing and finally reached a platform.

On the last step, Zhao Zhu saw a figure standing before him, so abruptly and unexpectedly that he almost lost his balance and fell down the stairs. However, when he steadied himself and looked closely, he realized that the figure was also a sculpture, but clearly different from the eunuch sculptures, with a more regal and authoritative presence.

Zhao Zhu continued forward, and when the flashlight illuminated the figure, he finally saw clearly. The sculpture was dressed in a purple gilded eunuch robe, with a white beard, sharp eyes, and an air of authority. It held a decree, indicating it was a eunuch who announced imperial edicts.

Such eunuchs are often seen in TV dramas, but they were not fixed positions. Ordinary edicts were delivered by minor eunuchs, while edicts to high-ranking officials were delivered by higher-ranking eunuchs.

The sculpture before Zhao Zhu was definitely a high-ranking eunuch who served the emperor. Unfortunately, the Qing dynasty, having learned from the Ming dynasty's mistakes, imposed stricter control over eunuchs, so there were no particularly famous eunuchs in the Qing dynasty, unlike the powerful eunuchs of the Ming dynasty who wielded significant influence in the court and were prominently recorded in history. Therefore, Zhao Zhu could not identify the eunuch, but he knew it was definitely of high rank.

As for the decree, Zhao Zhu tilted his head, bringing his face close to the eunuch's face. The flashlight illuminated the decree, but after a quick glance, he moved the flashlight away because the decree was written in Manchu, which he could not read.

In fact, after the Manchu entered the pass, most imperial edicts were written in Manchu, Chinese, and Mongolian, symbolizing the Qing dynasty's rule over the Manchu, Han, and Mongol peoples. Therefore, the story that Emperor Kangxi intended to pass the throne to the 14th prince but was altered by the 4th prince, who added a stroke to the character "ten" to make it "four," is a baseless tale. Try adding a stroke to a Manchu or Mongolian character and see if it works.

Thus, Zhao Zhu could not glean any information from the decree. He had to move past the large eunuch sculpture and continue forward. Suddenly, he felt an itch on his head. He raised the flashlight, and a pair of feet appeared, suspended above his head, the soles of which had just brushed against his hair.

Zhao Zhu stepped back, trying to shine the flashlight upward, but the range of the flashlight could not reach higher, only showing two legs in white underpants. The upper body was still unclear, but from the feet and legs, he could tell it was a woman.

"Was she hanged here?"

Zhao Zhu looked directly below the legs and saw a small depression with a sachet. He instinctively scanned the area and found another small depression with a sachet. Looking up again, he saw another pair of legs suspended above, the upper body still unclear. Due to the limited light and visual blind spots, Zhao Zhu had not noticed that there were people hanging on the platform.

Zhao Zhu then discovered eight more small depressions, each containing a sachet, and above each, a person was hanging, though he could only see the legs, with the upper body hidden in the darkness.

When Zhao Zhu saw the ninth depression, his expression suddenly changed. There was a sachet in the depression, but when he looked up, he did not see the person hanging above... Where did she go?

Or,

Where is she?

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