The First Chamber and A Dream

There was a low rumble and moments later a bridge made of the same glowing crystals around us rose from the water.

"Wow." I heard Seven mumble beside me.

"I know right?" Blake added in amazement.

I agreed with them and I started staring at the crystal bridge. It was smooth so it was a bit slippery. We had to be careful crossing it.

"By the way Lei," Artemis called. "How did you know what those characters meant?"

I froze. Many thoughts ran in my mind and none of it made sense to me so I had no other way but to lie.

"I'm a Zhang. The Zhang Clan of Guangdong Province is a famous grave-robbing family in the underworld apparently so we had learned many forms of languages."

"Oh." she muttered but she sounded really doubtful.

"Anyway, let's go people!"

I waited until everyone was on the bridge before I crossed it myself. We were really being careful because we could slip. As I walked I suddenly noticed Kyle was staring at Calvin.

"What's wrong Kyle-ge?" I asked him.

"Do you remember the last words your father left us before Crazy Fa dragged us here?"

"Which one was it again?"

"The one that says something about the Zhangs and Lius?"

"Oh that one?"

My father's words echoed in my mine; "A Zhang may be able to navigate the tomb but only a Liu can find his way."

"What of it?" I asked again.

"What if… it literally means that way? Like word for word."

"Err… My brain's lagging… explain."

"Look Fa Xiao Min wants you because he thinks you can guide him to the tomb because you're a Zhang right?" I nodded. "But your dad said that only a Liu can find his way. What if we need both a Zhang and a Liu to navigate the tomb?"

I thought for a moment. I tried to analyse what he was saying then it just all clicked.

"You mean… to actually find the way one will need someone who's related to Emperor Yue by blood, and to find and disable the traps along the way a Zhang is needed?"

"Bingo."

Both our eyes landed on Calvin who was clinging on Xander.

"Calvin? But he's Korean. I mean he was born and raised in Korea. His parents are Koreans too."

"But isn't it strange that he resembles a Chinese person a lot?"

"Now that you mention that…"

"And I also did my homework on him." this statement made me raise an eyebrow. "What? It's only normal… well more like occupational habit since I'm an informant and all. Okay I did dig a little on all your background with Seth's help."

"The youngest? Oh yeah he's a hacker."

"Yeah. Anyway Calvin's mother is half-Chinese. She's related with that Liu Clan in Xi'an but she was born in Changsha and raised in Korea by her father."

"So he's technically a Liu. Xi'an used to be Chang'an the capital of Western Han in ancient times."

"Yep. And probably a descendant of Emperor Wu or any half-brothers and half-sisters of Emperor Yue, considering the crystal stained with his blood was the key."

"Okay. We'll have to rely on him on this one then. But we should probably not tell anyone. Calvin would get scared out of his mind and Fa Xiao Min will definitely exploit it."

"I agree."

With that in play I just nodded my head in acknowledgement and continued making my way towards the opening.

When we reached it we were greeted by yet another normal-looking cave.

"So where to now?" asked Xander as he turned on his flashlight.

All heads turned to Fa Xiao Min.

"That wall over there." he pointed to a section of the cave. "One of my men accidentally opened a section of that wall. It must be the entrance."

I came closer to the wall and inspected it. I then noticed something familiar written on it.

"Hey did any of you bring the crystals?" they asked me for the reason. "There's another hexagon-shaped hole here."

Fa Xiao Min ordered one of his men to get the crystals which we left on the islet.

"Nineteen crystals." said the man. "I can't get the one in the stone out."

"Okay. Calvin, get one and come here."

"Why me?" he whined. Seven gave him a warning tone so he just agreed and reluctantly came closer to me.

Calvin took one crystal and I instructed him to insert it to the hole. Of course I never really explained why I insisted on his assistance. It could get Calvin in a more dangerous situation.

There was another rumble and a section of the cave on the other side of where we were opened.

"How the hell did your ancient ancestors build something like this?" Seven asked as he marveled at the door. "The mechanisms used, the methods, the idea itself is very modern!"

"Not really Seven." Artemis inserted. "Mechanisms have always been used since ancient times but I suppose their materials are still quite not as advanced as ours."

"But… that's not right!" Mister Fa suddenly yelled. "The door's supposed to be that way!"

He was pointing at the opposite side of the door that just opened. "My men opened that one!"

"But that's the wrong way. It's a trap." I pointed my flashlight in the direction he was pointing and translated the words written on it in Rexon language.

"'Undesirable ones' quick path to death.'" It made me chuckle. "The ancients apparently have a sense of humor."

"Lei we could really use an explanation right now." Xander said.

"This place is no ordinary cave. It's not an ordinary tomb either but it's the tomb of the Red Dragon Emperor. He was known to possess many novel ideas so the contraptions in this place are really out of the ordinary. This place is more dangerous and more mysterious than your ordinary tombs. People, who are not supposed to venture it, much less find it, will surely die."

"And that is why you need a Zhang." Artemis said and sneered at Fa Xiao Min.

"Whatever. Let's just go."

Fa Xiao Min led his men obviously miffed at what just happened.

We entered the opening and stopped at our tracks after a few steps. In front of us was what a tomb usually looks like; dark, damp and creepy.

The circular room was filled with paintings that were already starting to lose its color. The painted jars with different sizes were scattered all over the room and the most impressive sight was the brazier blazing with flames at the very center of the room.

"I bet fifty thousand won that fire has been burning nonstop ever since it got lit." Blake said and held Xander's arm tighter. "Which was probably hundreds of years ago."

"More like two thousand years or more actually." I commented.

"I don't really want to argue with anything right now." Calvin replied. "Can we just do this fast please? This place is making me claustrophobic."

"We have to find the door to the next chamber." I added. "Try to examine the jars and paintings. Take pictures or something and just ask me if you have any questions. Remember… do not break anything. We have to preserve everything as a sign of cultural heritage."

I headed straight to the brazier. There were patterns written on it as well. I took some notes and I noticed that the writings were a mixture of different languages, five of them to be exact, in a pattern.

"Uh guys?" Artemis, Kyle, Jessa and Seven headed to me. "What do you think of this?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at their confused faces.

"Okay how about we do this. Each of us picks a language and translates it. I'll handle the strange one. Afterwards we'll put it together. Let's see if it will have any clue on how to get to the next chamber." I instructed.

"Okay. I'll handle the ancient Han characters." Kyle replied. "I can't believe all those shit Hao He had been rambling about learning the ancient Han characters is actually useful."

"I'll take the Sanskrit then." said Jessa. "I used to study them as well."

"Japanese for me. I'll ask Xander to help since he's half-Japanese." Seven also said.

"That leaves me with Egyptian hieroglyphics." Artemis added.

"You can understand that one?" I asked.

"I told you, I read. And I happen to learn languages really fast." she smirked. "I'm a girl with many talents."

"You're also a girl that can take down five grown men in a fight and come out unscathed." I commented.

Everyone started doing their assigned jobs. Everybody else had a job to do as well. Some of Mister Fa's men, even himself, were taking pictures of the paintings and jars, and was documenting all the details they could find.

The probably knew what they were doing. Jessa once said that they had ventured in many tombs before.

I looked up to the paintings on the wall and realized that it was a story.

"Emperor Yue's story." I whispered.

I was familiar with Emperor Yue's story. I had read a lot about him and I used it to make sense of the paintings inside the chamber.

According to history, Liu Qing was the fourth son of Emperor Jing, sixth emperor of the Han Dynasty. His mother was Royal Consort Shen a member of the Shen Clan who was known for their sword techniques and healing skills. Royal Consort Shen was Emperor Jung's favorite consort and this sparked the enmity of the other wives. Liu Qing was born with blocked meridians so he grew up learning how to play the twelve-stringed zither instead of learning politics and combat like his brothers.

"I have a feeling wuxia will come into play." I mumbled.

Anyway Liu Qing and his mother were bullied inside the palace. He was close to one of his half-brothers, Liu Fen the sixth prince. In the painting, while Qing and Fen were out on a stroll they met a boy which I guessed to be Zhang Li Er, and the three became close friends.

The painting in the chamber ended when the trio met a girl who stepped out from a glowing door. I gasped in shock when I noticed the clothes depicted the girl was wearing; jeans, rubber shoes, a t-shirt, a black leather jacket and a modern day backpack was slung on her back.

"Hauria." I muttered, remembering the name the koi fishes mentioned.

"What are you looking at?" I heard Xander ask as he stood next to me. I turned to him and saw him look up to the paintings as well. "Wait… are those… jeans?"

"I think the painting is portraying Liu Qing's childhood; how he became close with Liu Fen, how he met my ancestor Zhang Li Er and how the three of them met the mysterious lady, Hauria. This is the real record of his life!"

"But the girl is wearing modern-day clothes though."

"You think…"

""Hauria's from the future?"" was our guess.

I immediately discussed it to everyone. Of course many questions were raised, especially from the creepy thin man. He just could not believe it!

"I told you Mister Fa, being in this kind of work, you'll believe in just about everything."

"The question now is," Calvin interrupted. "Just who is Hauria? If she really did come from the future, when? From what era?"

"I think we will find more clues as we move forward." I stated. "Now… we have to figure out where the door to the next chamber is and how to open it."

We then decided to rest in the chamber. Everyone ate and slept well except for me. I tried to make sense of the writings in the brazier. Artemis, Kyle, Seven, Xander and Jessa were able to finish translating it after two hours. Since the room was bright and warm thanks to the flames in the brazier, I was able to look at the writings very carefully.

I felt someone next to me and saw Artemis who offered me a bottle of water. I then gave her my thanks.

"So how is it?" she asked.

"It's full of gibberish mind you but I'm still half-way there so I'm not sure."

"Oh. Hey let me check your wound." I nodded.

I didn't know when I fell asleep but my dream was really something.

In my dream, I was Liu Qing. I was wearing the ancient Han garb. By my side were Liu Fen and Zhang Li Er. How I knew who they were I didn't know. It just clicked. We were probably children; Li Er and I were probably seven or eight while Liu Fen was six. We were walking on the streets and we were on our way outside the city.

The dream shifted and we were sitting at a lakeside. Fen and Li Er were fishing while I, or rather Qing, was reading while sitting under a tree. I suddenly felt some sort of pull, from somewhere deep inside the woods. The feeling felt so real even though I knew I was only in a dream.

I closed the book I was reading and followed that pull. I heard Fen and Li Er call my name but I kept walking so they followed after me. We reached a cave's opening and saw a small light in its center. The light got bigger and brighter that we had no choice but to shield our eyes. When I opened my eyes again, a girl with a very familiar face but clothing that didn't belong to that era stepped out from the light.

Just like the painting she was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, low-cut converse shoes, a dirty-white shirt and black leather jacket. On her back was a black backpack. She had dark straight hair that reached her upper back, fair skin, grey eyes, thin pinkish lips, sharp nose, small forehead and a slim figure.

"What year is it?" she asked in our language.

My two companions were confused at the sudden turn of events but Li Er answered. After that, the most surprising thing happened…

"Artemis." uttered the mouth of the body I was occupying in my dream.

I woke up.

Once sleepiness vanished and my vision cleared, I saw Artemis right in front of me.

"Are you awake now?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"You muttered my name in your sleep."

"I did?"

Then I remembered my dream. I wasn't really sure who muttered the name. Was it me or was it Liu Qing himself? And if it was the latter, how did he know that name? And why did that girl looked a lot like Artemis?

"Were you dreaming about me?" she asked with a smirk. She leaned closer and felt my face flush. "It better not be green, or yellow according to Chinese culture? HAHAHAHA! You are so red Lei!"

"S-s-stop it!"

Her laugh woke everyone up.

"Five more minutes…" I heard Calvin mutter. He was sleeping beside me.

"Okay! Everybody up!"

***

Artemis and I were in front of the brazier. I was wondering how the fire kept going even after it had been lit more than two thousand years ago. Fire needed oxygen to ignite and keep blazing so there has to be some sort of passage where oxygen is supplied.

"Here I finally solved it!" Artemis announced and gave me a notebook. "I figured out the pattern and finally understood what it was about!"

"And?"

"I wasn't like what we thought! We just have to outright translate it and the sequence will follow the pattern in the brazier!"

"What does that mean?" asked Blake.

"Each side of the brazier has a five-line poem that is probably the clue to venture this place!" she said excitedly. "A poem and a riddle."

"A what now?"