With Mr. Liao using a hemp rope to drag the tomb owner's corpse, I heard a "creak, creak" sound from inside the tree hole. The sound made my scalp tingle, and I subconsciously covered my ears.

The Wang Shopkeeper next to me, however, wasn't afraid of the unsettling noise. On the contrary, he stared intently at the tree hole. It was clear he was very interested in this ancient corpse.

I couldn't understand what Wang Shopkeeper wanted with this corpse. Did he have some strange fetish?

Mr. Liao's movements were gentle. This was the safest way to invite the corpse out of the coffin. Uncle Mei stood on the other side of the tree hole, worried that something might go wrong.

After five minutes, I finally saw a corner of the coffin's contents appear. Under Mr. Liao's dragging, a piece of brightly colored cloth emerged from the tree hole!

Although the cloth was thousands of years old, it looked like new. In the light of the headlamp, I saw that it was embroidered with cloud patterns and white cranes.

"Damn! It's really beautiful..." I couldn't help but exclaim.

Hearing my admiration, Hong Jie, who had been standing in the distance, couldn't help but walk over quickly. She glanced at the beautiful cloth being pulled from the tree hole and said with emotion, "What kind of fabric is this? It's so beautiful!"

Wang Shopkeeper glanced at her with disdain and said, "You don't even know the famous Shu brocade? How ignorant."

"Shu brocade?" Hong Jie was shocked and questioned, "Did they have Shu brocade more than four thousand years ago?"

Wang Shopkeeper said, "The ancient Shu Kingdom mastered the art of silkworm breeding and brocade weaving from the time of the Cancong. This tomb is from the Boguan period, which is six hundred years later than Cancong. How could they not have Shu brocade?"

At this time, Mr. Liao said, "This Shu brocade should be the shroud used by the tomb owner to wrap himself. Look at the color and texture, it's just like new!"

But I knew that the beauty of this Shu brocade was only temporary. The reason it was so well preserved was because it was stored in the completely oxygen-free environment inside the tree trunk. Now that it was exposed to oxygen, I was afraid it would quickly fade and decay, just like those bronze artifacts that crumbled at the slightest touch.

Tomb raiders don't have the ability to protect cultural relics, so most of the artifacts they take out are destined to be destroyed.

After another two minutes, Mr. Liao had dragged out most of the tomb owner. Because the tomb owner's body was completely wrapped in Shu brocade, we couldn't see his full appearance, or even know his height, weight, or gender.

As the body was pulled out a little further, Uncle Mei reacted quickly and stepped forward to hold the upper half of the body. In this way, Mr. Liao and Uncle Mei, at either end, successfully removed the tomb owner from the tree trunk. https:/

Wang Shopkeeper was overjoyed and rubbed his hands excitedly, saying, "Great, I've finally found you, finally found you..."

Seeing him in this state, I felt a chill run down my spine.

What kind of morbid obsession did Wang Shopkeeper have with this corpse? I really couldn't understand.

As he spoke, Mr. Liao and Uncle Mei carried the remains to a relatively open area under the tree and laid it flat on the ground.

At this time, Mr. Liao looked up and asked Wang Shopkeeper, "Wang Shopkeeper, are you planning to take the tomb owner out whole, or identify him first?"

Wang Shopkeeper said impatiently, "Of course, identify him first. Mr. Liao, please."

Mr. Liao didn't waste any words and nodded immediately, "Easy."

Then he took out a diving knife from his backpack, ready to cut the straps tying the shroud.

As Mr. Liao's knife fell, there was a "pop" sound. The strap originally tied around the tomb owner's waist was cut in two. Only then did I realize that several exquisite pieces of jade were sewn onto this strap—this was also a rare treasure!

Then the Shu brocade shroud sprang open, and the contents wrapped inside gradually revealed their true appearance.

All the other tomb raiders around us gathered around, wanting to see what the ancient Shu people looked like more than four thousand years ago.

Only Hong Jie was timid, hiding behind me like a frightened rabbit, tightly hugging my waist, pressing her face against my back, and whispering, "Rongsheng, I'm afraid to look! Go and see for me, what does this ancient Shu king look like..."

Before she finished speaking, the corpse in the shroud was finally revealed.

He was not buried naked, but wearing a rather gorgeous costume. The entire costume was dark green, made of Shu brocade and animal skin sewn together. On his chest was embroidered a bird-like pattern resembling a white crane.

But when I looked at his face, I was suddenly stunned!

Because the first thing I saw was a pair of strange eyes!

Eyes with both eyeballs protruding from their sockets!

Such eyes were indeed the same as the bronze statues in the ancient Shu tombs, with both eyeballs protruding outwards, both strange and frightening!

I couldn't help but ask, "Protruding eyes? Is this what the history books call protruding eyes?"

Jiang Yongguang had told me before that the historical book *Huayang Guo Zhi* recorded: "There was a Marquis of Shu, Cancong, whose eyes were protruding, and he was the first to be called king."

Protruding eyes were probably what the corpse in front of me looked like.

When Wang Shopkeeper heard this, he couldn't help but look at me in a new light, smiling and saying, "The kid has some culture. You actually know about the Shu people's protruding eyes? That's right, this is indeed the characteristic of protruding eyes."

But Mr. Liao smiled and said, "It's not necessarily protruding eyes. Anyone who has been soaked in water for thousands of years will have protruding eyeballs. When Madam Xin Zhui, discovered in Hunan, was unearthed, both her eyeballs were also protruding."

"I see..." I nodded slightly.

Hong Jie behind me was both scared and curious, and asked me in a low voice, "Rongsheng, are the tomb owner's eyes bulging out? Goodness, it's so scary!"

I didn't bother to talk to Hong Jie, but continued to look down, scanning the tomb owner's neck. When I saw this, I couldn't help but gasp!

On the tomb owner's neck, there was actually a patch of black scales that shimmered with a metallic luster!

This immediately reminded me of the monster I saw locked in the room on the second floor of Little Wang Shopkeeper's villa!

The scales on the tomb owner's neck were clearly the same as the scales on his back!

These two people must be related!

Could it really be as I guessed, that the person imprisoned on the second floor of Little Wang Shopkeeper's villa was the tomb owner from the Tuo River ancient Shu tomb?

But how did he come back to life?

Just as my thoughts were racing, Wang Shopkeeper also saw the scales on the tomb owner's neck. He suddenly pounced over like a madman and tore open the tomb owner's upper garment!

Mr. Liao was taken aback and asked in astonishment, "Wang Shopkeeper, what are you doing?"

I was also caught off guard. Did Wang Shopkeeper really have some abnormal fetish?