Chapter 7, Stone Path

Xu Lei chuckled and explained somewhat shyly: "I see these beads everywhere here, so they probably aren't worth much. However, I think the shape is quite nice, and I wanted to take one as a keepsake. Who knows, I might even give it to another girl in the future."

What stands before us is a stone wall, its color indistinguishable from the surrounding soil. It is unclear how many years it has been buried here, allowing such a layer of dust to accumulate on the stone wall, almost merging it with the wall itself

The opening that had been dug was not large, just slightly bigger than a human head, making it quite difficult to climb through, especially with a backpack. Chen Qi was the first to climb inside, signaling for all of us to throw our bags in first. One by one, we complied and then crawled into the tomb chamber in succession

Chen Qi called Song Ziming to come forward and help. The two of them each took a shovel head from their backpacks, then retrieved several sections of steel pipe-like objects and fitted them onto the handles of the shovels. It seemed they fitted about four or five sections, and thus a assembled shovel was completed.

After Chen Qi and Lao Ma's groups left one after another, only the three of us remained at the entrance of the tunnel. The woman, Shi Lan, had a blank expression; since entering, she had been almost continuously staring at the wall, seemingly lost in thought.

However, it is truly boring to wait here, and since I want to find someone to chat with, I can only set my sights on Xu Lei.

The bead? I focused my gaze and discovered that what this fellow was constantly stepping on was none other than a larger stone that Chen Qi had unearthed while digging the wall earlier

Chen Qi called us over and asked us to gather around. He then took out a blueprint and pointed to a rectangular pattern on it, saying: "Looking at the surrounding environment, I estimate that we should be in this location, which is the passage used for carrying the coffin into the tomb during the funeral. The two directions in front and behind should lead to the main tomb and the entrance to the grave, respectively"

I shifted my gaze to the surrounding walls and discovered that this stone path was indeed constructed from small stone bricks, each of which bore an identical bead on its surface

"Last time, we were only exploring, so we did not break through the tunnel; we stopped here," Chen Qi explained to us. "However, according to the map we obtained, the tomb chamber should be directly beneath this mountain, approximately ten meters from the ground level. From the position we just entered, we have been descending at an angle for a while now, and we should be close to the tomb chamber."

As for whether tomb raiding is illegal or not, I am too indifferent to care about it; in any case, it has little to do with me

I watched as the black object flowed out with the mud, and my face instantly changed.

Then, according to what that person said, this tomb appears to be harmless on the surface, but it contains numerous traps. The specific locations are unknown to him; he only mentioned that these traps are extremely deadly and must not be touched. Be cautious when searching for treasures later. Chen Qi pondered for a moment, seeming somewhat hesitant, and after a while, he furrowed his brow and added: "Additionally, there is one more point I want to mention, believe it or not, it's up to you. When that person sent the letter, he said that this tomb is not as simple as it seems on the surface, mentioning that with good luck, one might discover surprises. I'm not quite sure what that means, so everyone can consider it for themselves."

I tumbled headfirst into the tomb, landing on the ground with a muffled thud. A sharp pain shot through my back, nearly taking my breath away. Fortunately, the opening of this tunnel was not very high from the floor; otherwise, I fear I would not have been able to withstand the impact

In any case, I am not familiar with this woman, so there is no need to concern myself with what m. hetushucomcom is doing. Given her personality, she certainly would not engage in conversation with me, so I had no intention of acknowledging her at all

I find the beads above quite beautiful and would like to take one with me. When Xu Lei saw me approaching, he moved his foot aside, indicating for me to look at what was beneath his feet

This black object emerging from the mud is actually a ... ? ... bug ? !

However, there is no reason to be angry about this. Xu Lei and I are indeed burdens, and that is a fact. As for the mysterious woman, Shi Lan, it is only natural for her to be excluded when she follows two teams by herself.

Chen Qi and Song Ziming each held a shovel, gradually digging forward, while those of us behind used our hands to spread the accumulated soil evenly around to avoid taking up too much space

Old Ma approached from behind and handed Chen Qi several fire sticks. Without any hesitation, Chen Qi took them, lit all of them immediately, and threw them into the cave.

Xu Lei noticed that she did not respond and did not take it to heart, merely considering her a bit peculiar. He continued with his actions, striking once to shatter the stone.

I briefly glanced at the blueprint of the tomb. Due to my limited understanding of floor plans, I could not fully comprehend it. However, I could barely discern that the tomb we were robbing is roughly shaped like a "圭" character, and our current position is near the top of this "圭" character.

I laughed at him as soon as I heard it, wondering which girl would want such an ugly thing, looking just like a quail egg. However, since this fellow had such an idea, I also offered him a suggestion, telling him that stepping on it was not a solution. I borrowed Chen Qi's chisel and hammer, and with one strike, it was broken open!

I took a moment to catch my breath, stood up, and stretched lazily, moving my muscles a bit. Although the tomb chamber was filled with an unpleasant dusty smell, it was still much more comfortable than the cramped conditions in the tunnel where I could barely stand up.

Regarding the situation of this tomb, I did not elaborate earlier outside, so I will explain it to everyone again now. Chen Qi said to the crowd: "The blueprint of this tomb was sent to us by a mysterious person. According to customary practice, that person is unwilling to come forward, and providing information for us to explore the tomb is also acceptable. Therefore, when the time comes, we will convert the obtained items into money and distribute a share to that person based on the number of people. I want to clarify this point with you all first."

After Chen Qi explained the situation of the tomb, the next step was to assign tasks. Chen Qi's group and Old Ma's group each took responsibility for one direction to determine which way led to the main burial chamber. Meanwhile, I, Xu Lei, and Shi Lan were instructed to stay in place, ready to provide support immediately if any unexpected situation arose in either direction.

At that moment, the originally oval bead suddenly sank as the stone shattered, and then it transformed into a large mass resembling mud, just like that... it flowed out.

However, these matters do not require my involvement. I came here with them merely to observe, waiting for them to resolve the issues at hand, after which I hope to have a proper discussion about past matters.

Chen Qi's guess was indeed correct; this place is not far from the tomb chamber. After digging for about half an hour, the soil in front was completely excavated

What do you want this thing for? I gave Xu Lei a strange look

Chen Qi and his companions took out chisels and other tools from their backpacks to drill into the wall, which appeared to be quite troublesome

The structure of this tunnel is essentially a downward sloping straight path, but its size presents a trumpet shape; starting from the entrance, the available space for movement increases as one goes deeper inside

It was only when I turned my gaze towards Xu Lei that I noticed this guy standing alone to one side, stomping his feet vigorously as if he were stepping on something.

"What the hell, why is this still a softie?" Xu Lei cursed loudly, feeling somewhat frantic

The speed at which Chen Qi and the others were chiseling through the wall exceeded my expectations. As several stones were pushed aside, an opening suddenly appeared before us. However, there was no light source inside the tomb chamber, making it impossible to see the conditions within.

Chen Qi stated that this was a test hole excavated during their last visit to ascertain the location of the tomb chamber, and there are a total of seven or eight such holes on this mountainside. The one we are currently using is the closest to the tomb chamber, which is why it has been preserved, while the others were sealed again for safety when they left last time

If I were you, I wouldn't have brought this out. Just when Xu Lei was all set, with only a final blow needed, Shi Lan, who had been silent not far away, suddenly spoke up

He says it this way, but I can't help but feel that this guy thinks we three are a burden, and we should just stay put and be honest

Having confirmed that there was no danger inside, Chen Qi set down the package and was still the first to dive into the tomb chamber

"Hello, what are you doing?" I asked as I leaned closer.

Do not be misled by our current ease; do not assume that we will be able to share in the benefits without effort. If there are indeed rewards to be gained, the right to select the treasures will certainly not rest with us.

Both Xu Lei and I thought that as long as we crushed the stone, the pearl inside would naturally roll out. However, we did not realize whether it was Xu Lei's excessive force or something else, the stone indeed shattered, but the pearl also softened along with it

As soon as Xu Lei heard this, he suddenly realized, praising me for my intelligence. Saying this, he picked up the chisel and hammer that were placed aside, preparing to take action

Why? Xu Lei looked up in confusion and asked Shi Lan a question, but this woman was indeed so cold that she did not respond to Xu Lei again

By the time we reached the end, the width of the tunnel had expanded from that of a single person to accommodate two people side by side. However, the path ahead had already been traversed, and we were still within the tunnel, having not seen any exit.

The entrance to this tunnel is less than half the size of a person, making it somewhat difficult to enter. However, the space inside is relatively spacious, allowing us to crawl and move further in.

At this moment, I should have teased him a bit, but now I have completely lost the mood

I examined the stone closely and discovered that it was indeed embedded with a bead! This bead is approximately the size of an egg, with a color similar to that of the wall. More than half of it is embedded within the stone, with only a small portion exposed on the outside, making it appear, at first glance, like an irregular protrusion on the stone.

"Stop talking nonsense, what do you see over there?" I noticed that as the mass of mud flowed out, a small black object appeared in the center of the mud, as if the mud had originally encased this object and then it had been embedded into the wall.

I can see that this is a floor plan of a building, presumably of this tomb. However, I am unsure where Chen Qi obtained this item. Nevertheless, this also explains why this excavation is primarily led by Chen Qi and his group, as navigating through this tomb requires reference to the map in his hands

I noticed that we are currently in the middle of a stone path, surrounded by stone slabs on all sides, with roads at both ends, yet it is unclear which end is the correct way.

According to this blueprint, we only need to find the direction leading into the burial chamber and proceed straight ahead. Along the way, we will encounter several symmetrically arranged rooms, which should serve as places for burial goods. The location of the tomb owner is clearly marked on the blueprint, situated at the very end of this passageway