Red Envelope Group of the Three Realms

After trudging through the expansive plaza and up the tall flight of stairs, the group finally arrived at the door of the main hall.

Located right behind the door was the monumental Hall of Superior Harmony.

Its floors were tiled with black jade that was so shiny one could see their reflections on it!

Towering above from the ground were giant Phoebe zhennan pillars so thick it would require three adults to wrap their arms all around one! Auspicious scuplted dragons forged of pure gold adorned the pillars in an absolutely magnificent stance!

Beautiful palace lanterns were hanging from the ceiling. They too were made of pure gold. 81 pieces of luminous pearls lined the insides of each lantern, lighting up the hall so brightly it was as if it was daytime.

The most majestic of them all was the pure gold dragon throne sitting atop the dais at the centre of the Hall of Superior Harmony.

It was the size of a small car and was fashioned entirely out of yellow gold. Carvings of nine lifelike heavenly dragons of uncanny craftmanship guarded the throne.

“What a magnificent hall!” Liu Xuanxin exclaimed. “Emperor Qin really was a one-in-a-million kind of emperor! This Hall of Superior Harmony has to be ten times more extravagant than the one in Forbidden City!”

“But, this is not Emperor Qin’s mausoleum!” Long Zishan frowned. “If this hall is the terminal point of the Epang Palace, how are we going to continue forward then?”

It was evident then that everyone was too stunned to answer her question.

Even Chen Xiaobei was at a loss. He then used his Golden Gaze Fiery Eyes to examine every corner of the hall but found nothing.

“Xiaobei, could our theory have been wrong?” Six-Eared Macaque asked. “Maybe this is not the terminal point!”

“No, we’re not wrong!” Chen Xiaobei shook his head. “The Blackwater Mystical Snake was willing to defend this place to the death. There must be a reason for that!”

“Well, you better ask it then!” Xiangyu said.

“Mm.” Chen Xiaobei nodded, and immediately made a Spiritual Connection with the Verdant Emperor’s Divine Gourd, transmitting his voice into the gourd through his mind.

“Blackwater! I’ve already reached the door of the main hall. What’s the secret of this place?” Chen Xiaobei asked.

The Blackwater Mystical Snake answered immediately, “The secret passage leading to Emperor Qin’s mausoleum is inside this hall! However, I was not around when Xu Fu designed this hall so I don’t know how to open the door to the passage!”

“What? You don’t know either?” Chen Xiaobei was beginning to feel a little flustered.

He had thought that having the snake as his pet would mean getting to know all the secrets of the emperor’s tomb. Unfortunately, it looked like that was not the case.

Xu Fu had kept many things hidden even from his closest of allies when he designed the mausoleum!

Except for Xu Fu, no one else knew many of the tomb’s deep secrets!

The Blackwater Mystical Snake thought carefully for a while and then said, “Master! Although I don’t know the exact details, I have a very important clue!”

“Quick! Tell me!” Chen Xiaobei said impatiently.

“When Xu Fu brought me into the mausoleum, he reminded me over and over again that if someone entered with nine Orochi scales, they were definitely the emperor’s descendants! He told me to guide a man and a woman of whom are the most qualified of the group to sit on the dragon throne!”

“Xu Fu lied to you!” Chen Xiaobei said. “The people who came in with the nine Orochi scales are not Emperor Qin’s descendants but Xu Fu’s!”

“What?! You mean Xu Fu gave the Orochi scales to his own descendants so that they could come and rob the tomb?”

“Exactly!” Chen Xiaobei nodded. “Unfortunately, Xu Fu’s descendants did not live a good life. Some of them died, while the others were scattered all over the world. The Orochi scales fell into the hands of different forces!”

“If that’s the case then, master, I’m afraid you can’t enter the secret passage!” The snake said. “Xu Fu said that the one requirement to open the secret passage is for one man and one woman to sit on the dragon throne! According to what my master said, it has to be the descendant of Xu Fu’s family! This will not work if any others take the seat!”

“Mm, that makes sense!” Chen Xiaobei nodded. “But whatever it is, I have to give it a try!”

“I don’t think you should!” The snake said nervously. “We don’t have any of Xu Fu’s descendants with us. We don’t know what might happen! What is we stir up some kind of trap or formation?

“That won’t be a problem! I’ve checked it already. There are no traps in the hall! If I’m right, the secret passage should be unhidden!”

“How did master come to this conclusion?” The Blackwater Mystical Snake asked.

Chen Xiaobei said certainly, “If it’s a real secret passage, I should have seen the entrance using my Golden Gaze Fiery Eyes! The only thing I can’t see is the portal that has not been activated yet!”

“Wh… What is the Golden Gaze Fiery Eyes?”

“I don’t have time to explain! I’ll go give it a try first!” Chen Xiaobei put his Verdant Emperor’s Divine Gourd away and said to Liu Xuan, “Goddess of Luck, come with me!”

He tugged Liu Xuanxin by her delicate hands and walked into the hall.

“Let go of my hand! My sifu is here! You are not allowed to bully me!” Liu Xuanxin protested.

But Chen Xiaobei only let go when they had reached the dragon throne. “Sit!”

“Why?” Liu Xuanxin looked doubtful.

“This is the way to open the secret passage. Chen Xiaobei said, “Listen to me. We’ll be fine. We’ll sit on it together! I won’t let any harm get to you!”

“Alright!” Liu Xuanin nodded; very confident in Chen Xiaobei.

The both of them sat down on the dragon throne but nothing happened.

“What?” Chen Xiaobei frowned. “Can it really only be opened by the descendants of Xu Fu?”

Xiaobei –” Liu Xuanxin began.

“Hang on! Don’t break my train of thoughts! The one criteria for opening this secret passage is for a man and a woman to sit on the dragon throne! Xu Fu must have told his grandchildren about this personally. The Orochi’s scales are not useful here. What should I do?”

“Xiaobei, can you speak for a minute?” Liu Xuanxin said. “Don’t you think that this dragon throne looks a little weird here?”

“Weird where on the dragon throne?” Chen Xiaobei examined the throne again using his Golden Gaze Fiery Eyes. “I don’t see anything weird…”

“Look carefully! The claws on one of the dragons on the throne is opened as if it’s holding a dragon ball! But there is nothing in its claws!”

“Dragon ball?!” Chen Xiaobei suddenly leapt up in excitement and hugged Liu Xuanxin. “You’re amazing, my lucky goddess!”

“Let go of me! My Sifu and shijies are watching!” Liu Xuanxin pushed Chen Xiaobei away shyly.

Chen Xiaobei chuckled. “I know how to open the secret passage now!”