Finally, by God, we made it out alive!
At this moment, Du Xishan and Sun Lin were both supporting you, as you laughed weakly, taking in deep breaths of the fresh air outside.
Shadow One suddenly approached you, bowed deeply, and without a word, walked away.
As you shrugged your shoulders, Shadow Six came over, handing you the dagger in her hand that, even in the sunlight, couldn’t gleam the slightest bit, "Thank you."
It was a simple expression of gratitude. You smiled and nodded at her, while secretly hoping in your heart that this meeting would be the last.
It was clear to anyone that Shadow One and Shadow Six were assassins, dead-set on serving their master. This time, an alliance was possible due to the absence of conflicting interests. If there were to be a next time, circumstances might place you on opposing sides.
In fact, in your heart, you had already come to consider them friends—after all, friends who stand by you through life and death are rare these days.
Putting the dagger in your pocket, the three of you collected your emotions and headed in the direction of Zhao Family Gully.
Before leaving, you intentionally had Du Xishan cover the entrance to the Gate of Life with some branches, planning to seal off this hole forever once your health was restored.
However, when the three of you returned to Zhao Family Gully, you could hear machinery operating from a great distance away.
The three of you exchanged glances and quickened your pace, only to discover Sun Lin’s students were using machines to carry out logging operations in a small valley a few dozen meters from the entrance to the Death Gate.
The two students who had stayed behind at the camp, near the old locust tree, shouted out to their companions upon spotting your group.
Upon hearing that the three of you had returned, everyone crowded around, dust-covered.
After a brief exchange, you finally understood. After you had descended into the tomb, Fan Yi accidentally discovered signs of what appeared to be a burial site while picking mulberries. Subsequent detection with instruments revealed that there were many gold, silver, and iron artifacts buried underneath.
Guided by the principle that it was better to be busy than idle, Sun Lin’s assistant kept two people behind while the rest eagerly picked up their tools and got to work.
When asked about the ancient relics and their findings below the tomb, Du Xishan carefully took out the bronze wine vessel you had given him earlier from his chest. The students didn’t react much; however, Sun Lin’s assistant, a veteran in the field, recognized its significance immediately, and took the bronze wine vessel with both hands, as excited as a child who had received lots of candy.
"Professor Du, putting everything else aside, this wine vessel alone makes the trip worthwhile!" Sun Lin’s assistant said to Du Xishan with a smile on his face.
After exchanging looks, Du Xishan and Sun Lin sighed lightly, "For us to make it out alive is satisfaction enough; we could hardly dare want more."
As they spoke, Du Xishan and Sun Lin then remembered you and turned around, only to see Fan Yi carefully carrying you toward her own tent...
The next day, you deliberately took a few people and completely sealed both the Gate of Life and the Death Gate. Only then did you fully engage in the excavation of the ancient tomb Fan Yi had discovered.
Two days later, Yamato, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Kabukicho, Nichome.
An elongated Rolls-Royce, modified for luxury, stopped in front of what was known as Kabukicho Nichome’s largest nightclub. As soon as the car came to a halt, two rows of neatly dressed men in black swiftly emerged from the nightclub.
These men in black were fundamentally different from the average people of Yamato; for starters, they were of uniform height, all around two meters tall, each robust and strong with a hard expression.
They stood in line, forming what seemed like two towering walls that held back the passersby on either side.
Soon, a woman dressed in traditional Yamato attire took delicate, tiny steps out, flanked by two groups of glamorous and alluring "ladies."
A woman in a black dress stepped out of the passenger seat of the elongated Rolls-Royce. With her exquisite appearance and proud figure, she stood out even among the beauties surrounding her.
However, this woman, whose visage one could never forget once seen, was merely a maid who opened doors; as she opened the door, she immediately knelt, knees touching the ground!
"Welcome the Empress!"
"Eternal fortune and peace to the Empress!"
The crowd’s voices were loud and clear, resonating thoroughly in the busiest district of Yamato.
The car door opened, and a figure floated out, bringing with her a faint scent of perfume as she entered everyone’s line of sight.
What was strange was that even from a distance of less than a few meters, people couldn’t see her face clearly!
Yet, even though they couldn’t see it clearly, people were still fascinated by her peerless, otherworldly elegance and charm.
The Empress, this terrifying presence who had once compared with Empress Wu Zhao at the height of the Tang Empire, now truly stood under the sunlight after more than one thousand four hundred years!
She didn’t speak but just narrowed her autumnal eyes, quietly surveying her surroundings.
At that moment, her delicate nose twitched slightly, and her eyebrows gently furrowed. She spoke with a seemingly languid voice, "The air is a bit murky."
"This servant will clean it up immediately!"
Standing behind the Empress, Wu Qiuyue snorted coldly, and the rows of black-clad giant men pushed aside the bystanders like bulldozers, as the people of Yamato scrambled away screaming.
The Yamato woman who was kneeling in front of the Empress trembled slightly, bowing her head and saying respectfully, "Informing the Empress, this servant has prepared many performances for your enjoyment."
The Empress’s face was expressionless, clearly uninterested in everything around her.
Turning her head, she seemed to have seen something. Her figure gracefully moved through the surrounding crowd and suddenly appeared in front of a fashionably dressed, gorgeous, and provocatively attired woman.
The Yamato woman was clearly startled, stumbling backward, and at this critical moment, the heel of her high-heeled shoe broke, causing her to fall backward.
The Empress casually reached out and drew the woman into her arms.
"Eeek! Please—no!" the woman begged.
The Empress didn’t seem to pay any attention to the woman’s pleas. Her focus was on the woman’s hair.
Compared to the Empress, the Yamato woman’s hair was much shorter. She had dyed it brown with wavy tips, a style that was extremely alluring to young men.
"If the Empress likes, this servant will immediately cut off her head, adorn it, and present it for your viewing pleasure."
The Empress glanced sidelong at Wu Qiuyue and then casually tossed the Yamato woman aside, saying indifferently, "Yesterday, I learned a new phrase, ’keeping up with the times.’ Hmm, this world after a thousand years has indeed changed greatly... Qiuyue."
"This servant is here."
"Accompany me to get my hair done."
Wu Qiuyue was taken aback! It was the first time in her life, since she began following the Empress at the age of seven, that she had shown such a surprised expression in front of the Empress.
"This servant deserves to die!"
Realizing her lapse, Wu Qiuyue quickly knelt down.