Chapter 002: A Narrow Escape from Death

Suddenly, a scream echoed from the cavern within, sending chills down the spines of everyone present. Two individuals rushed out from the cave, shouting as they ran: "A ghost! There is a ghost..."

Mu Tu was taken aback and quickly nodded: "Mm, mm!"

So this middle-aged woman with a feminine voice is the owner of the gold mine? Mu Tu did not dare to be negligent this time: "Yes. It seems like a mirror."

Are you called Mutu, a person from Suide

However, after a long time, the people inside have still not come up

Mu Tu sat stiffly in the chair, rubbing his thighs with both hands, unsure of what to say. Boss Qin handed Mu Tu a cigarette, and Mu Tu took it with one hand while using the other to light it for Qin. Qin took a puff and exhaled a cloud of smoke, asking: "Did you see the clay figurine in the cave yesterday?"

Bai Fan seemed to doubt Mu Tu's words and asked again, "Brother, are they really searching for ill-gotten gains?"

Just as Mu Tu was about to speak, a loud rumble echoed, and a section of the tunnel inside collapsed, effectively burying the exit of the underground chamber. Boss Qin pushed up his glasses and said, "We should hurry up and leave; this place is about to become unusable."

This was originally a cavern shrouded in darkness and terror, yet the greed-driven individuals, blinded by their avarice, saw neither danger nor horror here; all they perceived was the maddening wealth. Soon, an increasing number of people began to delve into the cavern, even starting to search for the holes and caves depicted in the illustrations.

"Boss, I still have to wait to go down the mine," Mutu was not accustomed to the soft, delicate tone of Boss Qin.

The day after returning to the ground, Muthu was invited into the boss's office. Although the boss had a large office at the mine, it was merely a decoration most of the time. Daily affairs at the mine were handled by two foremen, while the underground operations were managed by the shift supervisor; the boss rarely came to the mine to work.

Did you also see that female ghost

Do not be nervous, just relax a little. I have no other intentions in coming to see you, I just want to have a chat with you

He rushed into an open cave, and when he turned around, he saw the woman chasing after him, seemingly with new hair growing on her head, making her look even more terrifying. Muthu was utterly despaired: the cave had only one entrance, with stone walls on three sides and an empty stone ceiling above. Entering this cave was like crawling into a sack, and now the opening of that sack was being controlled by a blood-faced figure that was neither human nor ghost.

The supervisor Bai Fan hurriedly asked Boss Qin: "What about those people, what about those people?"

They are all picking up those copper utensils below, and some people are searching for gold

The middle-aged man extended his hand and said, "Let me take a look."

"What do you have in your hand? Did you bring it out from the hole in the ground?" The middle-aged man with glasses spoke, surprisingly in a woman's voice, which truly startled Mutu

Mu Tu raised the bronze sword and fiercely stabbed at the blood-faced woman. Despite having several bloody wounds, she continued to advance towards Mu Tu. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Mu Tu discarded the bronze sword in his hand and desperately ran towards the underground cave. The blood-faced female ghost relentlessly pursued him from behind. Mu Tu thought to himself that this time it was truly over; behind him was either a female ghost or a female demon, and being empty-handed meant he was undoubtedly doomed.

There are rumors that Boss Qin made his fortune in the past through tomb raiding. During one such raid, he encountered a corpse transformation and nearly lost his life in the tomb. Subsequently, Qin vowed to wash his hands of the trade and promised never to dig graves again. He also forbade those around him from mentioning tomb raiding and matters related to the dead

Following the supervisor Bai Fan was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, in his fifties, with a pale complexion and a somewhat dim expression. Mu Tu had never seen this person before.

Heaven's transgressions can still be resisted, but human transgressions cannot be survived! Ask the young man what those people have done inside

Bai Fan saw Mu Tu in silence: "What are you dazed about? Did you not hear the boss asking you a question?"

There are indeed corpses and bronze artifacts scattered all over the ground, and they are indeed picking up the bronze artifacts, Mutu stated candidly.

Certainly, these are all rumors without any basis. It now appears that those rumors are not without foundation

Just when he was at a loss, he heard shouts coming from a distance

Mu Tu scanned his surroundings, anxiously searching for a suitable object to defend himself, hoping to hold his ground against this half-human, half-ghost entity. Suddenly, he spotted a hexagonal copper mirror, about the size of a basin, quietly lying in the corner to his right. Without a second thought, Mu Tu rushed over, picked up the mirror, and raised it high above his head to confront the oncoming female ghost. His intention at that moment was to advance as a means of retreat: on the surface, he was wielding the mirror as a weapon, but in reality, he aimed to use it as a cover to escape.

Boss Qin kindly patted Mutu's head and asked, "What did you see in the cave just now? Did you encounter anything frightening?"

The foreman looked astonished: "President Qin, there are still quite a few people inside!"

Mutu handed over the bronze mirror: "There are still many people inside who have not come out"

Mutu thought for a moment and said truthfully: "I lifted the bronze mirror and threw it at it. It seemed very frightened upon seeing the bronze mirror and turned to run away."

The foreman grasped Mutu's shoulder and said, "Brother, what are they all doing?"

Standing next to the glasses, Bai Fan nodded and said, seemingly understanding: "Mr. Qin, you even recognize the oracle bone script on this?"

Mutu understood what was happening and quickly crawled out of the pit

Indeed, this is a good item, and there are also inscriptions of charms on the back

How did you escape from that female ghost's grasp

As soon as Mutu entered the office, Boss Qin warmly invited him to take a seat, leaving Mutu feeling somewhat flattered and quite uncomfortable.

Mu Tu nodded again.

The underground rescue team is searching for the missing miners, and some even called out Mutu's name. Upon hearing the shouts, Mutu was filled with hope: There is a chance for rescue! The blood-faced female ghost seemed to be enraged by the rescue team's cries, baring her teeth and roaring ferociously as she lunged towards Mutu.

If you don't understand, don't speak carelessly. Is this oracle bone script? Forget it, even if I tell you, you won't understand. It's a waste of my breath

Mutu confirmed that the blood-faced female ghost had already run far away, and cautiously returned to the cave entrance, just in time to see the rescue team members crawling in from the passage. Upon seeing Mutu, those individuals first expressed excitement, and then became interested in the scattered items on the ground. They began frantically picking up the bronze artifacts in the cave, while some others, unwilling to give up, started digging on the ground, eagerly searching for more valuable items

Mu Tu had long heard that Boss Qin of the gold mine was very superstitious. Before undertaking any tasks, he would always bathe and burn incense, seeking omens and divination to determine good or bad fortune. Therefore, Boss Qin had very specific requirements for the miners: their birth dates and times must not clash with his; they should not be greedy for small gains, nor should they be tempted by wealth, forgetting their obligations; discussions about the dead and tombs were strictly prohibited; and before descending into the mine, they were required to collectively offer incense before the Buddha statue to seek safety. Thus, Boss Qin had very specific requirements for the miners: their birth dates and times must not clash with his; they should not be greedy for small gains, nor should they be tempted by wealth, forgetting their obligations; discussions about the dead and tombs were strictly prohibited; and before descending into the mine, they were required to collectively offer incense before the Buddha statue to seek safety

You heard that, right? How many times have I said it? Our line of work is different from that of tomb raiders; we cannot be tempted by wealth. Tomb raiders have their own methods; we who mine for gold have our own rules. Whatever we do, we must stick to our own business and not overreach or extend our hands too far! If we cross the line and meddle in others' affairs, that is a sin!

The foreman and the supervisor at the mine also rushed over. The supervisor is the brother-in-law of our village chief, Bai Fan, who introduced Mutu to work at the mine

The glasses returned the hexagonal copper mirror to Mutu: "Young man, although I can tell at a glance that this is a treasure, I, Qin Shou, am a person of great decorum. As the saying goes: a gentleman does not take away what others cherish! Young man, you should take good care of this precious mirror."

This is correct. That copper mirror of yours is not an ordinary mirror; the inscriptions on it are in ancient Mo script, which predates oracle bone script by more than two thousand years, and is referred to as ghost script within certain circles. Have you heard of the legends surrounding ancient Mo ghost script?

Mutu realized: he had encountered a ghost!

The owner of this gold mine is named Qin Shou, which sounds just like a beast at first hearing

What he never expected was that the blood-faced female ghost, upon seeing Mutu holding the bronze mirror, let out a sharp scream, took a few steps back, and then turned to flee the cave. Mutu was momentarily stunned, but quickly realized that the creature seemed to be very afraid of the bronze mirror in his hand and had run away in a panic

You don't need to go down the well today; just chat with me here, and your salary will not be reduced by a single cent

"Handle it according to the standards for sudden mining accidents, send condolence money to their families, and just use money to silence them; additionally, find someone to conduct a ritual to appease the spirits, so they won't speak ill of me down there"

Yes