Fan Debiao said nonchalantly, “Who cares what the hell it is? The coffin is right here. The oxygen should be sufficient by now. Let’s go down, open the coffin, pry it open, grab the treasures, and get the hell out of here!”
After hearing Fan Debiao’s four-word mantra, Liu Dashao shot him a disapproving glance and said, “Men are meant to chase their ambitions across the four corners of the world. We must quickly retrieve the treasures to help our comrades above who are struggling. If they sacrifice themselves, we won’t fare well either. Let’s charge down together and finish this job in one go. If anything unexpected happens, well, in eighteen years, I’ll be a man again!” After saying this, even Liu Dashao himself felt a bit confused, since even he wasn’t quite sure what he had meant. He had intended to boost morale, but he wasn’t sure whether Fan Debiao or Jackson had understood.
Suddenly, Jackson sprang up, and since he was a bit taller, he bumped his head with a loud “thud” against the stone steps. He crouched down, holding his head and groaning for a while before saying, “I’m not exactly sure what you meant, but your tone was pretty inspiring. So, let’s go… uh…” He paused and looked down at Fan Debiao, asking, “Go do what exactly?”
Fan Debiao looked up and said firmly, “Tomb robbing.”
Jackson echoed, “Right, tomb robbing!”
Liu Dashao secretly chuckled to himself, thinking, “Heh, foreign devil. Tomb robbing—if I told you that ‘tomb robbing’ means grave-digging, you’d probably be pretty upset.”
Now everything was ready except for the final order. Liu Dashao looked at the two of them, cleared his throat, and shouted, “Let’s get to work!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Fan Debiao suddenly shoved Liu Dashao from behind. The push was strong, and Liu Dashao, caught off guard, tumbled down and landed face-first onto the coffin with a loud thud, his mouth twisting sideways as he cursed, “Fan Debiao, you bastard, you couldn’t wait, could you? You don’t have to shove me like that!”
Just then, a heavy object suddenly crashed onto Liu Dashao. Blood rushed to his head, and before he could even spit it out, another object struck him. Suddenly, the coffin tilted and fell into a ditch.
Then came Fan Debiao’s voice, “Sorry, I got too excited. My foot slipped and caused this mess.”
Liu Dashao ignored Fan Debiao, puzzled in his mind. Why did he end up falling into a ditch again? Could it be that this ghost wall can only be resolved this way? Truthfully, Liu Dashao was actually a bit grateful for Fan Debiao’s slip-up.
Without further ado, Liu Dashao quickly called out to Fan Debiao to find a flashlight. After feeling around for a while, they realized the place was quite large, with a sloped floor making it impossible to find the walls. After searching fruitlessly, Liu Dashao asked Fan Debiao if he had any ideas. Fan Debiao tapped around a bit and replied that he hadn’t found a damn thing.
Liu Dashao felt a bit frustrated. Just then, a beam of light suddenly shone down from above. Looking up, they saw Jackson, who hadn’t fallen, smiling foolishly at them from above, while rummaging in his pocket with the other hand.
Suddenly, Jackson pulled out a gun from his pocket and aimed it at Liu Dashao. Liu Dashao sucked in a breath through his teeth. Could it be that Jackson was a seasoned trickster pretending to be harmless?
Before Liu Dashao could think further, “Bang!” Jackson fired the trigger. Instantly, the area lit up, and only then did Liu Dashao realize it was just a flare gun.
Liu Dashao rubbed his eyes and looked around, exclaiming in shock, “What the hell is this place?”
The flare illuminated the entire area. The layout of the tomb shocked Liu Dashao. He turned to Fan Debiao and exchanged a meaningful glance. Fan Debiao, equally astonished, shook his head furiously like a drum.
At that moment, they were standing in a tomb chamber—or more precisely, an upside-down tomb chamber. The tomb was inverted, with its base at the top and its ceiling at the bottom, structured like a funnel. Liu Dashao and Fan Debiao were at the smaller end of the funnel. If not for the previous bizarre events, he might have thought that the Earth’s magnetic field had flipped.
Inside the tomb were many burial items—bronze halberds, bronze spears, bronze swords—all adorned with yellow silk ribbons. At first glance, these objects appeared to be floating in midair, all positioned upside down. This phenomenon wasn’t entirely new; it might have been caused by some strange magnetic field again.
Fan Debiao, sharp-eyed, pointed at the walls and said, “Damn it, I thought these things could actually fly, but they’re just tied with wires.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Dashao paused, then focused closely on the bronze artifacts near the walls. Sure enough, thin wires crisscrossed the walls, securing the bronze items. Looking around, he saw the same pattern everywhere. These wires all originated from behind the coffin, likely serving as the structural support for the entire tomb.
However, these wires weren’t the iron wires Fan Debiao had mentioned. These threads were clearly smooth and shiny. After all, this tomb had existed for over a thousand years—if they were iron wires, they would have long since rusted and snapped. They must have been made from some special material that resembled iron.
Liu Dashao said, “So this really is a tomb chamber. But why could we see it clearly from a distance above, yet when we got close, we could only see the coffin?”
“I know!” Jackson shouted from atop the coffin, waving his hand. “It must be an optical illusion. In other words, our eyes were deceived earlier. I remember a professor once explained this during college. If a structure is built in a specific shape at a specific location and viewed from a calculated distance, it can create an optical illusion. Only from the architect’s designated spot can you see the true form of the structure, while elsewhere you see only illusions. I never expected Chinese architecture to be so advanced—creating such structures over two thousand years ago!”
Upon hearing Jackson’s explanation, Fan Debiao proudly made a dismissive gesture, saying, “Of course! China is a proud ancient civilization with over five thousand years of culture. How could we not be able to create such things?”
Jackson, unimpressed by Fan Debiao’s pride, retorted, “That’s ancient history. China fell behind during the Qing Dynasty.”
Fan Debiao, a true patriot, couldn’t help but feel anger at Jackson’s mention of China’s decline. He shot back, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! Just look at China’s eight-year resistance against Japan. The Chinese people were incredibly brave, defeating the Japanese invaders completely. Many heroic figures emerged. My idol, Comrade Huang Jiguang, was an extraordinary man.”
Jackson wasn’t about to back down, “So what? We have Napoleon!”
Seeing the two drifting further into their argument, Liu Dashao grew frustrated and interrupted Jackson, saying, “Do you two even realize what time it is? We’re in the middle of a crisis! Hurry up and open the coffin before Big Gua and the others are left with nothing but bones!” Though Liu Dashao outwardly criticized both Fan Debiao and Jackson, inwardly he couldn’t help but mutter a few sarcastic remarks about Jackson.
Hearing Liu Dashao mention the danger Big Gua and the others were in, Fan Debiao immediately grew serious. “Alright, let’s open the coffin and retrieve the treasures. If there are any corpses in there, I’ll be like Comrade Huang Jiguang and block them inside the coffin!” Saying this, he gestured for Liu Dashao to climb up the wall.
Liu Dashao approached the wall and tried to climb, muttering, “Damn it, this wall is too slippery!” It might have been because it had been submerged in water for so long. Fan Debiao stood on the opposite wall, looking helpless.
Suddenly, a rope dropped down in front of Liu Dashao. Looking up, he saw Jackson securing the rope, then gesturing for Liu Dashao and Fan Debiao to climb up.
Liu Dashao was puzzled. When they packed their gear, he hadn’t noticed anyone bringing a rope. Where had Jackson gotten it?
But he quickly dismissed the thought—better to have it than not. Right now, the most important thing was to retrieve Zhang Jiao’s treasures and save their comrades. He signaled Fan Debiao to go first.
Fan Debiao waved his hands and said, “No way! I’m a heavy guy. I’m afraid Jackson alone can’t hold me. You go first. Once you’re up, both of you can hold the rope securely. That’ll be safer.”
Without arguing, Liu Dashao gave the rope a few tugs to confirm its strength, then gave Jackson a thumbs-up signal. Jackson returned the gesture. Liu Dashao nodded and grabbed the rope, leaping upward.
The climb looked impressive from a distance, but as Liu Dashao experienced it firsthand, he realized how difficult it truly was. The only strength he could use came from his hands; his legs were practically useless, flailing around in vain. More than once, he nearly slipped and fell. But after much struggle, Liu Dashao finally reached the top. Jackson grabbed his hand, and together they pulled him onto the coffin. Then they pulled up Su Yougui as well.
Standing atop the coffin, Liu Dashao looked up. Above was eerily silent—too silent. Had Big Gua and the others already met their fate?
“Hey! Comrades up there, are you ready? I’m about to climb up!” Fan Debiao shouted from below, tugging the rope.
Liu Dashao snapped back to reality, turned around, and gave Fan Debiao a three-finger salute, then signaled Jackson to prepare for the “heavyweight.”
Jackson nodded.
Seeing Liu Dashao’s signal, Fan Debiao immediately understood.
Liu Dashao and Jackson braced the rope tightly. Suddenly, they felt a heavy pull—the signal that Fan Debiao had begun his climb. After a long and painful struggle, Fan Debiao finally reached the coffin, pulled up by Liu Dashao, Su Yougui, and Jackson.
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