"Moreover, there’s another issue. We’re only in the passageway, and already there’s an appearance of the ’Departure Memorial.’ Is Zhuge Liang really afraid that others won’t know this is his tomb?"

Xia Liang furrowed his brows.

In general, the owners of tombs go to great lengths to conceal their identities, fearing relentless intrusion on their resting places.

Zhuge Liang, however, has left a ’Departure Memorial’ in the passageway, as if declaring to everyone, ’This is my tomb, Zhuge Liang’s. Come and dig it up.’

If this was truly Zhuge Liang’s intention, why wasn’t there a grand procession at the time, and instead, he let Emperor Liu Shan secretly bury him?

These thoughts swirled in Xia Liang’s mind, but he currently had no way to unravel this puzzle.

Of course, there’s also a possibility that this really is Zhuge Liang’s tomb, but merely a fake one meant to attract people, who would then face contraptions leading to their demise.

After all, this is someone who crossed paths with Cao Cao, who had twelve suspicious tombs. Who knows if Zhuge Liang wouldn’t do the same?

"Mr. Nakamura, the passageway has been dug open."

While Xia Liang pondered, Kawai Matsutake and the others approached. The passage, once blocked by rubble, now had an opening big enough for one person to pass through.

"Very good, proceed forward. Mr. Xia Liang, after you."

Nakamura Komachi glanced at Xia Liang as he spoke, marking the first time he’d addressed him directly.

Xia Liang nodded. Having reached this point, he was eager to continue.

If he didn’t proceed, these people might act against him right away, and it’d be easier to deal with them once inside.

He was also curious about whether this tomb really belonged to Zhuge Liang.

Bending and passing through the hole dug by the group, it was wider inside than it appeared from the outside, with glowing stones embedded along the sides of the passage.

However, upon seeing the scene before him, Xia Liang became alert again. The place was littered with bones, their attire indicating they were from the Sakura Country.

Scattered across the ground were numerous sharp arrows and blades, implying the passage was once filled with hidden weapons.

"I wonder if there’re any concealed weapons left. If there are, they could be troublesome for the others."

As Xia Liang mused, Nakamura Komachi and the others joined him in the tunnel.

"It seems very dangerous here; some traps might still be active."

Kawai Matsutake suggested, glancing at Ozawa Ria.

"Ozawa, it’s up to you now."

"Don’t worry, Mr. Kawai."

Ozawa Ria replied, pulling out various instruments and scanning the area. The results soon appeared on her computer, showing the passage’s inner structures.

"Mr. Kawai, the traps here are depleted, posing no threat."

More than ten minutes later, Ozawa Ria put away her computer and spoke.

"Good, but we still need Mr. Xia Liang to go verify."

Kawai Matsutake said, looking at Xia Liang with a smile.

Yet, Xia Liang noticed a glint of menace beneath his smile, suspecting they would act if he refused.

"I trust Ms. Ozawa. Since she says it’s safe, it should be."

Xia Liang said, striding ahead without much worry. Not even hidden weapons would be a problem for him.

The passage was utterly silent except for the echo of Xia Liang’s footsteps.

The journey, spanning several dozen meters, took Xia Liang five minutes, but he encountered no danger along the way.

"It really seems safe now. Let’s go."

Seeing Xia Liang pass safely, Kawai Matsutake and others followed.

Xia Liang turned his gaze forward, where a Stone Gate blocked his path.

At this point, Kawai Matsutake and the others arrived, frowning at the sight of the stone gate.

"Ozawa, analyze this Stone Gate and see if there’s a way to open it."

Kawai Matsutake said, glancing at Ozawa Ria again.

Ozawa Ria nodded, pulling out instruments once more to analyze the Stone Gate.

But she quickly frowned.

"Mr. Kawai, the mechanism in this Stone Gate is broken. To open it, we’ll have to break it down.

This might be due to them triggering the mechanism upon entry, causing the Stone Gate to shut. Analysis shows the gate is over a meter thick, containing significant metal elements, extremely sturdy."

Kawai Matsutake nodded, looking at Xia Liang. "Mr. Xia Liang, your ancient people were really something. This Stone Gate is probably over a thousand pounds. It’s a marvel how they placed it here."

"Mr. Kawai, this should be the ’Dragon Severing Stone’ in the tomb. It’s said that once the Dragon Severing Stone falls, the tomb door shuts, dividing yin and yang, making it incredibly difficult to open again."

Xia Liang explained, admiring the ancient wisdom that could move such massive stones without modern machinery.

"But that was hundreds of years ago. Now it’s the era of machines, and a mere Dragon Severing Stone can’t stop us."

Kawai Matsutake spoke as a man beside him pulled an electric drill from his backpack.

"Let’s see whether this Dragon Severing Stone is more formidable than a drill."

With Kawai Matsutake’s words, the man turned on the drill, and everyone stepped back. Soon, debris and dust flew as the drill bit into the stone.

Watching this, Xia Liang shook his head slightly. Zhuge Liang probably never imagined his impregnable Dragon Severing Stone would fall to an electric drill.

In the Qinling Mountains.

"Captain, we’ve found markers left by the Guardians. They should have headed in this direction."

"Good, move at full speed. We must find the Guardians quickly, and be wary of those Islanders. They wouldn’t venture into the Qinling without reason."

The captain addressed the team. They had lost track of Xia Liang and his companions the previous day, and searching the area yielded nothing.

Thankfully, they found Xia Liang’s markers. Though the distance to their target remained unknown, at least they had a direction again.

Led by Captain Zhou Ji, they advanced towards Xia Liang and his group.

"Boom..."

Meanwhile, in the passage, time went by as Xia Liang considered punching through it himself. The boom sounded, revealing a gap in the Dragon Severing Stone.