Chapter Seventy-Six: Every Trade Has Its Own Way

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The iron gate emerged from the pit, slanting into the earth, bearing eight fiery totems that seemed to serve as the mechanism for opening the door.

“Don’t be afraid, you two,” Master Wei said with a gentle smile when he saw how tense Ye Dong and Huiyan were. “This is just a small tomb. As long as we’re careful, nothing serious will happen.”

“I’m not afraid,” Ye Dong replied, narrowing his eyes. “It’s just that I believe in respecting the unknown. My father taught me from childhood to keep a respectful distance from spirits and gods. Tell me honestly—are there any of those things in this ancient tomb?”

Master Wei chuckled. “Brother Tian, ghosts are everywhere, but gods—I’ve yet to meet one. But for someone as unrestrained as you, even if there are ghosts inside, they won’t block your path, will they?”

Ye Dong laughed heartily. “Exactly! Whether ghost or god, I want to see it for myself before I die. If I really fall here, so be it!”

“How could you fall so easily?” Master Wei burst out laughing. “With the three of us here, you can rest easy. As long as you follow our instructions, you’ll leave without a scratch!”

Clang!

The diggers looped two heavy iron chains around the muddy handles of the iron gate, then took their places on either side, awaiting Lixing’s command.

“There must be a trap triggered when the door opens, right?” Huiyan, full of curiosity, retreated a few steps with Ye Dong before asking Master Wei.

“There’s always a mechanism,” Master Wei replied. “Even ordinary family tombs sometimes have snakes settled inside, don’t they?”

“What dynasty is this tomb from?” Ye Dong pointed at the strange fire totems on the door. “And what do those mean?”

“Those are fire totems,” Master Wei explained. “This is a Ming dynasty tomb. The Ming dynasty was founded by followers of the Ming Sect, and the Zhu family’s totem was fire. This tradition was passed down to the people of the time, from the emperor to common folk—every tomb bore the mark of fire.”

“What does fire have to do with tomb raiding?” Huiyan pressed.

“Fire wards off intruders, Miss Huiyan. Not just in the Ming dynasty—fire-based defensive mechanisms were used in other dynasties, too. Our business of tomb raiding is about breaking through such traps to claim treasure. Soon, Lixing will break this fire formation guarding the gate so we can go in safely!”

“Oh?” Ye Dong nodded, fascinated. “So Lixing has to tackle the trap alone?”

Master Wei gave a wicked, triumphant grin. “All three of us are capable, but with good teamwork, there’s hardly a tomb we can’t enter! Lixing, Brother Tian is eager to see your skills!”

Lixing smirked. “Left and right, get ready to open the door on my mark!”

Lixing strode to the door alone and swiftly pressed the fire totems marked “Li, Gen, Dui, Kun” at the four cardinal points. With a flick, he leapt to the high ground and shouted, “Left and right, pull open the main gate!”

Creak, clang!

The diggers heaved the iron chains over their shoulders, gritting their teeth and hauling the doors apart, chanting in rhythm, “One-two-three, one-two-three!”

Whooosh!

No sooner had a narrow gap appeared than a chilling gust burst forth from the tomb!

“What the heck is up with this wind?” Even standing dozens of meters away, Huiyan could feel its icy force.

“There are many strange things in this world!” Master Wei laughed, then yelled at the diggers, “Keep pulling! Open the gate all the way!”

Clang, clang, clang!

The iron door groaned as the gap widened and the wind intensified, bending the branches on either side and scattering leaves across the ground.

“One-two-three!”

With one final shout, the gate swung fully open!

Strangely, as soon as the doors parted, the wind ceased.

Ye Dong peered in from the side. Inside, it was black as pitch—no trace of light.

Seeing nothing happen after the doors opened, Ye Dong and Huiyan couldn’t hide their disappointment. “That’s it? Nothing else?”

Master Wei sneered, then plucked a live chicken from a cage and strode toward the entrance. With a toss, he flung the squawking fowl through the gate, shouting, “Lixing, watch closely!”

He had barely finished speaking when a flaming arrow shot out from the darkness within, as though guided by a tracker, piercing the chicken straight through the breast. The bird, which had been clucking frantically a moment before, fell lifeless, tracing an arc through the air to land at Master Wei’s feet.

Witnessing this, Huiyan gripped her dagger tightly. “Is someone inside?!”

Master Wei waved her off with a chuckle. “That’s just a mechanism, called the ‘Spirit-Chasing Bow.’ It targets anything living with yang energy.”

Ye Dong frowned deeply. “There are such miraculous mechanisms?”

Master Wei smiled. “There’s much more to come!” He strode to an object covered by a tarp, yanked it free, and revealed a powerful spotlight to the group.

Lecheng grinned. “A strong light to illuminate the path to fortune!”

Click! The beam pierced the boundless darkness of the tomb, casting a golden path straight through the gate. Ye Dong could now make out the interior: stone walls formed the passage, riddled with countless holes. Thinking of the arrows, he realized these must be the “Spirit-Chasing Bow” traps. Below them, a stone pillar stood, bearing a vivid red flame totem.

“With all those traps, is Lixing really going to tackle them alone?” Ye Dong stared at Lixing, who stood above on the high ground.

“Don’t worry, he can handle it. Once he presses the red flame totem, the mechanism will be disarmed,” Master Wei explained.

“But isn’t the focal point of the trap right there in plain sight? Isn’t that too simple?” Huiyan asked.

Master Wei shook his head. “You’re not wrong, but you couldn’t be more mistaken.” He pointed to the stone wall above the flame totem. “See that? It says, ‘Open the door to see the mountain, pass the threshold to face the trial.’ Those eight characters are a clue. The Spirit-Chasing Bow is just the tomb’s greeting. You’ll understand after you’ve encountered enough of these.”

“Then why not bring more cages of chickens?” Huiyan asked. “Wouldn’t that use up more arrows?”

The author wanted to ask that too.

“Testing the path with chickens, but crossing it with people—that’s our sect’s old rule. Our ancestors believed ancient tombs are shrouded in evil and spiritual energy. To play here, you must respect both the tomb’s rules and your own sect’s code. That’s the only way to stay safe. If you die, what good are treasures to you?”

Huiyan and Ye Dong exchanged glances, rendered speechless.

“All right, I’m going in,” Lixing clapped his hands, took a deep breath, vaulted down from the high ground, and charged into the gate without a backward glance.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Three flaming arrows screamed toward Lixing’s face!

With a roguish grin, Lixing spun swiftly, dodging the arrows. A volley of even faster spirit-chasing arrows shot from his left.

“Impressive!” Huiyan couldn’t help but praise him silently. “Lixing may look wild, but he’s truly a martial arts master!”

She saw him roll right twice, nimbly evading another barrage of deadly arrows.

The more dangerous it got, the more exhilarated he became. He stopped dodging side to side and sprinted straight for the pillar. The clanging of arrows rang out as he closed the gap to less than ten meters from the flame totem!

Not a single arrow hit Lixing; they all fell, burning on the ground and illuminating the entrance even more. Just as Ye Dong thought Lixing would succeed, jets of liquid reeking of gasoline suddenly sprayed down from above the inscription, “Open the door to see the mountain, pass the threshold to face the trial,” dousing Lixing.

“What’s that?!”

“Firewater,” Master Wei said, eyes locked on Lixing, who showed no fear.

“Firewater? If it soaks him, a single spark will turn him into a fireball!” Ye Dong’s heart pounded.

“Hmph!” Lixing had anticipated a second trap. Before the firewater could drench him, he whipped out an iron umbrella from his back, snapped it open, and spun it rapidly!

Splash! The firewater was flung away by the spinning umbrella, igniting instantly wherever it touched the burning arrows, creating a rain of fire that filled the stone gate—strangely beautiful.

“Wow, what a dazzling move!” Ye Dong couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Thank you for yielding!” Lixing shouted as he slammed his palm onto the red flame totem. The arrows and firewater ceased at once, and the stone pillar supporting the totem slowly sank. In the darkness beyond, a new stone door began to emerge…