As soon as the group heard this, they stopped chewing and looked up at Jia Zhuangyuan. Jia, visibly excited, asked, “Everyone, what do you think are the most important components needed to construct the main structure of a palace?”
Seeing the group’s puzzled expressions, he clarified, “In other words, what supports the main structure of a palace?”
Liu Dashao’s eyes lit up and he said, “Pillars. Ancient palaces usually had many pillars for support.”
Jia Zhuangyuan smiled and said, “Exactly, it’s the pillars. When I first entered this hall, I felt something strange and odd. Now I finally understand—the hall has no supporting pillars at all!”
Cai Qingchong turned and asked, “So what?”
Jia Zhuangyuan, confident in his explanation, said, “The absence of pillars indicates a problem—there must be something wrong with the palace’s dome. Everyone, look up at the distant, dark ceiling. If this palace is of a typical large size, then its dome must also be enormous. Without supporting pillars, it’s impossible for the dome to have remained intact for thousands of years without any collapse. This suggests one of two possibilities: either the material used to construct the dome is extremely special, or some unseen force is supporting it. I lean toward the second possibility.”
Liu Dashao looked at him in disbelief and asked, “Master Jia, are you saying that there are invisible pillars or something else holding up this massive dome?”
Jia nodded and said, “Exactly.”
At this moment, Fan Debiao muttered, “This is just too… unbelievable.”
Jia Zhuangyuan chuckled and said, “You don’t understand. There are many inexplicable things in this world. More than ten years ago, I and a few companions once entered a massive underground tomb in Shaanxi, hundreds of meters deep. The tomb was even larger than this hall and had no pillars supporting it either. Later, when we accidentally triggered a mechanism inside the tomb, can you guess what we saw? Four golden dragons, radiating brilliant light, were holding up the tomb’s dome, heads up and tails down!”
Jia Zhuangyuan’s words left the group speechless and in disbelief.
Jia Zhuangyuan, unfazed by their skepticism, stood up with a mysterious smile and pulled out a crossbow-like device from his backpack. He said, “Let me show you my real skills. There must be hidden mechanisms in this palace—I’ll find them for you.”
With that, he aimed the crossbow-like device at the dome, pulled the trigger, and with a soft “swoosh,” a black line shot upward, embedding itself with a “thud” into something above. Holding the crossbow in his left hand, he lit a fire stick with his right, and then pressed a mechanism on the crossbow. To everyone’s amazement, the device carried him swiftly upward toward the dome.
Under the glow of the fire stick, the group watched as Jia Zhuangyuan climbed onto a massive beam at the center of the dome. Then, in a flash, he disappeared from sight, leaving only the faint glow of his fire stick flickering in the darkness.
Liu Dashao guessed that Jia must have seen something on the beam and crawled into the shadows. Everyone below was worried—if Jia encountered danger up there, there would be no way to rescue him. All they could do was shine their flashlights toward the dome, trying to provide as much light as possible.
About ten minutes passed, and all they could see was the faint glow of the fire stick moving slowly, confirming that Jia was still active.
Just as everyone was beginning to feel their necks aching from looking up for so long, they suddenly heard Jia Zhuangyuan’s excited voice from above: “Damn it, I finally found the mechanism!” Then, leaning over, he called down, “Hey, someone come up and help me. Let’s have Dashao come up.”
With that, he threw down the crossbow-like device, the black line still firmly embedded in the beam above. Liu Dashao caught it, and Jia leaned over and said, “Dashao, press the white button on the crossbow, hold the body tightly, and it will pull you up.”
Liu Dashao nodded, gripped the crossbow tightly, and pressed the button. Sure enough, the device began to reel him up automatically. In no time, he reached the beam below the dome.
Jia Zhuangyuan reached out and pulled Liu Dashao onto the beam. Then, with a wave of his hand, he started crawling forward along the beam. Liu Dashao looked down, felt a wave of vertigo, but steeled himself and followed nervously, gripping the beam tightly.
Fortunately, the beam was extremely thick—just wide enough for a person to crawl along slowly, though turning around would require great care.
After a difficult crawl, Liu Dashao finally reached the junction where the dome met a wall. Jia Zhuangyuan stopped and said, “Dashao, look up at the glazed tiles and patterns on the dome.”
Liu Dashao looked up and saw that the entire dome was made of bluish-green glazed tiles, inlaid with twelve large white pearls. Around the pearls, yellow lines formed strange patterns, making the entire dome resemble a celestial star chart.
Jia Zhuangyuan continued, “Now look at the wall—what do you see?” Liu Dashao followed his gaze and saw that at the junction of the dome and the wall, there were another twelve smaller white pearls embedded in grooves. These grooves seemed to allow the pearls to move freely.
Jia Zhuangyuan explained, “This must be the hidden mechanism of the palace. Only when all twelve pearls are moved to their correct positions in the grooves can we unlock the palace’s true secret.”
Liu Dashao gave a bitter smile and said, “Master Jia, how can I help you with this? I don’t understand astronomy or mechanisms.”
Jia Zhuangyuan chuckled and said, “I just need you here to calm me down. I can read faces, and yours is one of great fortune. You don’t have the look of an early death. As long as you’re by my side, I can operate this celestial mechanism with peace of mind.”
Liu Dashao was left speechless by Jia’s cryptic words. So, he was just here to bring good luck? He muttered to himself, “Damn it, he’s treating me like a lucky charm. If something goes wrong with the mechanism, I’ll end up dying with him!”
As he was thinking, Jia Zhuangyuan turned to look at the celestial mechanism on the wall, then gave Liu Dashao a sly grin. Suddenly, his smile vanished, and he made a strange face, then turned to look behind Liu Dashao. Liu Dashao was puzzled at first, but then felt a chill run down his spine, and goosebumps rose on his skin. He realized something must be behind him.
Then, a soft sigh came from behind Liu Dashao—like the sorrowful sigh of a woman waiting for her lover. Liu Dashao’s back stiffened instantly. Was there a female ghost behind him?
He didn’t dare move, cold sweat soaking his entire body. Suddenly, a bone-chilling coldness approached his back, and an icy hand touched his left shoulder. Liu Dashao nearly died of fear.
Just as he was about to react, Jia Zhuangyuan shouted urgently, “Don’t turn around!”
Liu Dashao froze, his mind in chaos. He felt the ghost’s face slowly approaching his neck—was she going to bite him? Suck his blood? He saw Jia Zhuangyuan’s expression turning frantic, but Jia was stuck on the beam and couldn’t help.
Liu Dashao steeled himself—better to fight than wait to die. Suddenly, he gathered all his strength and slammed his head backward. He felt like he had hit a block of ice, and his head exploded in pain.
With the impact, Liu Dashao heard a piercing scream from behind. The ghost, clearly unprepared, had her icy hand on his shoulder knocked away. Liu Dashao immediately kicked backward with his right foot, hitting something solid. Another long, piercing scream followed. With his eyes shut tight, Liu Dashao swung a punch—but to his surprise, it hit nothing.
Then, Liu Dashao heard a heavy thud from below. He opened his eyes and saw the ghost was gone. He quickly leaned over the beam and looked down. His companions were pointing guns at a pitch-black figure lying on the ground, clearly frightened. He exhaled in relief—the ghost had fallen to her death.
Liu Dashao turned angrily to Jia Zhuangyuan, who still looked shaken. Seeing Liu’s furious expression, Jia awkwardly blushed and said, “Dashao… I didn’t know there was something like that hiding up here. But see? I told you—you’re a man of great fortune.”
Before Liu Dashao could reply, Cai Qingchong shouted from below, “Mr. Jia, Dashao—are you two okay? What was that thing that fell down?”
Jia Zhuangyuan quickly shouted down in his distinctive high-pitched voice, “We’re fine! Both of us are perfectly okay. What fell was a Heishi Sha (Black Corpse Spirit), and it was bravely defeated by Comrade Liu Dashao!”
Liu Dashao couldn’t help but feel both annoyed and amused, shaking his still-painful, dizzy head at Jia’s smug grin.
Then, Fan Debiao’s voice came from below, “Grandmaster Jia, you said you found the mechanism—how’s it going?”
Jia Zhuangyuan replied, “I found it, but it’s complicated. I’m now having Dashao help me solve it.”
He turned to Liu Dashao with a serious expression and said, “Kid, I’m going to start solving the mechanism. You keep watch.” Then he turned back and began studying the twelve pearls and grooves forming the celestial pattern.
Liu Dashao gave a helpless smile and, for now, set aside his anger, focusing on how Jia Zhuangyuan would solve this celestial mechanism.
Jia Zhuangyuan’s expression was grave. He stared intently at the grooves and pearls on the wall, fire stick in his left hand, right hand hovering hesitantly in the air. Time passed slowly, and Liu Dashao could see beads of sweat forming on Jia’s neck.
Liu Dashao whispered, “Master, is it difficult?”
Jia Zhuangyuan shook his head slightly and said, “I’m not sure whether the celestial pattern on the wall should exactly match the dome’s.”
Liu Dashao thought for a moment and said, “Master Jia, we don’t have other choices—we can use the dome as a reference.”
Jia Zhuangyuan sighed and slowly moved one of the pearls in the grooves. Liu Dashao glanced upward at the dome and suddenly noticed that the twelve pearls on the celestial chart had changed positions—completely different from before.
He quickly said, “Master Jia! Something’s wrong! Look at the dome—those twelve pearls seem to have moved positions!”
Jia Zhuangyuan was shocked and looked up, stunned. He muttered, “How is this possible? Could this be a constantly changing celestial mechanism array? No wonder I saw nothing when I first came up here, and then suddenly a Heishi Sha appeared.”
Liu Dashao asked anxiously, “Then what do we do?”
Jia Zhuangyuan thought briefly, then suddenly looked up and said, “Dashao, I’ll explain the positions of the twelve constellations, and then you tell me the positions of each star as they appear on the dome. I’ll move them accordingly. If we can keep up with the changes, we can solve the celestial mechanism.”
He pointed at the twelve pearls on the dome and began explaining the celestial positions and names of the constellations. “The ancients divided the ecliptic into twelve sections from west to east to observe and explain the positions and movements of the sun, moon, and five planets. The names of these sections, in order, are: Xingji, Xuanyao, Jianglou, Daliang, Shishen, Chounshou, Chouhuo, Chounwei, Shouxing, Dahuǒ, Ximu. These twelve constellations shift positions depending on the time of day and the season. This celestial mechanism array is based on this principle, combined with mechanical theory. The design of this mechanism requires us to align the wall’s star chart with the dome’s changing positions, synchronizing them. Only then can the mechanism be activated.”
He then began teaching Liu Dashao the sequence of changes in the celestial positions. Fortunately, the star chart was right above Liu Dashao’s head, and after about ten minutes, he finally understood it.
To test Liu Dashao’s memory, Jia Zhuangyuan pointed at the dome and asked him several times about the positions. Seeing that Liu answered correctly, Jia finally exhaled in relief and said, “Your job is to watch the dome and report each star’s position and direction as they change. I’ll operate the wall chart. Remember, even the slightest mistake could lead to failure or danger.”
Liu Dashao nodded and said casually, “No problem, I’ll get it done.” Jia Zhuangyuan nodded seriously, turned to the wall chart, and said, “Begin!”
Liu Dashao’s heart tightened. He focused intently on the dome’s celestial changes and began calling out each star’s position. Jia Zhuangyuan moved the pearls in the grooves quickly and accurately according to Liu’s reports.
Fortunately, the dome’s celestial changes were not too fast. Ten minutes later, Liu Dashao was still reporting the positions, and Jia Zhuangyuan had mostly stopped moving the pearls. But since he hadn’t said stop, Liu kept calling out the changes.
Two minutes later, Jia Zhuangyuan finally said, “Okay. I’ve aligned the wall chart with the dome chart. Now it’s up to fate.”
He turned and stared with Liu Dashao at the dome. The twelve pearls were still slowly moving. Suddenly, Liu Dashao felt nervous—he noticed the pearls were aligning into a straight line.
Jia Zhuangyuan suddenly shouted, “Twelve pearls in a row! I understand now—this is when the mechanism activates!”
He quickly turned to the wall chart and saw that the pearls there were also aligning into a straight line.
Liu Dashao clenched his fists, sweating nervously, staring at the dome, unsure what would happen when the twelve pearls fully aligned.
Finally, under the tense gaze of Liu Dashao and Jia Zhuangyuan, the twelve pearls on both the dome and the wall aligned into a straight line. A heavy “clanking” sound echoed above them. The dome’s celestial chart suddenly split down the middle, slowly opening wider until the entire chart had retracted into the walls, revealing a dark, circular hole in the center.
The clanking sound continued from the hole. Jia Zhuangyuan whispered, “What do you think is inside?”
Liu Dashao shook his head, suddenly gripped by a strong sense of fear—something terrifying was about to emerge from that hole.
Sure enough, a rectangular object slowly descended from the hole. As it fully emerged, Liu Dashao and Jia Zhuangyuan’s faces turned pale—they saw a massive green coffin, tightly bound by four thick black chains.
They watched in stunned silence as the coffin slowly descended past them toward the floor.
Jia Zhuangyuan suddenly slapped Liu Dashao’s shoulder and said, “Let’s get down—we must find out the incredible secret hidden in that coffin.”
Liu Dashao looked at him, puzzled. “What incredible secret?”
Jia Zhuangyuan gave him a mysterious smile but said nothing. He pulled out his crossbow again and said, “Dashao, you go down first. Tell them not to touch the coffin until I get down.”
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