Chen Rongsheng
Chapter 86 Sister Hong's Admonition
Me and Uncle Mei also pretended to rummage through two stone coffins. The burial goods inside were varied, including not only the most common bronzeware in tombs, but also seashells, ivory, and even jade ornaments.
No wonder these tomb raiders risked their lives to come down here. The moment I saw these treasures, I felt my heart race and my eyes light up!
The bronzeware gleamed brightly with unique shapes, the ivory was whole and huge, as smooth and new as ever, and the jade scepters and ornaments were lustrous and exquisitely carved! Any one of them was a priceless work of art!
The burial goods in any one of these stone coffins were worth more than an ordinary person could earn in several lifetimes!
I squatted inside the stone coffin, holding a handful of translucent jade scepters, staring blankly in a daze.
After all, this was the first time I had tasted the sweetness of tomb raiding, witnessing so many priceless treasures with my own eyes.
I don't know how long I was lost in thought when suddenly a hand rested on my shoulder and shook me. I was startled and turned my head to see Sister Hong standing beside me at some point.
Seeing me staring blankly at the jade scepters in my hand, she quickly reminded me in a low voice, "Silly boy, don't let these treasures cloud your mind. When we finish work, no matter how big or small, good or bad, all the treasures must be handed over to Boss Wang, understand?"
I quickly nodded and said, "Understood."
Sister Hong was still worried and added, "The most taboo thing in our line of work is 'chi si' (eating privately), which means secretly hiding funerary objects. Rongsheng, do you know why we avoid 'chi si'?"
I shook my head blankly.
Sister Hong explained, "The reason we avoid 'chi si' is not because we're afraid of you secretly pocketing treasures, but because these treasures are eye-catching and easily attract the attention of the authorities. The organizer has connections and safe channels to sell the goods, so he can sell these funerary objects without getting caught. If we underlings engage in 'chi si' and sell the funerary objects ourselves, we're easily caught by the authorities, which can lead them to uncover the whole gang."
I suddenly understood and nodded, "I understand, Sister Hong."
Sister Hong patted my shoulder and said again and again, "Newcomers are most likely to 'chi si', so that's why I'm telling you so much. Don't think I'm being long-winded. By the way, Rongsheng, do you know what the consequences are if you're caught 'chi si'?"
I had actually heard Jiang Yongguang talk about it, but I pretended not to know and shook my head again.
Sister Hong said, "You'll be buried alive! In our line of work, it's called 'live planting'! Rongsheng, don't make a mistake because of a moment's thought, or I won't be able to save you!"
I quickly assured Sister Hong again, "Sister Hong, don't worry, I won't 'chi si'. All the funerary objects will be handed over to the organizer."
"That's right." Sister Hong nodded with satisfaction and said, "Anyway, the organizer will pay you wages in the end, and he definitely won't treat you unfairly."
I responded and continued to sift through the pit.
With the concerted efforts of our group, the tomb chamber was quickly emptied.
Boss Wang, overseeing the overall situation, saw that the sifting was almost done and waved his hand, issuing an order, "Alright, let's move on to the next tomb chamber!"
With that, he left the tomb chamber through the back door and continued to advance along the downward sloping tomb passage.
The tomb passage was dark and deep, and I didn't know where it led. Considering its constant downward slope, I even suspected it would lead us to the center of the earth.
While traveling, I quietly glanced ahead and saw that Boss Wang was always standing with Mr. Liao. The two of them were whispering to each other, seemingly discussing some plan.
I couldn't help but wonder, since this corpse driver wasn't here to drive away the corpses of tomb raiders, then there was only one explanation—he was here to drive away the old corpses from the ancient tomb.
However, I had only ever heard of grave robbers stealing funerary objects and encountering *rouzong* (zombies), but I had never heard of them even stealing the remains of the tomb owner. Wouldn't that be too insane?
What's more, the ancient Shu tomb was more than four thousand years old. After such a long period of erosion and oxidation, I was afraid that the tomb owner's body had long since turned into a pile of earth. Was there really an ancient corpse for Mr. Liao to drive?
As my thoughts flew, I couldn't help but recall the ancient Shu tomb under the Tuo River. Although we found the main tomb chamber at that time, we didn't see the tomb owner's coffin or the tomb owner's remains.
But in the next second, a picture suddenly flashed into my mind!
It was the scene of the black coffin that was rolled out of the whirlpool in the water on my first night in Tuo River, and the eerie figure that climbed out of the black coffin!
Even after so long, I still broke out in a cold sweat when I recalled the scene at that time!
Because that scene was too bizarre, and that matter could never be explained by science.
No matter how rationally Jiang Yongguang and Xiao Liang analyzed it, they couldn't reasonably explain the eerie figure in the black coffin. What's more, I had clearly seen a monster covered in black scales on the second floor of Little Boss Wang's villa.
"Could that black figure really be the owner of the ancient tomb?"
I pondered secretly,
"Since the owner of the ancient Shu tomb in the Tuo River looked like that, could the owner of the ancient Shu tomb in the Duck River also look the same? That's why Boss Wang specifically invited a corpse driver to deal with this old corpse?"
Thinking of this, I actually looked forward to it and couldn't wait to find the main tomb chamber of this mausoleum and see the main coffin and the tomb owner.
Just then, I suddenly heard Xiao Wu, who was leading the way in front, shout, "Stop! Be careful!"
The team suddenly braked sharply. I didn't have time to stop and bumped into Sister Hong in front of me.
Sister Hong turned her head and smiled charmingly at me, patted my chest, and whispered, "You're annoying, taking advantage of me. If you want it so much, I'll give it to you after we get out."
I blushed and said awkwardly, "Sister Hong is joking."
Then I quickly looked to the front of the team and saw that the tomb passage seemed to have come to an end, and ahead was an unknown space.
At the same time, I noticed one thing: when everyone spoke, the echo disappeared.
I immediately realized that the end of this tomb passage was probably also that bottomless cave, and the ends of these two forks were the same.
"Damn it, could it be that there's no way out again?" I frowned and said, "We haven't found the main tomb chamber yet."
But just as I finished speaking, Xiao Wu, who was standing at the front of the team, suddenly took out a bundle of rope-like things from his backpack, then squatted down and threw the thing out.
I vaguely saw that this seemed to be a roll of rope ladder!
Xiao Wu seemed to be planning to use the rope ladder to climb from the end of the tomb passage to that bottomless cave!
This guy is a ruthless person!