The first and second homicides in Ninghua Village had something in common. Both occurred at the same place, and the way of death was very similar in terms of strangeness. Zhang Qishuo was almost in the same situation as Lin Hongxing, who is still alive from the first case, and it was all caused by that inexplicable bloody hole in the head. Lin Hongxing was still hanging on his last breath, but Zhang Qishuo couldnât be as lucky as he was, and died right after being treated for his wounds.
And that Jiang BoâŠ.. Jiang Ping ruthlessly inhaled a mouthful of his cigarette, and then threw the cigarette butt on the tunnelâs ground, right at the same spot where Jiang Bo died. The cause of Jiang Boâs death couldnât even be found out by Mr. Fan, a highly experienced forensic doctor, which made everything feel more unbelievable.
âAll of his organs were fine, and it couldnât have been a sudden death. Judging from his expression and movements, itâs obvious that he was frightened and struggling to escape before he died. How do I put it? It seems like he was struggling to get away, when suddenly, someone cut off his lifelineâŠ.â
Cut off the lifelineâŠ. After thinking of the words the old Mr. Fan said, Jiang Ping couldnât help but pay extra attention to what Qin Cheng said he experienced that time, which still sounded like a fantasy story. Could it be that there really is something?âŠ.
âDeputy Bureau Jiang, how much longer are you going to be inside the tunnel? Iâve heard the complaints of those neurotic Archeologists, Iâm scared. Why did you want to come to this grotesque tomb at night?â
Looking back at Xiao Lin, who was shivering at the entrance of the cave, Jiang Ping sneered: âI donât know who said this strange and nonsensical story to you, but how come youâre suddenly believing it today?â
Seemingly feeling a gust of wind blowing, Lin Qinyu hugged his arms tightly: âSeriously, I really donât believe that there are ghosts and spirits in this world, but whether I believe it not, who would come to this graveyard at night? This is also the fucking graveyard where two people died.â
Lin Qingyu was one of the few female Detective and Police Officer in the Bureau, and when she says that sheâs scared, in fact, sheâs actually not, since sheâs seen so many corpses over the years already. However, who would like to continue working after work? Looking at the exceptionally conscientious Deputy in front of her, she couldnât help but mutter: âSuch efforts can only be done by the Deputy, canât you see that the ones that leave work early, arrive to work early as well? Sitting all day on the desk, collecting the cases results?â
âWhy are you still standing there, mumbling?â
âYes yes yes, Iâm going.â
It was dark in the depths of the tunnel, and Jiang Ping could only observe the interior with the help of his assistantâs searchlight. The construction of the tunnel was reasonably built, paying extra attention to safety, and Jiang Ping couldnât find any signs that the tunnel might collapse, even when he reached the end of it. Apart from the bloodstains mixed with mud, there was a hole at the bottom of the tunnel, which was about 80-90cm deep. This was where they saw Zhang Qishuoâs body half buried into the soil.
Tentatively, he stepped a foot on the edge of the hole and discovered that the soil was firm, which completely destroyed the possibility that the soil collapsed that time.
Thinking about how Zhang Qishuoâs leg bones were almost completely broken, Jiang Ping seemed to be able to imagine Zhang Qishuo being dragged directly into the ground, by a strange forceâŠâŠ
Jiang Ping couldnât help but frown as he inadvertently saw a half-exposed object on the ground, at a corner of the tunnel. He was about to kneel down and reach for it when Lin Qingyu, who was right next to him, hurriedly stopped him.
âI think this kind of object can be left untouched, after all, it was buried in the tomb.â Lin Qingyu also saw that object, licked her somewhat dry lips, and frowned: âAlso, didnât those Archeologists say that this tomb was an Imperial Mausoleum of a thousand years of age?â
Looking at Lin Qingyu, whose face suddenly looked bad and whose fingernails were pinching him fiercely, Jiang Ping frowned, realizing that something wasnât right with Lin Qingyu: âLetâs go back for today.â
After saying that, he half-helped, half-dragged, the disoriented Lin Qingyu out of the tunnel.
Meanwhile, inside the tomb, a man tapped the sarcophagus with his fingers as he said with a smile: âA thousand years?â
âA thousand years âŠâŠâ
âŠ
Zhang Qishuoâs home was in Zhengyuan Township, on Sichuan Providence, not far from the border of Shanxi and Sichuan. However, his journey is not far away, and after dealing with some matters at Xiâan, Qin Cheng headed to Zhang Qishuoâs hometown.
The first seven days itâs a custom referring to the seventh day after the death of the deceased. The older generations believed that on the seventh day, the soul of the deceased would return home. The family would prepare a meal for the soul of the dead before the soul comes back, after that, the family must avoid to be seen by the soul of the deceased, and the best way to do this was to go to sleep, or to hide under the covers, because if the dead sees his family, the dead will remember its life with them, and this will affect its reincarnation.
Qin Cheng didnât count as a member of Zhang Qishuoâs family, no naturally, he didnât need to avoid sitting and chatting with Zhang Qishuoâs neighbors in the courtyard of Zhang Qishuoâs house.
âThis child was his parentsâ hearts. Itâs already so hard to raise a graduate student, and all of a sudden, heâs gone. How will his parents stand it?â
âTsk, what a pity, at such a young age, how could he bear to leave his parents behindâŠ.â
The chatty neighbors couldnât see him, but this didnât mean that Qin Cheng couldnât. Zhang Qishuoâs spirit appeared from nowhere, slowly wandering around the courtyard, until he went into the dinner room to sit at the table. He looked left and right, and Qin Cheng knew that he was looking for his parentsâŠ..
Then he saw that Zhang Qishuo stood up hesitantly, he seemed like he wanted to go inside his parentsâ room, but he looked like he was reluctant to step in. Qin Chengâs heart suddenly tightened, Zhang Qishuo was trying to see his parents againâŠ.. after all, the Yin and Yang were separated.
At the end of the day, Zhang Qishuo didnât enter his parentsâ room, he just knelt down in front of their door and kowtowed. Faintly, Qin Cheng could hear Zhang Qishuo say: âParentsâ well-beingâŠ.. hundred years oldâŠ.â
As Zhang Qishuo ate alone under the dim candlelight, Qin Cheng looked up at the starry sky, his eyes were red and teary.
At some point, Zhang Qishuo came to Qin Chengâs back, he sighed and said: âIâve gambled with my own life⊠to finish my postgraduate researchâŠ. so burn a book for me, andâŠâ
âIâll look after them.â
Qin Chengâs words stunned Zhang Qishuo, who was standing behind him. It turned out thatâŠ. Qin Cheng could see him?âŠ. turns outâŠ..
His face changed while looking at Qin Chengâs back. Zhang Qishuo opened his mouth like he wanted to ask many things to Qin Cheng, but in the end, he just patted his shoulder: âIâll leave everything to youâŠâ
In the deep, dimly lit sky, there were a few scattered stars, the ground was dark and the weeds were trembling slightly. Everywhere was shrouded in a mysterious thin brightness. A skylark <sup>1</sup> , as if meeting with the stars, was singing in the sky, and the vast firmament also seemed to be holding its breath listening to this song sung by this little life for the boundless universe.
When the sky was dyed with dawn colors, Zhang Qishuo disappeared. As the rooster started to crow, Qin Cheng stood up, and step by step, he approached the old room. He pushed open the door and walked in. Zhang Qishuoâs parents didnât sleep, instead, they sat in the middle of the room, silently wiping their tears.
A few days passed by like they were years, and these people who were in their fifties, due to the exhaustion of grief, grew new pairs of white hairs on their heads, suddenly looking like they aged many years in such a short time.
â From now on, your mother and father will also be my mother and father âŠâŠâ
â I wonât leave this life until the secret of that tomb is revealed. â
There was already a shortage of science research personnel in the tomb of Ninghua Village, and because of this incident, several people left. Lots of meetings were held more often, but it didnât matter how much they argued, Qin Cheng always said two words: Letâs continue.
Jiang Bo and Zhang Qishuo lost their lives after so many years of continuous research and excavation. If they gave up, this would not only insult their memories, but also Qin Cheng felt that it was an insult for themselves, after spending four or five years of their lives in this tomb.
âI donât want to keep working at night, so the work must be over by five oâclock. It doesnât matter if the work becomes slow, Iâll keep going, no matter how many years it takes.â
âYou may not want your fucking life, but I want to keep living!â
âThen get out!â With a face full of anger, Qin Cheng left, no longer paying attention to the noisy crowd behind him.
The meeting ended unhappily, but the result turned out well for Qin Cheng. His words angered the oppositors, leaving no more than 16 Archeologists behind, but at least, the work wonât have to get stuck without moving forward from now on.
From 8 am to 4 pm, on time, no one is allowed to stay past that time at the tomb. For the sake of safety, Li Guoxian also found a medium-sized bus and allocated a small amount of money to transport all the personnel to Xiâan on time, so that scientific research personnel wouldnât have to live in Ninghua Village.
By avoiding the dark nights and dim mornings, half a month of excavation passed by with all of the Archeologists safe and sound.
The tunnel leads directly to the lower end of the Mausoleum, and while theyâre slowly removing the large stone slab at the edge of the crypt, the shrine, buried for thousands of years, leading to the main tomb, little by little, appears in front of Qin Chengâs eyesâŠ..
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Footnotes
<ol><b>äșé</b> <b>yĂșn quĂš</b> ; Scientific name: Alauda arvensis. Is a small songbird, slightly sparrow-like in size and plumage. Itâs a brownish and light yellow color, with its thorax and abdomen being white to dark brown.</ol>