Chapter 59: Imperial Mausoleum

  "What? This is the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang?" Qing Xia's eyes widened in surprise, asking foolishly.

  "Alright," Qin Zhiyan nodded and said, "Follow me."

  It was originally just a fragmented rock, but after a tremor, it suddenly cracked open with a large mouth, and the dark cave inside looked like a ferocious beast opening its huge mouth. The original exit had been sealed off by heavy snow, and Qing Xia could only follow behind Qin Zhiyan, slowly walking towards what was known as the Imperial Mausoleum.

  "Is Qin Shi Huang really buried here? Isn't he buried in Mount Li?"

  Qin's flame walked ahead, saying in a light tone: "That is fake."

  "Oh!" Qing Xia responded gloomily, remembering that the first task she received when she just entered the 9th division was to capture an international tomb raiding group. She and her comrades had been entangled with them for over a month before finally apprehending them. At the time, their target was the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum in Lishan, but it turned out that they were busy for half a day only to find it was a fake one.

  "Oh no!" Qing Xia suddenly cried out, and with her cry, the lighter in her hand instantly went out, and the entire cave was once again plunged into darkness.

  "What to do? There's no torch." Qing Xia frowned, her bundle was still on the horseback, and she only had a few personal items with her. She did have flint, but it was freezing cold everywhere, and all around were ice and snow, where could she find dry branches to start a fire.

  At this time, a warmth suddenly enveloped Qing Xia's hand, and she was slightly startled. Her first reaction was to pull her hand back. But Qin Zhiyan's voice rose low in her ear, his other hand wrapped around Qing Xia's shoulder, turning her body towards him, gently patting her back, his slightly hoarse voice saying softly: "Don't be afraid."

  Don't be afraid, does he think he's afraid of the dark?

  "Don't be afraid," Qin Zhiyan said in a low voice again, "follow me."

  The pitch-black road, as if suddenly became so long and endless, outside was the howling cold wind, roaring blizzard, countless people died in the fury of nature. Qing Xia followed behind Qin Zhiyan, her right hand tightly held by him, towards the pitch-black darkness without a single ray of light, walking slowly forward.

  The scent on Qin's body smelled very good, Qing Xia's nose had always been very useful. She could smell the number of people within 50 meters through the air and even guess their identity and status, and she could also roughly guess their preferences. With her keen sense of smell, she successfully completed many outstanding tasks, and her former colleagues at the 9th precinct often joked that she was a reincarnated hunting dog.

  At this moment, following Qin Zhiyan's side, she couldn't see his face, couldn't see his figure, couldn't see their tightly clasped hands, and couldn't see the road under her feet, surrounded by a piece of darkness. A faint scent of grassy fragrance gently enveloped her, with a strong scent of Fritillaria, like a summer pear, emitting a refreshing aroma.

  This man's frailty was well-known throughout the land. However, his glorious military achievements, the loud fame of having defeated the Xiongnu and made them flee in disarray, and his high and mighty status always made people easily forget that he was a sickly person plagued by illness. Qing Xia had heard stories about this man's legendary exploits more than once within the Chu imperial palace, but now that he stood before him, Qing Xia felt somewhat bewildered - was this really the great Qin war god who made the Xiongnu tremble with fear? Was this really the first and greatest enemy of the three eastern states, deeply dreaded by them?

  "Be careful!" A low voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

  Qing Xia's absent-mindedness was suddenly halted by a jolt, but despite that, she still bumped into Qin Zhiyan's back. The straight and upright back made Qing Xia's nose ache, she rubbed her nose with her hand, her voice somewhat stifled, with a hint of being teased: "You did it on purpose!"

  Qin's flame hid in the darkness, his eyebrows slightly raised, holding Qing Xia's palm with a gentle force. Although Qing Xia couldn't see, he could still guess Qin's shaking head and indifferent expression: "I don't have."

  "What's wrong with you, stopping suddenly like that?" Under the dark surroundings, Qing Xia's temper also became more lively. She glared at him with wide eyes and thought to herself, if it weren't for the fact that he had just saved her, she would have beaten him up like she did to Chu Li.

  "Watch your step, there's a stair."

  "Huh?" Qing Xia was taken aback, and suddenly felt Qin Zhiyan pulling her hand slightly as he walked forward.

  The air was quiet, with only the sound of two people's footsteps slowly treading on the Great Qin Mausoleum that had not been stepped on for many years. The slope led downwards, Qing Xia followed behind Qin Zhiyan step by step, and didn't know how long they walked, always going down, always going down, feeling as if they were walking to the underworld. Suddenly, a flat sensation came up from under their feet.

  It's flat, smooth, and even has a hint of warmth, with no snow and no chill.

  "Wait for me." Qin Zhiyan suddenly let go of Qing Xia's hand and walked forward alone. A huge darkness enveloped Qing Xia's nerves, a cold wind blew slowly from somewhere, carrying thick historical dust that condensed at Qing Xia's feet. A thread of chill rose slowly from her fingertips, Qing Xia's fingers lightly curled, probing around before finally pulling back, then tightly grasping.

  "The flames of Qin..."

  Qing Xia called out in a soft and tentative voice, surrounded by thick, dark shadows. She slowly reached for the sword sheath at her waist, furrowing her brow slightly as she cautiously took a step forward, slowly drawing out a sharp dagger. A thread of worry and fear rose up from the bottom of her heart, "Qin Zhiyan, are you okay?"

  "I'm fine," a light voice suddenly sounded in front, and a soft lantern was instantly lit, like a small firefly, illuminating a round circle of light.

  Qin's flame wore a long, dark green changshan, standing upright beside a candle holder, his pale face shining with soft luster in the firelight, wide sleeves and black hair like ink, quiet eyes looking towards Qing Xia, smiling faintly: "Don't worry, nothing's wrong."

  Qin Zhiyan walked to another candelabra and lit the candle. As one lamp after another was lit, the entire corridor became bright.

  Qing Xia stood still, feeling the gloomy wind in the corridor blowing gently. For a moment, he only felt a chill run down his spine. The dark and mysterious corridor stretched out for an unknown distance, with its floor, walls, and ceiling all made of massive black stones carved with intricate patterns and totems that Qing Xia couldn't understand. A heavy, almost suffocating scent wafted through the air, while black stone candle holders stood on either side of the corridor, each holding a white candle that cast an eerie glow. The solemn atmosphere filled every corner of the corridor.

  Qin's slender figure seemed unreal in the distance, as if he was about to hide in the darkness. He strolled leisurely along the corridor, his pace slow and familiar, without a hint of strangeness.

  "Tang girl," Qin Zhiyan suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around, and slightly raised an eyebrow, "Why aren't you walking?"

  "Ah? Oh!" Qing Xia reacted, hastily catching up to walk alongside Qin Zhiyan, shoulder to shoulder. "Qin Zhiyan, have you been here before? How are you so familiar?"

  Qin's footsteps slightly paused, and then he said lightly: "I've been here."

  "Oh." Qing Xia was a person who could read people's faces and guess their thoughts, it was a compulsory course for military intelligence personnel. Looking at Qin Zhiyan like this, he knew there must be some unspoken palace secret. He hastily followed closely behind Qin Zhiyan, watching as he walked and lit the candles on both sides of the corridor one by one.

  "I was here when the late emperor was buried."

  Unexpectedly, Qin Zhiyan suddenly spoke up, his voice was very mellow, with a hint of hoarseness, like the gentle lapping of seawater, sounding very pleasant.

  In such a gloomy environment, someone is willing to talk to themselves, which is good. Qing Xia replied, "Oh, so you're here to pay your respects?"

  "Tang girl isn't one of our Qin people, is she?" Qin Zhiyan suddenly turned his head and asked with a smile.

  "What? Oh, no, I am not from Qin State."

  "For generations, the Dragon Spine Mountain imperial mausoleum has been a forbidden area of the Qin state, with large numbers of soldiers stationed here. Even if you are an emperor, you cannot come here. You can only pay respects at the ancestral temple on the mountain waist. Even when the previous emperor was buried, I was not allowed to enter."

  "Huh? But didn't you say you've been here before?"

  "En," Qin Zhiyan nodded and said lightly, "I was still young at that time, only five years old, and I followed my two older brothers to sneak in."

  "It can't be seen!"

  "What can't you see?" Qin Zhiyan furrowed his brow in puzzlement and asked in a low voice.

  Qing Xia smiled and said: "I wouldn't have thought that you were so mischievous when you were young, daring to sneak into the imperial forbidden area."

  "At that time, I was still young, just a child, what did I understand?" Qin Zhiyan's voice was clear and calm, like the lake water in March, with willows budding on the shore, the lake surface quiet and waveless, but with a hint of chill inside. He stretched out his hand to light the last candle, and suddenly saw a large black gate appear at the end of the corridor. A bitter smile slowly appeared on his face as he gazed at the gate, saying: "This corridor, back then, was a total of 2,677 steps, with 400 candelabras. I didn't think that now, revisiting this place, it would take less than 1,000 steps to walk through."

  Qing Xia was startled by the words and suddenly turned his head, Qin Zhiyan didn't notice Qing Xia's expression at all, but seemed to be immersed in the past years, saying in a low voice: "Unfortunately, I didn't have any flint on me at that time, for a whole month, not once did I light up the candles here."

  "Have you been here for a month?"

  "Ah," Qin Zhiyan played with the flint in his hand and said slowly, "From then on, no matter where I go, I will bring this thing with me."

  "Why?" Qing Xia hesitated, although she knew the answer was not what he wanted to say, but still couldn't help asking in a low voice: "Why did you stay here for over a month?"

  "We got lost in the imperial mausoleum, I was young and Second Brother carried me on his back. Later, I fell asleep and when I woke up, they were gone." Qin Zhiyan's face suddenly flashed a hint of bitter smile, his voice also carrying a slight tone of mockery, "They said we got separated."

  Qing Xia's heart suddenly felt a pang of pain. She couldn't imagine how a five-year-old child would feel, being trapped alone in the dark imperial tomb for a month. In this vast and silent mausoleum, everywhere was cold and hard stone, what would he eat, drink, and how would he survive?

  She couldn't help but reach out and gently grab Qin Zhiyan's sleeve, smiling faintly at this lifesaver she had only met twice: "It's okay, I've got your sleeve, we definitely won't get separated."

  The girl's eyes shone brightly, like the most precious pearls in the deep sea. Qin Zhiyan lowered his head and smiled slightly, nodding "I will definitely take you out."