The group circled the stone wall once more, finding nothing further. They searched other areas as well, yielding the same result. Eventually, everyone gathered back near the grave mound, exchanging glances with Ma Xiong, all pondering their next move.

Lu Zong spoke up, "Ma Xiong, everyone, stop racking your brains. I say we should just dig up this grave now. Who cares if it holds a fox or some Xuan Yin Zi inside? They’ve been dead so long, at worst it’s just a walking corpse (zongzi). What can they possibly do to us?"

Ma Xiong waved a hand, cutting Lu Zong off. "Forget it. To tell the truth, you’re still hoping for something inside, aren't you? Fine, we’ll do as you say. Let’s dig this grave first and see what’s in there."

Seeing that no one else objected, Ma Xiong signaled the men with shovels to begin excavating the mound.

The earth was stubbornly hard. It took the combined might of the group a massive effort to finally reach the coffin buried within. The coffin appeared utterly unremarkable, devoid of any special features. Ma Xiong gestured for everyone to stand back, then descended into the pit with Lu Zong, preparing to open the container. Ma Xiong took out a hammer and pried out all the nails holding the lid. Then, he and Lu Zong jammed the tips of their shovels into the seam of the lid and heaved, popping the coffin lid open with a sudden crack!

As soon as the lid was open, Ma Xiong and Lu Zong immediately retreated a few steps. After a moment, seeing no movement from within, they motioned for the others to draw closer. Ma Xiong raised his flashlight, aiming its beam inside.

The sight made them all gasp in shock! Surprisingly, there was no corpse inside the coffin, only an inscription carved onto the wood. Fatty walked forward, reading the inscription aloud: “Jiao, Kang, Ji, Wei, Xin, Shi, Fang—Seven stars align. Recreating the primordial spirit, born without earth. Though the flesh perishes, the heart does not die; after a thousand years, destiny resumes.”

After reciting the passage, Fatty turned to the group. "It’s a poem, but I don't know what it means. The title is Sheng (Life). Does it refer to the cycle of life and death, or something else?"

The others shook their heads, equally perplexed by the verses. Ma Xiong sensed something profound hidden within the poem and lowered his head to contemplate. The first line—seven characters—represented seven constellations, all belonging to the Eastern Azure Dragon. Did this point East? What about the second line: Recreating the primordial spirit, born without earth? Taken literally, the meaning was too veiled, too difficult to decipher. The last two lines seemed to suggest that someone had died physically, but their spirit had lingered for a millennium. Yet, the final three characters—destiny resumes—what did that signify?

Ma Xiong was suddenly overcome by a gnawing hunger and couldn't grasp the meaning any further. He felt too drained to pursue it further. Just as he was about to suggest they stop for food, Lu Zong interjected from the side, "In this spooky coffin, there isn't a single treasure? Just some stupid poem! What a waste of Ma Xiong's energy. Damn it! Sheng? We’re about to die ourselves!"

Hearing Lu Zong’s outburst, an idea suddenly struck Ma Xiong. If the poem was titled Sheng (Life), could it possibly be a guide on how to escape from the Savage Ghost Palace alive?

With this thought, Ma Xiong explained his idea to the group. Fatty pondered for a moment, then said, "This might actually be a possibility. If that’s the case, we might find the clues to our escape within this poem!"

Ma Xiong agreed. "Right. Even if we can’t escape the entire Ghost Palace, we must at least get out of this structure. Once we’re out of the palace, everything else will be easier."

Lu Zong grumbled, "That’s easy to say, but can we even understand what this poem is saying?"

"How will we know if we don't try?" Ma Xiong replied. "We have no other options right now, so we might as well study this poem carefully." With that, Ma Xiong sat down right there, taking out food while poring over the text.

Fatty began analyzing, "The first line refers to the seven Eastern Constellations. Among them, Jiao (Horn) signifies the Flood Dragon, mostly fierce; Kang (Neck) signifies the True Dragon, mostly auspicious; Ji (Sieve) signifies the Leopard, mostly fierce; Wei (Tail) signifies the Tiger, mostly fierce; Xin (Heart) signifies the Fox, mostly fierce; Shi (Government) signifies the Badger, mostly auspicious; and Fang (Chamber) signifies the Rabbit, mostly fierce. Out of these seven Eastern Stars, only when Kang and Shi are presiding is the omen considered auspicious. Looking at the poem, Kang is the second character and Shi is the second-to-last. Since the head and tail are fierce, their situation looks precarious."

Ma Xiong countered, "Kang represents the Dragon’s neck, part of the Eastern Azure Dragon; Shi represents the Dragon’s chest—the Dragon's two vital points. The poem regarding the Kang star states: ‘The star of Kang holds things worth seeking; matters of marriage and sacrifice are rooted here. Burials conducted here will yield noble officials; opening the gate and releasing the water brings forth dukes and marquises.’ The phrase ‘opening the gate and releasing the water’ hints at something they could have done earlier: if they had managed to open that gate in the main hall and exited through the waterway outside the palace, it would likely have brought great fortune. Of course, this is just speculation. The large pool outside the gate has a giant crocodile, so it might not be auspicious after all. However, the last three characters of the second line are without earth born—in the Five Elements, Earth controls Water. Without earth implies the presence of Water. This seems to suggest that escaping via water is the way out."

The Company Commander noted, "That makes some sense, but it still feels a bit forced."

Lu Zong scoffed, "Too forced! Hua Niao, you have no idea. You haven’t seen that crocodile. That brute is over ten meters long! It smashed down part of the structure with its body. They didn't know at first and thought it was a flood dragon!"

Ma Xiong ignored Lu Zong and continued, "In short, the first line, indicating the Eastern rising constellations, should mean the East is the Gate of Life."

Saying this, Ma Xiong borrowed a compass from the Company Commander and walked toward the eastern wall of the room. The others followed. Ma Xiong reached the wall, running his hand along the stone, and explained to the group, "There's a type of wall with a mechanism hidden inside, and the position of that mechanism corresponds to different parts of the human body. The East represents the Azure Dragon. Their family manual states that a person of the Azure Dragon lineage is seven chi tall. Seven chi was the measurement before the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which translates to about 1.7 meters now. Kang and Shi correspond to the neck and chest positions, so mapped onto the wall, the location should be…"

Ma Xiong crouched slightly, aligning his position with his own neck and chest to pinpoint the vertical location on the wall. He tapped that spot, finding nothing unusual, and proceeded to tap the entire length of the eastern stone wall. Seeing this, the others followed suit, tapping the wall. Soon, Fatty shouted to them, "Look, the sound here seems different from the other places!"

Hearing this, they all crowded over. Lu Zong raised his fist and knocked on the spot Fatty indicated, then knocked elsewhere. The group realized the sounds were indeed different! Seeing this, Ma Xiong immediately urged Lu Zong to dig there with his shovel.

Lu Zong took out his shovel and struck a few powerful blows. Immediately, he discovered the interior was indeed hollow! Once Lu Zong had completely dug through the outer layer of the wall, everyone saw that buried inside was a knob! This type of knob was common in mechanisms, used to open certain passages.

Fatty cried out in delight, "We found it! It’s a switch!"

Lu Zong grinned smugly, "Heh heh, it seems the wisdom of the people is boundless. We have a way out!"

Ma Xiong smiled and mimicked Lu Zong’s earlier tone: "Who was it earlier saying, ‘In this spooky coffin, there isn't a single treasure? Just some stupid poem! What a waste of Ma Xiong's energy. Damn it! Sheng? We’re about to die ourselves!’?"

Lu Zong shot back, "Go to hell, Ma Xiong! One sentence from you brought out a whole string of nonsense from me. Can’t you just save your breath? We still have to get out later. Don't end up like those craftsmen before us, collapsing dead at the entrance of the tomb when we were one step from escape—that would be because of the words you just spoke!"

Ma Xiong waved his hand. "Alright, alright, I won't say any more. Please, Leader Zhang, hurry and turn the mechanism to save us all."

Lu Zong then looked smug and chuckled, "That’s better. Everyone pay attention, Ma Xiong is opening the door!"

With that, Lu Zong tested which way the knob needed to turn. Then, summoning all his strength, he twisted the knob a full rotation.

Accompanied by a deep, rumbling groan, a doorway slowly opened in the southeast corner of the room on the floor. Ma Xiong held up his flashlight and led the group toward the opening on the ground. He peered down and saw a staircase leading below. The stairs turned, so his light couldn't reach the bottom, leaving them unsure of what lay beneath. Naturally, everyone assumed this was the Gate of Life, and they were eager to descend immediately.

Ma Xiong quickly stopped them, saying, "Everyone calm down first; let’s be cautious."

Fatty nodded in agreement. "That’s right. Looking at this year's star positions, the southeast is auspicious, but it's also half-fierce, half-lucky. Since the door opened in the southeast corner of the room, even if it is a Gate of Life, it probably won't be an easy path."

Hearing Ma Xiong and Fatty, the excitement subsided, and everyone began to descend the steps cautiously. The staircase made three turns, but unlike the previous ones that had thirty-three steps, this one had exactly eighteen steps! This reminded Ma Xiong of the legendary eighteen levels of Hell, causing a fresh wave of worry. Was this truly the Gate of Life, or was it leading them to death, with its eighteen steps?

They used their flashlights to probe cautiously ahead. It was a narrow, long passage. The air all around was intensely cold, with a slight dampness. After walking for a while, they all stepped into water. The water had a faint, fishy smell. Ma Xiong feared it was the water from the large pool outside the palace. Although the poem suggested escaping via water, the pool housed an Imperial Crocodile, meaning they could face extreme danger if they had to exit through the pool.

Lu Zong, leading the way with water up to his knees, warned the group, "Everyone be careful. If we have to exit into the pool, we'll all have to fight our way to the shore. That pool didn't look too wide earlier; we should reach land quickly. If we manage to avoid the crocodile, we’ll be out!"

Fatty, frightened by Lu Zong's words, clutched Ma Xiong’s collar and asked, "Brother Ouyang, is that… is that crocodile really over ten meters long? If we run into it when we get out, we’re done for!"

Ma Xiong patted Fatty’s shoulder reassuringly. "You don't need to worry too much. When that crocodile chased them earlier, it pursued them to the city wall. When they climbed up, it waited below. Crocodiles are creatures of immense patience. I suspect it's still waiting there, or at the very least, it won't return to the pool quickly—it's a long crawl from the city wall to the water. Furthermore, there's a pile of bones by the water's edge; that beast probably isn't short on food. If it comes down to it, we still have the wolf-eye flashlights to blind it for a moment."

For more novels, visit storyread.net.