Chapter 248: Heaven’s Will
“Gaozu’s Treasure Vault, we actually entered Gaozu’s Treasure Vault!” The scene before them left Lu Yun and Su Yingxiu dazzled. Without anyone telling them what Gaozu’s Treasure Vault looked like, they knew that what was before them must be Gaozu’s Treasure Vault!
No king or lord, however rich enough to rival a country, could have such a grand project: burying such terrifying wealth deep underground. Even if an emperor were mad enough to use the nation’s entire wealth as his burial goods, he wouldn’t expend such immense effort to create so many divine weapons and sharp blades, forging such a war treasure vault!
And this was only the side hall of the treasure vault—what would the main hall be like? What treasures would it hold? It was simply unimaginable!
Apart from Gaozu’s Treasure Vault, no other possibility came to mind!
“If we could transport the weapons in this hall out, we could instantly assemble an invincible ace army.” Lu Yun sighed sincerely.
“Well said!” Su Yingxiu feigned admiration with a nod, then burst out laughing: “But the problem is, can you transport them out?”
“Indeed.” Lu Yun gave a bitter smile upon hearing this: “Not to mention whether we can find the exit, even if we do, transporting everything from this treasure vault would require thousands of carriages and tens of thousands of laborers—it’s impossible otherwise.”
“If there’s too much commotion, it won’t escape the Initial Emperor and the Xiahou Clan—they absolutely won’t allow anyone to touch Gaozu’s Treasure Vault.” Su Yingxiu nodded: “So right now, we can only look.”
“That’s true.” Lu Yun nodded in deep agreement, looking around: “Let’s first see if there’s a way out.”
“How could there be?” Su Yingxiu shook her head firmly, stating categorically: “My Ancestor Master was a grand master of mechanisms. The mechanism treasure vault he built in Jizhou Yuyang Commandery back then was impenetrable to anyone in the world—even my master couldn’t enter it.”
“In the end, it was still breached by the Founding Emperor.” Though Lu Yun rarely thought of his true identity anymore, he always subconsciously defended his father and ancestors.
“He mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers and used hundreds of thousands of pounds of explosives obtained from Western Wei.” Su Yingxiu sneered: “That was brute force breaking it open, which only proves my Ancestor Master’s mechanism skills were unmatched under heaven.”
“Unmatched under heaven, yet still trapped in the Founding Emperor’s imperial tomb unable to escape?” Lu Yun muttered.
“Good that you know.” Su Yingxiu glared fiercely at Lu Yun, pouting: “With just the two of us, it’s even more impossible.”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way!” Lu Yun was undaunted. In his view, as the direct son and direct grandson of the Founding Emperor, he should be the rightful heir to this treasure vault, not yielding to others, and thus would surely have some good fortune.
With that, Lu Yun confidently began searching everywhere. Seeing this, Su Yingxiu shook her head helplessly and also began searching in this grand underground palace.
.
One day later…
Lu Yun and Su Yingxiu met up again, the former’s face full of helplessness: “Alright, I admit, we’re powerless…”
“Hehe…” Su Yingxiu wore an I-knew-it expression of schadenfreude, laughing for a while before saying seriously: “I looked carefully—clearly all the mechanisms of this tomb are outside the door. There’s no exploitable gap from inside…”
“Mm…” Lu Yun nodded, giving up the search for an exit.
As the oil in the wall lamps ran out, the underground palace fell back into darkness. Lu Yun and Su Yingxiu finally confirmed once more that in this inescapable predicament, no amount of wealth or treasures had any use. This spacious and luxurious treasure chamber felt far less secure than a dark and damp underground cave.
No wonder Kou Xianzhi chose the underground river bank, rather than this underground palace, to end his life.
After confirming no exit could be found, the two left the underground palace and followed the cave dug by Kou Xianzhi back to the underground river bank.
Hearing the rushing water, both felt their minds cleansed, involuntarily casting aside all their schemes. One went to catch fish, while the other used wood and silk cloth gathered from the underground palace to reverently light a small fire.
Though the two had long adapted to the underground darkness, this pile of firelight meant not only light, but also warmth and hope. It warmed not only their bodies, but also their souls.
As the blue flames danced merrily in this unknown depth beneath Mount Mang, Lu Yun and Su Yingxiu’s faces both bloomed with genuine smiles. Su Yingxiu cheered, neatly placing the skewered small fish over the fire to roast, her face full of mischievous glee: “If the Founding Emperor knew we were using the sandalwood from his mausoleum to make a fire, it would surely twist his nose in anger.”
“No, it wouldn’t.” Lu Yun’s mind conjured the Founding Emperor’s features and smile, thinking to himself: ‘If my Imperial Grandfather knew in the netherworld that his grandson had found his treasure, he would surely be delighted.’ Saying this, Lu Yun couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. ‘Unfortunately, even having found the treasure, I can’t transport it out— I can’t even escape myself…’
Seeing Lu Yun mysteriously say “No, it wouldn’t” and then fall silent, Su Yingxiu misunderstood. She was quiet for a moment, then nodded slightly: “Just as I guessed, this shouldn’t be under the mountain where the imperial tomb is located, but a decoy tomb.”
“…” Lu Yun was stunned upon hearing this, then came to his senses and slowly nodded: “Indeed.” He had already silently calculated in his mind that this place was still seven or eight li from Wansui Mountain, where the imperial tomb was located. Although Kou Xianzhi’s suicide note said he was buried alive in the Founding Emperor’s imperial tomb, clearly the Founding Emperor wouldn’t give him a chance to damage his own sarcophagus, instead eternally sealing him in this treasure weapons vault!
Evidently, while the Founding Emperor was building his imperial tomb, he also constructed a hidden underground treasure vault. The two were not one entity, merely adjacent!
Lu Yun knew this speculation was highly reliable. The Xiahou Clan and Initial Emperor had been searching for the treasure vault for years, and the Founding Emperor’s imperial tomb was naturally their top priority. If the treasure had been in the imperial tomb, it would have been discovered long ago.
Upon realizing the treasure vault wasn’t in the imperial tomb, the Xiahou Clan and Initial Emperor turned their gaze elsewhere, never expecting the vault to be not in the imperial tomb but nearby. This was the so-called most dangerous place being the safest. Even after the Founding Emperor’s death, he could still toy with his ministers in the palm of his hand—his talent and strategy were remarkable.
But the Founding Emperor hadn’t anticipated that Kou Xianzhi would recover his cultivation and arduously dig a passage along the underground river. Nor had he expected someone to be trapped in a tomb under Mount Mang, also seeking water and arriving at the same underground river, discovering Kou Xianzhi’s remains, and thus finding the treasure he had painstakingly hidden to preserve the dynasty.
However, among the two who found the treasure was his lost eldest son and eldest grandson. If the Founding Emperor knew in the netherworld, he would surely sigh deeply—man’s schemes are no match for heaven’s will; all is fated in the unseen.
.
Soon, the small fish were roasted, the aroma of cooked meat making Lu Yun’s mouth water. Raw food was fine, but the human stomach was long accustomed to cooked food.
He reached to take one to satisfy his craving, but Su Yingxiu slapped his hand away.
Then Lu Yun watched as Su Yingxiu magically produced a small paper packet and sprinkled the powder inside over the small fish. Instantly, the roasted golden-brown fish burst with an enticing fragrance.
It was actually salt and cumin!
Though Lu Yun felt nothing Su Yingxiu pulled out would surprise him, he was still stunned by this.
Lu Yun looked at Su Yingxiu with utmost admiration. The highest martial arts under heaven belonged to Zhang Xuanyi, but the most fully equipped must be this Taiping Dao Saintess.
