For he saw that in the final picture, the fabricated person was grinning widely while holding four heart-like objects in his hand. Four corpses lay on the ground, and the coffin lid had already been thrown open.

What could this possibly mean? Ma Xiong pondered. Was it suggesting that he and his three companions were about to have their hearts ripped out by this thing? A genuine fear gripped him; if that were the case, his future would be worse than death. He scrutinized the image again and noticed another picture, seemingly parallel to the first one. After studying it for a moment, he saw that the four people were restraining the shadowy figure, which had now resolved into a figure outlined by mere sightlines—it seemed to have materialized. However, no matter how Ma Xiong looked at it, it didn't resemble a human; it looked like something neither animal nor man. But what exactly it was, he couldn't articulate, knowing he had never encountered such a thing before.

He stood there foolishly for a moment, then turned to Elder Qian and asked, "Elder Qian, what on earth do these two pictures mean? One suggests we are killed by him, and the other suggests we capture the shadow. What is the meaning?"

Elder Qian said sternly, "The problem is simple: either we capture that thing, or that thing butchers us. I suggest we all be cautious. On one hand, we guard against the black shadow; on the other, we look for Lu Zong. In short, everyone must proceed with extreme caution now, or I cannot guarantee anyone's safety."

Just as the words fell, a voice suddenly echoed from within the coffin: "Hey, Ma Xiong, hurry and save me! I'm trapped in here and can't get out. Hurry up and save me!"

Ma Xiong's nerves instantly tightened, and his gaze anxiously focused on the coffin. After staring for a long time, he fumbled around the surroundings and nervously asked Elder Qian, "Hey, Elder Qian, did you just hear a voice calling me to save him? It sounded like Lu Zong's voice."

Elder Qian nodded, "Yes, yes, I definitely heard it, and it came directly from inside that coffin. Could it be that Lu Zong is really in this coffin?"

Elder Qian shook his head in confusion, saying he didn't know; these few pictures had completely baffled him, and he had no clue what kind of entity this was, so he could only shake his head.

If it wasn't Lu Zong inside, then why would Lu Zong's voice be coming from there? In his haste, Ma Xiong forgot the danger and rushed forward, intending to shove the coffin lid open.

But before he could fully open it—only managing to shift the lid by a few centimeters—he suddenly heard a soft call from a corner of the room: "Ma Xiong, is that you? It's Lu Zong."

Hearing Lu Zong's voice again, he shuddered. The hands holding the half-open coffin froze instantly, fearing he might encounter some dangerous entity. Yet, what had just happened was incredibly bizarre: he distinctly heard Lu Zong's voice from inside the coffin, and now, Lu Zong's voice was coming from outside. He couldn't discern which sound was real, so he dared not rashly open the coffin, simply standing there blankly, hoping to hear Lu Zong's voice again.

But after a long silence, Ma Xiong slowly grew disappointed. He looked at Elder Qian, seeking guidance. Elder Qian let out a sharp breath, then declared decisively, "Open the coffin. I don't care what it is. I want to see whether Lu Zong or a Zongzi [jiangshi] is inside. If it's a Zongzi, I've never seen one clever enough to imitate human speech."

"Then I will open this stone coffin right now!" Ma Xiong said, stepping forward to open the sarcophagus.

"Wait!" Ge Mei stopped Ma Xiong. "First, check the stone coffin for hidden mechanisms!"

Hearing Ge Mei, Ma Xiong immediately halted, inwardly ashamed of his own carelessness once again.

Ge Mei carefully circled the sarcophagus, inspecting every inch of it top to bottom. After confirming there were no hidden weapons, she told the others, "No problem, let's open the stone coffin!"

So, Ma Xiong immediately stepped forward and, together with Elder Qian, pushed open the lid of the smaller stone coffin. Simultaneously, Ge Mei cautiously opened the other small stone coffin on her side.

As the lids were moved away, Ge Mei, Elder Qian, and Ma Xiong clearly saw what was inside: a female corpse, dressed in plain white garments, curiously positioned face down inside the coffin, not the Lu Zong they had imagined. This sight made Elder Qian let out a heavy sigh of relief. It seemed Lu Zong wasn't inside; if it had been Lu Zong, he wouldn't have stood a chance of survival, as the Yin energy inside was too dense, and staying there long enough would surely cause suffocation. He hadn't dared tell Ma Xiong earlier out of fear for his distress.

"Ge Mei, how is yours?" Elder Qian asked.

"It's a female corpse in plain white clothing, lying face down in the coffin! There's another smaller coffin next to the female corpse," Ge Mei replied.

Hearing this, Elder Qian looked surprised. Xu Ma Xiong, standing nearby, also stepped closer to examine the body in the coffin and the one beside it.

"What do we do, Elder Qian? The body inside isn't Lu Zong's?" Ma Xiong asked, clearly feeling a bit lost in the face of such strangeness.

Elder Qian stared at the small stone coffin in the center, pondered for a moment, and then spoke, "Open it!"

Ma Xiong then moved to the stone coffin and forcefully pushed the lid open. A faint fragrance immediately emanated from the interior, identical to the scent they had smelled at the doorway earlier. Inside was yet another female corpse, lying face down. The only difference was that this corpse was not wearing plain robes, but a Phoenix Robe!

Ma Xiong stared at the female corpse inside with even greater astonishment. Three corpses lying face down in their coffins, and one was actually wearing a Phoenix Robe—what in the world was happening?

Elder Qian noticed Ma Xiong's unusual reaction and asked softly, "What is it, Ma Xiong?"

Ma Xiong paused in thought before speaking, "I don't think this tomb chamber is that simple, especially these three stone coffins. Normally, people are placed flat on their backs when interred. But these three bodies, as everyone has seen, are lying face down in the sarcophagi. What kind of burial rite is this? Was this done intentionally by someone? Furthermore, the Phoenix Robe worn by the female corpse—only an Empress or Empress Dowager could wear it. In the rigidly hierarchical Han Dynasty, unauthorized wear of the Phoenix Robe was punishable by the extermination of nine generations of the clan. Therefore, it's certain the female corpse in the stone coffin is either an Empress or an Empress Dowager. But who would dare bury an Empress or Empress Dowager in a coffin like this? That's tantamount to plotting against the Emperor himself! Everything here is too perplexing!"

Everyone fell silent after hearing Ma Xiong's words; even Elder Qian could not fathom the mystery. The atmosphere instantly turned terrifying.

"That's enough. If we can't figure it out, let's put it aside. Our main objective is to find Lu Zong!" Elder Qian said to break the silence.

"Yes, let's quickly find the passage to the other chambers and leave this bizarre place!" Ge Mei added.

Then, everyone looked and indeed discovered a painting hanging on the wall.

The four approached the painting to investigate closely. This painting was not rendered on the wall itself but painted on a piece of silk fabric and hung upon the wall.

The portrait depicted a middle-aged man wearing a Dragon Robe and an imperial crown. The man had a precious sword hanging at his waist, his left hand gripping the hilt tightly, as if he might draw the blade at any moment. His eyes gazed into the distance, his entire presence radiating an overbearing aura of imperial might. In the lower right corner of the portrait were a few lines of strange script, identical to the characters carved on the stone door.

"Elder Qian, do you know the identity of this person?" Ma Xiong asked.

"How would I know who is painted here? But this person feels so familiar, as if I've seen him somewhere before," Elder Qian muttered to himself.

Hearing that Elder Qian felt he had seen this person somewhere, Ma Xiong turned his gaze back to the painting, admiring this figure who struck Elder Qian as familiar.

Suddenly, Ma Xiong was startled to notice that the eyes of the man in the painting had actually moved, and he had glared fiercely at him.

"A ghost!" Ma Xiong cried out in terror.

"What is it, Ma Xiong?!" Ge Mei exclaimed, startled by his sudden shout.

"A ghost... this painting... it moved... the man's eyes moved!" Ma Xiong stammered.

Upon hearing this, everyone focused their eyes on the man's eyes. They saw the figure’s gaze, deep and sharp, staring into the distance. "Ma Xiong, I think your eyes are playing tricks on you! It's just a painting; how could the figure move? You must be overtired from these past few days, overly tense," Elder Qian said.

He Ma Xiong turned his gaze back to Han Wu's eyes, and indeed, the painting looked the same as before, showing no difference.

"But I clearly saw the eyes of the man in the painting move, and he looked at me! Could I really be seeing things?" Ma Xiong wondered in confusion.

Ma Xiong suddenly shouted.

"What do you understand?" Elder Qian asked, startled.

"I know who the woman in the Phoenix Robe in the stone coffin is!" Ma Xiong declared. "She's a demon, a fox spirit!"

"A fox spirit?" Elder Qian and Ge Mei exchanged bewildered glances. They wondered if Ma Xiong had recently become consumed by lust, and upon arriving at this place and seeing the three unclothed corpses, his desires had run wild, leading to baseless fantasies. Thinking this, Elder Qian and Ge Mei shared a look and suppressed smiles.

Seeing that they didn't believe him, Ma Xiong felt compelled to argue, "I think this person must be a fox spirit, look quickly..."

With that, he walked up to the corpse. Despite the passage of many years, it had not decayed, and the sight of the unclothed body was certainly suggestive. However, now, in order to prove his point, he disregarded his own decorum. His hand reached toward the female corpse.

He gently lifted the clothing beneath the female corpse, held his breath, and then witnessed a scene so shocking that Ge Mei let out a terrified shriek.