Vollständiges Metamorphose-Handbuch

Kapitel 21

"Will he come down?" The young master, who had also seen it, asked in a low voice.

"How do I know if he'll come down?" I'm not him, how would I know what he's thinking? Besides—does the professor even have the ability to think? Everything about him is probably just the work of some unknown, obscure supernatural force.

The girl, who had been silent until now, suddenly whispered, "He drowned. He's not afraid of water. I'm afraid he'll be down soon..."

"Then... what should we do?" the young master stammered.

I said, "This mechanism is so ingenious; it's definitely not just a simple deep well below. Let's look around and see if there's a way out." The area below the well's entrance was clearly much larger than the area above, and it was oval-shaped. The girl shone her flashlight around; all around were dark stone walls. Where was there any way out?

I looked up at the cave entrance again. The instant I looked, I almost cried out in shock—the professor, who had just been at the entrance, was now using those pale, thread-like things as tentacles to climb down the well wall. He was less than three meters away from us…

The ghostly face on his back, almost identical to the one on his front, was deathly pale, grinning grotesquely, as if it held an indescribable excitement for the fresh flesh and blood that was about to be devoured.

"Professor...the professor is coming down..." I stammered, expressing my indescribable terror.

Instinctively, the three of us swam towards the rock face to one side. We huddled together, watching the professor climb down. The shadow of death once again loomed over everyone's hearts.

The three of us, six eyes in total, watched the professor descend step by step without blinking. But just then, I suddenly felt a weight beneath my feet, as if something had pulled me down, and I was involuntarily sinking. My nerves, already on the verge of collapse, almost completely gave way. I yelled, "Oh no, there's something underwater!" As I spoke, I gripped the young master beside me tightly.

It's not that I'm despicable, that I'd rather take someone down with me when I die, but—drowning people have this instinct: when sinking, they'll grab onto anything they can, even a straw, and cling to it desperately. The girl dove straight in, and soon I felt my footing loosen; what had been holding me seemed to have gone. The girl surfaced, gasping for breath, "Down there… chains… passage… let's go…"

In that brief moment, the professor had already entered the water, a狰狞 smile on his face, his skin deathly pale, making him appear even more ugly and terrifying in the dark, deep well. The maid spoke too hastily, but the young master and I still understood: there were chains below, and another passage.

Although I didn't know where it led, it was better than being devoured alive by the professor. With that thought, I dived down first, and the maid and young master followed. After diving only about a meter deep, with the help of the flashlight in the maid's hand, I vaguely saw an iron chain as thick as an arm underwater, connected to a stone wall next to it. And on the stone wall, there was a half-crouching figure.

I glanced at the girl, who gestured a few times to indicate that everything was alright. I nodded, made a gesture, and crept closer. Only when I got close did I see clearly that the crouching figure was actually a bronze bird-shaped vessel. I had heard Wang Quansheng mention that they had also retrieved similar objects from the Yellow River. I had originally agreed to buy them all from his house, but the next day he inexplicably died in my room. At this thought, Wang Quansheng's狰狞恐怖 (zhengning kongbu - hideous and terrifying) smiling face at the moment of his death seemed to reappear before me.

The *Zhou Li* (Rites of Zhou), in its section on the Spring Official and the Master of Sacrificial Vessels, records the so-called "Six Zun and Six Yi" (sacrificial vessels) in ancient sacrificial rites, of which this bird-shaped zun is one. If this thing were to surface, it would be a national treasure, but seeing it here in the dark underwater world, I felt an inexplicable eeriness and was reluctant to provoke it. However, with the professor behind me, whose corpse had been activated, I had no choice but to approach. Reluctantly, I cautiously drew near to the bird-shaped zun—and as I got closer, an even stranger feeling arose within me. This bird-shaped zun, having been submerged in water for years, was naturally heavily corroded, and the pointed beak of a bird was faintly visible on its head. The once magnificent plumage was now blurred by the corrosion, making it impossible to discern its era. It stood sideways, the other half of its body seamlessly integrated with the stone wall, seemingly carved there naturally.

When I touched it, it was covered in rust and had a lot of underwater sand. Below the bird's beak, there seemed to be an animal-like shape, only the size of a fist, connected to an iron chain as thick as an arm.

I must have been hooked by this thing and pulled down. The girl said there was another passage here, but apart from this bird-shaped vessel, I haven't found anything else.

I turned to ask the girl, but she gestured for me to try pulling on the chain. I don't know why, but when I see this chain, I always feel a strange fear, as if it's locking up primordial monsters or evil spirits from the underworld.

I had been holding my breath until I reached my limit, and I turned around intending to call out to the young master. But then I saw him and the maid soaking in the water, and not far behind him, a blurry shadow was approaching…

There was no time for me to hesitate. I quickly followed the maid's instructions and pulled hard on the iron chain under the bird's beak.

Chapter Four: The Bronze Bird-Shaped Vessel and the Human Servants

"Chirp, chirp..." A harsh, metallic scraping sound amplified by the sound of water, incredibly grating. Along with the shrill noise, the bird, which had been crouching, slowly moved upwards, startling me so much that I instinctively opened my mouth to call out. But the cold water went straight down my throat, nearly choking me.

I quickly shut my mouth again. In an instant, the bird-shaped ornaments had all moved aside, revealing a hole about half a meter high in front of me. Without thinking, I grabbed the girl behind me and shoved her inside without a word. The young master, without waiting for my command, darted into the hole as well.

Just as I was about to follow him inside, a sudden weight pressed down behind me. I turned around in a panic, and my heart pounded with fear. The professor's deathly pale face, a狰狞 (zhengning, meaning ferocious or hideous) smile, was right in front of me. Moreover, the few white, thread-like objects on his body, soaked in water and now as thick as fingers, had wrapped around my shoulder.

In my panic, I swallowed another large gulp of cold water. Without thinking, I stomped on the professor and swam into the cave with all my might.

The young master, still possessing some conscience, waited for me at the cave entrance, frantically pulling me through. Just as I entered the cave, the clanging metallic sound behind me returned, and the original bird-shaped vessel plummeted downwards. With a loud "bang," it stopped the professor outside. The several white, thread-like objects that had been wrapped around me were simultaneously severed by the heavy bronze bird-shaped vessel. Without its connection to the main body, they limply fell to the ground.

I took a deep breath and was shocked to find that the water in the cave wasn't deep at all; I was actually floating on the surface, having narrowly escaped death. Still shaken, it took me a while to calm down. Looking around for a moment, I realized it was a long underwater tunnel, with a thick iron chain running through it, and I had no idea where it ended. It was pitch black all around, except for the faint yellow light from the flashlight in the girl's hand.

The girl's wet hair clung to her head, and her face was wet with what looked like tears or groundwater. She held a flashlight in one hand and gripped the thick iron chain that ran across her face with the other. Her breathing was heavy.

The young master wiped the water from his face, and after catching his breath for a while, asked, "Old Xu, are you alright?"

"Fine my ass!" I cursed angrily. "I almost died! Where am I?"

Where is this place? The girl didn't know, and naturally, the young master didn't know either; I'd wasted my time asking. The girl handed me the flashlight, saying, "Amitabha, I hope... I hope the professor doesn't retain his memories..."

"What did you say?" I asked the maid in surprise. Her words were inexplicable, but they still startled me.

The girl shook her head and said, "Brother Xu, you're confused. If the professor had retained his memories, I would know how to open such a mechanism, let alone him."

I was startled; it was indeed so. The professor was clearly an expert on ancient tombs—no, an expert among experts. Someone like him, with his vast knowledge and experience, how could he not know how to open the mechanism? It seemed we might not be safe after all.

The young master shook his head and said, "Girl, the professor is dead... he won't activate the mechanism!"

Before the young master could finish speaking, I heard the sound of metal scraping against metal again behind me. I was shocked. Could it be that... the professor had actually found a way to activate the mechanism? I gripped the chains and turned around, just in time to see the bird-like figure behind me slowly rising again.

"No..." I cried out in terror. The professor, who retained his memories from his previous life, he... This is too painful, too terrifying! I would rather die a quick and clean death than experience such bizarre things after death and become a living dead who is neither alive nor dead.

"Quick, what are you all standing there for? Help me hold onto the chains, we can't let him in!" the maid shouted urgently, her breathing becoming heavy.

Upon hearing this, I quickly swam over. Without saying a word, I did as the maid instructed and tightened the iron chain with all my might.

"Young Master, go pull the chain. Brother Xu, come help!" the maid ordered crisply. This was the first time the maid had acted so decisively since entering the tomb of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan. Without even thinking, I handed the chain to the young master and swam towards the maid.

The girl reached out and touched the bird-like creature for a while, while I held up a flashlight to illuminate its body. The metallic sound was incessant and indescribably unpleasant.

"Old Xu, I can't pull anymore, hurry up..." The bird-shaped vessel rose slightly again, and I could even see countless white, thread-like objects protruding into the gap as it rose, constantly floating in the water.

By this time, I could clearly see that it was a two-headed bird-shaped vessel. It stood sideways, one half of its body on one side and the other half on the other. The same side also had a sharp beak. The girl touched the beak and quickly said to us, "We can shut off the mechanism, but we still have no way to get out. Should we shut it off or not?"

The girl's meaning was clear: she had found the trap inside, but once the trap was locked, we wouldn't be able to get out either. If there was no way out, we would all eventually be trapped here and die.

Before I could even respond, the young master shouted urgently, "Close it!"

I agree. It's death either way, so I'd rather slit my own throat here than be caught and devoured by the professor.

Seeing that we had both expressed our opinions, the girl didn't hesitate for a moment and hurriedly felt around the bird's neck. There, under the bird's beak and neck, was another fist-sized, beast-shaped object, connected to an iron chain as thick as an arm. The girl pulled hard, but only managed to pull the chain out a little.

I rushed over to help. Since our lives were at stake, my strength seemed to be astonishing. I pulled the chain out in an instant. "Chirp, chirp..." I thought I heard a bird chirping. Looking up, I saw that the bird's beak, which had been tightly closed, was now open. I was startled. Instinctively, I took a step back, stumbled, and almost fell.

The girl quickly stuffed the beast-shaped object in my hand into the bird's beak. I heard a soft "bang." The bird-shaped vessel, which had been slowly rising, fell completely, sealing the entrance to the cave.

The girl couldn't hold on any longer, and with a "waah," she buried her face in my shoulder and burst into tears.

The young master was slumped over the chains, panting heavily. I gently patted the girl's back to comfort her, but my heart was filled with bitterness. The underwater cave was sealed off, effectively blocking our way out. If there was no other way out, we would likely be trapped here and die; the situation was far from optimistic.

The girl cried for a while, and finally stopped crying after I comforted her. The young master said dejectedly, "Old Xu, if I had known, I would have preferred to lie in my bed at home and wait to die than come to a place like this."

I felt the same way, but I knew that once we relaxed our guard, we might never see the light of day again. So I said coldly, "If you have such thoughts, then slit your own throat. But before you commit suicide, please tell me your bank account number and password, and write a will to transfer all your property to Xu Sanqing."

Upon hearing this, the young master, who had been lying slumped on the chains like a dead dog, jumped up and roared, "Damn it, Old Xu, I knew you weren't any better! Damn it... so you were planning to do this kind of murder for money too? You want me dead? Let me tell you, I'm living the good life right now. Haven't you heard that good people don't live long, but evil people live a thousand years?"

The girl couldn't help but chuckle when she saw how funny we were talking. Her face, which had been a little pale from being frightened so often, flushed slightly, making her look incredibly cute. I felt as if the entire dark underground tunnel had suddenly brightened up, as if bright sunlight was shining on the dark underworld that had existed for millions of years.

"Stop playing around, finding a proper way out is the most important thing!" I said. The girl lifted her head from my arms, probably feeling embarrassed that a grown woman was crying so hard in a man's arms, and that man wasn't even anyone to her. So, her fair face turned even redder, and her originally bright eyes, whether from being soaked in water or something else, looked watery, like dewdrops on flower petals in spring.

I asked, "Girl, how did you know there were hidden mechanisms inside that bird-shaped vessel?" The girl smiled and explained that although she had mostly searched through earthen graves before, there were always some mechanisms or traps inside. Having seen so many, she naturally learned a little about them. These mechanisms were basically all the same and nothing special.

The young master chimed in, "Then wouldn't the professor know even more?"

Young Master, you really know how to bring up the sore spot. The maid, already annoyed, immediately glared at him. I quickly changed the subject, asking, "Ancient books on mechanical arts say it originated from the Mohist school of thought during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Is that really true?"

"Of course not!" The girl vigorously wiped the water droplets from her face. At the same time, she wrung out a handful of her wet hair. I shone my flashlight on her and could see clearly that her once smooth, black hair was now full of rotten yellow sand. I had also swallowed a couple of mouthfuls of water earlier because of nervousness and holding my breath for too long. I was so anxious at the time that I hadn't noticed, but now I felt a stench in my mouth and almost vomited.

"The Mohists proposed specific theories on mechanisms, but they were simply organized and categorized. However, when Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, many of these books were burned. Therefore, very few Mohist legends have survived. Ancient feng shui and mechanical arts were passed down orally from one generation to the next, without even written books. So much has been lost. I estimate that mechanical arts existed a long time ago. The earliest can probably be traced back to the Yellow Emperor's era. The *Classic of Mountains and Seas, Great Wilderness North Classic* records that it was an era when cold weapons were just emerging. I estimate that mechanical arts existed in that era as well… Wasn't the Yellow Emperor renamed Xuanyuan because he invented the wheeled chariot?" The girl frowned, looking at the yellow sand in her palm. "It's strange, how come there's so much yellow sand in this groundwater? It stinks!"

Young girls are generally very clean, and making a girl soak in such stinky water is truly a sin. I was also curious; after all, it's groundwater, not the Yellow River, so where did all this sand come from? And why does it smell so bad?

Instinctively, I shone my flashlight into the water. The water was incredibly murky, perhaps stirred up by our presence, and it really did resemble the Yellow River. After a while, I calmed down and realized this wasn't the time to discuss mechanisms; the real priority was to find a way out, return to that old pervert Liu's tomb, retrieve his epitaph, and find a way to break the curse of the Yellow River Dragon Coffin.

Looking around, I noticed that although the entrance to the Bird-shaped Vessel was small, only half a meter high, the underwater passageway inside was quite wide. I estimated it to be over two meters wide. The height was also about two meters, with dark rocks on both sides. A thick iron chain stretched across the water, its destination unknown. I had no idea what lay at the end of the chain.

I gripped the iron chain with one hand and felt along the dark stone wall beside me with the other, hoping to find another mechanism that would allow us to return to the upper level of the tomb. But the walls were all solid stone; where could we find any mechanism?

"Something's not right!" the young master suddenly exclaimed. "These chains are really strange!"

"What's so strange about this chain?" I asked, puzzled. As I spoke, one hand remained on the chain. I didn't know its other uses, but for us, it was simply a way to rest on it for a while, preventing us from exhausting ourselves in the water for too long.

"Did the Han Dynasty have such exquisite iron casting techniques?" the young master asked, pulling on the iron chain.

The girl rolled her eyes at him again and sneered, "Do you think we're still in a Han Dynasty tomb?"

A thought struck me. Yes, that bird-shaped vessel from earlier, although I couldn't see the thunder and feather patterns on it, its style definitely didn't resemble the Han Dynasty; it must be from the Western Zhou Dynasty. Connecting this to the thunder and bird-shaped seal script on the corner of the stone platform above, this must belong to a tomb from the Western Zhou period.

Our original intention was simply to find the tomb of Liu Qu, the King of Guangchuan, to find his epitaph and discover a way to break the curse of the Yellow River Dragon Coffin. But upon entering, we realized that this legendary Nine Dragon Pit truly is a geomantically auspicious place. Not only did Liu Qu set his sights on this location, but the Song Dynasty female corpse, whose identity is unknown, also had her tomb built here after her death. And now, we've stumbled into a completely unfamiliar tomb, which, judging from the bird-shaped bronze vessel, should date back to the Western Zhou Dynasty.

It was an era rife with legends, even an era where gods and demons danced together.

The girl touched the thick iron chain with her hand and whispered, "Western Zhou...Shang...there are so few historical records. Who knows if there was iron casting technology in that era? Who can guarantee that the technology of that era was not more advanced than that of modern times?"

"How is this possible?" the young master jumped up and exclaimed, "More advanced than modern times?"

“Of course!” the girl sneered. “In archaeology, a professor once told me that we can only study history through ancient tombs, and the truly historical facts passed down are probably not very authentic. Because history is in the hands of the victors, in the hands of imperial power, and how history is written is up to the victorious rulers. Therefore, the authenticity of the history we usually see is questionable. Chinese history has had several gaps, for example, the Shang Dynasty, the Western Zhou Dynasty… How much do we actually know?”

Of course, when it comes to history, Yaya is an authority, even though we are both in the antique business and confident in our good eye.

The girl paused for a moment, then said, "What do you think would happen if modern people forged an iron chain that stretched across the water for a thousand years?"

Hearing what the girl said, I couldn't help but exclaim. Although I was very unwilling, I thought about it again and again, and still said, "If it were an iron chain cast by modern people, with this length and thickness, spanning the water for thousands of years, there would only be one possibility: it would have corroded and rusted, and would be completely useless."

The young master was also dumbfounded. We had all fallen into a misconception, assuming that the chains were very sturdy and that it was a given, but we ignored the issue of time. You see, the chains we usually see are new, and corrosion is relatively rare.

The girl stared at the iron chain with near fascination, gently stroking it with her hand and murmured, "This is simply a great discovery for the archaeological world! An iron chain from the Western Zhou Dynasty has actually been preserved to the modern era!"

"Girl, stop daydreaming. The most important thing is to find a way out. As long as you survive, you can write a book to pass on this great archaeological discovery to the world." I quickly interrupted her. Like many old archaeology scholars, she had a touch of pedantry, especially when faced with such a major discovery.

The young master and I are, after all, just antique dealers. When we saw the bird-shaped bronze vessel, our first thought was its priceless value, and we didn't consider anything else.

The maid was awakened, her face slightly flushed. She glared at me, "Writing books to pass down through generations? As long as I can get out of here alive, that's all that matters." With that, she swam forward along the iron chain. The young master and I hurriedly followed behind. Still unwilling to give up, I touched the heavy iron chain again. It was cold, hard, and solid—truly cast iron.

Could it be that ancient iron rust prevention technology was so advanced?

The girl swam forward less than ten meters before suddenly stopping, her face full of surprise. I was right behind her and asked, "Girl, what's wrong?"

The girl turned to look at me, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and said in a low voice, "I think I just heard something..."

The young master beside him asked in surprise, "A sound? What sound?"

"It sounds like water..." the girl said. Hearing this, I immediately understood. Water—the three of us were in the water, and naturally, there would be sounds as we swam. Moreover, because we were in this enclosed passageway, the echo was quite loud. The girl, after all, was a young woman, naturally timid, and having been repeatedly frightened today, she was easily startled, so it was understandable that she mistook the echo for water.

The young master and I comforted her for a few moments. Finally, I decided to go first, with the young master following behind her, the two of us men protecting her in the middle. She calmed down then. I led the way, and after swimming a few steps, I could faintly hear the splashing sound of water ahead, as if someone was wading through the water.

In the desolate passageway, the sound was particularly piercing. I turned to look at the girl; she was biting her lip tightly. The young master lowered his voice and said, "Old Xu, something's wrong. Be careful."

I nodded and shone the flashlight ahead. What I saw almost made me scream – in the pitch-black underwater tunnel, just five or six meters in front of me, stood a blurry figure…

The girl covered her mouth in terror, while the young master took the crossbow off his back again. I hesitated, afraid to move forward. It wasn't that I was cowardly, but I feared that anyone in this situation might not have been as brave as me. After about a minute, I shone my flashlight on the blurry figure twice and saw that he was simply standing there, motionless. Finally, I mustered my courage and swam forward.

The young master, holding a crossbow, stood protectively beside me, while I handed the flashlight to the maid and took out bamboo arrows, fully alert.

Gradually, the figure became clearer. Even at a distance of two meters, the person remained standing still, motionless. We finally saw clearly that the figure was merely a stone statue, standing at the end of the passageway. The passageway ended there; thick iron chains were wrapped around the person many times, seemingly trying to lock him in place.

The girl and I looked at each other, both puzzled. After a moment's pause, seeing that there was no danger, we mustered up the courage to swim closer and take a closer look.

Half of the stone sculpture's body was submerged in water, making it indistinct. The other half was exposed, with iron chains wrapped three times around its upper body and firmly locking its arms; the other end was attached to the adjacent stone wall. The girl, emboldened, wiped away the yellow sand and grime from its head and face with her hand—

"This is a bronze human figure!" the maid said, frowning. Records from various dynasties show many bronze artifacts unearthed, but a bronze human figure was something I'd never seen before. I'd initially thought it was a stone sculpture, but it turned out to be a bronze human figure. The young master and I were both very curious, so we quickly swam over and helped the maid wipe the yellow sand and dirt off the figure's face.

This bronze human figure is similar to the bronze bird-shaped vessel we found on the other side; it is also heavily corroded. Upon closer inspection, we find that this bronze human figure is cast with a robust physique and a majestic face. It is unclear whether it is based on human imagination or a model of a real person.

The girl shone her flashlight slowly. The bronze figure wore a helmet resembling armor, its face imposing, but its eyes were empty and seemingly dull, quite incongruous with the overall design. Although severely corroded from being submerged in water, scale-like structures were still visible on its body from the neck down. It was unclear whether it had originally been wearing armor or was naturally covered in scales.

"Strange, strange, really strange..." the young master said, stroking the bronze figurine and shaking his head.