Chapter 92: The Tomb of King Ping (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 92: The Tomb of King Ping (1)
By flying day and night without rest using the Sword Flight Art, I was able to reach Wuhan City in just two days.
To be precise, I arrived at the site of the Tomb of King Ping, located northwest of Wuhan.
Although I had managed my physical strength through energy circulation and breath control throughout the journey, my eyelids felt heavy and fatigue weighed on me, likely because I hadn't slept at all in the four days since leaving the Shaolin Temple.
I felt I should confirm the existence of the hidden treasure within the tomb before finally getting some sleep.
-But how are you going to search the tomb?
How, indeed.
I suppose I should take advantage of the dark of night.
While it wasn't a tomb of the current Great Yan Empire, I knew that tombs of ancient dynasties were typically managed by the state.
-Why?
Because they contain countless buried treasures.
-Treasures?
The scale of a King’s tomb is on an entirely different level from that of an ordinary person. I’ve heard they are built to a size almost comparable to a fortress.
Because of that, they bury the treasures and wealth the King cherished during his lifetime. I’ve even heard of cases where loyal servants, vassals, and even concubines were buried alive with them.
-They bury living people? What a bizarre funeral rite. Anyway, if what you say is true, Woon-hwi, it’s going to take quite a while just to dig your way inside.
Well, that might not necessarily be the case.
Once you get inside, the interior should consist of various chambers in the form of hollow cavities.
However, since the Tomb of King Ping was constructed well over six hundred years ago, those cavities might have collapsed and filled with earth, just as you feared.
-Then prepare a shovel or something to dig with. Surely you aren't going to do it with your bare hands, and you better not be thinking of using me or the Namcheon Iron Sword to dig.
'That’s actually a good idea.'
-What?!
The Lesser Conversation Sword began grumbling and throwing a fit, seemingly offended.
Just then, the voice of the Namcheon Iron Sword echoed in my mind.
-Woon-hwi... is that the Tomb of King Ping you mentioned?
Wondering what prompted that, I looked down.
'What in the world...'
Ying, the ancient capital of the State of Chu.
Not far from Nokgang County, northwest of Ying, lay the Tomb of King Ping.
I had expected that even if the state was managing it, there would be, at most, fifty to a hundred government soldiers guarding it.
However, the sight before me was beyond expectation.
Despite it being the middle of the night, nearly five thousand government troops had established a camp around the massive tomb, which was illuminated by torches.
Furthermore, hundreds of laborers were moving busily at the tomb, in the middle of a full-scale excavation.
'Ha...'
I couldn't fathom what was going on.
Why were the government troops beating me to the punch and excavating the Tomb of King Ping?
-What are you going to do now?
The fact that they were excavating the tomb by torchlight even late at night meant the work was continuing around the clock.
At this rate, it would be difficult to inspect the royal tomb quietly through normal means.
There were simply too many soldiers and laborers.
'But why?'
Without solving the secret hidden in the five demon swords made by the master blacksmith Gu Yaja, or making Seobok—who hid them—talk, there was no way anyone should know that something special was hidden in the Tomb of King Ping.
As I was wondering about this, something caught my eye.
It was a flag hanging from a luxurious tent in the middle of the government camp.
'Prince Gyeong?'
The flag bore the symbol of an Imperial Prince, and the character 'Gyeong' (景) was embroidered on it.
It signaled that the tent belonged to Prince Gyeong.
Prince Gyeong was one of the princes destined to potentially become the next Emperor.
-Is Prince Gyeong the one leading those soldiers and excavating the tomb?
It seems so.
For a Prince and a King to personally lead an excavation...
'Could it be?'
Come to think of it, Prince Gyeong was also searching for the five demon swords.
That meant he, too, was looking for the treasure the five demon swords pointed toward.
However, Prince Gyeong only possessed a rubbing of one sword—the Evil Connection Sword.
Of the remaining demon swords, the Calamity Slaughter Sword was in the hands of Jue Xin, one of the Five Great Villains, and the Tiger Sparrow Sword was held by the Golden Emperor.
-The Blood Demon Sword is in the bottomless pouch.
Right.
It was inside the bottomless pouch along with the Evil Connection Sword.
Even if he had been lucky enough to obtain the Evil Blade Sword, the only one whose whereabouts were unknown, it should have been impossible to solve the secret of "Dusk Falls, yet the Road is Long" with only two clues. How did he find out about the Tomb of King Ping?
-What’s the plan?
At the Lesser Conversation Sword's question, I stared down at Prince Gyeong's tent.
Inside Prince Gyeong's tent.
There, Prince Gyeong was having a private audience with someone.
With a look of satisfaction, Prince Gyeong personally poured wine for a mustached middle-aged man wearing the official robes of a County Magistrate.
"Did you say your name was No Kang-yeon?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"I shall never forget this service."
"Not at all, Your Highness. This humble servant only wishes for Your Highness to ascend the Dragon Throne."
At the words of the Magistrate, No Kang-yeon, Prince Gyeong let out a boisterous laugh.
Normally, Prince Gyeong was a man who did not easily reveal his inner thoughts, but everyone present here was as good as his own hands and feet.
Therefore, he did not hide his joy.
"You are truly a man after my own heart. Hahahahahaha!"
"I am overwhelmed by your favor."
"I give you my word. On the day I sit upon the Dragon Throne, I will reward your merit by appointing you to the position of Minister."
"Your grace is immeasurable."
Magistrate No Kang-yeon treated Prince Gyeong as if he had already ascended to the throne.
Prince Gyeong usually kept flatterers at a distance, but he treated this man with affection because of the great contribution he had made.
On Prince Gyeong's table lay three rubbings.
And on a single sheet of paper, the patterns from the rubbings had been overlapped to reveal four characters.
[日暮 遠王 (Dusk, Distant King)]
Below the gaps in between, the characters 途 (Road) and 陵 (Tomb) were written.
Indeed.
Prince Gyeong had solved the secret of "Dusk Falls, yet the Road is Long."
The one who had played the greatest role in solving this secret was the man sitting before him, Magistrate No Kang-yeon.
Prince Gyeong emptied his wine cup in high spirits and spoke.
"Magistrate No, you are no different from Zhang Liang or Fan Zeng to me."
"How could I possibly be compared to such legendary figures?"
"You are too modest. Was it not you who suggested I obtain the authority to excavate all the tombs in various regions under the pretext of replenishing the imperial treasury?"
Prince Gyeong had been appointed as the general overseer of this excavation project.
Thus, he was excavating several tombs simultaneously, not just the Tomb of King Ping.
"Thanks to that, although I've gained a reputation for doing useless things like digging up graves, I've managed to avoid the eyes of the other princes and prevent their interference."
It was exactly as he said.
No one suspected Prince Gyeong.
On the contrary, they were delighted, thinking he was wasting his time on useless endeavors when he should be trying to win the favor of the ailing Emperor.
Thanks to that, he was able to focus on the excavation without any hindrance.
Prince Gyeong poured another cup of wine and said, "I regret not recognizing a man like you sooner."
"I am honored."
"I hear the excavation is in its final stages, which brings me great joy. Magistrate No, forget about going home today. You must keep me company all through the night."
"It would be my pleasure, Your Highness."
Pleased with Magistrate No Kang-yeon, who was so adept at catering to his mood, Prince Gyeong gave an order.
"Is anyone outside?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Bring the gisaengs into the tent."
"As you command."
Before long, as if they had been waiting, gisaengs dressed in finery entered.
At the appearance of the beautiful gisaengs, the corners of Magistrate No Kang-yeon's mouth stretched to his ears.
"Now! Let us drink to our heart's content."
The gisaengs joined them, and a drinking party began in earnest.
They drank heavily for a long time, accompanied by the gisaengs and their musical instruments, until the intoxication began to set in.
Prince Gyeong, who was now drinking straight from the bottle, turned to one of the gisaengs in his excitement.
"Yeon-saeng, if I had known you played the flute so well, I would have had you play for me much sooner."
"I am honored, Your Highness."
"Play another tune. If you please me further, tonight I shall..."
Before Prince Gyeong could finish his sentence, the sound of someone running toward the tent was heard.
"Your Highness!"
At the voice from outside, Prince Gyeong shouted, "Unless it is urgent, do not disturb us! Today, I am with Magistrate No..."
"The leader of the excavation team has just discovered the central chamber of the royal tomb!"
"What!"
Startled by those words, Prince Gyeong sprang to his feet.
The news he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
The corners of Prince Gyeong's twitching mouth curled upward, and a laugh burst forth.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Magistrate No and the gisaengs bowed their heads toward Prince Gyeong in congratulation.
"Congratulations, Your Highness."
-Step, step!
The interior of the tomb stretched out like a cavern.
Perhaps because it was a royal tomb, the passage was wide enough to be reminiscent of a corridor in the Imperial Palace.
Because of this, the excavation had inevitably taken a significant amount of time.
Men who appeared to be escort guards led the way, followed by Prince Gyeong, who walked with a gisaeng on either side.
Watching him, Magistrate No Kang-yeon spoke cautiously.
"But Your Highness, is it really necessary to bring the gisaengs inside the tomb...?"
From his perspective, it was incomprehensible.
This was a vital matter for Prince Gyeong, yet he was bringing five gisaengs along.
At first, he thought it might be an act, but seeing him bring the women this far, he couldn't help but think the Prince truly was a slave to his lust.
Prince Gyeong smiled thinly at Magistrate No Kang-yeon.
"Do you think these girls are just ordinary gisaengs?"
"Pardon?"
In response to the magistrate's question, one of the gisaengs gave a coy smile and slightly lifted the hem of her skirt.
Tucked beneath the fabric were sharp weapons.
Magistrate No Kang-yeon's eyes widened at the sight.
'They aren't just gisaengs.'
Prince Gyeong's gisaengs were all trained guardian warriors.
Contrary to their appearance, their martial arts skills were comparable to those of the Imperial Guard's centurions.
"By the way, the bow carried by that friend you brought is quite extraordinary."
Prince Gyeong gestured toward the man behind Magistrate No Kang-yeon.
Behind No Kang-yeon stood a middle-aged man carrying a bow so large most people would struggle to lift it, along with a quiver and a saber sheath on his back.
"He is a man who can truly be called a Divine Archer."
"Ho. Is that so?"
"If you grant him an opportunity to show his skill later, you will see his archery for yourself."
"Since you praise him so, I am curious."
Though he spoke thus, Prince Gyeong's interest ended there.
All his attention was focused solely on the interior of the Tomb of King Ping.
The thing he had waited for so long was in there.
'...Today, I shall achieve the one thing that so many Emperors failed to accomplish.'
Prince Gyeong was overjoyed to be so close to the treasure.
They descended into the depths along the passage for a long time.
Numerous bloodstains were visible in the labyrinthine corridors.
"Hmm."
Prince Gyeong let out a soft groan.
At this, the leader of the excavation team, who was walking ahead of the soldiers to guide them, spoke in a quiet voice.
"Please do not pay it any mind. All the mechanism traps in the passage have been disarmed."
In the process of excavating this place, thirty-seven excavators had lost their lives.
It was due to the hidden traps and mechanisms.
It was only because experts in mechanisms had been mobilized that the casualties were limited to this number.
"It actually gets warmer as we go deeper."
At Prince Gyeong's observation, the excavation leader replied, "That is because when the royal tomb was built, it was designed so that water veins and cold energy would not reach the central area where the coffin is located."
"That is truly fascinating."
Prince Gyeong nodded as if he had learned something new.
As they continued their descent, a bright light appeared ahead.
"Ohhh!"
As they entered the space, exclamations escaped the mouths of the soldiers, Prince Gyeong, and Magistrate No Kang-yeon.
A massive chamber filled entirely with gold had revealed itself.
Various treasures were piled high in the room.
They had reached the heart of the royal tomb.
"This is the place."
"That is correct."
The excavation leader walked toward the northern wall of the chamber and pointed to a stone wall that looked like a sealed door.
"The coffin of the King of Chu is inside here."
Even without his explanation, it was easy to guess, as the characters for 'King Ping' (平王) were carved largely upon the stone door.
There were four more such stone doors in the chamber.
To the right of the door containing King Ping's coffin, the character for 'Loyalty' (忠) was carved; the excavation leader explained that the vassals who served King Ping were buried there.
And on the left side, the characters for 'Concubines' (비빈) were carved.
Of the remaining two stone walls, one was marked with 'Livestock' (畜), and there was one final stone wall with nothing written on it at all.
'This is it.'
Prince Gyeong instinctively approached that wall.
He was certain that the treasure he sought was inside.
Unable to hide his excitement, Prince Gyeong commanded, "Open this—"
It was at that moment.
-Thwack!
"Gah!"
At the sound of a scream from behind, Prince Gyeong turned his head.
There, the soldiers standing at the rear were collapsing, bleeding from holes in their chests.
The ones who had stabbed the soldiers were other soldiers.
Startled, the gisaengs shouted, "Protect His Highness!"
-Clang!
The gisaengs drew weapons from beneath their skirts and surrounded Prince Gyeong.
"Protect the Prince!"
The loyal soldiers also stepped forward to block the way.
The situation had turned bizarre.
It was a standoff between the loyal soldiers and the traitors.
Prince Gyeong couldn't understand what was happening.
"What is the meaning of this!"
At his demand, someone walked forward.
It was the middle-aged guard whom Magistrate No Kang-yeon had introduced as a Divine Archer.
"Move."
As the middle-aged guard gave the command, the soldiers behind him who had stabbed their comrades lunged at the soldiers protecting Prince Gyeong.
They were men of incredible martial prowess.
Though some of Prince Gyeong's soldiers were trained in martial arts, they were slaughtered in an instant.
-Slash!
"Aaargh!"
It took barely ten seconds for the soldiers to be suppressed.
The only ones left were the gisaengs surrounding Prince Gyeong.
As the traitorous soldiers approached them, the middle-aged guard with the large bow stopped them.
"Stop."
He walked forward and spoke.
"I believe Your Highness knows well that women are of no use."
Prince Gyeong spoke with a distorted expression.
"Who are you?"
"Who I am is not important, Your Highness."
"How dare you!"
At Prince Gyeong's rebuke, the middle-aged guard smirked.
Then, he slowly walked toward the stone wall with no inscriptions.
Startled, Prince Gyeong shouted at him, "Stop right there!"
As if he hadn't heard the shout, the middle-aged guard stood before the stone wall.
Then, he suddenly thrust his fist toward the wall.
-Boom!
A thunderous roar erupted from the lightning-fast punch.
Surprisingly, however, the stone wall remained perfectly intact, without a single scratch.
Prince Gyeong and the gisaengs were also unable to hide their shock.
"How..."
"As I thought."
The middle-aged guard nodded as if he had expected this.
He was about to throw another punch at the stone wall when Prince Gyeong barked at him again.
"I said stop!"
The middle-aged guard turned his head and asked, "Stop what, exactly?"
"Who do you think you are to dare covet what belongs to me?"
At Prince Gyeong's words, the middle-aged guard laughed loudly.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Offended by the laughter, Prince Gyeong glared at him fiercely and shouted, "How dare you!"
"Do not covet power that is beyond your station, Your Highness."
"What?"
"You worked hard overseeing the excavation, but your role here ends now."
Prince Gyeong was dumbfounded.
He could not contain his rage at being told his 'role' was over by a mere guard, especially since he was a Prince and King of the Great Empire.
How much effort had he poured into finding this place?
Regardless, the middle-aged guard sneered at Prince Gyeong.
"Are you angry?"
At his provocation, Prince Gyeong barely managed to calm his anger and spoke in a cold voice.
"...Did the King of Qin send you? Or was it the King Yeong?"
"Ho."
Prince Gyeong was certain that one of them was behind this.
The middle-aged guard looked at Prince Gyeong with interest and spoke.
"You certainly seem more intelligent than the other Princes. You're skilled at controlling your emotions, too."
"What?"
"If only you had the upright convictions of the King of Qin, he might have looked upon you with favor. It's quite a pity."
With those words, the middle-aged guard signaled the traitorous soldiers.
He gestured toward none other than Prince Gyeong.
-Shring!
The traitorous soldiers raised their blades and walked toward Prince Gyeong and his gisaeng guards, radiating killing intent.
They were enjoying themselves, like wolves closing in on their prey.
Then, one of the gisaengs, a woman dressed in green military attire, stepped forward.
"Yeon-saeng!"
The other gisaengs called out her name.
But the woman ignored them and walked toward the soldiers.
One of the soldiers smirked and said, "It seems you want to die first—"
-Snap!
At that moment, the gisaeng called Yeon-saeng snapped her fingers.
In that instant, something unbelievable happened.
"Gah!"
"Cough!"
"Urgh..."
The traitorous soldiers who had been walking toward Prince Gyeong and the gisaengs suddenly clutched their bodies as if they had been pierced by something, coughed up blood, and collapsed to the floor.
After a few tremors, the soldiers breathed their last.
'!?'
Prince Gyeong and the gisaengs were struck dumb.
"Yeon-saeng... you... what on earth..."
They couldn't tell if this was the same Yeon-saeng they knew.
The middle-aged guard, who had ordered them to kill Prince Gyeong, hurriedly reached for the bow on his back.
It was then.
-Crunch!
"Aaargh!"
His wrist was twisted and snapped, the bone protruding through the skin.
But that wasn't the end.
Not only did she break his wrist, but she also grabbed him by the throat and slammed him hard against the wall.
-Boom!
The stone wall cracked and dented inward.
The middle-aged guard stared at the woman clutching his throat with a look of disbelief.
He couldn't understand how such strength could come from such slender wrists.
"You... you bitch, who are you?"
At his question, the woman spoke.
"I heard you ran away after losing your arm, but you seem to have recovered quite well?"
'!!!'
At those words, the middle-aged guard's eyes widened as if they were about to burst.