One sentence drew everyone's attention.
Whether that group had watched *The Lost Tomb* too many times or *Grave Robbers' Chronicles* too many times, their setup and gear were a perfect copy of the moves from those films and shows.
Okay, at least that's what Shen Qi thought.
Once upon a time, Shen Qi was utterly obsessed with tomb-raiding novels.
But that didn't mean she was interested in the actual act of grave robbing.
If it weren't for her aunt being part of this team, she would never have wanted to witness such a terrifying thing!
So many things just couldn't be explained, right?
It was all so mysterious, wasn't it?
Still, even though Shen Qi had no interest in this matter, she was now drawn in by the attention.
She was also curious about what was inside that strange, silvery-white coffin.
After those people finished their rituals, they began to lift the coffin.
Whether it was those present, those watching via laptops, or those spying through telescopes, everyone held their breath at that moment.
No one knew what was in the coffin.
No one knew what phenomenon would occur.
No one knew if it was auspicious or ominous.
Everyone was waiting for this moment.
The coffin slowly shifted, and a faint light seeped out from within.
The light seemed tinged with a milky white, yet carried a chill and... a sense of dominance.
Yes, even though it was hundreds of meters underground, even though it was隔着 a computer screen, even though it was from a mountaintop thousands of meters away.
Everyone could still feel that dominance when the coffin opened.
Wasn't that mysterious?
That's how it felt.
It could only be sensed, not described.
And the next second, something even more miraculous happened.
The few people opening the coffin glanced inside and their faces all changed drastically. Some even cried out in disbelief, "How could this be..."
The camera feed became a bit unstable, and everyone watching widened their eyes frantically, afraid of missing any spectacular scene.
Thank God, the quality of that person's camera held up—it didn't break at that moment!
And the next image left everyone present and watching utterly stunned!
The moment the coffin opened, it instantly adjusted its position, shifting from being suspended horizontally to suspended vertically.
Everything inside the coffin was clearly transmitted through the camera.
When everyone saw the figure inside the coffin, those present and watching screamed in unison: "How could this be..."
Inside the coffin lay a man with an extremely handsome, almost demonic face, his silver hair tied high.
This man's face was almost identical to He Yining's.
"How could this be..." Shen Qi screamed along with everyone else, and almost everyone instinctively turned to look at He Yining at the same time.
He Yining touched his own face, equally stunned.
Just then, the man in the coffin came back to life!
He slowly opened his eyes.
A pair of narrow, upward-slanting phoenix eyes, utterly enchanting.
The only difference from He Yining was the color of his pupils.
He Yining's were black, while his were a bewitching red.
The man quickly found the camera's position. He stared fixedly at it, as if through the camera, through the computer screen, and through the telescope thousands of meters away, he saw deep into He Yining's heart.
For the first time, He Yining's heart felt something called a tremor.
That feeling wasn't fear, but... familiarity.
After that one look, the man spoke a single sentence.
The camera couldn't transmit sound, but the man's expression was so clear that from his lip movements, they could tell he said: "Utterly foolish."
As the words fell, the camera shook violently, and then the computer screen filled with static.
The signal cut out.
At that moment, everyone was dumbfounded.
How could this be explained?
Someone call a scientist to explain!
He Yining put down his telescope, touched his cheek, and said, "I don't know either. You don't have to look at me like that."
Shen Qi was the first to lose control, stepping forward to pinch He Yining's cheek.
Fortunately, it was warm.
Too terrifying.
Too eerie.
My little heart is about to pound out of my chest!
What happened underground next?
What came after?
What happened after that man said those words?
Everyone's curiosity was wildly stirred up.
But no one dared to go down and see for themselves.
That man was truly too frightening!
Shen Wu couldn't help but say, "The world is full of wonders. To have such a striking resemblance is really terrifying."
The others nodded in agreement.
Feng Manlun also couldn't help asking He Yining, "If you dreamed of someone exactly like you, you'd probably wake up in a fright, right?"
"Get lost." He Yining shot him a glare.
Just then, a violent explosion suddenly came from that direction.
Everyone raised their telescopes again and looked over.
They saw the ground collapsing in large patches.
The support personnel, being too close, were instantly swallowed by the collapsing ground.
They didn't even have time to cry out before being devoured by the suddenly gaping black hole.
For a moment, dust flew everywhere, blotting out the sky.
Even on the mountaintop thousands of meters away, everyone felt the tremor beneath their feet.
That tomb had completely collapsed, hadn't it?
What about the people inside?
Could they still get out alive?
Shen Qi nervously looked at He Yining.
He Yining smiled wryly, "I'm not that man, and I don't have the final say! But my aunt is blessed by heaven; she should be fine."
He Yining was indeed puzzled inside.
Why did that dead man come back to life?
Why did he look so much like him?
Although look-alikes happened all the time—like a late Qing Dynasty imperial consort resembling Sister Feng, or Liang Qichao resembling Marbury—a resemblance this close to He Yining was rare.
The key was the similar temperament!
That Qing consort and Sister Feng didn't share a temperament, nor did Liang Qichao and Marbury.
But that man's temperament was exactly like He Yining's!
Now that the ground had collapsed, this mystery would be buried forever with that dynasty, wouldn't it?
The dust flew for about ten minutes before visibility gradually returned.
Shen Qi raised her telescope and looked over. It was empty, nothing there.
As if nothing had ever happened.
No tomb entrance existed.
No traces of people.
Nothing at all.
How was her aunt?
Just then, Shen Wu suddenly shouted, "Xiao Qi, look at the river! Someone's being swept out!"
Shen Qi's lens snapped to the river source above.
Sure enough, a few people seemed to be lying on a raft, half-dead, their condition unknown.
It seemed that of all who went in, only these few had escaped.
"Let's go check!" Shen Qi tossed her telescope aside and ran out.
"I'm coming too!" several people responded, following her down.
A crowd of them all ran down the mountain.
As soon as they reached the foot, the old man said, "Hey, hey, you don't need to run. That side collapsed, but we're fine here. This area is protected by the Great Emperor; it won't collapse!"
The running people all stopped in unison.
The bodyguards rushed out to rescue people first, while the others turned to look at the old man.
They had heard this line on their first day here, but they had dismissed it as local superstition and laughed it off.
But after seeing that underground scene and hearing the old man's words again, they suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.
The Great Emperor had always protected this mountain?
Why did that sound so eerie?
Who was the Great Emperor?
Why did he protect this mountain?
He Yining couldn't help asking, "Old man, who is this Great Emperor you speak of?"
"Of course, he's the deity guarding this forest," the old man replied matter-of-factly.
Well, talking about eerie events with an old man whose mind was in a different time wasn't the best choice.
He Yining fell silent for a moment, then Shen Wu asked, "Old man, is the Great Emperor you mention that mysterious emperor who once ruled a dynasty on this land?"
The old man nodded and said, "Yes, everyone here knows that the creatures in this area are blessed by the Great Emperor. Look, the ground collapsed over there, but nothing happened here."
"Why is that?" Shen Qi pressed.
"Legend has it that somewhere in this mountain, the Great Emperor buried his most beloved woman. After he died, he chose to be buried here to guard his love," the old man replied.
Ah, well, the story was taking another eerie turn.
It had shifted from a tomb-raiding style to a mystical cultivation style!
"See this river? Look closely—doesn't it look like a dragon? And this mountain, doesn't it resemble a sleeping maiden?" The old man enthusiastically continued the local legend: "Legend says that after the Great Emperor's beloved woman died, he buried her here, and the land took on the shape of her sleeping form. The Great Emperor turned his body into the river, flowing day and night to guard this mountain. That's called 'never parting in life or death.'"
Shen Qi's mouth fell open. Old man, not writing romance novels is a real waste of your talent!
Just then, the bodyguards signaled that the people had been rescued.
Shen Qi and He Yining, forgetting everything else, greeted the old man and rushed over.
Shen Qi ran so fast she could barely breathe.
Fortunately, the mountain foot wasn't far from the riverbank, and they reached it in a few minutes.
Several people, drenched and disheveled, were pulled ashore, all pale and bloodless.
Shen Qi quickly spotted Ella among them, and her heart finally settled!
The bodyguards took turns performing CPR, and the people coughed up water, slowly regaining consciousness.
But the moment they opened their eyes, instead of the joy of surviving or relief, their faces were heavy with despair, as if life held no meaning.
What had happened?
"Aunt!" Shen Qi, forgetting everything else, rushed to Ella's side: "Are you okay?"