Ancient tomb excavation traces

The tomb is equipped with all sorts of top-notch protective measures, all the work of Sima Yan. Chen Yi complained, "That old man is quite cunning. I wonder what awaits us in the main coffin chamber where Mi Ling is."

I thought to myself: I've died again and again, and I've figured it out. As long as everyone is around, there's nothing to be afraid of when we encounter something scary.

Chu Ba didn't react much to this. He thought that he was young and had experienced things that we would never encounter, so he was used to it. He said, "Never mind these things. Let's find the mechanism to get in first, otherwise it will all be for nothing." After saying that, he asked if there were any hidden doors or mechanisms in the map drawn by Sima Yan of Lan Quexi.

Lan Quexi said he only painted the space of the west chamber and did not paint the hidden door leading to the main coffin chamber.

On the eighth day, she was asked to think about it more carefully. Lan Quexi said that she would not be mistaken, as she had discussed this issue with her brother before.

I said, "Sima Yan's hand-drawn map was probably for his own use; it's normal he didn't draw it. He probably didn't expect the silk scroll to end up in Miss Lan's father's hands. But this place is cleverly designed. The two women in robes just passed through the hidden door, so we must have a way in."

Bao Cai stroked his chin, as if struck by a thought. Suddenly, he looked up and said, "No, those two women didn't go into the main coffin chamber. According to the spatial structure, they went into the room with the corpse cocoons." He then looked distressed and said, "We're doomed! Young Master, do you remember when we escaped from there, were all those deadly things dead? If not, will they release them to deal with us?"

The thought of the corpse cocoon gave me a terrible headache. Chen Yi said, "If you wanted to use those living dead to deal with us, you would have come out long ago. Why wait until now?"

I thought so too, but Bao Cai was rather pessimistic. He said, "Miss Lan said there's no secret door leading to the main coffin chamber. Does that mean we can only get in by going through the room with the cocoon, like the two women just now, then returning to the front chamber and activating the Yellow Dragon mechanism?"

We forged an alternate path to avoid confronting the cocoon of corpses. Bao Cai's words inexplicably unsettled me. How tragic would it be to be trapped in a closed space, endlessly following the same path?

Fortunately, the eighth day of the lunar month was quite positive. He said, "The west chamber is connected to the main coffin chamber. There's usually a mechanism to get in, so it's not that troublesome and you don't have to go around. The dead live in a burial place, so convenience is important too."

While we were discussing the secret door, the ever-burning lamp, which had been burning steadily, suddenly flickered a few times and then inexplicably went out.

Bao Cai realized what was happening and exclaimed, "It's over, Ghost Blows Out the Light!" In the darkness, he grabbed my hand, trembling.

A flickering flame, once extinguished, means death... Could there be something else dangerous lurking in this darkness? At that moment, the six of us instinctively huddled together. Darkness always instills a sense of endless fear. I shakily pulled out my lighter, and with a thud, a flame shot out. If a strange face suddenly appeared in front of me at this moment, I'd be sure to faint from fright.

I slowly raised my hand; the light from the lighter was like a lone boat on the sea, incredibly small. In ancient times, tomb raiding was like groping in the dark—no wonder so many predecessors said there were terrifying things inside. Looking back now, I guess it was people's guilty conscience, coupled with superstition, and the pitch blackness, that caused them to unconsciously start imagining all sorts of bizarre stories. Just like me now, even a pin dropping on the ground would snap my taut nerves.

"Wait!" At this moment, my hand was approaching the northeast corner of the west wing room. Bao Cai made me stop moving my hand. I looked at his face, which was incredibly deep in the light, like the face that Chu Ba had shaved off in the illusion, maintaining an extreme sense of terror. This sight was a little frightening. I looked towards the corner in the direction of his gaze, but I hadn't adjusted to the darkness yet, so I couldn't see clearly.

Bao Cai's voice trembled, his gaze fixed on the northeast corner, as he asked, "When we... when we came in just now, were there any figures over there?"

Hearing this, goosebumps instantly rose on my skin. The firelight in ancient times wasn't as bright as in the movies. If you were under a perpetual lamp, you could at least see something, but you couldn't see anything in the corners. Plus, my attention had been focused on the tomb guardian beast, so I hadn't paid any attention to the northeast corner of the wall. Now, Bao Cai's words sent chills down my spine. I mustered my courage, took a step forward, and shone the light. I could vaguely see two figures standing silently in the darkness, looking extremely eerie.

One of the shadowy figures held a weapon-like object in his right hand, while his other hand was wrapped with a twisted, snake-like thing.

Seeing this, I felt a chill run down my spine, thinking to myself: Why does the thing in his right hand look like an axe? I calmed myself down and finally saw it clearly this time. It was indeed a giant axe. Could it be? Could it be that he wanted to use it to chop us down? My heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat poured down my back. Only my companions behind me gave me a tiny bit of sense of security.

Bao Cai said bitterly, "It's over, it's over... One problem after another, why is it so hard to get the money from this ancient tomb..."

On the eighth day, while on high alert, he signaled Bao Cai to be quiet, while he drew his short knife and slowly approached the eerie shadow.

I felt everything slow down as he crouched and moved, the entire space tense with tension. Chu Ba took a deep breath, standing just a step away from the two people standing there, motionless.

My heart was in my throat. I was thinking that if Chu Ba got hit by the axe, he'd probably be split in two. With that thought, I placed one hand on my Mongolian knife, ready to come to our aid at any moment. But just as I was completely focused, Chu Ba suddenly stood up straight, turned around and said to us, "It's alright, just two stone figures."

Upon hearing this answer, my stiff body instantly relaxed.

Bao Cai sighed and said to the little Taoist priest, "What! This is a stone figurine? Wow, it's so realistic! I thought it was some kind of powerful thing standing there. It's terrifying!"

"You know what, there might be a living person trapped inside the stone layer," Chen Yi added from the side.

I thought to myself that these two were never going to stop, but then I heard a "clunk" sound, like the sound of an old gear turning.

In an instant, the relief we had just felt was replaced by boundless fear. I nervously held my lighter to Chu Ba's feet, noticing a slight indentation where his feet were planted. He looked at us with a miserable expression, and at the same time, the stone figure behind him suddenly moved, the axe plunging down towards his head!

"Eighth Master, watch out!" I instinctively cried out, but the axe came down without mercy, and I could feel that Chu Ba was about to be cut in two. I closed my eyes, unable to bear to look any longer, but then I heard the sound of weapons clashing. I was stunned for a moment, then opened my eyes and saw that Chu Ba had turned around at some point, holding up two scissor-shaped swords, baring his teeth and blocking the axe.

Upon seeing this, Bao Cai excitedly shouted, "Eighth Master!"

However, on the eighth day of the lunar month, he was constantly being pushed down, and he didn't even have the strength to speak.

"Liuzi, lighter!" In this critical situation, Chen Yu shouted, quickly taking off his clothes and throwing them on the ground. I understood and immediately bent down to set his clothes on fire. The flames wouldn't last long, but as long as I could see them, I would know what to do next.

Chu Ba was holding his breath, his veins bulging. Seeing this, the young Taoist priest leaped to his aid, kicking the stone figure aside. Chu Ba, now free, raised his axe and swung it back, chanting, "I'll peel your skin, chop your flesh, and shove your wicked grandson's lungs!" He then sheathed his axe, turned, and stood there gracefully. In just a few seconds, the stone figure was cleaved into pieces, and his axe-wielding hand fell to the ground with a clang.

My jaw nearly dropped. Even Chen Yu, who had seen his share of grand occasions, was astonished and couldn't help but exclaim, "That's amazing..."

I walked up to Chu Ba in astonishment, carefully looking at the patterns on the ground, afraid that I might accidentally step on a trap and trigger the deadly stone figures.

At this moment, Chen Yi picked out a fake, long, wooden tomb guardian beast. On the eighth day of the lunar month, he cut off his sleeve, wrapped it around the wood, sprinkled some strong liquor on it, and made a simple torch.

After the firelight illuminated the space, Lao Tiao squatted down and examined the structure of the stone figurine. Upon closer inspection, he frowned, utterly shocked: "Damn, I was right! This is a living human figurine!"

Upon hearing this, I approached for a closer look and discovered that the stone figure's head, which had fallen to the ground, had some of its outer stone layer broken off earlier, revealing tufts of black hair. Chen Yu, being bold, handed the torch to Lan Quexi, then picked up the head and turned it over. Beneath the peeling skin, the face was already rotting, and its eye sockets were blackened, devoid of pupils, suggesting that its eyes had been cruelly gouged out before its death.

Not long ago, I would have found such a scene disgusting, but after several close calls, I suddenly realized that my heart had grown bigger, so seeing these things didn't seem so unacceptable.

Bao Cai said we were crazy for having to hug each other so closely. I said, "The mystery of the ancient tomb is only half solved. We have to look closely at every clue."

"What does the mystery of this ancient tomb have to do with us, young master? Aren't we here to search for treasure? Why bother with this disgusting stuff?" Bao Cai looked at the severed head in Chen Yi's hand with disgust and took a step back.

Then, another "clattering" sound was heard, and Chen Yi's face instantly darkened. Bao Cai knew he had touched something and turned to look at another stone figure. The stone figure swung its axe at him, and Bao Cai, too terrified to dodge, stood frozen in place. Seeing this, Chen Yi, ignoring his severe back injury, quickly hurled the severed head in his hand. The head blocked the axe's attack, and in an instant, it was cleaved in two. Taking advantage of this moment, the young Taoist priest pulled Bao Cai aside. Bao Cai fell to the ground, groaning and moaning, clearly paralyzed with fear after surviving the ordeal.

On the eighth day, seeing him free, I raised my knife and chopped off the stone figure's head. I helped Old Chou, who had been kneeling on one knee with great effort, to his feet, thinking: If this continues, my heart will really stop. I caught my breath and accidentally kicked the stone figure's hand. I hadn't looked closely before, but now, from this angle, I noticed a red thread on the stone figure's hand. Seeing that I had noticed something amiss, Lan Quexi brought the torch closer to me so I could see it more clearly.

I nodded my thanks, then took out my Mongolian knife and used it to flip the stone figurine's hand. Only then did I realize that his hand was covered with these things, densely packed, like long hair attached to a person's body.

"What is this?" Chu Ba and the others also noticed something amiss with another stone terracotta figure. After its head was chopped off, its torso didn't fall to the ground but leaned forward, as if suspended by something. I quickly went behind it, and when I looked again, I gasped. Its back, including the backs of its arms, was covered in red threads, making it resemble a puppet.

Chen Yi looked at it, clicked his tongue a few times, and said, "How cruel! Sealing a living person inside as a funerary figurine, and going to all that trouble. But I have to admire their skill; they did such an intricate job. Look at these threads connecting to the stone layers, how much effort must have taken!" As he spoke, he noticed something and exclaimed in surprise, "Damn it, these threads don't seem to be connected to the stone layers; they seem to be growing inside the human flesh! What the hell?"