Hei Xiazi
"Let's have a look at this first." Xiao Hua suggested as he illuminate the table that interested him most and Xiazi comply, following him to see what was there.
"Look at this... by the shape and dimension, this should be an ancient scalpel." Xiazi said quite proud of his knowledge in anatomy, but to his disappointment, Xiao Hua was not impressed at all not even curious into asking at least how he knew about a scalpel.
"Master Hua... aren't you curious of how I know this?" Xiazi asked, but was once again been ignored by Xiao Hua, who keep on looking at the remaining things on the table.
"You are not mad at me right? You promise not to ignore, just a minute ago, remember?" Xiazi insisted and Xiao Hua turned to look at him seriously.
"I never promise to listen to every little thing you had to say."
"Well, yes, but this is important information."
"How so? Even I can tell that is shaped like a scalpel, what's so impressive about it?"
"Because, I can tell about it with certainty because I have an extensive anatomy knowledge, as well as some medical one and even had a degree on it when I study in Germany." Xiazi said, as he try to impress his man.
"Is it legitimate?" Xiao Hua asked, inflating his balloon in one shoot.
"Of course it is! I can name every single bone on your body, starting with those on your lovely strong hands. Want to test me?" Xiazi asked, but Xiao Hua shook his head.
"No, I will trust you on that and since you had the knowledge, what about those things on the glass cases?" Xiao Hua asked and Xiazi stride toward the border of the table in where some arthropods were placed.
"They look like specimens preserved for who knows what purpose, which is odd on itself not only because it's well preserved, considering the age of this things, but also because specimen's preservation was invented after the Southern Tang period." Xiazi told Xiao Hua, as he examine the crystal cases.
"Indeed... so the Queen Mother cracked the preservation formula centuries ago, that is still a mystery to this day for us?" Xiao Hua asked as he looked down at the specimens.
"Most likely. She was persistent, not to mention smart and well connected... as you can see there." Xiazi illuminate the mural that had cough his attention before and Xiao Hua moved to the wall to have a better look at it.
"Here are a dragon, snake, bird and insects.... All sentient animals that have been found on archaeologist excavations as hybrids jade figures, most like the ones on this painting." Xiao Hua begin the analysis.
"Yep, but remember that in our mythology, both Fu Xi and Nu Wa where half-snakes, half-humans and it was said they lived a very, very long life." Xiazi added.
"So... what she was after was the secret of immortally of those two? That's impossible, they were gods."
"All legends and myths start from some real facts... the painting shows that she experimented on her subjects quite a lot with different results."
"This must be her laboratory."
"Yes, she tested people here... but something seems different from other longevity pills, like the shibi one."
"She had a special ingredient... something that came not from this world..." Xiao Hua whisper seen the painting of what looked like a meteor.
"A meteor, huh? A jade one at that."
"So did she succeeded in creating a real pill that actually worked the way it was supposed to?"
"Don't know, but many of the subjects were poison or have serious side effects by the strange ingredients of this particular green pill. They look like they were in deep pain..." Xiazi said as he illuminate the paintings of the apparent tortured men. Well most of them... there was a particular one that was still standing and he had the tattoo of a Qilin on his left side of his chest, Xiazi notice in surprise.
The painted man didn't seem to have the tattoo before taking the pill, but got it after he did, perhaps as a side effect of whatever that meteor had, or was done by the Queen Mother to either identify the lineage of those who could withstand the poison or to mark them as her loyal. At that point any possibility was possible and he was suspecting that Yaba Zhan's tattoo perhaps was more far more amazing that he had previously imagine.
Zhan Qiling's blood certainly was on a different level, so perhaps, he was a distant descendant of those who were given the pill and endure it, or perhaps it was all a coincidence... well, who he was kidding, such a coincidence did not exists. He knew that Zhang Qiling had lose his memories of the past and seem to had live for at least a century while looking like a twenty something young man. Also his skills sometimes looked inhuman and he was pretty much connected with most of the tombs in the country... like they were meant for him to explore or guard them...
"Are you thinking the same as me?" Xiao Hua voiced and Xiazi nodded.
"Zhang Qiling is either a descendant of that linage or was given the true pill at birth..."
"I have hear stories of him before I met him here and he seems so far beyond common tomb raiders."
"I know him from a few years back, we did some jobs together in the past and he is different form the rest of us, I can assure you that."
"So is he really immortal?" Xiazi asked mostly to himself.
"Maybe not a full immortal, but with a great longevity... a better one than Wenjin at least."
"I think Wu Xie should know this..." Xiao Hua said finally.
"Alright, let's find our way out and join them." Xiazi agree and so they figure the trigger while exploring more carefully, although as they did so, something inside their room was also beginning to take life and move behind their backs.
Wu Xie
"Is this woman really the Queen Mother?" Pan Zi asked as he looked at her.
"Only the Queen is qualify to be sit at the throne. I don't think no one else would dare to usurp her place. She was quite ruthless and I bet she left traps to make sure no one will get her place, like it happen in the Seven Stars Palace." Wu Xie said.
"Perhaps you are right... this woman is quite well preserved, considering the centuries she had been sit there. Thus, did she took the real longevity pill or she was conserved like this with other means? She can't be alive, right?" Pangzi asked as he carefully extended his arm to check if the woman was breathing.
"Idiot she is dead, what were you thinking?" Wu Xie said with a sigh.
"Well, I had to make sure... this should be impossible for a corpse. A sitting position like that for over centuries is quite something..."
"The ancients had the best secrets..." Pan Zi said.
"I don't think this woman is the Queen Mother..." Chen Wenjin said, quite convinced that what she had concluded was somehow right.
"Why?" Pangzi asked.
"Her face... I think she is wearing a mask..." Wenjin answer and they all illuminate the woman to inspect her closer.
"You are right..." Wu Xie conceded and then he looked around, noticing the guards standing at the side of the throne.
"The guard was probably wearing a mask too, but it fell off a long time ago..." Wu Xie whisper.
"Then, if this is not the Queen Mother, who is it?" Mop asked.
"More importantly, if she left behind a replacement, where did she go?" Wu Xie asked.
"Who knows, but I think this one should be her right hand woman. Her most value general that the legend said was her most loyal subject and equally terrifying... Xuan Nv." Pangzi said.
"Most likely... look at that message left on the throne wall. It must be her final words to the Queen Mother. Perhaps something happen to her and she knew she was going to die and make preparations to replace the Queen, giving her freedom to do whatever she wanted, while her enemies think of her as dead, but been in fact be alive and well watching from a distance or going away from this hellish place." Wu Xie summarized.
"You are not a scholar for nothing, Tianzhen." Pangzi teased.
"I'm not a scholar."
"Xiaoge... is he not a scholar? He had talked endlessly about emperors and dynasties for years now, right?" Pangzi asked and Xiaoge assented as he smirked at Wu Xie, who blushed.
"Don't agree with him so easily." Wu Xie protested, but he was pretty much ironed.
"Huh? What's this? A trap?" Pan Zi asked as he looked down, close to the woman in the throne.
"Only one way to know... here we go..."
"Wait, Pangzi!" Wu Xie try to stop him, but too late, as the sound of stone moving, replaced the silence in the tomb and soon enough, back to where the coffin was, there was nothing, but darkness. The worms that shinned red where no longer there.
"At least one good thing in here, finally." Pangzi said with relief.
"Not only one." Xiaoge whisper as he carefully took the pendant made of white jade with carved dragons and gently pull it off Xuan Nv neck, then offer it to Wu Xie, who looked at him both surprised and confused.
"Xiaoge...."
"For security measures... it can save your life." Xiaoge said and Wu Xie was going to take it from Xiaoge's hand when a strong smell hit his nose and he moved his hand away.
"What's the smell?" Wu Xie asked, looking at Xiaoge.
"Ignore it." Xiaoge said as he placed the pendant on Wu Xie's neck anyways.
"Tianzhen, congratulations, now you are officially betrothed. No one said it had to be a ring." Pangzi said and Wu Xie slightly kicked him on his behind.
"Stupid Pangzi... don't go saying nonsense." He whisper, but Wenjin was impatient to find what she was looking for and she was sure it was not in the throne.
"Nothing in here is what I'm looking for..." She whisper as he looked around and saw that the space behind the throne leaded into another chamber and without a warning she dashed toward there.
"Wow. Wait! It's dangerous to go alone..." Pangzi yelled and went after her, as did the rest of the group, meaning, Wu Xie, Xioage, Pan Zi and Mop, as no one else survived the past ordeal.
They fly down the stairs that leaded to what was more a cave than a chamber and as they looked up the low ceiling, they saw a hole with another set of stair in another chamber made of what looked like green stone, perhaps low graded jade.
"This is it. This is the ultimate secret of the Queen Mother. This is my final destination." Wenjin said with excitement.
"What so special about this low graded stone? It's not ultimately uncommon...." Pangzi said.
"This is not impure jade stone... it's a jade meteor, that fell down from space." Wenjin said and Pangzi snorted.
"A room made of space stone... I had seen it all now." Pangzi said.
"Is it really jade?" Mop asked with enthusiasm.
"It's just called like that for the green properties on it, but even if it was, there no way you can take it out. It's freaking huge, you idiot." Pangzi said and just for a moment, Xiaoge head suddenly start to ache and he stagger a step back, which Wu Xie notice instantly, making him put a hand on Xiaoge's back to keep him in balance.
"Xiaoge... are you alright?" Wu Xie asked and as they turned to look at Xiaoge, Wenjin took the opportunity to take some impulse and jump inside the opening, then running inside the meteor without looking back.
"Chen Wenjin!" Wu Xie yelled as soon as he notice her jump in, but with Xiaoge feeling a bit unwell, he didn't go after her, even though Pan Zi and Pangzi try it.
Xiaoge also saw the opportunity to pull Wu Xie a bit away from the rest of their group, back to the beginning of the stairs behind the throne. In the moment he had felt the pain in his head, he knew that nothing good was waiting inside the meteor, but nevertheless, he also needed to go inside it.
However, he was not as unattached to the world as he was before and he had the feeling that something was going to go wrong... very wrong... and of all possibilities he could think off, there were several ones that will hurt Wu Xie far and beyond any physical pain he had endured this far.
"Xiaoge?" Wu Xie asked as he looked at Xiaoge, who was getting a bit paler.
"Wu Xie... I need to go in too." Xiaoge whisper.
"Alright, I will be right behind you, or more like ahead of you... I can pull you up, if you are not feeling too well to climb."
"Wu Xie, none of you will be able to go inside, just Chen Wenjin and I."
"How come? How can you be so sure? We can help each other to climb in, we had done it before."
"Not this time."
"Xiaoge, I'm not letting you inside if I am unable to go as well."
"You don't really had a choice."
"Of course I have it! I can tie you up and..."
"Wu Xie..." Xiaoge whisper as he pulled him close and give him a kiss right on his half open mouth to both, quiet him and give him something for him to remember in case he may not make it back. He knew that was not the best time to kiss Wu Xie like his life depend on it, because he could feel the stares of three more men on his back and perhaps Pangzi was doing more than star if he placed the sudden light and sound right, but he didn't care.
Most of them already knew they were in a romantic relationship and there was nothing more important at that moment that to give Wu Xie a huge piece of his heart if not all and Wu Xie was soon lost in his kiss to even remember they were not exactly alone... by the end of it, both of their hearts were filled with the rush of blood and heat that passion and love usually gifted the body, when unable to contain the emotions.
"Xiaoge..." Wu XIe whisper against his lips, but Qiling wanted for a bit more feelings out of Wu Xie before letting him go for good. He needed to take certain measures and he hoped that at the end they could prove unnecessary... but if the worse came to the worse, then at least he will force it to be the way he needed it to.
"Wu Xie..." Qiling whisper once they separate for air. Wu Xie was all red in the face and out of breath, not to mention his eyes shined darker than usual, as his pupils dilated, by the lack of illumination, as both of them had dropped the flashlights to their feet in their heated kiss, making their surrounding darker, as the light was bellow them.
"What's wrong? Please just tell what's wrong and I will move heaven and earth to fix it..."
"You cant..."
"Xiaoge!"
"Listen... this is something I had to do."
"But you are not the same as Chen Wenjin... You don't have her same problems, you are fine and well and healthy and don't smell like her... this is not you final destination..."
"No, it's not, but I still need to go. I will come back to you as soon as possible, but if I don't..."
"Don't even say it! I will not leave you here in this forsaking place on your own! I will wait for you to come back, even if I have to starve for weeks or eat those shrimps for the rest of my life inside this tomb." At that Xiaoge smiled kindly, his heart so full with Wu Xie's love.
"Don't starve... I will come back... but just in case something unexpected happens, promise me one thing."
"What?" Wu Xie asked immediately.
"You will tell me." Xiaoge whisper.
"Tell you what?" Wu Xie asked again in confusion.
"Just tell me about us... I will want to know..."
"Wait, what? Xiaoge... you are not going to lose..."
"Just promise me Wu Xie that if it comes to the worse, you will tell me." Xiaoge insisted and Wu Xie looked at him in horror, sorrow and deep fear.
"Xiaoge..."
"Promise me, please." Xiaoge stubbornly insisted.
"I promise, but Xiaoge..." The rest of his words were lost in the second kiss Xiaoge give him, this time with more desperation than the first one. Wu Xie was too mess up to push him away and ask for Xiaoge to reconsider entering the meteor and go back home with him, before anything wrong could happen to him. However, Xiaoge knew how to melt Wu Xie in such a way that he could no longer think straight, much less held him to stop him from going where he needed to.
So, when Wu Xie was completely at his mercy, Xiaoge broke the kiss and ran toward the meteor as fast as he could, ignoring Wu Xie's yelling and the others attempts to held him and jumped inside the meteor.
"Xiaoge! Come back! Please come back! Don't do this to me! " Wu Xie yelled and Qiling turned to look at him, perhaps for the last time.
"Take care, you will see me again." Xiaoge whisper to Wu Xie, then turned to walk up the stairs and out sight, hoping that what he just said to Wu Xie will come true and that his promise will end up been not needed when he come back to Wu Xie, this time to share a life with him. If not... well, he hoped this was not his end, because just like Wenjin was sure this was her final destination, Zhang Qiling was sure his final destination was not there at all.
His life so far had been made like an endless circle that only Wu Xie could break and if he were to have an end, he was sure it will be by his side, fated or not.
AN: Thanks for reading, I hope this give less a heartbreak, because now Wu Xie will be forced to tell Xiaoge about their relationship and had better chances to regain back a bit of what they had. See you next time. 🥰💖💖