As soon as he mentioned it, I immediately recalled something from a few weeks ago. At that time, we were preparing to go to the Tomb of King Lu, and while passing by the Corpse Cave, we caught a large corpse bug. On the tail of that bug hung a bell like this one, inside which was a large green centipede. When it crawled, it would ring the bell, producing a sound akin to whispering voices, eerie and ghostly, as if it possessed a mysterious power. We were all almost mesmerized by this sound, and thankfully, the clever Mén Yóu Píng kicked us into the water, which snapped us back to reality.

Later, my uncle examined this thing and said it dated back to before the Warring States period, though he didn’t know which specific dynasty. However, at that time, things were so urgent that I didn’t pay much attention to it. The subsequent experiences in the Tomb of King Lu felt like a nightmare; it was a miracle I didn’t go insane, let alone remember these details.

But now, if I were to identify it, I couldn’t be sure. The Corpse Cave was just like it is now, lit only by a few mining lamps, and the bell was broken shortly after we got it when Pānzi accidentally stepped on it. It’s impossible to compare the two; I could only get a rough idea.

If this is indeed the type of bell we saw in the Corpse Cave, then if the fat guy had touched it just now, it would have been a serious matter. At that time, one bell had already mesmerized us all to the point of losing control, and here there are at least forty. Just a slight tremor, and I really don’t know what would happen.

Mén Yóu Píng saw that I was deep in thought and said, “There must be something strange in that Corpse Cave. That mass grave is originally a huge burial chamber, but I don’t know how it’s related to Wāng Zàng Hǎi.”

Pānzi, having heard us mention this before and knowing the origin of the bell, wondered, “Did you see it wrong? How could something from before the Warring States period appear here? Isn’t that a bit too coincidental? Could it be that Wāng Zàng Hǎi is also a tomb raider?”

As soon as he said this, both Mén Yóu Píng and I were taken aback.

“Well, that does seem possible,” Mén Yóu Píng thought for a moment and said, “No one knows what he did in his early years, and he’s well-versed in feng shui. If he were a tomb raider, he should be quite adept at it. However, I remember his family background is quite distinguished; they’ve been feng shui masters for generations and have never had to worry about food and clothing. They wouldn’t engage in such a lowly profession.”

When Mén Yóu Píng talked about something being lowly, he did so without changing his expression, seemingly unaware that he was including us in his remarks. I said, “I think it’s unlikely. Tomb raiders would definitely leave some kind of mark in their own tombs to warn future generations to be cautious. Have you seen anything like that here?”

Mén Yóu Píng shook his head, “I was paying attention just now, and there really are no signs at all.”

His expertise in this area is profound; if he says there are none, I know for sure there aren’t any. I said, “Then how do we explain the presence of such an object here? Could it be that he himself is a collector of antiques and brought his beloved collection to be buried with him?”

“We haven’t seen any other antiques on our way here, so what you said doesn’t hold. I think it’s possibly another situation,” Pānzi seemed to think of something and showed a smug expression: “Actually, besides tomb raiders, there’s another type of person who often encounters ancient tombs. Do you know who they are?”

As soon as I heard this, I immediately realized: “Are you saying that he dug up these things while working on a construction site?”

The胖子 nodded and said, “This person can be considered the biggest foreman at that time. It’s very likely that he encountered such a situation. As long as we go back and check the records, we can find out whether he went to the Guazi Temple in Shandong back then.”

His reasoning was quite reasonable, and I couldn’t help but admire him a bit. However, I thought this matter definitely shouldn’t be touched. I speculated that perhaps A-Ning had come into contact with this coral tree, and that’s why so many bells rang together, causing her to go insane. I just didn’t know what kind of images these bells produced in her mind that had such a powerful effect.

People are easily influenced by suggestion, and now, in such an ancient tomb with a mysterious atmosphere, if one’s nerves are even slightly weak, they could go mad. I thought that even the amnesia of the dull oil bottle might have been caused by these things. I noticed that the strings of these bells were precisely tied to the coral tree with copper wire. The coral itself has hollows inside, which transmit sound very well. Placing this thing here is like having a musical instrument; the sounds it produces could be countless, and it’s possible that one of them could make a person forget everything.

However, my thoughts were a bit fanciful, and I felt embarrassed to voice them. After a moment of standing still, the胖子 said, “It seems that this cave has only this little bit of trickery. The oddity lies with these bells; shall we leave?”

Seeing that there were no monsters or ghosts in this cave, I felt quite relaxed. Now, whether to leave or not didn’t matter much. But glancing at my watch, the tide was about to go out, and it would be pointless to stay here. So the four of us began to retreat.

As I walked, I had two questions in my mind. The first was that when the dull oil bottle entered this wall hole twenty years ago, he was led in by Uncle Three. What happened to the people who fainted with him? Did Uncle Three take them out?

The second question was that when the dull oil bottle entered back then, he smelled a very peculiar fragrance, but now it was gone. Did this mean that twenty years ago, there might have been something else in this cave?

These answers could only be found when I located Uncle Three. However, Uncle Three was missing, and I had no idea when I would find him. He might never show up again, and these questions could turn into ancient mysteries.

If, as the胖子 said, Uncle Three was entangled by the vengeful spirits in this tomb, where would he go? When he saw the photo of the dull oil bottle and said, “I understand,” what exactly did he understand?

As I pondered, I felt that the whole situation was still missing something. If I could just get one more clue, I could piece everything together. My intuition told me that this thing should be related to the Royal Palace of Lu.

I thought about it as the four of us had already exited the low cave. The胖子 placed A-Ning on the ground and said, “Now the time should be about right; we should take action.”

I realized that escaping was still the top priority, so I focused and began to explain the situation. Since I had never truly opened the treasure dome of a Ming tomb before, I had no confidence, and could only take it one step at a time.

After I finished speaking, the three of them acted according to the plan. The胖子 had been holding in a lot of energy and picked up a tool to chisel into one of the pillars. However, he underestimated the quality of the golden silk nanmu wood. After a few strikes, he was already out of breath, and he had only managed to chip away a little from the pillar.

He looked uneasy and said, “Xiao Wu, this pillar is too solid. At this rate, we won’t be able to set up the ladder in a week.” I replied, “Don’t rush. As long as you chop off the outer layer, the inside will be easier to deal with.” The胖子, half-convinced, put all his strength into it, and after a few tries, he managed to break through the outer wooden layer, which was as hard as iron, and created a space big enough for one foot.

Now I understood that the hole was a dead end; the seawater could only seep down through the cracks in the bricks, so there was no need to worry about whirlpools. I picked up my tool to help the胖子, and after just two strikes, I realized this was really his job. Not only was he strong, but his endurance was impressive. After all the effort, he looked as lively as ever, showing no signs of fatigue, while I was right next to him, and in the same amount of time, I was already so tired that I could barely lift my hands.

We worked tirelessly, and after three hours, we finally made a foothold on one of the pillars. The bottom was relatively easy to manage, but getting up to the top was tricky. We had to step on the already made footholds to climb up, hanging in mid-air, and I couldn’t muster any strength. In the end, we only managed to create a shallow imprint that could fit the front of a foot. Nevertheless, we got it done.

We took off our pants and shirts, which were all diving suits made of elastic material, and decided to cut them into strips to make a rope. We fashioned a loop around the pillar like Mexican tree climbers, and the three of us pulled the rope taut from three different directions before starting to climb.

I had no idea how we managed to climb up. Each little bit felt like dying all over again. The胖子 kept complaining, “What are you two doing up here? I can just go up and chisel it myself. Anyway, with the water coming down, you can float. This rope is about to squeeze me into Dongpo meat. Xiao Wu, for God’s sake, get down; I can’t take it anymore.”

I said, “Do you think I want to go up? I just didn’t see the actual situation and didn’t want you to die. We don’t know if there are any layers up there. If there are, and you go down, the quicksand could bury this whole room.”

I was speaking the truth. The quicksand layer in tomb walls is a common anti-tomb raiding measure, and as mentioned earlier, it’s quite effective. For a large tomb with a quicksand layer, to enter smoothly, one must dig a quicksand well when opening the tunnel, letting the quicksand out first. Sometimes, emptying one wall can take days and nights, indicating the astonishing amount of quicksand. We didn’t have that condition now, and if we really encountered such a tomb, we would have to think of another way. If the layer above wasn’t quicksand but strong acid or fire oil, that would be even worse.

The胖子 had been through a lot and naturally knew I was speaking the truth, so he waved his hand, indicating that we should just climb. We gritted our teeth and took another half hour to reach the top. After the胖子 steadied himself, he was nearly exhausted, clinging to the pillar without moving, and said, “Damn it, if this keeps up, I’m done for.”

I let him catch his breath first, as we would need him to chisel the bricks later. I cautiously tested the top by tapping it, and the 闷油瓶 gestured for me not to stop. He pressed his fingers against the top, felt it for a moment, and said, “It’s solid.”

The胖子 listened, and he really didn’t dare to rest. Without saying a word, he began chipping away at the white clay on top. He didn’t dare to use too much strength because the rope wasn’t sturdy; if it broke, everyone would fall and get seriously injured. We all reached out our hands and placed them on his shoulders, just in case the rope snapped, so we could pull him back and prevent him from falling directly from a height of ten meters. However, with all the sweat pouring off him, it seemed he would really fall, and there would be no way to catch him.

The white clay was very fragile. After a few strikes, he chipped off a large piece, revealing the blue bricks inside. The胖子 took a glance and suddenly exclaimed that it was bad, hurriedly asking me to feel it. I stretched my hand out with force, and when I touched it, I was stunned.

Between these bricks, there was actually molten iron poured in.