Holy Bone

Chapter 2099 The White Coffin? To Open or Not to Open? Snow Mountain Ice Man

"Old Wang, you're meddling too much."

"Whether it's the Kangding State Coffin or any other coffin, as long as the body was left exposed in the wilderness, it's unclaimed. If we open it, we'll know the whole truth."

"If there are any relics inside that can prove the identity, it will be easier for us to find the deceased's descendants or relatives and inform them about the coffin."

Inside the caravan, a burly, middle-aged man with broad shoulders and a thick waist spoke domineeringly with a wave of his hand.

"Team Leader Yang is right. If there are any belongings that can prove the identity of this coffin, we can notify the relatives as soon as possible and rebury them."

"As for the specific origin of this white coffin, we don't need to worry about it for now. Once the coffin is opened, the truth will come out."

Inside the caravan, another elderly man in his fifties or sixties, with half-white hair and beard, narrowed his eyes as he looked at the white coffin, nodded in deep agreement, and said...

Wang Guoan frowned and said, "To encounter a coffin in the wild out of nowhere is an ominous sign."

"Now you want to open the coffin directly in the wild, isn't that an ominous and unsettling idea?"

"Isn't this a bit too much?"

The burly team leader, Yang, said domineeringly, "If you, Team Leader Wang, are cowardly and unwilling to open the coffin, then Team Leader Zhang and I will open this white coffin."

"But let me make this clear beforehand: if there is no corpse in this white coffin, but only burial goods, such as gold, silver, jade and other burial goods, then there is no business for Team Leader Wang and your Jiangyou Merchant Guild."

"This white coffin was discovered first by our Jiangyou merchant group, so why shouldn't we get a share?" Dafu shouted indignantly.

Da Fu and Pi Zi are both members of the Jiangyou merchant group.

This caravan consisted of three separate caravans that cooperated and looked out for each other along the way, hoping to reach the Kingdom of Rakshasa safely together.

Besides the Jiangyou merchant group, there were also the Changlong and Guangsheng merchant caravans.

The burly, middle-aged man was the leader of the Changlong caravan.

The old man with half-white hair and beard was the leader of the Guang Sheng caravan.

"Let's stop talking nonsense and lend a hand. Once we pry open the coffin, we'll know its true identity." The middle-aged leader, Yang, had already led his men towards the white coffin. They circled the coffin, examining it closely and discussing how to pry it open.

At this moment, the half-white-haired old man, Zhang, the team leader, also smiled and said to Wang Guoan, "If you ask me, this is a deep snow mountain where you see snow all year round but never see people. This coffin is definitely not a newly buried one. It should be buried by ancient people, at least a thousand years old."

"As for why this coffin is so new, it's not hard to explain. Perhaps the earth was disturbed somewhere, and the cemetery was shaken open, and this coffin just happened to be shaken out of the crack in the cemetery."

After Zhang finished speaking, he quickly led a few people around the coffin, examining it closely and discussing with Zhang how to pry it open, who would stand at the head and who would stand at the tail.

"Team leader, let's do it too!"

"This white coffin was first discovered by our Jiangyou merchant group!"

"We can't let others benefit from this!"

"The people who first discovered it didn't get anything!"

"My brothers are definitely not convinced!"

Da Fu shouted anxiously to Wang Guoan.

No one present was a fool; everyone knew what prying open the coffin meant.

Saying they're verifying the coffin owner's identity and checking for any artifacts inside to prove it's an exaggeration of tomb raiding. Everyone knows the truth: it's tomb raiding, just looking for valuable treasures inside so everyone can divide the loot.

Da Fu and Pi Zi were the first to discover this white coffin. If they hadn't gotten a share of the spoils, they would definitely have been very resentful.

Not to mention how much they complained.

Even the other people in the caravan had a lot of complaints.

Everyone goes into business to get rich. Now there's a golden opportunity to get rich right in front of you, it's up to you to take it. If you don't take it, you'll miss out for the rest of your life and you'll definitely regret it for the rest of your life.

Let's not worry about whether there are any valuable antiques or rare items in this coffin.

The most important thing is to explore together and divide the spoils.

If there are no valuable antiques or rare items, it's fine, but if there are, then you'll really hold a grudge and regret it for the rest of your life.

"Team leader, let's do it too!"

"That's right, leader. Our caravan was the first to discover this white coffin. Why are we being excluded and left out? This doesn't make sense anywhere!"

"Don't hesitate any longer, leader! The people from the Changlong and Guangsheng caravans have really started prying open the coffins!"

When the caravan leader, Wang Guoan, saw that everyone wanted to pry open the coffin, he finally gave up after seeing the contents. He didn't say anything, but simply nodded slightly, agreeing with everyone's opinion, and the minority obeyed the majority.

Haha, Dafu laughed excitedly and quickly gathered a few people to go and pry open the coffin.

There was no complicated discussion involved in prying open the coffin. After a brief discussion, the three caravans quickly determined their positions, took out their crowbars, and bang!

boom!
boom!
One by one, crowbars were inserted into the cracks of the coffin. Everyone shouted "Lift!" and then, their faces flushed red, they exerted all their strength.

result.

Pfft!
Pfft!
Pfft!
One by one, the grown men lost their balance, fell flat on their backs, and rolled around in the snow.

"Damn, I slipped just now, let's try again!"

"I refuse to believe that this coffin is sealed shut and can't be pried open!"

One by one, the burly men stood up again, this time stomping their feet hard on the ground to make sure they were firmly planted before trying to pry open the coffin again. As a result, their hands slipped again, and they almost fell over once more.

As for the white coffin, it remained intact, without even the slightest trace of movement.

Undeterred, the group continued to pry open the coffin, but even after four or five attempts, the coffin remained intact, and the lid did not budge an inch.

Not to mention moving it, there wasn't even a single pry mark on the coffin lid.

It's even harder, more solid, and incredibly hard than thousand-year-old ironwood.

"Damn, this coffin is really weird, we can't pry it open!"

"Don't even mention prying it open, there's not even a single pry mark. This is damn hard! Harder than extraterrestrial black iron!"

After strenuous activity at high altitude, including prying open the coffin four or five times, everyone was exhausted and panting, unable to pry it any further. They started a heated discussion about the white coffin. "You guys don't know anything! The more they do this, the more it proves this coffin is of extraordinary status!"

"If it's too easy to pry open, it means the coffin is from an ordinary family. What kind of things could an ordinary person be buried with?"

Someone looked at them with disdain and sneered at them.

Upon hearing this, everyone agreed, and the previous complaints and negative remarks disappeared. They began discussing how to pry open the coffin.

"It's impossible to pry open the coffin here. My iron crowbar is already bent. I need to find a place to reforge the crowbar before I can continue to pry open the coffin."

"My crowbar is also badly deformed and needs to be forged at a blacksmith's shop."

"Damn, this is really a case of good things coming to bad. The wooden coffin is perfectly fine, but our iron crowbar has deformed first."

Everyone wore wry smiles.

"Gaozi is right. Good things come to those who wait. The more difficult it is, the more it shows that this white coffin is not simple. There must be something good inside."

"So I suggest that we take this white coffin with us first, and then figure out a way to pry it open along the way. Or we can wait until we reach the Rakshasa Kingdom, find a blacksmith shop, and try to find some sturdier iron tools before we pry open the coffin."

Someone suggested that...

After some discussion, they reluctantly decided that this was the only option for now, because the white coffin was indeed very haunted, and they had tried everything they could but still couldn't pry it open.

Moreover, time is also very important to them.

It's already autumn, and winter is just around the corner.

If they cannot enter the territory of the Rakshasa Kingdom before winter, it will be virtually impossible for them to cross the snow-capped mountains and frozen ground during the continuous blizzards of winter. In fact, it would be quite common for more than half of them to freeze to death.

So, firstly, to save time, and secondly, to find stronger tools to pry open the coffin, the three caravans unanimously decided to take the white coffin with them and travel together.

"Damn it, this white coffin is really heavy!"

"It looks like an ordinary coffin, but it's heavier than the coffins I carried when I was young. This coffin must weigh at least a thousand pounds!"

"Oh my god!"

With the combined efforts of the three caravans, they finally managed to move the white coffin to the camp. Then they set up a wagon, pulled by two mules, specifically for transporting the white coffin.

By the time they finished all that, it was already quite late, almost noon. The team didn't even have time to eat, so they hurriedly set off, leaving everyone to find their own meals along the way.

Although the dry rations in the snowy mountains were very hard, they could still be eaten after being slowly moistened and warmed with saliva.

And so, in order to save time and enter the Kingdom of Rakshasa before the heavy snow of winter, the three caravans traveled without stopping. Along the way, everyone's hands and feet turned white from the cold, and they shivered from the cold. Time passed slowly, the sky darkened, and another night fell.

But the group was still on its way and hadn't found a place to rest yet.

Firstly, to make up for the time wasted in the morning, and secondly, because they couldn't find a suitable place to camp.

The snow-capped mountain environment is complex. If you don't find a good spot, the wind and snow will be the least of your worries. If you're unlucky enough to encounter an avalanche, you won't even have a chance to run away.

Therefore, mountain camping requires specific terrain conditions.

It was almost midnight, and the sky was completely dark. Fortunately, the snow was white and the moonlight reflected off it, which prevented the team from being completely blind.

“Brother Dafu, you know what, I think this white coffin is our lucky charm, our mascot. Have you noticed that the weather has been exceptionally clear these past two days, with bright moonlight illuminating the nights? And these past two days are the days we discovered the white coffin.”

Pi Zi rode his little donkey, pedaling hard, and drove it to Da Fu's side.

Dafu nodded in agreement, saying, "You know what, it's really true. It's quite rare and unusual. People always say that encountering a coffin means you're in for a lot of bad luck, but we've been incredibly lucky."

“Last night, when we were lost in the thick fog, we saw this white coffin. Suddenly, the fog dissipated, and our team leader found us safely.”

Pi Zi chuckled and said with a grin, "Brother Da Fu, isn't this what you call getting rich from seeing a coffin?"

Upon hearing this, Dafu was taken aback, then burst into laughter and said, "Well, Pizi, you're really well-educated. You really do make a fortune from seeing a coffin!"

"They've protected us several times, isn't that a way of making money? After all, if you lose your life, even if you were given ten thousand ingots of gold, you wouldn't be alive to spend it."

"Haha, now that you mention it, Brother Dafu, I suddenly don't feel so afraid of that white coffin anymore. In fact, I think the white coffin is quite fitting. I've never felt so comfortable facing the coffins of my ancestors," Pi Zi continued with a laugh.

Dafu was both amused and exasperated. He said, "You brat, don't talk nonsense. Be careful your ancestors come looking for you in their dreams at night and scold you for being unfilial."

The two walked and talked for a while when suddenly the caravan stopped, and a few noises came from ahead.

Not long after, Dafu received the news from the front, and his expression immediately turned grim. He cursed under his breath, "Damn it, we still ran into them!"

Pi Zi asked curiously, "Brother Da Fu, what's going on up ahead? Why is it suddenly so noisy? You said you encountered something, what did you encounter?"

Da Fu whispered, "Snow Mountain Ice Man."

Pi Zi asked in confusion, "The Ice Man of the Snow Mountain?"

Da Fu explained, "They are mummified corpses from the snow-capped mountains."

"People thought it was unlucky to encounter dead people or mummies, so they gave him a nickname, 'Snow Mountain Ice Man'."

“I’ve heard other caravans talk about it. They say that if you’re unlucky, you might encounter snow mountain ice people in these great snow mountains. These snow mountain ice people are caravans like ours, traveling to the Rakshasa Kingdom for trade. They died on the way because of bad luck. The temperature in the great snow mountains is extremely low. After people die, their bodies don’t decompose. Instead, they quickly freeze into mummies, ice people.”

"Therefore, everyone dislikes encountering the Snow Mountain Ice Man in the snow-capped mountains, or the caravan encountering the Caravan Ice Man. It is considered unlucky, unfortunate, and a great misfortune."

"I just heard from the people ahead that the scouts who were leading the way encountered a group of Snow Mountain Ice People about half a mile from us. The Snow Mountain Ice People we encountered this time are no ordinary people; they are a large caravan of over a hundred people. I think they are most likely one of the top twenty merchant guilds in Kangding Kingdom. So many people died in the snow mountains, unable to be buried and rest in peace, and unable to be mourned by their descendants. It's truly pitiful. Alas."

Da Fu sighed deeply.

Pi Zi swallowed hard. Hundreds of mummified corpses—how terrifying and horrifying that must be!

No wonder there was a commotion ahead.

It's rare for people to see ten or so dead bodies in everyday life; some people may never have seen so many dead bodies in their entire lives.

Now they were told that ahead of their ranks was a group of hundreds of dead men. Just thinking about that densely packed mass of dead men sent chills down their spines and gave them goosebumps.

The caravan only stayed in one place for a short while before continuing on its way. The snow mountain icemen were on the caravan's only route and could not be avoided, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue on.

Soon after, Dafu and Pizi finally met the Snow Mountain Ice Man that everyone had been talking about...