The rectangular plaza was wide side-to-side but narrow front-to-back, littered everywhere with the debris of collapsed structures. Near the side of the arcade, two shorter trees stood, though they were now withered. At the far end, towering over everything, was a spire building nearly twenty meters high.

Behind this immense spire, shadows piled upon shadows, suggesting it was connected to an astonishingly vast complex of buildings.

and I were concealed within the canopy, giving us an unobstructed view of the scene below.

Not far beneath us lay the two collapsed stone walls that formed the palace corridor, stretching left and right into boundless darkness.

On the far side, the corridor had given way to a massive breach, leading out onto a rectangular plaza roughly the size of half a football field.

This rectangular plaza was wide side-to-side but narrow front-to-back, littered everywhere with the debris of collapsed structures. Near the side of the arcade, two shorter trees stood, though they were now withered. At the far end, towering over everything, was a spire building nearly twenty meters high.

Behind this immense spire, shadows piled upon shadows, suggesting it was connected to an astonishingly vast complex of buildings.

Grandpa and his group—about thirty people—were currently busy before that ancient door.

A significant number of them were using tools like shovels and pickaxes, digging at something beneath the bronze gate, while Grandpa and Da Xiong watched from a distance, seemingly discussing something privately.

At that moment, * nudged me and pointed in a direction, saying, "Look over there. I don't think your grandpa and the others have only been at this for a day or two."

Following the direction * indicated, I saw two piles of excavated dirt, nearly waist-high, stacked beside the bronze gate—clearly the result of their digging efforts in recent days.

commented beside me, "And look at the lower right corner of that stone door; there's an indentation. I suspect they tried using explosives there. That gouge looks to be at least half a meter deep, yet the rest of the stone door is completely free of cracks. I’d guess the door is at least two or three meters thick, which is probably why your grandpa realized explosives wouldn't work and decided to dig underneath instead."

I nodded, thinking that even if Grandpa’s group had enough explosives, excessive use could cause the entire spire building to collapse, damaging whatever lay inside.

As I was pondering this, I noticed the beam of a flashlight from the other side of the corridor growing closer, now only about ten meters from the large tree where we were hidden.

Then, those scattered flashlight beams abruptly extinguished, clearly indicating that the newcomers had spotted Grandpa’s lights and knew others were present.

I focused intently on the direction where the flashlights vanished, estimating their speed of approach. Sure enough, in less than a minute, fifteen or sixteen dark figures materialized beneath the trees.

They moved with extreme caution, hunched over as they approached the tree base. Most immediately found cover once they saw the light spilling from the stone wall, but one person cautiously peered through the breach in the wall.

That individual watched for about ten seconds before turning back and signaling to the group in hiding.

I saw him press his palm downwards, likely signaling everyone to hold their positions for now; it seemed they were an organized unit.

Everyone obeyed the man’s command and dropped low, but he himself scanned left and right before finally fixing his gaze upon the tree where we were concealed.

A jolt of alarm shot through me, and I whispered to *, "Damn it, that guy seems to have his eye on our prime spot too!"

quietly racked the bolt of his rifle and told me, "Don't worry. If he tries to climb up, one wrong move and he gets a taste of lead."

I hastily interjected, "Don't be impulsive! What if it’s someone we know?"

Just as I spoke, the unexpected happened. The man glanced up at our tree twice, then with a sudden surge, leaped upward with a whoosh, clearing five or six meters, and shot up to a point somewhere directly above our heads.

The tree canopy swayed faintly as the figure settled onto it.

To prevent a cry from escaping, * and I clamped our hands over each other’s mouths, every hair on our bodies instantly standing on end, cold sweat trickling down our cheeks.

I cursed inwardly, “This son of a bitch must be a monster, or maybe he’s on wires! Jumping five or six meters high—has he gone completely insane?”

After a long moment with no further sound from above, * and I dared to release each other's mouths.

Knowing * possessed night vision and could see far clearer than I in this gloom, I leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Did you get a good look? What was it?"

*’s sideburns were damp with cold sweat, his breath coming short. He muttered, "Damn it, it didn’t look human. Its hind legs were exceptionally long!"

Not humanoid, yet using a flashlight? This was utterly illogical. Deeply shocked, I asked quietly, "Should we try to retreat now? If they spot us down here later, this won't be fun anymore."

dared not move, craning his neck to stare ahead, whispering, "We can't escape. Below us is nothing but…"

I glanced sideways down below, and a wave of terror washed over me. If there were a dozen of things like that, and they held malicious intent, we were truly doomed.

gently tugged my sleeve and said, "Stay still. Let’s see what happens first."

I realized there was no other option, so I slowly regulated my breathing and looked across toward the gate.

Just then, a voice from the pit beneath the colossal gate called out from one of Grandpa's men: "Old Master, we broke through! It's huge inside!"

This shout drew the attention of both * and me. I thought I had arrived at a most timely moment; I needed to see what Grandpa had traveled thousands of miles to find.

At that moment, everyone, including Grandpa, focused their flashlights on the pit, shining countless beams into the opening. Many people were eager to climb down, but Grandpa held them back. He peered cautiously for a long while before asking, "Can you open the door from the inside?"

A moment later, the man’s voice echoed from within: "Wait, Old Master, something feels wrong…"

The man spoke a long string of words; the beginning was loud enough for me to catch clearly, but the end faded, and given our distance of maybe fifty meters, I missed the details.

But immediately following, a harrowing, blood-curdling scream tore from inside the door—so agonizingly sharp it felt like it was right beside my ear, making me jump.

The crowd gathered around the opening panicked, flailing in confusion.

Then, heads bobbed in the dirt pit below, and the clamor intensified. A moment later, a figure covered in blood was hauled out of the pit.

As the person scrambled over the lip of the pit, dust suddenly billowed out, and something seemed to follow him out.

Then, as if gripped by an invisible force, the body that had cleared the edge sank sharply back down.

The blood-soaked person let out a dry, desolate shriek, followed by the distinct sound of bone snapping. The dust in the pit rushed backward, creating a gust of wind as something retreated back inside.

Crack! Crack! A few gunshots rang out, all impacting inside the pit.

Grandpa’s men erupted in angry, foul-mouthed curses.

But the pit fell silent. After a brief wait, only the sounds of ragged breathing and retching remained, because the person who had made it to the edge had the lower half of his body ripped away, releasing a thick stench of blood that saturated the air.

The others backed away rapidly, terrified the thing might emerge again, while Grandpa’s body stood rigid. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Damn sons of bitches, those lackeys from Lingyu Temple actually kept such a horrifying thing here as a guardian!"

As soon as Grandpa uttered those words, * and I exchanged a glance; clearly, we had both heard of the organization called Lingyu Temple.

I had always assumed Lingyu Temple was merely a mysterious department from the Tang Dynasty, but as more and more clues pointed toward it now, I began to realize this organization was far more complex. It seemed deeply intertwined with the Wei State.