Chapter 7

Despite the loud noise in the background, Qin Cheng’s thoughts had long stopped at Li Guoxian’s words….

For the dead, the ancients believed that the jade had the function of preventing the body from rotting, having the effect of guaranteeing the immortality of the body after death. Therefore, in ancient times, when Emperors or high-ranking relatives died, they used gold silk and jade pieces to weave them into funeral clothes with the same appearance as the human body. The jade garment was a symbol of the wearer’s rank, and the jade garments of the Emperor and some of his close Ministers were knotted with golden thread, known as the “Golden Thread Jade Clothes”. In ancient times, there were also nobles who set jade tablets on their coffins, begging for their bodies to not rot….

Although, in truth, the Jade didn’t have such utility….

As for avoiding evil spirits, Qin Cheng more or less knows something about Jade: Since ancient times it was used to guarantee safety and to pray for peace, without pain and disaster. Also, in ancient times, when a child was born, their family would give the child a piece of Jade, the child would wear the piece of jade in his body and it was meant to pray for their safety.

The Jade he picked up, Qin Cheng subconsciously felt that it must be related to the tomb owner. When he held the jade pendant in his hand, he was able to see that it was transparent and rounded. Not only the upper part of the texture but even the carving and hollowing were also rare works of art in ancient and modern times. Only those with high status could enjoy this kind of beautiful jade. However, if the jade was really the tomb owner’s personal jade pendant, then why did it appear under the soil at the edge of the Mountain Mausoleum? According to common sense, if this kind of jade pendant wasn’t buried with the tomb owner’s body, then it should be buried among the burial objects in the coffin chamber….

When Qin Cheng suddenly thought of such a possibility, his heart skipped a beat.

It was something that every Archaeologist hoped never to see…. That is to say: the possibility that the Mausoleum was already excavated by grave robbers many, many years ago, resulting in that piece of jade being accidentally left in that place by the thieves. Then, many years later, it was inadvertently picked up by Qin Cheng.

Looking throughout these past couple of years of Archeological discoveries of ancient tombs, the grave robbers would have visited the burial chambers before, leaving almost nothing behind. Only those bronze and pottery objects that were difficult to move weren’t taken, and very few extremely precious objects made of gold, silver, and jade, will also remain inside the tomb.

“Ah…” With a light sigh, the thoughtful Qin Cheng was feeling a bit tired. He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

At the same time, the door of the research room made a ‘creak–’ sound while it was gently pushed open. Everyone inside the research room subconsciously looked over there.

The person standing behind the door was a woman whose hair was styled from an unknown period of time. The broken hairs on her temples were pinned behind her ears by a hairpin, making her whole person look fresh and gentle.

Qin Cheng knew who she was. She’s Wu Hai’s girlfriend, an archeology graduate student from the same college as them.

However, this was everything Qin Cheng knew about her because Wu Hai and him aren’t friends, so there’s no need for them to have contact. Apart from occasionally seeing her beside Wu Hai, Qin Cheng didn’t know more.

The woman entered the research room, went to a chair in the corner, and then sat down. However, he forgot to close the door behind her. Li Guoxian pointed at the door and said to Zhang Jun: “Close the door.”

Zhang Jun closed the door smoothly without delay, and the previous discussion continued as if nothing happened. It was late at night when the final decision was taken; they will start the excavation from the coffin chamber. After that, no one talked for a brief moment, filling the room with a somewhat abnormal silence.

The shadows of the trees outside the windows of the research room, the sound of the wind blowing, and the brushing sound of the leaves, were magnified countless times in the suddenly quiet room. For a moment, Qin Cheng fell into a trance.

‘ This night looks like the one…. Like the night I went looking for Jiang Bo. ’

“Since we all agree to start from the corner of the main tomb, then it’s decided. Let’s all disperse, there’s been a lot of things going on lately, we should go back and have a good rest. It doesn’t matter what happens, we must continue our work. Although I don’t say it out loud, I think you all must feel it too. This tomb is different….There are a lot of things we can’t explain, and I know that it’s not just me who wants to know the secrets hidden deep inside this tomb….” Li Guoxian said as he spat out his cigarette and then sighed: “I think, if this secret is revealed, as an Archeologist, the struggles we’re experiencing right now will all be worth it in the end, and for the rest of our lives….”

Li Guoxian’s words touched everyone’s heart. It wasn’t that no one tried to guess the identity of the tomb’s owner, but that every time they would actually try it, they would find that their guess was completely wrong. The archeologists, despite the constant disappointment, would always find themselves feeling more and more excited about all the mysteries that were buried for thousands of years. Such desire to find out the truth, not to mention the impatient Jiang Bo or Li Guoxian, but everyone present, including Qin Cheng, felt the same.

Yes, even if they met with the sad outcome of the tomb being robbed, Qin Cheng never thought of actually quitting. Because he was hiding a guess in his heart, a guess that made his heart tremble, a guess that could turn History upside down…

When the meeting came to its end, it was almost one o’clock in the morning. Zhang Jun, who was walking the same road as Qin Cheng, stretched out his back and cursed: “Motherfucker, at this point I’m sleepy as hell.” After a pause, he added. “Hey, I say, why don’t we go out, find a night market, and get something to eat? I have something to ask you.”

After hearing Zhang Jun’s invitation, Qin Cheng realized that he was actually really hungry. Given the fact that he hadn’t eaten anything today, it was understandable.

“Fine for me, I’m not feeling sleepy at all.” While speaking, he saw from a distance that Wu Hai and his girlfriend were walking side by side, however, they didn’t seem to be having a conversation.

It was very late at night, and except for the people present in the meeting, there weren’t any other students wandering around the campus. Apart from the sound of the rustling leaves, and the occasional meowing of the campus’ feral cats, nothing else could be heard.

Such silence made Qin Cheng frown, then he asked casually: “Are Wu Hai and his girlfriend in a fight?”

Zhang Jun, who was walking beside him, suddenly stopped for a brief moment, and then kept walking: “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

“It’s just….” Qin Cheng shook his head. “Just now I saw the two of them walking side by side without talking with each other….” Qin Cheng suddenly felt that he had too much free time to be interested in a topic like this. Whether someone else is in a good relationship or not is none of his business. “Whatever, forget I asked.”

“Walking side by side?!” Zhang Jun’s voice unnaturally raised a few tones, as if he had heard something unbelievable. “Fuck, Qin Cheng, it’s the middle of the night and that joke wasn’t funny at all. How could Wu Hai’s girlfriend be here?!”

Qin Cheng tsk-ed and said: “You were sitting closer to the door, how could you not see her when she walked in?”

As soon as Qin Cheng finished speaking, Zhang Jun’s face turned pale and confused: “I will ask you, are you unaware that Wu Hai’s girlfriend committed suicide? She jumped down a building last month. Qin Cheng, is your brain okay? The door of the research room was blown open by the wind.”

After Zhang Jun’s words, Qin Cheng suddenly felt a few chills down his back….

Looking back in the direction where he had just seen Wu Hai walking by, he found out that he couldn’t see him anymore. Qin Cheng’s hand unconsciously trembled, he had heard before that there was a female graduate student that jumped off a building, but at that time, he was in Ninghua Village and didn’t pay any special attention to it. However, he didn’t expect her to be Wu Hai’s girlfriend at all, because, as usual, Wu Hai clearly stayed at Ninghua Village for the past month….

“Where did she jump from?”

When Zhang Jun saw that Qin Cheng’s face was no better than his, he hurriedly said: “It was the Chenglin Building.”

‘ Chenglin Building…. ’

‘ Just now, that was where Wu Hai was headed…. ’

(๑ˊ͈ ॢꇴ ˋ͈)〜♡ ॰ॱ