Ever since Yu Xiaolian transmigrated here, she hadn't eaten meat. Yesterday, she only had a tiny bit of pork lard. Now, with an aromatic chicken drumstick in her hand, can she refuse?
No!
Yu Xiaolian took the drumstick and ferociously took a bite.
Delicious, truly delicious!
Even without any seasoning, this drumstick was still very tasty. Wild chicken is indeed better than farm-raised chicken!
Seeing Yu Xiaolian devour the drumstick, Jiang Lin's mouth curled into a smile, "If you're craving meat again, come to my house. We have plenty of wild game!"
Yu Xiaolian threw away the chicken bone and stood up from the ground, dusting off the grass from her pants, and said, "The villagers all avoid me, but you're not afraid."
Jiang Lin also stood up, swinging Yu Xiaolian's basket in his hand as he walked ahead, "Heh... What are you? I don't even fear the tomb of the Grass Crone, why would I fear a little girl like you."
Yu Xiaolian laughed. If Jiang Lin was superstitious, how come he feared no Grass Crone? If he wasn't superstitious, then how come he believed in the Mountain God?
Yu Xiaolian and Jiang Lin walked for about another hour before arriving at the tomb of the Grass Crone Jiang Lin mentioned.
Fortunately, the journey was safe, with no encounters with large wildlife, though they did see quite a few wild rabbits and small squirrels.
Jiang Lin had heard from his father before that there was a large tomb on the second mountain. The tomb's owner was a Grass Crone skilled in Gu Technique, a respectable person in her lifetime with wealth and power.
Jiang Lin had been thinking about this tomb for a long time, and only recently managed to locate its position; yet after much effort, all he managed was to chisel a small gap under the stone door of the tomb.
With his height and build, Jiang Lin couldn't enter, but he was eager to know if there really was anything valuable inside the tomb, which is why he sought out the petite, thin-as-a-stick Yu Xiaolian.
Pointing at a hole in the lower right corner of the stone door, Jiang Lin said to Yu Xiaolian, "Climb in and have a look. If there's something inside, it won't be in vain for all my hard work. Don't worry, I've already fumigated inside thoroughly with Mugwort several times, even if the Grass Crone left some Gu Worms, they'd be long dead."
Yu Xiaolian lay on the ground, glancing into the gap, but inside was pitch-black, nothing could be seen.
Jiang Lin added, "Chiseling this stone door was a pain, otherwise I wouldn't have invited you to share the spoils. So, do you dare to go in?"
Yu Xiaolian had read tomb raiding books in her past life and was deeply fascinated by the stories. Although she felt somewhat uneasy now, her excitement for the unknown outweighed her apprehensions.
Jiang Lin pulled out a candle from his bosom, handing it to Yu Xiaolian, "I even prepared a candle for you. Just go in and look around, then come out. Do you dare?"
Yu Xiaolian glanced at the candle in Jiang Lin's hand but didn't reach for it. Instead, she cleared away the remnants of unburned Mugwort at the stone door, then silently crawled in.
In the blink of an eye, only half of Yu Xiaolian's leg remained visible outside. Jiang Lin shouted anxiously, "Hey... Aren't you taking the candle? Without it, you won't be able to see anything!"
Jiang Lin slipped the candle through the gap, tossing in a lighter flint as well.
Seeing Yu Xiaolian pick up the candle, Jiang Lin shouted again, "It's dark inside, be careful!"
Once inside the tomb, Yu Xiaolian felt waves of cold air emanating from the depths. She planted her feet firmly, not daring to move, a trace of fear crept into her heart.
However, remembering she was someone who had died once and had a past life as a forensic specialist, she couldn't back down now. Yu Xiaolian bolstered her confidence and, with renewed courage, went further in.
She didn't light the candle but instead took out a flashlight from her storage, which was much brighter than a candle.
Yu Xiaolian flashed the flashlight around; it felt more like a natural cave than a tomb, as if the tomb's occupant had simply chosen this natural cavern as their resting place.
In front of Yu Xiaolian was a large iron gate, but the iron bars had a wide gap that she easily squeezed through.
After brushing off the rust from her clothes, Yu Xiaolian continued deeper into the cave.
The deeper she went, the colder and more biting it became.
Even the slightest footsteps echoed loudly, making one's skin crawl.
Suddenly, Yu Xiaolian's flashlight illuminated a pile of jars and bottles.
She paused, hesitating to check them out, since Jiang Lin mentioned the tomb's owner was adept at raising Gu Worms, and if these jars contained Gu Worms, her life would be in peril.
Yu Xiaolian didn't touch any of those things and instead continued forward, turning a corner to find another large iron gate before her, which held a rusty old lock, flatly forged with no depressions, clearly very thick.
The coffin of the Grass Crone must be behind this gate?
Yu Xiaolian attempted to pull on the rusty lock, and finding the door didn't budge, decided to retrace her steps.
Back at the pile of jars and bottles, Yu Xiaolian casually picked up a small white porcelain bottle.
After all, coming here couldn't be in vain, and she was quite curious about what might be inside.
Near the stone door, Yu Xiaolian heard Jiang Lin's anxious calls. Quickly, she responded, "I'm back, move aside so I can crawl out."
Once Yu Xiaolian entered, Jiang Lin regretted it somewhat, worrying something might happen to her; his heart was uptight.
When Yu Xiaolian finally crawled out, and sunlight bathed her, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Truly, she was unsuited for this nerve-wracking venture.
"How was it? Was there anything valuable inside?" Jiang Lin grabbed Yu Xiaolian's arm, urgently asking.
Yu Xiaolian shook her head, "Inside, there's a big iron gate that neither of us can open."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Lin instantly became despondent, "So we came for nothing?"
Yu Xiaolian handed the white porcelain bottle she held to Jiang Lin, "Not exactly for nothing, I picked up this."
Jiang Lin eagerly took the bottle, giving it a thorough look before attempting to remove the stopper, but was stopped by Yu Xiaolian's hand.
"Be careful, what if there are Gu Worms inside?"
Yu Xiaolian's warning almost caused Jiang Lin to drop the bottle, but skillfully, he caught it again.
"You've got a point," Jiang Lin continued staring intensely at the bottle yet didn't dare open it heedlessly.
Suddenly, Jiang Lin shouted, "Look quickly, there's writing on the bottom of the bottle."
Having never been to school, Jiang Lin only knew a handful of basic characters, but he recognized the words on the porcelain bottle's bottom.
"Longevity Gu!!!" Jiang Lin exclaimed in surprise, "Could this be the tomb of the Saintess who defected from the Witch Clan?"
Yu Xiaolian frowned. In the story, she and Jiang Lin had no real connection, but she had heard of the Witch Clan Saintess.
This was because Yu Xiaolian's biological mother was the Witch Clan's Saintess.
Yet clearly the Saintess Jiang Lin referred to was not her mother.
How did Jiang Lin know about the Witch Clan Saintess?
Yu Xiaolian asked calmly, "What's a Longevity Gu? And who is this Witch Clan Saintess? Sounds impressive."