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Chapitre 16

To avoid leaving too many clues for the police, Yue Laosan and his group decided not to stay in the county town, but instead went directly to the Qiyun Mountain area, 83 kilometers outside Taibai County. The main peak of Qiyun Mountain is not very high, only about 2,000 meters above sea level. Qiyun Mountain is a continuous range of mountains with steep terrain. The main peak rises from the ground like a tall flagpole, and the white clouds floating near the top of the mountain are like the flags fluttering on the flagpole, hence the name Qiyun Mountain (Flag Cloud Mountain).

It was dusk when we arrived at the Qiyun Mountain area, and before us stretched a vast, flat expanse of yellow earth. At the edge of our view, a large, slightly raised earthen mound appeared before us. Professor Cheng used a compass and GPS to check the height and location of the mound, then smiled and said, "It seems that the mound in the distance is the location of Li Shaojun's tomb, recorded in the Li family genealogy." Yue Laosan was naturally delighted to hear this and decided to camp there for the night before continuing our journey the next day. Seeing the open space around us, I was secretly pleased. I found an opportunity to greet Professor Cheng and the others, deciding to find a chance to escape that night while Yue Laosan and the others were asleep.

Old Yue was indeed a cunning old fox, not only treacherous and cunning but also meticulous in his planning. Before resting, he not only tightly bound the hands and feet of Professor Cheng and the other two, but also assigned his men to take turns keeping watch at night. This served two purposes: to prevent wild animal attacks and to keep an eye on us, ensuring we had no chance to escape. It seems I had truly underestimated this short, stout, and unassuming Old Yue. Since our original plan to escape under the cover of night was no longer feasible, we had no choice but to abandon it for now and wait for another opportunity.

Early the next morning, our group of twelve set off towards the raised earthen slope in the distance. Because the slope was located on an open expanse of yellow earth with few landmarks around it, what seemed like a very close slope was actually quite a distance away from us. We hadn't reached the slope by noon.

There's one clear advantage to joining these frenzied antiquities theft and smuggling gangs on their tomb excavation trips: their weaponry is top-notch. From my observations over the past few days, each member is equipped with a Glock 18 pistol, two AK-47 assault rifles, an M870 shotgun, and an M16 small-caliber rifle. These semi-automatic rifles capable of both single-shot and burst fire, and the shotguns with their wide-area-of-effect firepower, are far more effective than the hunting rifles and crossbows previously provided by Ah Bao and his gang. Furthermore, I've also inadvertently spotted a considerable amount of detonators and explosives, and even several hand grenades, in their packs. These real weapons, usually only seen in movies or video games, are now right before my eyes. I really hope I'll have the chance to handle them properly myself.

Around three or four o'clock in the afternoon, we finally arrived at the massive mound. It was about seventy or eighty meters high, bare of trees, but covered in dense reeds that rustled softly in the mountain wind. If this towering mound was indeed the legendary tomb of Li Shaojun, then the raised portion on the ground must be the earthen mound covering the burial chamber.

Professor Cheng circled the mound several times, examining the terrain and the direction of the earth's veins around it. Then he squatted down and picked up a few small pebbles from the ground to examine them. Finally, he stood up, dusted off his hands, and said to everyone, "It's been too long; the traces of the burial site on the surface are no longer visible. We need to use a shovel to dig out the soil layer below the surface for further identification."

The shovel Professor Cheng mentioned is also called a Luoyang shovel, invented over a hundred years ago by tomb raiders in Luoyang. A typical Luoyang shovel is semi-cylindrical, 20 to 40 centimeters long and 5 to 20 centimeters in diameter. Attached with a resilient wooden handle, it can be driven several meters underground. By analyzing the soil structure, color, and inclusions brought up by the shovel head, one can determine the soil type and the presence of ancient tombs. The Luoyang shovel involves more than 20 steps in its manufacture, the most crucial being the shaping of the curve, which requires careful hammering; a slight mistake will result in a shovel that doesn't carry any soil. This type of shovel was only produced in a few workshops in Luoyang, and to this day, it can only be made by hand. Today, the Luoyang shovel is no longer just a tool for tomb raiders; this simple yet practical tool is also widely used in archaeology, geological exploration, and other fields.

Although Yue Laosan and his gang were just a group of antiquities thieves and smugglers, they were still in the business and had some knowledge of the methods for finding ancient tombs. Hearing Professor Cheng's words, he immediately beckoned to his subordinate and said, "Alang, attach the handles to those Luoyang shovels and bring them to Professor Cheng." The young man called Alang looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He was broad-shouldered and burly, appearing quite strong. Hearing Yue Laosan instructing him, he quickly took out three pre-prepared iron Luoyang shovel heads from his bundle, attached wooden handles, and handed them to Professor Cheng.

Professor Cheng took the Luoyang shovels, picked one up for himself, and handed the other two to me and Hua Yang respectively. He instructed the three of us to stand in a line about two meters apart, and then forcefully plunged the Luoyang shovels into the ground beneath our feet, beginning to examine the structure of the soil layers beneath the tall mound.

When we inserted the shovel head about half a meter into the ground and then slowly lifted it up, Professor Cheng carefully examined the soil structure brought up by the three Luoyang-made shovel heads. He then pinched some soil from each shovel head, smelled it carefully, shook his head, and said, "There are no signs of artificial excavation or filling here. Let's move two meters closer to the mound and conduct another investigation." "Okay," Hua Yang and I replied in unison.

Following Professor Cheng's instructions, we moved two meters closer to the tall mound and once again inserted the Luoyang shovel vertically into the ground. Unfortunately, this effort yielded no results. We tried several times in a row, each time without any clues. Yue Laosan and the others seemed to be getting impatient, constantly asking Professor Cheng if there was some mistake, but Professor Cheng seemed convinced that this was definitely the tomb of Li Shaojun recorded in the records, and showed no sign of giving up, continuing to lead Hua Yang and me closer and closer to the mound.

When we were only about 30 or 40 meters away from the mound, Professor Cheng suddenly noticed some "variegated soil" mixed in with the mud on the shovel tip of Hua Yang's Luoyang shovel. The Earth's geological structure is extremely complex. Naturally formed surface soil layers are typically created by the accumulation of soil layers from different periods. Each layer exhibits different textures and colors due to its different depositional period, stacked like distinct sandwiches. However, if soil layers have been artificially excavated and backfilled, the natural soil layer structure is unintentionally disrupted during excavation, mixing soils of different textures and colors from different periods. Therefore, when this mixed soil is backfilled, the resulting fill layer no longer has distinct soil layers; instead, it contains a mixture of various soil colors and textures—this type of soil is commonly referred to as "variegated soil."

This discovery gave us great confidence. The presence of mottled soil often indicates the presence of underground remains—a fact well understood by those of us in the archaeology field. Although the three of us were exhausted and drenched in sweat, the thought of soon discovering the tomb of a renowned scholar from the reign of Emperor Wu of Han filled us with immense excitement.

9. A Battle of Wits

Based on the "variegated soil" found on the Luoyang shovels at Huayang, Professor Cheng shifted our original line of soldiers slightly towards Huayang, then moved us another two meters closer to the earthen slope. Next, we plunged our Luoyang shovels into the soil beneath our feet once more. This time, the soil brought up by our shovels contained an even higher concentration of "variegated soil."

And so, we followed Professor Cheng on his exploration until nightfall. At this point, beneath the layer of mottled soil, we discovered a thick layer of rammed earth. This rammed earth layer was a dense and hard structure formed through artificial tamping; such a structure could not be created through normal natural processes. Furthermore, beneath the rammed earth layer was a layer of white clay about thirty centimeters thick. White clay is a common name in archaeology; its formal mineral name is microcrystalline kaolin, white with a bluish tinge, soft in texture, but quite sticky. The purpose of filling the tomb with white clay was because its fine texture prevented water from seeping into the burial chamber, thus ensuring the dryness of the tomb and preventing the decay of the corpse and burial goods.

The results of the half-day exploration were satisfactory. Based on his many years of archaeological experience and extensive knowledge, Professor Cheng determined that there must be an ancient tomb beneath the mound, and it was not small in scale. However, there was not yet time to further investigate the specific location and outline of the tomb chamber. So, when night fell, Yue Laosan and his men set up tarpaulins and tents next to the mound, officially establishing a temporary campsite.

During this time, Professor Cheng and I kept hoping that Li Ke and the police could find us as soon as possible. We also tried to sneak a message out when Yue Laosan and the others weren't looking. But Yue Laosan was too shrewd; he had already taken all our cell phones and other belongings, leaving us with no way to contact the outside world.

And so we spent another sleepless night in the wilderness. The next day, Yue Laosan, perhaps wanting to speed up the search for the tomb's exact layout, had his men join us. The entire mound became bustling with activity. After a whole day, we finally defined the area of the underground tomb. The tomb was oriented north-south, roughly rectangular, about 35 meters wide and 55 meters long. Furthermore, on the south side of the tomb, there was a patch of "variegated soil," about 30 meters long and 3 meters wide. We deduced that this was very likely the passage leading to the tomb's interior.

Because ancient tombs typically used massive stones to build walls around the burial chamber, entering from the outside was quite difficult. The simplest method was to enter through the original tomb passage. Since the passage had been located, Professor Cheng decided to start digging from its end to find the entrance and then enter the burial chamber through it.

With victory in sight, Yue Laosan and his men were overjoyed, and his strong and capable troops worked with extra fervor. By the afternoon, they had dug a large pit in the ground. About three or four meters below the surface, a section of a stone wall made of rubble had already been revealed.

If we were following the proper archaeological excavation procedures, we would first need to completely clear away the soil covering the entire tomb chamber, carefully excavate the entrance to the tomb passage, and meticulously record the entire tomb structure in text, diagrams, and photographs. This tedious process would be extremely slow. However, we weren't there for archaeological excavation, so the entire excavation process proceeded very quickly. Upon reaching the stone wall outside the tomb passage, Professor Cheng, considering the need to preserve the ancient tomb structure and its contents, advocated for manually digging into the tomb passage bit by bit from outside the stone wall. But I wanted to suggest that Yue Laosan and the others use explosives to blast open the tomb passage, creating some noise that might alert nearby villagers and passersby, prompting them to call the police. Thinking this, I secretly shared my idea with Professor Cheng and the others. Professor Cheng still seemed quite worried that using explosives would damage the artifacts inside the tomb, so I gently said, "If we dig in quietly, the contents of the tomb will definitely fall into Yue Laosan's hands. In the end, all the artifacts inside will be difficult to preserve. But if we can use the sound of an explosion to alert the villagers or passersby nearby, then if someone reports it to the police, perhaps these artifacts will still have a chance to be protected." Professor Cheng thought that what I said did make some sense. After repeated persuasion from Hua Yang and me, Professor Cheng finally agreed to my idea after some internal struggle.

Although my plan seemed flawless, Yue Laosan was a cunning old fox, and I didn't know if he would see through my scheme. So, instead of offering to use explosives to blast open the stone wall, I deliberately walked up to Yue Laosan and tentatively asked, "Mr. Yue, if we're not mistaken, the entrance to the tomb passage is behind this stone wall. However, the stones used in this wall are quite large, and I believe the wall itself is also unusually thick, so digging it out might be quite difficult. Could you ask your men to help us move the stones? That might be a bit faster; we could probably clear these stones out within two days." "Two days? Just clearing this stone wall will take two days? No way, that's too slow! Think of any other faster way to get in. I don't want to waste time on these things." Yue Laosan seemed quite anxious after hearing what I said.

Seeing Yue Laosan's expression, I figured he was slowly being lured in, so I deliberately feigned some worry and continued, "If you think this method isn't fast enough, there is indeed another method that's faster and more convenient—it can open this stone wall immediately. However, this will definitely damage the tomb's structure and the items inside. I'm afraid Professor Cheng will object!" Upon hearing this, Yue Laosan immediately said, "Objection? Objection to what? I'm in charge here! Tell me, what other good method can open this stone wall immediately?"

Seeing that Yue Laosan had completely taken the bait and probably wouldn't be wary of my scheme anymore, I said, "In that case, we'll have to use explosives to blast open this stone wall. But don't blame me if we damage anything in the tomb passage." Yue Laosan laughed loudly and said, "You so-called professionals, are you really that confused or just pretending? You should know that the things closer to the coffin are the most valuable. We don't need the scrap metal in the tomb passage. Do you think you're here for archaeology? Preserving every single item? Haha. I've decided, blast it open right now!"

After Yue Laosan finished speaking, he turned around and beckoned to one of his men behind him. Seeing that Yue Laosan had given an order, the man immediately ran to us. "Quickly, go and get some explosives for Mr. Si Nan. Blow these rocks up immediately." The man nodded and quickly ran to the campsite to fetch the explosives. Seeing that the plan had succeeded, I was secretly pleased.

As I walked back to the entrance of the tomb passage carrying two bundles of explosives and detonators, I couldn't help but laugh. Hua Yang immediately frowned and whispered a reprimand, "Don't laugh, that old fox is still watching you." His reprimand barely stopped me from laughing. I thought to myself, even this old fox can be fooled sometimes. It seems that the saying "Even the most cunning fox can't escape the gun of a good hunter" is very apt here.

10. Roadblock Stone

To minimize damage to the items inside the tomb passage, Hua Yang and I kept the quantity of explosives and detonators to a minimum. We also deliberately piled damp soil and weeds on top of the explosives and detonators. This way, after the explosion, the flames would burn the damp weeds, producing a lot of black smoke. This smoke could rise high into the air during the day, thus serving as an alarm signal. After we finished setting everything up, Yue Laosan was still unaware of what was happening and anxiously waited for us to detonate the explosives so we could enter the tomb chamber as quickly as possible.

With a deafening roar, thick black smoke billowed from the three-to-four-meter-deep pit we had dug at the entrance to the tomb passage. Although we were already far from the blast, we could still feel the ground trembling beneath our feet for a long time. Three to five minutes later, as the thick black smoke began to dissipate, we quickly went to the tomb entrance to check the situation. We saw that part of the stone wall had indeed collapsed, revealing an irregularly shaped opening, just large enough for a person to crawl through. Since the tomb entrance had just been blown open, thick black smoke continued to billow out. The smell of gunpowder mixed with a musty, rotten odor from within the tomb passage assaulted our senses, emitting a very unpleasant stench.

Looking at the dark entrance to the tomb passage, I thought that once Yue Laosan and his men entered, it would be best if the tomb was full of traps and hidden weapons, or even zombies and monsters jumping out. That way, once Yue Laosan and his men were startled and lost their composure, Professor Cheng and I could seize the opportunity to escape their control. However, my beautiful dream was once again shattered by cruel reality. After looking at the dark entrance to the tomb passage, Yue Laosan actually smiled insincerely and said to us, "Professor Cheng, I'm sorry. Please have your two disciples go in first and help us scout out the way, see if there are any dangerous places." Hearing him say this, we knew that even if we didn't want to go in first, Yue Laosan's men would point guns at our heads and force us to go in. Fighting them head-on at this point would only lead to greater losses. So I put on a smile and discussed it with Yue Laosan: "Of course, of course. We are professionals and we know the structure of this underground tomb well, so it is only natural for us to go down and explore first. However, generally speaking, the situation of the underground tomb is quite complicated. In addition to traps and hidden weapons, there may also be snakes, rats and poisonous insects, so the situation is very dangerous. Therefore, I have a small request."

Hearing my words, Yue Laosan smiled slightly and asked, "Then, Mr. Sinan, is there anything else you require?" "Could you give Hua Yang and me each a gun as self-defense weapons?" I replied with a smile. "Give you each a gun? Hahaha." Yue Laosan burst into laughter. Seeing this, I knew things were going badly. Sure enough, after he finished laughing, I continued, "Mr. Sinan, I know there are indeed some dangers underground, otherwise I wouldn't have troubled you two to go down there for me. However, these guns of mine are all old and not very reliable. If they accidentally go off, breaking one or two antiques is a minor matter, but it would be bad if you two accidentally injured each other." After he finished speaking, he thought for a moment and then said, "How about this, I'll have my brothers give each of you a sharp knife as a self-defense weapon."

After hearing Yue Laosan's words, I cursed inwardly, "What a cunning old fox! He's so wary. Not only did he refuse to give us the guns, but he also came up with such a high-sounding excuse. In the end, he even gave each of us a broken knife, leaving us speechless. He's really ruthless!" Since Yue Laosan had said that, and I couldn't find any other suitable excuse, I had no choice but to take the two knives with Hua Yang and prepare to go into the tomb passage to scout ahead.

Once the smoke and decaying gases from the explosives in the tomb passage had mostly dissipated, Hua Yang and I each grabbed a hastily made torch and jumped into the excavated pit at the entrance of the tomb passage. Hua Yang stuck his torch into the passage and peered inside to check the situation at the entrance.

The tomb passage was dark and deep. The light from Hua Yang's torch was insufficient to illuminate its depths; only the entrance appeared to be approximately two meters wide and two and a half meters high. The passage sloped slightly downwards. It was relatively dry, with a thin layer of ash on the ground. Some ancient pottery jars and wooden figurines lay scattered on the floor, likely damaged by debris from the earlier explosion. Large spiderwebs clung to the corners of the passage walls, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the darkness.

Seeing this, Hua Yang looked up and said to Professor Cheng, who was standing by the pit, "Professor, the entrance to the tomb passage has been slightly damaged. A few pottery vessels and wooden figurines were broken by stones, but the damage isn't too great." Professor Cheng's initial unease subsided slightly after hearing Hua Yang's words. "What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and go in!" A Lang, one of Yue Laosan's men, shouted at us. "Go in, be careful," Professor Cheng quickly said, seeing that the man was getting annoyed. So Hua Yang and I slowly crouched and crawled into the tomb passage entrance.

Upon entering the tomb passage, we first carefully examined its interior walls. The entire passage, including the sides and floor, was constructed of large, bluish-gray bricks. Between the bricks, glimpses of a hard, grayish-white substance were visible. We knew this was a mortar and glutinous rice paste binder. It is said that the world-famous Great Wall of China was also built using this method, demonstrating its remarkable sturdiness. The ceiling of the passage was paved with massive, long strips of quartz granite. Due to the pressure of the earthen strata and the stress of geological shifts over thousands of years, several quartz granite blocks showed obvious cracks, with fine sand seeping from the gaps, as if they might break and collapse at any moment, making the tomb passage appear precariously unstable.

Hua Yang and I, each holding a torch, walked one after the other through the tomb passage. We paid no attention to the burial objects such as terracotta vessels, wooden puppets, and wooden carts scattered on the ground, and quickly made our way deeper into the tomb.

After walking a short distance further, we suddenly saw many huge strips of quartz granite, large and small, lying haphazardly on the floor of the tomb passage, gradually filling the once spacious passage and blocking our way. At first, I thought that the quartz granite at the top of this section of the passage had collapsed under the weight of the tall earthen mound above, because these huge strips of quartz granite were very similar to the quartz granite blocks used at the top of the passage in both texture and shape. However, when I raised my torch to examine the top of the passage more closely, I found that although the quartz granite at the top was covered with cracks, it was still intact and had not collapsed at all. I was about to ask Huayang where these quartz granite blocks came from and what their purpose was. Hua Yang then explained, "These stones are called 'passage blocking stones.' When the tomb was completed, there were leftover long strips of quartz granite stones used to make the top of the passageway. So the tomb builders transported these huge leftover stones into the passageway. This not only utilized these previously discarded stones, avoiding waste of resources, but also, because these stones blocked the passageway, it significantly increased the difficulty for tomb raiders to enter the tomb, thus serving a certain anti-theft function. These tomb builders were indeed very clever!"

After hearing Hua Yang's explanation, I finally understood. The quartz and granite stones piled haphazardly before me had gaps of varying sizes and lengths due to their scattered arrangement. Some gaps were so narrow that you couldn't even fit a hand in, while others were wide enough for a person to squeeze through. Looking at this maze-like pile of quartz and granite stones, I suddenly had a plan to deal with Yue Laosan and his men.

XI. First Battle a Success

Having this idea, I immediately discussed it with Hua Yang. I said, "Hua Yang, if we stay here and don't leave, what do you think that old fox outside the tomb passage will do?" "He's so suspicious, he'll definitely become suspicious, worried that there might be another exit inside the tomb and we've escaped. Then he'll send his men in to check the situation," Hua Yang replied after thinking for a moment. "Yes, that's what I think too. And I estimate that he won't send too many people in at once to preserve his strength. We can use this 'blockage stone' maze to deal with them," I said with a smile. "After we take down his men, if he sends another batch in, we'll do the same thing and defeat them one by one." Hua Yang listened to me and saw that the gaps between the "blockage stones" were indeed narrow, making it impossible to move around freely. Let alone firing a gun, even turning around was cramped; it was indeed a good place to deal with these armed thugs. So I laughed and said, "Hehe, you're the most clever guy in the whole class, and now you've finally put your ideas to good use. Okay, let's do it this way." With our minds made up, we quickly found a gap in the pile of "roadblock stones" and squeezed in, then extinguished all the torches in our hands.

About twenty or thirty minutes later, Yue Laosan, perhaps as we expected, seeing no movement coming out and fearing something had happened, sent someone to shout loudly into the tomb passage. Although we heard the shouts clearly, we deliberately didn't answer. This time, Yue Laosan outside the tomb passage indeed became anxious. Because not long after, we heard clear footsteps coming from the entrance of the tomb passage, and we could vaguely see some firelight. Clearly, Yue Laosan, in desperation, had sent his men into the tomb passage to investigate.

I took out the knife I was carrying and gripped it tightly in my hand, waiting for Yue Laosan's men to approach. As they drew closer, we could see two men by the light of their torches, both seemingly holding pistols. At that moment, I held my breath, barely daring to exhale, fearing they would discover our hiding place at this critical juncture.

The two men paused for a moment before approaching the pile of "roadblock stones" where we were hiding. One of them said, "Hey, why is there a bunch of stones here? Did the top collapse and crush those two to death?" The other replied, "Are you out of your mind? Didn't you see the top is still intact? Besides, if so many stones collapsed from the top, we should have heard a sound outside. But there wasn't a sound. I bet they crawled in through the gaps between these stones." "Then what do we do?" the first voice asked. "What else can we do? You know the boss's temper; he won't tolerate us leaving empty-handed. We'll crawl in too."

Listening to the conversation between Yue Laosan's two men, I thought to myself, "It turns out that Yue Laosan is not only cunning, but also ruthless and cruel to his men. Otherwise, his men wouldn't be so afraid of him."

Just as I was thinking this, my eyes suddenly lit up. It turned out that the two of Yue Laosan's men had already slipped through the gap in the "blocking stone." At this crucial moment, I simply held my breath, not wanting the two men to discover our presence. Three or four seconds later, the first one appeared in my field of vision. Because we were hiding in the shadows, while they were carrying torches, although I could see them, they didn't notice me hiding in a gap beside them.

As soon as the first man passed by, the second man appeared before me, also holding a torch. We weren't far apart, maybe only a meter or so. Seeing my opportunity, I acted decisively, quickly standing up and thrusting my knife towards his neck, whispering, "Don't move, behave!" The man hadn't expected us to be waiting for them, so he was startled by the sudden turn of events. When he came to his senses, he realized he'd fallen into our ambush and obediently raised his hands. At that moment, the man who had just passed by, perhaps hearing the commotion behind him, immediately turned around to see what was happening to his companion. But as soon as he turned, a cold sensation ran down his neck; he realized he had been captured.

Hua Yang and I first confiscated the pistols from their hands, and then carefully searched their bodies to make sure they weren't carrying any other weapons before we stopped. "We've caught them, but what should we do with them? If another group comes, we won't have time to guard these two guys," Hua Yang said, looking at the two prisoners with some difficulty.

Hearing Hua Yang's words, and looking at the two tall men in front of me, I initially thought of taking off their socks, tying their hands and feet, gaging them, and stuffing them into any crevice in the road. But then I thought about it carefully. Even if I tied their hands and feet, I couldn't control their bodies. What if these two guys twisted their bodies and made some noise when Yue Laosan's next batch of men arrived, alerting them? With that thought, I quickly raised the pistol we had confiscated and smashed it hard on the back of each of their heads. With two dull thuds, the two men fell to the ground, immediately knocked unconscious. "That's it, no worries now. Looks like they won't wake up anytime soon," I said, rubbing my wrist, which was also a little numb from the blows. "I didn't realize you were so ruthless," Hua Yang said, half-jokingly, looking at the two Yue Laosan men lying on the ground. I laughed and replied, "We can't be soft-hearted when dealing with these robbers. Otherwise, let alone escaping, it's hard to say whether we'll even survive." With that, I tucked the Glock 18 pistol I'd seized into my belt, then called to Hua Yang to help drag the two men to a hidden spot inside "Saidao Stone." Finally, we took off their socks and tied their hands and feet, then used a knife to cut a corner of their clothing to gag them.

Just as we finished tidying everything up, Yue Laosan and his men's shouts came from outside the tomb passage again. Clearly, Yue Laosan was becoming increasingly impatient. After shouting for a while and receiving no response from inside the tomb passage, they became even more panicked. If the first time it was because the two of us found another exit inside the tomb and sneaked away, then this time it was all Yue Laosan's own men who entered the tomb passage. How could they have suddenly disappeared without a trace? So Yue Laosan became increasingly suspicious. Sending more people into the tomb passage might lead to a repeat of the same mistake, but if he went in himself, he feared there might be some hidden danger inside. He was caught in a dilemma.

Hua Yang and I hid in the gaps between the "blocking stones" and waited for a long time, but there was no unusual movement from the entrance of the tomb passage. About ten minutes later, we finally heard hurried footsteps near the entrance. Clearly, Yue Laosan had finally made up his mind after a long internal struggle. Judging from the hurried footsteps, there were obviously more people coming in this time than last time, so Hua Yang and I were a little nervous, afraid that too many of them would come in at once and we wouldn't be able to handle them.

As their footsteps drew closer, our hearts pounded faster. Only when their torches illuminated a section of the tomb passage before us did we realize that Yue Laosan had brought his entire entourage, and not only that, he was personally leading the procession. Even more despicable, they had used Professor Cheng as a shield, placing him at the very front of the group.

12. Deadly Rolling Bead Slope

Seeing how Yue Laosan and his men treated my mentor, I was consumed by rage. I drew the pistol from my waistband, ready to pull the safety and fight them to the death. Suddenly, a hand pressed down on mine. I looked and saw that Hua Yang had quietly moved to my side. He shook his head, signaling me not to act rashly. Then he leaned close to my ear and said, "Since they let Professor Cheng go to the front of the line, they'll definitely let him go first when they go through this 'blocking stone.' If that's the case, once Professor Cheng enters the 'blocking stone,' we'll take him and retreat into the tomb passage. We'll make further plans after we've completely shaken off Yue Laosan and his men." Hua Yang's suggestion seemed like a feasible plan, so I nodded.

Just as Hua Yang and I were talking, Yue Laosan and his men arrived at the pile of "roadblock stones" where we were. As Hua Yang had expected, after Yue Laosan inspected the pile of "roadblock stones," perhaps sensing that there might be hidden dangers in the gaps between the stones, he dared not enter rashly. So he had one of his men push Professor Cheng into the gaps between the "roadblock stones."

When Professor Cheng appeared before us, Hua Yang softly called out, "Professor Cheng, come with me." He then pulled Professor Cheng along the winding passageways, leading him deeper into the tomb. At the same time, I seized the opportunity and used the pistol I was holding to deliver a powerful blow to Yue Laosan's henchman who had followed Professor Cheng into the "blocking stone," knocking him unconscious. I then picked up the torch that Yue Laosan's henchman had brought in and followed Hua Yang and the others deeper into the tomb passage.

Although we moved very quickly, some slight noises still escaped. Hearing this, Yue Laosan, outside the "blockade stones," realized something might have happened inside, so he ordered his men to raise their guns and fire wildly at the "blockade stones." The bullets struck the quartz granite, producing a series of piercing clangs and sparks. However, because the quartz granite was so densely packed, despite Yue Laosan and his men firing several shots, not a single bullet penetrated the "blockade stones."

Seeing that the bullets couldn't penetrate, Yue Laosan shouted angrily, "Stop firing! Get inside right now and bring them all back! Hurry!" The gunfire behind us ceased, and then we heard people beginning to squeeze through the gaps in the "blocking stones." Seeing that they had caught up, we didn't dare linger and quickened our pace, meandering deeper into the tomb passage.

After about ten minutes, we finally emerged from the pile of "blocking stones" and found ourselves in a spacious tomb passage about ten meters long. At the end of the passage, there seemed to be two heavy stone doors, but because the light from our torches couldn't reach that far, we couldn't see them very clearly.

Seeing that Yue Laosan's men were quickly catching up behind us, I didn't bother to check for anything unusual and started running forward. But the moment my foot touched the ground, it felt like stepping on a banana peel; my foot slipped, and I almost fell. Luckily, Hua Yang and Professor Cheng pulled me back. After I regained my footing, Professor Cheng and I crouched down and carefully examined the tomb passage floor. We discovered it was covered with round, pearl-sized pebbles. No wonder I almost slipped; I had stepped on these pebbles. But how could there be so many round pebbles in a perfectly good tomb passage? If they were naturally fallen stone fragments, they should be angular, not so smooth, as if they had been deliberately polished. While Hua Yang and I were still puzzled, we saw Professor Cheng take a coin out of his pocket and gently place it upright on the floor of the tomb passage. When he released his grip on the coin, it rolled automatically toward the two stone doors at the end of the passage.

Hua Yang and I were initially confused about Professor Cheng's intentions. He explained, "Don't rush. Follow me step by step. First, use your feet to clear away these pebbles to create a patch of ground where you can stand. Then stand on that cleared patch, and continue clearing the next one. Continue like this, step by step. Don't be impatient, and don't step on the pebbles!" With that, Professor Cheng led the way. Hua Yang and I followed suit.

When we had walked about halfway, a shout came from behind, "Look, they're up ahead! Quick... Ouch!" But before the words were finished, we heard a loud "whoosh" sound. We turned around and saw two men lying on their backs, sliding quickly towards us from behind. We quickly dodged to the side. With a "whoosh," the two henchmen of Yue Laosan, who were lying on their backs, slid past us, followed by two pitiful screams, "Ah! Ah!"

Once everything had calmed down, by the light of our torches, we saw the two men slide across the ground and crash into the two stone doors at the end of the tomb passage, then fall silent. I felt something was off. Logically, although they had slid past us quite quickly, this was still flat ground, so the impact shouldn't have been too great. Besides, we clearly saw them hit the stone doors with their backs, not their heads. Even if they had, it shouldn't have knocked them unconscious, let alone killed them. Why were they suddenly so quiet? What was going on?

With lingering doubts, I followed Professor Cheng and the others, continuing step by step forward. When we reached the two stone doors at the end of the tomb passage, the scene before us horrified us. The two henchmen of Yue Laosan lay sprawled on the ground, bright red blood trickling from their mouths, their eyes wide open, their expressions utterly terrifying. Looking closer at their bodies, we saw that from their chests to their abdomens, numerous sharp, finger-thick thorns pierced through their backs and emerged from their fronts. Blood flowed freely beneath them; their deaths were utterly gruesome.

At this moment, Professor Cheng spoke up. He said, “Don’t be fooled by the fact that this tomb passage is perfectly flat. It’s actually a slope with a relatively gentle incline. The craftsmen who built the tomb deliberately designed all the landmarks in this passage to be slightly tilted, creating the illusion that it’s a flat road. My test with the silver coin just now confirmed my deduction. Because it’s a slope, and it’s covered with small, smooth pebbles, if an intruder accidentally steps on these pebbles, they will slide all the way down the slope to the bottom, which is these two stone doors. And the bottom of these stone doors is pre-installed with a row of sharp metal spikes. When someone sliding down can’t stop their descent, they will be pierced by these metal spikes and die instantly.”

Professor Cheng's explanation made me realize that this seemingly ordinary tomb passage actually concealed deadly dangers; it was a very perilous trap. Thinking back to how I almost slipped and fell on those smooth stones, if Hua Yang and the others hadn't pulled me back in time, I might already be reporting to the King of Hell right now. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.

Thirteen, tomb robber's hole

At this moment, we heard hurried footsteps behind us and vaguely saw some firelight. It seemed that Yue Laosan and his men had caught up. If Yue Laosan saw that his men had been brutally killed at our feet, he would definitely order his men to open fire on us like madmen, and then we would have no chance of survival. We immediately checked the two stone doors in front of us. Although the two stone doors looked very thick, perhaps because they had been violently rammed by Yue Laosan's two men, there was a not-too-narrow gap between the two stone doors. We estimated that we could barely squeeze through sideways. So without saying a word, Hua Yang and I took the lead and squeezed sideways into the stone door. Because Professor Cheng's belly was quite large, it took some effort to squeeze in, but we finally managed to pull her in in time.

Upon entering, we found ourselves in a burial chamber of moderate size, filled with the skeletons of horses, sheep, dogs, and other livestock. Among them were several terracotta figures, about half a person's height. Due to the well-sealed nature of the tomb, the colors on these terracotta figures remained remarkably vibrant, with few signs of fading. Normally, Professor Cheng would have spent considerable time examining them, but Yue Laosan and his group were rapidly approaching from behind, and time was of the essence, leaving us no time to catch our breath. We quickly raised our torches and looked around for any other exit or suitable hiding place. The burial chamber was approximately twenty square meters, with a few murals on the walls. Directly opposite us was a small doorway, and there were no other exits. It seemed this doorway was the only way to the main burial chamber.

Just then, another pitiful cry of "Ouch!" came from outside the two large doors behind us. Without a doubt, it was one of Yue Laosan's unlucky men who had accidentally stepped on one of the smooth pebbles and run into the sharp spikes on the stone door. This meant that Yue Laosan and his men were not far from us.

At that moment, I didn't have time to think and started running towards the doorway. Just then, Professor Cheng called out to me. He said, "Si Nan, where are you going? Can't you see that's a dead end?" "Dead end?" I didn't quite understand what Professor Cheng meant, so I asked, "Professor, how do you know that doorway is a dead end?" Before the professor could answer, Hua Yang, who was standing next to me, laughed and said, "Si Nan, how can you be so careless? Didn't you see the human skeleton at the doorway?" Hua Yang pointed to the skeleton leaning against the doorway and said, "And there's an arrow-shaped object stuck in the skeleton's sternum. It probably died from being hit by a trap in this doorway. We should be careful." After Hua Yang said that, I looked carefully in the direction he pointed and sure enough, there was a human skeleton lying crookedly on the right side of the doorway. I hadn't noticed it before because it was mixed in with the other animal skeletons around it. It was the old professor and Hua Yang who were more meticulous; otherwise, I would have been a victim of injustice again. I couldn't help but admire their carefulness in maintaining such a clear mind during such a critical moment.

With traps blocking our way ahead and pursuers chasing us from behind, it seemed we had nowhere to run. What should we do? We were all very anxious. The footsteps and voices of Yue Laosan and his men behind us were becoming clearer and clearer. If we delayed any longer, the situation would be dire. I looked at the corpse by the doorway and suddenly a question occurred to me. Since this person died from the traps in the tomb, he couldn't have been one of the servants or maids buried with the tomb's owner. If that was the case, then who was this person, and how did he get in? Thinking of this, I shared my thoughts with Professor Cheng and the others. After listening, Professor Cheng hesitated for a moment, then immediately laughed. He laughed and said, "That's right, why didn't I think of that earlier?" Then Professor Cheng looked at me and Hua Yang and said, "Si Nan's question just now reminded me. This person is very likely a tomb raider. Because when we entered the tomb, the outer wall of the tomb passage was intact, and we had to use explosives to blast it open. This shows that he must have dug a tunnel from somewhere else to get in. If we can find that tunnel, maybe we can escape through it."

Hearing Professor Cheng's words, we were overjoyed; we finally saw hope. Since we hadn't seen any damage to the brick walls along the way through the tomb passage, it was highly likely that the tomb robbers had dug a tunnel directly from the outside into the burial chamber. So we raised our torches higher and carefully examined the burial chamber from all sides. Finally, near the top of one wall, we spotted a small, irregularly shaped opening.

We quickly went over, and Hua Yang and I first helped Professor Cheng up. Then, I helped Hua Yang climb into the tunnel, and I was the last one they pulled in. Because the tunnel was quite high above the ground, it took a lot of effort for the three of us to finally climb in successfully. Just then, Yue Laosan and his men burst into the burial chamber with torches. Yue Laosan was indeed a cunning old fox. He had figured out the boulder ramp, and although he lost another man there, he managed to avoid being injured by the trap and even managed to get through it.

Seeing that Yue Laosan and his men had already entered the burial chamber, we dared not be careless and quickly and quietly crawled deeper into the tomb-raiding tunnel. Because the tunnel was not very obvious, and was set high in the wall near the ceiling, the torchlight couldn't reach that high. We only discovered it later after carefully inspecting the burial chamber, and we believed that Yue Laoda and his men wouldn't have found it so quickly either. Once we emerged from the tunnel, surrounded by wilderness, it would be difficult for Yue Laosan and his men to catch us again.

However, things weren't as simple as we imagined. We stopped while climbing. "What's wrong? Why did we stop?" I asked Hua Yang, who was ahead of us, puzzled. "I don't know," Hua Yang replied. Then he asked Professor Cheng, who was at the front, "Professor Cheng, is there a problem? Why did we stop?" "Oh dear, this is bad," Professor Cheng replied anxiously, "This tomb robber's tunnel has collapsed because it's been there for so long and there's no support inside. The path ahead is completely blocked. We can't get through." Hearing Professor Cheng say this, my heart jumped again. What were we going to do? We hadn't brought an entrenching tool this time. If we had to dig with our bare hands, who knew how long it would take to dig through this tunnel?

"Since there's no way forward, it seems we have no choice but to turn back. We can't just stay tied up here like this forever." After thinking for a moment, I said, "It seems we have to take a gamble today. If Yue Laosan and the others have already entered that doorway, we'll quickly exit through the tunnel and escape the way we came in. If Yue Laosan and the others haven't entered that doorway but have found this tunnel, then we'll have no choice but to surrender."

After listening to what I said, Professor Cheng and the others considered it for a while, but couldn't think of any other good methods, so they agreed to my suggestion. I finally managed to turn my body around, and then led the way, crawling back little by little towards the exit of the tomb robber's hole in the burial chamber.

14. Chain Yin-Yang Arrows

As I retreated to the vicinity of the tomb's exit, I saw a few flickering lights still burning inside the burial chamber. It seemed that Le Laosan and the others hadn't left yet. I tentatively peeked my head out a little, trying to see what they were doing and whether they had discovered the tomb's tunnel we were in.

Because the entrance to my tunnel was diagonally opposite the main entrance, I could vaguely see, in the torchlight, that the main entrance led to a narrow passage, which archaeologists would call a tunnel. And as soon as I peeked inside, I witnessed a terrifying scene. Several of Yue Laosan's men were rushing into the main entrance, with Yue Laosan and the others following closely behind. But just as the first man stepped into the tunnel, he heard two soft "whoosh" sounds from within. I saw what appeared to be two long arrows shot out from the tunnel, one in front and one behind. Immediately afterward, I heard a miserable scream from inside. Then I saw Yue Laosan's man sway and fall to the ground, motionless. Clearly, Yue Laosan's man was no ordinary person; he was quite agile. I saw him sidestep the arrows that were aimed at him when they were shot. However, to his surprise, the mechanisms within the passageway were ingeniously designed. Not only were long arrows shot out from the front, but another long arrow was simultaneously fired from behind the intruder, meaning that while he could dodge the arrows in front, he couldn't avoid the arrows behind. This combination of overt and covert, yin and yang, of hidden weapons was truly impossible to defend against.

In the short span of time, Yue Laosan had lost four of his men, filling him with both fear and rage. He picked up an AK-47 and cautiously approached the doorway, peering into the passageway. But it was pitch black; he couldn't see anything. "Ah Lang, quickly bring me the emergency light!" Yue Laosan ordered. He instructed Ah Lang to turn on the emergency light and shine it into the passageway. After a careful examination, perhaps having located the firing port of the long arrow mechanism, he unleashed a barrage of fire from the AK-47. The crisp sound of bullets striking the bricks was deafeningly loud in the burial chamber. Yue Laosan then sent another man into the passageway to investigate. After the man shakily entered, nothing else seemed amiss. So Yue Laosan then led everyone through the doorway into the passageway.

I watched as Yue Laosan and his men entered the passageway, and only after the firelight faded into the distance did I quietly jump down from the entrance of the tomb. After Hua Yang got down, we helped Professor Cheng down as well. Looking at the receding firelight, I said, "Professor, they're all gone. Let's escape the way we came." Professor Cheng, after looking in the direction Yue Laosan and his men had gone, said, "No, we can't just escape like this. Judging from the layout of this tomb, it's a fairly large Han Dynasty tomb. The artifacts and relics inside are invaluable archaeological data; we can't let them destroy them. Here's what we'll do: you two go out and call the police. I'll go in with them; that way, we can buy them some time if anything happens." Hua Yang and I agreed with Professor Cheng's suggestion. We couldn't let these bad guys get away with it so easily. We should keep an eye on their movements while quickly contacting the local police.

Thinking of this, I grabbed Hua Yang and said, "I'll go keep an eye on them. You hurry and take Professor Cheng out to call the police, or it'll be too late." "No, I'll go!" Hua Yang argued back. Professor Cheng, seeing our argument getting louder, worried about disturbing Yue Laosan and the others inside, quickly waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, stop arguing. I'll decide. Hua Yang, you hurry and go back the way you came to call the police. Si Nan and I will stay and keep an eye on Yue Laosan and the others. It'll be good for us to look after each other." Hua Yang was extremely reluctant, but he knew Professor Cheng's temperament; once a decision was made, it couldn't be changed. Besides, Professor Cheng and I were now on the same side, two against one, so he couldn't say anything more. Under these circumstances, Hua Yang could only take my hand, give me a few instructions, tell me to protect Professor Cheng, then hand him the confiscated pistol, and then quickly ran out of the tomb.

Seeing that Hua Yang had already run far ahead, Professor Cheng and I, eager to catch up with Yue Laosan, immediately ran into the passageway through the previous doorway. We walked forward, torches in hand, roughly examining the structure and layout of the passageway. The passageway wasn't wide, about three meters, and over two and a half meters high. Several rectangular recesses were carved into the blue brick walls on both sides. Inside were sacrificial items such as ivory and bronze artifacts. However, most of the remaining ivory and bronze artifacts were broken, and several of the recesses were empty; judging from the remaining dust, they had clearly been taken by Yue Laosan and his group recently.

We walked on, looking around, and soon arrived at the body of Yue Laosan's henchman who had been killed by the arrow traps in the passageway. A handkerchief was covered the corpse's face, probably placed there by Yue Laosan and his men as they passed by, so we couldn't see his expression at the time of death. He was lying face up, his body spread out in a "T" shape on the passageway floor. The long arrow that had pierced his body from behind had pierced his heart and passed through his chest. Blood was flowing freely on the ground nearby. Even without seeing his facial expression, the way he died—pierced through the heart by an arrow—must have been extremely painful. He must have experienced a very agonizing moment before dying, so his facial expression must have been incredibly ferocious and terrifying.