"Look, a boat is coming," shouted a young man towards Shirley Yang.
Shirley Yang frowned slightly. Few people could reach this sea area, let alone above this ancient tomb. They must be tomb raiders.
"They're most likely tomb raiders," Shirley Yang whispered to Professor Chen.
Shirley Yang was observant and had guessed their purpose upon seeing the boat.
Professor Chen nodded, "Look at their boat, it's a bit old, and it seems to have some strange green liquid on it. They must have fought with something."
"Let's be careful," Professor Chen said seriously.
Everyone nodded, and Wu Tianzhen's boat gradually drew closer to Shirley Yang's.
"Uncle Pan, it seems someone got here before us," Wu Tianzhen said softly. He had matured a lot after the encounter with the sea monster, speaking with less impatience.
Pan Zi nodded, raising an eyebrow.
"We saw this boat when we arrived, and now that we're here, it's still here. There must be someone powerful on board," Pan Zi commented. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have defeated the sea monster faster than us."
Ah Ning was also an observant person. She had noticed Shirley Yang's boat when she arrived but hadn't expected them to be faster.
After Ah Ning spoke, everyone became serious.
The boats drew alongside each other. Both groups eyed each other warily. In this era, especially at sea, even the dead might go unnoticed.
"Hello, we are from the exploration team. And you are?" Shirley Yang stepped forward first, a smile on her face. Her beauty caught Wu Tianzhen and his companions' eyes.
"Tianzhen, it's a foreign girl. Fatty has never seen a foreign girl before," Fatty nudged Wu Tianzhen with his elbow, a playful grin on his face.
"Fatty, she's from an exploration team, a respectable person..." Wu Tianzhen rolled his eyes at Fatty and then looked at Shirley Yang.
"Hello, we are also from an exploration team, an organization to protect cultural relics," Wu Tianzhen said earnestly. At least, that was his intention when he came.
Professor Chen breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. If their goals were the same, the danger was reduced. Besides, Professor Chen didn't see Wu Tianzhen as a bad person.
The two boats docked, and Wu Tianzhen's group boarded Professor Chen's vessel.
"Heh heh, beautiful lady, my name is Wang Banyue, everyone calls me Wang Fatty. Since we're all going into the tomb, let's get acquainted," Fatty said with a grin, extending his plump hand.
"Shirley Yang," Shirley Yang replied calmly, not shaking Fatty's hand.
Ah Ning looked at the group of experts and seemed to recall something.
"You are Professor Chen's expert team?" she exclaimed.
"How do you know?" Professor Chen emerged.
"I saw an advertisement for experts to join an expedition to an underwater tomb. We had signed up, but someone was faster than us," Ah Ning said with a smile. The two groups gradually became acquainted.
A few minutes later, a white bubble emerged from the seabed. Shirley Yang looked towards Wu Tianzhen's group. In just a few minutes, the two parties had gotten to know each other, and Shirley Yang learned that Wu Tianzhen had also encountered the sea monster.
"Since we both escaped from the sea monster, let's go down together," Professor Chen said with a smile. In Professor Chen's view, anyone who could escape a sea monster must be capable. Moreover, Wu Tianzhen's appearance seemed more reliable than Zhang Tian's. Professor Chen still couldn't fathom Zhang Tian's group's true nature, which made him feel insecure.
Following this, Wu Tianzhen and his companions began to put on their diving suits, preparing to descend. However, their equipment was not as sophisticated as the experts', lacking oxygen tanks, only simple respirators.
Meanwhile, inside the ancient tomb, Zhang Tian and his group were observing their surroundings. Around the tomb were many jars and pots. In the center, most striking, was a coffin.
"These porcelain pieces are complex; some are from the Ming dynasty, others from the Song dynasty. And that coffin, it looks like it's been opened," Zhang Tian murmured, looking around.
Zhang Qilin, however, was focused on the murals and carvings on the walls, paying no attention to the porcelain.
"Boss, in the past, Fatty was reluctant to take porcelain. This time, shouldn't I take a piece back?" Fatty was no longer ignorant and understood that porcelain was far more valuable than jade.
"Fatty, I heard that these jars and pots contain ghosts," Zhang Tian said with a smile.
Fatty was taken aback and quickly waved his hands. "What jars? Did Fatty say he wanted jars? Let's leave these porcelain pieces to the experts." Fatty waved his hands repeatedly, as if he couldn't sleep after capturing the forbidden woman.
He looked around. Apart from some carvings, there seemed to be nothing else. It was like a circular chamber with no passage forward.
"Boss, there should be some mechanism here, otherwise, the entire tomb wouldn't be circular," Hu Bayi said, holding his compass and examining the area.
Zhang Tian knew this was like an elevator; everyone arriving from underwater ended up in different places. However, even an elevator would have a mechanism.
"Old Hu, use your Jin Ding Bu Xue and Long Jue techniques to find where a tomb passage might appear."
"Qilin, stop looking for now. Let's go in first," Zhang Tian said. Zhang Qilin retracted his gaze and stood beside Zhang Tian.
"Boss, what about me? What should Fatty do?" Fatty patted his chest eagerly.
"You, open all those jars and pots, and that coffin too. There should be a forbidden woman here," Zhang Tian said, his gaze falling on the coffin.
"Item: Bronze Iron Coffin."
"Status: Awakened."
"Description: Contains one forbidden woman."
Hearing the description, Zhang Tian was speechless. Good heavens, forbidden women are counted now?
Fatty, having received the order, began opening the jars. As for ghosts, Fatty was no longer afraid. He had his wife protecting him, so what was there to fear?
Hu Bayi, holding his compass, surveyed the area and finally stopped at a spot. "This should be a small side chamber. According to my estimation, there should be a mechanism here." Hu Bayi's gaze was fixed on a stone wall.
"The mechanisms in ancient tombs are generally created using angle deviations and directional sense. The mechanisms can cover the entire tomb, and there are typically six directions for these mechanisms: east, west, north, south, up, and down. This way, they can achieve all-around coverage, ensuring that those who enter the tomb never return. This should be one of those mechanisms," Hu Bayi said, intently staring at the wall.
Zhang Tian squatted down, rubbing the dust on the ground. Among the dust were fine wood shavings. Wood shavings are rare in ancient tombs.
"It should be the Pear Blossom Arrow Rain mechanism without a doubt," Zhang Tian murmured. He was very familiar with this mechanism, which Fatty had inadvertently triggered before. This mechanism could shoot poisonous arrows. Zhang Tian wondered if it had been improved due to the world's fusion.
"Then let's disarm the mechanism first," Zhang Tian said, taking out a small shovel and preparing to pry open the brick wall.
"No need."
At this moment, Zhang Qilin walked over, his index and middle fingers probing the tomb like someone who had undergone professional training. Hu Bayi stared in amazement. He had been working hard to find the mechanism, only for Zhang Qilin to find it himself.