Everyone's faces were etched with disappointment, sighing and lamenting the unfairness of fate.
Only Ye Fan squinted his eyes, staring intently at the keyhole.
After a moment, a smile bloomed on his face.
"Perhaps, I can open this stone door."
Boom~
His words exploded like a thunderclap on a calm lake.
"What did you say? You can open the stone door?"
Shen Bao's eyes widened in surprise.
"Young friend Ye, you're not joking with us, are you?"
Elder Lei couldn't believe it was true.
"Brother Ye, it's enough to try your best, there's no need to go all out."
Elder Ji sighed, comforting Ye Fan.
Their attitudes were the same: Ye Fan was joking and couldn't possibly open the stone door.
Only Shen Tianyin's eyes sparkled like little stars, looking at Ye Fan like an adoring fan.
"You believe me?"
Ye Fan asked, puzzled by Shen Tianyin's gaze.
Shen Tianyin nodded, "I believe you won't disappoint us."
This was genuine trust, unrelated to any specific matter!
In her heart, Ye Fan was like a god, capable of holding up the sky even if it fell.
Ye Fan didn't quite agree with such blind admiration, but he found the feeling rather pleasant.
"Since that's the case, how could I possibly disappoint you?"
He teased, causing Shen Tianyin's delicate face to flush.
Then, Ye Fan rummaged through his pocket and after a while, pulled out a stone key.
"This is the key?"
Shen Bao, Elder Lei, and Elder Ji stared with wide, disbelieving eyes.
How could Ye Fan have the key to this stone door?
At that moment, Elder Lei suddenly slapped his thigh.
"Back at the Taoran Pavilion, you were meticulously crafting that meteorite. Could it be that this is the key?"
He finally remembered. Back then, he had shamelessly stayed at Taoran Pavilion and personally witnessed Ye Fan grinding down an entire meteorite until little remained. He hadn't seen the final artistic creation.
Now, he realized it must have been this key.
Ye Fan smiled wordlessly, bent down, and inserted the stone key into the keyhole. As he gently turned it, the stone door actually emitted a rumbling sound and slid inward.
Dust billowed up, and Ye Fan quickly retreated, covering his mouth and nose.
He also shielded Shen Tianyin to prevent her from choking.
After the dust settled, Ye Fan led the others into the stone door.
Behind the stone door, a tomb chamber about a hundred square meters in size appeared before them.
Its layout was similar to the outer tomb, with a large coffin bed in the center, upon which lay a quietly resting sarcophagus carved from dark green stone.
The sarcophagus was adorned with carvings of dragons and phoenixes, with auspicious clouds swirling around, exuding extraordinary grandeur.
On either side of the main sarcophagus were two smaller ones, also featuring dragon and phoenix motifs, accompanied by dancing cranes.
Around the three sarcophagi were dozens of vermilion lacquer wooden chests, arranged neatly and impressively.
This sight even left Ye Fan astounded.
As a tomb guardian in his previous life, he had seen countless tombs and an abundance of burial objects.
However, he had never encountered a tomb with such a vast collection of grave goods.
Elder Lei, meanwhile, walked over with a look of confusion.
He didn't head towards the burial objects, but directly to the main sarcophagus, bent down, and meticulously examined the patterns on the stone coffin.
After a while, Elder Lei's expression grew increasingly grim, and he uttered a sound of surprise.
"Elder Lei, what is it?"
Elder Ji hurried over, asking in confusion.
Elder Lei, as an expert, knew far more than Elder Ji could comprehend.
"This isn't right."
Elder Lei exclaimed, "Look at the patterns on this stone coffin. The dragon is a five-clawed golden dragon, and the phoenix is a seven-feathered colorful phoenix. These patterns could only be used by royalty. And according to the epitaph discovered earlier, this should be the tomb of Yelü Xiuge. He was merely the Southern Grand King, how could he have used royal patterns that exceeded his station?"
Elder Lei frowned deeply, his eyes filled with doubt.
Elder Ji was equally perplexed; his knowledge in this area was far inferior to Elder Lei's.
The others simultaneously looked to Ye Fan, hoping to get an answer from him.
Ye Fan smiled slightly, "This is not difficult to understand. Although Yelü Xiuge never became emperor, his status was even more noble than an emperor. Especially in the last few years of his life, during the war with the Jin Dynasty, his position reached its peak. In such circumstances, it is not surprising that he would enjoy imperial treatment after death. Moreover, doing so had another benefit."
Ye Fan kept them in suspense, smiling faintly at Elder Lei.
"A benefit? What benefit?"
Elder Lei asked, frowning.
"Naturally, it's to win people's hearts."
"Imagine, if the emperor did this, all the military generals in the realm would see how much the emperor valued them. Then, when fighting wars, everyone would fight to the death because they would all desire such honor."
His profound analysis of the prevailing situation at the time made everything clear.
Elder Lei pondered for a moment and slowly nodded, "Perhaps, this is the most logical explanation."
"Alas, let's not worry about the ancients. Let's quickly open the burial goods and see what treasures are here. A tomb that has never been looted must contain countless treasures."
Shen Bao eagerly stepped forward and hastily opened the nearest vermilion lacquer wooden chest.
"We've truly struck gold."
The next moment, Shen Bao's eyes were fixed on the chest, his face filled with astonishment.
Ye Fan and the others quickly gathered around. Inside the chest, neatly arranged, were piles of gold bars.
One must remember that in ancient times, with undeveloped technology, the output of gold was not high. Possessing such a large quantity of gold bars clearly indicated the royal family's great regard for Yelü Xiuge.
Shen Tianyin gave him a look. While real gold and silver were expensive, they were still far inferior to rare treasures and were considered rather vulgar.
The group worked together, opening all the dozens of chests.
Afterward, Ye Fan was also stunned. This was not a tomb at all, but a museum.
Inside these vermilion lacquer wooden chests were filled with porcelain, jade, gold and silver wares, and even two crowns and two phoenix coronets each.
If one didn't know the identity of the tomb's owner, they would surely mistake this tomb for an imperial mausoleum.
"Northern Song Ru Ware Basin, valued at over ten million."
"Tang Dynasty hand-painted Sancai pottery musicians, valued at over thirty million."
"Qin Dynasty dragon-patterned colored pottery jar, valued at over fifty million."
"Western Zhou bronze ding with inlaid inscriptions, of inestimable value."
...
As piece after piece was identified by Elder Lei and Ye Fan, everyone was dumbfounded.
Dozens of chests, over a hundred treasures, any single one of them was enough for an ordinary family to live a lifetime.
But here, there were over a hundred pieces, it was too incredible.
"Transport these items back, and I guarantee the Tianyin Pavilion can soar in the shortest time possible, becoming the largest antique shop in Jiangnan."
Elder Ji murmured, already awestruck by the countless treasures.