lcionline Chapter 3 Something's Wrong with This Tomb
Chapter 3 Something's Wrong with This Tomb
The next morning, Lin Que stretched and yawned, then slowly walked to the window and pulled back the hotel curtains with a "whoosh".
Looking out the window, the sky today seemed to be shrouded in a gray curtain, gloomy and oppressive.
I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen today.
Well, things have come to this point, so all we can do is take it one step at a time.
"Dezi, get up! Didn't we say we were going to do chores today?"
"Let me sleep a little longer, I went to bed too late last night," Zhang Mengde replied weakly, his eyes still tightly closed.
Lin Que said helplessly, "Who told you to go to the bathhouse again last night?"
Yes, that's right. Last night, after Zhang Mengde, Qi Delong, and Qi Dongqiang checked into the hotel, they went for a massage together...
Around noon, Zhang Mengde and his two companions finally got up. After a quick wash and tidying up, they checked out of their room and set off.
There was no need to worry about transportation on the way there; Qi Delong and his companion came in a minivan, which made it easy to carry their tools and other equipment.
Otherwise, if some tomb-raiding tools are openly exposed to the public, they might be invited to the police station for questioning in no time.
On the way, Lin Que learned that the two Qi brothers had been working in society for many years, but had never made a name for themselves.
By chance, he met people in the industry and entered the world of tomb raiding, which is when he earned his first pot of gold.
However, he had always been an assistant to others, so his first pot of gold wasn't much.
This time, he suddenly decided to go it alone, and just then he ran into his second uncle, Zhang Mengde.
The three discussed it and thought it was feasible, so they added one more person, namely Lin Que.
Let's pull off a heist together.
......
The journey was rather boring, so Lin Que asked out of curiosity, "By the way, Brother Qi, which tomb are we going to dig today?"
"Taibai, do you know who it is?" Qi Delong said to Lin Que.
"Huh? Taibai?! Are you kidding me? He's a poet, are you sure there's anything good inside?"
"That's a must. In fact, Li Bai was not only a poet, but also a swordsman. His sword will definitely be buried with him. As long as we get that sword, we'll be rich."
"There might be ancient poems and books buried in the tomb, which would be worth a lot of money."
"It is precisely because people generally believe that Li Bai was a poet and that there were probably no burial goods when he was buried, and that he had no value for tomb raiding, that Li Bai's tomb has never been robbed."
"I see!"
......
As evening approached, we finally arrived at the village where Li Bai's tomb is located, though of course we wouldn't go into the village now.
Otherwise, if an unfamiliar vehicle came into the village, it would definitely arouse the suspicion of the villagers, so they could only enter the village quietly at night.
Dinner was eaten in a small town not far from the village, and the group waited for nightfall before making their next move.
It was 11 p.m. when the village lights gradually went out, and the four of them began to move.
Upon arriving at the van and opening the door, wow! It was filled with all sorts of equipment: ropes, leather work clothes and shoes, flashlights, shovels, candles, oxygen masks, and more.
After changing into their gear and carrying their tools, the group quietly entered the village.
Fortunately, the two brothers had scouted the location beforehand and roughly knew the location of Taibai's tomb, so they arrived at the exact location without much trouble.
Qi Delong said to Lin Que, "We're starting to dig. Brother Lin Que, you're in charge of keeping watch for us. Notify us immediately if there's any situation around here."
"no problem!"
So Lin Que was responsible for guarding the surrounding environment, while Zhang Mengde and the three Qi brothers took turns digging diagonally towards the burial chamber from the west side of the tomb.
In no time, a tunnel that could only accommodate one person was dug. However, it was estimated that there was still a distance to go before reaching the tomb chamber, which would take some time.
Fortunately, the three of them took turns, so their pace wasn't too slow, although Lin Que was a bit bored.
"Phew... I'm exhausted, I need to rest for a bit."
Second Uncle Zhang Mengde slumped to the ground, panting heavily.
Lin Que handed him a bottle of water and said, "Dezi, let me take over. You go and keep watch for us."
It seems that my second uncle was indeed tired. After all, he doesn't do this often and he's not a professional, so it's normal for him to be tired.
And so Lin Que took over his second uncle's job, taking turns digging with the Qi brothers.
“It’s working! It’s working!”
After two and a half hours of hard work, they finally dug a passage from the ground to the tomb chamber, and Lin Que and the other three were all very excited.
"Dongqiang, you stay outside and keep watch this time. Mengde, Brother Lin Que, and I will go down together," Qi Delong said to his younger brother Qi Dongqiang.
"Alright! I'll take a break too."
The Taibai Tomb is actually just a fairly ordinary tomb, not difficult at all. It certainly can't compare to a large tomb like the Zulong Tomb, and it probably doesn't have any security mechanisms or anything like that.
If it were really at the level of the Ancestral Dragon Tomb, let alone digging it, even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to go. They'd probably be gone before they even finished digging the passage.
However, just in case, it is indeed better to have someone with professional skills guarding the area, as they can better handle unexpected situations.
With their equipment and oxygen masks in hand, Lin Que and his two companions entered the cave one after another.
Qi Delong went first.
The second is my second maternal uncle, Zhang Mengde.
Third is the lack of forests.
The three entered the tomb chamber, and Qi Delong lit a candle. After a while, they found that the candle had not been extinguished.
Turning to Lin Que and Zhang Mengde, he said, "You can take off your oxygen masks now; there's air circulation in this tomb."
Upon hearing this, Lin Que and Zhang Mengde immediately removed their oxygen masks. Sure enough, wearing them in the tomb felt rather stuffy, and it was much more comfortable to take them off.
Turning on the flashlight revealed that the tomb's layout was not large, with a relatively spacious center and three burial chambers set up in three directions.
Looking at the three burial chambers, Qi Delong arranged, "There are exactly three burial chambers here. The three of us will each go to one and see which one is the main burial chamber."
Then Lin Que and the other two separated and went to explore the tomb chambers that were closer to them.
Entering the tomb chamber on the left with a flashlight, Lin Que found that the chamber was unusually small and did not seem to be a place for storing things.
After looking around, I was about to leave when my flashlight suddenly shone on the left corner of the room, where something seemed to be protruding.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a corner of a book wrapped in yellow paper sticking out.
Lin Que quickly put down his flashlight and hurriedly began to clean the book buried in the soil with his hands...
After much effort, I finally managed to clean out the book completely. Just as I was about to open it to take a look, I heard Qi Delong's voice coming from next door.
"Come quickly! The main burial chamber is here! I can't open it by myself!"
"coming!"
Upon hearing the sound, Lin Que quickly got up and went out. He stuffed the book into his arms, not paying much attention to it, assuming it was just an ordinary book containing poems.
After glancing around the small tomb once more outside the tomb chamber and confirming that there was nothing left, he turned and headed towards the tomb next door where Qi Delong was located.
"How was it, Dezi? Did you find anything in that tomb?" Lin Que asked Zhang Mengde as he walked in.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Mengde sighed with disappointment, "Alas! Don't even mention it. My tomb is big, but there's nothing of value in it."
"After looking around, I found that all the wine was stored in jars."
"How come Li Bai could drink so much back then? Even when he passed away, he wanted so much wine to be buried with him."
Upon hearing this, Qi Delong joked, "The wine inside is definitely undrinkable and worthless, but the jars are valuable. Just think how many jars there are here."
"That's right! Why didn't I think of that!"
Zhang Mengde perked up instantly upon hearing this!
"Alright, you two come and help me. I can't open the coffin by myself. I'll go light a candle first."
Qi Delong went to the southeast corner of the tomb chamber and lit a candle. To be honest, he really looked like a tomb raider.
Zhang Mengde looked puzzled and asked, "Seriously, Brother Qi? We're not real tomb raiders, why do we need this ceremony?"
But Qi Delong said, "Although it's not true, you can't be missing anything that's required. In our line of work, this is the most taboo thing."
"It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't."
The three men arrived at the coffin, each standing in a different spot, ready to open it. Hey! They all carried a hint of tension and excitement.
Qi Delong was going solo for the first time in a team, not to mention Lin Que and Zhang Mengde, who were both complete novices. It was their first time, so they were naturally a little excited.
"One...two...three! Go!"
With their combined efforts, the three of them finally managed to lift the heavy coffin lid. They looked excitedly into the coffin, only to be suddenly horrified!
No? !
There was absolutely nothing inside the coffin; not even a single bone!
How is this going?
This is insane! Is this an empty tomb?
Qi Delong exclaimed in shock, "How...how could this be! There's nothing here!!!"
"Yeah, it's not like we worked for nothing, is it? Oh no! Brother Qi... look! The candle's out, the candle's really out!"
Zhang Mengde was still shaking his head and sighing when he suddenly glanced at the candle in the southeast corner and cried out!
The person was so frightened that they fell to the ground, accidentally cutting their finger on the wooden plank of the newly opened coffin lid, causing it to bleed.
Instantly, a chilling aura rose in the hearts of the three.
A chill ran down the spines of all three!
"Run!"