Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In college, I used to pass the time reading about Tomb Raider. No matter how skilled one was, it seemed that no one had ever encountered such luck without even entering the tomb. No wonder Old Qiao said that luck was the most important thing when going into the depths; whether your luck was good or bad would soon be revealed.
We were the perfect example of extreme bad luck—just as one wave of trouble subsided, another would rise, leaving us covered in oil and still unable to enter the tomb.
The crowd gathered to inspect the situation, their expressions turning grave. Everyone couldn't help but wonder: unless one could transform into a bird, who could possibly pass through the Quicksand Sea unscathed?
Third Granduncle Master asked Old Qiao, “Qiao Master, how deep can this Quicksand Layer be?”
Old Qiao understood his intention. He stroked his beard thoughtfully and replied, “As expected, five meters.” He then found a palm-sized stone, weighing it in his hand before tying it to a marked rope and lowering it into the Quicksand.
Everyone held their breath as they watched. The stone quickly disappeared from sight, and the rope began to sink steadily. After about twelve seconds, it stopped, showing a depth of five meters on the scale—enough to bury two Yao Mings.
The hope that had just ignited among us was immediately extinguished. A Chen asked dejectedly, “What do we do now?”
Silence fell over the group; no one had anticipated such a situation beneath the tomb. This was truly a Quicksand trap—far more formidable than what we had read about.
At that moment, A Li encouraged everyone: “Don’t lose heart! There must be a way! If those before us could get in, so can we! Yes, let’s look around for any traces they might have left behind!”
This was our only hope now.
I took a deep breath and steeled myself again. I shone my flashlight into the Copper Door; inside was empty, with no ceiling above—like a grand hall floating in a mythological story. It was clear that trying to walk along the beams wouldn’t work. Looking to either side revealed cold, vertical bluestone walls rising high into the dark clouds, gradually disappearing into the shadows above. The beam of my flashlight couldn’t penetrate that darkness at all; thus, climbing over those walls was also out of the question.
Sighing, I realized there seemed to be no way up or down—how had those before us managed to get through?
My gaze swept back to the reddish-brown Quicksand, and I shuddered; it looked so much like blood. Could it be that they had all been buried in the Quicksand and were now performing for Yama at the gates? Suddenly jolted by that thought, I forced myself to snap back to reality; I couldn’t allow myself to think like that.
This was hope; it couldn’t be shattered.
At that moment, my junior suddenly called out, "Look over there! It seems like there's a person!"
Everyone was startled and turned to the direction pointed by my junior. About fifteen or sixteen meters away, in the reddish-brown quicksand, something that looked like a hair-covered back of a head was protruding. However, it was too far away to see clearly.
Suddenly, Liuzi circled behind me and exclaimed, "Right! We have binoculars!" He confidently pulled them out from my backpack and took a look for two seconds before suddenly exclaiming, "It really is a head!"
"Let me see!" My junior eagerly stepped forward, reaching out to grab the binoculars. Liuzi wouldn’t let him have them and didn’t even lift his eyes. "Don't move! Damn it, something's not right! That head... it doesn't look human! Damn it, I told you not to move—"
As Liuzi was cursing, he suddenly received a sharp knock on the back of his head. "You bastard—" He was about to explode in anger when he turned his head and saw, "Master—" It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, instantly extinguishing his fiery temper.
My junior had been holding back laughter since just now, and at this moment, he was laughing so hard that he nearly fell over. It seemed he was afraid Liuzi wouldn’t hear him. The rest of us were also stifling our laughter; it was true what they said about enjoying the spectacle without caring about the trouble it might cause. However, the atmosphere lightened considerably.
Unexpectedly, this even saved Liuzi's life. As the saying goes, family scandals should not be aired in public. Third Granduncle Master, being someone who valued his reputation so much, would not allow anyone to make a fool of him without consequence. He shot Liuzi a fierce glare that made Liuzi feel as if a heavy weight had been placed on his neck; he could no longer hold his head high.
Third Granduncle Master took the binoculars and had a look himself before passing them to Old Qiao. After Old Qiao took a look and was about to hand them to me, my junior snatched them away first. I couldn’t be bothered to argue with him; I would wait until he was done before taking my turn.
I could see that the object was dark and covered in hair; at first glance, it really did look like the back of a human head. From this angle on the east side of the Copper Door, I could vaguely see part of its profile—a high nose bridge but a short nose, with prominent brow bones and dark yellow skin. It looked somewhat foreign... But based solely on these observations, I couldn’t definitively determine whether it was human or not.
I asked Liuzi, "How can you tell it's not a human head?" At that moment, A Li took the binoculars from my hands; he must have been anxious as well.
Liuzi replied, "Isn't it obvious? Look at its back—it’s so flat! How could it possibly be human?"
The back of the head? I hadn’t noticed that detail. Just as I was about to take another look through the binoculars, I turned my head and saw A Li passing them to A Chen; everyone was taking turns looking. There was nothing I could do but wait.
Old Qiao interjected, "It could also be an injury; someone might have used a sharp object to flatten his head." I asked, "So you think there was a fight here?"
Old Qiao nodded but seemed like he wanted to say more but didn’t.
In fact, I could guess some things myself. Back in college, I had watched an interview-style documentary about a tomb raider from Luoyang who had been captured by the police. The revelations he made about real tomb raiding were astonishing and completely different from what was written in books.
A group of tomb raiders, unfamiliar with one another, gathered for the first time, each focused on their own interests. The camaraderie of brotherhood and loyalty was nothing but empty talk; when treasures appeared, they would abandon all principles for profit, often leading to deadly conflicts over unequal shares. Many skilled individuals did not perish under the traps of the tomb but fell victim to the treachery of their own companions.
Greed knows no bounds, and in the end, it is often the hunter who becomes the hunted. This is the harsh reality of tomb raiding.
The attack on the back of the head is a calculated move. If it were an animal or a trap from the tomb, it would likely target more vulnerable areas such as the chest, back, or legs. Only a person would aim for a lethal strike when plotting against someone else, making the back of the head their prime target.
As I pondered this, a chill ran down my spine. In this world, I fear only two things: snakes and human hearts. The former is a physiological fear that cannot be avoided; the latter is far more chilling and inescapable.
It is difficult to paint a dragon or a tiger but even harder to understand a person's heart. A bad person can become worse, and a good person can turn bad; human nature is changeable, and that very change is what terrifies me.
I exchanged glances with Old Qiao, and from his eyes, I confirmed my suspicions. We shared an unspoken understanding. Although everyone present was unaware of what tomb raiding truly entailed, they could analyze Old Qiao's earlier words to grasp this deeper meaning.
Moreover, our current team was so diverse and had differing goals that it was hard to predict whether we would meet the same fate as those before us.
The atmosphere grew tense and strange.
Third Granduncle Master's brow furrowed slightly; he had likely already guessed what was happening but feigned indifference. He continued from Old Qiao's statement: "But this also proves that there must be a passage leading to the main burial chamber. This person was positioned close to the west wall, so it's very likely that the exit is on that wall!"
Comment 0 Comment Count