The Tomb-Raiding Journey Starting from Time Travel

Chapter 4 （The Phantom Wall）

After the explosion.

Zhao Yang and Chen Fuwang cautiously approached the tomb, carrying a lantern. The blast had blown a large hole in the tomb, revealing a dark, gaping void. Just then, a chilly wind swept through, sending shivers down their spines.

The two exchanged a wary glance.

"I'll go in; you stay here and keep watch. If something happens, I'll tug the rope," Zhao Yang said, fastening the rope around his waist and taking the lantern. Chen Fuwang stayed behind at the entrance.

In tomb-raiding, at least two people usually enter the tomb. There's an unwritten rule in the trade: the best team is a father and son duo, with the son going down and the father keeping watch above. This setup can't be reversed, as no one can guarantee that greed won't lead to betrayal.

However, Zhao Yang fully trusted Chen Fuwang.

They had known each other for twenty years, and despite Zhao Yang's family's decline, Chen Fuwang still regarded Zhao Yang as his young master—a rare show of loyalty.

"Young Master, please be careful," Chen Fuwang said nervously.

"Nothing to worry about. Once I get back up, we'll visit the brothels tomorrow!" Zhao Yang replied lightly, though he still took a big swig of strong liquor to steel his nerves before ducking into the tomb.

"System notification: Host successfully entered the Tang Dynasty princess's tomb. Reward: 100 silver yuan notes, Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret (Volumes One and Two)."

"Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret has been automatically learned. The second volume requires the host to practice independently."

As soon as Zhao Yang stepped into the tomb, a clear system prompt echoed in his mind, and a flood of information was force-fed into his brain.

"The Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret!"

Zhao Yang quickly sifted through the newly acquired knowledge in his mind. Once again, strange knowledge had been added.

The Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret originates from Ghost Blows Out the Light and is said to be written by tomb raiders. It is essentially a guide to tomb raiding.

Although named for sixteen characters, it's actually composed of sixteen volumes, each represented by one character from the ancient Zhou heavenly trigrams. These characters are: Heaven, Earth, Man, Ghost, God, Buddha, Demon, and Beast... These are the first eight volumes, primarily focusing on feng shui. They include extensive records of ancient tomb structures and layouts from various dynasties, as well as the challenges and dangers encountered by tomb raiders, including demons and spirits.

The remaining eight volumes are: Command, Subdue, Escape, Object, Transform, Yin, Yang, and Emptiness. These contain the essence of the Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret, documenting various secret techniques to deal with supernatural entities in ancient tombs.

In Ghost Blows Out the Light, Hu Bayi only possessed the first eight volumes of the Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret, with no mention of the last eight volumes.

The only drawback was that while Zhao Yang had obtained the last eight volumes of the Yin-Yang techniques, he would need to practice them on his own.

This made sense, after all. The first eight volumes were theoretical knowledge that could be understood by memorizing them, but the Yin-Yang techniques in the latter volumes required hands-on experience to master.

Putting these thoughts aside, Zhao Yang raised the lantern higher and looked around.

Although he had successfully completed the task and received the 100 silver yuan notes and the Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret as rewards, since he was already here, he might as well collect some loot before leaving!

Zhao Yang found himself in a passage within the tomb. The air felt even colder here, with a bone-chilling chill that made the atmosphere even more eerie. There was also a strange odor in the air that he couldn't quite identify.

The passage wasn't very large, about a meter wide. At 1.78 meters tall, Zhao Yang's head almost brushed the ceiling, so he had to hunch slightly to avoid hitting it.

The walls of the passage were adorned with intricate tri-color frescoes.

Typically, Tang Dynasty tombs featured depictions of the tomb owner's servants or armed guards, as well as images of the four sacred beasts or astronomical scenes.

But what surprised Zhao Yang was that the walls of this tomb didn't feature these typical images. Instead, they depicted a grand wedding procession in a distinctly Tang Dynasty style, with various characters vividly rendered, their expressions lifelike as if they were about to step out of the paintings.

While marveling at the ancient artists' skills, Zhao Yang couldn't shake a growing sense of unease. He quickly refocused his mind and continued forward.

Ancient tomb builders often went to great lengths to deter grave robbers, employing traps, maze-like passages, or even poisonous gas or mercury. The most sinister defenses involved curses or spells. It wasn't uncommon to encounter tricks using murals or hidden mechanisms to confuse tomb raiders, so staying alert was crucial.

Judging by the width of the passage and the typical style of Tang Dynasty tombs, Zhao Yang estimated that this tomb wasn't very large.

In general, commoners and low-ranking officials of the Tang Dynasty were buried in earthen tombs, while brick tombs were more common among mid-level officials. These tombs usually had a single chamber. High-ranking officials might have a front chamber in addition to the main burial chamber. Royal tombs at most had two chambers—front and back.

For a princess, the tomb's layout would likely resemble that of a royal tomb, with no more than two chambers.

However, Zhao Yang was puzzled by how long this passage seemed to be. It was much longer than he had expected. He had been walking for nearly ten minutes and still hadn't reached the main burial chamber.

This anomaly made Zhao Yang uneasy. "In theory, the tomb styles of the same dynasty should be fairly consistent. There shouldn't be such a big difference," he thought.

The more he felt something was off, the more nervous he became. After all, this was his first time raiding a tomb, and being alone in this dark passage made it hard to suppress his fear.

To calm himself, Zhao Yang started humming a tune.

But after only a few bars, Zhao Yang suddenly noticed the same vivid wedding procession mural on the wall again!

"No, this is the same mural I saw when I first entered the passage!" Zhao Yang was shocked. He had walked so far, only to end up back where he started, and he was sure he had been walking in a straight line!

"Phantom Wall?" Zhao Yang instinctively felt that he had encountered the legendary phenomenon where a person believes they are walking in a straight line but are actually moving in circles.

Trying to stay as clear-headed as possible, Zhao Yang forced himself to overcome his fear and retraced his steps, only to find himself back at the same starting point once more.