Chapter 2, The Millennium Ancient Tomb

Han Sheng stared blankly at the dark hole, a chill emanating from within, and he thought, that might be the essence of the earth

The households in the village have all secured their doors. Since there is still no electricity here, in order to conserve lamp oil, the villagers generally finish their dinner and retire to bed early.

After digging down along the bamboo pole in the well for more than an hour, the pit became increasingly deep, yet nothing was discovered in the well. At that moment, the iron shovel in hand seemed to have touched something hard, producing a hollow sound.

Han Sheng inhaled the red corpse gas, which should have been fatal. By chance, the "White Tuo Xu" grew wildly from the cracks when it encountered air, coincidentally meeting Han Sheng's face and drilling into his nostrils, thereby dispelling the corpse gas. This can be considered a stroke of luck.

The skeleton of my great-grandfather lies quietly on the floor of the west room, missing only a right hand palm

The coffin lid of the ancient tomb is a solid slab,呈青赭色, with delicate textures, exuding a faint fragrance. Han Sheng recognized this scent; it is camphor wood, which contains camphor oil that can repel insects and prevent woodworm. Such a coffin lid indicates that this old camphor tree must be over 1,000 years old.

Han Sheng glanced out the window; the rain had stopped, and a few stars were visible through the gaps in the clouds. The moonlight scattered, casting a hazy glow over the mountains

Han Sheng, it is uncertain whether I can return today. Please check the remains at the hour of the dog, then tightly wrap them in a white cloth and place them on the niche in the west room. Remember to light three sticks of incense.

***

Han Sheng cleared the soil and lime thoroughly, and finally attempted to open the coffin lid. He first clasped his hands together and bowed three times to the ancient tomb, performing a great ceremony, and then forcefully dug down with the iron shovel

When he exerted himself to break the lime cover and looked again, there was unexpectedly another coffin beneath it

However, since the ancestral grave has been equipped with a golden well, it must have been thoroughly investigated. How could it possibly be built on top of someone else's tomb?

It turned out to be a grave beneath the coffin, and he sat down on the ground with a thud

In the evening, when the lamp was lit, Han Sheng randomly scooped up a few bites of rice. Looking at the clock, it was already 7 o'clock; the hour of Xu had arrived. He went to the niche in the west room, took down the cloth bag, and began to count the bones under the oil lamp, following his father's instructions.

Thinking of this, he stood up, took out the flashlight and cloth bag, and carried the shovel out the door

Han Sheng found himself becoming excited as he pondered.

The owner of the tomb of Jin Jing, the Grand Minister, cherished items throughout his life, such as jewelry and precious stones, which were placed inside. It is said that there was a golden well located at the back of the coffin in Empress Dowager Cixi's sleeping chamber, filled with countless jewels.

The spirit of Han Sheng is greatly uplifted, something must have happened below

I remember my father saying that in the past, wealthy families would spend a fortune hiring feng shui masters to find a good burial site for their ancestors. However, most would simply choose a favorable location and bury their deceased without much thought. Only the most skilled feng shui masters understood the technique of the "gold well," which involves drilling a small vertical hole at the position of the deceased's occiput on the bottom of the coffin to draw in the earth's energy, referred to as the "gold well" or "soul of the cave".

Under the dim moonlight, closely following the red corpse energy were dozens of white filaments that crawled out from the crevices, wrapping around Han Sheng's face. Those thread-like entities, as thin as mycelium, directly penetrated into his nostrils.

The night is deep, and the crows have likely fallen asleep. The bamboo forest is silent and desolate, occasionally revealing one or two wandering green glimmers, which are will-o'-the-wisps, a phosphorescent light spontaneously ignited in the air from the decomposition of corpses in the graves.

Under the large camphor tree in front of the thatched cottage, several people stood anxiously looking around. Upon seeing Han Sheng and his son, they hurriedly approached them.

The burial coffin, buried in the ground, experiences a certain degree of subsidence each year, with some sinking by mere millimeters and others by inches, varying according to the soil structure. This area is situated in the mountains, with extremely dense soil; if it were to naturally sink to a depth of two or three meters, would it not take thousands of years? Thus, it can be inferred that when my ancestor selected this site, he was completely unaware of the grave beneath, and the digging of the well was merely for the purpose of drawing in the earth's energy. It seems that this place is indeed a site of auspicious feng shui, as, after a millennium, someone has coincidentally chosen the same spot. This is truly a matter of chance. Therefore, it can be concluded that when my ancestor selected this site, he was completely unaware of the grave beneath, and the digging of the well was merely for the purpose of drawing in the earth's energy. It seems that this place is indeed a site of auspicious feng shui, as, after a millennium, someone has coincidentally chosen the same spot. This is truly a matter of chance.

Han Sheng at this moment is utterly convinced that this is a thousand-year-old ancient tomb

In ancient times, feng shui masters were most fearful of the energy of corpses when relocating graves. If one inadvertently inhaled it, the consequences could range from illness to death. Most people misunderstood this as possession by ghosts, as ordinary individuals cannot see the energy of corpses with the naked eye. Of course, some half-baked feng shui masters themselves are also unable to perceive it. Among the various types of corpse energy, the most sinister is the red corpse energy, which is extremely rare. Once it comes into contact with a person, it is fatal and cannot be treated.

When Han Sheng gradually awoke, he had no idea that he had just escaped death by a narrow margin. "How did I just doze off?" he muttered to himself

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Finally, he walked out of the bamboo forest. The grave that had been dug during the day was still there, the mound of earth having been washed by the rain, leaving a few small channels. Han Sheng approached the pit stealthily, as the moon had once again hidden behind thick clouds, and the world suddenly darkened.

"Doctor Zhu, my daughter-in-law is about to give birth, please hurry and make a trip." said the middle-aged man at the forefront anxiously

The rainwater mixed with the dust to form a thick mud. He carefully pushed aside the slush, revealing the tip of a phalanx at the bottom board of the coffin. Finally, he found it, and a sense of relief washed over him.

However, my great-grandfather, a poor itinerant doctor, surprisingly had a well made of metal inside his coffin. What could possibly be inside it

The mountain path is rugged and uneven, with the moonlight appearing and disappearing intermittently. From the bamboo forest, the sound of "ka ka" can occasionally be heard, which is the sound of the moso bamboo growing at night. Although medical students claim not to believe in ghosts or deities, walking alone in the pitch-black bamboo forest still makes one feel a bit uneasy. The beam of the flashlight wavers, and inadvertently, he notices many crows perched on the bamboo branches, staring at him with their small red eyes.

Understood. Han Sheng replied in response, walking into the west room to set down the cloth bag. He knew that assisting in childbirth was different from treating an illness; sometimes a mother would struggle for a day or two without giving birth, and the father had to be there to watch over her at all times. It seemed that tonight he would have to eat alone again.

Since ancient times, the selection of a burial site has been particularly taboo when it comes to placing a coffin directly above another grave, as this is considered extremely inauspicious. According to superstitions, the resentment from the grave that is being pressed down rises to become a malevolent force, which not only destroys the feng shui but also brings misfortune to the descendants of the deceased above, potentially even leading to calamities involving bloodshed.

Time is of the essence; Han Sheng did not hesitate to jump into the coffin in the pit.

Since childhood, he has followed his father in practicing medicine. After more than ten years of exposure, Han Sheng is quite familiar with the human body. He knows that there are 204 bones in the human body, but he has heard that foreigners have 206 bones, as they possess an extra bone in their fifth toe, although his father has never seen it.

"175, 176, 177..." Han Sheng muttered, "Huh, where did they go?" He turned the bag upside down, and it was completely empty, not a single one left.

"Alright, I will tidy up and then go." The father went into the house to get the medicine box

Although the coffin lid is made of high-quality wood, it is, after all, quite old and somewhat decayed. Under the impact of the shovel, a sudden gap was torn open, and a faint red aura of death escaped from the crack. Han Sheng could not see the aura of death at all; he only sensed a sweet smell wafting through his nose, and then his body slowly collapsed onto the coffin board, with his face just resting against the crack in the coffin lid.

At this moment, the moonlight filters through the clouds and falls down, clearly visible in the pit

He gently pinched one end of the metacarpal bone and pulled out the entire phalanx, revealing a fist-sized opening in the dim light

What is missing? A total of 27 pieces are missing. After thinking for a moment, he decided to arrange them for a better view. Without hesitation, Hansheng arranged all the bones in the order of the human body. At the hour of the dog, when the clock struck 9 o'clock, the human skeletal structure was completed.

Han Sheng crouched down, brushing away the loose dirt with his hand. In the moonlight, he saw a layer of white, eerie substance. He scooped out a piece and examined it closely in the palm of his hand, discovering that it was white lime paste, approximately two inches thick

In the world, for every toxic substance, there must exist an antidote within a certain range, as the saying goes, "mutual generation and mutual restraint." The nemesis of this highly toxic red corpse gas is the white mycelium, known as "White Tuo Xu," a type of fungus that parasitizes decaying corpses. This organism grows in a very peculiar manner; it must develop slowly and remain dormant in a sealed and temperature-controlled environment, but upon exposure to air, it grows rapidly.

The missing hand bones must still be in the dust at the bottom of the coffin, I can only blame myself for being careless at the time, Ancestor, it is not that I have any disrespect towards my forebears, but rather... No, I must go and retrieve them

The light from the flashlight grew increasingly dim, failing to illuminate the true depth of the hole. Consequently, Han Sheng climbed out of the pit and went to fetch a bamboo pole over one person in length. He then cautiously inserted it into the well, stopping just as the pole was about to reach the bottom. It appeared that the depth of the hole was roughly equivalent to the height of a person.

Curiosity took over, and without hesitation, Han Sheng turned off the flashlight, picked up the shovel, and began to dig by the light of the moon. In the silent mountains and forests, only the sound of his heavy breathing could be heard

The light of the flashlight is very dim, and the battery has been used for a long time. In order to save money, my father always places the old batteries by the fire to bake them, trying to extend their usage time as much as possible. Please do not let it go out tonight