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墨書 Inktalez
However, Zhang Tong pointed out a shortcut for us. Behind the village, there was a low hill that could serve as our cover. If we passed through there, we could save a lot of time.
With the route confirmed, it was time to put our plan into action. I glanced at everyone; the three of us were fine, but the others were not in great shape. To avoid any mishaps, I suggested we rest now and move at night.
After eating something to replenish our energy, I let them rest while I took watch. I chose a high point and kept a tense lookout. Fortunately, it seemed they had not found our trail.
Time passed slowly as the sun followed its path and began to set. A glow of sunset painted half the sky red, and it was almost time. I stood up and walked down from the hilltop. A few people were still groggy, but they were getting ready. At that moment, a cool evening breeze swept by, refreshing us.
Zhang Tong led the way, but for her safety, I had Fat Ma follow her. This time, Mud Man would bring up the rear. Once everything was ready, we set off.
By nine o'clock that night, we were nearing the village. We extinguished all light sources, but when I saw the situation ahead, I realized something had gone wrong. The small hill that Zhang Tong pointed out was barely a Small Hill; it was not high enough to serve as proper cover.
But we had come this far; there was no turning back now.
Fortunately, the entire village appeared very quiet. It seemed that they had not reacted with anger or violence due to last night's incident. The village had no electricity, so it was completely dark—thankfully illuminated by moonlight.
Fat Ma spoke in a low voice, "Let's go," and then crouched down as he moved forward first. We didn't hesitate and followed closely behind; the dirt slope felt like a low wall behind the village.
Suddenly, a figure appeared on the slope. Fat Ma immediately halted his steps. Thanks to the moonlight, we could see clearly—it seemed to be a child standing on the slope urinating.
We dared not make a sound, but just then one of us sneezed, causing the child to turn and look our way.
This is bad, I thought about how to handle this situation.
At that moment, a cat's meow broke the silence. The child glanced in our direction, pulled up his pants, and headed home. I breathed a sigh of relief; Zhang Tong also closed her mouth quietly.
Almost startling the snake in the grass, the person who sneezed felt a bit embarrassed. We didn’t blame him, and after the child disappeared, we crossed Small Hill, finally approaching another mountain peak.
Once everyone had reached the top, I could finally relax. Undoubtedly, the forest was our greatest ally now. After entering the woods, the tension eased, and everyone felt a surge of excitement because it meant we were safe.
Following Zhang Tong deeper into the forest, she suddenly stopped and pointed at the map, saying, “We’re almost there.”
I leaned closer to look at the sheepskin map, which clearly marked the location of Dragon's Mouth. I knew what this meant; if we wanted to enter, we had to find Dragon's Mouth.
“After all this trouble over the past few days, nearly losing our lives, I’m going to have a serious talk with that old man about splitting the profits when we get back,” Fat Ma said indignantly.
At that moment, we no longer hesitated and quickly made our way toward our destination.
The mountain range here ran north to south and was relatively low, which made it reasonable to call it Hills. However, it had a unique feature that other places lacked: dense vegetation and overlapping mountains created a somewhat complex terrain.
After another stretch of travel, when Zhang Tong stopped again, I knew we had pinpointed the location of the Tomb.
This area was relatively flat while still surrounded by undulating terrain. Although we had confirmed the Tomb's location, we still didn’t know where Dragon's Mouth was. To enter, we needed to locate Dragon's Mouth.
The sheepskin map had served its purpose up to this point.
I surveyed the surroundings. When choosing burial sites, feng shui is crucial. The map clearly indicated Dragon Vein, suggesting that this Tomb was not ordinary and certainly belonged to someone significant.
If it were from a royal family, feng shui would be even more important. Seeking Dragon Vein is considered the pinnacle of feng shui mastery; however, I actually knew very little about it.
Even though I lacked this knowledge, we had two experienced Panning for Gold experts with us. Fat Ma’s family was renowned for their expertise in tomb raiding, and Mud Man was equally enigmatic.
The Luoyang Shovel had gone down, and it was a good opportunity, but with each use, Fat Ma's face grew more and more displeased. Eventually, he started cursing.
"What’s wrong, Fatty?"
"This damn shovel can’t even break through! My tools for making a living are going to be ruined."
I glanced over at Fat Ma as he struck the ground with the Burrow. He had only penetrated a few dozen centimeters before hitting a wall. I reached in to feel around, and it turned out to be rock. Although it was just ordinary granite, there was no way the Luoyang Shovel could break through it.
No wonder Fat Ma was complaining incessantly; it wasn’t without reason. It seemed that constructing this Tomb had taken considerable effort, with tight and sturdy protective measures in place.
The mud man had vanished without a trace, but Fat Ma remained undeterred, searching for the best spot to strike with the Burrow. Typically, experienced veterans wouldn’t act so blindly like Fat Ma did, but one could not rule out desperation driving him to this point.
Finally, he gave up. There was simply no way through; everything was sealed off by natural granite.
Fat Ma sat down against a large tree, panting heavily as he lit a cigarette, unwilling to move any further. The other four looked at each other in dismay, realizing that we were at an impasse and fearing that all hope was lost.
I shared their frustration; if we couldn’t find an entry point, we would have to return empty-handed.
Zhang Tong held onto the sheepskin map tightly, so I asked her to show it to me. I studied the map carefully; although I couldn’t understand the terrain, I wasn’t looking for that—I was focused on the Dragon Head and the Dragon's Mouth.
According to Zhang Tong, the ground we were standing on was precisely where the Dragon Head and Dragon's Mouth were located, yet we couldn’t break through from here.
This sheepskin map must have been hundreds or even thousands of years old, as the old man had said. Just when I was deep in thought about it all, the mud man suddenly reappeared, panting heavily with beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"Old Sun, come here," he called out urgently.
I followed the Mud Man without any hesitation, stopping in front of a deep ravine.
A crack split two mountain peaks apart, the narrowest point measuring three to four meters wide, while the widest stretched to seven or eight meters. So it was indeed the right choice not to come this way earlier.
"This might be what they call the Dragon's Mouth!" the Mud Man suddenly exclaimed.
"What evidence do you have?"
"Look at that mountain peak across from us. What does it resemble?"
I shone my flashlight in that direction. The mountain peak lay quietly, resembling a snake. Suddenly, I realized something, and surprise washed over my face. "Are you saying..."
Before I could finish my sentence, the Mud Man interrupted me, visibly excited. Yes, Old Sun looked like that. Just as he finished speaking, a gunshot rang out, the bullet whizzing past my ear. I quickly turned off the flashlight; we had been discovered.
Fat Ma caught the sound of the gunfire and hurried over, asking anxiously, "What happened?"
"Don't speak; get down!"
Fat Ma immediately crouched down. The gunfire continued for a while, and soon a beam of light from a flashlight swept over us. After lingering for a moment, someone said, "They've been shot dead." Another voice added, "Let's go take a look." With that, they turned and left, likely heading our way.
I wiped away the weeds from my face and stood up.
I had heard everything clearly just now; I knew we couldn't wait any longer. "Fatty, go call them over. We need to scout ahead."
This ravine stretched over one hundred meters long. Even if we suspected that the Dragon's Mouth was beneath it, we couldn't accurately determine its location.
So, the Mud Man and I decided to explore our surroundings, each taking a side.
We dared not turn on our flashlights, relying instead on the dim light of the moon. Keeping a suitable distance apart, we quickly secured our ropes and descended into the deep ravine.
Once we were down, I pulled out my flashlight and turned it on. I had prepared it beforehand by covering the bulb with a piece of gauze to minimize the brightness.
The wild grass growing from the depths of the ravine filled this cramped space, and I searched diligently; time was of the essence against those bandits.
I was sweating from anxiety.
Finally, fortune smiled upon me. As I brushed aside the withered vines on the rugged cliff face, I discovered some characters written in traditional Chinese—dates marking someone's life and death.
Joy surged within me.
The cliff face was not very solid. When I pulled out a weed growing from the stone, a small section of the cliff crumbled away, sending debris tumbling into the ravine with a hollow sound.
At this point, I had descended over ten meters into the ravine.
I hurriedly climbed back up to share this news with them. The Mud Man also climbed up, confirming that what he had said earlier was indeed correct.
We all descended together, tying ourselves to the tree roots and then covering ourselves with wild grass.
We planned to wait until the bandits passed before making our next move.
I clung to the cliff face, careful not to make any sudden movements.
To my surprise, they arrived here an hour later, moving quickly. Fortunately, we reacted just as fast. The commotion at the deep ravine was quite loud, and we pressed ourselves against the cliff wall, holding our breath and daring not to make a single sound.
Finally, an angry shout accompanied by gunfire echoed through the night sky, and afterward, they all retreated.
"It should be safe now," Fat Ma said beside me.
I exhaled and nodded. At this moment, I could devote all my energy to dealing with the inscribed cliff wall. The three of us—myself, the mud man, and Fat Ma—struggled to move closer to it.
Some parts of the cliff had crumbled away. The mud man grabbed the rope with one hand and leaned in to listen closely to the cliff wall. After a moment, he exclaimed in delight, "Old Sun, that's right."
The inscription was barely recognizable due to the crumbling rock. However, it was certain that Dragon's Mouth was right here. Fat Ma could no longer contain his excitement; he picked up his tool and got to work.
With a few heavy strikes, the cliff wall was breached. Seeing a glimmer of hope, Fat Ma worked even harder while muttering, "When we get back, I swear it’s going to be an eighty-twenty split; otherwise, I'm going to take a huge loss."
As rubble continued to fall, a half-square irregular space opened up in the cliff wall. Fat Ma was in high spirits but soon deflated.
The opening of Dragon's Mouth revealed a drop inside the cliff wall, meaning we couldn't just walk straight in; we had some more work ahead of us.
Now there wasn't enough rope left. We had no choice but to climb back up and gather the remaining ropes, leaving only one behind.
After the mud man descended and secured the rope into Dragon's Mouth, we climbed down again. This whole ordeal was exhausting for everyone!
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