Five years ago.

Bailuyuan, the tomb of the Tang Dynasty, the underground palace of Li Longqi, the king of Zhongnan County.

Qin Beiyang was lying in the coffin of the Ming Dynasty, where the coffin of the little prince of the Tang Dynasty was originally placed. He was still human, a living dead man - with broken limbs, severe spinal injuries and paralysis, only his head and internal organs.

The only thing that accompanied him was Ouyang Anna, his twelve-year-old daughter Jiuse, and the black thousand-year-old snake cat. Anna took out the iron box from her bosom and opened the original copy of "The Qin Tombsmith Family" more than 600 years ago—she brought it out of the tower of Notre Dame Cathedral, the coffin of Qin Jin, the first generation of the Great Venerable of the Craftsmen Union.

She whispered through the coffin: "This ancient book handed down by the ancestors of the Qin clan's tombsmith clan hides the method of giving you a life. I want to make you a living grave beast so that you can live forever and get back on your feet. Qin Beiyang, are you willing? ”

There was silence in the coffin of the Ming Dynasty for a long time, and a voice sounded faintly: "Our Qin family has built tomb beasts for generations, and I would rather become a tomb beast myself, and live forever instead of nine colors, guarding the mausoleum of the little prince of the Tang Dynasty." ”

Qin Beiyang's answer was moving, and his twelve-year-old daughter Jiu Se also held the coffin and said, "Dad, are you talking about the nine colors of the small town tomb beast?" ”

"Well, although the coffin of the little prince of the Tang Dynasty is no longer there. But under the Rubik's Cube Tomb of the Tang Dynasty, there are still great treasures and secrets, connecting the mystery of Wu Zetian's Qianling, I am willing to protect the place where I was born and become a living tomb beast. This is fate, I accept it. ”

Anna nodded and said, "But there must be a craftsman." ”

"I'll be this craftsman!" Qin Jiuse poked his head into the coffin, "Daddy, as soon as I stepped into this tomb, I felt extremely kind, every mural here, every trace of air, seems to have been experienced in my previous life." You just said that this is also my life, and it is my destiny. ”

"Nope! Jiuse, I don't want you to inherit the skills of the Qin clan's tombsmith clan, I don't want you to inherit my fate! Qin Beiyang resolutely turned his head away, "I'd rather die." ”

"Daddy, if you die, then I won't live long. In all my time with you, I have realized that I was born to build and control the Tomb Beasts. If I don't inherit your craft, my life will be useless. ”

"Nine-colored ......" Qin Beiyang looked at this girl's stubborn eyes, which was the same as his self twenty years ago, and he also had the temperament of not hitting the south wall and not looking back. He sighed again, looked at Ouyang Anna and said, "Tell me what you do, do you want to put your daughter in danger?" ”

"If Nine-Colors has made up her mind, I can only agree with her choice."

Anna's answer was beyond Qin Beiyang's expectations. It's a pity that all his limbs are broken, otherwise he would really have to sit up from the coffin: "Why don't you think about your daughter's life and future?" ”

"When I was nineteen years old, my dream was to become China's first female diplomat, the first female diplomat, and even the first female president......," Ouyang Anna smiled bitterly, "Unfortunately, I am destined to fail to realize these dreams." What is the dream of the Nine Colors? I used to think that I was a great woman and accomplished great things that only men can accomplish. But I only guessed half right, my daughter's ambition is not in the world, but in the underground. She wants to become a grave beast craftsman, inheriting the family skills of 3,000 years. I've had a long talk with her about this countless times. She already has the mind of an adult, and it is not an impulsive whim. ”

"Yes, Mom, from the day I was born, I knew that I was destined to be associated with the ancient tomb." The little girl said this, and the snake cat climbed on her shoulder, and they were not like master and servant, but more like sisters. Maybe the snake cat has the soul of Princess Yongtai, the sister of Li Longqi, the king of Zhongnan County, "Daddy, please promise me." ”

"Beiyang, as long as you want, Jiuse can realize your dreams."

Anna was also heartbroken before she said this, but she decided to obey her daughter's heart.

Qin Beiyang was silent again, like a dead man. He recalled his life in his mind, starting from being born in this ancient tomb of the Tang Dynasty, and then to his childhood in the German Concession of Tianjin, witnessing the tragedy of the murder of his adoptive parents, returning to Qin with a sea of blood and hatred, and learning the skills of the Qin tombsmith clan in the underground palace......

This is fate, no one can resist it, not himself, not his daughter.

He opened his eyes: "Okay, Nine Colors, I hope you won't regret it." ”

"Daddy, do you regret it? Learn the art of the Tomb Beast. ”

Qin Beiyang thought for a while and laughed: "I have never regretted it...... Even if one life goes to the west. ”

"If you don't regret it, how can Nine Colors regret it?"

The daughter said that she finally let go of the burden in Qin Beiyang's heart. No matter what the future holds, what life seeks is a "no regrets". Qin Beiyang regretted countless times in his life, leaving countless regrets, but he inherited the skills of the Qin family's tombsmith clan, entered the world of the tomb beast, formed a partnership with the nine colors of the tomb beast in the town, and even suffered from cancer by the radiation of the spirit stone, but he was willing and had no regrets.

Qin Beiyang decided to teach his daughter Jiuse all the skills of the Qin clan's tombsmith clan, breaking the old rule of passing on men to women for 3,000 years, and casting himself into a living tomb beast.

Jiuse knelt down to the coffin, kowtowed to his father, and looked solemn: "From today on, you are not only my father, but also my master." ”

Ouyang Anna helped her daughter up: "Your teacher is not only your father, but also this book "Qin's Tomb Craftsman's Book". With this book, you'll be able to learn three thousand years of craftsmanship with half the effort. ”

This girl has already followed her mother to read "Spring and Autumn", "Historical Records" and "Zizhi Tongjian", and the ancient texts are by no means difficult for her, and the original copy of this "Qin's Tomb Craftsman's Jian" will become her pillow book.

From the midsummer of 1932 to the early spring of 1933, Qin Jiuse lived in the Tang Dynasty cemetery palace in Bailuyuan, and followed Qin Beiyang to learn the crafts of the Qin tombsmith clan.

There is a fly in the ointment, Qin Beiyang can't teach his daughter by hand. Fortunately, Qin Jiuse was talented and intelligent, and he ate the "Qin's Tomb Craftsman's Jian" in a short period of time. She did not stay in the grave every day, but returned to the ground, went deep into the people of Bailuyuan and the Guanzhong Plain, and learned various crafts from the carpenters, stonemasons, blacksmiths, ceramicists, and masons in the countryside.

At a young age, Jiuse learned the skills of using An Lushan's Tang knife and Russian crossbow. Although there is no little wood to lead the way, the snake cat has always accompanied Qin Beiyang and the nine-colored father and daughter. As long as there is this cat, the labyrinth of the White Deer Plains Tomb will not open, and Anna and Nine Colors will be able to enter and leave the dungeon freely.

Jiuse is about to become a teacher, but the most important sentence that her father taught her came from Liyuan Xing - if you don't go crazy, you won't survive.

This is the teaching given by Qin Customs to the young Qin Beiyang more than 20 years ago. At that time, Qin Beiyang followed his father to build two tomb beasts: Emperor Guangxu's Dayi and Yuan Shikai's Golden Toad.

This time, he's going to build a grave beast for himself.

The nine palaces of the living tomb beast - the first house, the vow play, Qin Beiyang has no hands, so he can only be written by his daughter. Unexpectedly, Qin Jiuse wrote a handful of good words, not only to his father who was still alive, but also to the former owner of this underground palace, Li Longqi, the little prince of the Tang Dynasty.

2nd house, design drawings. Qin Beiyang discussed with his daughter, and Qin Beiyang dictated, and the nine-colored paper and pen drew the drawings of the living tomb beast.

3rd house, selection of materials. Ouyang Anna carried a large amount of gold with her, and naturally she could buy any raw materials. As for the spirit stone, she personally went to Taihang Mountain, hired several old dart riders, and transported a small piece of spirit stone from the cave.

The fourth house, splicing and shaping, setting up organs. Under Qin Beiyang's guidance, the thirteen-year-old Jiu Se created mechanical arms and legs, as well as artificial vertebrae, and embedded gears, conveyor belts, and escapements in the joints...... The most important thing is to bury a spirit stone in Qin Beiyang's chest. If it is in the body of an ordinary person, I am afraid that he will die in a few days. But next to Qin Beiyang's terminally ill lung lobes, the spirit stone almost played the role of fighting poison with poison, but instead killed a large number of cancer cells - perhaps the earliest tumor chemotherapy.

The fifth house, the soul. This level can be ignored, because Qin Beiyang is still alive, and his soul is in his heart.

Sixth house, carved. Anna buys a stamping machine. Qin Jiuse learned how to operate the machine tool from the master, transported it to the underground palace of Bailuyuan, and quickly completed this level.

Seventh house, manipulation. Qin Beiyang didn't need anyone to manipulate himself, his soul and mind could manipulate this new steel body.

Eighth house, the finishing touch. Ouyang Anna bought a tiger, a leopard, and a bear from the hunters in Qinling, and sent them to the underground palace, all of which were easily torn to pieces by Qin Beiyang.

The ninth palace, named - this living tomb beast is called Qin Beiyang.

Then, Ouyang Anna and Jiuse closed the underground palace, and only the snake and cat in the tomb of Princess Yongtai accompanied him.

Qin Beiyang will not die, or in other words, Qin Beiyang is no longer a living Qin Beiyang, but has become a special species between the living and the dead, the soul and the machine.

In the spring of 1933, he lay in a coffin, perhaps waking up a hundred years later, or growing old in the wilderness, or never waking up again......

Life is in the world.