Ancient tomb excavation traces

Hearing the word "living person" sent chills down my spine. Bao Cai, sitting on the ground, turned deathly pale and trembled with fear: "A woman in a purplish-black robe, strange headdress... Good heavens, who is that?!"

"A woman?" Chen Yi and I exclaimed in unison. It was already strange enough to see a living person in the west chamber of the ancient tomb, but now they were saying it was a woman. If the little Taoist priest and the others hadn't verified it, I would have really thought Bao Cai was seeing things.

However, after we entered the west room, the woman Bao Cai mentioned had long since disappeared. Chu Ba said they had slipped out through a hidden door, and the little Taoist priest had only seen two pairs of feet. Bao Cai said the two women were dressed like shamans in movies.

As I imagined their descriptions, several shadowy figures suddenly surfaced in my mind. A purplish-black robe, a gloomy face—could it be those eerie shadows I had seen earlier? At first, I thought I was seeing things, or hallucinating, but now I realized this cave wasn't just inhabited by the descendants of the Eight Witches. I remembered the strange people dressed very primitively, not in such elaborate attire. And from Bao Cai's description, the two women from earlier didn't look strange at all; in fact, one could say they were quite pretty.

Chen asked him if he was so frightened that he made a mistake. Bao Cai denied it outright, saying that although he was not very brave, he was half-lying down at that moment, and he would never forget the look that person gave him. In fact, he didn't have any eyes at all; he just glanced at him silently and then left him with his back to him.

I had seen that look before, so I knew that what Bao Cai said was true. So I asked Lan Quexi, "Are there two kinds of descendants of the Eight Witches?" I felt awkward asking that question myself.

Lan Quexi said that she had been to the ancient tomb altar when she was very young. At that time, two families were jointly performing a live sacrifice ritual. Her brother did not let her see it, but she vaguely remembered that when she was taken away, the person who came out of the ancient tomb was wearing a robe and did not seem to be like the King of Gu Insects. She only remembered that the person's face was very white, and she could not remember anything else.

I was confused and said, "I saw that strange shadow before, but I thought I was seeing things. Now it seems I wasn't. But what is the relationship between the two?"

Old Chai shouted, "Who cares about the relationship? Anyone who lives in an ancient tomb is no saint. If I see any of these stabs in the back, I'll give them a good blast!"

As Chen Yi spoke, he glanced around at the bronze walls, clearly addressing the living people. In the current situation, they might be hiding in the shadows watching us, and our fear and timidity would only serve their purpose. It would be better to wait until they come out and have a good, satisfying fight; then all the anxiety and frustration in our hearts would be swept away.

However, once inside this ancient tomb, the danger to the living is only part of the problem, but there are also hidden dangers in various places that almost cost us our lives. Although things are calm now, we cannot let our guard down.

We split up to investigate. Chuba warned us to be careful of any cracks or gaps, as they might be traps. We nodded and proceeded cautiously. The west chamber was larger, shaped like a "7". If I'm not mistaken, it connected to the bronze chamber containing the cocoon of corpses. Fortunately, the bronze walls here were impenetrable, blocking those deadly things. Unfortunately, the eternal lamps here weren't as bright as those outside; we could only make out the deep patterns and lines on the surrounding bronze walls.

Our attention was focused on the missing woman, so we kept searching for the hidden door mechanism that Chu Ba had mentioned. Bao Cai, on the other hand, was unusually excited, looking around everywhere. It seemed he had seen something valuable, and his earlier weakness had been completely dispelled by the God of Wealth.

I thought to myself: We've already been through an ancient tomb, how come Bao Cai still doesn't understand its tricks? If he's like us, inexperienced and just randomly touching and looking around, he might get killed by the traps inside. I sighed. For his life, I let him follow Chu Ba and the little Taoist priest, but at this moment, he's like a wild horse that's broken free, and I can't call him back at all.

He disappeared around the corner, and in less than a second, he screamed. Chu Ba immediately drew his short knife on alert. Just as he was about to rush over to see what was going on, Bao Cai came running out in a panic, breathless with fright.

I asked him what he saw, but he was too frightened to explain for a moment. He just kept pointing behind him and said, "There were so many, so many terrifying things."

Chu Ba and Chen Yi, being bold, turned the corner without a word upon hearing this. My heart pounded, and I followed closely behind. Just as I reached the other side, I saw, under the dim light of the ever-burning lamp, terrifying figures placed on a bronze platform. Their faces were grotesque, exuding an eerie aura; in the shadows cast by the lamp, they resembled the monstrous figures seen on a stormy night. Bao Cai's fear was understandable; seeing so many things that were neither human nor monster in the pitch black was indeed chilling.

I stared at these lifelike figures, speechless for a moment. But I quickly realized that these bizarre and strange little statues must be the famous "tomb guardian beasts" of the Chu state. The "tomb guardian beasts" were also known as "tomb guardian gods," and they were integrated into the religion and beliefs of the Chu people, and were said to also have the duties of a shaman.

Generally speaking, "tomb guardian beasts" were buried in the head or side chests of noble coffins. It is rare to say that so many of them were placed in a bronze chamber, as if the entire bronze chamber were a box.

The "tomb guardian beast" consists of three parts: antlers, animal head, and square base (altar). Their appearance is quite abstract; they are either raising their heads and opening their mouths, or baring their teeth, looking quite intimidating. Having one of these in one's home would probably scare one to death at night. However, the ancients used these bizarre animal figures to ward off evil spirits and protect the tomb, which can be considered a manifestation of superstitious beliefs.

As an art student, I admire the people who created them. Most modern artists are bound by rules and regulations, resulting in imitation. Few people can integrate the culture of a certain period into their own imagination, while the ancients were imaginative and constantly innovated, creating these unique monster images.

The Chu-style tomb guardian beasts are mostly made of red and black lacquered wood. They have deer antlers on their heads, which resemble outstretched branches and are even more magnificent than the antlers in the pictures my grandfather showed me. They are decorated with intricate coiled dragon patterns, showing great care, and the black tips of the antlers seem to have some special meaning. Looking at the beasts' bodies, they are decorated with various thunder patterns, dragon patterns… all depicted with great refinement. This can be considered a unique artistic expression of the Chu people.

Chen said that he had seen this kind of Chu-style tomb guardian beast when he visited the archaeological museum in his early years, but he had only seen it through glass. Now, holding it in his hand, it felt very unreal, as if it had warmth.

I said, "You're just being overly enthusiastic."

Chen Yi said, "Absolutely, just looking at these things is a feast for the eyes." After speaking, he picked up a tomb guardian beast and walked to the ever-burning lamp to examine it closely. After a while, he asked, "Liu Zi, did your grandfather ever mention anything about the tomb guardian beasts?"

I said, "Yes, I've looked at quite a few pictures."

"Did he tell you what the vertical and horizontal stripes on the base of the tomb guardian beast mean?" Chen Yi asked.

I said, "Last time, the old man was discussing this with one of his old friends, and they said that this is the nine-square grid from the 'Hetu Luoshu,' the legendary cosmic cube. There's no concrete evidence, but it was probably used to protect the owner of the ancient tomb."

"Really..." Chen Yi clicked his tongue in amazement and exclaimed, "I really don't understand how the ancients were so clever. The nine-square grid you mentioned must be from the time of Fuxi, back when things were so backward. How could people have figured out so many things?"

Bao Cai chimed in quietly, "People back then had nothing to do, so they spent their days studying. People in our time are always on their phones and computers, plus flirting and cheating. They don't have time for these things. Besides, these things aren't even good for the eyes. I was almost scared to death just now. Your taste is quite unique."

"Pah, coward! Go away and cool off somewhere else. You only know that gold is valuable, but you don't know how precious things with cultural value are." Chen Yi said sarcastically, holding the tomb guardian beast with delight.

As the three of us were talking, the ancient trio looked at us. When I realized their confusion, I felt embarrassed and quickly forced a smile, explaining, "It's our hometown dialect, our hometown dialect."

I winked at Chen Yu and Bao Cai, and they stopped talking. Then Chu Ba spoke up, saying, "Little rascal, you just said this beast-like creature was used to protect the owner of the ancient tomb?"

I nodded, feeling very curious about what Chu Ba would say next, because he was closer to the State of Chu during the Warring States period than we were.

"So that's how it's said..." Chu Ba said suddenly, but didn't continue.

Chen Yi, anxious, hurriedly asked, "Could there be another interpretation to the antlers on this tomb guardian beast?"

Chu Ba nodded and said, "My third brother, who didn't drop anything, said that this deer is a Nine Heavens Deer, a symbol of good fortune. It's a divine beast sent down by the heavens, capable of communicating with heaven and earth, and it's incredibly powerful."

"Does Master Ba mean that the antlers on these tomb guardian beasts are used to sense heaven and earth and communicate with the gods?" I asked.

On the eighth day of the lunar month, he said he didn't understand any of this stuff, but his purpose in getting to the pit was very clear: he just wanted funerary objects. Chen and I exchanged a glance and suddenly felt that, given Mi Ling's status, the idea that she could communicate with heaven and earth seemed more plausible. After all, she was very capable in life, and even after death, it was her own aura that suppressed others, not the evil aura of others that harmed her. Therefore, having a tomb guardian beast to ward off evil spirits wouldn't be very useful.

This reminds me of shamanistic culture. Although the times are different, the Manchu people also believed that deer antlers could connect heaven and earth. Their shamans had a strict hierarchy, and deer antlers were used to distinguish these ranks. In the tomb of Princess Chu, the guardian beasts on the tomb have four deer antlers, looking extremely solemn, presumably to match Mi Ling's status as the supreme shaman.

Looking at all those tomb guardian beasts on the bronze platform, it felt like being in a museum. No wonder Chen Yi was so excited. He was looking at the bronze platform with great enthusiasm, wanting to take one with him. I quickly stopped him, saying, "Let's not. There are definitely more valuable things in Princess Chu's tomb. Wouldn't it be awkward to carry these tomb guardian beasts around?"

"Oh, Liu Zi, such high-quality goods are so rare to see. I'm itching to take them." Chen Yi shamelessly ignored my words and picked out one that he liked.

I feared there were more dangers ahead, and it wouldn't be convenient for Lao Chai to run away with the "Tomb Guardian Beast," so I had to pull him aside and whisper, "Are you kidding me? We're in the late Eastern Han Dynasty now, not the modern era. The Tomb Guardian Beast probably isn't worth much back then; at most, it'd get you a nice private room. And if we were back in the modern era, we'd be locked up in prison the moment we sold it. What folk collector would dare to keep it? That would be blatantly writing 'I'm a tomb raider' on their face!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yu muttered a few words, glanced reluctantly at the dragon-shaped tomb guardian beast in his hand, and was about to turn around and resolutely put it down when the deer antlers somehow caught on his clothes. As soon as he left, the "tomb guardian beast" fell to the ground and broke in two.

I thought to myself: No way, the antlers and the animal body are joined together with tenons, it shouldn't be like building blocks, it shouldn't break like this after being dropped.

Just as I was wondering, something strange happened. The dragon-shaped tomb guardian beast that had fallen to the ground had its base, which was decorated with a nine-square grid pattern, mechanically rotate a full circle.

My heart skipped a beat. This feeling was very subtle. You know, the tomb guardian beast was made by ancient craftsmen and had no mechanical components. But as soon as it moved, I felt something was wrong. It was like playing a roulette wheel where you get whatever you draw. My feeling was that we had drawn punishment.

We were all astonished and crowded closer to see what was happening. As soon as we got closer, we smelled a strange fragrance, and then we saw smoke coming out of the headless torso.

The young Taoist priest's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "Oh no... this tomb guardian beast is fake, what's inside is..."