Rebirth of a Lost Nation: Princess, Please Respect Yourself

Chapter 164 Half Life Formation

"Yes or no, you will know after you try it!"

Xiaoya was frightened almost to the point of going crazy by the weird atmosphere. She wanted to leave at all costs and spoke irrationally.

"Xiaoya, don't be afraid. Don't panic about this." Seeing this, Jiang Lige quickly let go of Ning Yunxiao's hand, turned around, patted Xiaoya on the back, and said a few words of comfort. He then analyzed: "It's such a narrow place. If there is a trap inside, there will be no way out. If you want to leave, you have to be cautious."

"That's right." Ning Yunxiao observed carefully while explaining to everyone, "People die for money, and tomb robbers are no exception. There may be a secret hidden in that gold. Everyone must not touch it later."

Everyone nodded, "Okay."

Ning Yunxiao, Jiang Lige and Deng Sijiu were the first to enter the stone chamber, while Zheng Baoyao and the maid Xiaoya stayed in the corridor, waiting for news from the three before taking any action.

After walking around the stone chamber, Ning Yunxiao suddenly felt that the scene before him was somewhat familiar, somewhat like...

"It's the Half-Life Formation!" Ning Yunxiao suddenly realized, "It's the Chi Clan's Half-Life Formation."

Deng Sijiu couldn't help but complain: "One moment it's the Gate of Life and Death, the next moment it's Half Life. What kind of tribe is this? There are no living people in it, right?"

"..." Jiang Lige rolled his eyes at Deng Sijiu gracefully, choosing to ignore him. He turned around and asked Ning Yunxiao, "Prince, what does this formation mean?"

Ning Yunxiao said, "When I was recuperating in the palace, the princess showed me many rare books from the Empress Dowager's library. One of them mentioned the Half-Life Formation. It said that this formation originated from a poison native to the Chi tribe, the Half-Life Grass, but it didn't mention how to break the formation."

Jiang Lige couldn't help but get excited reflexively when he heard the word "Chi Clan". "Since this place is guarded by the Chi Clan's formation, it must be the Chi Clan's burial place!"

After hearing what Jiang Lige said, Ning Yunxiao knew what she was thinking.

Even though Ning Yunxiao had hoped for a miracle, he still had to rationally remind Jiang Lige, "Princess, the most urgent thing is to be able to get out alive."

Although Ning Yunxiao suddenly poured a bucket of cold water on him, Jiang Lige was not discouraged. He silently reviewed the books he had read a few days ago, but there was not much he could remember.

"I've never seen a Half-Life Formation, but I have seen an introduction to Half-Life Grass. The book states that Half-Life Grass is extremely poisonous. Its shape is spherical, its leaves are spear-shaped, and it has no flowers. It mostly grows on grassy slopes and in rocky crevices. Its rhizomes are used as medicine, mostly for external application, not internal use. Those who accidentally ingest it will suffer hallucinations and die in endless pain."

Jiang Lige's statement reminded everyone of Wei Letian's previous words.

"There's a legend in this area that says this Man-Eating Peak is haunted by evil spirits. They possess a sinister power that can bewitch people. It's said these spirits will devour people's souls, causing them to fall into endless suffering and eventually die."

In this way, the legend corresponds exactly.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Ning Yunxiao pondered for a moment, then asked Jiang Lige, "Princess, do you remember how to cure the Half-Life Grass poison?"

"Bleeding, supplemented with licorice decoction." Jiang Lige explained concisely, "The book says that the poison of the half-life grass is extremely potent, and a small dose won't last long. Most people who die from the poison of the half-life grass commit suicide. Therefore, we must first fight violence with violence, using pain to wake the poisoned person, and then detoxify them."

Deng Sijiu was moved by this method of detoxification. "It wasn't the half-life grass that killed these people, but their own inner demons. Alas, this world is full of truth and falsehood, reality and illusion, how..."

"Can you say that again."

Before Deng Sijiu could finish expressing his feelings, he was suddenly interrupted by Ning Yunxiao.

Deng Sijiu was stunned and asked blankly, "Which sentence?"

"True and false, real and fake." Ning Yunxiao ignored him and repeated it in a low voice. Then he looked at Jiang Lige, "I heard that building real and fake tombs is popular among the nobles of Southern Chu?"

When Ning Yunxiao asked this, Jiang Lige immediately reacted, "Sir, are you suspecting that this isn't a real tomb, but a suspected grave?"

"That's right," Ning Yunxiao explained to everyone, "Brother Deng's words just now reminded me that the antidote to the Half-Life Grass poison doesn't lie in readily available licorice, but in awakening those trapped in the false world. The Half-Life Formation might just be another grand deception."

Jiang Lige pondered for a moment and felt that it made sense. "The Chi tribe is close to Nanchu. It wouldn't be surprising if they learned the Nanchu custom of building suspicious tombs. If it is a suspicious tomb, open this tomb chamber."

"Princess, do you know how to crack it?"

Jiang Lige nodded and drove everyone out of the stone chamber. He walked around the stone chamber and observed the surroundings while explaining to everyone.

"The nobles of Southern Chu were known for their extravagance. The amount of burial objects they gave to a family reflected their power to some extent. Spending real money on burial objects was bound to attract attention, which is why they built fake tombs to prevent theft."

As Jiang Lige spoke, he knocked around with the stone, and finally stopped in front of an inconspicuous crack. The old and mottled crack was like a mark of time, deeply engraved on the wall.

"Right here." Jiang Lige drew a circle on the wall with the stone in his hand, looked at Deng Sijiu and said, "The mechanism to open the door is right here. Please smash it open."

Deng Sijiu was stunned for a moment, then gave Jiang Lige a thumbs up. "The way you guys at Nanchu build mechanisms is really simple and crude."

"Thank you for the compliment." Jiang Lige replied lightly, and then reminded: "Everyone, please leave the stone chamber first."

Although he was a chatterbox, Deng Sijiu did not delay. He walked forward, gathered his internal energy in his palm, and struck the circle. The wall then broke and fell off, revealing a palm-sized iron ring.

Everyone looked at each other, not daring to move, and just waited for Jiang Lige to give orders.

Jiang Lige glanced at the iron ring and said, "Pull it outwards. This is the real mechanism."

"Oh." Deng Sijiu responded and pulled the iron ring hard to the bottom. After a loud rumbling vibration, the floor suddenly moved to both sides and extended downward to reveal a slope of bottomless stairs.

"The real exit should be below." Ning Yunxiao said.

"Well, among all the ways to build a suspected tomb, building downwards is the most labor-intensive and requires a great deal of manpower and money. The Chi people are poor, so it seems this elder must be a very important figure in the Chi tribe."

While analyzing, Jiang Lige threw the stone in her hand into the pot. After listening to the stone rolling for a long time before stopping, she lifted her skirt and walked down.

Before she could even take a step forward, Ning Yunxiao blocked her way and said, "It's dark inside, Princess, just follow behind."