A carefree soldier king in the city

Chapter 784 There are many mechanisms

With brothers like these, what more could one ask for in life? Chao Bufan felt a warm glow in his heart: "He truly is my good brother, a true buddy!"

“Cousin,” Feng Ling hurriedly said, “I’m warning you now, if Qin Shi Huang’s jade seal really can travel through time as you say, don’t leave me behind then.”

"What are you saying!" Chao Bufan put his hand on Feng Ling's shoulder. "Once we find the Imperial Seal, I'll take all of you on a grand adventure."

Although Chao Bufan's words were not very credible, everyone inexplicably chose to believe him, and they were all immediately filled with excitement.

After navigating countless turns without incident, the six men gradually lowered their guard. Ahead lay a straight passageway, sloping upwards, much wider than the previous ones.

Suddenly, a light appeared ahead, and the group became alert again. Upon closer inspection, they found themselves in a large hall. However, before they could even enter the hall, several muffled thuds sounded from the entrance leading to it, resembling the footsteps of a stampeding elephant.

"Oh no! Everyone, run back!" Chao Bufan's expression changed, and he exclaimed in alarm.

The others could clearly see what was ahead: a huge rock had rolled down from above, as wide as a passageway, leaving no room to dodge. If someone were crushed by this boulder, they would surely be turned into mincemeat.

Without a word, the others turned and ran. The six of them ran out of the tunnel and dodged to the sides. Just then, the boulder rolled out of the tunnel with a rumbling sound.

With their lives hanging by a thread, everyone breathed a sigh of relief; it was truly a close call.

After waiting for a while without any movement, Chao Bufan said, "It's probably safe now."

So the group entered the passageway again, but they were extra careful and vigilant with every step they took. Fortunately, they made it into the hall without any major incidents.

This was a massive burial chamber, which at first glance appeared to be the main sleeping quarters of a mausoleum. The surrounding area was filled with boxes and chests, containing countless rare treasures. In the center of the chamber, atop a high stone platform, sat an exceptionally ornate and enormous coffin.

Everyone froze in shock, their excitement barely contained, yet they remained vigilant. The tomb chamber appeared ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it only deepened their sense of wonder and awe, inspiring even greater reverence for the grandeur and mystery of the Qin Mausoleum.

Looking up, Wang Zi asked, "With so many rare and unusual coffins, there must be quite a few burial items inside..."

Zhou Weihua couldn't help but exclaim, "My goodness! This is truly extravagant and wasteful! No wonder the books say, '...the palaces and temples are filled with all sorts of strange and precious objects. Craftsmen are ordered to make crossbows and arrows that will shoot anyone who gets too close. Mercury is used to represent the rivers, lakes, and seas, with mechanisms to circulate it. The upper part depicts the heavens, and the lower part depicts the earth. Candles made of mermaid oil are used, and they are said to burn for a very long time...' It turns out they weren't lying at all!"

Chao Bufan looked around, paused to think for a moment, then shook his head and said, "This is not the location of Qin Shi Huang's sleeping quarters. Think about it, we entered here and did not see any other tomb chambers. What does that mean?"

Feng Ling said, "Cousin is right. This is, after all, an imperial tomb. How could it be laid out like this? It must be a fake tomb. After all, which of the emperors, kings, generals and ministers throughout history would not have set up a false tomb to mislead the world?"

Wang Dakeng nodded: "That makes sense. Most of these coffins are probably empty."

“I don’t know if it’s empty,” Chao Bufan said, “but I believe this is definitely not the main tomb chamber of Qin Shi Huang.”

Feng Ling said, "I remember my grandfather once said that the Qin Mausoleum is like a huge spider web, with countless fake tombs of all sizes inside. But no matter which fake tomb it is, they will all have a passage leading to the main tomb. So... there must be mechanisms set up by those craftsmen here."

Chao Bufan said, "Then let's look for any mechanisms or buttons together. Remember, don't touch anything in here, lest we accidentally trigger some mechanisms and then we won't even have a chance to escape."

The group searched carefully throughout the spacious tomb chamber, but dared not touch or rummage through anything.

"Come here quickly." Chao Bufan noticed some unusual marks on the four sides of the stone platform where the coffin was placed. There were shallow, zigzag patterns engraved on it, which looked like some kind of writing.

"This looks like some kind of ghost drawing, what the hell is it?" Ge Dawei stared at it for a long time but couldn't figure it out; he couldn't understand these runes at all. "Does anyone know?"

Everyone else shook their heads, indicating they didn't know.

“This looks like some kind of talisman.” Chao Bufan looked at it several times, his brows furrowed as he made a plan. He then examined the floor tiles of the empty tomb chamber and found corresponding patterns on the floor tiles at the four corners of the tomb chamber.

After having that strange dream, Chao Bufan changed overnight. Despite his young age, he possessed wisdom and composure far beyond his peers, and he even knew a lot about many strange and unusual things.

“Bu Fan, have you figured anything out?” Wang Dakeng asked.

“I’m not entirely sure either,” Chao Bufan said with a hint of seriousness. “We can only give it a try. But if we make a mistake, we might trigger some dangerous traps, so everyone needs to be extra careful.”

Everyone nodded, and Ren Chaofei moved things around on the mechanism formed between the stone platform and the floor tiles.

But his attempts were not random; rather, he followed some kind of rule. With each step he took, a slight mechanical click could be heard from the depths of the darkness.

"What is Bufan doing?" Wang Zi asked Feng Ling in a low voice, feeling confused.

Feng Ling shook his head: "I don't know either. I guess it's trying to open some kind of mechanism!"

With only one tile left, Chao Bufan exchanged glances with his companions, then took a deep breath, held his breath, and pressed down. Suddenly, a series of violent mechanical clicks and clanging sounds came from behind the coffin, and the tomb chamber roared. It was the stone wall behind the coffin platform that slowly moved, and soon a narrow passage was revealed.

Become!

Chao Bufan let out a long breath, a thin layer of sweat appearing on his forehead. The others also breathed a sigh of relief. Chao Bufan, however, remained tense and said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid this is the only passage into the real interior of the First Emperor's Mausoleum. There will be many more traps and mechanisms ahead, so you must be extremely careful."

The group nodded repeatedly, their hearts filled with a sense of unease, but mostly with excitement. They knew that even greater and more thrilling challenges awaited them, and despite the immense danger, they paid no heed, even whispering among themselves about the various aspects of the Qin Mausoleum's main tomb.