A comprehensive overview of tombs: starting with the Yellow Weasel's Tomb

Bai Jing also noticed that most of the surrounding stone archways were buried by the mud and rubble that had fallen from the cave entrance, and one had to crawl in on all fours.

Bai Jing glanced at it and understood that Bai Qi was right; the direction he was pointing was indeed where the main burial chamber was located.

Fatty disagreed with Bai Qi's words and immediately pointed in another direction, saying, "Why not this way? Didn't people in the past believe that the dead went to the Western Paradise? The tomb owner must be lying to the west!"

This statement seems reasonable and well-founded, but it is actually utter nonsense.

Before Bai Jing and Bai Qi could speak, Lu Jun retorted, "That's not right. I've heard that ancient people paid attention to the relationship between yin and yang dwellings. What a yang dwelling looks like, a yin dwelling looks like too. Haven't you heard of sitting facing south? The north is the superior direction. I think the tomb owner is mostly in the north."

After listening to their stories, Bai Jing and Bai Qi exchanged a glance, both able to see the helplessness in each other's eyes.

Those two guys are complete idiots.

Then, Bai Qi asked speechlessly, "Do you think you can tell east from west?"

Chapter 94 Golden Ganoderma

The fat man and the army naturally couldn't tell east from west, but they knew who could.

Immediately, both of them looked at Bai Jing.

Bai Jing smiled when he saw this.

Jian Guo looked at the group of people who were laughing, and was also somewhat puzzled.

Bai Jing nodded and said, "I can tell the difference, but there's no need. Just follow the path my brother points out. And there's no need to worry. This Liao Dynasty tomb has already been visited. Even if there are any traps, they've all been triggered. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Upon hearing Bai Jing's words, the fat man clearly did not believe him.

"Where is there any indication of what era this tomb is from? Just because you say it's a Liao Dynasty tomb doesn't mean it is."

Before Bai Jing could even speak after hearing what the fat man said, Bai Qi pointed to the archway and said, "Didn't you see the engraved patterns on the tomb bricks here? It's a multi-layered floral pattern, resembling a pointed lotus flower, with the flower's center like a swirling cloud."

It is said that this flower does not exist in the world. It is the flower of rebirth in Buddhism and the first of the twenty-four Buddha flowers in Buddhism. It can emit great light and illuminate the ten directions of the world. In ancient times, it was called the Baoxiang flower.

The peony flower first appeared during the Sui and Tang dynasties, but it wasn't until the Liao dynasty that it was carved on tomb bricks.

What I just mentioned is only one aspect. Secondly, most Liao tombs are located in horseshoe-shaped valleys, with a north-facing layout and the main burial chamber in the center, flanked by east and west side chambers. Of course, all of this is irrelevant. Even if you can't distinguish east from west, we should still head this way. Why? Observe carefully and see what you can find.”

Hearing this, Bai Jing nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that his older brother hadn't forgotten the family's traditional skills.

So good.

The others looked around but didn't find anything.

Bai Jing pointed to the bloodstains on the ground, but did not speak.

At this moment, Lu Jun noticed the bloodstains on the ground and immediately said as if waking from a dream, "Yes, that's right. I remember that the fox seemed to be injured when it ran past us. This is the blood of that big fox."

Upon hearing this, Fatty and Jian Guo also remembered this matter.

Bai Qi and Bai Jing exchanged another glance. Teammates like this are really hard to manage.

If Bai Jing were to say that the team were full of teammates like Hu Bayi or Bai Qi, then going into the tomb would be as easy as a picnic.

Well, I can't ask for too much.

Immediately, Bai Jing was the first to bend down and crawl through the archway.

Seeing this, the others followed closely behind.

When Bai Jing passed through the archway, he could see that they were now in a larger tomb chamber.

There was a side chamber on each of the east and west sides of the tomb, and candles were placed in the four corners of the tomb.

Strangely, there was no coffin or even a mortuary bed in the tomb.

A mortuary bed, as the name suggests, is a bed used to hold a corpse.

Liao Dynasty noble tombs inherited the Tang Dynasty system, but some did not have coffins; instead, the body was placed on a coffin bed. This so-called "coffin bed," also known as a "corpse bed," was probably a stone platform carved with dragons and phoenixes. Of course, some high-ranking tombs...

It could also be a jade platform.

The body was placed on a mortuary bed, and then mercury was poured into it so that it would not decay even after thousands of years. The body was covered with gold and wrapped in gold-embroidered clothing, and finally placed on the mortuary bed, either lying face up or on its side.

The identity of the deceased buried in this Liao Dynasty tomb remains unknown, as no coffin or burial bed was found. Furthermore, the tomb chamber contained numerous skeletons, but these were not human remains; rather, they were the remains of canines, likely foxes.

Opposite the entrance that Bai Jing and his group entered was a huge mural depicting a nine-tailed fox riding the clouds!

The fat man seemed to have noticed the nine-tailed fox in the mural as well, and immediately joked, "Hey, there's no coffin here, and there's a nine-tailed fox in the mural. Could this be the tomb of Su Daji?"

Bai Qi immediately retorted, "What nonsense are you thinking? I've already said this is an ancient tomb from the Liao Dynasty. When did Su Daji come from?"

Immediately afterward, the army seemed to have discovered something, pointing in a direction and saying, "Look, there's that big fox over there."

Upon hearing this, Bai Jing and the others couldn't help but look over.

Immediately afterwards, everyone saw that the black fox, covered in blood, was lying motionless in front of the ancient tomb mural.

Seemingly noticing the gazes of the group, the fox looked at them listlessly. The breath it exhaled was like a wisp of smoke after a candle has gone out, slowly drifting past us, seemingly tangible and real.

Immediately afterward, Bai Jing looked up and noticed that above the mural of the nine-tailed fox, there was another plant, as big as a large bowl, which shimmered with golden light under the torchlight!

When Bai Jing and the others wanted to step forward to examine the golden Ganoderma lucidum more closely, they saw the black fox baring its teeth and preventing them from getting close.

Bai Jing didn't understand the meaning of the black fox.

Looking at the black fox again, it seemed to have used up its last bit of strength and lay motionless on the ground.

At this moment, Bai Jing couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Generally speaking, Ganoderma lucidum comes in six colors: red, black, green, white, yellow, and purple.

Purple Ganoderma grows on rotten wood and fallen trees.

Black Ganoderma lucidum grows in the crevices of cliffs.

White Ganoderma, also known as Jade Ganoderma, is the most common type of Ganoderma.

The yellow Ganoderma is commonly known as the golden Ganoderma, but that is just a name, and it does not actually look golden, but rather yellowish-brown.

The last of the green Ganoderma lucidum is called "dragon mushroom" in folk tradition, and it grows after thunderstorms.

Red Ganoderma, also known as Blood Ganoderma, mostly grows in caves.

But no matter which type of Ganoderma lucidum it is, it has absolutely no relation to the golden Ganoderma lucidum depicted in the mural.

Just then, Bai Jing felt a lightness on his shoulder, and then saw Bai Pi leap up and jump to that spot.

Before Bai Jing could react, Bai Pi's body began to glow.

Immediately afterwards, several small white insects appeared on the white-skinned creature's body and crawled towards it.

Bai Jing saw this but it was too late to stop it.

But the next moment, the moment the little white worm touched it, it instantly turned into dust, emitting a foul odor.

Upon seeing this, Bai Jing shouted, "It's poisonous! Back off!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Qi and the others realized the danger and quickly retreated.

Bai Jing then understood why the fox didn't eat the Ganoderma lucidum to heal its wounds before it died, and why the previous tomb raiders had died so tragically.

Come to think of it, what good things could possibly grow on the murals in a tomb?

P.S.: That's all for today. I'll flip through the Tomb Raider Chronicles later. I spent too long looking at it and forgot a lot of things. I need to check it again to avoid making mistakes.

Chapter 95 The Golden-Headed Centipede and Hazelnuts

However, before everyone could even express their feelings, Bai Jing sensed that something was amiss.

A sense of unease rose in Bai Jing's heart. He saw a giant centipede, over ten feet long and as thick as a water bucket, crawling down from the crack in the tomb roof.

This centipede had a golden head and a green body, and it was unknown how long it had been dormant. Moreover, mushrooms of all sizes had grown on its back, which Bai Jing could see as colorful through his night vision eyes.

Most importantly, the centipede dripped glittering saliva from its mouth, precisely onto the spot where the golden Ganoderma lucidum had just grown.

Upon seeing this, Bai Jing was startled. The golden lingzhi growing on the nine-tailed fox mural was probably formed by the golden-headed centipede's covetous desire.

Thinking of this, Bai Jing examined the centipede in front of him, and at the same time, his hand unconsciously drew the Kangxi sword from behind his back and held it in his hand.

Folklore identifies the five poisonous creatures as: centipede, scorpion, venomous snake, toad, and gecko.

And since the centipede is ranked first among the five poisonous creatures, one can imagine how potent its venom is.

The golden-headed centipede had probably been hungry for a long time. Upon seeing Bai Jing and the others, it immediately turned and attacked them.

Bai Jing shouted, "Retreat!"

Immediately afterwards, he raised the Kangxi sword in his hand high and seized the opportunity to attack the golden-headed centipede.

Seeing the centipede unleashing its power, Bai Pi was enraged and was about to urge the little white worm to kill the golden-headed centipede.

But what happened next was completely unexpected.

The white-skinned worms couldn't get close to the golden-headed centipede at all; as soon as they touched it, they all went silent.

When Bai Jing's Kangxi-era sword struck the golden-headed centipede, it only managed to generate a few sparks.

This left Bai Jing speechless. He hadn't expected the golden-headed centipede to have such thick skin and be so poisonous that even the little white worms couldn't get close.

For a moment, Bai Jing also felt a bit flustered.

After their initial surprise, Bai Qi and his group pulled back their guns and attacked the golden-headed centipede.