I crawled forward in the pitch - black mountain belly, crying as I went. Finally, there was a glimmer of light ahead. Like a moth to a flame, I rushed towards it.
As soon as my hands reached out of the cave opening, I was grabbed and pulled out.
"Why are you crying?"
I immediately fell into a solid embrace. Then the tears on my face were wiped away.
Suddenly being dragged from absolute darkness into the light, I was just about to squint my eyes when a hand covered them, blocking the hazy light from my sight.
It was Si Jiangchen!
I instantly felt at ease and shrank in his arms, carefully observing the surrounding environment.
This was a huge stone chamber. There were only two small white candles. One was placed in a corner of the chamber, and the other was under the stone cave I had crawled through. If Si Jiangchen hadn't picked me up in time, I might have plunged head - first into the flickering flame and singed some of my hair...
Now, in this vast space, only the two tiny, ghostly flames provided light, which was far from enough to pierce through the eternal darkness of thousands of years. I could only vaguely see the space within a meter radius.
Apart from Si Jiangchen and me in the stone chamber, I could also see two or three figures bustling around a corner of the chamber.
"What are they doing?"
I wiped the wet tears from my face and whispered to Si Jiangchen, "Are they all tomb robbers?"
"Yeah. Giving them a chance to atone for their crimes."
Si Jiangchen's voice was cold. His eyes shone brightly in the dim light, like two glistening gems.
Although I'm not a particularly kind - hearted person, I really dislike these guys who break into other people's places and rob.
I could vaguely see the guy who had been locked up in prison by Si Jiangchen before. He was stroking a half - moon - shaped arched door. The door was about half a person's height and was tightly sealed with a half - foot - thick bluestone slab.
This place seemed to be a side chamber where the tomb owner stored food and wine. We had crawled in through a hole chiseled directly in the outer rock wall. We hadn't entered through the main door of the tomb but had broken in by chiseling a hole in the wall of the "storeroom" of the tomb owner's "mansion".
The door of the storeroom was closed and sealed from the outside. These tomb robbers were trying to figure out how to open the lock from the inside of the stone door.
After stroking for a while, a man named Chen Jiu picked up a three - foot - long iron hook from the ground and slipped it through the one - finger - wide crack of the stone door.
I saw Chen Jiu frowning as he held the end of the iron bar and kept probing outside, as if trying to hook something.
The iron bar rubbed against the hard stone, making a harsh "clucking" sound in the silence. Everyone held their breath and listened to the teeth - grating noise. After about ten minutes, finally, there was a soft "click" sound. Chen Jiu's face immediately lit up with joy, and he immediately pulled the iron bar upwards with force.
"Did it work?"
The other two men, who seemed to be Chen Jiu's assistants, asked in a low voice at the same time.
"Of course it did. Give me a hand and quickly open the door so we can get out of here!"
There was a hint of disdain in Chen Jiu's voice, as if he was the most authoritative guy here and his words were not to be questioned.
"Brother Jiu, something doesn't sound right outside!"
At this time, the thin and small man lay on the stone door and listened. He quickly pressed Chen Jiu's hand. "There might be an ambush outside!"
"Lu Dayong, you don't know shit! Acting like an expert in front of me?"
Unexpectedly, the thin man's reminder made Chen Jiu feel embarrassed. He waved his hand and slapped the man's hand away. "If you're scared, get out and give back your share of the money."
"... There really is a problem!"
The thin man still tried to stop Chen Jiu. "This is the stone tomb of a Ming - Dynasty feudal prince. They liked to set all kinds of traps at that time. It's better to be careful!"
Saying this, he glanced at Si Jiangchen. "Sir, you're the master. What do you say..."
Before Lu Dayong could finish speaking, Chen Jiu exerted force again. With a "snap", the bluestone bolt that had been locking the stone door was hooked up by his iron bar.
With a "rumble", the bluestone slab, weighing over a hundred jin, fell to the ground outside and broke into two pieces.
Everyone's hearts tightened. The three people in front of the door immediately lay on the ground. Si Jiangchen tightened his arm around me and casually turned around to protect me in front of his chest.
After a while, there was no more sound outside. The flame of the candle by the wall had stopped flickering.
"See, I told you! This is just an ordinary storeroom. How could there be any traps?"
Chen Jiu got up from the ground. He gave Lu Dayong a disdainful look before reaching out to pull the rather heavy stone doors.
"Cluck, cluck, cluck..."
Another series of teeth - grating stone - rubbing sounds came. The stone doors were opened. Suddenly, a puff of black gas sprayed in from the crack of the stone door. The candle by the wall was immediately extinguished.
There was only one candle left in the stone chamber, at our feet. It was also shaken by the gushing black gas and almost went out several times.
The stone cave we had crawled through was connected to the outside, and fresh air was constantly flowing in, which made the small flame gradually stabilize.
"What is that?"
Si Jiangchen asked in a deep voice. He had already taken out a handkerchief and covered my nose with it.
"Cough, cough!!"
The people by the door were all hit by the black mist and choked, with tears and snot running down their faces. While coughing loudly, Chen Jiu said, "Captain Si, it's okay. This is the mildew accumulated from the rotting things inside for thousands of years. We chiseled a hole in this place. When the air circulates, it naturally rushes towards here!"
Saying this, he tore a piece of cloth from his clothes, covered his nose and mouth with it, and tied it behind his head. He relit the candle, held it high, and walked out of the opened stone doors.
"Watch your step!!"
Lu Dayong, who was following Chen Jiu, reached out to grab Chen Jiu's clothes. Chen Jiu stepped onto the bluestone floor outside. The slab sank slightly and then there was no more movement.
"Lu Dayong, are you trying to show off your skills by scaring everyone?"
The candle in Chen Jiu's hand flickered with his voice, making his face look half gloomy and half evil. "Your Lu family's tricks are nothing in my eyes! I've 'dug sweet potatoes' and 'turned salted fish' hundreds of times. I've seen all kinds of dangers. Do I need you to tell me what to do?!"
He pointed to the bluestone slab under his feet and said, "This is a stone - chamber tomb. The bluestone slabs on the ground are chiseled according to the material. There's no way to install any traps on them!"
Saying this, he deliberately jumped twice before letting Lu Dayong and another assistant follow him.
"Captain Si, please come this way!"
Chen Jiu's voice was very respectful. Just as the soldiers outside had said, was he really subdued by Si Jiangchen?
I would never believe that a cruel and heartless guy who could kill his father and ignore his descendants could be truly subdued by someone... He was probably just pretending to be obedient in front of Si Jiangchen, waiting for a chance to take revenge!