Book 13: Chapter 134

I rushed to pull the door back. Alas, the door didnt have a handle, not to mention it was a heavy stone one As a result, I tripped and stumbled inside. And, of course, it just had to be the first door of all doors

*&^%#!

Who would want to watch Jiang Chen bury his beloved?! I wanted treasures! I had a debt to pay off!

Fine, lets see what your beloved is! Lets see if its worth a million silver taels!

The room behind the door was unexpectedly narrow and small. Id say it could compare to Liu Shan Mens doghouse. It was virtually empty, too.

I rolled to my feet with the support of my hands. Hah, you think a mere door can obstruct m-, whoa! Ow!

As I rubbed my head, I looked at the big box that dropped onto my head.

Are you three years old?! Are you a brat who just started sleeping on his own?! How childish do you have to be to be pulling the object-above-a-door prank?!

In my fit of anger, I flipped the box over and back to check it out. Whatever it was made of, it was d.a.m.n heavy. The text on it read, He who is struck by this upon entering is of anserine stupidity.

Anseriwhat?

In small font beneath the word, it said, He who does not know the word anserine is an insult to the intelligence of pigs.

Okay Okay, Ill let you win for now.

I angrily opened the box. The interior text read, It is rude to look.

It is rude to look? It is rude to look?! So this box was there just to smash me on the head?!

I was extremely close to smas.h.i.+ng the box on the ground, but the graceful gentleman in me urged me to place it on the sole long-square stone shelf.

I picked up a torch to survey the room, and there really wasnt anything besides the shelf. I moved the torch up close to the platform for a closer look, where I spotted a small square slot in it. The text in the slots base read, Insert box here.

So the box is the key to operate the mechanism?

Once I finished slotting the box in, a m.u.f.fled sound started coming from the platform until there was a small opening in the side of it. Once the lock came undone, the platform became just a thin stone slab that I could lift off to see below.

At the bottom was a stone coffin and more text carved onto the lid. The text read, You truly are a gentleman. Most people would throw away the box in retaliation to the insult. This boxs materials are special. Once you open the box, if it b.u.mps into anything, it is very responsive to altering shape, which would render it impossible to operate the mechanism. The fact that you are reading this now proves you are a truly magnanimous man.

I feel bad now.

The only reason I didnt smash the box was because I didnt see anything else in the room. Maybe the box was worth a coin or two.

You are a true gentleman who can be trusted. This place is the resting place of Daxias Tianfeng imperial family.

Ah? Wasnt Tianfeng Clan the relatives of the previous dynastys Empress? How did they suddenly become the imperial family itself? I suppose that explains the murky aura in here, as well as the expensive coffins and doors. Since its the imperial familys tomb, it, no, it still doesnt explain the extreme opulence. I dont know if even Emperor Yuansheng would embellish his tomb with such valuables.

This ones late wife is the imperial familys Princess. This ones eternal regret is that he could not be by her side to take care of her after his abrupt departure. Please help him put his late wife to rest. You shall be handsomely rewarded as appreciation.

The person in the coffin is Jiang Chens late wife?! So his beloved is his wife?! I hope every generation of your family is dead broke! I thought your beloved was some ancient treasure! You want me to put your wife to rest after all the c.r.a.p you put me through?! You claim youre from the same generation as my grandmaster, yet you dont bury your wife after marrying her?! Embarra.s.sing! You make men look bad!

I was furious, yet I started thinking back on the skeleton praying in the well-lit room.

Even if Im willing to lay her to rest, where am I going to find a hole big enough for the coffin, not to mention my lack of tools?

All required tools can be found beside the stone platform, was carved onto the stone along with considerate directions to the coffin. Its exact location to bury her was described in immense detail. The man was asking for a favour, yet he even fussed over the fengshui.

I begrudgingly picked up the tools that I was too familiar with shovel, hoe, axe Every time I shovelled, I cursed Jiang Chen. Every time I swung the hoe, I cursed his mom. I ended up cursing eighteen generations of his family twice before I dug as deep as he requested.

Uh How do I bury her when the coffin is so heavy?

Clang! I lost my grip on the shovel when I hit something so solid that my hand went numb.

Jiang Chen, dont tell me you deliberately buried a rock down at this specific spot. Im done! This is as far as Im digging!

Strangely, the solid object was as flat as a board. Unable to resist my curiosity, I sc.r.a.ped aside the mud with the shovel. As soon as I identified it was a stone slab, I saw more d.a.m.n text!

You are a man who can trust others. Burying this ones late wife is an unwarranted request that you could have ignored. Greed is a normal part of being human. If someone with malicious intent pried open the coffin for valuables, the poison arrow inside would take their life. Their death is only but well deserved.

I just forgot there were usually things buried with the dead

The fact that you are reading this indicates you are a man of your word with a magnanimous heart, the sort of man this one seeks. Being able to come this far proves that you are a man of great intellect and courage.

I never wanted to come here! You kidnapped me! Also, I only ended up here because I accidentally opened the wrong door!

However, there is no shortage of smart and strong people who are actually nefarious in nature. The heart of man has never been easy to read. This ones master lost everything precisely due to mistrusting the wrong person. This one set up three locks to test visitors characters.

The first tested trait is sincerity. While one who is willing to obtain martial arts secrets possesses wisdom and big ambitions, he is not the one this one seeks. This is the only room with valuables to be taken. The other two rooms are traps that will cost the seekers life. He who enters them will rot along with this cavern, and no pity will be offered.

Are you three years old?! Are you?! Why does someone deserve to die just because theyre not willing to bury your wife?! Who would leave empty handed after all the c.r.a.p they had to endure to get here? What are you even angry about?! If I didnt happen to be the first person here, G.o.d knows how many people youd kill!

The second tested trait is tolerance. To see the stone slab after the insults is proof you have a big heart. The third test trait is trustworthiness. He who cannot dig deep is not one who keeps his word. You are reading this now because you have a sincere heart and strong will. This one can trust this place to you.

I discovered that, at the end of the carving, there was a movable door in the centre of the stone slab.

Finally found it!