Book 3: Chapter 47: Imperial Tomb Dancers

Book 3: Chapter 47: Imperial Tomb Dancers

The wall where we came down was six meters high, extended out on both sides, and was nearly thirty meters wide. Except for the entrance blocked by the Diamond Wall that was as big as a giant lunch box, the rest of the wall was covered in murals. There wasnt even an inch of blank space on it.

The oxidation on the murals had stopped, so the colors were still very vibrant. And based on the hues, it could be inferred that the colors used back then were extremely bold. The painters had picked absolutely gorgeous colors and knew how to contrast them well despite the fact that huge murals could really put people under a lot of pressure.

But the paint on murals would always flake off with the passage of time. Of course, there were some holes in them that had been made by grave robbers who came here in the past.

The content of the murals could be described in one word: party. There was a complete state of revelry all around this huge Corpse Country banquet. Unlike the Han peoples Confucian code of ethics, Mongolian banquets didnt have a serious and restrained atmosphere to them. Instead, it was more of a frantic state of fully pursuing the senses. In the murals, I could see the maids and common people who had come to watch, the envoys of various countries who had brought treasures and delicacies with them, and all kinds of dancers and musicians. All of these people were walking towards the gate that led to this banquet.

Of course, the murals were divided into sections, so I could see that each section had its own theme and there were even some minor scenarios taking place in them. Each section had been painted by different craftsmen, so some were almost master works of art while others were extremely unimaginative.

When viewed from the front, the mural in front of me had a total of twelve figures, eleven of whom were watching a dancer in the middle. The dancer was pitch-black all over and her head was drooping as if she was extremely drunk. The eleven people around her were throwing wine on her. This wine turned into a rainbow as it fell all around her.

But when I looked at the mural again using my peripheral vision, I could see a thirteenth person.

This person wasnt like the things youd usually see in traditional myths where something would be hiding behind the dancer and dancing with her. Instead, his existence was very creepy.

He didnt even show himself in the crowd, but mixed in among the people. His image didnt have any details and only appeared as a shadow, but when I looked at that outline, I realized that this person must have been the thing I saw out of the corner of my eye when we were on the grassland. I didnt know how the painters could paint something like this.

When I looked at the mural directly, everyones expressions were in a state of pure bliss, but when I looked out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the dancer's expression had changed. She was secretly looking at that extra figure in fear.

She could see it.

The open space in front of Poker-Face was actually the first steps walkway. The dust layer on the ground of this underground palace was very thick, so we could see a bunch of footprints. We hadnt started exploring this area yet so we werent in a hurry, but Poker-Face was already staying vigilant.

In this open space, we could see two areas with a dense cluster of footprints. The footprints formed a complex pattern, as if the owners had circled around in a small area.

"Hey, were these people acting like they were a donkey pulling a millstone?" Fatty asked.(1)

I squatted down, "This was someone dancing. These are dance steps. Besides, these footprints belong to two girls. It should be Shen Qianjue and her partner."

The owners of these footprints had been barefoot and had small feet. One set of dance steps looked very clearthe owner obviously had strong control over their bodywhile the other set was sloppy.

Why would they dance here? Does it have something to do with the dancing girls?

I looked up towards the end of the walkway and could vaguely see a huge coffin lying at the top.

I had a very bad feeling and my mood was complicated.

****

TN Notes:

(1) Like this: