Chapter 2855 - 2917: Tomb Raider

Li Yifei couldn’t help but shout because he was truly shocked. After opening the boudoir, he saw... a person, to be precise, a woman lying on the bed. She was dressed in a fiery red dress, completely in ancient attire, appearing as if she was asleep, with her head resting on one arm, body lying sideways, just lying there. She wore a pair of embroidered shoes without bound feet. According to that era, such big-footed women were considered ugly and unattractive. However, to Li Yifei, a normal man, natural feet were the most beautiful.

What am I thinking? Li Yifei shook his head. He had seen many terrifying scenes and thought his heart was long calm, yet seeing this woman lying there still made his heart skip a beat. He swallowed, feeling somewhat uneasy.

In a tomb’s formation world, not only was there well-brewed wine, but a woman was also lying in the room. Li Yifei walked in carefully, as if afraid to awaken her. Though he felt the woman might have been dead for who knows how long, simply preserved because of the formation space.

Hmm, that’s the logical explanation. However, to know the truth, he had to inspect.

He moved a few steps forward, cautiously, not ruling out the possibility of the woman suddenly ’rising from the dead’. If that happened, not being on guard would be foolish.

As he walked sideways, Li Yifei’s heart raced upon seeing the woman’s appearance. She was genuinely beautiful, the term "beauty" fitting, with a small face and delicate features, appearing youthful, and the oval face was Li Yifei’s preferred type.

Ah, seriously, lately my mind has been too chaotic, thinking about likes or dislikes at a time like this is foolish. Li Yifei shook his head again, wondering if his mental exhaustion had become too great, causing distraction.

He licked his lips, pulling himself from daydreams, considering his next steps. He had already released his aura to sense, confirming the woman on the bed showed no signs of life, a dead person.

Yet her face wasn’t subject to biological decay, untouched by the passage of time, preserving her beauty as she was at death.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you, only... the stone coffin’s arrow guided me here. If your rest is interrupted, I apologize." Li Yifei murmured.

There were some furnishings in the room, Li Yifei examined them, finding everything very comfortable, each item exquisitely crafted.

Impressive, but lacking in intrinsic value.

"Who are you?" As Li Yifei bent over rummaging, a cold voice suddenly came from behind, nearly startling him into the box. Quickly, he summoned True Qi Armor to protect himself, spun swiftly, and saw the woman who seemed dead for so long... she sat up, eyes open, looking toward Li Yifei, the voice coming from her mouth.

Oddly, her eyes were white, lacking pupils, which was even more bizarre, causing Li Yifei to instinctively step back.

"Who are you?" She asked again, as Li Yifei noted her lips didn’t move—sound transmitted directly, realizing the nature—a form of direct audio transmission. Those who master this skill have profound cultivation. Li Yifei raised his hand to speak, realizing he held something red—a woman’s undergarment—his face flushed. He hurriedly discarded it, saying: "Um... hello, I’m not a thief, I’m just..."

"Who are you?" The voice repeated.

"My name is Li Yifei, I am a cultivator!" Li Yifei explained: "I thought you had unfortunately passed away, given I felt no signs of life from you!"

"Li Yifei?" The voice repeated, seemingly pondering, then said: "I haven’t heard of you."

Being unknown is correct. If you knew me, I’d be worried. Li Yifei thought, continuing: "Well, lady, I didn’t intentionally rummage through your belongings, I was just... curious."

"My belongings?" She replied: "Are you stealing from me?"

"No, no, you misunderstood, I said I wasn’t stealing, just looking, interpret it that way." Li Yifei stubbornly retorted.

"So your name is Li Yifei?"

"Indeed, that’s my name."

"Sounds unpleasant." She commented.

Dumbfounded, Li Yifei, despite releasing his aura, felt no sign of the woman being alive, implying still ’dead’. It puzzled him how she could talk and even think being dead.

Drought Demon, the term came to mind, recalling how a Drought Demon showed some cognition; the woman exhibited no evil qi yet displayed cognition—an unknown entity.

"Knowing my name, what is yours?" Li Yifei inquired.

"My name? I lived where numerous cherry blossom trees grew, and I love cherry blossoms. I planted one here." She seemed lost in reminiscence, eyes leaving Li Yifei’s, appearing dazed and eerie. As Li Yifei guessed her name to be Cherry, Cherry Blossom, she mechanically replied: "Hence my name is Mu, wood by water."

"Uh... good name." Li Yifei paused before complimenting.

"What time is it now?" She asked.

"Now? I entered at noon, perhaps it’s still noon; oh, I have a watch, I can check!" Li Yifei raised his wrist only to find his watch malfunctioning, hands erratically swinging—interfered by a severe magnetic field.

Annoyed, he checked his phone, finding similar errors, shrugged: "Sorry, I can’t tell the time."

"I’m asking for outside time; which era of the Ming Dynasty is it now?"

"Ming Dynasty? No, it’s Huaxia now." Li Yifei corrected.

"Huaxia? Is the country fragmented? Why Huaxia?" She quickly questioned.

"Not fragmented, unified. Country’s name is Huaxia, a magnificent nation." Li Yifei explained.

"What about the Ming Dynasty? No, share the outside world with me." She pressed.

"Not urgent, first tell me why I can’t sense your aura, heartbeats, breaths—the signs of a living person." Li Yifei questioned, sensing no danger, boldly asked.

"Me?" She mused, sound directly conveying without moving lips, saying: "I am dead, naturally undetectable."

"What do you mean? You clearly move but lack physiological signs—heartbeats."

"Is the Ming Dynasty gone? How long has it been outside?" She pursued.

"Outside... theoretically over four hundred years, spanning several dynasties." Li Yifei briefly narrated history, she pondered before saying: "I didn’t expect so much time had passed, and it sounds like Han people rule again."

"The Ming Dynasty was Han ruled, yes. But after Ming came Qing Dynasty, controlled by Manchu, previously Jurchens. Now the country is vast, with few unrecouped areas, just time’s matter." Li Yifei elaborated.

"Are you a cultivator?" She shifted topic.

"Yes, I am a cultivator!"

"Why so weak?" Her brows furrowed as she remarked, leaving Li Yifei speechless until answering: "Am I weak?"

"Very weak, barely meeting external test thresholds, you’re quite weak." She stated.

"I’m an Innate Expert, stronger than most. Yet you call me weak." Li Yifei unabashedly answered.

"Indeed, you are weak. As for being an Innate Expert, isn’t that merely an entry?"

"Miss, please, no jokes! Oh by age, you’re an ancestor now. In today’s world, my cultivation level isn’t globally dominant, but largely so. An Innate Expert is very formidable."

"Globally?"

"Uh... meaning whole world. Perhaps you didn’t know, Earth is round, Zheng He sailed the seas proving multiple nations. What use discussing this? Did you mean my cultivation is just a beginner threshold?" Li Yifei rambled excitedly, meeting a centuries-old individual retaining cognition, seeming miraculous, the person being a cultivator, leaving Li Yifei bursting with inquiries.

"Threshold? Yes, entry for a cultivator is Innate, barely making threshold."