Number 12 suddenly burst into laughter, saying, "Hahaha! Because, hahaha..."

Seeing him doubled over with laughter, I couldn't help but frown and ask, "What is so funny? What on earth is going on!"

I looked at Number 12 strangely, but he just kept laughing without saying a word.

At this point, my expression turned serious, and I said, "What is the matter? Why are you laughing! This is no time for laughing!"

As I was speaking, Number 2 suddenly let out a snort of laughter beside me and said, "Hahaha, this is bad, this... this is..."

He quickly choked on his laughter, clutching his stomach and tears streaming down his face.

I found the situation truly bizarre, but I looked all around—up, down, left, and right—and couldn't find anything amusing.

It was then that I suddenly recalled Number 2 saying that the floating powder in the air was actually some kind of creature.

I couldn't immediately recall what kind of creature they were, but thinking about it now, I remembered a minuscule spider-like organism called Hehuanzi (). Scientists had never proven its existence, but many people claimed to have seen it.

It was an ancient, mysterious creature, rumored that inhaling Hehuanzi dust into one's nose would induce uncontrollable laughter. This wasn't mere hearty laughter, but hysterical, agonizing laughter that, in severe cases, could actually cause death by laughing.

Realizing this, I casually swept a handful of air, gathering some of the yellow powder in my palm. Upon closer inspection, I saw that even without any wind, these things were indeed wriggling and crawling in my hand. The light was too dim, so I couldn't discern if they were truly spiders, but they were certainly not ordinary dust.

Yet, something felt wrong. Why had both of them, and the monkey, been affected, while I remained immune to the laughter?

Though I didn't know the reason, now wasn't the time to dwell on it. I needed to find a way to stop them from laughing, as the situation was becoming extremely dangerous.

After a moment of thought, I suddenly remembered that there were gas masks prepared in the trunk!

So, I took the gas mask from my own trunk and quickly fitted it over Number 2’s face. After being masked, Number 2’s complexion visibly improved, but he was already struggling to breathe.

I couldn't worry about anything else. I opened his trunk, grabbed his gas mask, and hurried toward Number 12.

But halfway there, I suddenly felt an intense itching sensation in my chest, and an irresistible urge to laugh was about to erupt. Alarmed, I hastily placed the gas mask over my own face, then opened Number 12’s trunk, pulled out his mask, and fitted that over his face as well.

Fortunately, the toxicity of the Hehuanzi wasn't exceptionally potent, and perhaps the organisms died quickly after being inhaled into the body, because they slowly began to calm down. Since the masks only sealed the mouth and nose, we could see them wiping their eyes while stuttering, "We nearly died... that was truly... truly intense!"

Seeing the monkey, Agui, still flailing its limbs, I rushed over, scooped it into my arms, and covered its mouth with my hand.

After about ten minutes, everyone finally settled down. The Hehuanzi particles, having drifted for a while, gradually faded from the air.

Once they could speak normally, I asked Number 2, "This was Hehuanzi, wasn't it? I didn't expect to run into this kind of trap here."

Number 2 rubbed his eyes and said, "Amitabha. I suspect this is a warning from the tomb owner; there might be even stranger things inside."

Number 12 asked, "What exactly is this Hehuanzi? Why does it make people laugh?"

I replied, "It's an animal, a type of spider, that uses fine filaments to drift in the air. When it enters a person's mouth or nose, it releases a venom that causes incessant laughter until death. However, this creature has never been recognized by the biological community."

Number 2 countered, "Of course it wouldn't be recognized by the biological community; this thing isn't wild; it doesn't exist in nature. Hehuanzi is a form of Gu art; only those who practice Gu can cultivate these insects."

I rubbed the back of my head and said, "Oh? Is that so?"

Number 2 nodded. "Don't forget, we are currently in Yunnan, the homeland of Gu arts. It's perfectly normal for this tomb to contain traps set by Gu practitioners."

For some reason, mentioning Gu arts reminded me of my previous experience in the Black Bamboo Valley. The two incidents were strikingly similar, just in a different location. Perhaps there was a connection between them. In the Black Bamboo Valley, there were too many mysteries that couldn't be solved, but that was limited to ordinary mortals. Now, with the strange arts we possess, maybe we can investigate something different.

With this thought, I became somewhat excited and said to Number 2, "We should move forward quickly; time is running short."

Number 2 nodded. "Gas masks are excellent things. Many Gu techniques are administered through the respiratory tract. Make absolutely sure you do not take the masks off."

We both nodded and followed Number 2 forward.

Arriving at the tomb door, we found it tightly sealed. Like the doors of many large tombs, this one was designed to open vertically, top and bottom. Once sealed and pressed down by heavy objects, it became incredibly difficult to open. Furthermore, a stone door inherently carried enormous weight, making the opening process extremely arduous. This was a measure taken to prevent grave robbing. Usually, in such situations, robbers had two choices: either dig a bypass tunnel around the entrance or blow the door open. However, judging by the tunnel we descended, the people who entered the tomb clearly came directly through this door, as there were no other tunnels nearby, nor was the door destroyed. I hypothesized that this door must be operable!

With that thought, I placed my hand on the stone door and pushed hard. The stone door didn't budge at all; it was firmly shut. I wondered how Dazhu and the others managed to get in. Or perhaps the door was open when they arrived, and they sealed it shut after entering?

At this moment, Number 12 spat twice into his palm and prepared to kick the door. Seeing his peculiar action, I asked, "You rubbed your palms together, and now you're going to use your foot? What's the meaning of that?"

Number 12 replied, "Didn't you see? There are mechanisms on this door!"

He pointed to a spot beneath the door, where two very strange patterns were carved. They looked like shoe prints, about the size of a normal human shoe, slightly depressed as if they had been kicked repeatedly over the years. However, I noticed the depressions weren't smooth, suggesting they weren't man-made additions but perhaps original markings. Upon closer inspection, the patterns resembling shoe prints seemed to contain two designs similar to the sun.

I pointed to the pattern and asked Number 2, "What... what does this mean?"

Number 2 pondered for a long time and said, "Could it be pointing to a specific acupuncture point on the human foot?"

I shook my head, saying, "Could the tomb door be a medical diagram? How wealthy must a doctor who built a tomb like this be?"

Number 2 pursed his lips and said, "Maybe he was a doctor wealthy enough to rival a nation! In ancient times, Gu arts were a branch of medical arts!"

I still felt something was amiss and remained silent.

At this point, Number 12 spoke up, "Could it be Paramecium? It looks like it to me!"

Paramecium is one of the lowest forms of animal life on Earth, commonly known as a single-celled organism. This creature exists as a cell, usually possessing one nucleus, and only develops a second nucleus during fission reproduction. The shape of the nucleus indeed resembles the sun. More incredibly, I discovered structures around the shoe print that looked like the cilia that single-celled organisms use to propel themselves through water. Thus, the entire pattern genuinely looked like two single-celled organisms about to divide.

The appearance of two patterns resembling Paramecium in a pre-Qin dynasty tomb was astounding, something even Number 2 couldn't readily accept, as he stared at me blankly.

I broke out in a cold sweat and said, "That's impossible, right? There were no microscopes in the pre-Qin period, not even magnifying glasses. How could they have seen Paramecium?"

Number 12 countered, "What's so strange about that? Perhaps ancient civilization wasn't exactly as the textbooks describe; maybe they were more advanced than us. Didn't they find cave paintings in America tens of thousands of years old depicting aliens and UFOs?"

Number 2 said, "I've heard of that, but it could very well be ancient people's imagination, not necessarily proof that they saw it. Something imagined might just happen to coincide with something we have now—it could be a coincidence."

I ignored their conversation and instead asked, "Assuming it really is Paramecium, what does the reproduction of Paramecium signify?"

Number 12 chimed in, "What else? It signifies the birth of life, of course."

"It's evolution!" Number 2 interjected at this moment.

I looked at him strangely and said, "Why? Why evolution?"

Number 2 casually explained, "When Buddhist scriptures discuss the origins of things, they often explain phenomena formed from that origin. Look, the Paramecium pattern is drawn at the very bottom of the door, suggesting it represents the lowest, most fundamental thing. Above it must be the evolutionary path of the Paramecium—it must be some kind of pattern."

I considered this and thought his reasoning held merit. I reached out and began to wipe away the debris formed by weathering. This dust obscured the original carvings on the door, making them unclear even if patterns existed. As my palm swept across the surface, I was astonished to find that the door was indeed covered with all sorts of patterns, though most were already indistinct.