However, once they were in the water, there was no turning back, because Zhuang Rui was blocking their way. Just as Peng Fei was struggling to stay afloat and was paddling forward with all his might, he suddenly felt Zhuang Rui grab his feet as he was kicking backward.
Peng Fei felt much more relaxed after that. The older brother behind him grabbed his feet and pushed him forward forcefully, saving Peng Fei a lot of energy. He simply stopped paddling and grabbed the rocks on both sides of the waterway, allowing his body to move forward quickly underwater. ...
"Dr. Ren, no, you can't go back into the water. Two people are already missing; your going down won't help..."
Seven or eight minutes after Peng Fei entered the water, Dr. Ren's expression changed, and without saying a word, he began to take off his clothes, but was grabbed by Batel.
Dr. Ren was extremely anxious. The reason Professor Meng asked him to follow Zhuang Rui was twofold: firstly, he could help Zhuang Rui with his knowledge of archaeology, and secondly, he was older and could take care of Zhuang Rui in his daily life.
But Dr. Ren never expected that such a thing would happen during what was just an ordinary trip.
This left Ren Chunqiang's mind almost blank. Ignoring his poor swimming skills, which were limited to doggy paddling, he suddenly became impulsive and prepared to go into the water to search for the two.
"I'm going to Ordos right now to seek help from the local archaeological department and public security authorities. Dr. Ren, you must stay calm..."
Despite his rugged appearance, Batel displayed a calmness that came from his experience in that special forces unit.
The deed is done, and grief and impulsiveness will not solve the problem. The most important thing now is to seek help from the relevant departments and try to find the bodies of the two people.
"What's with the calming down? If something happens to Zhuang Rui and the others, do you know how big of a commotion it will cause?"
Ren Chunqiang was almost in tears. During their journey together, he learned a lot about Zhuang Rui's identity. Just from Peng Fei showing him the Central Security Bureau ID, he could tell that Zhuang Rui had a powerful and unknown background.
"No...don't stop me..."
Dr. Ren faced the lake, looking like he was about to commit suicide. However, after Batel grabbed his waist, he was unable to move forward even with all his strength.
"Splash..."
Suddenly, a ripple appeared on the lake not far from them, followed by splashing water. Two green heads emerged from the water and came face to face with Ren Chunqiang.
Ren Chunqiang, who was struggling to break free from Batel's arms, suddenly shouted: "Water...water ghost!"
Upon seeing the two clumps of green heads in the center, and a pair of green eyes, Dr. Ren's initial courage to go into the water vanished instantly. His entire body deflated like a balloon with all the air sucked out.
Don't let Ren Chunqiang's daily interactions with ancient tombs and the dead fool you; people like him are incredibly daring, no doubt. However, they also have a bottom line, and they will break down when that line is crossed.
Clearly, these two monsters that emerged from the lake overturned Dr. Ren's understanding of atheism, which he had held for over thirty years.
"My goodness, it really is a water ghost..."
Upon hearing Dr. Ren's pitiful cries, Timur, who was standing nearby, also saw the movement in the water. However, he was much bolder than Dr. Ren, who dealt with the dead all day long. He grabbed the bow and arrows beside him and was about to attack the strange object that had appeared in the water.
“Hey, hey, what’s going on? Timur’s father, it’s me…”
Zhuang Rui, who had just emerged from the lake, hadn't even heard what Ren Chunqiang was shouting when he saw Timur suddenly raise his bow and arrow and aim it at him, so he couldn't help but shout loudly.
Peng Fei, on the other hand, was suffering from severe oxygen deprivation and was completely dazed and confused by the commotion on the shore, showing no reaction whatsoever.
"Is...is it Zhuang Rui'an? You...how did you turn into a water ghost so quickly?"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Timur's mind went blank, and the bow and arrow he had already nocked involuntarily loosened. However, having heard the legend of water ghosts in this lake area for more than ten years, he subconsciously regarded Zhuang Rui as a water ghost in disguise.
"What water ghost? I am Zhuang Rui, and here he is Peng..."
Zhuang Rui was somewhat confused. After giving his name, he pointed at Peng Fei and was dumbfounded. Peng Fei's head was covered in seaweed, making him look like a monster. He figured his own appearance wasn't much better.
“There are no water ghosts, it’s Brother Zhuang and Fei Zi, Timur, put down the arrows…”
Batel was calm enough to see at a glance that the two were human, not ghosts. He immediately stepped forward and snatched the bow and arrow that Timur had drawn to its full extent.
After Zhuang Rui reached out and pulled the seaweed off his head, he pulled Peng Fei and swam towards the shore. However, when the two of them got ashore, they still startled everyone. This guy was wearing a whole outfit made of seaweed.
"Hey, Zhuang...Zhuang Rui, did you two discover a crystal palace down there? How come you've been staying there for so long?"
It wasn't until Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei had cleaned all the seaweed off his body that Dr. Ren, who was slumped on the ground, finally allowed his brain to believe what he had seen.
"Brother Ren, we didn't see the Crystal Palace, but we did find the tomb of the thousand-year-old ghost. Looks like we won't be able to go back to Beijing tomorrow..."
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this, pulled out a gold ingot still warm from his body from his boxer shorts, and tossed it to Ren Chunqiang.
Chapter 1169 Persuading
"The tomb of a thousand-year-old ghost? What are you talking about? Are you out of your mind, or am I not thinking straight right now?"
Ren Chunqiang was a little confused. After catching the dark-colored object that Zhuang Rui threw to him, his right hand suddenly felt heavy, and he almost missed grabbing the gold ingot. Clearly, the weight of the object exceeded Ren Chunqiang's expectations.
Gold unearthed from tombs is not the shiny, golden gold that people imagine. Instead, the surface is dark and dull, and those who don't know much about gold might even mistake it for brass.
However, Dr. Ren had seen many unearthed gold and silver artifacts, and upon handling them, he immediately recognized them, his mouth agape in surprise, and asked, "This...this is gold?"
Having just recovered from the shock of seeing a ghost, Dr. Ren shook his head and carefully examined the gold coin in his hand. He even took a bite of the coin to confirm that it wasn't a hallucination.
It is important to know that the higher the purity of gold, the softer it is; you can even scratch it with your fingernail. After Dr. Ren removed the gold cake from his mouth, two teeth marks were clearly visible.
"Zhuang Rui, where did you get such high purity gold?"
Looking at the teeth marks on the gold ingot, Ren Chunqiang became even more astonished. Could there really be a crystal palace hidden in this lake? Otherwise, how could Zhuang Rui not only have been missing for more than an hour, but also come back with a piece of gold?
"Brother Ren, can you take a look at what's written on it?"
Zhuang Rui smiled but did not answer.
"Huh? This...this is a font?"
Dr. Ren blushed. He had looked closely and there were indeed some lines on the gold cake, but he had regarded them as some decorations. After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, he began to examine it again.
"This... should be the earliest form of ancient Mongolian script..."
Looking at the characters on the gold ingot, Dr. Ren pondered for a moment, then said with a wry smile, "This script was only circulated among the Mongol royal family at the time, and ordinary Mongols were not allowed to learn it, so it was later lost. There are very few people who can recognize this script now..."
Although Dr. Ren's research focus is not on Mongol Yuan culture, he has a broad understanding of everything and knows a little about the history of that time. However, he cannot recognize the characters on this text like Zhuang Rui does.
"Hey, Brother Ren, I happen to recognize these characters. When they're read together, it's called 'Boerjijin.' Can you guess what that means?"
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this. This was the first time he had ever met his seemingly omniscient senior brother, yet there were still things he didn't know about in terms of theory.
"Borjigin? Why does that sound so awkward? Brother Zhuang, what does it mean?"
Before Dr. Ren could answer, Peng Fei, who had recovered, asked, "I saw a lot of these gold ingots in the underwater cave."
"Hey, what's with all those expressions?"
After Peng Fei finished asking his question, he didn't see Zhuang Rui answer him. Instead, he saw several people surrounding him with their mouths agape, their faces showing a mix of shock, confusion, and excitement.
“Borjigin, that…that’s the surname of our Mongol Khan, Temujin. Brother Ba…Bater’s surname is Borjigin…”
Timur's stammering words cleared up Peng Fei's confusion. As a member of the Golden Family from over a thousand years ago, only the descendants of Temujin were qualified to bear the surname "Borjigin." Batel happened to be a direct descendant of Temujin. His ancestors had stayed on the grasslands for thousands of years to guard their ancestral tombs. If this had happened during the Qing Dynasty, Batel might have been able to become a Mongolian prince.
The gold ingot bears the inscription "Borjigin," which, regardless of the circumstances, is related to Genghis Khan. Therefore, apart from Peng Fei, who was completely confused, the others who knew the origin of these four characters were all extremely shocked.
"Zhuang Rui, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Dr. Ren asked with some skepticism, finding it hard to believe that Zhuang Rui could actually find information about the Golden Family by simply going to the lake to fish.
Zhuang Rui shook his head and said seriously, "Brother Ren, you know my profession. I really don't know Mongolian script, but some books published in recent times have annotations for these characters..."
"Then...how...how did you obtain this thing?"
Only then did Dr. Ren remember to ask Zhuang Rui about his experience at the bottom of the lake. In just over an hour, Zhuang Rui went from disappearing to reappearing, and then brought such an amazing event, leaving Dr. Ren feeling a bit dizzy.
"Uh, it's like this, there's a cave at the bottom of the lake, and after I swam in, I discovered..."
Zhuang Rui recounted his experience at the bottom of the lake, half-truthfully and half-jokingly, emphasizing the chisel marks on the other side of the cave. Of course, the cave was discovered by chance.
"This...could it be a Mongol royal tomb?"
Due to the sensitivity of archaeological work, Dr. Ren's first thought after listening to Zhuang Rui's account was that a Mongolian royal tomb had been discovered.
Imagine, who besides the Mongol emperors would have the ability to carve a cave at the bottom of a lake? And their motive is self-evident: it must have been the final resting place of an emperor after his death.
Thinking of this, Dr. Ren couldn't help but get excited. The tombs of the Mongol emperors have been the target of countless people for thousands of years. In terms of mystery and secrecy, even the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum cannot compare with them.
"Brother Ren, I'm not sure, but there must be a huge secret hidden inside. I think... we need to conduct further investigation..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head. Of course, he wouldn't mention the Genghis Khan Mausoleum at the end of the underground river. Out of concern for the spiritual energy in his eyes, Zhuang Rui didn't want to say too much. He only needed to provide some guidance at this moment.
"It's necessary, of course it's necessary, it's absolutely necessary..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Dr. Ren nodded his head vigorously, as if it were a joke. Discovering clues to the Mongol imperial tombs was a world-shaking event; how could it be unnecessary?
If the existence of an imperial tomb can be confirmed, then the people present will be recorded in history, just like the archaeological predecessors who discovered the "Peking Man skull fossil," becoming role models for future generations to learn from and admire.
"Brother Ren, maybe there's nothing inside. Over the years, quite a few people have claimed to have discovered Genghis Khan's tomb or Mongolian royal tombs..."
Zhuang Rui deliberately poured cold water on the idea, but what he said was true. Since the beginning of the last century, countless people have harbored fantasies about the Mongolian royal tombs. In fact, many large conglomerates from various countries have funded explorers to conduct archaeological expeditions in Inner and Outer Mongolia.
Many scholars and expeditions have claimed to have discovered Genghis Khan's tomb, but the final scientific results proved that they had at most discovered the tombs of ordinary Mongols, not even those of nobles.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Dr. Ren waved his hands repeatedly and said, "It's different, Zhuang Rui, it's different. All the previous discoveries were excavated on the surface, but the cave you found underground is at least ten meters deep, and it is very likely that it was built by the Mongol emperors..."
Zhuang Rui was secretly pleased to hear this. He was afraid that Ren Chunqiang would not believe him, but now that he saw Ren Chunqiang's attitude, he figured that the countdown to the unveiling of this imperial tomb could begin.
"Brother Ren, what... what do we do?"
Zhuang Rui deliberately pretended to be at a loss.
"Zhuang Rui, I need to go down with you. Once we see the confirmed situation inside, if it matches what you said, we must report it to our mentor immediately..."
Dr. Ren is extremely rigorous when it comes to archaeological work; he only makes decisions after seeing the inside with his own eyes.
"In addition, we need to ask the local garrison to strictly seal off this place and not allow any outsiders to enter. Brother Batel, I need you and Peng Fei to handle this together. Remember, there must be no leaks..."
Ren Chunqiang attaches great importance to the protection of the tomb. He knows that man-made disasters can sometimes be worse than natural disasters. If those with ulterior motives find out that there is a Mongolian imperial tomb here, it may be deserted before they even have a chance to excavate it.
"This...this..."
Dr. Ren was surprised to find that after he said those words, the usually forthright Batel looked troubled. Ren Chunqiang thought for a moment and immediately understood.
As a direct descendant of Jis Khan, Batel must have had very mixed feelings upon hearing that outsiders wanted to desecrate his ancestor's tomb. It was already quite remarkable that he didn't fall out with Zhuang Rui and the other man.
“Brother Batel, Mongolian culture is an extremely important part of Chinese history. The purpose of our archaeological work is to excavate and organize this history that has been forgotten by later generations, so that the truth of history can reappear in the world. Moreover, during the excavation process, we will definitely protect the remains of our ancestors…”
Zhuang Rui guessed what Batel was thinking. Seeing Batel's pale face soften slightly, he continued, "National archaeological excavations will ensure the integrity of the tomb to the greatest extent possible. If tomb raiders get there first, not only will the artifacts inside be looted, but the remains of our ancestors will also be destroyed..."
Generally, the most valuable burial objects in various tombs are located inside the coffin next to the body of the tomb owner. Therefore, after entering the tomb, tomb robbers focus on the coffin inside. Almost any tomb that has been looted will inevitably have its corpse and bones disposed of.
When Sun Dianying looted the tombs of Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Qianlong, he ransacked Cixi's body and threw her remains to the ground. When the remaining officials of the Qing dynasty later entered the tomb, the originally uncorrupted body was already a gruesome sight.
The fate of Emperor Qianlong was even more tragic. The remains of this self-proclaimed "Perfect Emperor" and his empress were abandoned like weeds and scattered throughout the mausoleum.
This resulted in the Qing dynasty officials who were left to clean up the mess being unable to distinguish the mixed remains, leaving the Ten-Complete Emperor with incomplete remains after his death.