Ahead stood only a single great hall.
Yang Qing looked at that solitary hall, and a trace of unease flickered through his heart.
After walking for so long, they had not even passed through the actual entrance to the Imperial Mausoleum.
They had merely reached its outermost perimeter.
Seeing that Yang Qing and the others remained silent, Yun Niang took two steps forward, looked at him, and said, "This is where the Tomb Keepers live."
Beyond the Tomb Keepers lay the true Imperial Mausoleum.
Yang Qing said to Yun Niang, "Whether we meet these people should make little difference to us. I think finding that person is still the most pressing matter."
An idea had occurred to Yang Qing, driving him to meet that person as soon as possible.
Only by meeting that person could he find answers to the questions in his heart.
"If you want to meet him, you can only rely on these people. No one but them can enter the Imperial Mausoleum."
As Tomb Keepers, their chief duty was to enter the Imperial Mausoleum at regular intervals to inspect it, clear away debris around it, and eliminate any hidden dangers that might threaten it.
Like the administrators of Upside-Down City, the Tomb Keepers passed their positions down through the generations. They were all descendants of the ministers and military commanders whom Emperor Zhetian had trusted and relied upon most.
Thus, they held an extraordinary attachment to the Imperial Mausoleum, and they had passed that loyalty down from generation to generation, all the way to the present.
That was precisely why Yun Niang wanted Yang Qing and the others to meet the Tomb Keepers here first.
Without their permission, Yang Qing and the others could talk until their lips wore out and still not get a single