The Queen's chambers were not vast, yet they contained everything necessary, and their luxurious adornments repeatedly stunned the onlookers.

Without exception, the floor of the chamber was paved with baked glazed bricks, each brick the color of amber, alternating between red and yellow. They possessed a uniform, semi-translucent sheen, clearly indicating they were of the highest quality. On both the left and right sides stood elegant, arc-shaped candelabras exuding an aura of immortality. Each held perhaps a dozen small candles, and the candelabras themselves were wrought from pure gold, inlaid with all manner of rare rubies and sapphires. Using the light from the wolf-eye flashlight, Uncle Diao approached and lit the candles one by one with a lighter. The candlelight, reflected and refracted by the glazed bricks, the metalware, and the gems on the candelabras, instantly flooded the entire tomb chamber as if it were midday.

In the sudden light, the group noticed that the surrounding walls were constructed of white marble. Several frescoes still adorned the walls. Anyone with a passing knowledge of history knew that burials for people of high status were typically decorated with murals—it was a quintessential burial custom. However, the imagery depicted in these frescoes exuded a distinctly mysterious aura. Beyond the murals, the surrounding floor was scattered with numerous exquisite burial goods: golden vessels, various jades and jewels, and objects whose function remained unknown. What was certain was that the beauty and rarity of these grave offerings far exceeded everyone’s prior estimations.

At the very center of the chamber was a high platform built of marble, upon which rested a coffin crafted entirely of gold. On the lid of the sarcophagus, a Golden Phoenix with outstretched wings was carved using a specialized technique, accompanied by several coiling dragons. The Phoenix dominated the center, the dragons flanking it, playfully soaring amidst the clouds. From its outward appearance, it was immediately evident that the tomb's occupant held an extraordinary status; the mere presence of those coiled dragons explained everything.

While Young Master Liu hesitated, Fei-fei Wang suddenly cried out, "Heavens, look! There's Chinese script on this mural!"

In a millennium-old tomb in the Western Regions, the appearance of Han characters alongside the local script was indeed a staggering discovery. Young Master Liu hurriedly urged Fei-fei Wang, "Quickly, see what the characters say!"

Fei-fei Wang studied it for a moment, reading aloud word by word: "At night, a great star emerged in the firmament, shaped like a Wudou vessel, flowing toward the northwest, stopping ten zhang above the ground. Above it were streamers, blazing like fire, red and yellow, extending some five zhang long and moving like a serpent. The smaller stars all stirred towards the southeast, falling like rain. After a short while, they vanished, followed by a pale-white vapor, like a thicket of bamboo, shooting upwards to the sky, with a dull, indistinct color." She paused, asking, "What does this passage mean?"

Young Master Liu pondered for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, "From a literal reading, this seems to describe a meteor shower."

Clay Figure Zhang nodded. "It certainly describes a meteor shower, but that part—'a great star emerged in the firmament, shaped like a Wudou vessel, flowing toward the northwest, stopping ten zhang above the ground. Above it were streamers, blazing like fire, red and yellow'—that doesn't sound like a meteor. It sounds much more like a description of..."

"...Some kind of flying apparatus," Uncle Diao’s eyes brightened as he picked up Clay Figure Zhang's thought.

Hearing this, Young Master Liu suddenly had a chilling thought, his voice trembling, "This... how could there be flying apparatuses in ancient times? If there were, wouldn't that be what we call UFOs today?"

The idea of UFOs appearing in antiquity didn't seem entirely impossible, but then Clay Figure Zhang clapped his hands together excitedly. "Exactly! Unidentified Flying Objects. I’ve been wondering why the Great Teacher used insect arts, why he possessed such heaven-defying Daoist magic, enabling him to mobilize a million Yellow Turban followers instantly to resist the once-invincible Han army. Why? Because he received the celestial divine book Taiping Jing from beyond Earth! If that’s true, then... then..." Clay Figure Zhang’s voice began to tremble as he spoke.

"Then what?"

"Then all the perplexing mysteries that neither of us could solve before can be pieced together seamlessly!" Clay Figure Zhang declared.

"After the Yellow Turban Rebellion failed, the true strength of the Yellow Turban army suddenly vanished. And the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao was merely recorded briefly by historians as having died of illness. All of this remains a mystery to this day. But if Zhang Jiao was an extraterrestrial, what do you think... what do you think that implies? Moreover, what we saw earlier at Bodhisattva Mountain was only his cenotaph. If this is true, then... then the occupant of this tomb might very well be Zhang Jiao’s true body!" Clay Figure Zhang’s statement was astounding. Everyone gasped, their mouths opening wide into exaggerated 'O' shapes!

Clay Figure Zhang’s deduction was utterly outlandish, yet, based on the ancient text discovered by Fei-fei Wang, there seemed no more reasonable explanation than the one involving unidentified flying objects. Because of Fei-fei Wang’s discovery, the group reluctantly postponed opening the coffin and instead rushed to the frescoes to examine them closely.

There were not many frescoes in the chamber, only two on the left wall and two on the right. The ancient text read by Fei-fei Wang belonged to the first fresco. The image in the first fresco matched the text description exactly: dozens of small, burning fireballs descending from the sky. If their guess was correct, it was a meteor shower. The early peoples of the Western Regions were not influenced by Central Plains culture, so while their art was exquisite, it was still somewhat cruder compared to Central Plains painting. Nevertheless, the meteor shower in the sky was immediately recognizable.

Within the meteor shower, a gigantic object, indistinctly visible, shaped like a disk or perhaps a funnel, dominated the scene. Its center was red, emitting a yellow glow around the edges. Below the celestial display, a woman knelt in worship. Her facial features were sketched with only a single stroke, but it was clear she held immense reverence for the red, luminous object.

Looking at the second fresco, it depicted a person floating in the air with arms spread and feet together, a posture not dissimilar to that of Jesus. Below this floating figure, countless people holding swords and blades knelt in supplication. Although the face and features of the airborne figure were not fully outlined, the lines of her clothing suggested she was female. Young Master Liu turned to Clay Figure Zhang. "These people are arranged in an orderly manner; they don't look like ordinary warriors. This formation seems more like an army."

Clay Figure Zhang did not answer Young Master Liu, but nodded slowly, his face ashen. Young Master Liu, unsure why his expression was so grim, signaled Fei-fei Wang with his eyes. She understood and approached, asking, "Clay Figure Zhang, why does your face look so bad? Are you feeling unwell? Perhaps we should take a look."

Clay Figure Zhang hastily waved his hand. "I... I'm fine... Let's look at the next one."

Fei-fei Wang gave Young Master Liu a gesture, signaling she couldn't help further in this matter. Young Master Liu could only nod.

Recalling the recent events, Young Master Liu noted that when Clay Figure Zhang first suggested the tomb’s occupant might not be from Earth, he had been excited and euphoric. Yet, after examining the first two frescoes, his complexion grew increasingly dark. His expression suggested he carried an unspeakable burden he couldn't reveal. Thinking this, Young Master Liu said nothing aloud, but his attention to the frescoes became perfunctory; he casually observed the artwork while discreetly watching Clay Figure Zhang.

The third fresco seemed familiar, as if seen somewhere before, yet he couldn't place it instantly. Fortunately, Fan De-biao reminded him, "Hey, Young Master, isn't this the painting we saw at Bodhisattva Mountain? Why is it here?"

Young Master Liu suddenly understood and laughed. "This painting depicts the exact same subject matter as the one we saw before, but it isn't the same painting. Look, this one is colored—a full-color painting. The one we saw earlier that had us guessing the age was a bas-relief carving, and the dimensions are different. But the fact that the same imagery appears here confirms that the two tombs must be connected, perhaps even sharing the same occupant." After saying this, Young Master Liu turned to glance meaningfully at Clay Figure Zhang and smiled, "Isn't that right, Clay Figure Zhang?"

Clay Figure Zhang ignored him, merely grunting, his face growing even uglier.

Approaching the fourth fresco, Young Master Liu was slightly shocked. The face of the woman in this painting bore a striking resemblance to the one in his dreams. The painting depicted the woman lying on a bed, her gaze vacant, her mouth agape; judging by the scene, she appeared to be dead. Beside the bed stood a man, holding an insect in his hand, which he was placing into the dead woman's mouth. Unlike the first three, this painting was not merely outlined with colored lines; instead, its artistic style was incredibly detailed, its gloss rich and full, looking as if it had just been finished.

Young Master Liu froze for a moment, involuntarily stepping back, and cried out, "This... this woman is clearly dead, and this man is feeding her an insect? And this woman looks exactly like the one in my dream wearing a Daoist robe! Could my dream actually be connected to this mausoleum?"

At Young Master Liu's prompting, Fan De-biao’s face also changed color. Clay Figure Zhang reacted even more dramatically; his legs gave way, and with a thud, he collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness. This made Young Master Liu even more certain that Clay Figure Zhang was concealing something significant from them.

Fei-fei Wang hurriedly knelt down, reaching out to pinch the philtrum of Clay Figure Zhang’s nose. After a long moment, he stirred awake. Seeing everyone staring at him, he managed an awkward smile, stood up, dusted himself off, and muttered self-deprecatingly, "I don't know what happened; I just felt dizzy and fell."

"Clay Figure Zhang—" Young Master Liu called out suddenly.

"Ah—what... what is it?"

"Are you hiding something from us?"

"N-no, why would I be hiding anything? Ha ha, no."

Fan De-biao grabbed the collar of Clay Figure Zhang’s coat. "You, Ge! Don't you know the government's policy: confess and be lenient, resist and be severe? I’ve disliked you for a long time. You better explain yourself now, or else when we find out, hmph..."

Clay Figure Zhang immediately lowered his head, falling silent. Young Master Liu was secretly delighted; Fan De-biao’s rough tactic had unexpectedly hit the mark.

After a long silence, Clay Figure Zhang finally spoke. "Mr. Liu, Mr. Diao, Brother Fan, Miss Wang, I have a request for all of you. I know Mr. Liu is a man of strict principle. Alas, this matter... this matter... even if you refuse, I won't blame you."

Young Master Liu thought to himself that Clay Figure Zhang was indeed hiding something, but he couldn't guess what. If he didn't state it, how could he agree in advance? He replied, "Fine, tell us what it is. If it’s reasonable, we will all agree."

Clay Figure Zhang slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone before he spoke. "I intend to open the coffin shortly; I hope you will not stop me."

"Open the coffin? Isn't that why we came here?"

"No, I need to take one item. This item is crucially important to me."

"Take something? What?" The tomb robbers behind Uncle Diao all jumped out. "Absolutely not! This treasure was earned with our lives; why should you just take something?"

"I understand that... but, alas, destiny has decreed it; I have nothing more to say." Clay Figure Zhang extended his hand towards Fei-fei Wang. "Miss Wang, do you have a syringe in your medical kit?"

Fei-fei Wang cautiously backed away a step, asking, "What do you need a syringe for?"

Clay Figure Zhang said, "I heard that if you inject air into a vein, the air bubbles form in the vessel, stopping blood circulation to the heart, causing instantaneous death within seconds. Is that right?"

Fei-fei Wang nodded, smiling faintly. "Yes, I didn't realize you knew a bit of medical knowledge." Then, Fei-fei Wang seemed to sense something was deeply wrong, backing away further, her voice trembling. "What... what do you intend to do with the syringe?"

Clay Figure Zhang's face was pale, and he offered a bitter smile. "If I can't get that item, I have no path but death. I might as well die here." Saying this, he turned to Young Master Liu. "Mr. Liu, I know you are upright. I have a hidden compartment in my bag containing all my notes on these two Taiping Jing volumes from the past few years. After I die, if you manage to leave this ancient tomb, please take them with you. Consider it a gift to you."

Young Master Liu was unperturbed and tried to reassure him. "Clay Figure Zhang, are you sick? Let me examine you. Even if we lack medicine and personnel here, I believe I can save your life without major issue."

Fei-fei Wang added, "Yes, Clay Figure Zhang, why don't you trust us?"

"I trust you, Mr. Liu. You are the sole direct heir of Celestial Master Zhang, and I know your medical skills are superb. But for someone like me... there's nothing you can do. My only hope is to retrieve the thing I need. That way, I might still be saved. Although I know this request is excessive, I have no choice!"

"Why? You should at least tell us the reason. If you don't give a reason, how can we let you take anything?"

"Very well. Since you insist on a reason, I will explain briefly." Clay Figure Zhang spoke, then reached out to Fan De-biao. "Captain Fan, give me a cigarette."

"Huh... Ge, you smoke?" Fan De-biao asked, handing him a cigarette.

Clay Figure Zhang smiled bitterly. "When one is about to die, one might as well have a smoke." He lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and then coughed uncontrollably for a long moment before recovering. He slowly began to speak. "During the Jianning era of Emperor Ling of Han, pestilence was widespread. The 'Great Teacher' Zhang Jiao received a celestial book from beyond the borders and traveled to Jizhou, an area severely affected by the plague, where he began proselytizing under the guise of healing the sick. Legend says Zhang Jiao healed people only with magic and incantations. Many sick commoners, after drinking his talisman water, recovered without medicine and were revered by the people as living immortals. Zhang Jiao also dispatched eight emissaries to spread the teachings. Consequently, his followers grew, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, spanning the eight great provinces of Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang, Yan, and Yu—nearly three-quarters of the entire nation at that time. Many people sold their property to follow Zhang Jiao, traveling thousands of miles, crowding the roads; it is rumored that over ten thousand people died merely from being trampled."

"By the Xiping era of Emperor Ling of Han, Zhang Jiao, based on extensive recruitment of students, training of disciples, and gathering of followers, founded the Way of Supreme Peace (Taiping Dao). Soon after, the Way of Supreme Peace followers grew to hundreds of thousands. Zhang Jiao organized them into thirty-six Fang (directions/groups), large ones with over ten thousand members, small ones with six or seven thousand. Zhang Jiao called on the peasants to rise up and overthrow the Eastern Han regime, shouting the slogan, 'The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise; in the Jiazi year, the world will be greatly auspicious.' He set the date for the uprising for the early Zhongping period of Emperor Ling and actively planned the revolt. When the uprising erupted, Zhang Jiao, as the leader of the Way of Supreme Peace, commanded the main force of the Yellow Turbans in Jizhou, calling himself the 'General of Heavenly Virtue.' They burned government offices and plundered settlements; prefectures and counties lost control, and officials mostly fled. Within ten days, the entire realm responded, and the capital was shaken. The Yellow Turban armies battled the Eastern Han imperial forces in the regions of Hebei, Yingchuan, Wancheng, and Yanzhou. Due to various factors, these three contingents fought separately and were defeated one after another. But what remains inexplicable is that as the Yellow Turban Rebellion was crushed, Zhang Jiao and his inner circle of Yellow Turbans vanished without a trace. Think about it: where does the concept of a million followers disappearing into the long river of history leave us?"

Young Master Liu nodded. "Indeed, the disappearance of the Yellow Turban army has been a long-standing enigma. But I imagine part of it was starvation and freezing, and the other part was the nationwide systematic annihilation, which is why the main Yellow Turban forces vanished, leaving behind only scattered bandits."

Clay Figure Zhang let out a dry laugh. "Annihilation? Do you believe the Eastern Han army could truly withstand the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao's 'Touch' Army? These are all speculations, completely baseless. History is history; however it unfolded, it cannot be changed. Anything without evidence is fabrication—an excuse those so-called historians made for themselves."

"Then do you have evidence?"

"Yes, I found proof of their existence in another place."

"Where?"

"Right here, the Golden Ancient City!"

A flash of thought crossed Young Master Liu’s mind, and he blurted out, "You mean the Golden Ancient City is..."

"Correct. The Golden Ancient City. After the rebellion failed, Zhang Jiao did not die but led his large body of followers to wander into the Western Regions." Clay Figure Zhang breathed a long sigh here, as if finally expelling a burden carried in his chest for many years. His expression appeared considerably relaxed. After a moment, he tossed the cigarette butt onto the ground and forcefully ground it out with his foot. He continued, "Not only the Golden Ancient City, but even the initial definitions of all current Buddhist, Daoist, and Islamic faiths originated from those three celestial books!"

Clay Figure Zhang’s assertion was astonishing, and everyone instinctively gasped in unison.

Young Master Liu carefully scrutinized Clay Figure Zhang's words, trying to gauge how much truth they held. After thinking for a long time, he finally asked, "That's not right, Clay Figure Zhang. The people of the Western Regions dominated the northern desert; how could they have such a close connection with the Yellow Turban army? Are you mistaken?"

"Even if the citizens of the Golden Ancient City are descendants of Zhang Jiao's army, what does that have to do with the unidentified flying objects in these frescoes? Furthermore, it hasn't even been confirmed if civilizations exist outside of Earth, let alone in ancient times?"

Clay Figure Zhang smiled. "Humanity has only developed for a few million years, yet we have already soared into space and landed on the moon. Keep in mind that the Earth has existed for billions of years, and the universe formed hundreds of billions of years before that. Civilizations beyond Earth are possible. Many historical records attest to this, including the most authoritative Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), which documents sightings of UFOs as early as the Xia Dynasty."

"But what is the connection between UFOs, aliens, and the Yellow Turban Rebellion?"

"Didn't I already say it? Zhang Jiao's three celestial books came from an extraterrestrial civilization, and the occupant of this tomb is very likely Zhang Jiao’s true body. This Zhang Jiao not only commanded the entire Yellow Turban army but also mastered all the celestial texts, as demonstrated by the frescoes at Bodhisattva Mountain. That alien who came to Earth not only helped Zhang Jiao build a powerful army but also taught him an insect art. This insect art has incredibly wide applications: it can control vast numbers of 'touch' creatures to serve him, and it can also reveal the secret of longevity. I don't know why the Yellow Turban Rebellion, despite having so many preconditions, ultimately failed, but I can say that the Great Teacher was completely at odds with history. Zhang Jiao was definitely a woman; the frescoes in both locations prove this. Also, I can hypothesize that 'Golden' and 'Yellow Turban' are merely misunderstood homophones. The true place name here should be the Yellow Turban Ancient City. The Yellow Turban Queen lying here is none other than the Great Teacher—Zhang Jiao!"

After Clay Figure Zhang's lengthy explanation, Young Master Liu faintly began to realize that the occupant of the Phoenix Coffin might indeed be Zhang Jiao, and Zhang Jiao might very well have been female. He then asked, "Even if Zhang Jiao lies in this Phoenix Coffin, what does that have to do with you asking Fei-fei Wang for a syringe to commit suicide?"

The aged face of Clay Man Zhang instantly drained of color. His mouth opened, as if words were struggling to emerge, and only after a long pause did he stammer out, "You have seen my face and hair. It is precisely because I tried to cultivate those two Heavenly Tomes that I have become neither human nor ghost. Moreover, these past few days I've discovered that I am still aging without end. Look!"

Saying this, Clay Man Zhang extended his hand. "In just three short days, three more age spots have appeared on my hand!"

Young Master Liu looked closely and indeed saw that Clay Man Zhang's once vigorous hand was now slowly turning withered, like that of a solitary, forlorn old man. "You mean...?"

"Only the item inside the sarcophagus can deliver me from this nightmare and allow me to live normally again. This is the reason I risked my life to come here. I want nothing now except to be an ordinary person."

"Very well. I have said what I needed to say. The rest is up to you to decide."

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