Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1392: Chapter 1377: Underwater Ancient Tomb

At the bottom of the reservoir not far away, something protruding like a stone tablet juts out from the mud. Although it’s less than half a foot, Huo Sining quickly judges that it should be a carved stone sculpture. From that visible segment, it looks like the head of a Kylin.

Huo Sining feels puzzled. At this moment, she stands at the center of the reservoir, where the depth is roughly estimated to be seventy or eighty meters deep. How could this stone sculpture be here?

Feeling somewhat strange, Huo Sining doesn’t think twice and goes directly to the Kylin stone sculpture. She uses her hand to wipe away the mud and algae from the head of the Kylin, trying to dig the thing out of the mud.

But to Huo Sining’s surprise, after she has removed most of the mud surrounding the Kylin and attempts to pull it out, it seems to be fixed to something. Huo Sining pulls hard several times, but the thing doesn’t budge an inch.

This makes Huo Sining even more bewildered. The Kylin cannot be moved. Could it be that the reservoir bottom is not just pure mud?

Thinking of this, Huo Sining instinctively senses something amiss. There might be something peculiar beneath the water.

Immediately, she activates the Heavenly Eye, placing her hand on the Kylin statue.

Laying her eyes on it is startling enough.

Before Huo Sining, an astounding scene unfolds like a tidal wave.

Right under her feet, a large number of massive stone statues suddenly appear. Some of them stand upright, while others lie toppling and slanting in the mud. These statues include not just Kylins and lions but also saddled horses, servants leading horses, civil and military officials, and even eunuchs holding dust brushes.

Seeing this forest of stone statues, Huo Sining is stunned. Her heart skips a beat, hinting at a hypothesis, as her blood starts rushing and her heart pounds like a drum.

Moreover, beyond this forest of stone statues, deeper underwater, she first sees an exquisite stone sacrificial altar and ritual incense burner items. At the end of the altar stands a line of erect stone tombstones, behind the towering bluestone tombstones are actually graves!

This place is actually an extensive Underwater Ancient Tomb!

Roughly dozens of tombs lay at the reservoir bottom, and judging by the inscriptions, they are Ming Dynasty tombs. The largest tomb at the center is probably the true owner of the tomb cluster, but who this main tomb belongs to, Huo Sining cannot discern.

However, on one of the small peripheral tombstones, unlike others which have their engravings almost eroded by reservoir waters, this one still has legible writing, stating, ”The Tomb of Chen Gong, Honest and Loyal Keeper of the Heavenly Order.”

After seeing these words, Huo Sining’s heart races again. Previously, she could only deduce the tomb to be of Ming style based on the stone statue forest and the tomb cluster’s decorations. But seeing the words ”Honest Keeper,” her hypothesis became much more compelling.

”Honest Keeper” was an official title granted by the Ming court, equivalent to the sixth rank official. A sixth-rank official being buried here but merely as an accessory, almost at the edge, what could be the background of the real owner of this tomb cluster!?

Suddenly, a ridiculous thought flashes in Huo Sining’s mind. Could it be that this tomb cluster is...

With that thought, Huo Sining cannot afford to delay underwater any longer and swims urgently to the surface. If this tomb is what she suspects, she must report this promptly and let Zhou Shitao and other experts handle it!

Upon resurfacing, the girls on the bank finally relax their taut nerves. Su Qingqing checks her watch in amazement, saying, ”Twenty-three minutes, are you trying to break a Guinness record? Ningning, did you surpass yourself again?”

Bai Yishan and others look at Huo Sining with admiration, while the old man renting the boat stands dumbfounded.

Nobody expected that such a seemingly fragile girl could, without any diving equipment, leap into the reservoir, hold her breath underwater for more than twenty minutes, and resurface with a spark of vitality as if nothing unusual happened.

This girl is quite the talent!

However, Huo Sining doesn’t have time to explain further; her mind is flooded with what she found underwater. After handing a jade bracelet to Bai Yishan and taking a towel and robe from Su Qingqing, she eagerly grabs her phone to call Zhou Shitao.

”Teacher, there’s something I must tell you—I’ve made a big discovery...”

Saying this, Huo Sining glances at the girls and the old man, pauses her words, and walks towards the villa. While walking, she lowers her voice and reports the situation she encountered at the reservoir bottom.

Zhou Shitao, upon hearing Huo Sining’s description, experiences a jolt inwardly, aligning his thoughts with hers.

”You’re sure there’s a bas-relief bluestone pattern matching that of the Thirteen Tombs beside the tombstone?” Zhou Shitao confirms repeatedly.

Huo Sining replies helplessly, ”Master, do I sound like I’m joking? If only I had an underwater camera, I’d show you some photos to prove it.”

Zhou Shitao realizes the gravity of the situation, so without asking more, he says directly, ”Stay there and wait, I’ll call the bureau and get them to send people down. I’ll have your senior brother come along. In Magic Capital, the closest must be Xie Daoyuan, the bureau will surely dispatch him, then you can follow up with him!”

Huo Sining agrees. The Cultural Relics Bureau acts swiftly; in less than ten minutes, Xie Daoyuan calls, his tone full of excitement and urgency: ”Huo girl, where exactly are you now?”

Huo Sining hands the phone to Su Qingqing, who confusedly takes it. Upon hearing her Master’s voice asking about her location, Su Qingqing gets a tingling scalp and unnatural nerves, clearly showing she’s likely skipped classes, hence her tension upon hearing Xie Daoyuan’s voice.

Knowing her Master is coming over, Su Qingqing feels both apprehensive and perplexed. She instinctively glances at Huo Sining, stuttering as she gives out the address. Once Xie Daoyuan receives the specific location, he hangs up without another word.

”Ningning, what’s going on?”

After the call, Su Qingqing senses something is off. Even if she skipped class, it shouldn’t prompt her Master to ask for the reservoir’s address. It’s just skipping class, not enough to drive her Master to chase her to the outskirts, right?