93: Emperor bowing

Wang Jiu was responsible for leading the team. Under his gas mask, his face was slick with hot sweat, and his hair was completely soaked, as if drenched in water.

They traveled until evening, safe and sound the entire way, and the team found a flat area to set up camp.

A bonfire was lit in the center of the camp.

Wang Jiu pulled a clean white blanket from his clothes and spread it over a smooth stone slab. Bending at the waist, he said with a fawning expression: "Boss He, please sit."

He Ming nodded slightly. After sitting down, he removed his gas mask.

This action gave Wang Jiu a big fright. He wanted to step forward to stop him but was restrained by He Ming.

"It's fine. There's no mist here. If it were truly that poisonous, there wouldn't be any traces of animal activity."

Wang Jiu looked down. Through the two lenses, which were already blurred, he saw that the surroundings were indeed full of traces of animal activity.

After a moment of hesitation, he also took off his gas mask. The journey had indeed been stifling.

"Boss He, please eat some dry rations to tide you over. The conditions on this journey have been tough, so you must take care of your health."

He Ming took the dry ration package handed to him by Wang Jiu, casually pulled out two dry biscuits, and ate them hastily along with water from his flask.

Just then, Old Xiao led two burly, fierce-looking men toward them.

"Boss He, Wang the Bald, we have a problem."

Wang Jiu stood up, looking puzzled.

"What is it, Old Xiao?"

Old Xiao pointed to the oxygen tank held by his companion and said: "Damn it, the humidity in this cursed place is too high. The brothers' oxygen tanks have run into some trouble."

Wang Jiu and Old Xiao were old friends who had known each other for decades. The moment Old Xiao spoke, Wang Jiu already knew what kind of nonsense he was trying to pull.

"Don't talk rubbish. I personally selected this batch of oxygen tanks; they are top quality."

While saying this, Wang Jiu kept frantically winking at Old Xiao, urging him to leave quickly, but the latter did not seem willing to drop the matter.

"Boss He, although you paid a lot for this job, the brothers are risking their lives and fortunes. If this problem isn't resolved, the team will likely fall apart sooner or later."

He Ming looked expressionlessly at Old Xiao and the two men.

"So, how much money do you want."

Old Xiao was slightly startled. Since the cards were on the table, there was no need to keep up the pretense.

"Ten million."

"Fine. Bank transfer?"

Old Xiao crossed his arms and sneered: "No, I wouldn't dare accept your bank transfer. You're such a big Boss, don't tell me you didn't bring a checkbook."

He Ming did not usually carry a checkbook, but the notebook had prompted him to bring one.

"So that's what this was about," He Ming murmured inwardly.

"Alright."

He decisively took a checkbook from his inner pocket, pulled out the fountain pen he carried, quickly wrote a check for ten million, tore it off, and handed it over.

Wang Jiu's eyebrows were practically knitted together, his face flushed crimson, and at the same time, a sense of unease rose in his heart.

The following evening, the team finally reached the predetermined location.

Wang Jiu held the map, and after repeated surveying and observation, he finally determined the most suitable spot to start digging.

He Ming leaned against a nearby tree trunk, silently observing the fourteen members of the team beginning their work.

Time passed slowly. There were nine people actually digging, working in three shifts.

It wasn't until the following morning that they finally had a breakthrough.

A dirt-covered man jogged up to Wang Jiu, an expression of extreme excitement on his face.

"Boss, we've hit the top!"

Hearing this, Wang Jiu was ecstatic. He quickly jogged to the edge of the pit and looked down. Illuminated by the searchlight, a blue stone cap appeared about ten meters below.

The cloud patterns on the cap were extremely ancient. Although covered in dirt, they could still be vaguely discerned.

Beside him, Old Xiao leaned closer and looked down.

"What do you think, Wang the Bald?"

"I once saw a similar description in an ancient text. Only an emperor's tomb would be worthy of this kind of cloud pattern."

"An Imperial Mausoleum?"

"You must be mistaken. How could there be an emperor's tomb in the Ailao Mountains?"

This was also something Wang Jiu couldn't understand; there was no record of it in history.

Wang Jiu pointed to the center section and said: "Old Xiao, doesn't that section look like a dragon's head?"

Old Xiao aimed his searchlight at the center of the stone slab. Upon closer inspection, it really did look like one.

How could ordinary princes, nobles, or generals dare to use dragon-patterned carvings?

"We're rich! We're truly going to strike it rich this time!"

Tempted by the emperor's tomb, the team sped up their progress and quickly cleared an area large enough to step down into.

"Quick, bring the reconnaissance sparrow!"

Behind him, someone handed over a birdcage completely covered by black cloth.

Wang Jiu took it, pulled out the sparrow, and tied a thin, long rope around its leg.

The sparrow was lowered into the excavated gap. Everyone held their breath, listening to the sound of the sparrow flapping its wings gradually disappear.

About five minutes later, Wang Jiu started pulling the long rope back up.

When the sparrow was pulled up, it was still lively and jumping.

"The air is fine!"

Wang Jiu climbed out of the pit and jogged over to He Ming.

"Boss He, we've hit the cap. We can go down anytime."

"Then let's go."

Wang Jiu quickly interjected: "Boss He, this is an emperor's tomb below. It might be extremely dangerous inside. I think you should still..."

He Ming waved his hand and chuckled: "It's fine. With you leading the way, what could possibly happen?"

Wang Jiu hesitated for a moment, but still nodded in agreement.

"Boss He, once we go down, you must not leave my side by more than one meter."

"Alright."

A small gap, just wide enough for a person to squeeze through, had been pried open right above the massive stone cap.

He Ming and Wang Jiu were the last to enter the pit.

"Boss He, you must stick close to me, absolutely do not touch anything, and also, do not remove your oxygen mask after entering the pit..."

Under Wang Jiu's repeated warnings, He Ming grew a little impatient and proceeded by himself, climbing down the ladder into the ancient tomb.

His current mood was definitely more excited than anyone else present; the imperial seal of china, symbolizing the luck of humanity, was inside!

Illuminated by the searchlight, a sloping tomb passage appeared before them.

The tomb passage was wide and several zhang high.

The stone walls on both sides were covered with fragmented and decaying relief murals.

Wang Jiu did not rush further into the passage. He held his searchlight and carefully observed the murals.

Most of the murals had already decayed. Although incomplete, it could be roughly inferred that a ceremony of extremely high significance was taking place.

He Ming's gaze was drawn to a jade object in the mural. It floated in the center of the altar, emitting a precious glow, and even the emperor had to bow and kneel before it.

Although the history of Blue Star was similar to that of Earth, the Qin Dynasty period was a complete blank, and the imperial seal of china had not been passed down.

As for the specific details, He Ming only had a rough idea, which he learned through the All-Purpose notebook.

When the imperial seal of china appeared, the First Emperor was performing a rain-seeking ritual. A bloody light flashed across the sky, and an object flew out of a spatial rift and landed on the altar. Only later was it revered by the First Emperor as the [imperial seal of china].

He had always kept a respectful distance from sensitive topics that could easily trigger sudden death.