Berechnen

Kapitel 10

The residents of the "three-story building" wouldn't notice the iron door to the basement being opened in the darkness. They would only discover it when they went down the stairs and got closer.

"How long will it take?" I asked Wei Xian.

"Two cigarettes, that'll do. The air is better near the exit." Wei took out a cigarette, and I took one and lit it.

"Then what about further in? The underground passages are quite large. Can we manage with this little bit of effort? I've seen documentaries from abroad where they say you need to use a ventilation system to ventilate these kinds of places for a while."

“No need for that, I’ve prepared a full set of protective clothing and an oxygen device.” Wei Xian smiled.

The iron gate closed again.

Standing in front of the hole I had once fallen into, Wei shone his flashlight inside a few times, then took out a pointed steel hammer from his travel bag and widened the hole by a factor of two in a few strokes.

The cover that Qian Liu had made had been completely removed. What was now visible under the beam of the flashlight was a round hole more than a meter in diameter, and a rusty iron ladder was embedded in the wall below.

"Let's get dressed before we go down," Wei Xian said, taking a set of clothes out of his travel bag.

"So this is a hazmat suit." I stared in disbelief at Wei Xian as he put on the suit.

“No, I should say spacesuit.” I corrected myself, as his transparent helmet reflected the light from my flashlight.

"This suit can block the intrusion of all toxic gases. The oxygen device on your back stores four hours' worth of compressed oxygen, and its energy reserves ensure it can operate for forty-eight hours. Also, this suit is bulletproof, so even if there are traps in the tomb, you won't be afraid of taking a few arrows. Okay, don't just stand there, put it on quickly!"

Bulletproof? An oxygen converter that can be carried on the shoulder? I couldn't help but admire Wei Xian's incredible abilities; such things are not something ordinary people can see.

"Have you been working on this stuff these past few days? I bet an outfit like this would be incredibly expensive."

"The price is okay, but there aren't many items. I already had one, but I got another one from someone else these past couple of days. It should fit your size."

The price is okay? I don't believe it. Maybe we just have different standards for judging money?

It wasn't easy to put on this suit. In the end, I was able to put it on with Wei Xian's help. All the clasps were sealed. Apart from the oxygen device on my back being a bit heavy, I didn't feel particularly stuffy, and I could clearly hear Wei Xian's voice.

Sun Huizu's skeleton (3)

Carrying the specially made flashlight Wei Xian had prepared for me in one hand and the small bag I brought on my back in the other, which contained my important equipment—a digital camera—I followed behind Wei Xian and slowly descended the iron ladder into the passageway.

The clothes fit snugly against the body, without any feeling of restriction of movement; they're definitely a great product. The oxygen device on the back isn't exposed but rather hidden within the layers of the clothing, thus protected by the special fabric and less prone to damage from chafing or impact.

The passageway was narrow and low, so I had to crouch down to follow behind Wei Xian. I estimated he was only about 1.6 meters tall. At first, my helmet accidentally bumped into something, which startled me, because I wouldn't have the money to pay for it if it got damaged.

Not long after walking, the flashlight shone on a small metal plate protruding from the wall in front of us.

"What is that?" I asked.

Wei stopped in front of him, took out a large water bottle from his backpack, and poured some things into it.

“It’s an oil lamp,” he said, and actually took a wick out of his bag and put it in.

I watched him turn on the light, somewhat surprised.

"You actually brought all of these with you?!"

“Actually, there are usually similar lamps in large tombs. If it’s a tomb that hasn’t been entered before, there will be unused oil and wicks inside. But the Sun brothers have been inside this tomb, so I guessed that the lamps might have been used. That’s why I brought these things here. I didn’t expect that they would be useful in this passageway.” Although Wei Xian said “didn’t expect,” there was still a slight sense of pride in his tone.

His thinking was indeed meticulous; perhaps he wanted to prove Wei Buhui's assertion wrong in this way.

Further ahead, there was an oil lamp every ten or twenty meters. Looking back, the way back was much brighter than the path illuminated by our flashlights.

After walking for a short while, we saw the first fork in the road.

"Which way?" I asked.

"Either side is fine, but we'd better not separate."

"But how could there be a fork in the road?"

“I think it’s because the Sun brothers didn’t know where the tomb was back then. Did you notice any deep little holes in the walls and on the path as we walked along?”

I thought for a moment: "I think I've seen one before."

“Those holes were made with a Luoyang shovel, probably by my fourth great-uncle, to determine the location of the tomb. However, if the location is too far off, this method won't work, so we'll have to dig several more paths and use the Luoyang shovel to determine the location.”

Wei Xian suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" I asked nervously, as the flashlight didn't illuminate anything unusual.

"Haha, we're pretty lucky," Wei Xian laughed.

"Is this the right way? How do you know?"

“No, we’re going the wrong way. We need to turn back.” Wei Xian turned around. “But I already know how to find my way.”

"Didn't you notice something wrong with this road?"

I shone my flashlight on it carefully, but there was nothing different. It was just as short and just as bumpy.

"Na Duo, you seem a bit nervous. You shouldn't have missed it. It's just a tomb. Relax, hehe, we'll be looking at the Sun brothers' bones later."

I chuckled awkwardly. It was undeniable that Wei Xian had completely regained his former glory since descending into the tomb, and the blow he suffered at Wei Bu Hui's hands showed no signs of affecting him at all. I, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. From the moment I entered the basement and the iron door closed, I felt a bit nervous. Once I was in this passageway, I couldn't help but recall the experience of almost not being able to find my way out of the passageway in the Human Cave years ago. I kept shining my flashlight blindly, afraid that something might suddenly pop out from somewhere.

"Unlike you, who's dug up so many graves that you've developed an iron will, I'm terrified," I joked to myself, which actually eased my tension. I've never been someone who cares too much about life and death, which is why I've done so many life-or-death things. But everyone has a fear of the unknown, and what sets me apart from ordinary people is that I have both fear and an irresistible curiosity about the unknown.

After shining the flashlight around carefully again, I suddenly understood.

There is no oil lamp.

“That’s right.” Wei Xian gave a thumbs up. “It seems that the workers used their own headlamps when they were digging the tunnel. The oil lamps on the wall were installed after the tunnel was completed. Only the correct path was installed. They can provide light and prevent people from getting lost.”

I turned around and walked back, this time I was in front and Wei Xian was behind. We walked a short distance along the other path and sure enough, we saw the oil lamp again.

Sun Huizu's skeleton (4)

After that, whenever I came to a fork in the road, I would first shine my flashlight on the iron plate with the oil lamp on which road, and then choose the correct path. Walking here is not like walking on the ground; it's full of twists and turns, and my back is getting more and more sore. I've probably passed through seven or eight forks in the road already. This underground tunnel project is really quite large.

The passageway gradually descends, so just based on that, we should be on the right track.

Although the clothes were breathable, the air in the passageway was not circulating in the hot weather, and I was already drenched in sweat. Wearing these completely sealed clothes, I couldn't even wipe my sweat, which was extremely uncomfortable.

After crossing another fork in the road, Wei lit another lamp. After walking a few steps, I suddenly stopped in surprise.

"How could this be a dead end?" The straight beam of the flashlight did not illuminate a deep passageway, but rather an irregular earthen wall. Clearly, the passageway had stopped digging here.

"No way?" Wei Xian squeezed past me sideways and walked forward.

"Damn it, how could this be... Ah, we're here." Wei Xian straightened his back, and his helmet bumped against the top of the tunnel.

I peered out and saw that Wei Xian's flashlight beam wasn't shining directly in front of me, but rather on the ground not far ahead.

There is a hole there.

My heart started racing again.

Upon closer inspection, there are earthen steps leading downwards.

"I'll go down first, you follow," Wei Xian said in a deep voice, taking the lead down the steps.

After descending about five or six meters, we came down to another chamber, which must have been dug out by the Sun brothers. It was about ten square meters in size and was just as low.

Inside this passageway, there was a huge stone slab that had been moved. Rather than a slab, it was more like a flat boulder that occupied half the size of the passageway, was more than two feet thick, and weighed several tons.

And another downward passage that was originally covered by this boulder is now right in front of us.

It was a stone staircase, paved with extremely smooth large bluestones, leading into the unknown darkness.

"Let's go down." Wei Xian said to me after shining a flashlight at the entrance for a while.

At this moment, even his voice sounded somewhat hoarse.

As we slowly descended the stone steps, two beams of flashlight crisscrossed as they pierced the air. Compared to the narrow passageway we had just entered, we were now entering a far more magnificent space.

These stone steps alone number over thirty, and the steps widen as you go up. When you reach the last step, the passage in the middle of the imposing stone wall is over thirty meters wide.

The space here was too large, and the two flashlights we had were of very limited use. Wei Xian gestured for me not to go forward yet, and standing at the end of the stone steps, he slowly shone his flashlights around the surroundings.

This place is not far from where the Sun brothers died, so we must not be careless under any circumstances.

This is the place that Yuantong foresaw as a place of unspeakable evil underground.

A mere inexplicable feeling caused a highly accomplished master to lose his Buddhist heart. And now that we are standing here, thinking about this, I can't help but feel a little apprehensive, yet also excited to understand everything.

Standing on the last step, Wei Xian did not take any further steps. His flashlight beam stopped on a cylindrical metal pier that was close to the left stone wall, and it appeared to be made of copper.

"I'll be right there," Wei Xian said.

"What is that?" I asked.

"It should be... I'm not quite sure, maybe it's some kind of device." Wei Xian's words were somewhat reserved, but he must have guessed something.

"Be careful," I reminded him.

"It's alright, there shouldn't be any danger here."

Wei Xian slowly walked up to the object and took out a specially made long-handled lighter from his backpack.

With a loud bang, a pillar of fire shot out; it turned out to be a large lamp. However, despite its large flame, it couldn't illuminate the entire tomb passage.

I was puzzled. I hadn't seen Wei pour in any lamp oil or put in a wick, so how could it light so easily? The Sun brothers couldn't have left it unlit when they came.

Just as I was about to ask Wei Xian a question, I saw that he was still standing there without moving, but the flashlight in his hand was shining against the tomb wall. In the firelight, I saw something protruding there.

Suddenly, a series of loud, booming sounds erupted, and then everything was suddenly bright.

Flames lit up one after another from the tomb walls on both sides, and in the blink of an eye, the entire magnificent tomb passage was illuminated by the tomb lamps on both sides.

What Wei Xian lit first was actually just a mechanism that activated all the tomb lamps.

Sun Huizu's skeleton (5)

“There’s actually a ten-thousand-year-old continuous lamp here. It seems the tomb owner was someone of great importance,” Wei Xian said as he walked back to my side.

"A perpetually continuous lamp?"

"Of course, it's impossible for it to burn for ten thousand years, but once lit, it can burn for several months, and all the lamps have mechanisms in place."

Even if you light one lamp, all the others will light up. And there's definitely a time limit here; they'll automatically turn off after a certain period. Don't think the Sun brothers have only come once; they could light them ten or a hundred times without any problems.

However, I had no time to marvel at the ingenuity of the mechanism. Only after the tomb lamps lit up did I realize that the building materials used throughout the tomb passage were completely different from the bluestone of the stone steps. They were colorful marble. In the flickering firelight, the patterns on the marble even gave off an eerie feeling.

The tomb passage was extremely long, estimated to be about two hundred meters long, and at the end of the passage was a semi-circular archway. Actually, it should be called an arched entrance, because there was no door. The lights in the tomb passage were on, but the area inside the "door" remained pitch black.

Not far from the tomb entrance, a person lay on the ground. It was not clear from a distance, but it was probably a skeleton whose clothes had not completely decomposed.

Based on Wei Buhui's words, this must be Sun Laosan.

He was probably holding a skull in his hand, but it wasn't very clear from a distance.

The real danger lies ahead.