Her Marriage: The Night is Still Young-Chapter 216: You Actually Opened It

Julian Grant immediately hid his curious expression.

He stepped forward, following closely behind Josephine, his fingertips gently brushed against her arm: "Don’t worry, I remember everything. Wherever you go, I’ll follow. I won’t cause trouble."

Josephine didn’t have time for his idle talk and continued walking inside.

The two of them had just reached the stone coffin.

Josephine suddenly stopped, furrowing her brows slightly: "Something’s wrong, the soil around the edge of the stone coffin shows signs of being disturbed."

She squatted down.

She brought her flashlight closer, lightly rubbing her thumb along the gap of the coffin lid, "The soil here isn’t naturally accumulated, it seems like someone has tampered with it."

Julian Grant immediately tensed, instinctively standing in front of her as he scanned the surroundings of the tomb chamber with a vigilant gaze: "Could it be from when we accidentally touched it while cleaning the first layer?"

"Impossible."

Josephine shook her head and took out tweezers from her backpack, carefully picking up a bit of the loosened soil, "This soil still has moisture. It must have been disturbed only a few days ago. Also, look at the side of the coffin lid, there’s a new scratch with metallic scraps that don’t belong here."

As soon as she finished speaking,

a faint "click" sound came from a distance, resembling the sound of stones rubbing.

"Has this tomb been robbed before?"

Josephine didn’t answer, continuing to carefully inspect around the stone coffin.

The burial items here had already been cleared once.

Now they were conducting a second excavation to see if anything had been missed.

"Wow~, the owner of this tomb had a remarkably high status in life!"

Julian Grant gazed at the multiple heavy layers of coffins and couldn’t help but marvel.

Although he didn’t know much about archaeology,

he knew that the more layers of a coffin, the higher the status of the tomb owner.

Josephine meticulously cleared the soil around the stone coffin inch by inch.

Ten minutes later,

her fingers accidentally brushed against the carved edges of the coffin lid and suddenly paused.

The entwined lotus pattern’s direction was exactly identical to the one on her family’s Jade Bone Box in her memory.

"What is it?" Julian Grant noticed her distraction and glanced at the pattern when he moved closer, "This looks like the pattern on your family’s Jade Bone Box..."

"Not just the pattern." Josephine’s voice was tense as she carefully continued to search nearby.

Three meters away from the stone coffin.

The ground had a vague area of disturbance.

She tried digging with a trowel.

"Crack!"

It seemed she had hit something with a stone’s hardness.

Realizing there was something below, she hurriedly but carefully dug it out.

"Josephine, what are you digging?"

Josephine calmly continued to unearth the clay bit by bit.

Soon enough,

an object shaped like a pillow was excavated.

It appeared to be a Jade Pillow.

However, its surface was covered and wrapped in soil, concealing its original design.

"...Wow~, Josephine, what’s this?"

Josephine carefully examined it, feeling a tension rising within her chest.

The Jade Pillow had cloud patterns on the sides identical to the Jade Bone Box, even the line of light brown watermarks on the jade material was exactly the same, clearly indicating it was another "Jade Bone Box."

"This seems like the Jade Bone Box and resembles the one from my family."

"Really?" Julian Grant moved in for a closer look.

"But why is it on the ground?"

Josephine cautiously turned over the Jade Pillow, confirming it was just like her family’s heirloom Jade Bone Box.

"Such a precious jade artifact should be inside the stone coffin."

Josephine: "Perhaps grave robbers stole too many artifacts and accidentally dropped it on the ground when they left in a hurry."

"Oh, so that’s what happened."

Josephine repeatedly examined the Jade Pillow.

It also had intricate mechanisms, identical to the one at her home.

And the interior of the Jade Pillow was hollow, containing something within.

Her parents had researched it all their lives but never figured out how to open the Jade Bone Box.

Julian Grant watched as Josephine’s fingertips gently swept away the soil on the Jade Pillow, recalling the Jade Bone Box he had seen at her home. He compared the size: "This Jade Pillow is about the same as your family’s Jade Bone Box, but the cloud patterns and water lines are like they were carved from a mold. Could they have originally been a set?"

"It’s possible."

Josephine took a soft brush from her backpack and began cleaning the surface of the Jade Pillow bit by bit.

As the soil fell away,

a minute groove was revealed on the side of the Jade Pillow.

Its shape perfectly matched the protrusion at the bottom of her Jade Bone Box.

"This inside is also hollow, but unfortunately, there’s no way to open it."

"Really? Let me see." Julian Grant took it upon himself to check.

"Be careful, these are very precious artifacts. What if you break it with your clumsy hands?"

Josephine took the Jade Pillow back from his hands and carefully placed it in a storage box.

"We can study this more once we’re out."

"Oh..." Julian Grant furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

He had just taken a brief look.

The Jade Pillow had seven holes top and bottom, laid out like the Big Dipper.

This somewhat resembled a foreign puzzle-solving game centered on ancient civilizations he had played before.

However, he had only managed to glance at it, without getting a detailed look, so he couldn’t be completely certain.

"Enough dawdling, let’s continue cleaning the other artifacts."

"Oh, okay."

Josephine, Julian Grant, and the other staff started cautiously searching for any overlooked artifacts around the stone coffin and other chambers of the tomb.

...

Five in the afternoon.

The sky began to darken.

Everyone started to wrap up for the day.

Since the tomb chamber was cool and damp, it wasn’t suitable for long stays.

Therefore, everyone heavily wrapped up their work.

"Everyone, make sure to get a good rest and take care of your health, don’t catch a cold."

"Got it, Captain."

Back at the dormitory.

Josephine resumed exploring ways to open the Jade Bone Box.

The method she used to open the hidden compartment in the Jade Pillow from the tomb wasn’t working here; the box remained unmoved.

She tried tapping lightly in the order of the patterns and adjusted the angle under the moonlight.

After more than half an hour of fiddling,

the Jade Bone Box was still tightly shut, not budging at all.

"Still haven’t opened it?" Julian Grant came in with hot water.

"No, it won’t open at all."

Seeing her troubled expression towards the Jade Bone Box,

Julian Grant curiously leaned in to closely examine the pattern on the box and suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, this pattern layout looks just like a foreign ancient civilization puzzle game I played before."

Josephine Thompson looked up at him, "Game?"

"Yes, it’s called ’Temple Key.’ In it, there’s a level where you move mechanisms according to patterns on an Ancient Stele. You must first find the ’Starting Pattern,’ then press the branch ’Node’ patterns in sequence, and finally twist the center pattern to open it."

Julian Grant pointed to the winding lotus pattern on the Jade Bone Box, "See, this largest lotus petal is pointed, like the ’Starting Pattern’ in the game. The three small curled leaves branching off are the ’Nodes.’

Josephine was skeptical.

But there was no other way at the moment, so she stepped aside, "Why don’t you give it a try? Be gentle; don’t break it."

Julian took a deep breath, aligned his fingertip with the largest pointed lotus petal, and pressed gently.

With a soft "click," the lotus pattern sank in slightly, then bounced back.

Josephine was astonished.

She always thought this Jade Pillow required a special key to open.

Moreover, she had studied it many times and had no idea the Jade Pillow could sink in.

Julian’s eyes lit up, and he continued pressing the three curled leaf patterns clockwise in sequence.

Each press was consistent with the Starting Pattern’s pressure.

Finally, he grasped the complete lotus pattern at the center of the Jade Bone Box and gently twisted it clockwise half a turn.

A soft "buzz" sounded.

A seam suddenly appeared on the side of the Jade Bone Box.

Then.

The box lid slowly lifted, revealing a roll of yellowing parchment stacked inside.

"Oh my..."

Josephine stood up in shock, her fingertips trembling as she brushed the parchment inside the box, "It really opened... How could it be the same as the mechanism in that foreign game?"

Julian was also stunned, scratching his head, "I didn’t expect it either. That game claimed it was based on mechanisms from The Kemetian Empire’s temples, but how could it match this?"

Josephine was puzzled for a few seconds, "It’s also very normal; there were many foreign trade transactions in ancient times, and many tributes from Tributary Nations."

"Foreign items appearing isn’t surprising either."

With that said.

She put on gloves and carefully took out the parchment.

"What is this!"

Josephine’s heart raced as she slowly unrolled the parchment.

Her parents had spent their lives researching it but never uncovered the secrets within.

It seemed this secret was meant for her to unravel.

Julian, equally curious, leaned in to take a look.

As the parchment unfolded.

It appeared to be a map, marked with various landmarks.

However, it’s only half a sheet, and the other half must be needed to piece together the complete map.

"Hmm~, is this a map?"

Julian’s eyes lit up instantly, exclaiming excitedly, "Is it a Treasure Map?"

Though he had plenty of money.

Searching for treasure through the map seemed fascinating to him.

"..." Josephine wasn’t sure; she just inspected it bit by bit with a magnifying glass.

It was indeed a map.

"Haha~, it must be a Treasure Map. Josephine, let’s keep this map safe, and maybe we could try finding out if there’s really treasure?"

Josephine furrowed her brows, "No, everything from the ancient tomb belongs to the nation and shouldn’t be touched recklessly."

"Haha~, if neither of us says anything, who else will know about the map inside?"

As Julian said that.

Josephine put down the magnifying glass, looking at him seriously, "Julian, it’s not about ’who knows.’ The Jade Bone Box and map are archaeological artifacts from ancient tombs, belonging to national archaeological discoveries. Every piece must be documented for historical research. Keeping it privately not only violates archaeological principles but is also illegal."

Julian’s excitement faded at her words, scratching his head and grinning sheepishly, "I was just saying it offhand, not seriously planning to hide it."

"Don’t be so serious; I know artifacts must be handed over to the nation. It’s just the idea of treasure hunting that’s intriguing, just fantasizing casually."

Seeing his earnest attitude in admitting his mistake, Josephine’s expression softened as she picked up the map again to examine it closely, "Some landmarks on this map resemble mountains near Aethelburg."

"Look, here’s Eagle’s Beak Peak, and Crescent River; they seem like landmarks from Aethelburg."

Julian leaned in, pointing to a blurry mark at the map’s edge, "Could the other half of this map be in your family’s Jade Pillow? They are a set, maybe the map was originally split between two objects."

Josephine felt a shock in her chest.

The possibility couldn’t be ignored.

"Right! The Jade Pillow and Jade Bone Box are Twin Artifacts, the map probably stored separately."

Julian’s eyes brightened as he straightened up, "If we find the complete map, could we follow it to see what’s there? Not to take treasure, but to understand where the map leads and what’s there?"

Josephine, seeing his hopeful expression, couldn’t help but smile, "Whether we can go depends on Professor Linton’s arrangement and the archaeological team’s approval. If we do go, it’s for archaeological research, not like the casual treasure hunt you imagine."

"I understand, I understand!" Julian nodded quickly, helping her organize the parchment roll, "Then let’s keep this half of the map safe, and you can find Professor Linton first thing tomorrow morning."

"Alright."

...

The next day.

Josephine reported the hidden map in the Jade Pillow to Professor Linton. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Unexpectedly.

Upon learning of this, Professor Linton ordered Josephine to keep it secret.

He planned to take the Jade Pillow and map to Kensington immediately.

"Expert Thompson, this is highly confidential, you mustn’t leak it to anyone else but you and Mr. Grant."

"Um... Professor Linton, this is only half a map..." Josephine explained instinctively.

"I know, the other half must be in another Jade Pillow. Such burial objects are usually found in pairs."

"Search thoroughly again to find the other Jade Pillow."

Professor Linton said as he was packing his luggage, in a hurry to leave.

"..." Josephine choked back her words.

She wanted to tell Professor Linton that the Thornton Family also had a similar Jade Pillow.

But...

Suddenly, she felt something amiss.

So, she refrained from speaking.

After Professor Linton left.

Josephine returned to the dormitory feeling disheartened.

She had thought Professor Linton would have all the staff working together to study the Treasure Map’s secrets.

Yet, unexpectedly, it turned into a highly classified matter.

Julian was sitting by the bed fiddling with an emergency lamp, and when he saw Josephine enter dejected, he immediately set his stuff aside and approached her, "What’s wrong? Professor Linton didn’t agree to the treasure hunt?"

Josephine sat in the chair, her fingertips absentmindedly stroking the table corner, "It’s not about not agreeing, he took the Jade Pillow and half map saying he’d go to Kensington, also told me to keep it secret and find the other Jade Pillow."

She paused, furrowing her brows tighter, "Yet it’s like he already knew the map was split and surely there’s another Jade Pillow. He didn’t even give me a chance to explain about the ’Twin Artifact.’"

Julian sensed something was off too, leaning in and lowering his voice, "You mean... Professor Linton’s reaction was too swift? Normally, discovering such significant artifacts should involve organizing a research team rather than taking them out alone immediately."

His words struck Josephine’s suspicions.

She recalled the look in Professor Linton’s eyes when he saw the Jade Pillow yesterday, thinking it was merely academic excitement.

Now upon reflection, there appeared something else in his gaze, as if waiting for this moment.

"Also, he forbids me from telling anyone, even the core members of the archaeological team."

Josephine’s fingertips felt cold, "I initially intended to mention my family also had a Jade Bone Box, but seeing his haste, I fear telling may cause trouble."

Julian furrowed his brows, walked to the window and checked for anyone else before turning back, "Could it be... Professor Linton knew all along about the Jade Pillow and map in the ancient tomb? Previously he mentioned the Terracotta Warrior’s importance in research; could it be a guise, with the real aim being the Twin Artifacts and the map?’’

Josephine’s heart sank.

She recalled when she first joined the archaeological team, how Professor Linton was exceedingly welcoming, even asking about the Thornton Family history proactively.

Back then, she thought it was academic exchange, but now, those inquiries seemed more like probing the whereabouts of the Jade Bone Box.

"No, I must figure out what he intends to do with the Jade Pillow and map." Josephine stood up, "If it was just normal artifact transfer, there’s no need for such secrecy. But his manner now suggests he’s afraid of someone finding out."