At around eleven o’clock that afternoon, you arrived in Chang’an once again.
Upon exiting the airport, two stylishly dressed won approached, bowed to Wu Qiyi, and said, "We welco the young miss."
Wu Qiyi smiled and replied, "I’m just a follower now. If there’s anything you need, please talk to Mr. Li directly."
The other elegant woman nodded and then said to you, "Mr. Li, we have prepared a room for you at the Hilton Hotel in the city center. Please co with us."
However, you shook your head and said, "No need, we’re not here for a vacation after all, and our destination is northwest of the airport, which should be closer from here."
The other elegant woman said, "But the living conditions there are quite poor, and we’ll be blad if our service is not up to standard."
"Whoever dares to bla, hang the n up and flick their little peckers, and for the won, grab them over and spank their bottoms."
With sudden inspiration, you ca up with this cheeky retort, causing the five girls around you to purse their lips and chuckle.
Dong Fangxiao placed her delicate hand on your shoulder and cooed, "I never imagined Brother Mu Yun’s taste to be so unique, fancying both n and won."
You shrugged your shoulder, shaking off her hand, fearful this dangerous woman would plant sothing on you.
Afterward, with your firm attitude, the group headed toward the county where Qian Ling Mausoleum was located. To avoid drawing attention, you had them specifically switch from a stretched Humr to an ordinary dostic business vehicle halfway there, one that hadn’t been cleaned, covered with so water stains and dust.
The drive from the airport to Qian Ling Mausoleum took just over an hour. You first followed the official route into Qian Ling Mausoleum.
Standing outside the main gates of the mausoleum on the horse path, you couldn’t help but take a deep breath and slowly closed your eyes.
Just then, a tour group passed by, and the guide pointed to two mounds next to you, telling the tourists, "Take a look, do these two mounds not resemble Empress Wu Zetian’s breasts? And look..."
"Hey, don’t talk nonsense if you don’t know anything, okay?" At that mont, a young man with glasses among the tourists said, "Those two mounds were once the main gates of Qian Ling, which was originally built as a scaled-down version of Chang’an City. It beca this kind of ruin after being destroyed by Wen Tao, Huang Chao, and others! You guides shouldn’t make things up just to grab people’s attention. You’ve reduced a great Empress to what?"
Your gaze had already shifted from within, and seeing the bespectacled young man refute the guide with anger in his face, you couldn’t help but smile slightly.
Although you also harbored a certain attitude toward the Empress, you were clearly past the age of getting angry at the slightest provocation. Now, you were more worldly and better at concealing your emotions.
Your gaze gradually lowered, and the cross-section of the earth quickly ca into view.
As your gaze moved downward, you noticed that buried within the soil under your feet were indeed so debris from the Tang Dynasty palace and even a few skeletons, with remnants of what was once armor and weapons, now decayed and rotted, scattered around them.
Looking further down, there was nothing else.
Confirming that there was no underground palace, you slowly opened your eyes.
"Hmm?"
At that mont, Dong Fangxiao stood right in front of you, with only about thirty centiters separating the two of you!
You stepped back and looked at Dong Fangxiao in surprise, asking, "What are you doing?"
"I was going to ask you the sa thing. Standing here with your eyes closed, not moving, we thought you had fallen asleep."
You smiled and said, "Oh, sorry, I was just scanning the surroundings to confirm the location of the underground palace and to see if I could find an entrance."
Upon hearing this, Dong Fangxiao’s eyes and brows twitched as if she understood, and she said no more.
It’s not the peak tourist season now, so the number of visitors isn’t high. With your delay, there are fewer people around you.
"Let’s go. If we wait any longer, I’m afraid soone might start to get suspicious."
Luanfeng Pavilion had already prepared guide earpieces for you, and you started to listen to the comntary in the earpieces while activating the Sen Luo Eye to observe your surroundings.
"Is that the Wordless Monunt?"
After walking about a hundred ters, Wu Qiyi looked up at a three-to-four-person-tall white jade monunt to her right front.
You glanced at Wu Qiyi and said with a smile, "Yes, that’s the Wordless Monunt. However, the rumors among the people are false. The Wordless Monunt wasn’t the Empress’s command, but rather sothing Li Xian erected specifically for her. Of course, the reasons behind it aren’t very clear to us descendants; it might have been the Empress’s command for all we know."
Wu Qiyi then turned her gaze to another monunt directly opposite the Wordless Monunt, the one belonging to Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Zhi.
"Let’s go over there and take a look."
Just then, the tourists beside the Wordless Monunt happened to leave, and it also being alti, no new visitors were coming in, so your group stood casually around the Wordless Monunt, seemingly taking photos and chatting.
Standing in front of the Wordless Monunt, you slowly closed your eyes.
Your vision sank, and as expected, the passage beneath the Wordless Monunt was still there. But just like when you ca out, the nine gates were sealed tight without the slightest gap.
Your gaze continued downward to see the secret chamber where Zhao’er had curled up in her coffin before. Unlike before, the Gold Wire Snakes surrounding the coffin had disappeared. It seed that after the Empress awakened, Wu Qiuyue had taken the Gold Wire Snakes back—after all, it would’ve been a waste to continue leaving such rare creatures here.
Your vision went no further below, but you continued to travel through the passageway, returning to the spot where you had fallen previously.
Then, your gaze returned to a spot where the passageway forked, a place you hadn’t been to before.
Moving forward, the passageway extended less than ten ters when suddenly your body jolted as if your forehead had bumped into sothing. With a "thud," your vision instantly returned to your own body.
"What happened?"
Seeing your sudden opening of eyes, Wu Qiyi couldn’t help but ask.
"It’s nothing. It looks like I’ve found the place."
"That fast?" Nong Xuele said with a giggle, "Senior Li is truly amazing. It seems we’re in for so fun following you on this trip."
You smiled and turned to look toward the hill in front of you, which was the main mound of Qian Ling Mausoleum.
"Let’s go up the mountain and have a look."
"Okay."
Everyone nodded and made their way towards the top of the mound.
From the surface, Qian Ling Mausoleum seed to have nothing at all, just a barren stretch. Aside from the outermost carriage road, there was nothing else.
After listening to the guide, many people chose not to climb the mountain because, apart from the steepness of the pathway, the mound was barren of vegetation.
You had walked a short distance along the mountain path when you saw the bespectacled young man who had argued with the guide earlier.
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