387: Nothing is more complex than the heart of an emperor; truth and falsehood are impossible to discern.

It was a string of complex and obscure Sanskrit characters; Ye Bai didn't understand them, but he could decipher a glimmer of meaning from the runes.

This rune meant 'Seal,' meaning that if any living creature broke into the tomb, the rune would activate, sealing the chamber doors and preventing anything from entering unless the runes were destroyed.

Fatty asked in confusion, "Mr. Ye, what are those runes doing?"

"How should I know?" Ye Bai shot him a glare.

Fatty shrank back his neck aggrievedly, not daring to speak again.

At that moment, a clicking and cracking sound suddenly came from the Stone Door. Ye Bai turned his head and saw a massive stone slab descending.

He frowned slightly: "It really isn't simple."

Ye Bai sat back down on the ground and continued his observation.

Fatty squatted beside him and asked curiously, "Mr. Ye, what are you doing?"

"This door is very thick; it will likely take some effort."

Yang Mi also walked over, watching Ye Bai with curiosity: "Mr. Ye, are you studying the structure of this Stone Door?"

"Mhm," Ye Bai replied.

Fatty asked, "Is there something special about this Stone Door?"

Yang Mi said, "The craftsman who built this Ancient Tomb must have been a master. This Stone Door is a full three meters wide, over two feet high, and at least half a meter thick."

Ye Bai shook his head: "No, this Stone Door isn't pure stone."

"Oh? Then what is it?" Fatty followed up with interest.

Yang Mi said, "It's steel!"

Ye Bai nodded: "Correct, this Stone Door is forged from steel. The outer layer of stone is just a disguise; it's actually steel. As for why such a sturdy door was forged, the reason is quite simple..."

He paused for a moment and looked up at the top of the Stone Door.

The top of the Stone Door was also carved with complex and obscure symbols, though it appeared rougher compared to the door itself.

"Why?" Fatty asked again.

Ye Bai gave a faint smile and said, "This symbol is called the 'Wan' (Swastika)."

"'Wan'?" Fatty frowned, trying hard to think about the word: "What does it mean?"

"Literally," Ye Bai explained. "Among the six characters of Buddhism, four represent 'Wisdom, Courage, Strength, and Compassion' respectively. This 'Wan' refers to the combination of these four words. That's why this Stone Door needed to be forged from such hard materials."

After hearing this, Yang Mi pondered for a moment before suddenly realizing: "I understand!"

"What do you understand?" Fatty asked hurriedly.

Yang Mi said, "The reason this Stone Door was made so solid isn't just because of the material itself, but also because of the treasures hidden inside."

"Furthermore, in ancient times, to avoid being harmed by treacherous officials, emperors would often set up mechanisms similar to imperial mausoleums to bury themselves. When they died, these funerary objects had to be kept in the safest place to prevent them from being dug up, just in case."

Fatty scratched his head: "In that case, haven't we found an emperor's tomb?"

"Most likely," Ye Bai said. "Since the material of this Stone Door is steel, it proves that this tomb indeed exists in this world."

He stood up, patted the dust off his trouser legs, and then stepped forward. Fatty quickly followed behind him, shouting, "Mr. Ye, wait for your little brother!"

The stone walls were densely covered with many niches, which were filled with various bottles and jars—there seemed to be dozens of them.

"Mr. Ye, where are we going?" Fatty leaned in closer and asked.

Ye Bai said, "Let's just take a few bottles and jars out to have a look first."

"Alright, I'll find them for you right away," Fatty said, squatting down to grab some jars before running off.

Ye Bai sighed helplessly: "Hey, handle them gently. If you break them, you're paying me back."

Fatty replied, "Impossible, Mr. Ye. Rest assured, I won't even break a bottle cap." After saying that, he left with a stack of jars, leaving Ye Bai looking exasperated.

He turned to look and found that the niches in the stone wall were already filled with porcelain.

"Sigh..."

He shook his head and sighed.

Although he was knowledgeable, he hadn't researched porcelain much. With so much porcelain placed here, he didn't recognize any of it.

Ye Bai thought about it and decided not to waste any more time.

He reached out to feel the patterns inside a niche, then pinched one of the bottle caps with his thumb and index finger and gave it a hard tug. The cap immediately came off. He quickly threw the cap aside, stuffed another cap in, and then pulled out the plug.

At this moment, he finally discovered a passage.

Following the passage forward, he encountered two more Stone Doors after a turn. He followed the same pattern, dismantling the sides of the Stone Doors. This time, he finally understood the internal structure.

This area was divided into five rooms. Each room had two beds, and the left and right corners were filled with various porcelains.

"Wow, so much porcelain."

"Mr. Ye, is this porcelain valuable?"

Ye Bai shook his head: "I'm not sure. However, with so much porcelain here, it should be worth a fortune."

Fatty rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "Mr. Ye, we're rich!"

Yang Mi also showed a joyful expression, saying, "This porcelain should be able to sell for a lot of money."

Ye Bai shook his head: "Perhaps not necessarily."

Yang Mi said, "What? Does Mr. Ye think this porcelain is fake? That's impossible; didn't you just check? There should be porcelain inside all these bottles and jars."

Ye Bai pointed at the scattered bottles and jars nearby and said, "Out of all these jars, only twenty-eight are real. The remaining nineteen are all fakes—toys specifically made to fool grave robbers."

"What?" Yang Mi was stunned for a moment. "You mean many of these bottles and jars are fakes?"

"Yeah," Ye Bai shrugged and said, "I just tentatively touched the bases of these jars, and sure enough, there was nothing inside—not even a mark. To dare try and trick me with such clumsy imitation skills is simply laughable."

Fatty asked in confusion, "But Mr. Ye, didn't you say before that the material of this porcelain was very good and very valuable?"

Ye Bai glanced at him and said, "It is quite valuable, but that's only for antique collectors. You have to understand that people like us aren't really interested in such ethereal things."

Yang Mi said, "You're right. Let's look for other clues first."

"Right," Fatty nodded repeatedly. "Even if this porcelain is really valuable, it's just to broaden our horizons. The truly valuable stuff should be further inside."

Ye Bai ignored the two of them, walked straight to one of the doors, and pushed hard.

Accompanied by a violent booming sound, the heavy Stone Door was slowly pulled open.

Ye Bai stepped inside and found that this Stone Chamber was unexpectedly empty, with no items on display at all, except for a few massive rocks.