Flowers lay before the gravestone, not yet wilted.
Chen Lun sighed.
He continued farther in and discovered a Stone Shrine, its doors firmly sealed shut.
Chen Lun narrowed his eyes slightly and ran his fingers along the gap between the doors. Then he used [Serpent Senses], flicking out a forked tongue to collect pheromones.
"Someone has been here... but it wasn't Viscount Pompey or Mrs. Caroline."
Normally, a shrine like this housed the remains of someone of extremely high status. Even for worship, its doors would not be opened lightly.
Chen Lun raised his guard, pushed open the doors, and stepped inside.
His slit pupils did not grant night vision, but they could detect heat. At that moment, everything in his vision was pitch-black, and he found no large creatures.
Flicking his forked tongue, he slowly approached a corner of the shrine.
A suspicious stone slab showed signs of having been loosened. He extended one finger and easily lifted the heavy slab, revealing a long staircase beneath it.
"There's actually a secret passage here..."
Chen Lun was surprised.
Had he not picked up traces of someone entering this place through their pheromones, he would have had a hard time finding this entrance.
Chen Lun put the Sapphire Earring on his right ear and touched the Grape Ring on his index finger. After briefly checking his equipment, he headed down the passage.
Once he had descended a certain distance, light appeared ahead, coming from lit oil lamps on the walls.
"There really is someone here!"
He became even more vigilant.
At the end of the passage stood a bronze door carved with patterns of various animals and plants.
Just as he was about to push it open and enter, someone opened the bronze door from inside first.
Clang!
A backlit figure