216: Golden statue, map mystery

Zhang Dada was stunned for a moment and asked, "What are you doing?"

Ye Bai looked at him with a smile.

Zhang Dada said impatiently, "You want me to run, so I run?" After saying that, he was about to stroll away, but he was slapped flying by Ye Bai. He scrambled up in a sorry state, rubbing his head and saying, "Damn it, you hit me again!"

Ye Bai said, "Start running."

Zhang Dada grunted reluctantly, moving slowly as he jogged three laps around the statue. Ye Bai said, "Speed up more, sprint."

Zhang Dada said angrily, "You want me to risk my life, so I risk my life?"

Ye Bai said, "If you don't listen, I'll give you to the Golden Knight."

"Oh my goodness, mother!" Zhang Dada immediately chickened out, muttering as he rushed back, "Don't, brother, I was wrong! Please forgive me!" He zipped back to Ye Bai's side.

Ye Bai said, "Do it again."

Zhang Dada roared through gritted teeth and rushed toward the statue again. This time he gave it his all, using every bit of strength he had to sprint fifty meters in one breath, finally collapsing on the ground in exhaustion.

Ye Bai clapped and praised, "Very good!"

"Nonsense, this young master is exceptionally talented!" Zhang Dada panted heavily, "What exactly do you want me to do? Just say it."

Ye Bai pointed at the statue and said, "Do you see those gold pieces?"

"I see them!"

Ye Bai added, "Those gold pieces are living things."

"Living things?" Zhang Dada was surprised, "What do you mean by 'living things'?"

"The Golden Knight used his own flesh and blood to cultivate a large number of Insect Eggs, which then bred various Gu Insects after hatching. The Golden Knight sealed these Gu Insects inside the gold to control commoners and make them serve him. And the mother of these Gu Insects is this Golden Witch."

Zhang Dada's eyes widened in shock: "So she really is dead! I thought she was just acting!"

Yang Mi said, "But since she's a woman, how could she kill those commoners?"

Ye Bai explained, "The Golden Witch was created by the Golden Knight. At that time, she was only an infant and couldn't use any transcendent skills. To gain transcendent power, she had to grow up first."

"Then this statue..."

Ye Bai said, "Before she died, she turned herself into a golden coffin and hid inside the Tomb, nurturing these Gu Insects with her own flesh and blood. After her death, the Gu Insects died as well, leaving only this golden statue to accompany her remains and guard the castle and the Ancient City."

Everyone felt their skin crawl as they listened.

Yang Mi murmured, "That's terrifying."

Zhang Dada, however, rubbed his hands excitedly: "Quick, open the Golden Witch's coffin lid! I want to see what treasures are inside."

Yang Mi pulled him back: "Don't mess around! The Golden Witch's coffin must be full of mechanisms!"

"Who cares about mechanisms? There's always a way to open it, right Brother Ye?" Zhang Dada looked at Ye Bai eagerly, "Let's work together, break it open, and take the treasure!"

Ye Bai chuckled but didn't respond, walking over to a pile of gold and silver jewelry. He picked up a circular, crystal-clear diamond ring and said, "This is platinum; it can be used to make jewelry."

Yang Mi leaned over to look: "Wow, it's so beautiful." She then looked at the other jewelry, "They seem to be worth a lot of money."

Ye Bai smiled, "They are indeed quite valuable."

Zhang Dada urged, "Then hurry up and dig them out to sell!"

Yang Mi shook her head and sighed, "Forget it, it's been so many years; they've long since rusted into iron lumps. Better to look for other valuable things, or see if the Golden Knight put some treasure inside that can open it."

Ye Bai said, "Then let's start looking."

So the two of them divided the work and began searching.

They circled the golden statue and found a row of English letters carved on the wall directly in front of the sculpture; they were likely Ancient Egyptian script. They looked at it for a long time but couldn't recognize what was written.

Yang Mi wondered, "Could it be some kind of curse language?"

Zhang Dada curled his lip, "It's more practical to find the treasure quickly. If the Golden Knight finds us, the three of us will be in trouble." They continued to study the characters, but the more they looked, the more difficult it became, and they finally decided to give up for the time being.

Ye Bai said, "Let's look at this sculpture first; maybe we can find a clue."

He bent down and touched the sculpture's right leg; it felt warm and cool to the touch. He traced the lines of the statue's leg and quickly found a mechanism-like object. He pressed it, and with a click, the entire sculpture suddenly moved.

The statue's right arm lifted. Ye Bai quickly retreated behind a pillar, staring at the sculpture warily.

The sculpture's right arm slowly rose into the air, and then a black cloth slid down from the right sleeve.

The black cloth covered the golden statue, gradually revealing its contents—it was actually a painting! A totem painting drawn with gold!

Yang Mi was amazed, "A Golden Painting?"

"Yes, a Golden Painting." Ye Bai reached out to touch the black cloth and said, "This should be what the Golden Knight left here; I guess it has something to do with the Golden Witch."

"Quick, take a look," Yang Mi urged.

Zhang Dada curled his lip uninterestedly, "I knew it, this guy definitely has no good intentions."

"Shut up." Ye Bai glanced at him, "I'll deal with you after I've broken this puzzle."

Zhang Dada shut his mouth resentfully.

Yang Mi didn't stay idle either, squatting in front of the sculpture to observe carefully.

"This should be a snake!" Yang Mi said.

"No, it's not just a snake," Ye Bai said. "The snake's head is vertical, but its tail hangs down parallel. Did you notice that the neck area is a groove, not the snake's spine? So I guess this snake is coiled."

Yang Mi seemed to realize something, "No wonder I felt something was off just now. So it's coiled? Then why is its head facing downward?"

Ye Bai said, "Because the snake's neck grows backwards, and its body is reversed. The so-called coiling should be its habit of coiling on the ground."

Yang Mi said, "Oh, I see. But why would the snake's head be reversed? Could it be... it was cut off?"

"Yes, that makes sense."

After Ye Bai said this, ignoring the massive change in Yang Mi's expression, he reached out and grabbed the snake's head.

He used a bit of force, and the snake's head was pulled off, falling onto the floor.

Zhang Dada was startled: "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?!"

Yang Mi asked urgently, "What do you want to do?"

Ye Bai said, "The thing inside here is not a living creature."

Yang Mi was stunned.

Ye Bai took out his Dagger and sliced open the snake's skull.

The snake's skull was indeed empty; inside, besides a few teeth, there was nothing, except for a Parchment Scroll wedged between the gaps in the teeth.

"Golden Key!" Yang Mi said in surprise, "This is a fragment of the Golden Key."

"What is the Golden Key?" Zhang Dada asked blankly.

Yang Mi translated, "The treasure left by the Golden Knight."