The solemn hush of the inner sanctum offered no hospitality—only quiet scrutiny. Here, even the air seed to breathe with restraint, as though aware that every wrong step could invite calamity.
Li Wei stepped forward, hands tucked behind his back, eyes scanning the chamber like a hawk descending upon its prey.
"It seems they actually possess so sense," he murmured with faint amusent, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly. "No one’s followed us in... For once, caution reigns over greed."
He was, admittedly, pleased.
In a place where death could be dealt as easily as a yawn, the fact that none among the flock of trailing sect mbers dared to barge into this room like brainless cattle was refreshing.
The chamber stretched wide before him—its design simple, yet curiously deliberate. The flooring, in particular, drew his gaze. Rows upon rows of polished ceramic tiles stretched across the room like a ticulously arranged scroll.
Two-thirds of them were pure white, smooth and unstained despite the countless centuries that had passed. They glead faintly under the overhead glowstones, each reflecting Li Wei’s form as if proud of their undying purity.
But then—there were others.
A third of the tiles—obsidian black, gleaming with an unnatural luster—seed to ripple when viewed from an angle, as though ink trapped in mid-swirl. They exuded an aura not of evil, but of intent. Design.
Li Wei crouched low, brushing a finger across one of the dark tiles. It was warm. Too warm.
"Hmm..."
He pressed his palm flat upon it.
*CLICK.*
The tile shifted under his hand—gliding to the side with an effortless smoothness, as if gliding over glass.
"Ah." A smile touched his lips. "So it’s a puzzle."
Leng Yue, standing behind him with folded arms, arched a brow.
"Another one? Must we dance through riddles every few steps?"
"It’s not a dance," he replied, rising slowly. "It’s a conversation. The ancient ones are speaking. We’re just... decoding the dialect."
He moved further into the room, eyes drifting over the layout with renewed focus.
Out of ninety tiles, he counted sixty white—fixed and immovable. The remaining thirty black tiles, however, could be slid and rotated with ease. A formation was hidden within their placent. That much was clear.
"An ordinary person might waste hours here... or worse, shift a tile the wrong way and get turned into incense," he muttered dryly.
And then ca the ding.
[System Notification: Puzzle Pathway - Variant Peacock Formation Available for 14,000 credits]
Li Wei’s eye twitched.
"This system is shaless..." he grumbled under his breath, scowling at the price. "This isn’t a tip—it’s robbery."
But ti was precious, and the tomb was not going to solve itself. With a sigh heavy enough to stir the dust in the corners, he pressed accept, watching his hard-earned credits drain into the void.
"Hmph... If this guide turns out to be a scam, I swear I’ll find a way to dismantle this cursed thing from the inside."
With new instructions flooding his mind, he began sliding the tiles with grace and precision. Each movent was asured, exact, as if he’d danced this pattern before in another life. One tile north. Two west. Rotate 90 degrees. Another glide.
*SCHHHK—KLAK—WHRRRRRR!*
The chamber trembled faintly.
Soon, a dazzling mosaic began to take shape upon the floor. Feathered wings. An elegant neck. A splayed tail that spanned the breadth of the room.
A peacock, woven in pure shadow and jade.
"Beautiful..." Leng Yue whispered, her lips parting as she took in the artistry. "Did you plan this?"
Li Wei folded his arms and stared at the peacock as if trying to read its mind.
"The system planned it. I rely paid the toll."
But before they could admire it further, sothing extraordinary occurred.
*WHOOOOSH!*
The black tiles began to glow—ripples of dark light surging through the silhouette. And then, the bird rose.
The mosaic peacock detached from the floor in a swirl of ink and mist. It beat spectral wings made of pure shadow, flapping with a sound like ancient parchnt being torn in slow motion.
*FWAP—FWAP—FWAP!!*
"What in the nine heavens—?!" Leng Yue exclaid, drawing her weapon halfway in instinct.
Li Wei, for once, wore a genuinely baffled expression.
The peacock circled them, graceful and majestic, flying with an air of delight. Its cry was neither a shriek nor a song, but a reverberating hum that seed to tickle the inner ear and settle in the soul.
"It’s... alive?" he said, stunned.
But the inky creature did not attack. It spun, soared—then darted toward the corner of the room.
*CRAAACK!*
It slamd into a seemingly unremarkable wall, its body flattening and fusing into the surface with a sound like boiling tar being poured onto stone.
The room fell into silence.
Li Wei strode forward at once, his boots echoing across the now-neutral tiles. He knelt before the wall, inspecting the edges.
And then—he saw it.
The stone began to change. The once-smooth surface rippled, the texture folding and warping as if responding to the peacock’s ink.
*RUMMMMBBLLLE...*
A seam ford, crackling with faint energy. Then ca the sound of grinding stone and shifting runes as the wall peeled open, revealing a hidden doorway.
Two ters high. Two ters wide. Ford entirely of seamless stone fused with swirling strands of black ink.
Leng Yue stepped beside him, her brows drawn low.
"They built all of this... and left the keys in puzzles. What kind of madn were they?"
Li Wei gave a slow breath, his eyes fixed on the new passage.
"Madn with enemies... and secrets worth burying."
The two exchanged a glance—neither eager, yet both compelled.
Without another word, they stepped through the inky threshold and entered the next layer of the tomb, unaware that in the chamber they’d left behind...
...the peacock’s eye still glowed, embedded in the wall, quietly watching.
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