Now, the two of them had no choice but to move forward.
Although the stone door had disappeared mysteriously, Chen Qing could tell that it was connected to a large-scale mechanism.
The stone stairs were linked to the same kind of mechanism as the stone door. When they stepped onto the stairs, it triggered the mechanism that made the stone door vanish.
However, seeing Silly Shizun’s terrified expression as if she had seen a ghost, Chen Qing knew that Silly Shizun had been frightened by the eerie atmosphere deliberately created by this mechanism.
This was also a favorite tactic of mechanism masters: creating an ominous atmosphere to instill fear in intruders and conceal the traces of the mechanisms.
Chen Qing knocked on Su Mu’s head, pulling her out of her fearful state.
“What are you afraid of? There are no ghosts in this world.”
“There are ghosts. I’ve seen one in the City Lord’s Mansion.”
Su Mu stubbornly shook her head.
Chen Qing’s words reminded Su Mu of that Long-Haired Female Ghost in the City Lord’s Mansion.
Although she had only glimpsed it once, it had left a significant shadow in Su Mu’s heart.
“If there are ghosts, they’ll go for a powerful one like me first. I’m not afraid, so what are you afraid of? You’re such a coward.”
Chen Qing’s contemptuous gaze made the originally frightened Su Mu instantly feel unconvinced.
What did she mean by “eat the powerful first”? Maybe some ghosts specifically targeted soft persimmons like her.
However, Chen Qing’s words did dilute much of the fear in Su Mu’s heart.
After all, Chen Qing, this expert brimming with yang energy, was quite intimidating to ghosts.
That Female Ghost from the City Lord’s Mansion hadn’t appeared again after Su Mu started following Chen Qing.
So even if there were ghosts on this eerie stone staircase, they definitely wouldn’t dare approach Chen Qing.
With this in mind, Su Mu quickly shrank closer to Chen Qing.
But Su Mu was already close enough due to her fear.
As she continued inching toward Chen Qing, her entire body was almost pressed against Chen Qing’s.
Seeing Silly Shizun’s dependence on her, a trace of morbid satisfaction flashed in Chen Qing’s eyes.
However, Chen Qing concealed this emotion well, simply reaching out to grasp Silly Shizun’s slender, cool hand.
Su Mu didn’t resist Chen Qing’s action much.
First, she was often led by the hand by Chen Qing and had grown somewhat accustomed to it.
Second, in this eerie atmosphere, holding Chen Qing’s hand did make her feel more secure.
Chen Qing held Su Mu’s hand and descended the stone stairs.
The stairs weren’t too long, but gazing at the pitch-black path ahead filled Su Mu with immense pressure.
“Don’t be afraid. Keep going down.”
Chen Qing noticed Silly Shizun’s unease, soothed her emotions, and continued downward while holding her hand.
After descending dozens more steps, another stone door appeared before them.
Chen Qing placed her hand on it, and the solid stone door rumbled open.
Behind the stone door stretched a long Passageway. Perhaps because it was exposed to air, the kerosene lamps hanging along the Passageway instantly lit up.
This time, Su Mu wasn’t startled. Instead, she was drawn to the lamp covers enclosing the kerosene lamps.
Each lamp cover was carved with eerie and glamorous patterns.
The flickering orange firelight accentuated the exquisite details of the patterns.
“What’s carved on these?”
“I don’t know, but judging by the material, these lamp covers are quite valuable.”
“Quite valuable? How much silver are they worth!”
Hearing they were valuable, Su Mu’s eyes instantly turned into the shape of copper coins.
During her time in this world, she had truly gone mad with poverty.
Chen Qing, this Detestable Villain, had seized control of her finances.
Even things given to her by others, she would unreasonably snatch away.
If she could secretly steal one of these valuable lamp covers and take it out, her wallet would be bulging.
Then, buying props to deal with the Detestable Villain would be much easier.
Seeing Silly Shizun’s sparkling eyes, Chen Qing could guess her little scheme.
She decided to pour a bucket of cold water on this Silly Shizun.
Otherwise, if Silly Shizun kept scheming about how to steal the lamp covers from the walls, it would be truly ridiculous.
“Don’t get any ideas about these lamp covers. It’s easy to trigger anti-theft mechanisms—you might end up shot full of holes like a sieve.”
Chen Qing’s warning instantly sobered Su Mu, who had been dreaming of getting rich off the lamp covers.
Although she desperately wanted funds to deal with Chen Qing, her life was still more important.
Dying to a mechanism before Chen Qing would be too frustrating.
She had personally experienced that arrow rain which had even injured Chen Qing earlier.
The outer mechanisms were already so frightening; the inner ones had to be even more vicious. Caution was necessary.
Reluctantly, Su Mu tore her gaze from the exquisite, valuable lamp covers, forcing herself not to look.
Seeing that she had successfully scared Silly Shizun, Chen Qing led Su Mu further inside.
This Passageway was longer than Chen Qing had anticipated.
To Su Mu’s surprise, these supposedly expensive lamp covers appeared every two steps along the Passageway.
The owner who built this place was inhumanely wealthy.
Exiting the Passageway, three large coffins lay quietly in the space at the end.
“This is an Ancient Tomb!”
Seeing the three coffins, Su Mu instantly recalled the tomb-raiding novels she had read.
She never imagined she’d one day have the chance to raid a tomb herself.
No wonder it was so outrageously wealthy—it turned out the owner was already dead, splurging one last time.
“Although this is an Ancient Tomb, these three coffins have already been tampered with by someone.”
Gazing at the three coffins, Chen Qing’s expression grew serious.
Judging by their specifications, the contents should be burial accompaniments for the tomb owner.
But ordinary burial coffins wouldn’t have these bright red patterns painted on the lids.
These patterns, added by later visitors, made viewers feel somewhat uneasy.
The timid and cowardly Su Mu definitely wouldn’t dare touch these three coffins.
Hearing Chen Qing say they had been tampered with by others, Su Mu quickly drew her sword and stayed vigilant around them.
The ones who had disturbed the ancient coffins were definitely White Lotus Cult members.
After all, this was the White Lotus Cult’s hidden lair. Apart from the two infiltrators, Su Mu and Chen Qing, everyone else was from the White Lotus Cult.
Chen Qing wasn’t as afraid as Su Mu. She walked to the stone coffin and directly shoved the lid open.
As soon as the lid lifted, a sturdy Corpse Puppet jumped out from the stone coffin.
The quick-reacting Chen Qing severed its neck with her sword and kicked it into the corner with one foot.
The headless Corpse Puppet continued twitching muscularly nonstop.
Perhaps the commotion here startled the other two stone coffins.
A series of harsh scratching sounds against the stone lids echoed.
“The other two are coming out!”
Chen Qing shouted.
Su Mu nervously looked left and right but found no props to hold down the stone lids.
In the end, she honestly hid behind Chen Qing.
For these average-strength Corpse Puppets, Chen Qing handled them without the slightest pressure.
