Chapter 41

Not long after crossing Naihe Bridge, we entered a burial chamber. This chamber was unlike any we had encountered in the Ancient Tomb before. In the previous tomb, the chambers were all square, and aside from having no windows, they were much like ordinary rooms. This chamber, however, looked like a natural stone cavern, completely irregular in shape. We only identified it as a burial chamber because of the many long, rectangular stones placed around the perimeter like tables. These stones were perfectly uniform. They bore no chisel marks, but their surfaces had been polished smooth, clearly the work of human hands. Resting on each stone table were small items, the largest of which was no bigger than a palm. They were crystal clear and translucent, seemingly made of jade, though they lacked the deep luster of true jade. While jade transmits light through its entire volume, this material only gave the surface the appearance of being translucent.