Stupefied, Yin Xiaoxiao faced the smooth rock wall as he thought to himself, âDonât panic, donât panicâ. A quarter of an hour laterâŠâ âDonât panicâ your sister <sup>1</sup> ! How can I not panic?! I obviously entered through a small hole! How could that hole have disappeared after Iâd turned around?! Even if I had committed a crime, shouldnât I have been given the chance to make up for it?! Why had I been immediately placed in solitary confinement here?! Even more, it was a confinement from which Iâm not sure I can escape!â
But no matter how much he complained, there was nothing that could be done at the moment to leave. Yin Xiaoxiao resigned himself to looking for a possible way out. Very carefully, Yin Xiaoxiao turned around and looked behind himself. What he saw was pitch-black. Whether snakes used night-vision or infrared or whatever to see what <sup>2</sup> was around them, Yin Xiaoxiao didnât know. He only knew that he was used to the brightness of the outside. Even in the middle of this patch pitch-black, Yin Xiaoxiao acknowledged that he could clearly see that this slice of pitch-blackness was a void, that he could traverse it. But Yin Xiaoxiao confessed that he would feel happier if he could get himself out of this area.
Yin Xiaoxiao was unwilling to give up looking for it <sup>3</sup> on the smooth wall behind him. He slithered back and forth several times along the wall. From the width of stone heâd slithered, Yin Xiaoxiao became more convinced that this really was the other side of the stone gate. But, below that stone gate, the hole that heâd come in through really had disappeared.
Finally, Yin Xiaoxiao had no option but to admit defeat. With no other choice, he turned his head to look, gazing attentively at that slice of darkness. Now, it seemed that he was left with no choice but to slither forward. Yin Xiaoxiao sucked in a deep breath, mentally fortified himself and, shivering, slithered a step forward into that slice of darkness. As soon as he took that small step, his surroundings suddenly lit up.
âAaaaahâââ Thoroughly frightened, Yin Xiaoxiao screamed while slithering backwards. With a âboomâ he hit his head on the wall behind him.
Yin Xiaoxiao teared up, though whether from fear or from pain due to the bump was unknown. âWhen you got down to it, who had I offended, huh?! Heitan, where are you, huh?! Huh? Where, huh? Huh?! So scary!â
After the sudden brightness, nothing happened. Yin Xiaoxiao faced the wall for ten minutes before he finally turned around again, tears still in his eyes. There was nothing to be done; Yin Xiaoxiao knew that, as long as he hadnât been frightened to death, he had to continue onwards.
Yin Xiaoxiao turned his head. Because of the light, he became aware of his surroundings. The area that Yin Xiaoxiao was in ought to be the Mudao <sup>4</sup> . The Mudao was approximately two meters wide <sup>5</sup> , with reliefs <sup>6</sup> engraved on the walls on either side. Aside from the reliefs there were cup oil lamps every three meters <sup>7</sup> on both walls. The cause of the current brightness was because these oil lamps had been set alight.
Naturally Yin Xiaoxiao was the only snake in the Mudao, and, naturally, Yin Xiaoxiao hadnât lit the oil lamps. Yin Xiaoxiao thought, âThe Mudao must have been set up so that, when someone (?) entered, the lamps would automatically be lit.â Although Yin Xiaoxiao didnât know how that was possible, it was only by thinking these thoughts that Yin Xiaoxiao was able to feel a little more courageous.
Yin Xiaoxiao then began to slither forward, only very slowly. Yin Xiaoxiao turned to look at the reliefs on both walls.
Yin Xiaoxiao first crudely surveyed the reliefs and found that the reliefs were read from right to left, seemingly to closely follow the reading order of the ancients. Each scene of the relief was very large. Yin Xiaoxiao estimated that each scene ought to be about three meters in length. Naturally, in height they were as tall as the wall, which was about three meters. And the engravings of the reliefs were also very intricate.
Continuing on, Yin Xiaoxiao began to look at the very detailed reliefs. After all, sometimes very important information about tombs could be discovered from the reliefs, such as whether there were very great people buried there. Finding out who was the master of the tomb could only be done by relying on the reliefs.
The first relief had two children. One child was a little older, delicate and pretty in appearance and with an indulged and pampered facial expression. The other child looked younger, appearing to still have that special child-like innocence. The two children were holding hands and smiling very brightly. From this it appeared that the two children had a very good relationship. A coffin was most prominent in the second relief. Looking at the layout, this out to be the heart of the mourning hall <sup>8</sup> . Next, there were two people kneeling. These ought to be the two children from the first relief. In this relief they were carved ao the viewer would see their backs, but it looked as though the two children had already grown.
Yin Xiaoxiao continued to slither forward and turned to face the third relief. Oh, the scene in this relief must be set in a bedchamber. One could see someone sleeping alone on a bed and another person sitting alone at a table and reading by lamp at night. Yin Xiaoxiao could make out that the person reading must be the older child, this time appearing to be 14 or 14 years old. In that case, the one sleeping on the bed ought to be the other child. The fourth relief was also set in the bedchamber. Anxiety was writ across the face of the older child as he sat by someoneâs bedside. The person lying on the bed appeared to be suffering from a very serious illness. The fifth relief, much to Yin Xiaoxiaoâs surprise, depicted a scene from a war, one in which two armies faced each other, one side with many people and the other with fewer people. The side with many people was portrayed in a striking manner. Here Yin Xiaoxiao recognized the delicate and pretty child, only he had grown a little more and ought to be 14 or 15. On the less crowded side, there appeared to be people in the back guarding something that the engraver didnât carve, so Yin Xiaoxiao didnât know what it was. The sixth relief celebrated the armyâs victorious return. The delicate and pretty youngster was still at the head. He and the other child were embracing. Yin Xiaoxiao thought that it appeared that the two were celebrating the delicate and pretty youngsterâs victorious return.
The seventh relief, eh <sup>9</sup> . Yin Xiaoxiao looked carefully. It appeared to be the scene of a large marriage. The scene was very lively, because there were many people (âŠ), and the groom was that delicate and pretty youngster. Yin Xiaoxiao unconsciously looked for that other child in the relief. If the relationship between the two was very good, then that child was sure to have come to the delicate and pretty youngsterâs big wedding. Finally Yin Xiaoxiao found that child in the corner of the relief, but Yin Xiaoxiao was puzzled. The expression on that childâs face appeared to be clouded with resentment which made Yin Xiaoxiao jump in fright. Yin Xiaoxiao couldnât help but wonder whether the two of them liked the bride and that, when the delicate and pretty youngster finally married the beauty, the other child then hated the delicate and pretty youngster. In the eighth relief, the delicate and pretty youngster held a child to his chest, his facial expression full of love for this child he was holding. Standing next to the delicate and pretty youngster was the child who had been hiding in the corner of the previous relief, and in the eyes of that child was hatred, not at all hidden, directed towards the child being held. Because the delicate and pretty youngsterâs head was lowered, he couldnât see the expression on the face of the person standing at his side.
Yin Xiaoxiao quickly slithered forward. The ninth relief depicted a scene that was..an ascension to the throne? Yes, that was right. Precisely, a coronation. Sitting on the throne was the delicate and pretty youngster. Yin Xiaoxiao looked among the people ceremoniously kowtowing to him and found another person. Yin Xiaoxiao smacked his lips. Apparently that delicate and pretty youngster had finally become emperor, and that other person couldnât hate the delicate and pretty youngster more. Yin Xiaoxiao decided to call that other person the treacherous youngster. Yin Xiaoxiao thought that this man was finally acting a little like a small moth <sup>10</sup> or something. Yin Xiaoxiao continued on, turning his head to look at the tenth relief. Then Yin Xiaoxiao wanted to blink although he unfortunately couldnât. In the tenth relief, the delicate and pretty youngster was lying in a coffin, his eyes closed. It looked as though there was something placed on his lips. Didnât this mean that the delicate and pretty youngster had died? Already died like this? Yin Xiaoxiao turned to look at the ninth relief. How could he ascend the throne and then be dead in the next relief? He refused to accept this! It couldnât be the work of that treacherous youngster, right?!
Again, Yin Xiaoxiao promptly began to slither forward towards the eleventh relief to go and see. In this scene, the treacherous youngster was wearing clothes similar to those worn by the delicate and pretty youngster. It seemed that, after the death of the delicate and pretty youngster, the treacherous youngster had become emperor. Several people knelt at his feet, appearing as though they were discussing something. At this time, Yin Xiaoxiao became even more sure of the idea that âthe treacherous youngster killed the delicate and pretty youngsterâ. The content of the twelfth relief depicted the construction of a large-scale tomb. The treacherous youngsterâs face was gloomy as he stared at the tomb. The thirteenth relief showed a scene of war again. The treacherous youngsterâs forces had just shattered the other side. Suddenly, Yin Xiaoxiao realized that the setting of this war and the setting of the previous war, in which the delicate and pretty youngster had fought, was the same. The enemy was the same, because in both the clothing was the same. And moreover, both were ethnic minorities, right? Yin Xiaoxiao wasnât very sure on the last <sup>11</sup> point. The fourteenth relief was? Yin Xiaoxiaoâs eyes widened. The main focus was still on the treacherous youngster. The treacherous youngster was sitting opposite a densely packed mass <sup>12</sup> of tightly bound people. There were soldiers, there were civilians. There were men, there were women, there were the old and the young. On the other side, there were soldiers unceasingly massacring these people. From their dress, Yin Xiaoxiao was certain that these were ethnic minorities. Was the treacherous youngster going to commit genocide?
Then he turned to the fifteenth relief. The treacherous youngster held in his hand a jian <sup>13</sup> and his face was shadowed and crazed. Brandishing the jian, he beheaded the people who were kneeling, bound, in front of him. The sixteenth relief was also the last relief. The treacherous youngster sat on the throne, his face expressionless. However, Yin Xiaoxiao thought that he saw deep loneliness and grief in the treacherous youngsterâs eyes.
The reliefs ended at this point. Yin Xiaoxiao went over it again in his mind. When all was said and done, Yin Xiaoxiao wasnât certain whether the treacherous youngster had killed the delicate and pretty youngster. Actually, after seeing everything his suspicion of the treacherous youngster was even greater than before. But seeing those final reliefs, Yin Xiaoxiao didnât feel like it was the work of the treacherous youngster. Well, no matter who had actually done it, it had nothing to do with Yin Xiaoxiao. After all, this had happened an untold number of years ago. What Yin Xiaoxiao now wanted to know was whose tomb this was at the base of the mountain. Was it that delicate and pretty youngsterâs? Or was it the treacherous youngsters? Or was it perhaps the both of them buried here? Yin Xiaoxiao thought of this possibility and then shook his head, wanting to shake this possibility out of his head. The possibility of that was really too small.
Furthermore just who were the delicate and pretty youngster and the treacherous youngster? In his mind, Yin Xiaoxiao reviewed all the monarchs of all the past dynasties and didnât find any suitable answers. From the clothing worn in the reliefs, Yin Xiaoxiao could tell who the emperor was, but as for when Yin Xiaoxiao knew even less. What <sup>14</sup> ?! Theory and practice were absolutely not the same thing, okay! Äi yÄ! Yin Xiaoxiao patted his forehead with his tail. Maybe this world wasnât his own world. Then having a different history and whatnot would be very normal. He shouldnât think about it so much. At the moment, knowing how to leave was most important.
Getting rid of the superfluous thoughts in his mind, Yin Xiaoxiao pondered over what needed to be done next. At the moment, Yin Xiaoxiao was facing three stone doors. Yin Xiaoxiao was about to select a door to go through, only Yin Xiaoxiao very quickly became aware that he didnât need to worry about this problem. At the bottom of the middle stone door there was a small hole. A small hole that looked exactly like the small hole through which Yin Xiaoxiao had entered.
Yin Xiaoxiao again wanted to cry. Hey, what was going on here! Who was so lacking in basic respect for other people that they tricked people in this manner?! It was scaring him! As a matter of fact, he felt like he was being forced to go through the middle door!
Yin Xiaoxiao refused! He couldnât just just concede like this! If by some chance the person who had opened the hole was to allow himâŠwas to allow something to harm him, then what was he to do?! And so, Yin Xiaoxiao strove to find another way to enter one of the other two doors, but to no avail. Yin Xiaoxiao was forced to give up. Accepting this misfortune as decreed by fate, he slithered into that small hole which was brimming with light.
Having slithered through that small hole, Yin Xiaoxiao turned and looked back. Sure enough, that small hole had also disappeared.