Beipai Tomb Raiders Notes

Chapter 573 Breaking the Tomb

Logically speaking, we have been doing this business for years and have seen everything, so we shouldn't be scared. However, since entering the village in the evening, we have had an inexplicable sense of tension, and any movement in the village will inadvertently amplify this inner tension.

This feeling is even stronger than when I was in Tianguangdong Village two years ago. I feel this way, and I believe Brother Yu feels the same as I do.

It was not a scarecrow, but an old lady with pale hair.

Coming back to my senses, I thought about it seriously. Could it be that he was trying to scare us on purpose?

After listening to my analysis, Brother Yu held the steering wheel tightly and said, "It's possible that the old lady doesn't want strangers entering the village, so she's using this method to scare us, but there's another possibility."

"What is it?"

"Yunfeng, think about it. Jiang Village these days lacks even basic living needs, let alone water and electricity. You have to walk ten miles to buy something. How could an elderly person living alone still be stuck in the village? That old man from Shiwan Village said this afternoon that Jiang Village is no longer inhabited by natives and told us to leave before dark. Does that mean he knows something? Maybe we've really encountered a ghost?"

"Brother Yu, don't scare yourself."

"I'm not scaring myself. I'm telling the truth, Yunfeng. I felt uncomfortable the first second I entered the village. The colors of the houses looked like they were celebrating a funeral. If something unsolvable hadn't happened decades ago, the villagers wouldn't have abandoned their homes and businesses and moved away so quickly. Judging from the things we just found, they left in a hurry, and once they left, they never returned."

"Yunfeng, I know you want to go back and take a look. Listen to me, at least don't go tonight. We already know the route anyway, so we can talk about it during the day."

"Are you still digging graves tonight?"

"Let's put things in perspective. Old Master Xia isn't from Jiang Village. He asked us to conduct a secret investigation. We can't just go back empty-handed without any results."

After Brother Yu finished speaking, he turned around and glanced at the shovel on the back seat, and sighed, "If Old Master Xia didn't die of a heart attack, then this would be troublesome."

"Brother Yu, we're not coroners. Old Master Xia has been dead for over two months. By this time of year, he's probably just a pile of bones. It's highly unlikely we'll be able to tell if he died of a heart attack."

"Yunfeng, if the coffin is of good quality and well-sealed, and the old man puts on a few more clothes before entering the coffin, he might not just turn into a skeleton, right?"

I nodded. "That will certainly prolong the lifespan, but only to a limited extent. If he hasn't turned to bones yet, he'll be covered in maggots."

Brother Yu may have thought of that scene and frowned.

"Hey, Yunfeng, why can't we modern people achieve the same level of embalming as the ancients? Take those two bodies found in Hubei and Changsha, for example. They're still so well preserved after two thousand years."

I replied, "Because they couldn't master the technology, many things were lost after the fall of the Chu State. The layers of charcoal, clay, and rammed earth used to completely isolate air and moisture aren't difficult. The difficult part is the secret medicine that's forced into the body after death, and the preservative coffin fluid that won't evaporate after thousands of years. The formulas for these things are the real challenge, and they've all been lost."

"We've seen coffin liquid before. It's like red wine."

I shook my head. "That doesn't look like red wine. The coffin fluid is more like a mixture of oil and water, layered. The top layer is lighter, and the layers get thicker as you get closer to the body. I suspect the original color might have been pink, very thick and sticky, a bit like a fruit smoothie today."

"The female corpse in Hubei didn't look like this when the coffin was first opened. She was very beautiful back then."

"You weren't born yet when that grave was dug. Have you ever seen it?"

"I haven't seen it! Someone has seen it, I heard someone say it. Let me put it this way, Brother Yu, the moment the coffin was pried open, the female corpse was lifelike. Her hair was wavy, her face was oval, her eyebrows were willow-shaped, her mouth was cherry-like, and her ears were foxy. Her skin looked like she had been smeared with high-end makeup, and she had blush on it. Even her teeth were white."

"So exaggerated?"

"I'm not exaggerating, this is the truth, and here too."

I pressed my chest and said, "That female corpse is still standing upright. After two thousand years, it's still elastic."

Brother Yu gripped the steering wheel with one hand and took a sip of water. "They say modern people are smarter than the ancients, but it seems that's not the case. At least modern people can't do this lost technology."

I nodded in acknowledgment and added, "There's another story the leader told me. On the night of the excavation, the archaeological team received a call from their superiors saying they had to cremate the body and wouldn't let them keep it. Just imagine how terrifying that body must have been."

"It's a shame we can't see what it looked like back then. It's been oxidized by the air, and the once beautiful corpse is now a bulging face with bared teeth and a big head. It looks like the facial features were molded out of plasticine and then glued to a basketball."

After chatting about the ancient corpse for a while, the uneasiness and tension in my heart and Brother Yu disappeared a lot. We even refueled on the way. Around midnight, we drove to the foot of the mountain where Grandpa Xia Shuishui was buried.

The surroundings were very quiet. Not only were there no people, but not even a bird could be seen.

Brother Yu and I did not rush to take action. Instead, we secretly observed for half an hour. Only after we made sure that everything around us was normal did we carry the shovel and go up the mountain.

Apart from the peach forest, the overall feng shui of this place is definitely not bad. Looking from the bottom up, the moon is covering the sky and the terrain is high and dangerous. Looking after coming up, you can see the real and fake water outlets, the open hall and the stability.

I don’t know if the wreath placed in front of the tombstone has been replaced, but it still looks new. The high-end bluestone tombstone is smooth and clean, without a trace of dust on the surface.

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On the tombstone, the black and white half-length portrait of Mr. Xia looked at us peacefully, with even a faint smile on his face.

I squatted down, looked at the photo, and whispered, "Don't worry, old man, I'll be quick. It will take up at most an hour of your rest time. I will definitely help you recover as before after I'm done."

After saying that, I took out the empty cigarette box I had prepared in advance, tore off the front, spat on it, and raised my hand to cover the portrait with it.

This is the rule for moving a new grave. If you are not a direct descendant, the tombstone with a photo should be covered with the photo. If there is no photo and only a name is engraved, it is best to cover the name with a piece of hay. There is no need to burn incense, and even if you burn incense, the other party will not accept it.

"Brother Yu, shovel down all the topsoil so the subsequent backfill won't be easily visible."

Brother Yu held onto the shovel and asked me, "Yunfeng, why didn't such a wealthy family put cement on the grave when they joined together?"

I was stunned. I had never thought about the question Brother Yu asked.

"Maybe I listened to the gentleman's advice. After all, using cement will affect the emission of earth energy to some extent."

Brother Yu frowned: "I'm wondering if there is a possibility that Old Master Xia is not dead?"

"How is that possible! Brother Yu, what are you thinking about?"

"Yunfeng, were you there when the person died? Did you see it with your own eyes?"

I shook my head and said no.

"So I say that if you don't see it with your own eyes, there's a possibility that something might be wrong."

"Don't guess blindly, Brother Yu, the person is 100% dead."

Brother Yu nodded, raised his hand and swung the shovel down.

Uncle Cha calculated the date of Old Master Xia's death at that time. Based on this alone, I can conclude that this is not false.

My only question is about the so-called golden cicada jumping into the coffin. Did they really throw a live toad in?

I glanced around from time to time. Although no one came here, I still had to be vigilant because no one was keeping watch.

Xia Shuishui must have fallen asleep at this time. If she knew what I was doing, she would probably fight with me.

It was a dark and windy night. Brother Yu and I remained silent and shoveled faster and faster.

It was only about twenty minutes later when suddenly my shovel hit something hard.

Brother Yu and I looked at each other, and I saw confusion in his eyes.

The coffin was exposed.

But why is it placed at an angle?