From the back of the river against the kiosks to the moon bridge, there are four hundred and fifty meters of street. When the sun goes down, the heat gradually fades away, making the streets and alleys become more alive. Those who have a storefront will open their doors, and those who donāt will pull a bunch of light bulbs along the street. The ground was swept clean with water earlier, and the small square tables were placed outside, eight in total, and the long tables are covered with plastic sheeting. The colorful streets were surrounded by high and low bamboo benches, decorated with flowers everywhere. Gradually, the streets and alleys were full of the sound of people speaking, the vendors shouting, and the squeak of the oil in the panā¦.
Even in the middle of the night, the night market was still lively and filled with the aroma of delicious food. No matter which store, when one approaches, the different aromas seem to cover the nose with the smell of pepper, chili oil, sweet vinegar, garlic, and hot sauce. There are all kinds of grilled skewers, casseroles mixed with meatballs in a soup with seasonal vegetables, fresh and fragrant seafood, that are either stir-fried, added to a casserole, steamed, or cooked in oil. Each kind of food stimulates peopleās taste buds, forcing them to swallow hard, take a seat, and order immediately.
Three men ordered grilled skewers, some fried rice, and fried noodles. Then, they sat at a small table in the crowded night market. This store seemed to be extremely popular.
The food was served quickly, and compared with a couple that was chatting and gossiping beside them, Qin Cheng, Wu Hai, and Zhang Jun were way more quieter and silent.
Qin Cheng forgot to ask the store owner to put less chili pepper in the fried noodles with beef, so he was a little overwhelmed. While he waved, calling for the store owner, he also asked the other two who were eating the grilled skewers quietly: āYou guys want a beer? These noodles are a bit spicy.ā
āSure.ā Zhang Jun said while swallowing the food. āLetās start with a can first.ā
āIāll have a can too.ā
Qin Cheng nodded and asked for three cans of beer, when they arrived, he opened them making a āpopā sound, and handed one to Wu Hai.
āThanks.ā After drinking the beer, Wu Hai took a few mouthfuls. After a while, his eyes, which had been unfocused, finally looked at Qin Cheng as he laughed bitterly at himself: āBefore, I suspected that you were behind Jiang Bo and Lin Hongxingās accidentā¦.but now, I ended up experiencing an inexplicable situation myselfā¦.ā
Sitting up straight, Wu Hai formally thanked Qin Cheng. āThis time, I really should thank you. If it wasnāt for you, I probably wouldnāt be sitting here with you two.ā
After taking a sip of the beer, Qin Cheng didnāt reply, he simply patted Wu Haiās shoulder. Qin Cheng knew that Wu Hai was a straightforward person who couldnāt hide his temper, but in the end, he wasnāt a bad person. As for the matter regarding Wu Hai and his girlfriend, it was unclear to him what happened between them.
āDo you know whoā¦.no, I meanā¦.Do you know what happened?ā
āI donāt know. Shortly after I left the research room, I found myself being seemingly controlled by somethingā¦.I was still conscious at that time, but I couldnāt control my actions. I donāt know what happened after I entered the Chenglin Building, I only know that when I regained consciousness, I was standing at the top of the fence.ā
Glancing at Wu Hai, Qin Cheng asked tentatively: āSo, you knowā¦.ā
Qin Cheng didnāt finish his words, but the three of them could guess what he was trying to say. Wu Hai took a deep breath and smiled dryly: āEven though I couldnāt see itā¦.I can probably guess who it wasā¦.ā
Not wanting to continue this conversation, Zhang Jun changed the topic: āIām a little curious, Qin Cheng, why can you see ghosts?ā
āI donāt know.ā Qin Cheng shook his head, feeling a bit helpless. āI found out tonight because of what happened to Wu Hai, at the same time as you guys.ā
āYou werenāt able to see ghosts before?ā
āIām not a Taoist priest to see ghosts and spirits, how can I seeā¦.? Until nowā¦.ā Frowning, Qin Cheng had an answer in his heart, the only one that could make sense, butā¦..
āI guess that it was that day, at the Mausoleum, that the shade of āsomethingā allowed me to see ghosts.ā
āWhat the hell happened that night?ā Zhang Jun frowned, as if he had thought of something, and couldnāt help but shudder. āI always thought that the tomb was very strange. It can be said that, until now, it has been completely impossible to find out the identity of the owner of the tomb, however, after so many years of excavating the area, we can guess the approximate age of the tomb. However, we havenāt been able to find any similarities in the shapes and patterns of the objects excavated from this tomb with the objects from the time period we have theorized to which the tomb belongs to. Itās as if this tombā¦.ā After saying this, Zhang Jun stopped, not daring to go on.
āAs ifā¦.it doesnāt belong to any of the Dynasties recorded in history.ā After finishing what Zhang Jun wanted to say, Qin Chengās hands trembled slightly. āPerhaps, we have really come across the greatest hidden treasure in the history of archaeology.ā
Qin Cheng understood that the archaeologists who had been able to live around the Ninghua Village had the same idea in mind. An assumption that made them tremble with emotion just imagining it.
Jiang Bo, who was already dead, was not the only one deranged. They were all a bunch of history-mad archaeologists.
The plan for scientific research came down soon, despite the time constraints, the preparations that needed to be made were still necessary considering the safety issues. Unlike the pre-established customs of archeology, if the tunnel was dug directly into the main coffin chamber, no one could guarantee that the tunnel would not collapse.
Wouldnāt they die the same way as Jiang Bo if that were to happen?
For this reason, Li Guoxian specially asked his old friends, who were geological experts, to help with the exploration.
Since Jiang Bo was killed in the tunnel he dug himself, the police didnāt allow the archaeological team to set foot inside the tunnel for the time being. Because of this, the archaeological team had to reopen the tunnel from one side, so they had to hire some people to help with the work.
After three days of work, they could only dig a square tunnel almost 5 meters long. It wasnāt that they were slow, but it wasnāt easy to dig a tunnel. In fact, Qin Cheng worked almost every day until seven or eight at night when the sun had already dipped below the horizon.
Bearing in mind that this was a long-term operation, it was necessary to reinforce the tunnel walls with steel and wood, to prevent them from collapsing as they progressed further inside.
By the fifth day of excavation, a Friday, most of the workers had gotten up early, thinking that they would finish early today and would be able to return home, to the city of Xiāan, early in the afternoon.
After so many days of heavy physical work, blisters had appeared on Qin Chengās hands, since when using the shovel, he hadnāt put on the protective gloves. Qin Cheng didnāt care about the preparations before starting to work.
However, after Qin Cheng started to work, an 85-year-old man from Ninghua Village, Mr. Jiang, quickly stopped him.
āDonāt move! This tomb cannot be touched!ā Mr. Jiangās ears werenāt as good as they used to be, and his voice would unconsciously raise a little bit, with an urgent vicariousness, causing Qin Chengās heart to beat uncontrollably.
āWhatās wrong, sir?ā Walking toward Mr. Jiang, Qin Cheng raised his voice and said: āWeāre digging a tunnel, itās dangerous to be here. Shall I accompany you down the mountain?ā
Jiang Mingyou had lived in Ninghua Village since he was born, he had never moved, nor was he willing to move. After all, more than 80 years of his memories were in this place. Ninghua Village was his root, and he wonāt leave no matter what. When the Government asked him to move a few years ago, he refused stubbornly. He thought: āSince Iāve been born here, then Iāll die here as well.ā
Originally, there were more than 20 families living in Ninghua Village, but in the present, only a few old people were left. Jing Mingyou lives to the southwest side of Ninghua Village, which is a considerable distance away from the tomb. Last night, he heard the news that the archeological team was going to resume their work, and since early in the morning, he had been dragging his old body through the mountain until he finally arrived at the tomb.
Even though his hearing wasnāt as good as it used to be, one night, he was able to hear the cries of the crowd flying away from the mountain. He had never witnessed such a thing before, but at the very least, he still remembered what the older generations used to say: When the crows fly away from the mountain, a great disaster will take place!
After thinking about the recent murder case, Jiang Mingyou thought: āIām afraid these archeologists had angered the owner of the tomb!ā
āOh, you young people, you never listen to old people.ā Mr. Jiang said, shaking his head anxiously: āDoes something else have to happen before you understand how serious this is?ā
āWhatās the matter?ā Qin Cheng couldnāt understand why this old grandfather was angry, so he asked again: āIs something wrong?ā
āA few nights ago, the crows of Ninghua Village flew away from the mountains, screaming so loudly that even I, a half-deaf person, could hear it clearly! This is a message that something big is about to happen! It is the shock and rage of the buried Emperor!ā
Seeing that as the old man was recalling that event as he gasped for breath as if he was about to faint, Qin Cheng hurriedly supported him: āSir, thatās a mereāā¦.ā Before he could say the word āsuperstitionā, Qin Cheng thought of the strange things he had recently experienced and stopped. After contemplating a bit, he continued: āSir, Iāll send you down the mountain first. Weāll make sure to pay attention to what you mentioned earlier.ā
āAre you still thinking about continuing working?! Why donāt you just refuse, Iā¦ā
āQin Cheng! This is bad, Professor Li just called to say that something happened to Lin Hongxing!ā
Zhang Jun rushed towards Qin Cheng in a hurry. āProfessor Li contacted Lin Hongxingās parents and heard from them that Lin Hongxingās body began to rot!ā
āRot? Is he dead?!ā Zhang Junās words caused Qin Chengās head to feel dizzy and also caused the staff in the working team to stop what they were doing.
āHeās not dead yet! But the doctors donāt know why his body began to rot!ā
āRetribution! This is the anger of the owner of the tombā¦.ā
Without hearing what Mr. Jiang had said, Qin Cheng subconsciously looked towards the tunnel that they were working on, digging nearly ten meters deep. The pitch dark depths made Qin Cheng shudder as a chill swept all over his body.
A voice seemed to ring in his ears: āThereās no escapeā¦.ā