In the secret chamber, none of the strange incantations... nor any of the deadly traps had been triggered. Atop the altar in the Sacrificial Tower, the little old man was currently engrossed in tinkering with something.
A faint strange noise sounded. On the flat altar, a massive stone box slowly rose.
"Tsk, tsk. Compared with the things inside Chiwang Tomb, this is practically a toy."
The little old man wore a satisfied smile as he stared intently at the stone box... Once it had finished rising, he carefully deciphered the layers of mechanisms again. Finally, with both hands steady as a rock, he opened the box.
In an instant, the little old man's expression shifted from wild delight to astonishment... then disappointment... and finally rage.
As if his mind had gone blank, the little old man stood there dumbfounded. His trembling hand pulled a fist-sized ball of yarn from the stone box—a crudely wound one, obviously not made by any artisan.
A smiling face had been drawn on the rough ball of yarn, as though mocking him.
"Who the hell... Which damned, gutless bastard got here before me..."
He was furious... but restrained. He didn't dare make too much noise, because there was a sound-sensitive incantation trap in this secret chamber.
The little old man took a deep breath, brow furrowed, and pulled another note from the stone box. It had been pressed beneath the ball of yarn.
He looked at the note.
—You don't have one either.
Beneath those words was a chrysanthemum drawing.
The little old man's blood pressure instantly shot up to 260. Overcome with rage, he spat out a mouthful of blood. "I'll kill you!"
Boom!
His high-pitched roar instantly triggered the incantations in the secret chamber. At the same time, the chamber shook, and a