Chapter 180
Chapter 180: Keeper of the Tomb
After watching the figures of the elderly man in brocade robes and the others disappear into the distance, Hu Rui An turned once more to glance back at the burning study behind him.
Just moments ago, Murong Xiao Ya had already fled the ruined study in haste.
Hu Rui An’s brow gently furrowed. Somehow, Murong Xiao Ya’s behavior seemed rather unusual today. Yet, without dwelling too deeply on it, he quickly followed after her.
However, after a short pursuit, Hu Rui An came to a halt amid a stretch of ruins. Astonishingly, in the blink of an eye, he had lost sight of Murong Xiao Ya entirely. It was as if she had simply vanished into one of the collapsed buildings nearby.
Hu Rui An looked carefully around, but still found no trace of her. After all, Murong Manor was Murong Xiao Ya’s childhood home. She surely knew every hidden passage and secret chamber here—places he himself knew nothing about.
Realizing this, he leaped onto the beams of a nearby damaged building to keep watch from above. After waiting patiently yet seeing no sign of Murong Xiao Ya, Hu Rui An shook his head helplessly and turned away, leaving to seek out Li Mu Sheng and the others instead.
…
At the same time, a slender figure appeared in a hidden underground passage beneath Murong Manor.
The darkness was deep, impenetrable. Murong Xiao Ya, tears streaking her face, silently moved forward, carefully touching the cold brick walls as she made her way deeper.
She soon reached a vast hidden chamber. Striking a flint, she lit the wall lantern, its dim amber glow chasing away the surrounding darkness.
The room was utterly empty, save for an elderly figure seated cross-legged upon a meditation cushion at the center. His white hair was disheveled, his body covered in dried blood. He sat hunched over, perfectly still, appearing lifeless.
As if sensing her presence, the old man slowly lifted his head, revealing a frightening face. His eyes had been cruelly gouged out, leaving bloody trails running down his weathered cheeks.
“Second Uncle…”
Murong Xiao Ya stared in shock at the horrific sight before her.
“How…how did you end up like this?”
At her words, the elder on the cushion seemed to recognize her, rasping out in a voice dry as brittle wood, “Is that you, Xiao Ya? Cough…cough…”
Murong Fu began coughing violently, spewing out darkened blood that stained his robes.
Alarmed, Murong Xiao Ya moved to approach, but he weakly raised a trembling hand to stop her.
“Leave me be…I have been gravely wounded and poisoned. I will not survive this night…”
Hearing this, Murong Xiao Ya halted abruptly, biting her lip hard. After a pause, she spoke softly, “The Murong Family…is gone.”
“I know…cough cough…”
Murong Fu struggled upright from the cushion, speaking slowly, painfully, “In truth…I foresaw that this day would come…”
“That is why I agreed to let Zhen’er and Feng’er take the Sparrow Flame Pills…yet even then, it was not enough…”
Murong Xiao Ya stood there silently, sorrowfully weeping without a sound.
Murong Fu sighed deeply, shaking his head slightly before saying haltingly, “Xiao Ya…once your Second Uncle passes…the Murong Family will have only you left…”
“Though I hope you live safely…my heart is restless, unwilling to accept seeing our family perish…”
As he spoke, Murong Fu slowly turned his head, his empty, bloody sockets seemingly gazing directly at her. “And so…Xiao Ya, I must ask…Do you wish to avenge your parents and brothers?”
At these words, Murong Xiao Ya trembled visibly. But looking into the ghastly face before her, she showed no hesitation. Her eyes, swollen from tears, flashed with resolute determination.
“Second Uncle, I will avenge them.”
“For vengeance, I would sacrifice anything—even my very life.”
Murong Fu sighed again, heavily, hesitating briefly before weakly asking, “Did Zhen’er and Feng’er give you something before their passing?”
Murong Xiao Ya reached into her clothing, pulling out two small objects. Looking down at them, she softly said, “My brothers did indeed leave me something. Though I don’t know what these are, perhaps they’re what you speak of.”
Murong Fu raised his hand slightly, and the items flew through the air, landing gently in his grasp. After carefully sensing their energy for a moment, he returned them to Murong Xiao Ya and nodded slowly.
“Yes, these are indeed the items…It seems Zhen’er and Feng’er were just like me…unwilling to accept their fate…”
With a flick of his finger, he shot a stream of martial Qi at a particular brick on the chamber wall.
Suddenly, a loud grinding sound echoed as hidden mechanisms sprang to life. The entire chamber began sinking steadily downward.
As they descended, Murong Fu continued in a low voice, “Xiao Ya…You are the last hope of our Murong Family…Today, I reveal to you our greatest secret…”
“Our family has stood for a thousand years…but our ancestors gained their fortune from a tomb—the Vermilion Bird Tomb…”
“And thus, secretly, we Murongs have always called ourselves…‘Keepers of the Tomb’…”
At this, Murong Fu began coughing violently once more, his injuries flaring. Yet he continued, voice strained, “The Sparrow Flame Pills…which can enhance martial power but carry deadly poison…also came from the Vermilion Bird Tomb…”
Just then, the chamber ceased descending.
Outside the amber glow of the lantern stretched a pitch-black cavern.
Murong Fu said no more. He beckoned Murong Xiao Ya, then slowly stepped out into the darkness.
Taking a deep breath, Murong Xiao Ya lifted the lantern from its hook and quietly followed.
Soon, the pair stopped before an immense coffin suspended in midair.
This coffin seemed formed from solidified lava, deep crimson in color, resembling blood frozen in stone. Its surface was carved with countless densely layered feathered scales.
Unlike ordinary coffins, this one hung high in the air, bound by thick chains. Merely gazing upon it brought a deep, invisible pressure.
“This is the Vermilion Bird Tomb.”
Murong Fu tilted his head upward. Though his eyes had been taken, he seemed able to sense the coffin clearly.
Murong Xiao Ya placed the lantern upon the damp cavern floor. She stared at the crimson coffin bound by chains, briefly closing her eyes before reopening them fiercely, and asked, “What must I do to avenge our family?”
Murong Fu paused a moment, then quietly replied, “Your first step is to open this coffin.”
As he spoke, the martial Qi around Murong Fu surged suddenly. One by one, the thick iron chains binding the coffin shattered violently.
At last, when the chains had all fallen away, the crimson coffin hovered silently, supported only by Murong Fu’s powerful Qi, suspended ominously in the air.