Imperial Treasure
Chapter 143 - 109: Your Majesty, Dharma King!

Chapter 143: Chapter 109: Your Majesty, Dharma King!

The palatial compound advances in nine stages, reminiscent of The Forbidden City, with nine buildings including the main hall, each positioned slightly irregularly but exuding a sense of the mystical.

This is the front hall, with a corridor paved in neatly arrayed glazed tiles.

The phrase "glazed tiles" sounds somewhat alarming.

Gong Jiu and the others hadn’t even entered the hall, yet their eyes were already wide with awe.

The pale turquoise glazed pieces were embedded in a two-meter-wide, hundred-meter-long path, lined up piece by piece, with each seam intertwining patterns.

Like a myriad of blooming flowers.

Marvelously beautiful, defying the workmanship of mortals.

Amidst the crowd, three people suddenly bent down with swift movements.

"Quick, pry it open with a knife..."

"Where’s the hoe?"

"This, this..."

The actions of Gong Jiu, Flower Demon, and Brother Ma left Ah Guna and the others stunned for a moment before they all began to bristle with rage.

Fucking hell, you’re desecrating our beliefs!

PK, let’s PK!

Sui Yi ignored the others’ antics, standing on such a hallway before the hall, she looked around and then turned to Ah Guna, her brow slightly furrowed, asking inexplicably, "Why do you look at me so?"

Ah Guna came to his senses, somewhat dazed and contemplative, then shook his head lightly, saying indifferently, "Nothing..."

Because of Ah Guna’s men’s interference, Gong Jiu and the others, who were like skinflints, were unable to continue with their tampering of the glazed pieces.

"Hey, speaking of which, it’s strange. Miss Hua, you and Ninth Miss both come from good backgrounds, ostensibly not the type to lack money. So why do you get so crazed over treasures, just like that what sees that what?" Brother Ma asked the two women, his voice tinged with unfinished craving and unwillingness to give up.

What’s this ’what sees that what’?

Sui Yi turned around, glanced at them and replied, "He means eager like a dog seeing shit."

Gong Jiu: Fuck! There you go cursing again while pretending to be prim and proper!

Flower Demon: Fuck! Aren’t you well-learned!

Aside from the glazed tiles, there were no other extraneous decorations on the exterior of the palace.

"It seems to be a Divine Temple, otherwise there wouldn’t be such an absence of decoration. Those ancient rich folk loved to show off their wealth, they wouldn’t rest until they lined their golden nests with gold," Gong Jiu remarked, touching a column while leading everyone into the nearest front hall.

In contrast, Leng She’s inner turmoil was far from calm as he traversed another path toward a side hall.

Kadis wiped the gun in his hand and said coldly, "Why not kill them? We still have a good chance of winning."

"Don’t you think they are still of some use? Especially that Gong Jiu...and Sui Yi," Leng She said with a smile, like a snake flickering its tongue.

--------

Inside the hall, the rafters were made of Yun Ding sandalwood, lamps of crystal Jade Bi, curtains of purple sandalwood beads, and pillars founded on range gold.

Hanging from the archways on either side of the front hall were six-foot-wide shark gauze curtains. Embroidered on them were odd flowers in alternating shades of white and silver, fluttering with the breeze, as if they were flowers cascading from the clouds.

"Weird, if this is a Divine Temple, where are the statues of the gods?"

"Exactly, there aren’t even any murals...it looks too desolate..."

"It seems there are inner chambers inside..."

The group scattered into several parties, some heading into the interior, others staying in the main hall.

Sui Yi only glanced at the inner chambers and felt that surely these were the residences of the Divine Servants within the temple.

Overall, the place appeared refined and elegant, vastly different from the rich colors typically found within ordinary temples.

Gong Jiu felt around here and there, stuffing things they valued or liked into backpacks brought by Brother Ma and the others.

Why else would Feng Sha be Gong Jiu’s loyal supporter? He prepared everything for her...

Of course, after stuffing the items, Feng Sha was the one to carry the backpack.

Gong Jiu’s explanation was -- the stuff’s simply too heavy, I can’t carry it.

Or rather, you brought the bag, so naturally, you should carry it...the things inside are mine.

In the face of such shamelessness, Flower Demon scoffed and mocked, while Sui Yi smiled faintly.

After rummaging through the front hall, despite its size, the place had few items, mostly just superficial decorations, classic and mysterious, such that Gong Jiu and company couldn’t even fathom how many years they had withstood.

"This is so strange...I’ve never seen anything like this, and there’s no record of it in history," Gong Jiu muttered, caressing a Jade Cup placed on a shelf. The jade was high-quality Mutton Fat Jade, warm and lustrous, yet the patterns and style were beyond the realm of what tomb robbers like Gong Jiu would recognize.

However, Gong Jiu’s comment made Flower Demon snort in disdain. "History? You have the audacity to mention history? Forget it, let me have a look," Flower Demon examined the cup closely, her expression growing deep as she pondered, frowning.

"The style seems similar to that of the Warring States Period, but it’s not quite right. There were no such vessels during the Warring States Period. It’s definitely not commonplace, and even more so in the courts, where regulations were strict. Nobody would dare to carve such a noble jade cup with beast motifs, unless they sought to defy the Imperial Family..."

Only Sui Yi glanced at it and her face changed color.

She had just used her Magnetic Sensation to probe the Jade Cup, but...

There isn’t a trace of magnetic energy,

This is impossible. As long as an ancient object has historical significance, it should contain magnetic energy, but this Jade Cup has not even a hint of it.

Generally speaking, there is only one explanation for this.

--It’s a modern craft.

Sui Yi felt incredibly skeptical inside but could not voice her doubts to anyone; she could only step forward, take the Jade Cup, and carefully feel and examine it, her expression darkening slightly.

"What’s the matter? Did you find something?" Gong Jiu, who knew the details of Sui Yi’s investigation, also naturally knew about her capabilities when she was with Elder Tang and the others, and thus had some expectations of her.

After a long while, Sui Yi’s expression returned to normal.

She quietly said, "Hmm."

"What, what..."

"This is jade."

Gong Jiu and the others: "...."

Sister, are you messing with me?

Gong Jiu snatched the Jade Cup back and rolled her eyes hard, "Fine, I’ll go back and have someone else study it to save myself from you playing tricks on me, woman!"

She was certain that Sui Yi had definitely noticed something but refused to say it, which annoyed her the most.

--We’re so close, and you still won’t tell me!

Sui Yi had no time to observe Gong Jiu’s proud indignation, for at this moment her mind was in turmoil.

--The jade is real.

If the jade is real, then even if it was made into a modern craft, the jade itself has a history. After all, jade is formed from mineral deposits over a long period, not instantly; this has nothing to do with whether it is a modern artifact.

So, since it is real jade, yet there’s no magnetic energy.

Sui Yi felt that perhaps her special ability had malfunctioned. Could it have become ineffective?

Regarding this ability obtained by chance, she thought, "If I have it, I am fortunate; if I lose it, then it is fate," but there was still some sense of loss deep down.

Sui Yi tilted her head and picked up other items to test them, and indeed, she found that the items were genuine and that their craftsmanship could not possibly be modern, but... they lacked magnetic energy.

"Indeed..." Sui Yi sighed lightly and set those items down.

Upon seeing this, Flower Demon’s gaze flickered, "Sui Yi, are you not taking any treasures with you?"

The tomb raiders here, who wasn’t for the treasures?

Sui Yi, on the other hand, just looked and didn’t take any, as if she were visiting an exhibition.

"Me?" Sui Yi pursed her lips and spoke softly, "No need."

She did not explain why, but Shen Di and others immediately thought of what Gong Jiu had said earlier about Sui Yi being a descendant of the ancient tomb’s owners.

If she is indeed a descendant, shouldn’t she be more entitled to take them?

Gong Jiu looked down; she clearly knew that Sui Yi had nothing to do with the Ye family, and even if there was a connection, she had investigated the Ye family’s ancestral mountain for several generations and found nothing notable, so how could this palace belong to the Ye family?

Perhaps, Sui Yi knows something?

Sui Yi herself was still wondering. As far as the Ye family was concerned, it was just as Seventh Uncle had said, about the pawnshop business, right?

No, that’s not right!

Sui Yi recalled what Seventh Uncle had told her before: the tomb was built by Ye Zhang’s father, Ye Kai who was officially Sui Yi’s grandfather, after his death. The tomb connected to this strange underground world. Seventh Uncle, who had advocated for the construction of the tomb, must have known about it. However, the implication of Seventh Uncle’s words at the time was to completely conceal the matter, even concocting an eerie tale of zombies for Sui Yi...

To say it was just a tale might not be entirely true; perhaps most of it was real, but, leaving aside the deceased Ye Kai for now, the role Seventh Uncle played in it was very complex.

Sui Yi’s expression was too solemn, drawing extra attention from Ah Guna and his people.

However, Ah Guna and the others eventually became impatient.

"This is the Holy Land where the Supreme resides. If you go too far..."

Ah Guna was unsympathetic, arrows notched to bows, his intentions clear.

Gong Jiu and her people guessed that they wouldn’t be able to hold back any longer.

"Heh, Ah Guna, you can’t talk like that. You keep saying that this place belongs to your so-called Supreme, but where is your Supreme? Do you even know what it looks like? It seems you know nothing about it," Flower Demon provocatively taunted him.

Ah Guna’s expression didn’t change at all; he simply stated, "We have fought a battle together. The fact that we didn’t stop you just now was already showing the utmost benevolence. You may take these things for now, but you touch nothing more. Otherwise, if you desecrate the Supreme and provoke the Dharma Kings to come and slaughter, who among you can bear the consequences?"

Behind the term "Supreme," the word "Dharma King" was another unfamiliar term that puzzled Sui Yi and the others.

"It sounds like you won’t let us take anything, so why don’t you go stop Leng She and his group? Don’t tell me it’s because you think we’re easy to bully," Brother Ma boldly brandished his weapon, hostility evident.

Feng Sha and the others also sneered.

Used to having their way, treasures within sight, no one was going to stop them!

Moreover, they knew that the Miss and her group had nearly been sacrificed by these people before.

"We will naturally stop them, and they will not find it easy to enter those palaces," Ah Guna and his companions’ bows were already in hand, facing off against Gong Jiu and others.

They were clearly pressuring them to leave. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)