Since this tomb was filled with hidden traps, and the two of them were just ordinary people, they had to be extra careful with their steps.
This passage was full of corpses. Some of them were mummified successfully, while many others had already decayed, filling the air with a pungent rotten smell.
As he covered his nose, Wu Hai said: âWho do you think these corpses belong to?â
âAccording to that text, these people should be the Northern barbarians, that after being killed, were hung in this tomb. Without decomposing, and no burial, they werenât allowed to have a proper death.â
âNot a proper deathâŠ..â Qin Chengâs words reminded Wu Hai of something: âDo you know those strange legends after the excavation of the Dingling <sup>1</sup> a few decades ago?â
âYou meanâŠ. the curse of Dingling?âŠ.. That legend?â
âYes, didnât it say that in the later 1950âs, the nanmu <sup>2</sup> coffins of the Wanli Emperor and the two Empresses were thrown into the valley outside the city? When the villagers saw the coffins, they saw them as valuable treasures whose wood was eroded on the surface, but was still intact as a whole. In the end, they were robbed in the afternoon. Itâs said that an eldery couple hired someone to make coffins for them, to prepare for the afterlife, with the stolen wood. After the first coffin was made, the old lady died, and when the second was just completed, the old man died tooâŠ. Itâs said that it took less than half a month for the two coffins to be completed.â
Qin Cheng also heard of this story. In the late 1950âs, when society was already very chaotic, the Dingling was the only Imperial Mausoleum fully opened. During the Cultural Revolution <sup>3</sup> , the youth, who didnât know what they were doing, directly pulled out the bones of Emperor Wanli and the Empresses and burned them as a way of criticism. Legend says that it rained that day, and that the ashes of the bones mixed together with the rainwater, flowed to unknown placesâŠ. Later, many people were ready to excavate other Imperial Mausoleums, such as the Han tombs, the Tang tombs, the Qing tombs, etcâŠ.. At that time, Zheng Zhenduo <sup>4</sup> and Xia Nai <sup>5</sup> immediately submitted a letter to the State Council, requesting for this to be stopped. This request was later approved by the State Council, and quickly issued a document to âStop the excavation of all Imperial Mausoleumsâ. Because of this, the disaster was avoided, and it became a policy to not actively excavate Imperial Mausoleums, even to this dayâŠ.
Although Qin Cheng now believed that ghosts exist, it was better not to think about it in the presence of mummified corpsesâŠ..
âThat eldery couple was already old to begin with, so it wasnât surprising that it happened.â
âYeah, it makes sense. But what happened later is still unclear.â After a pause, Wu Hai continued. âI heard that five months later, among the commune members who picked up the coffin, there was a villager that, when the coffin was thrown outside the city, thought it was a rare and good type of wood, so he dragged the broad and thick nanmu wood pieces alongside his wife to their own land, and hired someone to make two reclining cabinets, putting them neatly in the hall. Later, when the couple came back from work, they found that their 4 children were missing. After the couple went looking for them, when they came back, they suddenly found 4 pairs of shoes beside the recliner. The two of them quickly opened the lid of the cabinet, only to find their 4 children squeezed inside, who had long died. Blood was oozing from the childrenâs fingers, and the inner walls of the cabinet were covered with scratching marks. After a detailed analysis of the cause of death, the local public security personnel came to the conclusion that the 4 children were suffocated to death due to the lack of oxygen. After the death of the 4 children, the couple gave birth to 4 more children in just a few years. Their only son graduated from high school soon after. But on a quiet night, as he lied on his back next to the cabinet, he died mysteriouslyâŠ. Supposedly, he died from carbon monoxide poisoning, caused by burning coal.â
âWhatâs the point of talking about this now? You and I both know that ghosts do exist, so why are you still doubting it?â Qin Cheng glanced at Wu Hai and sighed: âArenât you scared? This place is creepy enough to tell these ghost stories.â
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âIâm not skeptical, I just want to be completely sure that ghosts do exist.â As he looked at the corpses in front of him, Wu Haiâs whole body felt a little bit numb. âJust now, I suddenly thought of something. Do you think that we would get cursed for being here? Not only are we stepping into other peopleâs territory, but weâre also disturbing the peace of the dead.â
Interfering with the peace of the dead? Indeed, what theyâre doing was exactly what Su Jingmo had said; digging up other peopleâs ancestral graves in the name of âarchaeologyâ âŠ. by definition, itâs true that isnât a particularly moral thing to doâŠ..
Then, should they stop? Stop all archeological research? Stop disturbing the dead?
When he thought of Su Jingmo, Qin Cheng shook his head. If someone asked him to stop being with Su Jingmo, to stop seeing himâŠ. he wouldnât be able to.
For Su Jingmo, who has been dead for more than a thousand years, Qin Cheng wasnât only interfering with him, but he also took the liberty to have feelings for him. Whatâs more! Qin ChengâŠ. wanted Su Jingmo to have feelings for him too. Qin Cheng wanted to embrace him, kiss him, wanted to be one with himâŠ. to the point of making him go insane!
As Qin Cheng took a deep breath, he lowered his eyes, and said: âBut, if you want to know the history, skills, splendor and achievements of previous generations, we can only do it this way.â
âThatâsâŠ.â Wu Hai shook his head and stopped talking. Since Wu Hai didnât want to speak anymore, Qin Cheng also wasnât in the mood to speak again. Since there wasnât any sound coming from the previous talkative friends, the already gloomy passage felt even more quieter.
As Qin Cheng slowly walked through the dark passage, the flashlight in his hand shook a little. The tomb was so quiet that there wasnât even a hint of the wind. Only the occasional âtickâtickââ sound of the water could be heardâŠ.. As well as the sound of their footsteps ramming the earth.
The flashlight couldnât shine clearly enough for them to see the road ahead. Since this passage was really long, the depths were hidden in the dark. After a few turns, it was clear that Qin Cheng couldnât see anything, but his eyes were always staring straight ahead, as if right the next moment, something would suddenly appear through the dark.
After taking a good picture, Wu Hai put away the camera, and inhaled deeply: âQin Cheng, you⊠donât you feel like you canât breathe well?â
The deeper they went, the more difficult it was for them to breath. As if something was stuck in their necks. As Wu Hai pinched his neck, trying to clear his throat, he still felt that it was particularly uncomfortable to breathe.
âNot only itâs hard to breathe, but it also seemsâŠ. like itâs getting hotter.â While he was breathing rough, Qin Cheng looked around. However, he didnât find anything strange. There werenât any ghosts around, nor was anything weird as they walked through the passage. Indeed, it didnât seem to be any problem, and the air was circulating as wellâŠ.
But, why does it feel as if there were less and less air?
While thinking of this, Qin Cheng grabbed Wu Hai and said: âDonât go ahead, thereâs something wrong there.â
Wu Hai also planned to do the same, and after he stopped walking, he asked: âDoes your drawing say anything about something similar to this?â
Qin Cheng thought of nodding his head, but he shook it instead: âHeat can only be caused by fire. The drawing says that some grave builders would spread red phosphorus and rice around the tomb. Sometimes, it will ignite as soon as itâs accidentally rubbed, and the living people would either be burned to death, or the air will be scarce, suffocating the people alive. However, thereâs no fire on this sideâŠ. if there were phosphorus burning, then there should be a smell-âŠ.â As soon as he said this, Qin Cheng immediately stopped.
â No, maybe it was because of the strong rotten smell that we couldnât smell anything else. â
As he thought of this, Qin Cheng hurriedly said: âWeâd better step back, and see whatâs the situation.â
âDamn it. Itâs like a steamer.â The originally cold tomb was slowly turning unbearably hot. As Wu Hai cursed, he took off his mountaineering coat: âAlright, letâs go back and have a look.â After saying this, Wu Hai turned around. However, as soon as he turned around, he could hardly speak.
Nor far away from the stone wall, a burst of flames suddenly emerged emitting a dazzling light. As a large amount of white smoke rolled, the originally dark passage was now brightly lit; the flames were so fast that it spread everywhere, engulfing the passageâs walls!
âWhat the hell is going on here?! Why is it suddenly burning on fire?!â
The flames spread so fast that the wax covering the corpses immediately melted and the corpses burst on fire. Their way back was now completely locked!
Qin Cheng walked back step by step as his eyes were looking at the fire in front of him. Even the rammed earth under his feet was burning, emitting the unpleasant and pungent smell of sulfur dioxide. Qin Cheng was extremely surprised as he said: âThis ground âŠ. doesnât seem to be rammed with soilâŠ. but with sulphur and red phosphorus!â
As the fire grew bigger and bigger there was a lot of wood under the burning ârammed soilâ. Qin Cheng kept walking backwards as he gasped for air. The fire that found something to attach itself onto seemed to be a hovering and extremely hideous-looking demonic spirit, that when approached, it looked like a bloody mouth ready to eat. The thick smoke and burning heat mixed together with a reckless whistling sound, as well as the sound of the rapidly burning, suffocating gas. It was as if an eruption had been released into the world!
âQin Cheng! Are you fucking stupid?! What are you looking at? Hurry up and run!â
Seeing how the road back was blocked in such a horrifying way, Wu Hai raored, dragging Qin Cheng along as they ran through the depths of the passage.
There were still a lot of mummified corpses hanging in front of them, but during a panicked state, they didnât care what they hit while running away. After seeing that once Wu Hai bumped into a mummified corpse, this one suddenly ignited in fire, almost burning Wu Haiâs hair, Qin Cheng shouted: âWu Hai! Donât touch the corpses! These mummified corpses were probably sprinkled with phosphorus too!â
âThis place is fucking deadly!!â Not far away, a sudden and loud âBang!â bursted, and a cluster of fire fled towards them. Wu Hai hurriedly patted out the sparks of fire, and cursed: âFuck! The tomb builders put sulfur and red phosphorus together! Werenât they afraid of an explosion blowing up the whole Mausoleum?!â
The passage was long and curved, including several red columns painted in four corners, interspersed with arched courtyards. There were two guards of honor <sup>6</sup> standing in front of a large frame, but as soon as the fire passed by, everything broke up under the high pressure of the flames.
If they didnât leave this passage right now, in case of an explosion, Wu Hai and Qin Cheng will surely die!
No matter how long the passage was, it will eventually come to an end. Once they reached a broad area that was now brightly lit, they saw a gate of white marble similar to the one in front of Su Jingmoâs Underground Palace, with the towering white marble eaves, and the two fierce-looking beasts standing on both sides. However, those grimacing beasts werenât the Taowu Legendary Beast, but something elseâŠ.
Just like Su Jingmoâs marble gates, there must be an anti-theft mechanism at the top of this gate. Not to mention hidden arrows or other traps, itâll be impossible for Qin Cheng and Wu Hai to push open this gate if it has that kind of mechanism.
Su Jingmoâs tomb was easy to open because that device had already been broken, and later, those doors were opened by Su Jingmo himself, so that Qin Cheng could enter his coffin chamber.
The marble gates in front of them were very tall, and with the raging fire behind them, they didnât have a way to advance or retreat!
âWhat do we do?!â
The fire behind them spewed a hot air that ironed their entire skin, and the semi-enclosed space made the already scarce air even more suffocating.
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âThe fire wonât last long, because there isnât enough airâŠ. But, before the fire goes out, weâll both suffocate to death.â
Gasping for breath was more and more difficult as time passed by, but the fire in front of them didnât seem to reduce. The blinding fire had already lit up the whole space, and Qin Cheng had to wipe the sweat dripping from his forehead.
âNo, no. I canât stay here and wait for death!â Qin Cheng shook his head, tightly grasped the jade pendant given to him by Su Jingmo, and looked at a piece protruding from the ground. Qin Cheng knew that the marble gate was inlaid in the ground, and that it was impossible for them to dig out the top device with their current tools and push it open.
The pain provoked by the lack of oxygen made Wu Hai slide down against the marble gate. As he looked at Qin Cheng, who was trying to find something, he said: âQin ChengâŠ. enough. We canât open the door.â Even though he said that, who will really give up until the very last minute?
With so much light, Wu Hai was able to look around more clearly, but the lack of oxygen was making him dizzy. Besides, the sight in front of him was also distorted due to the steam of the heat. But at this moment, Wu Hai had thought of something that he didnât think of when he was more sober.
âQin ChengâŠ. I thought of something just nowâŠ. ahemâŠ. Since those people knew about this tomb, they shouldâve also known that following the tombâs passage was very dangerousâŠ. But, why didnât they dig another tunnel from another direction, and enter right through a chamber?â
After saying this, Wu Hai suddenly laughed out loud.
Seeing Wu Haiâs gaze crossing over Qin Chengâs shoulder, staring at a place behind him, Qin Chengâs eyes moved, immediately understanding what Wu Hai was trying to say.
Qin Cheng couldnât help but laugh out loud as well.
âIt was the right choice to bring you along.â
Daaamnn this tomb is getting more and more dangerous!!! ((((ïŒïŸĐïŸ))))