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Kapitel 33

So… although Gu Feng was fairly quick-witted, they still took a lot of unnecessary detours, eventually finding the place after going in a huge circle. Luckily, the place was easy to spot; otherwise, finding a place in this wasteland would have been like finding a needle in a haystack. When Gu Feng saw the mound of earth in the distance, he knew he had found the place, but he wasn't in a hurry to climb up to the original spot to take a closer look. His gaze was drawn to a stone tablet at the foot of the small hill. It seemed the tablet wasn't naturally formed; even from this distance, he could still see some words carved on it. Without hesitation, he led the way up.

The stone tablet had somehow broken into two pieces. The top section, with its face to the ground and its back to the sky, was no longer legible as to what was carved on it. However, the remaining characters were enough to startle Gu Feng, who exclaimed that he had lost his mind.

Sandaoshe

Gu Yuehan, June 3, 8:15

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Volume 3, Chapter 50: The General's Tomb 1

The broken stone tablet was inscribed with the words "...Tomb of General Cheng Weiwu" in a vigorous style.

Judging from the appearance, the tomb owner might be named something like Cheng. There doesn't seem to be such a famous person in history, but it is still enough to make Gu Feng feel annoyed for a long time. Why did he have to choose such a place and bury the root of the trouble on the tomb?

Gu Feng slapped his head hard and quickly climbed up the small mound (the back of the tomb). The newly turned soil was obviously compacted by his feet. It was barren and easy to spot. Gu Feng glanced at it and then squatted down to dig. In his haste, he had forgotten to bring the shovel.

Ah Mao rubbed his hands and said, "Brother Feng, what treasure did you bury down here? Why did you choose such a strange place?"

"Stop talking nonsense and help dig."

Shi Xin wanted to help, but Gu Feng stopped her: "The thing isn't buried very deep. You're a girl..." Seeing Shi Xin standing with her hands on her hips, about to throw a tantrum about gender equality, Gu Feng quickly said, "Too many people will make things difficult. The pit is small, and you won't be able to move around freely."

Shixin frowned and asked, "Are you sure you don't need my help?"

Gu Feng shook his head and continued digging carefully.

Hands are made of flesh and blood, and they couldn't take it for long. Their fingernails were hurting terribly. Shixin, being thoughtful, quickly went to the side and found two not-too-rotten tree branches to hand to them. This made the progress much faster.

Gu Feng jokingly remarked, "It seems that using sticks was one of the first steps in humanity's evolution from barbarism to civilization."

Ah Mao looked at her dirty hands and clothes and scoffed impatiently. Gu Feng said, "What are you scoffing for? So far, cats are still at the beast level, not even reaching the level of savagery."

Ah Mao rolled her eyes at him, about to retort, when Shi Xin suddenly cried out in alarm, "You... watch out!"

Gu Feng cried out, "Oh no!" He realized that the place around him had suddenly cracked open from all sides and was about to sink. The moment Shi Xin warned him, he was already unable to stand up due to the violent shaking.

Gu Feng shouted, "Shi Xin, run! Your side is going to collapse too!"

Shi Xin is a sixth-degree black belt, and her extraordinary composure in the face of danger is enough to make many men admire her. She had just reminded Gu Feng and the others when she quickly realized that the place where she was standing was also sliding towards the ground. The violent shaking left her no chance to turn around, only to retreat.

She took three steps back, her footing still sliding downwards. Watching Gu Feng and the others disappear below the horizon, she felt a sense of panic. In that moment of hesitation, the patch of grass her right foot was on suddenly crumbled, while her left foot, in a desperate struggle, hooked onto a protruding rock above. Her body hung precariously at a ninety-degree angle against the edge of the pit, her situation hanging by a thread, teetering on the brink of life and death. Fate was cruel; Shi Xin's dying hope, along with a deafening roar, turned to ashes. Everything went black as she fell into a strange, unknown pit.

Shixin felt as if all the bones in her body were broken, but thankfully the dark hole wasn't as deep as she had expected, though it was still about ten meters deep. If it weren't for the soft soil covering it, falling from there would have resulted in broken arms and legs, and even death.

When Shixin was almost fully awake, he touched his body and found no injuries. He then tried to struggle to get up from the pile of dirt. He saw that the earthen walls at the top of the pit had developed many shocking cracks. If he couldn't get away quickly, being buried alive would be a foregone conclusion.

With her lower body still in the soil, Shixin struggled for a long time but still couldn't get free.

"Shh~~~~~Shh`~~~~~"

The dust flowing down from above foreshadowed the impending collapse of the pit. The clods of earth slid down faster and faster, growing larger and larger. Shi Xin was still unable to escape. She was choked by the dust and coughed violently. As more and more dust accumulated, Shi Xin was helpless. She suddenly closed her eyes. Perhaps... today was her last day.

In her final moments, she suddenly thought of Gu Feng. He had fallen even earlier than her. Could he already be buried beneath her?

"Crash!" The soil finally gave way, and the entire area collapsed again. Shixin closed her eyes helplessly. Just then, someone grabbed her hand and held it tightly, as if trying to hold her firmly so that she wouldn't be buried under the yellow earth and never be able to get up again.

The feeling was familiar; she knew who it was. She wanted to shout, but the only consequence of speaking was that she would eat dirt.

She suddenly felt despair. She realized that it was impossible to pull her out in such a short time, even if she broke her own hand. And if he stayed for another 15 minutes, the consequence would be the same as her being buried. Shixin suddenly struggled. She wanted to break free from Gu Feng's hand. She felt that she couldn't be so selfish. Knowing that there was no hope, she still wanted to drag him down with her.

It's better for one person to live than for both to die, don't you think?

Shi Xin asked Gu Feng this question in her mind.

His grip was so tight that Shixin struggled for a while but still couldn't break free, as if the earth itself was more firmly holding her.

Gu Feng, let go quickly, or we'll die together!

Shixin's eyes were already closed, and she cried out those words in her heart.

"Shixin, keep going! We can definitely escape! Don't give up!"

Gu Feng's words suddenly entered her ears. Although they were as soft as a mosquito's buzz, they struck her heart like lightning: Don't give up!

Shixin suddenly felt something, a warmth flowing through her heart, a thrill she had never experienced before. Because of this feeling, she believed she should live on!

General's Tomb 1

Gu Yuehan, June 3, 16:57

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Volume 3, Chapter 51: The General's Tomb 2

Shi Xin, in harmony with the ancient style, strained and wriggled her body, trying to squeeze outwards. For some reason, she suddenly thought of an animal... "earthworm".

I feel like my current movements are really similar to it.

Whether their efforts moved the earth or not, after that relatively small collapse, the sounds stopped abruptly, all movement ceased, and the earth-shattering cataclysm they had anticipated did not occur.

Even so, they dared not let their guard down and took this opportunity to work together to get out of the predicament.

After finally pulling her feet out of the ground, Shi Xin felt completely exhausted, limp and powerless. She glanced at Gu Feng, and their eyes met...

They both suddenly burst into laughter, a very pleasant and funny kind of laughter.

Of course, if a friend you know suddenly turned into a miner, I think you would also want to laugh.

Gu Feng was caught off guard by Shi Xin's sudden action; she hugged him unexpectedly, leaving him momentarily stunned.

Although they had had some intimate contact before, this was the first time she had taken the initiative like this. He didn't understand why, but he felt a comfortable embrace from the bottom of his heart, even though they were both dirty.

Gu Feng's chest felt solid and warm, and Shi Xin felt like it was her strong support. Once she leaned against it, she felt completely relaxed.

They really didn't want to lose this feeling so soon. The next second, they both had this thought.

Just then, an inconsiderate voice came over: "Can you two stop being so mushy? What time is it now? You're still in the mood for hugging and cuddling."

The two were startled and hurriedly let go of each other. Shi Xin's face turned as red as a tomato.

Seeing their embarrassing state through the sunlight streaming down from above, Ah Mao burst into laughter.

Gu Feng glared at him, then looked up at the ten-meter-high, cracked hole, and his heart sank.

How do we get out?

How could it just collapse out of nowhere?

Ah Mao pointed to the bottom right corner and said, "Brother Feng, I just found a tunnel over there."

Gu Feng exclaimed "Oh!" and called out, "Let's go take a look."

The tunnel was about two meters high and seemed to run straight from north to south, but the middle section suddenly collapsed, turning it into a dead end.

Looking inside, it was pitch black and the air was very murky. I thought to myself that the ancients were very meticulous. There might be poisonous gas or something here. Just to be safe, I decided to go in later.

Now another problem is facing them.

It's getting dark!

They had only found this small hill at dusk, and after a flurry of activity, it wasn't hard to imagine that it would soon be dark. The worst part was that it was already October, and it got dark exceptionally early. How were they going to get through the long night in this dark tomb, where something strange and eerie might be lurking? It was a real headache for them.

"Why don't you go in?" Ah Mao asked absentmindedly, without thinking too much about it.

"Go in and see for yourself. Who knows how many years this grave has been buried underground? There are at least tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of bacteria in the air. I guarantee you'll come out dead as a cat."

"Is it really that serious? What should we do then? Waiting here isn't going to help, it's getting dark."

Gu Feng said solemnly, "I know that, but the only things we can do are either grow wings and fly out of that pit, or wait for the air in this passage to diffuse before going in to see if there's a way out."

Suddenly, Ah Mao felt a pang of hunger in her stomach and said with annoyance, "It's all your fault for not bringing anything with you and instead digging your own grave here. Now look what's happened, I, Ah Mao, have to be buried with you."

Looking at the collapsed top, Shi Xin asked in confusion, "The tomb owner was a general, after all. I heard that people in the past were very particular about the structure of tombs to prevent tomb robbers. How could it collapse just because we dug it a couple of times?"

Gu Feng nodded, then realized it might be related to the black wooden box. Right, where's the box? Did it get buried here when the cave roof collapsed?

Oh no, if I'm not mistaken, this should be the main burial site. What if that box hit the coffin...?

If they react in any way, then... the consequences will be unimaginable!

It's true what they say, whatever you wish for comes true. The moment the thought of ancient style settled in his mind, a strange, muffled sound, "clunk," suddenly came from deep within the mound of earth in front of him.

It looked like something was opening a wooden object.

Gu Feng stared intently at the mound of earth, as if afraid that if he missed any corner, an arm might reach out from there and pierce his body.

Ah Mao and the other two didn't think much of the ancient style and for a moment thought they had misheard, so they continued to observe the collapsed ancient tomb.

The walls next to it were covered with colorful murals, which roughly depicted a great general in armor leading a small force to defeat a large army of foreign warriors. He was then rewarded by an old man in a yellow robe. One mural even showed the old man handing the general a green jewel!

Shixin didn't pay much attention and continued reading. The later descriptions focused on how the general did good deeds and punished evil, but they didn't have much meaning.

This type is common in Chinese tombs. Generally, apart from a few grand and impressive events that are real, most of the others are fabricated by the painter according to the owner's wishes. It is said that even if someone committed a great evil in life, as long as the ghost king does not know about it, they will be judged according to the murals.

Shi Xin couldn't remember which book she had read about these things in before, but now that she had concrete evidence in front of her, she couldn't help but spit on the tomb owner.

Gu Feng's nerves tightened. He carefully collected different messages from the mound of earth from every corner of his body. He discovered a faint rustling sound and a slight tremor from the depths of the mound. Most people would think this was a natural phenomenon and sound, perhaps from ants, but he didn't think so.

After realizing the seriousness of the matter, he believed that even being a little neurotic was to be expected.

General's Tomb 2

Gu Yuehan, June 4th, 8:13

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Volume 3, Chapter 52: The General's Tomb 3 (The Road to the Underworld)

Seeing Gu Feng standing there motionless, like a wooden stake, Ah Mao teased, "Brother Feng, what's wrong? Are you scared out of your wits? I remember you're not usually this timid."

Gu Feng continued to stare intently at the mound of earth, then raised his middle finger and shushed him, signaling him to be quiet.

Shi Xin was also drawn over and asked Gu Feng, "What happened?"

Gu Feng ignored her words, his mind completely absorbed in the faint, frightening rustling sound, which seemed to be gradually becoming more frequent!

Gu Feng looked up at the sky above the pit. The setting sun had already painted the entire sky red, and the last rays of light were about to fade. He felt a chill run down his spine. If it really got dark, then…

He was at a loss, running around anxiously like an ant on a hot pan, while the two people next to him were completely clueless about what was going on. Did Gu Feng really need to be so anxious and nervous about spending the night here?

Gu Feng walked to the edge of the tunnel.

Well, the air has circulated a little better now. Unless there is really poisonous gas, there shouldn't be any major problems.

With that thought in mind, he stepped inside.

The spot where we were standing just now might not have been considered dark because of the setting sun overhead, but inside it was so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Frustratingly, there was no basic lighting available, so we could only grope our way in.