“I’m fine! Why is this bluestone so heavy?” Chloe complained.
“Huh?!” Chloe exclaimed suddenly.
“What happened?” Leo thought the earlier jolt had hurt Chloe and asked quickly.
“This bluestone…” Chloe looked down at the stone, “This bluestone… Leo! Quick! Put me down.”
Leo slowly squatted down, and Chloe struggled to place the bluestone on the ground.
Domingo and Leo gathered around to look at the stone.
“What’s the matter? Did we find a treasure?” Domingo asked curiously.
At that moment, the sound of water in the palace increased, and the pump started working at full capacity to draw water.
However, the three were so focused on the bluestone that they didn’t notice this subtle change.
Above the Western Xia Treasury, Christine and three members of the photography team shared a tent.
It was already night, and there was no noise outside the tent.
As the guard had said, loud noises were not allowed in the camp. Although there were about a hundred people living there, it was completely silent.
It started raining.
Pitter-patter!
The sound of raindrops hitting the tent was like drumming.
Christine lay in her sleeping bag, hands behind her head, staring at the tent’s ceiling, waiting for Leo and the others to return from the Western Xia Treasury.
A clap of thunder sounded, and a flash of white light illuminated the entire tent. The once quiet camp was now bustling with noise, and amidst the sound of rain, people could be heard exclaiming in surprise.
Christine sat up abruptly, feeling a heavy weight on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Leo and his team, deep in the underground palace, couldn’t hear the thunder. Even the tremors on the ground were faint by the time they reached them. Their attention was entirely on the last piece of bluestone.
“This is…” Chloe rubbed the surface of the bluestone repeatedly, removing debris to reveal its true appearance.
“This is White Jade?” Chloe’s voice trembled as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.
White Jade wasn’t extraordinary by modern standards, but four or five hundred years ago, only royalty could afford it.
Moreover, this piece of White Jade was embedded in a bluestone brick wall. What could this mean?
Leo turned the White Jade over, revealing a line of small vertical characters on the back.
“Diamondstone marks this spot. Three feet seven inches from Diamond Wall, ten yards deep.”
“Diamondstone?” Leo didn’t understand these things and looked at Chloe.
Domingo was equally puzzled. Although he didn’t understand the inscription’s meaning, both knew they had found something significant.
“Diamondstone! This really is Diamondstone?” Chloe read the inscription repeatedly and said slowly, “Ancient royal tombs were heavily guarded against theft. The outermost layer was usually an earthen wall, followed by a brick wall, and then a Diamond Wall.”
“What is a Diamond Wall?” Domingo asked. He instinctively reached for his recorder but realized he had left it in his bag along with his notebook, feeling somewhat unprepared.
“A Diamond Wall is made by bonding blue bricks with Sacred Rice paste, lime mortar, and honey. I once saw one in Emperor’s Rest at Thirteen Tombs.”
“I heard from an old expert at Langstel Museum that they used three special steel rods as thick as fingers to try and break through a Diamond Wall. They wore out all three without success, showing how thick it is.”
“So if there’s a Diamond Wall here, does that mean this is a royal tomb?” Domingo asked.
“Possibly. Based on this structure, it’s likely Emperor Lee’s tomb as Leo guessed.”
“So if we follow Diamondstone’s directions, we can find Diamond Wall?” Leo asked.
Chloe nodded.
After a moment of silence, Leo finally spoke, “Should we dig?”
Chloe and Domingo both smiled mischievously at this suggestion.
Normally, they should return to camp and report to Sergeant Woods before exploring further with a full team the next day.
But deep in the underground palace, with ancient relics within reach, it was hard to resist.
Chloe was always bold, and Domingo was an outsider who didn’t know enough to be afraid.
Both were eager to start digging following Diamondstone’s directions to find Diamond Wall.
The location was only fifty steps from the original crack, calculated by Chloe.
Diamondstone’s directions weren’t entirely accurate. Known as a labyrinth stone, it was marked with terms only understood by tomb builders.
If an inexperienced thief followed Diamondstone’s directions exactly, they would likely trigger traps.
Chloe double-checked her calculations and nodded to Leo to confirm she had found the right spot.
Leo raised his Duckbill Hoe and struck at the bricks.
Fortunately, they were near the surface; even Domingo could reach easily.
With each strike from Leo’s hoe, the bricks broke apart more easily than those Chloe had struggled with earlier.
After breaking through three layers of bricks, Leo turned back with a smile, “It won’t be long before we see Diamond Wall.”
Chloe and Domingo didn’t respond but stared in horror behind Leo.
Domingo’s eyes were wide open as he covered his mouth. Chloe reacted quickly, grabbing Leo with one hand and Domingo with the other, about to say something.
Leo felt a wetness on his back and turned around just as water splashed over him, swallowing his words.
The sound of rushing water drowned out the pump’s noise. Leo floated on the water being carried deeper into the passageway by the current.
Grabbing Chloe tightly, Leo shouted, “Are you all okay?”
“I…”
It was Chloe’s voice. Domingo was silent; he might have been swept elsewhere or lost consciousness.
Leo was anxious; he hadn’t expected so much water from where Diamond Wall should be. Was it a trap?
The water flow increased rapidly, pushing them toward the passage’s end.
Leo hadn’t been there yet but heard from Chloe it was a dead end. As they neared it, Leo pulled Chloe close to protect her.
Chloe held onto someone else tightly. Feeling the soft body, Leo realized it must be Domingo.
Thankfully Chloe reacted quickly; otherwise, Domingo would have been swept away.