Another unknown burial chamber.
Bai Yujun, who had been holding up a red candle to inspect the murals, turned to look overhead. Her eyes seemed to pierce through the rammed-earth layer and see the land and sky beyond. She froze, then broke into delighted surprise, the corners of her mouth lifting.
"Monkey..."
Before she could call out, she hastily cast a spell to shield herself.
Then the rammed-earth ceiling exploded with a thunderous crash. Bricks and stones flew everywhere, dust filled the air, as though someone had violently drilled through the earth from outside and broken into the tomb chamber. Jars and urns flew in all directions, shattering with a clatter.
Through the dust appeared a gray-furred monkey half a man's height.
"Eek eek~ I knew it had to be you! This is great, eek eek!"
He bounced and danced with his arms flailing, scratching his ears and cheeks with textbook-perfect movements. Real monkeys all acted like this.
Bai Yujun opened her mouth, then gave an awkward smile. This fool was far too reckless, not caring in the least whose tomb this was. Oh well, what was destroyed was destroyed. The tomb's owner had not been anything good anyway; seeing the sunlight was not bad for him.
"Welcome to the new world. Long time no see. Wait for me—we'll go outside and find a place to drink in a bit."
With a wave of her hand, she swept the dust out through the hole.
The monkey made himself right at home.
Looking around, he found only one seat in the burial chamber. He leaped up and landed with a thump in a squat atop the coffin lid, munching peaches as he watched his old friend busily dig along the base of the walls. The ominous thing that had been born