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墨書 Inktalez
I was not surprised by the chilling winds that swept through the tomb. After all, it was quite normal for such a place to have a draft.
What astonished me was that Xiao Xiao could remember such a specific mechanism stone so clearly.
I was taken aback by Xiao Xiao's confidence; the tomb was pitch black, and without a strong light source, I would never have been able to identify that stone as a mechanism! Logically, someone who had just experienced extreme fear wouldn't possess such clarity of thought. My mind was filled with doubts!
However, since the door had been opened, that was something at least!
This Secret Mechanism Door was not designed to be easily opened. When it was constructed, it underwent a process called ei zhuang on the outside. Once closed, it looked exactly like the wall, making it nearly impossible to distinguish. Finding the Secret Mechanism Door relied entirely on touch; one had to feel around to locate it. After all, no matter how well ei zhuang was done, there would still be subtle differences in texture. Once you got your hands on it, you could likely find it. However, several bricks resembling mechanism buttons were embedded with Concentrated Sulfuric Acid. Although most of it had evaporated, any remaining liquid that splashed onto skin could lead to severe injury.
So, Xiao Xiao finding this Secret Mechanism Door saved me some effort. Although there were some details about her that puzzled me—her eyes seemed lively and not under the control of Dirty Things—overall, regardless of how many oddities she possessed, she didn't seem to pose any immediate threat to us, and I was too lazy to inquire further.
At that moment, Xiao Xiao had already stepped into the next chamber of the tomb, and I hurriedly followed her.
The next chamber was still empty; there was no seawater inside, and I had left my high heels behind as I entered.
Surrounding this chamber were stone doors!
Though I hadn't opened those doors to see what lay beyond, I could tell even with my eyes closed that they must lead to other chambers!
The layout here was truly peculiar; it reminded me how different the burial customs of the Khitan people were from those in Central China. In the 1980s, an ancient Liao Dynasty tomb was discovered in Inner Mongolia's Ulanqab City, specifically in Cha You Qian Banner's Guerban Township at Haoqianying Village. This tomb had been looted in its time but fortunately abandoned by the thieves when they failed to find the main burial chamber. Upon entering the tomb, a pungent smell of decaying flesh filled the air. It was then revealed that on the corpse bed against the northern wall of the chamber lay a body: its right hand rested on its waist while its left hand lay across its chest; its head rested on a wooden pillow adorned with a gilded ian ju.
There are three reasons for wearing an ian ju: one is due to Khitan customs where bodies are not buried immediately after death; another is to prevent decomposition; and the last may relate to shamanistic or religious practices.
Thus, Khitan tombs do not contain coffins; instead, they cover their remains with ian ju.
No wonder this chamber appeared so empty—there was only a corpse platform in the center. But why were there no bodies present?
"Do you know where Nikola's body is specifically sealed?"
I glanced at Xiao Xiao, feeling an unfamiliarity towards her, and said, "Just take me to Nikola."
"Okay!"
Without hesitation, Xiao Xiao walked up to a stone door and pointed at it, saying, "Nikola is sealed inside this stone chamber. I can open the door from the inside, but I can't do it from the outside."
I didn't need her to elaborate; I had already approached the door to examine it. After a quick inspection, I was fairly certain—this was some sort of fully automatic stone door security system, far more advanced than the semi-automatic ones I had seen before. This type of door likely originated during the Tang Dynasty and was considered a relatively advanced tomb security feature. The top stone was connected to the door by a spring; you had to push the top stone to open the door, and when closing it, the spring would pull the top stone back up to hold the door in place. The next time you entered, you would have to push the top stone again!
This fully automatic top stone security system required a special key, just like prying open a semi-automatic one. I had learned that trick from Bald Qiang. But stranded on a deserted island, I had no such key.
Just as I was feeling frustrated, Xiao Xiao suddenly pulled out a special key. I was taken aback and quickly asked, "How do you know about this?"
"I've read about tomb raiding; they mentioned this in some of those books!"
"Oh! Where did you get this?"
"I found it here; it must have been left behind by a grave robber!"
I was even more surprised and silently took the key from her.
However, it was my first time using this tool, and I wasn't very skilled with it. Just trying to wedge it into the door's crack took quite a bit of effort. After several attempts going back and forth inside, I finally managed to hook onto the top stone. Then I pushed hard forward, and there was a loud rumble from within as if the top stone had been shoved aside.
I then pushed against the stone door, and sure enough, it opened with a creak, releasing a wave of decaying odor.
"Nice!"
This tomb chamber had only one large corpse platform in the center; there were no signs of anyone else around.
I turned to Xiao Xiao and asked, "Are you sure this is the right tomb?"
"Absolutely!"
Xiao Xiao pointed at the large corpse platform in the center and said, "Nikola's body is hidden beneath that seal!"
Oh? Doubtful yet curious, I circled around the platform to examine it closely.
This platform is quite extraordinary!
At first glance, it appears to be just a massive, unremarkable stone block, yet it emanates a chilling aura. The entire stone shows no signs of carving or polishing; one must understand that such a perfectly rectangular object could not exist in nature. Moreover, this stone is hollow, and I can't find even the slightest crack.
I have an unsettling feeling about this, but the stone is large enough to accommodate someone of Nikola's stature comfortably!
To be precise, it should now be called the Stone Coffin!
I approached and knocked on it twice, asking, "Nikola, can you hear me?"
There was no response from within...
"Let's just open it!"
Xiao Xiao had somehow appeared behind me, her impatience evident as she said, "This kind of stone is special; it can't transmit anything inside. If it's sealed with a corpse, why would it answer you?"
I turned to glance at Xiao Xiao. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but since I was crouching and she was standing, I was looking up at her. From my angle, her face appeared somewhat strange; especially when she spoke—only her lips moved while the rest of her face remained still!
I let out a long breath and looked at Xiao Xiao oddly. Maybe it was just the dim light playing tricks on me. I found a stick and searched for a solid point to pry open this stone coffin.
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