Burial Site Mystery Classic - Chapter 36
She shouted, "Leopard, quickly untie that rope! We'll use it to bind the spider monster's legs so it can't move!" Jenny's words gave us a glimmer of hope. Leopard quickly leaped to the spider, picked up the rope, and rolled back to us. We used our shotguns and daggers to drive the spider away while untying the rope. Each of us held a section of the rope. After we finished, Leopard first rolled along the ground under the spider's belly. A section of rope was pulled under its body. Then I ran past the spider from right to left, and a section of rope was laid across its front. Next were Dunzi and Jenny. They also mustered their courage and pulled the rope to the spider's side.
70. The Stone Gate Enclosed by Netting
The spider seemed enraged by the ropes around it, thrashing about wildly. Its eight long legs naturally became entangled in the messy ropes. The more it struggled, the tighter the ropes tightened. Before long, the spider was coiled up like a large crab, unable to move.
Enraged by our encirclement, the spider struggled with all its might to break the ropes. Its strength was indeed formidable; the sturdy ropes stretched longer and longer with each effort, soon to snap. We had barely managed to subdue it; if it escaped again, it would truly be in danger for us.
"Push it down there and let it fall to its death!" Suddenly, Dunzi shouted. "Use other objects to push it, but don't touch its body directly; its bristles are poisonous!" I quickly added. So, the four of us each took out shovels and other tools, and using the spider's body as leverage, we slowly pushed it to the edge of the platform. The spider seemed to realize its fate, letting out angry and desperate howls. Its cries attracted the smaller spider from before. Dragging its half-crippled body, it stumbled and charged towards us. A-Bao, quick as lightning, fired two shots, hitting it squarely in the head. Dunzi and I weren't to be outdone; two steel arrows flew out and pierced the spider's brain through the wound on its head. After a scream, the young spider collapsed on the platform, motionless.
Hearing the baby spider's screams, the mother spider struggled with all her might, and with a snap, one of the ropes broke completely. Seeing the critical situation, we exerted even more strength, pushing the spider towards the edge of the platform. With a snap, another rope broke. Just as the third rope was about to break, we finally managed to push the spider off the platform. A piercing scream rang out from near to far, and then the entire tomb chamber returned to silence.
Seeing that the danger had passed, I felt a sharp, agonizing pain, as if my wounds had been ripped open. My vision blurred, my limbs went weak, and I collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.
When I woke up, I found myself lying in Jenny's arms. Dunzi was giving me water from the bottle. They all smiled when they saw me slowly waking up. Because my arm still felt a faint burning sensation, I instinctively turned my head to look at my wound, only to find it was already bandaged. Clearly, Jenny and the others had cleaned and carefully disinfected it while I was unconscious. Otherwise, the pain would be much more intense now.
"Si Nan, how are you feeling?" Jenny asked me with concern. I nodded and replied, "Much better." "Oh, it's good that you're alright. That monster's poison was really strong. Luckily, we brought the antidote," Dunzi said with a smile. "Otherwise, we brothers wouldn't be able to meet again until we're in another world."
After resting for about half an hour, my strength gradually returned. We decided to continue onward to complete our mission. We carefully examined the platform's environment and discovered that, apart from the spider cave where the platform connected to the rock wall, the platform was completely exposed with no other paths or routes.
Looking at the cold, dark cave entrance, Dunzi hesitated and said, "The secret wouldn't be hidden in this ghost cave, would it? This is too much trouble for everyone. If another one comes, we'll all be dead." "We've been through so much danger already, what's one or two more?" Jenny replied. "I'm fine, I'm just worried about Brother Sinan. Look at him now, he can't even stand up straight," Dunzi said. I waved my hand and replied, "I'm alright, don't worry about me, I'll walk slowly. Both ghost spiders have been killed now, and I think if there are any other of their kind in the cave, they should have rushed out by now, so I estimate the situation inside the cave shouldn't be too bad."
After hearing this, Dunzi was speechless for a moment. So, everyone packed up and loaded their ammunition, preparing to enter the cave.
With everything prepared, Ah Bao led the way. Dunzi lifted one of my arms with his shoulder and pulled me along behind Ah Bao. Jenny walked at the very back of the group.
The cave felt even colder and more gloomy than the outside, with many slimy spider webs swirling around its walls, creating an eerie atmosphere with each breath. We were worried about lingering venomous gas from the spiders, so we kept our gas masks on. In the dim light, we walked for about half an hour. Along the way, we saw many skeletons, clearly the remains of prey killed and eaten by the spiders. Besides the skeletons of rats and snakes, many were human bones. It was a gruesome and terrifying sight. We cautiously made our way forward, thankfully there were no other branching passages, so we quickly reached the bottom of the cave.
To our surprise, we found a sturdy stone door blocking our path. The door was completely covered by sticky cobwebs; were it not for two bronze door knockers, already rusted with verdigris, protruding from the webs, we wouldn't have recognized it as a stone door at all.
These grayish-white spider webs were quite different from ordinary spider webs. Although only as thick as noodles, they were exceptionally tough. No matter how we chopped and hacked at them with shovels, we couldn't break them. In fact, we even got our shovels stuck in the webs and couldn't get them off.
"Goodness, what's this material made of? How is it so strong?" Dunzi tossed his entrenching axe to the ground, wiping the sweat from his brow. I was sitting on the ground, watching Dunzi and the others work on the spider web. Hearing Dunzi's words, I replied, "Spider webs are made of protein compounds, and this substance is indeed extremely strong. This has been discovered by researchers for a long time. Studies have shown that if a spider web is compressed tightly, its strength can definitely be used to make bulletproof vests." I paused for a moment, then continued, "The strength of ordinary spider web silk is already this amazing; now you see ghost spider web silk that's as thick as noodles—how could its strength not be incredible?"
"What can we do? These spiderwebs are so sticky; once you get stuck, it's hard to escape. If we don't get rid of them, we simply can't get through this stone door," Jenny said with a hint of worry. A-Bao nodded and said, "Yes, the stone door is completely blocked by spiderwebs right now; there's no way to get through. This material is impervious to bullets; how can we possibly remove it?" A-Bao's words made us all think.
Dunzi paced back and forth in front of me, deep in thought. He kept tossing his brass Zippo lighter around as he walked. When I saw the lighter, a sudden idea struck me. I jumped up excitedly and shouted, "That's it! I have a solution!" "What solution? Tell me!" Dunzi asked eagerly. Jenny and Abao quickly gathered around me, their faces full of anticipation. I smiled mysteriously and replied, "No matter how strong this spiderweb is, it's still just a protein compound. Since it's organic, we can completely solve it with one method—burning it!"
71. The Gate to Immortality
"Hey, Si Nan, you're really something! You've got potential!" Dunzi patted my shoulder and laughed. Then, we grabbed some bandages, lit them with a lighter, and threw them into the dense, grayish-white spiderweb. The fire quickly spread. To avoid being burned, the four of us retreated more than twenty meters. Even so, the heat from the fire was still unbearably scorching.
The fire raged for over half an hour before gradually dimming. The smoke from the fire blurred our vision; thankfully, we had all worn gas masks, otherwise we would have certainly choked to death. About half an hour later, the smoke finally dissipated. In the light of our headlamps, the charred stone gate, blackened by the fire, appeared completely intact before us.
We approached the stone gate and examined it closely. Although the gate had been blackened by the fire, the uneven carvings were still visible upon closer inspection. These carvings were densely packed, covering the entire gate. Upon seeing these marks, I immediately recognized them as "Ghostly Inscriptions." Just as I was captivated by these characters, Jenny suddenly said, "Look. What are those characters up there?" Following her pointing, we looked up. There, on a flat rock face at the very top of the gate, were three powerful characters carved—"Gate of Eternal Life."
"Could this be the Gate of Eternity we've been searching for all this time! Does it hold the secret to immortality?" Dunzi seemed unable to believe his eyes. "It should be, it should be!" Jenny was incredibly excited, her voice choked with emotion. Abao hugged me tightly, shouting, "That's wonderful! Brother Sinan! We've finally found this place!" At that moment, I was also incredibly excited. For a moment, I couldn't even speak, only able to grip Abao's arm tightly and nod repeatedly. At that moment, everyone's eyes welled up with tears, their emotions surging like a river bursting its banks.
After the initial excitement, Dunzi rushed to push open the stone door, but I stopped him. Looking at Dunzi, I said, "Dunzi, although we've found the Gate to Immortality, we can't be careless. There might be a very dangerous mechanism here. You're not skilled enough; let Abao test it first. We don't want any accidents at this crucial moment." Jenny and Abao both nodded repeatedly. Abao said, "Sinan is right, I'll go first. I'll be careful." Jenny took the heavy backpack off Abao's shoulder, then earnestly instructed him to be careful before letting him walk to the stone door. We stood against the wall about ten meters away from Abao, watching his every move intently.
Ah Bao approached the stone door and tentatively pushed it with his tiger-head hunting rifle, but nothing happened. He then moved closer to the door, intending to peek through the gap between the two doors. "Well, did you find anything?" Jenny asked. Ah Bao replied, "The gap is too small; I can't see inside. And the stone doors are very heavy; I can't push them open. I guess there's some kind of stone lock or doorstop sealing them shut."
"It seems this stone door has a mechanism; we must find it to open it," I said to Dunzi and the others after analyzing the information Ah Bao had sent back. "Sinan, how do you know there's a mechanism to open it?" Dunzi asked me. I replied, "Because judging from the current situation, this stone door isn't an ordinary tomb door. If it were a tomb door, it would generally be sealed shut and never reopened, hence many tomb doors are blocked from the back. But based on the numerous materials we have now, this is the legendary entrance to the world of immortality, a place that can be entered multiple times. If I'm not mistaken, besides the First Emperor who isn't lying in Qinling, the owner who built this vassal king's tomb also entered through this stone door, because so far we've searched the entire tomb but haven't found the vassal king's coffin. Since it can be entered by later people, and it can't be pushed open all at once, then this stone door must have an external mechanism to open it."
"I'm really impressed with you," Dunzi said with a smile. Jenny added, "In that case, let's all quickly search the area and see if we can find the hidden mechanism." We nodded, then called Ah Bao over, explained the situation to him, and the four of us scattered to search for objects that might be the stone gate mechanism.
I carefully examined the rock walls and ground near the stone gate, not missing a single suspicious spot. After about twenty minutes, I still hadn't found anything. By now, my eyes were sore and tired from looking at them for so long in the dim light. So I stood before the stone gate and rubbed my eyes. During this rubbing, the pressure on my eyeballs caused my vision to blur. Because of this, part of the uneven "ghostly inscriptions" on the two stone gates overlapped in my vision. And within this overlapping area, I clearly saw an arrow pointing to the right. Following the direction of this arrow, an irregularly shaped rock, about one cubic meter in size, came into view. "This rock seems suspicious!" I immediately called everyone to the rock and began to examine it closely.
At first glance, this rock appeared to be connected to all the other rocks in the cave, without any gaps. Furthermore, its texture and color were identical, offering nothing suspicious. However, since it was pointed to by a hidden marker on the door, this rock must be related to the stone door in some way. We all thought so, so we groped around the rock for quite some time.
“Come on, let’s all use both hands to hold the rock up, and then pull together to see if we can move it clockwise or counterclockwise,” I said. So, at my suggestion, everyone decided to give it a try, even if it seemed hopeless. We surrounded the rock, held it up with both hands, and pulled together in a clockwise direction.
Things went surprisingly smoothly. With everyone pushing, the rock actually moved, emitting a soft "crackling" sound. After turning approximately 180 degrees, the stone door before us slowly opened, revealing a burst of golden light. Like the rising sun, it illuminated the once-dark cave with dazzling brilliance.
As if drawn by a mysterious force, we found ourselves involuntarily walking one after another towards the Gate of Immortality. At that moment, I felt my consciousness was blurred and unclear, as if, the instant the stone gate suddenly opened, our consciousness had been controlled by a magical force. We were no longer aware of any other dangers, and without hesitation, we stepped into the stone gate, completely unconcerned about traps or hidden weapons. Only one thought remained in our minds: go in, go in, enter this eternal world.
72. Temple of Time
I don't know how long this hazy state lasted, but when I regained consciousness, I was utterly astonished. Everything I saw made me think I was dreaming. The first thing I saw was a magnificent, resplendent golden palace. Its high walls, sturdy beams, and everything else were covered in gold. The inlays and decorations of various jewels and agates made the entire palace appear exceptionally grand and sacred. The mysterious light emanating from this palace illuminated the entire area before me, making it look like a fairyland. Even more unbelievable was that I found myself suspended in mid-air. Looking at Jenny and Ah Bao, they were the same. We all seemed to be in outer space, suspended in this mysterious area.
Faced with this sudden scene, our astonishment was unimaginable. For a good ten minutes, none of us uttered a single word. Then Jenny's voice broke the silence. She exclaimed excitedly, "This...this isn't a dream, is it?" Dunzi pinched his arm hard, then exclaimed joyfully, "No, it's not a dream! I feel pain! We're not dreaming! We've finally found the entrance to this world of immortality!" Overwhelmed with excitement, he jumped up involuntarily. But he forgot he wasn't standing on the ground; his sudden movement caused him to lose his balance and fall backward. Fortunately, Abao, who was beside him, pulled him back to his original position.
To get into the palace as quickly as possible, I tried swinging my legs and arms, struggling to move forward. But I found it very difficult to move my body as usual in this area. The others were in the same boat, struggling to control their direction despite their best efforts; sometimes you wanted to move forward, but after a struggle, you ended up moving backward. "No, we're just wasting our energy like this," Ah Bao said after several attempts.
I nodded, glancing around, hoping to find an effective way to move forward. Suddenly, I saw the row of stone pillars resembling ornamental columns in front of the magnificent golden palace, and a bold idea struck me. I said to Ah Bao, "We'll attach a rope to the middle of the steel arrow. Then we'll shoot the arrow into the hole at the top of those stone pillars. Because the rope is attached to the middle of the arrow, when we pull the rope back, the arrow will get stuck in the hole, allowing us to pull ourselves forward." "Great idea, let's try it!" Dunzi said happily.
So, Ah Bao quickly took out a thin rope from his backpack, attached one end to the middle of the steel arrow, and then accurately shot it into the hole at the top of the stone pillar with his crossbow. The nearest pillar in that row was about thirty meters away from us. Using the rope, we quickly reached the first pillar. After removing the steel arrow, Ah Bao used the same method to shoot another arrow into the hole at the top of the next pillar. In this way, after passing nine beautifully carved and polished stone pillars, we were only a few steps away from the Golden Palace.
"What do we do now?" Dunzi asked, looking at me. "There doesn't seem to be a similar opening in this golden palace." I smiled and replied, "Now we can try a different approach. Didn't you see that huge main gate of the palace? We'll just shoot the steel arrows directly at the gate." "Hehe, you're really clever," Dunzi said with a laugh after hearing this.
With a whoosh, the steel arrow shot through the air and embedded itself firmly in the gate. It held fast to the gold-leafed hardwood door, pulling on the rope. The four of us finally stepped onto the steps of the golden palace. Strangely enough, the moment our feet touched the steps, the floating sensation vanished, and we were once again standing steadily on the ground.
The steps were made of white marble, carved with various bird and animal patterns, wide and thick, exquisitely crafted. However, in order to unravel the mystery of immortality and solve the enigma of our day as soon as possible, we had no time to appreciate all these precious works of art before us. Together, we placed our hands on the door, intending to push it open and enter this mysterious golden temple.
Just as we expected, now that we had arrived at the temple and seen its silhouette, there was no longer any need to set up any traps or hidden weapons. The gate opened silently and slowly with our combined effort.
Multicolored light appeared before our eyes, revealing the entire palace. It was a vast hall supported by numerous thick, round pillars. We had expected to find a similar setup as the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, Beijing, with imperial paths, dragon thrones, musical instruments, ceremonial objects, and so on. To our surprise, we saw none of these items in this enormous palace. Inside, the four walls resembled giant LCD screens, constantly displaying ever-changing, multicolored nebula patterns. In the very center of the palace, a massive, silver-gray sphere stood silently before us; its details were not clearly visible due to the distance. Around this sphere, dozens of people dressed in ancient costumes sat cross-legged, facing the enormous silver-gray object.
We entered the palace through the main gate and discovered that the entire floor was paved with square tiles. These tiles looked ordinary, but when we stepped on them, the tiles would suddenly light up. Each tile had a different color of light, and at first we didn't realize the mystery. It wasn't until Dunzi curiously stepped on all the tiles in the area and they lit up that we realized the light from the tiles was forming a huge pattern. However, due to our angle of view, we couldn't immediately discern the pattern's content.
Gradually, we walked towards the crowd of people dressed in ancient costumes, which was the central area of the palace. With each step, our hearts raced. Perhaps we were just too excited; our minds were blank, and we didn't know what to think. After passing the pillars carved with "ghostly inscriptions," the figures of those people gradually became clearer in our eyes.
The outermost group of people wore red lama and nun robes. They sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes slightly closed, palms clasped in front of their chests, their expressions serene and relaxed. Among them, one person stood out, his attire different from the others. He wasn't wearing lama robes, but rather very elaborate ancient Tibetan clothing. It was adorned with dzi beads, turquoise, and red agate, and also embroidered with lion patterns in gold thread. It gave off a solemn and dignified feeling. At this moment, this person, like the others, sat quietly cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed, facing the huge silver-gray metal sphere. Their complexions were all very rosy, their skin glowing, as if they were peacefully asleep. However, after observing them carefully for a long time, I didn't see them breathing.
"Are they dead or alive?" Dunzi asked in surprise. I guessed he had also noticed that these people's chests and abdomens hadn't risen or fallen for a long time. I said, "It's still hard to say whether these people are still alive or not, but if I'm not mistaken, the person wearing that gorgeous clothes might be the prince we searched for so long in the Tubo prince's tomb. If these people are still alive, they must have lived for at least several hundred years."
73. The Emperor Returns
"A feudal lord! So he was a feudal lord!" Dunzi exclaimed in surprise after hearing my words. "They've been dead for hundreds of years, so why do their skin still look so rosy and elastic?" "I can't answer that question right now, which is why I said it's hard to say whether they're still alive," I replied. As we talked, we continued walking towards the group of people in ancient costumes.
When we arrived before them, the scene before us was even more astonishing. These people, dressed in lamas' robes, had serene expressions and rosy complexions; they certainly did not look like people who had lost their lives, let alone those who had been dead for hundreds of years.
On the ground around them, we also saw many bone and barrel-shaped ritual implements, arranged in a regular pattern. We found one of the lamas and touched his mouth and nose, only to find that he wasn't breathing. It seemed that these people were indeed lifeless, but why were these bodies so well preserved after hundreds of years? This question has been troubling me ever since.
After a cursory inspection, we continued towards the silvery-gray spherical object. About several dozen meters away, another group of figures in ancient costumes sat on the ground, their expressions still serene, their skin as fair as ever. Although their postures and expressions were similar to the group of lamas, they were more numerous, and their robes and armor clearly exhibited a strong Qin Dynasty style.
When I first saw this unique group of people, a strange thought suddenly popped into my head. Although it was fleeting, it was enough to shock me. Seeing this group, I couldn't help but say, "Could it really be them?" "Si Nan, what did you say?" Dunzi asked, hearing my confused question. I glanced at him and then said thoughtfully, "Do you remember the Qin Mausoleum? Qin Shi Huang's coffin was empty." "Yes, we remember. We eventually discovered that it was because Qin Shi Huang may have suddenly found a way to achieve immortality. He followed his confidants and sorcerers to seek the elixir of life." Dunzi said, recalling the events. I nodded and said, "That's right. Now look at these people. Their clothing makes them look like people from the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, if I'm not mistaken, these people are Qin Shi Huang's confidants, followers, and sorcerers." "So, Qin Shi Huang and his accomplices really came to this Gate of Immortality?" Jenny said with a hint of surprise. "So our initial deduction was correct. They were also brought to this mysterious place by the 'Burial Ground Mystery Scripture'." I nodded.
Then we continued to the Qin Dynasty warriors and local sorcerers. Their expressions and complexions were just like those of living people, without any difference, except that they no longer breathed or had heartbeats. "Didn't they say there was a way to achieve immortality? How come they've all become zombies?" Dunzi asked as we walked. "I don't know. Maybe the secret lies inside that silver-gray Earth. Let's search around it and see if we can find the First Emperor's body," I said, looking around.
The silver-gray sphere was probably about the size of a basketball court, and the area surrounding it, where Qin Dynasty warriors were distributed, was naturally much larger. It took us nearly half an hour to search this entire area. Finally, it was Ah Bao who first spotted the First Emperor.
Surrounded by eighteen imposing warriors, a tall, square wooden platform stood in the center. The eighteen warriors sat around the platform, all facing the silver-gray sphere. The platform was made of fine wood, covered with vermilion lacquer, and inlaid with gold and silver, its craftsmanship exquisite. A coiled dragon pillar stood at each of the four corners of the platform. Supported by these pillars, a black curtain embroidered with golden dragon patterns covered the top of the platform.
A man sat cross-legged in the center of the wooden platform. He wore a golden crown, a black dragon robe, and a long iron sword at his waist, his eyes closed. His expression was serene. A majestic aura naturally emanated from his eyes and brows.
I naturally had a feeling that this person was the emperor who dominated the Central Plains—Qin Shi Huang.
“He really is here, he really is here,” Dunzi said. “But didn’t he find a way to live forever? How come he still died here?” I shook my head and replied, “It seems the answer to this question can only be found inside that silver-gray sphere.” After lingering in front of the First Emperor for a while, Jenny took many photos with her camera, and then we walked directly towards the huge silver-gray sphere.
Upon reaching the sphere, we discovered that its outer surface appeared to be metallic, yet felt soft to the touch. The areas we touched also shimmered with iridescent colors. Even more astonishing was that this large object was suspended in mid-air, its lowest point about half a meter above the ground. Apart from a circular hole at the bottom, the entire sphere was completely undecorated, as smooth as an egg.
I bent down and crawled into the bottom of the spherical object to examine the circular hole. It was about a meter in diameter and emitted a bluish-white light; nothing else was visible. "It seems this is the only entrance into the sphere," I said to Jenny and the others. "Let's go in! I can't wait!" Dunzi said, trying to crawl towards the entrance, but I grabbed him. "Dunzi, don't rush!" I shouted. "Based on what we've seen so far and the clues we've gathered, this so-called Gate to Immortality is very likely related to an extraterrestrial civilization. We can't just rush in; we might not be able to get out. So, I hope everyone is mentally prepared before we go in."
My words jolted Dunzi and the others awake, causing them to break out in a cold sweat. After a moment of silence, Abao spoke first. He said, "Since that's the case, I'll go first. Anyway, I'm all alone and have no ties. But if I don't make it out, I hope Brother Sinan can take good care of Miss Jenny for me." Hearing Abao's words, Jenny's tears flowed involuntarily.
"No, Leopard, if I can't get out, you must get them out of here safely." With that, I quickly disappeared into the sphere before they could react. All I heard was Jenny's voice calling, "Si Nan..."
Due to the unusual lighting inside the passage, I only felt a halo of light before my eyes, and couldn't see my surroundings at all. As soon as I entered the passage, a powerful gravitational force slowly lifted my body upwards. I could only feel my body rising continuously under that suction force.
About twenty or thirty seconds later, I found myself finally standing on the ground. The blue-white light gradually dimmed, and I blinked hard to adjust to the new environment. Then, I slowly opened my eyes. I could finally see the environment inside the sphere. My eyes were wide open, captivated by everything before me.
This is a circular hall. The walls of the entire hall are covered with images of the starry sky. Directly in front of me is a row of five tall, soft chairs. Each chair has a tall, slender crystal skeleton on it. These skeletons reflect different lights under the ever-changing starry sky imagery surrounding the hall. Behind them, an oval halo composed of three rays of light flickers incessantly. In the center of the hall is a circular platform. At the very center of the platform is a crystal ball slightly larger than a basketball. Around the perimeter of the platform are eight slender, palm-shaped markings, spaced evenly and regularly around the crystal ball.
74. The Forbidden Zone of Time
Upon seeing the crystal ball, I was naturally drawn in by curiosity, and without thinking, I placed my palm on one of the handprints. In that instant, vivid images flooded my mind.
In this vast universe, all space evolves according to a certain time law as the universe continues to expand. This evolution follows a curved path. Under normal circumstances, each point in time and space does not coincide with another. However, if the magnetic field in the universe unexpectedly changes, causing two points in time and space to intersect, then this point becomes a special, manipulable point. Objects within this special point can, under some form of control, enter another spacetime region that did not originally belong to them. This is the method of time travel we often see in science fiction movies.
The crystal skeletons sitting on the soft chairs before me were originally extraterrestrial visitors from distant outer space. Their spacetime was originally separated from ours by an insurmountable barrier. Because the distance between the two spacetimes was so vast, interaction between things in these two spacetimes was impossible unless a special event occurred.
At some point in time, these extraterrestrial visitors, during an experiment on spacetime, suddenly altered the cosmic magnetic field, causing a sudden distortion between two previously unrelated spacetime regions, resulting in their overlap. During this overlap, their spacecraft veered off the original timeline and, in the chaos, entered another. Thus, they arrived in the spacetime region we inhabit, exactly ten thousand years BC. Their spacecraft was impacted and damaged while passing through the atmosphere. Then, in that instant, they entered an escape pod and were launched. That escape pod is the black, boulder-like object we saw earlier.
Because they came from a different region of spacetime, their physical structure was vastly different from ours. In our world, they aged very slowly. They emerged from the escape pod, used special equipment to retrieve the wrecked wooden ship, and began working on repairing the damaged hull and equipment.
After arriving in this world, they carefully analyzed and studied the relationship between spacetime distortion and strong magnetic fields, gradually mastering the theory of time travel. However, due to a lack of equipment and energy, they were unable to return to their own spacetime world. When they witnessed the continuous development of human civilization on this planet, they devised a plan. They decided to utilize humanity's powerful labor and production capabilities to collect enough energy for them. In exchange, they promised to grant those who provided them with sufficient energy unlimited life, allowing them to travel freely through this spacetime tunnel.
Having conceived this idea, they sought out some humans on Earth, attempting to communicate with them and convey their thoughts. However, communication requires language and writing. So, their first step was to give their written language—what we call "ghost inscriptions"—to some humans on Earth. These humans then returned home with information containing the location of their spaceship and the key to immortality, and gradually spread this information.
Once I got here, my mind gradually calmed down, and I finally returned to normal. My first thought was to tell Jenny and the others that I was still alive, and then let them enter this place as well. Because from what I've observed so far, as long as we don't blindly enter that so-called time-space portal, the rest of the place should be safe.
Thinking of this, I quickly returned to the original entrance. A few seconds later, I saw Jenny and Dunzi again. Excitement and surprise were evident on their faces. Jenny couldn't help but throw herself into my arms, tears welling in her eyes, saying, "How could you do this? We all thought we'd never see you again." I stroked her dark hair gently and said, "It's alright, see, I'm back safe and sound. By the way, everyone come in with me, it should still be safe inside, just don't easily enter that portal." "Portal? What's that?" Dunzi asked curiously. "Come with me, you'll find out once we're inside. This is indeed the headquarters of the extraterrestrial visitors." Saying this, I took Jenny's hand and entered the circular entrance again. Dunzi and Abao followed closely behind.
As I expected, everything inside astonished everyone. I then recounted to them the information I had gleaned from the crystal ball. After listening, Jenny pondered for a moment, then said, "If that's the case, we can deduce that when those ancient humans returned to their tribes, they regarded these beings from outer space, possessing mysterious powers, as their gods. The information recording the spaceship's location and the power to gain immortality was recorded as a divine decree. However, due to the difficulty of obtaining the energy needed by astronauts at the time, these records containing the information were gradually lost over time."
"During the Qin Dynasty, after Qin Shi Huang unified the Central Plains, the country's power was unprecedented. In his later years, he was obsessed with obtaining the elixir of immortality, and sorcerers and magicians from all over the country flocked to him with various methods of achieving longevity. Among these scattered techniques, Qin Shi Huang gradually pieced together fragmented information about astronauts' methods of achieving immortality, creating a relatively complete text called the *Burial Scripture*. Because this scripture was said to have come from heaven and was the word of the gods, it could naturally ward off disasters and bring good fortune. Therefore, Qin Shi Huang ordered craftsmen to carve the text of this scripture onto stone tablets in both 'ghostly inscriptions' and the Qin Dynasty's own script, to ward off evil spirits and ensure the eternal prosperity of the empire. Those stone tablets are the Nine Dragon Stone Tablets we found earlier."
"Later, when the opportunity arose and the information was fully deciphered, Qin Shi Huang fabricated a story of his own demise, leading his confidants and sorcerers to Guge, where they found the mysterious spaceship. However, they arrived too late. By then, the astronauts had already exhausted their lives during the long wait and perished inside the spaceship. Qin Shi Huang and his entourage were unaware of this fact. In their eyes, the spherical object was a forbidden zone for the gods, and they dared not enter without divine permission. So they sat around the sphere, devoutly awaiting the appearance of the gods. They believed this was the so-called cultivation of immortality, until one by one they died of hunger. They believed that once their souls left their bodies, they could enter the immortal realm."
"Later, the Guge Kingdom came into being. When the emperor of the dynasty was building his palace here, he accidentally discovered the astronauts' escape pod. Based on some ancient legends circulating in Tibet, he gradually unraveled the secret of immortality. So he built a temple in this underground area as a sacred place. Later, he also found the spaceship and worshipped it as devoutly as Qin Shi Huang, until one by one he lost his life," Jenny said.
"It seems everyone's been fooled by these aliens," Dunzi said, slightly angry. "There's no way to be immortal!" "How could there not be? If these aliens could obtain enough energy to allow you to travel freely through spacetime, then time would be under your control, and you would naturally be immortal," I explained. "However, they died before they obtained enough energy. And that spacetime portal was only half-open; it's inaccessible. Inside lies a terrifying, indescribable forbidden zone of time. The method the astronauts developed through their research—using magnetic fields to open the spacetime portal and control spacetime—disappeared with their deaths." Hearing this, Dunzi looked regretful: "Looks like it was all for nothing."
"How could it be a wasted effort? Our experience has been so amazing! And what a magnificent discovery we've made!" I said with a smile. "However, I think it's best not to tell anyone about this secret for now, and not to announce it to the outside world. If the secret of this time-space portal were to become public, I think our peaceful and tranquil lives would definitely be disrupted. Who knows, wars might break out between nations over the competition and research into astronauts' time-space control technology. I don't want to be a villain for all time." Everyone smiled after hearing my words. It seemed everyone shared my opinion.
"One last question, why haven't the bodies of Qin Shi Huang and the Guge King decomposed for so many years?" A-Bao asked again. I smiled and replied, "How did we enter this Golden Temple? We floated in, right? So if I'm not mistaken, I think the astronauts altered the universe's magnetic field by opening a time portal, creating a very special area. Because of the special magnetic force here, and because there are no bacteria or rodents, the human tissue has been perfectly preserved." "I see," A-Bao nodded.
When we returned to the ruins of Guge via the same route, it was already noon. Uncle Zashim was anxiously waiting for our return at the camp. As soon as he saw us, he asked excitedly, "How was it? Did you find anything?" The four of us exchanged glances, none of us answering, just sharing a knowing smile, feigning helplessness. But a hint of satisfaction and pride, barely perceptible to others, shone through our eyes.
The End