unglückliche Beziehung

Kapitel 4

By this time, Ah Bao had secured himself firmly to a copper chain hanging from the head of the coffin using a lifeline and quickdraw he carried. Then, wielding a battle axe, he began hammering away at the copper chain at the tail of the coffin. Jenny, on the ground, held a wolf-eye flashlight to illuminate his path. Each sound of the axe striking the copper chain sent a shiver down my spine. It felt as if I were being pierced by swords.

After Ah Bao had struck the coffin about seven or eight times, there was a loud "bang," and the copper chain at the end of the coffin snapped. The entire coffin crashed down like a pendulum, smashing the platform made of wooden crates directly below to pieces. Fortunately, Ah Bao had come prepared, and with a lifeline securing him, he remained safely suspended above the coffin, swaying from side to side with it.

Just then, I seemed to hear a muffled roar coming from inside the coffin, but it was masked by the sound of the massive copper chains breaking and wasn't very clear. I listened more carefully, but couldn't make out anything. So I asked Jenny and Ah Bao if they had heard any unusual roars, but the answer was no. "It's probably because you've been under too much stress lately, causing you to hallucinate," Jenny said with a smile. "Don't worry, as soon as we open the outer coffin and find a silver coffin inside, we'll stop immediately. Even if there are walking corpses or fierce ghosts inside, with the Seven Star Silver Coffin covering them, they won't be able to get out anytime soon."

Hearing her say that calmed me down a little. At that moment, Ah Bao began hammering away at the last copper chain hanging from the head of the coffin. After seven or eight clanging sounds, with a "crack," the entire coffin fell onto the wooden fragments below, kicking up a cloud of dust that momentarily blinded me. When I opened my eyes again, Ah Bao had already untied the fastenings and jumped back to the ground.

Jenny and I immediately crowded around, examining the eerie coffin closely. The heavy outer coffin was lacquered black, with a carved yin-yang symbol inlaid on each side of the head and tail. The left and right sides were inlaid with the Eight Treasures of Taoism, carved in gold and silver: a fish drum, a jade flute, a sword, a gourd, a flower basket, a purple plaque, a banana leaf fan, and a lotus flower, from left to right. The lifelike designs and exquisite craftsmanship were truly remarkable.

I was engrossed in watching when I heard a few sharp, cracking sounds. Ah Bao and Jenny had already started prying open the outer coffin. Because the outer coffin was secured with nearly three-inch-long iron nails, commonly known as "coffin nails," it was extremely difficult to pry it open in a short time. Seeing that the two of them were soon covered in sweat, I ran to Dunzi's side, dragged him to the coffin, took out a shovel, and helped them pry it open.

I don't know if it was from the excessive exertion or from the oxygen in the tomb gradually being depleted, but I felt my breathing becoming unnatural. I couldn't waste any more time; I had to finish this quickly. I thought to myself, straining with all my might. Finally, with a "bang..."

With a loud bang, we finally pried open the last coffin nail. Without delay, the four of us worked together to push open the heavy outer coffin lid, creating a gap about ten centimeters wide. Looking inside by the light of our headlamps, our hearts sank. Inside the large outer coffin, besides the scattered fragments of pearls, jade, and gold artifacts, a stark white silver coffin appeared before us. Just as Jenny had unfortunately predicted, this exquisite coffin was indeed the legendary "Eight Treasures Coffin and Seven Star Coffin," used to suppress corpse resurrection. At the same time, we heard a series of muffled metallic clanging sounds coming from within the silver coffin. The scattered pearls, jade, and gold artifacts inside the outer coffin trembled slightly with each clang. The corpse had exploded! The thought immediately flashed through our minds, and we all involuntarily took a few steps back.

19. The Copper-Armored Corpse King

Everyone instinctively took their weapons from behind their backs and gripped them tightly in their hands, just in case. Jenny and we retreated while saying, "The Seven Star Coffins haven't been opened yet. What's inside shouldn't be so easy to get out. Let's quickly look around and see if there are any secret passages we can use to get out. If all else fails, we'll go back the way we came." Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Just as we were about to disperse and search for secret passages and hidden doors to escape, we suddenly heard a loud bang. Looking up, we saw a heavy silver coffin lid fly out of the eight-treasure wooden outer coffin, flying more than ten meters away before crashing heavily onto the floor of the tomb chamber, creating a large dent in the solid bluestone floor.

"It's over," I thought. "If even the Seven-Star Silver Coffin couldn't subdue it, then the creature lying in this coffin must be a formidable opponent. I wonder if the four of us have any hope of leaving this ancient tomb today." Dunzi wiped the sweat from his brow, clung tightly to my side, and stammered, "So, so there really are zombies in this world. Today I..." He stopped mid-sentence. In the light of Jenny's wolf-eye flashlight, we saw a hand rise from the dark wooden coffin—a pale, bloodless hand. That whiteness stood out starkly in the dim tomb, sending chills down our spines. The five fingers were thin and long, like lifeless twigs swaying in the air. Especially the three-inch-long fingernails—they were truly terrifying.

At that moment, I had no other thoughts but to find a place to hide as quickly as possible. However, apart from the various burial objects placed around the tomb, there was nowhere to hide. What to do? The contents of the coffin were about to be unearthed, and I was extremely anxious. Suddenly, I heard Ah Bao's voice: "Why don't we go into the side chamber first? There's a bronze chariot inside; let's hide behind it first." After saying that, he led everyone there.

As soon as we crouched down behind the bronze chariot, Jenny gestured for everyone to be quiet, then turned off all the lighting equipment, including the wolf-eye flashlights and headlamps. We did the same, quickly shutting off all our personal light sources and quietly crouching behind the chariot to observe the activity inside the tomb. At this point, it was practically pitch black, with only a very faint glimmer of light emanating from the eternal lamp burning inside the tomb.

Immediately afterwards, we heard a series of clanging sounds coming from the tomb chamber, like the clattering of many small metal pieces. Then we saw two bright green spots slowly appear in the center of the dark tomb chamber, shifting left and right. A sharp, murderous aura emanated from these two bright green spots.

I observed the location. Judging from the angle, it should be where the coffin is. So I thought those two bright green spots might be the zombie's eyes. A chill ran down my spine; those eyes could steal a person's soul and calm their nerves. Such a powerful thing was ten times more potent than the headless, floating corpse I encountered in the secret room seven or eight years ago. I dared not look any longer and simply turned my back to it all.

Then, a rhythmic clanging sound began to emanate from the tomb, like the footsteps of an armored general. The sound moved from near to far, then back again, as if it had walked back and forth several times. Suddenly, a furious roar erupted, followed by the clanging being drowned out by a clattering sound of things being knocked over. It was as if the zombie was finally enraged at being unable to find us, the intruders who had dared to disturb its peaceful slumber. Faced with all this, we held our breath, barely daring to exhale, lest it detect us and reveal our hiding place.

And so, nearly half an incense stick's time passed. We could clearly feel that the oxygen in the room was no longer enough to sustain the four of us. If this continued, even if we weren't bitten to death by the zombies, we would suffocate. Since we were going to die anyway, perhaps we could fight and have a glimmer of hope. Thinking this to myself, I gestured to Dunzi and Abao, meaning to prepare the explosives and detonators, in case we had no choice but to use them to pay tribute to this old veteran.

Ah Bao nodded, took out a bundle of explosives from the waterproof bag, and cut the originally long fuse in half with a knife. Then he tucked it into his waistband for easy access.

Then I quietly told them that I would rush out first, lure the zombie into the other side chamber opposite the main tomb, and then Dunzi and Abao would find a chance to temporarily trap the zombie inside and use explosives to deal with it. If the explosion caused the cave to collapse, then we would have to accept our fate. No one said anything after hearing this, except Jenny, who pulled my hand, took something out of her pocket, and stuffed it into my hand, saying, "It is said that this thing can ward off evil spirits, but I don't know if it works. You can wear it and try it." I couldn't see what it was in the dark, and there was no time to examine it closely. I casually stuffed it into my pocket, turned on my headlamp, quickly got up, and rushed out.

Upon entering the tomb chamber, in the dim light of the eternal lamp, I saw that the zombie was facing away from me. He was a burly man with broad bones, easily over two meters tall. He wore a gilded tiger-patterned helmet and shoulder-length copper-studded armor, exuding an imposing and majestic aura.

I imagined it must have been a prominent general or a powerful king who ruled over a region, hence its attire. But I had no time to think further; as soon as it heard me running, it abruptly turned around. The bronze armor on its body clanged loudly as it turned, sounding unusually jarring in the quiet tomb.

Those two sharp gazes, like knives and swords, pierced straight into me. I dared not look at them again, nor did I have the courage to meet their eyes. I knew they had seen me, so I suddenly sped up and ran towards the other side chamber. Immediately behind me, I heard a series of clanging sounds; I knew they must be chasing after me. I sped up even more, rushing into the side chamber.

As soon as I entered the side chamber, I hid behind a large copper ceiling and raised my Forest King crossbow, aiming it at the door. Only two seconds later, the bronze-armored zombie king appeared in the doorway. In a flash, I pulled the trigger, and with a "whoosh," the two-inch-long pure steel arrow flew straight towards the bronze-armored zombie king's face.

20. Two seals combined

The steel arrow was about to strike the bronze-armored corpse king, but strangely, it neither dodged nor flinched. With a soft "thud," the arrow embedded itself firmly in the bronze-armored corpse king's forehead. Unfortunately, the attack seemed to have caused it no harm whatsoever. It appeared to be completely painless and continued walking towards me.

As soon as he stepped into the side chamber, I heard the sounds of things being moved outside. I knew it must be Dunzi and the others looking for something to block the exit of the side chamber. At this moment, the Copper Armored Corpse King seemed to have also heard the commotion outside the side chamber. He slowed his pace slightly and turned his head to see what was going on behind him.

I knew I had to draw the bronze-armored corpse king's attention at this crucial moment to buy time for Dunzi and the others. Once the side chamber was blocked, I could quickly seal the remaining opening after I left, and then use explosives to take care of the bronze-armored corpse king. Everyone's life or death would depend on this critical moment. Thinking of this, an inexplicable surge of courage welled up within me. I quickly stood up from behind the bronze cauldron, discarding the Forest King's crossbow. I drew the ancient sword I had picked up from the tomb floor earlier, and with a "whoosh," the blade flashed, a cold light instantly appearing.

When the Copper-Armored Corpse King saw me suddenly stand in front of it, its attention returned to me. When it saw the ancient sword in my hand, which seemed to be something it recognized, its expression immediately became even more ferocious. It opened its arms and charged towards me, trying to snatch the ancient sword.

I saw its two ghostly hands, white as paper and thin as withered branches, reach out towards me, so I raised my ancient sword and swung it. With a "snap," one of the ghostly hands fell to the ground, and a thick, dark green liquid oozed from the wound. This liquid seemed highly corrosive; dripping onto the ground, it corroded the stone slabs, leaving pits of varying sizes. The part of my ancient sword that had come into contact with the liquid was also corroded with messy streaks. My heart tightened immediately; I thought, I mustn't get any of this liquid on me, or I wouldn't survive, and even my death would be excruciatingly painful.

Seeing its hand severed, the Copper-Armored Corpse King grew even more enraged. It opened its massive maw and swung its other ghostly hand at me. I swiftly dodged, and the ghostly hand struck the bronze cauldron with a deafening crash, creating a deep crack in the sturdy vessel. My goodness! Such divine strength was like a Vajra descending to earth! If I hadn't been so agile and dodged in time, I'd probably be a pile of minced meat by now. The thought sent a chill down my spine.

Seeing its first attack miss, the Copper-Armored Corpse King attacked again. It raised its three-inch fingernails, as long as coffin nails, and thrust them straight at me. I raised my ancient sword to block. The fingernails struck the sword, sending sparks flying and numbing my hand; the sword nearly slipped from my grasp. I quickly raised my sword again, trying to cut off the Copper-Armored Corpse King's last ghostly hand. However, it seemed to have learned from its previous experience, knowing the sword's sharpness. It quickly thrust its ghostly hand forward, using the engraved brass wrist guard to deflect the sword, then launched a flying kick, slamming it heavily into me. I was sent flying seven or eight steps like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground. A burning sensation filled my chest, and a metallic taste rose in my mouth. Unable to control myself, I vomited, and bright red blood gushed from my mouth.

Seeing that its first move had worked, the Copper-Armored Corpse King didn't stop for a moment, charging towards me with long strides, seemingly determined to kill me. I was suffering from internal injuries, and my movements were no longer as agile as before. Unable to get up for a moment, and seeing the Copper-Armored Corpse King about to pounce, in desperation, I instinctively thrust the ancient sword forward. Because the sword's blade had been corroded, its sturdiness was greatly weakened. When the sword pierced the Copper-Armored Corpse King's chest, it was blocked by its copper armor. Under this immense pressure, I heard a clang, and the sword broke in two at the corroded point. But this time, it also slowed the Copper-Armored Corpse King's attack. In that brief moment of hesitation, I suddenly mustered my strength, released the broken sword, and rolled to the side, dodging to the side.

Now, I was covered in wounds and unarmed. The side chamber was filled with enormous, heavy bronze cauldrons and figurines, which I couldn't possibly lift as weapons. I looked around for something I could hold or throw as a temporary weapon, but I couldn't find anything. The bronze-armored zombie king was closing in step by step. Just then, I heard Dunzi outside shout, "Hold on for a few more seconds, it'll be over soon!"

A few seconds! Normally, a sneeze or a blink would pass in the blink of an eye. But at this moment, those few seconds could decide my life or death, the life or death of all four people in this tomb. The bronze-armored corpse king was now less than two meters away from me. My heart pounded, my thoughts raced, and suddenly I inadvertently touched the thing Jenny had just slipped to me in my bulging pocket. I immediately pulled it out, intending to use it as a last weapon to throw at the bronze-armored corpse king, to slow its advance and buy those final seconds. But as soon as I held it in my hand, before I could even throw it, it emitted a strange, pale blue light. This light was different from the light of ordinary flames or lamps; it seemed ethereal and elusive, appearing and disappearing. Almost simultaneously, the tomb-raiding seal I always carried, hidden close to my inner pocket, also emitted the same strange light. That pale blue glow shone through my clothes and into my eyes. The faint blue light seemed exceptionally ethereal in the dark side room, as if the object didn't belong to this world at all.

Just then, upon seeing the two glowing objects, the Copper-Armored Corpse King seemed startled, halting its advance. It covered its eyes with its only remaining ghostly hand and let out a piercing scream. Upon closer inspection, I realized the glowing object in its hand was also a jade seal, exactly the same size and shape as mine. But there was no time to look further; the Copper-Armored Corpse King had already closed its eyes and charged towards me. However, having lost its sight, its speed was greatly reduced.

I figured Dunzi and the others were almost done, so I stopped thinking about it and quickly got up and ran out of the side chamber. Dunzi and the others had already blocked the door of the side chamber with burial objects such as carved wooden boxes, bronze vessels, stone beasts, and stone figures, leaving only a gap for one person to squeeze through. I knew that was left for me, so I didn't hesitate and quickly slipped out.

Ah Bao had prepared explosives beforehand. As soon as I came out, he lit the fuse with a Zippo lighter and threw the explosives into the side chamber through the gap. Dunzi and Jenny worked together to quickly push over a heavy wooden crate that had been prepared to the side, blocking the only exit. Then everyone turned and fled in all directions. But before we had run far, we heard a loud "boom." The flash of the explosives illuminated the entire tomb chamber, and the blast wave lifted the barrier that Dunzi and the others had just built, along with us, into the air before crashing heavily to the ground. Suddenly, everything went black, and I lost consciousness.

21. Escape Route

I don't know how much time passed before Jenny woke me up. "Are you alright?" she asked with concern. "The oxygen here might be running out soon; we need to get out of here quickly." I nodded, and just as I was about to push myself up, I realized I was still tightly clutching the Tomb Raider Seal Jenny had given me. But for some reason, it had returned to normal and was no longer emitting that blue light. Looking at my own seal, it was the same—no longer glowing. So I handed the Tomb Raider Seal back to her, saying, "Thanks to your Tomb Raider Seal, I had time to save my life." As I spoke, I brushed the dust off my clothes and stood up.

Upon hearing my words, Jenny's slightly smiling expression immediately turned serious, and she asked me with great doubt, "How do you know this is the Faqiu Jade Seal? What else do you know?" Seeing her expression, I knew it might be something important, so I honestly told her that I also had a similar Faqiu Jade Seal, but its origin was a long story, and I would tell her about it later. As I spoke, I took out the Faqiu Jade Seal that I always carried with me. Jenny took the jade seal, examined it for a while, her eyes widening, and muttered to herself, "I never expected, I never expected that after all this effort, it was actually with you."

Just then, Ah Bao's voice came from the side. "Everyone, come quick! There seems to be a passage in this side chamber." Hearing this, I immediately perked up, grabbed Jenny, and ran towards Ah Bao. When we got there, we saw that the bronze-armored corpse king in the side chamber had already been blown to pieces. The corrosive liquid from the blast had corroded many pits into the floor and stone walls of the entire side chamber. A severed leg was still twitching intermittently. Large burial objects around it were also blown to pieces, and the entire side chamber was a mess. The air was filled with the mixed smell of gunpowder and the foul liquid from the bronze-armored corpse king.

Following Ah Bao's directions, we saw a hole blasted into a corner of the side chamber by explosives. A whooshing sound came from inside, as if wind was rushing in from outside. Looking at the hole, it wasn't too big or too small, just enough for one person to squeeze through. Ah Bao led the way, preparing to crawl into the hole. Suddenly, I realized someone was missing. Looking closer, I saw that Dunzi was nowhere to be seen. Normally, he would be the most eager to escape this terrifying ghost tomb. But now, there was no sign of him, and I hadn't heard a sound from him.

Everyone tensed up, worried that something might have happened to him. So they ran back into the tomb to search everywhere. By the light of the wolf-eye flashlight, we finally found the stump lying on the ground by the innermost wall at the front of the tomb. He seemed to have been thrown against the wall by the blast from the explosives and then landed on the ground. The ape-like skeleton that I had seen locked to the wall earlier had also been smashed to pieces by him.

Fearing something might have happened to him, we quickly went over and shook him awake. Once he regained consciousness and saw the three of us gathered around him, he immediately asked, "That monster zombie was blown up, right?" We all nodded, smiling at him. At this moment, Ah Bao interjected, "And the blast also opened up a secret passage, which seems to lead to the outside of the ancient tomb."

Upon hearing this, Dunzi was overjoyed and sat up abruptly. But as soon as he sat up, he let out a cry of "Ouch!" and his mouth twisted into a crooked shape. Then we saw him pull a milky-white skull from under his buttocks, one of the sharp teeth stained with blood. Dunzi must have accidentally been poked by that sharp tooth when he sat up. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was the skull of the ape-like animal that had been locked to the wall. "Damn it, what bad luck! Even a bone has to bully me," Dunzi said, raising his hand to throw the skull aside.

I don't know why, but every time I see this skull, I think of the group of apes outside the tomb and their white-haired ape king. Perhaps it was intuition, but I felt that this skull might be connected to the white-haired ape king, so I decided to take it with me. When I saw Dunzi about to throw it away, I immediately stopped him and put the skull into my waterproof bag.

Upon reaching the entrance of the side chamber again, Dunzi asked suspiciously, "How come there's a passageway in the wall of this side chamber out of nowhere? Could there be some kind of demon or monster?" We also found it a bit suspicious. But Jenny carefully examined the passageway and then smiled, saying, "The walls of this passageway have very obvious signs of artificial excavation; it was dug out by someone. And judging from the shape and size of the passageway, it should be an escape route dug by the craftsmen who built the tomb." Jenny paused briefly and continued to explain, "In ancient times, due to low productivity and primitive tools, digging such large tombs could easily cause disasters like landslides. Moreover, ancient emperors and other tomb owners often buried all the craftsmen who built the tomb alive in the tomb to prevent information about its structure and mechanisms from being revealed. Therefore, in order to escape quickly in critical moments, many clever craftsmen would secretly dig an escape route around the tomb and then cover it with brick and stone walls. People who didn't know the inside story wouldn't easily discover such an escape route."

After hearing Jenny's explanation, everyone felt much more at ease. Right then, Ah Bao led the way with his wolf-eye flashlight, and we all followed one by one into the escape tunnel.

The escape route was extremely narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. It was surrounded by damp, muddy ground, making the environment very uncomfortable. But in each of our hearts, the thought of it getting us out of this Song Dynasty tomb was more important than anything else.

After crawling for about ten minutes, we heard the sound of rushing water ahead, and the light in the tunnel gradually began to brighten. We knew we would soon see the light of day again, and we were naturally very excited. Dunzi muttered to himself as he crawled, "Thank God, I, Dunzi, am so lucky and have finally escaped! Haha."

Upon reaching the entrance to the passage, Ah Bao suddenly stopped. He glanced at the entrance, then turned back to the others and said, "It turns out the entrance is hidden behind the waterfall, only about ten meters from the deep pool below. Jumping down shouldn't be a problem." He paused, then added, "But those monkeys seem to still be down there. If we go down directly and they see us, they might attack us." Hearing this, everyone was troubled again. Now they were truly in a dilemma—how could they get those monkeys to disperse as soon as possible?

22. Ancient ape skull

Everyone had been lying prone in this narrow escape passage for a long time, and their limbs were numb. Seeing that he couldn't think of a good way out anytime soon, Dunzi simply lay down. He also casually took out one or two funerary objects he had retrieved from the tomb from his waterproof bag and began to examine them carefully.

As he opened the waterproof bag, I suddenly remembered the ape skull I had in my own. So I took it out, examined it closely, and after a moment's thought, said, "I have a feeling this ape skull might be connected to these apes. Have you ever wondered why these apes would obediently guard this Song Dynasty tomb, willingly acting as its guardians?"

Everyone looked puzzled when I said this. Jenny asked, "Did you discover something?" "I remember in a university class, Professor Zhang, when lecturing on Yuan Dynasty history, mentioned some records of Yuan Dynasty tombs in ancient books and historical records. Among them, he mentioned two passages in the 'Yuan History: National Customs and Old Rites' section." I paused slightly, recalling, and said, "Upon arriving at the burial site, the soil dug from the pit was arranged in clods, one after another. After the coffin was lowered, it was covered in clods. Any excess soil was placed far away elsewhere. No mound was built. After the burial, ten thousand horses trampled it flat. A camel was killed on top, and a thousand cavalry guarded it. The following year, when the grass grew, the tents were moved and dispersed, leaving a flat expanse that no one knew. When it was time to offer sacrifices, the mother of the killed camel was used as a guide. By observing where she hesitated and cried mournfully, one could know the location of the tomb."

"What does this mean? What does this have to do with those monkeys?" Dunzi asked, completely bewildered. So I explained, "It means that the imperial tombs of the Yuan Dynasty were not mounded. After the emperor's coffin was buried, the soil excavated from the original tomb was used to backfill the area, following the original depth, and then trampled flat by thousands of soldiers. Then, in front of the mother camel, a calf was killed on the tomb. Then, soldiers guarded the area for hundreds of kilometers, preventing anyone from entering. The ban wasn't lifted until the following year, when long grass had grown on the ground. By then, the area around the tomb had become a vast grassland, without any markers, and no one could identify the tomb's location. When the descendants of the former king wanted to pay their respects, they would lead the mother camel as a guide across the grassland. When the mother camel stopped at a certain place, appearing hesitant and crying mournfully, that was the location of the tomb."

After I explained, the others still seemed a bit confused, but Jenny reacted quickly, as if she understood what I meant, and immediately asked, "So, you mean the skeleton of the ancient ape in the tomb might be one of these apes?" I thought for a moment and said, "It's not necessarily exactly like the camel, using small camels for everything. Because this tomb is probably nearly a thousand years old, and apes couldn't possibly have such a long lifespan. I suspect that the ancient ape skeleton is the ancestor of these apes, or perhaps the earliest ape king in this group. It's very likely that the tomb's owner, the terrifying bronze-armored corpse king from earlier, had the ape king captured and locked in the tomb to intimidate these apes and make them serve as his tomb guardians for generations."

Hearing what I said, Dunzi seemed to see a glimmer of hope and hurriedly asked me, "So you have a way to get out now?" "Not necessarily," I replied, "I just think that animals have a much stronger sense of perception than humans in some aspects. If they can still recognize this ancient ape skull as their ancestor, perhaps we can try using it to see if we can use the skull to intimidate the ape troop, thus giving us a chance to get out." After hearing my words, everyone understood my intention very well.

But this was just speculation, and whether it would work was still unknown, so going to test it out would naturally involve some risk. Ah Bao volunteered, suggesting he take the ape skull and go down first to check on the ape troop's movements. I knew he was skilled and courageous, but perhaps not very good at reacting to emergencies, so after much consideration, I decided to go with him, so we could support each other. Jenny and Dunzi, meanwhile, lay prone at the escape route entrance, acting as scouts, ready to shout out any unusual activity to alert us.

With preparations complete, Ah Bao and I took a deep breath and then leaped one after the other, following the massive waterfall, into the deep, clear, emerald-green pool. At that moment, the white-haired ape king was staring intently at the surface of the pool. It seemed that ever since the four of us entered the tomb underwater, he had been waiting on the boulder beside the pool for us to resurface. When Ah Bao and I suddenly jumped into the water from a great height, two loud "splashes" created two huge waves, which startled him. The apes that were playing and frolicking nearby were also startled by the commotion and gathered around to see what was happening.

When they saw Ah Bao and me surfacing, they immediately recognized us. They instantly adopted a fierce expression, baring their teeth and brandishing their claws to intimidate us from the shore. We knew these monkeys couldn't swim, and as long as we didn't go ashore, we were safe across the pool. So we ignored them for the time being and quickly climbed to the rock in the middle of the deep pool where we had previously placed our backpacks and other equipment. Ah Bao and I exchanged a glance, and then I took the milky-white ancient ape skull from my waterproof bag and held it high above my head.

A strange thing happened. The group of monkeys that had been baring their teeth and roaring loudly gradually quieted down. The white-haired ape king on the boulder stared wide-eyed at the ancient ape skull in my hand, remaining motionless for a long time, as if stunned.

At the same time, its huge eye sockets became moist.

About four or five seconds later, after a mournful cry from the white-haired ape king, it climbed down from the boulder and slowly lay down on the edge of the deep pool. The other hundred or so apes followed suit, lying motionless on the ground. Seeing that our plan had succeeded, we happily looked up and waved to Jenny and Dunzi above the waterfall, signaling them to come down first. Jenny and Dunzi, who had already seen everything, immediately jumped down with joy.

We met up on the rocks in the deep pool. We checked and tidied up the backpacks we had left there. Because the backpacks were made of excellent imported waterproof material, although the outside was very wet near the damp waterfall, the contents remained intact. We stuffed our waterproof bags into our backpacks and then swam to the shore together, successfully reaching the land. Dunzi, holding aloft the ape skull he had taken from me, proudly led us past the tall apes lying prone on the ground.

Once we had successfully passed the ape troop's location, everyone turned to look back at the group of apes. They were all standing up, staring at us expectantly. In the eyes of the white-haired ape king, I seemed to see a pleading look, as if they were begging us for something. When I saw the ancient ape skull in Dunzi's hand, I seemed to understand their intention. I asked Dunzi for the skull and tossed it towards the white-haired ape king.

When the white-haired ape king saw me throw the ancient ape skull over, its tightly furrowed brows immediately relaxed. It leaped up and caught the skull firmly in its hand. Then, it looked at us peacefully as if to express its gratitude, before disappearing into the surrounding dense forest with the hundreds of apes beside it.

When Dunzi saw me return the ape skull to the monkey troop, he kept complaining, saying that with the skull, he could control the monkeys and make them work for him; it was a rare treasure, and it was such a waste to lose it like this. I said, "These monkeys are quite pitiful. They've been controlled by the bronze-armored corpse king in this tomb for nearly a thousand years. Can you really bear to continue controlling them?" Dunzi smiled and said, "Brother, you truly have a bodhisattva's heart. You'll surely be rewarded in the future." I smiled in response. Then we set off along the same path out of the forest.

This thrilling adventure has finally come to an end. This was our first time entering a deep and terrifying tomb, and everyone experienced a life-or-death moment. Everyone has many feelings, but in any case, we all came out safely, which is our greatest happiness and reward.

23. Past Events

On the way back, Jenny asked me again about the origin of the jade seal from the tomb. So I told her the whole story. After listening, she suddenly realized and said, "I see. It seems that the hidden place Grandfather mentioned was the secret chamber you found in that mass grave, not this Song Dynasty tomb. It seems my guess was wrong." Her words left me completely confused. When I asked her what had happened, Jenny hesitated for a moment before explaining the details.

It turns out that the whole story started with the two tomb raiding seals that she and I each possessed.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao, the prime minister of Wei, established a special army to excavate ancient tombs of previous dynasties and steal the treasures within, in order to expand the source of military funds. He also created official positions such as "General of Tomb Excavation" and "Colonel of Tomb Raider" to command this special army.

Two of the "Tomb Raiders," after leading their troops to plunder an ancient tomb, did not honestly hand over all the stolen treasures to Cao Cao. Instead, they conspired to secretly hide a portion of the loot. Over time, the treasures they secretly kept accumulated to an enormous amount. Fearing discovery, they found a very secluded place and hid all the hidden treasures there. They then meticulously crafted a very special treasure map, pinpointing the exact location of the treasure. The secret of this treasure map was hidden within the jade seals of the two tomb raiders and some silk manuscripts.

If these two jade seals were only related to a treasure map, and the treasure location only contained some priceless treasures, then Jenny probably wouldn't have been so interested. But what happened next is what truly interests people.

The next day, while searching for an ancient tomb, the two "Tomb Raiders" stumbled upon a fragment of a scroll. This fragment contained a secret about the cycle of life and death. Whoever possessed it could transcend time and space and achieve immortality. After obtaining the fragment, they lost interest in everything else. They hid it in their secret treasure trove, escaped the military camp, and found a remote village to diligently study the scroll.

Later, these two "Tomb Raiders" suddenly disappeared, and no one knew where they went. Their descendants only obtained the "Tomb Raider Seals" and some strange manuscripts they left behind.

Later, their descendants learned that the two tomb raiding seals and the silk manuscript contained a hidden treasure map, and they began to study the manuscripts and seals left behind by their ancestors. However, despite studying the jade seals and manuscripts for a long time, they could not find the treasure map. Nevertheless, in the process of studying the manuscripts and jade seals, they learned a great deal about tomb feng shui layouts, waterproofing, anti-corrosion, and anti-theft techniques. Therefore, to make a living, they simply took up the business of building tombs for others.

Gradually, because their tombs were far superior to others in terms of feng shui layout, architectural structure, and waterproofing, corrosion prevention, and burglary prevention, many people commissioned them to design their tombs. Their business grew rapidly. Later, they simply passed down their craft from generation to generation. The two jade seals and the manuscript were also preserved as family heirlooms.

Later, this tomb-raiding seal came into the hands of a man named Zhang Shenglin. He had been captured by Empress Dowager Cixi to build her mausoleum. Fortunately, he had secretly prepared an escape route for himself during the construction. So, when Cixi finally ordered all the craftsmen involved in the construction to be buried alive with her in the mausoleum, he secretly escaped using his escape route. However, fearing that the court would find out, he dared not return to his hometown. Instead, he hid his identity and stayed in a remote village. But due to overwork during the construction of the mausoleum, he fell ill and died two years later.

Finally, the tomb raiding seal passed down to Jenny's grandfather. But for some reason, by the time of Jenny's grandfather's generation, they had long since stopped making a living by building tombs for others, and instead returned to their ancestors' old trade of tomb raiding. Jenny's grandfather made his fortune in this way. Later, when war broke out in China, Jenny's grandfather fled to Hong Kong with his family and a huge fortune, where he became a prominent figure in the business world.

For decades, Jenny's grandfather had been searching for the other seal, the one hidden within the tomb-raiding seal, in an effort to uncover its secret. However, his father, on his deathbed, hadn't had time to tell him all the clues about the seal, only mentioning that the other seal might be in a small mountain village. But due to the passage of time and generations of oral tradition, the village's exact name was lost to history; only its approximate location and terrain were known. Therefore, the search had yielded little progress.

Later, before his death, Jenny's grandfather told her all these things, along with the tomb raider's seal, hoping she would continue to investigate the secrets of the treasure map to fulfill his unfinished wish. After learning about these things from her grandfather, Jenny also became interested in the ancient scroll that supposedly granted immortality and transcendence. So she began to look for and inquire about it everywhere.

At an auction, Jenny overheard a description of an item being auctioned. The description of its provenance closely resembled the small mountain village Jenny had been searching for, the one that might hold another tomb raiding seal. Without hesitation, she bought the item—the Song Dynasty official kiln octagonal vase with tubular handles that Dunzi had shown me earlier.

Later, when we mentioned the discovery of a blank tombstone in my second uncle's village, Jenny speculated that an ancient tomb might be hidden in the mountains near the village, and that the secret location of the other tomb-raiding seal that our ancestors had always talked about might be hidden in such a secluded ancient tomb. With this idea in mind, Jenny could no longer contain her excitement, so she immediately found Ah Bao and the others, prepared the necessary equipment, and together they went to this Song Dynasty tomb.

After hearing all this, the truth finally came to light. It turned out that all Jenny had been searching for was the Tomb Raider Seal on my person. Going to the ancient tomb was a complete waste of time. But then again, if we hadn't gone to the tomb, perhaps Jenny wouldn't have revealed all this, allowing me to learn the secrets of the two white jade Tomb Raider Seals, and Jenny wouldn't have known that the other seal was with me. It seemed as if fate had brought us together to unravel this layered mystery.

24. The Disaster of Village Destruction