Joint Burial and a Taste for Enjoyment

Prince Nolan realized this as well. But aside from the floor, they had no other way out. Even if it was dangerous, they had to try.

Prince Nolan gestured for Sean Xuan, the Eighteen Riders, and Serena to fall back: "Bury a thunder-blast grenade here, extend the fuse, and after lighting it, we move to the next room."

"Alright." Serena and the Eighteen Riders quickly retreated, while Sean Xuan braced the door to help Prince Nolan withdraw.

Sean Xuan was someone you could trust to guard your back.

Prince Nolan lit the grenade and immediately retreated; Sean Xuan even pulled him back. The two of them ducked behind the door together. Serena and the Eighteen Riders saw a flash of light, but heard no explosion...

The soundproofing here was truly remarkable!

The Eighteen Riders wanted to go check, but Serena stopped them: "Wait a bit longer." Let the explosives cool down; if the liquid below was toxic, it would also give time for the fumes to dissipate.

In the adjacent room, after the thunder-blast grenade exploded, a deep pit was blasted into the floor. The toxic fumes Serena worried about didn’t appear, but a wave of scorching heat surged into every corner of the room, burning all the decorations. Anyone caught in that heat would be badly injured—it was no less lethal than being splashed with boiling oil.

They had waited all day, so a little longer was nothing. After half an hour, Serena finally agreed to let the Eighteen Riders open the door.

As the door swung open, a blast of hot air hit them. The Eighteen Riders silently thought, Good thing we didn’t rush in—otherwise, we’d be doomed.

A large hole had opened up in the floor. After checking the situation inside, the Eighteen Riders returned to report: "There’s a half-meter-wide pit. Can’t see what’s below, it’s pitch black."

"Jump down and take a look." Only then did Prince Nolan and Serena enter. In the center of the room was a large black hole. No one knew where it led.

The Eighteen Riders secured ropes and chose the four most agile to jump down. The hole was deep; after lowering more than ten meters of rope, there was finally movement: "Pull us up."

The Eighteen Riders worked together to pull all four up at once. The four looked excited: "Good news—the bottom leads into the imperial tomb. We should be able to find a way out."

"Let’s go down." Entering the tomb was better than staying in these rooms, which had no exit. At least in the burial chamber, there was a chance.

Prince Nolan and Sean Xuan went down first, followed by Serena and the Eighteen Riders. All twenty-one landed safely, and Prince Nolan didn’t have the ropes taken away.

"If there’s danger, we’ll still have a way to retreat."

Learning from last time, nobody split up. They lit torches and walked forward along the only passage in the tomb.

This time, they landed in a very poor position—right at the back of the tomb. After only a few steps, they saw the burial chamber.

This burial chamber was highly unusual—festive red everywhere. There was even a bed inside, with bedding and sheets that somehow remained bright red, as if untouched by time.

Inside the burial chamber sat a single coffin, half-open, revealing glittering jewels within.

“Why isn’t the coffin fully closed?” Serena found it odd, but didn’t go forward to look. Instead, the Eighteen Riders stepped up for a glance: “There are two corpses inside—both men. One wears imperial dragon robes, the other a bright red wedding outfit. The bodies are uncorrupted, their faces handsome, about thirty years old.”

“Two men? Buried together?” For a moment, Serena was stunned, but quickly realized she was overreacting and calmly asked Prince Nolan, “Was there ever an emperor in the Former Dynasty with a cut-sleeve (same-sex) preference?”

“Several.” Prince Nolan answered calmly, glancing at the two in the coffin. “But none died so young. Only one emperor fits this coffin—he never took an empress, ascended at eight, died at twenty-eight, and left no heirs.”

“Oh…” Serena didn’t ask further; she had no interest in the Former Dynasty’s gossip. “Let’s not disturb their peace. We should find a way out.”

“Mm.” Prince Nolan had no intention of lingering either, nor was he interested in the coffin’s jewels.

They came for treasure, but not to rob graves. And the two in the coffin, unchanged after so many years, meant the treasures must have a story. Disturbing them lightly could bring disaster.

Though the tomb was large, there were few grave goods. Aside from the jewels in the coffin, there were only ordinary porcelains, all arranged for daily living. It felt less like a tomb than a hidden retreat—study, hall, kitchen, even a few plots of land, some with living herbs.

“Medicinal herbs.” A faint herbal fragrance lingered, very pleasant. That explained why the tomb didn’t smell musty.

“The builder of this tomb put in a lot of thought.” There were no priceless grave goods, but what was here was more valuable than any treasure. Growing herbs in an underground palace was no easy feat.

Prince Nolan nodded without saying much, but glanced back at the coffin in the bright red burial chamber before leaving.

When he and Serena die, they’ll build a simple tomb—no living sacrifices, no grave goods, just a plain home for their afterlife.

Perhaps the tomb’s owner wanted to preserve this beauty—there were no traps or secret rooms, just open, bright halls. Of course, there was little worth stealing; the only valuables were in the coffin. As for the herbs—

Tomb robbers wouldn’t recognize their worth, and those who did wouldn’t take them. Without those herbs, the tomb wouldn’t have been so well preserved.

They walked forward, unhindered. Serena and Prince Nolan naturally didn’t disturb the tomb’s arrangements. When they reached the main passage, they discovered—

“Eldest Young Lady, it’s Snow Wolf.” The Eighteen Riders, leading the way, immediately spotted Snow Wolf lying in the pool—its white fur especially striking in the underground palace.

“Quick, let’s go check.” Serena hurried over, saw Snow Wolf in the water, and urged the Eighteen Riders to pull it out.

“Don’t worry, Eldest Young Lady—Snow Wolf isn’t dead, just fainted.” The Eighteen Riders, close by, saw its steady heartbeat and quickly reassured her.

“That’s good.” Finding Snow Wolf, Serena breathed a sigh of relief. While the Eighteen Riders fished it out, she glanced around—this must be the main passage to the tomb, lined with herbs, with the small pool at the very end.

The pool wasn’t large; its water was clear, with a few lotus flowers floating on top. It looked beautiful, like a little garden.

The tomb’s owner truly knew how to enjoy life.