A few minutes later, two police officers came over with equipment and distributed walkie-talkies and headlamps to Qi Yun, Director Hua, and Duan Pingyu.

Captain Wu personally checked their equipment and reminded them once more, "Make sure to be safe!"

Qi Yun nodded heavily, "Don't worry!"

This time, whether or not they could find that mirror down there, he owed Captain Wu a big favor. Letting them in privately like this posed a significant risk for him.

The three of them bent down and crawled into the tunnel. The beam of the headlamp pierced through the darkness. Director Hua, who was familiar with the path, led the way, Duan Pingyu walked in the middle to look after both sides, and Qi Yun followed closely behind.

Occasionally, tiny grains of sand fell from the gaps between the bricks, making slight sounds in the passageway.

Director Hua held a flashlight in one hand and a slender wooden stick in the other, occasionally tapping the blue bricks on the ground, "The floor tiles in this area are interconnected. Step on the wrong one, and you'll trigger a mechanism. The foreigners before fell into a pit right here, so you must follow my footsteps."

"Okay."

Qi Yun and the others didn't dare to be careless and fixed their eyes on where Director Hua stepped.

Although they hadn't witnessed the gruesome death of those foreigners, just hearing about it made their skin crawl. Moreover, it was their first time down in a tomb, so they were a bit nervous.

Ten minutes later, a question came through the walkie-talkie, accompanied by static noise: "Team one, are you safe?"

Qi Yun took the walkie-talkie from his chest and replied, "Safe!"

The three of them continued forward, passed through several chambers and narrow corridors, and finally arrived at the main burial chamber.

The beams of the headlamps swept across the surroundings. The four Bronze Warriors still stood at the four corners of the coffin, silently watching them.

The central vermilion-painted coffin was tilted, with the lid half-placed on the body, still in the position it was left when Goat Beard and his team pried it open.

Qi Yun curiously glanced at the murals on the walls, while Director Hua bent down and carefully examined the floor tiles in the chamber.

"I wasn't wrong before; these bricks indeed have issues!" he said as he carefully tapped the seams between the bricks with the wooden stick.

Qi Yun did not interrupt, standing quietly by the side, occasionally signaling to the outside.

After about half an hour, Director Hua had checked every blue brick in the chamber and finally stepped over to the coffin.

"There should be another space below this coffin!"

Duan Pingyu also came over, shining the flashlight at the massive coffin and asked with a wry smile, "It's impossible to move this thing, right..."

Director Hua laughed heartily, "This can't be opened by brute force."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the four Bronze Warriors and finally focused on the hilt of one of their swords.

"The four warriors are positioned according to the four directions, forming the mechanism of the Four Directions Lock. The method to open the space below is located on the hilt of one of the warrior's swords."

With that, Director Hua moved his steps, slowly circling around the four Bronze Warriors, examining each one thoroughly while muttering what seemed like an incantation.

Finally, he stopped beside the Bronze Warrior at the southeast corner, "It should be this one!"

"You two retreat to the outside of the chamber first."

Qi Yun asked puzzledly, "Why should we go outside? Is there any danger?"

Director Hua nodded, "There is indeed danger. The Four Directions Lock first appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty and is said to have been invented by Zhuge Liang as a battle formation. He later invented the Eight Gates Golden Lock Array based on it, unexpectedly applying it to tomb mechanisms."

As he spoke, his expression suddenly became solemn, "Among the four warriors, only one is a gate of life that can unlock the hidden space beneath the coffin. The other three are gates of death. Touching the wrong warrior will trigger the ceiling mechanism of this chamber."

"It could be fire oil or arrows; I don't know, so you should head out first."

Qi Yun frowned unconsciously upon hearing this. That meant there was only a one-quarter chance of survival, essentially gambling on life, and with unpleasant odds at that.

Although the mirror was important, he didn't want to risk someone else's life for it. He was about to persuade, "Director Hua, if..."

However, Director Hua was also a decisive person. Before Qi Yun could finish, he already had his hand on the sword hilt, shouting to Duan Pingyu, "Take him out!"

With that, he actually started to turn the sword hilt.

Qi Yun was rendered stunned on the spot. Was it really possible to disregard life and death for archaeology?

Seeing this, Duan Pingyu didn't dare hesitate. With two quick steps, he was beside Qi Yun, grabbed his arm, and ran toward the exit of the chamber.

The next second, as the hilt turned, a rumbling sound filled the chamber, causing the blue bricks to tremble and dust to tumble from above.

Qi Yun and Duan Pingyu had just reached the entrance when they heard the sound of something grinding behind them. Turning back, they both held their breath.

They saw the central vermilion-painted coffin slowly rising, leaving a dark crack between its base and the ground, faintly glowing ominously from within...

As the height increased, the crack gradually expanded into a half-meter-wide passage. The stone steps at the entrance of the passage glimmered coldly in the beam of the flashlight, covered with a thick layer of dust.

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