The whole world seemed to spin around Liu Dashao. He didn’t know how long had passed before he heard Fan Debiao shouting, “He’s awake! Big Brother Liu is awake!”
Beside him, Jackson made the sign of the cross around Liu’s head and said, “Thank God.”
Liu Dashao thought he had died, but judging from the current situation, he must have been rescued. Sitting upright, he looked around. They were in the burial chamber where they had previously encountered the Yinglong. Everyone had lost their equipment, and only two flashlights and a small bag carried by Gaguz (the nickname for one of the men) remained.
“What happened to me?” Liu Dashao asked groggily.
Gaguz sat beside Fan Debiao, patted his shoulder, and said to Liu, “Earlier, you accidentally fell into the whirlpool, and that Ge Shuanwa jumped into the water without a word. He managed to pull you out, but he himself was swallowed by the whirlpool.”
Hearing this, Liu Dashao frowned slightly but said nothing. However, when Fan Debiao mentioned finding an exit, Liu asked in confusion, “What exit? Isn’t the way out right there?” He pointed toward the corridor.
Gaguz replied, “That path is blocked. The entire chamber is flooded with mud, and it’s already spilled into the corridor. We need to find another way out.”
The original tunnel they had dug might have been the only source of fresh air, but now it was blocked. Without proper ventilation, they needed to find another way out quickly.
So the group got up and walked toward the other end of the burial chamber.
Leaving the chamber, they found themselves in a corridor. At its end was an unfinished tomb chamber. It appeared the tomb had never been completed, which matched the description on the bamboo slips. This was indeed an incomplete tomb.
Seeing the situation, no one could be sure there was an exit, but this was their final and only chance, so they had to try.
Walking side by side down the corridor, they reached the unfinished chamber. The first thing they saw was a man-made opening. Builders often constructed escape routes while constructing tombs, knowing they might be buried alive upon completion. This must be one of those passages. Seeing it, everyone was overjoyed and rushed in.
Gaguz stopped them, “We can’t go in yet. This tomb looks like it was barely started. There’s no need for an escape tunnel. Wait here, I’ll go in first and check it out.”
With that, he entered the tunnel alone.
After a while, Gaguz returned running and said, “I checked the tunnel. There’s a gentle breeze inside, and the air is fresh. It must connect to the outside. Let’s go quickly!”
The group nodded and followed Gaguz. As they took their first steps forward, the entire chamber shook violently, and everyone stopped. A loud “clunk” echoed behind them.
They turned around and saw a coffin protruding from the wall. One end of the coffin rested on the ground, while the other was lodged in a collapsed section of the wall, forming a 45-degree angle with the floor. The coffin lid had slid off, leaving it half-open. At first glance, it appeared to be made of bronze, resembling the coffin on the stone slab—except it lacked the dragon carving.
Gaguz, being well-versed in such matters, immediately recognized it as a Western Zhou dynasty coffin.
Liu Dashao was puzzled, “This was supposed to be an unfinished tomb. Why is there a Western Zhou coffin here?”
Gaguz shook his head, unable to explain, but he knew it must be valuable.
Fan Debiao said, “No worries, we’ll take it all. Let’s carry the coffin back too.”
Gaguz replied, “This is very strange. Perhaps the secret Liu brother was looking for is inside this coffin.”
Hearing this, Liu Dashao felt uneasy. He had already lost the sutras and hadn’t expected much from this trip, but now it seemed like he had finally found something after all. He quickly called everyone over to investigate.
The four cautiously approached the coffin and slowly peeked inside. Liu Dashao looked in and felt a shock run from his feet to the top of his head. He shouted, “Yes! That’s the creature!”
Fan Debiao noticed Liu’s familiarity with the corpse and asked, “What do you mean ‘that’s it’? Have you seen this corpse before?”
The corpse inside was the same dragon-headed, human-bodied monster Liu had dreamed of during their rest. The dream had felt so real, and now seeing the corpse again sent chills down his spine.
Liu Dashao described the dream and the creature to the others.
Fan Debiao, puzzled, said, “Could this corpse enter people’s dreams? Damn, is it a nightmare demon? But folklore doesn’t describe dream demons like this!”
Jackson disagreed, “It can’t be a dream demon. There might be some kind of magnetic field here that interferes with brainwaves.”
Fan Debiao retorted, “Interfere with what? We were all asleep, but only Big Brother Liu had that dream. Are you saying the magnetic field only affected his brainwaves?”
Before Jackson could reply, Gaguz interrupted, “This isn’t the time to discuss it. If Big Brother Liu dreamed of this corpse, it might be dangerous. Better safe than sorry—we should leave now.”
The four exchanged glances, nodded in agreement, and turned toward the tunnel. Even if this were the tomb of King Wen of Zhou, they had no interest in looting it now, especially with Cai Qingchong’s fate unknown.
The tunnel was over a meter high and wide—clearly built by many workers.
Gaguz, nearly two meters tall, only had to slightly lower his head to enter. Liu Dashao followed behind him.
Just halfway through, a loud “boom” echoed from behind. They turned and saw the coffin had fallen over, and the corpse had rolled out, lying motionless in front of them.
Hearing the noise, Gaguz popped his head out of the tunnel and asked, “What was that?”
The other three pointed silently at the corpse, their expressions shocked.
Fan Debiao muttered, “Damn, is it reanimated?”
Liu Dashao looked at the still corpse and thought it unlikely to be a zombie. He urged everyone to keep moving.
Gaguz, however, said, “Wait. The coffin fell and the corpse rolled out. That might mean it doesn’t want us to leave. It might need something from us. If we try to leave, we might not make it.”
Though this sounded ominous, Gaguz’s words made sense. If the corpse had something to ask, refusing to help might bring trouble.
The three followed Gaguz back to the coffin. Gaguz told them to search the area for anything suspicious.
As they searched, Fan Debiao teased Liu, “Brother, you dreamed of this corpse. Maybe it wants you to stay here with it.”
Hearing this, Liu felt a chill. Though he refused to believe it, he snapped back, “Damn it, Ge Daoshi is still missing, and you have the nerve to joke like this? Aren’t you sad?”
Fan Debiao replied, “Of course I’m sad. But in this line of work, we live on the edge. If luck’s against us, we die. So I figure, no use crying over it. Just do your best.”
Hearing this, Liu realized Fan had gained some wisdom. He patted Fan’s shoulder and continued searching.
The burial items were all strange and mysterious. What exactly was Gaguz looking for?
Suddenly, Fan shouted, “Comrades, I found something!”
Everyone gathered around. In the corner was a small, translucent pearl, about the size of a child’s marble, gleaming with an unusual glow.
As soon as Liu Dashao saw it, a strange familiarity stirred in him. He was sure he had seen it before, and he stared at it intently.
Gaguz said it wasn’t what they were looking for and scolded Fan for getting excited over something valuable.
After giving Fan a stern look, they continued searching. Suddenly, the chamber began to tremble violently, small rocks and dust raining from above.
Gaguz shouted, “It’s collapsing! Let’s go!”
Fan cursed, “Damn it, this corpse wants us to die with it!” He dove into the tunnel. Liu Dashao was still staring at the pearl, lost in thought.
Fan ran back and slapped Liu, “What are you daydreaming about? It’s collapsing! Let’s go!” He looked at the pearl and added, “If you like it, take it. We can study it later.” He grabbed the pearl and shoved it into Liu’s pocket.
Snapping out of it, Liu Dashao sprinted after Fan into the tunnel.
The cave was wide enough for them to run side by side. The tremors continued, and they could only cover their heads and run frantically.
As they ran, a narrow opening suddenly appeared. It was so tight that even a single person would have to crawl.
The four exchanged glances. Gaguz muttered, “This must be a looters’ tunnel. Didn’t expect someone to rob an unfinished tomb.”
Gaguz quickly organized them. Fan led the way, followed by Liu Dashao, Su Yougui, Hu Beikang, and Jackson. Gaguz and Cai Qingchong brought up the rear.
It looked manageable from the outside, but inside, the tunnel was tight and rough. Fan had to twist his body to move forward.
The tremors continued, shaking loose debris. They had to stop repeatedly until the shaking passed.
After a violent tremor, Gaguz shouted, “It’s collapsing behind us!”
Liu Dashao slapped Fan’s butt and yelled, “Hurry up! It’s catching up!”
Fan cursed, “Damn it, how long is this tunnel? We’ve been crawling forever!”
Liu shouted from behind, “Less talk, more crawl!”
Suddenly, Fan shouted, “Light! I see light! Comrades, we’re saved!”
Hearing this, everyone’s spirits lifted.
Behind them, Gaguz yelled, “Hurry! My foot’s stuck!”
Though nearing the end, the situation was still dire. They urged Fan to push forward.
Putting all his strength into it, Fan wriggled forward with his big butt.
After a while, Fan shouted, “We’re here!” As his feet touched the ground, Liu Dashao saw the long-awaited sunlight.
Liu tightened his nerves and scrambled out in seconds. Outside, his consciousness was nearly gone. He heard voices around him, the loudest being, “My dad is still down there! Someone, please save him!”
A sharp pain shot through his head, and he lost consciousness.
Liu Dashao didn’t know how long he had been unconscious. Slowly regaining consciousness, he found himself lying on a simple wooden bed. His clothes had been changed into peasant attire. He opened his blurry eyes and looked around. He was in a small, simple room.
Outside, people were shouting and bustling about. Something big was happening.
Liu tried moving his body—it didn’t hurt much—until he moved his right arm, which sent waves of pain through him. His wound must have reopened.
He got up and saw a steaming bowl of rice porridge on the table. His stomach growled loudly from hunger. He grabbed the bowl and drank it all.
After finishing the porridge, Liu stepped outside to see what the commotion was about.
Opening the door, he saw people dressed as farmers. Some carried hoes, others carried sacks, and some even brought their belongings. Everyone was rushing toward one place.
Suddenly, Liu spotted Fan Debiao and Jackson among the crowd and hurried to call them over.
Seeing Liu awake, Fan and Jackson rushed over. Fan said, “You’re awake!”
Jackson added, “Great! You’ve been unconscious for three days!”
Three days! Liu hadn’t realized he had been out for so long. He asked Fan, “What’s going on? Why is everyone in such a hurry?”
Fan replied, “Natural disaster! We were in that tomb for a few days, and it rained nonstop. Only yesterday did it stop. There’s a river nearby, and the water nearly reached the village. There was also a landslide near the tomb.”
Liu nodded and asked, “What about Gaguz? Was he buried in the landslide?”
Fan said, “Gaguz is clever. He joined the flood relief team. We were rescued by soldiers who came through the looters’ tunnel. You were unconscious, so you missed all the questioning by the village committee. We were stuck answering questions until Jackson showed his ID.”
Liu nodded. Fan continued, “Forget it. Let’s go help with the rescue.”
Even if the villagers hadn’t rescued them, facing such a disaster, they still had a duty to help. Liu ran back inside, searched for tools, found nothing, and ran out empty-handed.
Soon, a raging river came into view. Some villagers were digging sand along the riverbank, while others filled sandbags to build a barrier to prevent the water from flooding the village.
A group of soldiers in uniform were digging a channel to divert the water elsewhere. Gaguz, Cai Qingchong, Fan Debiao, and Jackson were among them.
Seeing Liu, Fan waved him over and handed him a military shovel, saying, “There’s a ravine over there. The soldiers want to divert the water there.”
Liu nodded and started digging.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man with rolled-up pants and no shirt rushed over. Fan whispered, “That’s the village chief.”
The village chief approached and said, “Comrades, there’s a river god in the river. It injured several villagers. We wanted to kill it, but the elders refused, saying it would bring disaster. Please come and see!”
A mud-covered soldier stood up and said, “What river god? Superstition! Liu San, find two strong comrades and come with me!”
“Yes, Sergeant!” replied a short but muscular soldier.
The sergeant looked at the group and said, “You’re archaeologists. Come with us and see what this ‘river god’ is. Use your knowledge to help dispel their superstitions.”
Liu San ran over and shouted, “Sergeant, I’ve gathered the men!”
The sergeant waved, “The village chief leads the way. Everyone follow.”
Following the village chief, they arrived at a large pit—likely dug by villagers. Several injured people lay nearby. In the water, something was moving, creating ripples.
The sergeant ordered his men to catch the creature, but several elderly men rushed over, warning them not to provoke the river god.
As they spoke, a crowd gathered, blocking the soldiers. The elders clearly held great authority in the village.
The sergeant was helpless. He turned to the group and said, “Comrades, help me convince them with science.”
Everyone shook their heads. Gaguz said, “Sergeant, we don’t even know what’s in the water. How can we convince them?”
As the sergeant hesitated, the creature suddenly leaped onto the shore. It looked like a grass carp, black all over, with large eyes and a wide mouth full of teeth. It was about four meters long.
As soon as it hit the shore, it began biting people. The elders trembled in fear. The sergeant quickly ordered his men to move them away and led an attack.
The sergeant led the charge, followed by five or six soldiers with bayonets. Fan Debiao shouted, “Damn it, that’s the thing!” and charged with his shovel. Gaguz followed without hesitation.
The group clashed with the strange fish.
Despite its strength, the creature was outnumbered and was soon defeated.
The sergeant walked to the elders and said, “See? This is your river god.”
Gaguz added, “This is a Guijiao, an ancient fish species. It’s more dangerous than a crocodile. Not a river god.”
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