Chapter 154: Chapter 96: The Bottomless Pit Beneath the Yellow River (Part 2)
"This coffin was discovered by all of us together, it should belong to everyone and should be divided equally among us. Why should you claim it all for yourself? Everyone, am I right?"
"Right! This coffin was washed out by the Yellow River and discovered by all of us together. Even if you’re from the court, you can’t swallow this treasure whole!"
"That’s right, why should you hog it all? Haven’t you heard of ’finders keepers’?"
"Let’s kill the corrupt official and split the Crystal Coffin among us. Even if we end up wandering the world, it would be worth it!"
"With a Crystal Coffin as the burial, there must be astonishing treasures inside. We absolutely cannot let this corrupt official take it all!"
...
At this moment, tens of thousands of laborers gathered in one place, each speaking up, relying on their numbers and strength, not fearing any reprimand from that Official.
Moreover, the people were just laborers and not criminals, so facing the Official didn’t make them feel particularly intimidated.
At that moment, tens of thousands of laborers shouted, their voices echoing over the Yellow River’s riverbed, collectively surrounding the Official like a tide with their shouting and pushing.
With that, the laborers, like a tide, began continuously pushing and shoving, forcing their way toward the Official.
The leading general, seeing this scene, broke out in a cold sweat, knowing that the start of a rebellion was from pushing and shoving. If he couldn’t control the situation once it started, the formation of the Officials would be dispersed, and then it would come to blows.
"Stop now! You dare to assault the court’s officials, that’s a crime punishable by the extermination of your nine kins! Everyone calm down, don’t misunderstand my intentions. What I mean is, the treasures inside the Crystal Coffin are so few, how can we divide them among tens of thousands of us? Even a thousand people wouldn’t be able to share it equally!" The general hurriedly changed his tone, shouting hoarsely.
These words managed to slowly calm the passionate emotions of the laborers, bringing them back to reason, as they all looked at each other in dismay.
Yes, how much can the burial goods inside the Crystal Coffin really be? At most a thousand pieces, right? But there are tens of thousands of people here, how are we supposed to divide them?
Following the words of the leading general, the laborers, who were previously as full of energy as if they’d been injected with chicken blood, all calmed down, looking at each other with a hint of confusion in their eyes.
They were just a bunch of laborers to begin with, without any real ideas of their own. Upon hearing the words of the officials, all of them were left at a loss, standing there in bewilderment.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" someone shouted from within the crowd.
"Why don’t we open the Crystal Coffin first, see how many treasures are inside, then convert them into silver and distribute them? This way, each one of us can have a share. What do you all think?" Now that the general had regained control of the situation, the corners of his mouth curled into a subtle smile as he opened his mouth to ask the crowd, his voice full of sincerity.
"The general’s words make sense. The treasures inside the Crystal Coffin are limited. We can first open the coffin, convert the contents into money, and then distribute it to each one of us present."
"The general speaks sensibly!"
"I agree with the general’s words."
...
A group of people animatedly voiced their agreement.
Zhang Chen stood among the crowd, looking at the disorganized and undisciplined laborers, who were like headless flies, and couldn’t help but shake his head, "It’s hard to make a difference with this group."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Yellow River is prone to sudden flooding, we shouldn’t stay on the riverbed. Let’s prepare ropes to drag the Crystal Coffin ashore, so we’ll be safe. Once we get it ashore, we can discuss how to open it and inspect the treasures inside, what do you think?" The general shouted to the surrounding people.
Hearing this, the people had no objections, so someone sought out seven or eight thick, long ropes. The crowd, clamoring about, wrapped the ropes around the Crystal Coffin, and several hundred strong villagers pulled together to try and drag the Crystal Coffin.
But as they exerted force, the Crystal Coffin wobbled, and water began to rapidly bubble up from the riverbed’s mud.
The Yellow River started rising again!
Seeing the Yellow River begin to flood again, the people didn’t dare to delay and hurriedly screamed and ran for the shore.
Zhang Chen mingled with the crowd and said to the Fox Spirit beside him, "What do you think?"
"This Crystal Coffin was meant to lure you out on the riverbed and wasn’t meant to be dragged ashore by anyone. The Yellow River watercourses are within the realm of the Walking Flood Dragon, and it absolutely cannot leave the Yellow River to come ashore. Haven’t you heard the old saying about a ’dragon playing in the shallow water’? Once it reaches the shore, even a Dragon Seed wouldn’t stand a chance." The Fox Spirit replied.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen raised an eyebrow, agreeing with the Fox Spirit. Meanwhile, the crowd, still shaken, stood on the shore, looking doubtfully at the surging river of the Yellow River.
When the Yellow River waters receded, the crowd ran back to pull the ropes again, but each time they pulled, in no time at all, the riverbed began to flood with Yellow River water again.
After repeating this five or six times, the crowd immediately realized something wasn’t right.
"This Crystal Coffin is eerie. Every time we pull it, the Yellow River will overflow. It’s quite creepy!" someone muttered.
To ordinary people, they’d never heard of mysterious affairs before, and had no concept of it in their minds.
Just like an ordinary person who can’t imagine how extravagant the rich are, you wouldn’t have even heard of such things.
But even though they hadn’t heard of anything mysterious, they realized something was wrong now. Yet the Crystal Coffin was of inestimable value, not to mention the burial goods inside. If they could be excavated, they could ensure a lifetime of prosperity.
The leading general rolled his eyes, "Extend the ropes for me, and go bring all the horses. Let’s pull from the shore, surely the Yellow River’s water won’t flood ashore."
How could there be a shortage of draft animals and carts, donkeys, and oxen at a labor site like this?
With the tide receding, the group of laborers began extending the ropes towards the shore, harnessing donkeys and horses to them.
There were about a few hundred donkeys, a hundred horses, and several dozen oxen at the labor site. Under the general’s command, the people started working in an orderly fashion.
Though the scene was somewhat chaotic, it wasn’t disorganized.
"What do you think?" Zhang Chen asked as he hid among the crowd.
"That’s a ninth-level existence, what are you thinking?" The Fox Spirit replied exasperatedly, "In terms of strength alone, the collective force of the people outmatches the Dragon Seed inside the Crystal Coffin. They can’t resist the force of the donkeys and horses, but once you reach that level, it’s not something easily dealt with."
As the Fox Spirit finished, the sound of a gong caught Zhang Chen’s attention. Accompanied by an order, countless carts and horses pulled in unison, with the shouting and cracking of whips constantly echoing from the shore.
As the donkeys and horses exerted their strength, the ropes were pulled taut, and the Crystal Coffin actually began to move.
"Crack~"
This time there was no Yellow River water, but instead, the riverbed collapsed, the Crystal Coffin fell into a pit, lodged without room to move.
Everyone knew from experience, once something gets stuck at a corner, even tenfold or hundredfold force couldn’t move it.
That’s the situation now; the Crystal Coffin fell into a pit and was wedged there. Despite the collective force, it wouldn’t budge an inch.
"Thunk~"
At that moment, a rope snapped from too much tension.
"Don’t keep tugging, or all the ropes will break. Go and check the situation with the Crystal Coffin!" The general hurriedly instructed.
A few officials ran toward the center of the Yellow River. When they reached the Crystal Coffin, seeing it hanging in mid-air, they called out loudly, "General, it’s not good! Come quickly and see, there’s a bottomless pit here! The coffin is stuck on the pit’s edge, it’s no wonder we can’t move it."
A bottomless pit?
Upon hearing the news, everyone on the shore was taken aback and rushed over.