Though only a few dozen characters long, I could only decipher this: "Zhao Gong’s secret order… Yanzé… seek… Wei people."

"Duke Zhao," I pondered the names associated with Zhao during the Qin Dynasty, the first to spring to mind being the treacherous minister, Zhao Gao.

Moreover, anyone capable of issuing a secret decree must possess considerable authority; Zhao Gao's likelihood is certainly high.

Beneath these characters, there was a simple sketch drawn with a brush: a slender middle-aged man standing with his hands clasped behind his back beside the sea. The ocean waves were surging violently, and the harsh sea wind whipped the edges of his robes, making them billow and dance.

The most peculiar aspect was the sky above the sea surface, which held two suns.

One sun was slightly larger, while the other was a bit smaller. The larger sun emitted a slightly dimmer light and was generally elliptical, with two distinct black spots at its center.

This reminded me of the Candle God worshipped by the Wei people; its appearance was quite similar to this larger sun.

A few lines of text coupled with a drawing, although the connection wasn't perfectly clear, allowed me to deduce that the soldiers of the Lingyu Temple from the Qin era were most likely acting under Zhao Gao's instructions to search for the Wei people in this location, and the drawing served as a clue regarding the Wei people.

Since Zhao Gao issued the blood decree, it was clearly done behind the back of Qin Shi Huang. So, what exactly was his motive for secretly sending men to find the Wei people?

This suggested that the sea depicted in the drawing might not be a real ocean but could instead refer to Yanzé, which is to say, Lop Nur.

However, a doubt arose here: I meticulously examined the silk manuscript but found no mention stating that they were required to commit suicide to atone for their failure if they could not locate the Wei people.

Then why did these men kill themselves?

Naturally, relying on guesswork, I was incapable of divining the reason, and the corpses offered no useful clues.

After a moment of thought, I felt everything was too chaotic; my head was about to explode.

Helplessly, I decided to put the matter aside for the moment.

Putting away the silk, I stood up again and illuminated my surroundings with the flashlight.

Soon after, I discovered another weapon rack about two or three meters across the passage.

But that weapon rack had been knocked over, and the weapons were scattered everywhere in disarray.

Pushing over such a heavy bronze rack would require considerable effort; people in ancient times wouldn't likely topple it unnecessarily.

Thus, I surmised that a struggle must have occurred here previously.

Approaching the rack, I immediately understood everything.

A bullet hole on the rack explained it all; clearly, my grandfather and his group had already passed through here.

Yet, this was also strange. Following my grandfather’s habits, he should have thoroughly examined everything on these ancient corpses, but the current situation showed that he hadn't touched a single one.

There were only two reasons for this: either my grandfather’s group encountered an extremely urgent situation, or these ancient corpses held nothing as important as whatever else they were seeking.

Given the evidence of a gunfight, the former reason seemed most probable; perhaps some danger lurked ahead.

As I was thinking this, I suddenly seemed to hear a group of people talking, their voices approaching from a distance, moving toward my position.

I jolted, realizing it was likely my grandfather’s men, and quickly hid behind the weapon rack.

Extinguishing the flashlight, I held my breath and hid behind the rack, waiting for them to appear.

The clamorous voices drew closer, almost within two or three meters of me.

"Grandfather and the others aren't using flashlights?" I wondered, as my immediate surroundings remained pitch dark.

At that moment, my grandfather’s group walked past me, their voices receding.

I clearly heard Da Xiong’s voice: "Damn it, what kind of hellhole is this? One tunnel after another, endless! Old man, are you sure the Qin Dynasty residence of Lingyu Temple is even around here?"

My grandfather didn't answer. All I heard was the thud-thud sound of a dozen people moving forward.

This puzzled me even more because I didn't understand what Da Xiong meant by "tunnels"; this area was clearly an open space—where were the tunnels?

Just then, a clattering sound reached my ears, clearly someone kicking the broken bronze weapons lying on the ground.

"Ouch! What rotten scrap metal, nearly killed this old man!" Da Xiong's muffled shout came from not too far away.

But something about that sound felt off; it seemed close yet distant at the same time.

After a few minutes, my grandfather’s group’s voices faded further into the distance.

Judging they couldn't see me anymore, I turned on my flashlight, preparing to follow.

But after taking just two steps, I felt a jolt of strangeness.

A cold sweat instantly broke out on my forehead, and I muttered to myself, "What the hell is going on? Damn it, I've seen a ghost!"

The surprise stemmed from my flashlight illuminating the ground, which was heavily layered with dust. If my grandfather’s men had passed through here, they absolutely should have left footprints.

Yet, the ground only showed one set of footprints—the ones I had left when I first arrived.

Crucially, there was a bronze hammer that had been kicked far across the ground, leaving a distinct scratch mark in the dust.

This proved that my grandfather’s men had indeed passed through here moments ago, but they hadn't left any footprints!

This was too bizarre; I couldn't easily accept this strange phenomenon.

To me, this was impossible unless my grandfather and the others had somehow turned into ghosts, walking without touching the ground.

But after everything I had experienced, I knew there were no such things as ghosts in the world; there had to be a logical explanation for this.

Thinking this way, my inner turmoil subsided slightly, and I resolved to follow the sound of their voices to see what was happening.

My grandfather’s group was heading in the direction of the Marshal’s Seat along the passageway, which was exactly the exploration route I had planned earlier.

Considering potential dangers ahead, I held the flashlight in my left hand and the Silver Fish Precious Saber in my right, moving forward cautiously.

Not long after, I saw the shadow of the Marshal’s Seat not far ahead.

The seat was magnificent, over three meters wide and nearly two meters high, requiring climbing more than a dozen steps to reach its platform.

Behind the seat was the end of the tree-lined wall; there was no path further back.

Approaching closer, I saw three ancient corpses dressed in black robes lying near the base of the platform, all having died by suicide.

I made a quick inspection and found nothing particularly unusual.

Climbing the steps and reaching the proximity of the Marshal’s Seat, I carefully examined the massive chair with my flashlight.

It was an intricately carved ebony chair, similar in style to the Emperor's seat I had seen in the Forbidden City, though less opulent, with carvings depicting only cranes and various birds.

In fact, a seat this long could no longer be called a Shuai Zuo (Marshal’s Seat); in ancient times, it would have been termed a Ta (couch or daybed).

A Ta could be used not only for sitting but also for sleeping, so such couches usually held thick furs to be used as bedding.

I speculated that the person who once sat on this Ta must have governed this place for a long time, as couches of this nature were typically found in royal residences or places where officials conducted long-term business.