Volume 3: Tomb of the Fox Immortal - Chapter 53: The Giant Stone Statue

At the very first sight of the center of the chamber, Li Kun blurted out involuntarily, "What the hell is this?"

Right in the middle of the space stood a colossal statue towering over ten meters high. Where was there any sign of a high platform?

Yet, this giant statue was simply too massive. The chamber must have been at least fifty meters in diameter, and the enormous circular base of the statue alone had to be around thirty meters across.

This massive circular base was over two meters high, and the giant statue standing upon it was vividly painted with bright colors. It was evident that these pigments must have been treated with some special method to survive in such a pristine state down to the present day.

The stone statue depicted an exquisitely beautiful young woman. She was dressed in a slender, white translucent gown, possessing a graceful and delicate figure, with a fair tail distinctly visible behind her. Standing upright on the circular base, the woman held an azure-blue orb in the palm of her hand. However, this single spherical orb alone was roughly the size of a house.

At the very first glance at this giant statue, we were indeed astonished. The addition of these colorful pigments made the figure appear all the more lifelike.

Upon seeing the statue, the few of us walked toward its front. From our initial vantage point, we could only see the statue's profile rather than its front face, but even this side profile alone was enough to amaze us, giving us a glimpse of just how extraordinarily beautiful this fox fairy truly was.

As we hurried around to the front of the statue, we finally caught sight of the woman's facial contours. Yet, for some unknown reason, her features were blurred and indistinct. It seemed that whoever had carved this giant statue did not actually know what the fox fairy looked like.

Seeing this, a wave of disappointment washed over the three of us. We had hoped to catch a glimpse of the fox fairy's appearance on the stone statue, but to our dismay, even this final statue failed to portray the details of her face.

Looking downward, we noticed a flight of stairs directly beneath the center of the statue's base, leading straight up to the top.

Just at that moment, Xu Tian raised a finger and pointed at the massive circular base beneath the statue, saying, "Look, there seem to be characters on the left side of the stairs."

Li Kun and I followed the direction of Xu Tian's finger and indeed saw three large characters inscribed on the left side of the base's staircase.

As we walked closer and took a look, we saw that the three characters read: "Fox Moon Manor."

Upon seeing these three characters, we finally learned the name of this place. It seemed that this was truly the dwelling place of the fox fairy, named Fox Moon Manor. Yet, what puzzled the three of us was that there were no houses or similar buildings here. Where exactly did this fox fairy live?

With this thought in mind, I couldn't help but look around repeatedly. Yet, after scanning left and right for quite a while, I saw no other structures. Inside Fox Moon Manor, apart from this colossal stone statue, there was nothing else at all.

Seeing this, I looked up toward the stairs. For now, our only option was to go up to the foot of the stone statue and take a look.

With that thought, I said to the other two, "We don't know where the fox fairy is, let's go up and take a look."

Both of them nodded, and then we lifted our feet and walked straight up the steps.

To my surprise, as I climbed the stairs, I casually brushed my hand against the giant base beside me. To my astonishment, there was not the slightest trace of dust on this massive base.

This filled me with secret wonder. Could it be that the fox fairy truly lived in this place? From the very passage where we first entered, there had been no dust at all, and right up to this point, everything was spotlessly clean. It seemed she must genuinely reside here; otherwise, how could this place be so impeccably neat and tidy?

After climbing the stairs, the few of us arrived at the foot of the statue.

We examined this massive stone statue, yet we could not discern any clues, let alone any other buildings.

Li Kun asked, "Old Liu, is this fox fairy not even in this place? Otherwise, how could there not even be a single room here?"

I shook my head and replied, "That's impossible. If the fox fairy didn't live here, how could this place be free of dust? If she were absent, the statue—and even the passage we used to enter—would have been covered in dust long ago, to say nothing of a statue this immense."

Xu Tian also nodded and said, "Old Liu is right. From the moment we entered all the way to this place, there are clear traces of the fox fairy's presence, including this giant statue beside us. We should search carefully; who knows, we might make a discovery."

The rest of us nodded in agreement, and then we began our respective observations. Li Kun and Xu Tian walked down to search the lower area, while I stood upon the base and surveyed the surroundings from above.

Yet, after observing for a long time, we found nothing unusual or special. Just as the few of us were about to give up, I glanced back at the stone statue behind me.

As my gaze swept over the side of the statue's right foot, I seemed to spot something out of the ordinary.

Noticing this, I hurried over to the side of the statue's right foot and began to examine it closely.

I first reached out and felt along the side of the statue's foot, discovering what felt like a semi-circular, door-like stone entrance right in this spot.

Upon finding this, I gently pushed against the area with my hand. At that very push, a semi-circular stone door instantly swung open right before me.

Seeing this, my eyes were filled with utter shock, and I thought to myself in disbelief: Could this colossal stone statue actually be the dwelling place of the fox fairy?!

I hurried to the edge of the base and shouted to the other two, "Old Xu, Old Li, I found it! Get up here quickly."

Hearing my words, both of them wore puzzled expressions. Aside from the stone statue, there was nothing else up here at all. Nevertheless, upon hearing my call, they hurried up.

When they reached my side, both of them simultaneously looked toward the stone door by the side of the statue's right foot. Exchanging a glance, they saw mutual disbelief mirrored in each other's eyes.

Li Kun said, "Could the fox fairy actually live inside this giant statue?"

Xu Tian was equally stunned by the sight before them. Neither of them had ever imagined that the fox fairy would reside inside her own statue.

Xu Tian said, "It seems we've found it. Without further ado, let's go inside and look for the fox fairy."

I quickly raised a hand to stop them, saying, "Wait. We are dealing with a fox fairy here. If we simply barge into her residence so presumptuously, she will surely scatter our souls to the winds, let alone help us."

Li Kun asked, "Old Liu, what should we do then? Do you have a good plan?"

I looked up at the giant statue and said, "Call out to her."

Both of them looked at me in bewilderment, neither understanding what I meant. Xu Tian asked, "You mean, we shout for this fox fairy to come out?"

I nodded and said, "We must pay our respects properly. This fox fairy undoubtedly still clings to the mindset of the ancients. Today, the three of us will act like Liu Bei; even if we have to make three visits to a thatched cottage, we must invite this fox fairy out."

Exchanging a glance, Xu Tian said to me, "Alright, then today we shall formally seek an audience with this fox fairy."

I nodded. Afterward, the three of us carefully closed the stone door in front of us and walked straight back down the steps.

Standing before the statue, the three of us exchanged a final look. Then, clasping our right fists within our left palms, we bowed deeply to the stone statue ahead and shouted in unison: "Liu Jie, Li Kun, and Xu Tian seek an audience with the Fox Fairy Lord."

As our voices rang out together, the sound echoed back and forth within Fox Moon Manor.

Having shouted those words, we maintained our bowing postures, standing motionless in front of the stone statue as we waited quietly.

Time ticked away drop by drop. After we had waited for a moment, the two beside me raised their heads to look, only to find that Fox Moon Manor was now as silent as a tomb—so quiet that we could hear the sound of our own breathing.

The two of them, standing to my left and right, turned their heads to look at me. Yet I remained frozen in a bowing posture, my head lowered toward the ground, standing completely still.

Exchanging a helpless look, they saw the resignation in each other's eyes. Seeing no movement whatsoever within Fox Moon Manor, I glanced at the two beside me and whispered, "Call out again."

"Liu Jie, Li Kun, and Xu Tian seek an audience with the Fox Fairy Lord."

Another round of shouts reverberated through Fox Moon Manor, yet this time too, there was not the slightest response. Both of them began to show signs of impatience, and Li Kun whispered to me, "Old Liu, your method isn't working."

Xu Tian drew a deep breath and said, "Old Liu, why don't we go up and take a look? Maybe the fox fairy isn't even here."

Ignoring their words, I signaled to them once more and shouted at the top of my lungs: "Liu Jie—"

Seeing me persist like this, the two of them could only offer helpless, bitter smiles as they joined in again: "Li Kun, and Xu Tian seek an audience with the Fox Fairy Lord!"

This time, the three of us maintained our bowing posture for a full minute and a half. Xu Tian was already struggling to hold the pose, his body beginning to tremble slightly, while Li Kun wore an expression of undisguised impatience.

My own brows furrowed tightly as I thought to myself: "Could it be that the fox fairy truly is not in this place? If that's the case, then Dagou's chances of surviving this time are zero."

Just as the three of us were harboring these private doubts, the massive azure-blue orb held in the palm of the stone statue high above us suddenly emitted a faint sound. Resonating through this vast space, the sound was exceptionally clear to the three of us. Yet, even so, we did not dare to raise our heads, continuing to stand rigidly in our bowing postures.