Ancient tomb excavation traces

Old Tiao retrieved two funerary objects from my ancestor's tomb at Shimen, but wasn't greedy and left. I had been fantasizing about returning to the modern world through Shimen, but now it seems a bit far-fetched. Sometimes, the occurrence of a bizarre event requires the right timing, location, and people. Because we encountered strange phenomena when we traveled through the sky, and November 5th, 2014 was a day of lunar eclipse, it's extremely difficult to encounter the same situation now. After much deliberation, I can only temporarily put aside my longing for my family.

I'd been under a lot of stress for days, and now that I felt relieved, my eyelids were heavy. I don't know how long I slept, but in my hazy state, Lao Tiao was calling me from beside me. I opened my eyes slightly, and his big face was anxiously facing me, patting my cheeks repeatedly. I opened my mouth and weakly said to him, "Stop it, let me sleep for a while..."

"Sleep my ass, you rascal, open your eyes!" Old Tiao's voice was filled with panic.

I thought to myself: What's wrong? It's just taking a nap. I was groggy, my head felt like lead, and my body felt numb, with no other sensation...

What happened? When I tried to make a sound again, my throat was blocked.

"Damn it!" I heard Lao Tiao curse angrily, while Bao Cai beside me cried out anxiously, "Young Master, hang in there..."

"Young master, hold on?" I thought to myself: Why is Bao Cai talking as if I'm about to die?

Though confused, I forced a smile, but the young Taoist priest was also looking at me with worry. I was baffled; what was wrong? Just then, a tall figure pushed aside Chen Yu and the others surrounding me, brought his face close to mine, examined me closely, and after figuring things out, he stood up, crossed his arms, and said, "He's just been poisoned and is delirious! Look at you all, he's not even dead yet, and you've already worried yourself to death!"

"Poisoning!" Bao Cai raised his voice, then, as if remembering something, said, "Just now, the young master was in good condition, but I didn't expect the poison to spread throughout his body... The barbarian witch... it was she who shot the silver needles, and the Gu worms were raised by people from their tribe."

Upon hearing this, Chen Tan immediately stood up, stormed over to the Miao girl, grabbed her collar and shouted, "The antidote! Give me the antidote!" He yelled, startling several birds in the trees, which flew away with a cacophony of cacophony.

However, the Miao shaman gave Chen Yi a cold look and said, "Dream on!"

Through my blurry vision, seeing her resolute expression, I suddenly felt that she resembled a revolutionary female martyr who faced a formidable enemy without fear and refused to submit even in the face of death.

"You!" Chen Yi angrily raised his hand. He was born with a single palmar crease, and if he were to slap her, the witch would probably be sent flying. But I've known Chen Yi since I was a child. He's brave and resourceful, but he becomes a coward in front of women. Besides, this Miao witch, after shedding her heavy costumes, is a classic beauty. Chen Yi has no resistance to beautiful women.

The Miao shaman, having apparently spotted Chen Yi's weakness, craned her neck, glared, and provocatively said, "Go ahead and hit me! Hit me!"

I thought to myself: This brat, I've saved her so many times, yet she's so cold-blooded... At that moment, I really wanted to yell at Chen Yu: Yu Zi, just hit her already... But Chen Yu's hand hovered in the air for a long time, wanting to make a move, but hesitating. At this time, my ancestor couldn't stand it anymore. He summoned the short Chu Ba behind him. Chen Yu had introduced this person to me before. He said that Chu Ba was like the butcher in "New Dragon Gate Inn," possessing superb knife skills and meat-removing abilities. In the Tomb Raiders' Sect, he was my ancestor's right-hand man, known as "Quick Knife Chu Ba," with explosive combat power and agility. If this wild girl were to encounter him, I could imagine her being completely deboned.

Chu Ba was dressed in a rusty red linen shirt, with a cloth band around his head. I watched as he spun around, the gleaming short knife twirling in his hand like blades in a fan, moving with incredible speed. Even more impressive, another short man, Liang Jiu, was holding a hunted rabbit. Chu Ba, with a swift movement, skinned the rabbit completely in a few quick strokes, then removed the bones with a couple more deft moves. I thought to myself, if I weren't lying here like a vegetable, I would definitely give Chu Ba a thumbs up.

The coercive performance ended, and Chu Ba, whistling, and Liang Jiu began preparing today's food. By then, it was already dawn. Because the poison had paralyzed most of my nerves, I couldn't move normally and leaned against a tree like a useless person.

At this moment, the ancestor squatted beside the witch, looking at the short, thin curved knife in his hand, and said to the witch, "You little rascal, if you don't give me the antidote, I'll have my men cut off your legs, inch by inch. After it's done, you won't die immediately, but you'll have to look at your two bloody legs, just bones!"

I couldn't see the Miao witch's expression clearly, but I could see her bound legs twitch slightly. She was struggling with her thoughts, but my ancestor didn't give her a chance, shouting, "Chu Ba, make your move!" He stood up abruptly, his tall, slender figure facing me. Through the haze, I saw him smiling at me, so warmly.

When I heard the summons, I responded and was about to come over when the Miao witch called out urgently, "Wait!" She gave me a displeased look and said, "The antidote for the silver needles is on my waist, and I had Bai Mo control the Blood Tail Gu's poison last night."

A white moth? Hearing the Miao shaman's words, I suddenly remembered the white powder that a moth-like insect had sprinkled on my arm last night. I was terrified; I never imagined it was the work of a ruthless shaman. Looking at her aloof expression, I thought: this girl is probably a classic case of being tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Seeing that, I didn't hate her as much anymore. However, the thought of her summoning insects sent a chill down my spine. I thought to myself: if she can control poisonous insects, what foolish man would dare to mess with her and suffer a terrible death?

Afterwards, the witch gave me the antidote for the silver needles and asked us to release her. Of course, the ancestor did not agree. There was no other way, because if the witch were released back into the tribe, she would surely bring us trouble.

After the poison that had left me feeling utterly dejected was cured, I asked the Miao shaman about her ancestors. Unexpectedly, she didn't know their true identities. Judging from her appearance, she didn't seem to be lying, so I didn't ask any more questions. However, under the light, I could clearly see a pattern on her clothes—a man-eating vine. The Miao shaman said it was their totem.

I asked her if the human figures in the stream were carved by her people. At first, she was reluctant to answer, but after she brandished her knife and glared at me on the eighth day of the lunar month, she relented and said that they were indeed carved by her ancestors from several generations ago, for the purpose of sacrificial rites, just as the young Taoist priest had guessed. They deeply revered their ancestor in the mountain tomb, and after her death, they would burn incense, pay respects, and hold a memorial ceremony for her on the anniversary of her death.

However, those bewitching flowers grow naturally there because their fragrance can stimulate people's fears, causing them to go mad, break down, and ultimately commit suicide. Therefore, the Miao people call them "flowers of death."

The last question I asked the priestess was about the masked men who were chasing us. I didn't know why they suddenly wanted to kill her, so I asked her why. However, she only said that it was an internal matter of their tribe and had nothing to do with outsiders. But I saw a certain heaviness in her eyes, which made me believe that there must be some unspeakable secret behind the masked men's attack on her.

After learning part of the truth, I concluded that neither the "man-eating vine" nor the "death flower" were planted by the Miao people of this area. After analysis, we all believed that their existence, like those mechanisms, was intended to kill tomb raiders who were spying on the Chu tombs in the mountains.

After this analysis, I joined the main group and headed towards our destination. This time, because there were many people, and with the presence of our ancestor and Chen Yi, I was full of confidence for the trip. I viewed all the encounters and experiences as a kind of training, like Tang Sanzang's journey to the West.