The cave wasn't deep. After only twenty or thirty steps, they reached a spacious grotto.
The moment the torchlight illuminated it, Dai Weisi's steps halted abruptly, and his expression froze.
Scattered across the center of the grotto lay a field of white bones.
Some skeletons remained intact, while others had fallen apart, bones strewn here and there like firewood tossed aside.
Various grave goods were scattered among them: fragments of gold-threaded jade burial suits, jade pendants set with gems, weapons mottled with rust, and even several damaged ceremonial crowns.
All of them bore the distinctive markings of the Star Luo Imperial Family, their surfaces glimmering dimly in the firelight.
Dai Weisi stood rooted to the spot for a long while, his expression shifting from shock to anger, then finally settling into a complicated mixture of relief and sorrow.
Trembling, he stepped forward, slowly knelt before the bones, and struck his forehead against the ground three times.
"Ancestors above... Your unworthy descendant, Dai Weisi, has come too late..."
His voice choked with emotion, and his eyes reddened.
The guards who had followed him in also dropped to their knees. For a time, only muffled sobs echoed through the cave.
After a long while, Dai Weisi rose and wiped his face. Turning to the guards behind him, he ordered, "Quick! Gather our ancestors' remains! Don't leave behind a single bone!"
"Carefully count and register every grave good!"
"Yes, sir!"
The guards sprang into action. Some took out the brocade they had brought and carefully wrapped the bones.
Others brought out paper and brushes to inventory the grave goods, one item at a time.
Still others searched the cave for anything that might have been overlooked.
It took a full half hour to finish counting all the remains and grave goods. They sorted