Ahead lay an unknown path. Under his leadership, the two groups merged into one, temporarily gaining some strength.
Yet they had no idea what dangers awaited them ahead.
“How did you guys get in here?” Fan Debiao asked, breaking the silence in the darkness.
“The old fashioned way, digging a grave tunnel, of course. Look, I even brought a Luoyang spade in my bag, ready to start digging anytime,” Da Guozgu said, patting the backpack on his back.
“You… you mean we have to dig again?” Upon hearing about digging, Fan Debiao’s face turned pale.
Da Guozgu lit a cigarette, took a deep puff, and blew a smoke ring at Fan Debiao. “Don’t worry, Brother Fan. This time we won’t need to dig a tunnel.”
“Because the entrance is right inside there,” Da Guozgu pointed toward the stone door.
After Da Guozgu spoke, everyone’s attention shifted to the stone door at the end of the chamber. The stone door was about ten meters high, with two arched leaves approximately five meters wide. They all shined their powerful flashlights toward the stone door, finally revealing its full appearance.
On the stone door were carved two enormous figures, dragon-headed and bird-bodied, quite strange and rare. Surrounding these two large creatures were many smaller monsters, slightly smaller in size. Standing in front of the door, Da Guozgu looked tiny, like food for the two monsters, as if he could be swallowed up at any moment.
Frowning, he signaled everyone to approach the stone door, where they could now see it more clearly.
The door had no keyhole, and there were no mechanisms nearby. If anything, it looked more like a stone wall than a door. The only clue indicating it was a door was the narrow seam in the middle.
Seeing Da Guozgu staring at the door for quite a while, Liu Dashao asked, “Brother, is this a door or a stone wall? And what are those dragon-bird hybrid creatures carved on it?”
Da Guozgu handed his tools to his assistant, Cai Qingchong, and turned around. “This is definitely a stone door. The carvings on it are of Yinglong, a legendary winged dragon from ancient times. It’s said that when Dayu controlled the floods, Yinglong used its tail to draw rivers, guiding the water into the sea, thus becoming famous. But what’s the connection between Yinglong and this tomb?”
After listening to Da Guozgu, Liu Dashao was quite surprised. “Who cares about dragons or birds. Da Guozgu, if this really is a stone door, there should be a keyhole, or at least some mechanism nearby. Otherwise, there’s no way to open this door!”
Da Guozgu sighed. “Unfortunately, I didn’t bring any explosives this time. If I had, we could have blown it open with a couple of packs. I was too rushed in my preparations, and now this door is blocking our way.”
Fan Debiao said after listening, “Then maybe we should send someone out to get some explosives. After all, the distance isn’t that far.”
“Bullshit!” Liu Dashao cursed. “Absolutely no explosives. We’re not far from the village. If we blow up the stone door, the villagers will definitely hear it. Then we’ll all end up in jail.”
After hearing Liu Dashao’s words, both Da Guozgu and Fan Debiao nodded, agreeing that his analysis made sense.
Fan Debiao scratched his head, frustrated. “Damn it, this won’t work, that won’t work either. So what do we do now?”
After hearing Fan Debiao’s words, Liu Dashao shook his head helplessly.
Da Guozgu carefully examined the entire tomb chamber from beginning to end. Finding no mechanisms or anything similar, he sighed. Just when everyone seemed helpless, Cai Qingchong approached the stone door and pointed at the wings of Yinglong.
“Do these feathers look like goose feathers to you?”
As he said this, he touched the feathers. Suddenly, with a loud ‘boom,’ the stone door, as if activated, slowly split open, revealing a burial passage inside that seemed endless.
Seeing this, Liu Dashao was both surprised and delighted. “Brother, you’re really something!”
Fan Debiao was also surprised and nodded. “Kid, you’ve got potential. Let’s move out!”
With that, Fan Debiao walked toward the burial passage, followed by the other four without delay.
Due to the mechanism, the stone door slowly opened, revealing a burial passage that stretched endlessly. The five of them entered the passage one after another.
Inside the burial passage, the five flashlights simultaneously shined into the darkness. Despite all of them using powerful flashlights, the passage remained pitch black.
Seeing this, Fan Debiao was confused and muttered, “Damn it, what kind of tomb passage is this? Even with five powerful flashlights, we can’t see the end. How long would it take to walk through this passage?”
Liu Dashao didn’t respond to Fan Debiao but instead shined his flashlight around the passage. The corridor was paved with marble, which, despite thousands of years of physical and chemical changes, showed no sign of moss.
This marble was different from the usual kind seen outside. It was smoother and slightly reflective when illuminated by the flashlight. The material of the stone on both sides of the passage looked similar to that of the stone door, likely made from the same stone.
On both stone walls were many carvings of Yinglong. These were different from those on the stone door. The Yinglong on the door had fierce, menacing eyes, while those here looked much gentler, giving a sense of comfort.
Just then, Cai Qingchong raised his right hand to his lips, signaling everyone to be quiet. With his left hand, he pointed toward the stone door. The others immediately understood and held their breath, staring silently at the stone door.
They heard intermittent growls from outside the stone door: “Roar… roar…”
Upon hearing the sound, Liu Dashao, Fan Debiao, and Su Yougui were all puzzled. However, the expressions of the other two changed dramatically, showing fear.
Seeing they were so frightened, Liu Dashao patted Cai Qingchong on the back. “Hey, buddy, what exactly is behind that stone door? Why are you so scared?”
Cai Qingchong, still shaken, replied, “That sound is from a merman. This is another big zombie!”
Liu Dashao didn’t know what a merman was. But when he heard it was a big zombie, his legs started trembling uncontrollably. Looking at Fan Debiao beside him, he saw that his fear was no less than his own. Liu Dashao asked Da Guozgu, “Didn’t we just come through there? When we were there earlier, there was nothing. How come now suddenly there’s a merman?”
Da Guozhu explained, “This merman originates from the Han Dynasty and is officially known as the black-scaled merman. It is said that the oil extracted from this merman has an extremely low ignition point, and just a single drop can burn for months. In ancient times, noble tombs often used this oil to create eternal lamps. The东海merman is notorious for its lustful nature and its craving for blood. They live together on an island formed from dead coral beneath the sea. The coral caves on this island form a maze of deep, winding tunnels—an impenetrable lair for the mermen. These creatures attract passing ships and merchants with their voices and appearances in nearby waters, and those lured in are completely devoured, leaving not a single bone behind. If someone manages to capture a live black-scaled merman, kills it, dries its body, and fills it with its own oil, it can be made into an eternal candle valued at three thousand gold coins.”
As the words fell, the merman appeared from behind the stone door. The merman was covered in black scales, with two large eyes emitting red light. Upon seeing the group, it let out a loud “Aaaah!” Its two blood-red fangs were enough to make one’s scalp tingle. The merman swung its arm at the stone door, and the massive stone door split into two pieces like a twig.
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