Chapter 143

In the main tomb chamber, there was still no trace of the archaeological team members who had been here before. Finally, everyone turned their attention to the double coffin in the center. The fine imperial tomb was decorated with dragon and phoenix patterns carefully carved by craftsmen. It was obvious that before entering the coffin, Prince Ling still held the beautiful vision of becoming a ghost king and his wife with Madam Wang in the underworld.

Ji Qiaoyu lit a candle in the southeast corner of the tomb.

Although Fu Yan did not say it explicitly, all the team members except the three brothers knew that the reason why the young boss Fu Yan spent all his time and energy to hire professional team members and form this archaeological team with Professor Miao was to find someone.

Fu Yan had never called Fu Gang "father" in front of others. At most, he would refer to him as that person. This was because Fu Yan's mother had always been in poor health. Everyone knew the identity of Fu Yan's father. He was the heir of the Fa Qiu School, one of the four major tomb-robbing families. Back then, for some reasons that everyone knew, he moved overseas and met Fu Yan's mother.

However, Fu Gang learned all these skills more because of his obsession and love for this industry itself. He naturally enjoys excitement and adventure.

"Even after marrying my mother, he remained obsessed with his research and neglected his duties. If that were the case, it would be fine. However, after giving birth to me, my mother's already weak health became even worse."

"Not only did he not stay by my mother's side and fulfill the promise he made to her at the wedding church, but when I was five years old, he resolutely chose to return to China and continued to organize the notes left by his ancestors. Combined with his own extraordinary talent, he actually found the legendary Tomb of King Ling."

"And that man just left and never came back. My mother had been waiting for him before she died, and he still hadn't come back when she was buried."

"I hate him."

"Even though my mother told me that man loved her very much, the reason she chose to leave was to find the legendary elixir to maintain her health."

Fu Yan said calmly: "I still hate him."

Rather than following vague legends, what he should have done most was to stay by his mother's side and accompany her through her final moments. At the very least, he should not let that poor woman leave this world with regrets.

Although Fu Yan would not forgive Fu Gang, after growing up, he still returned to this land and embarked on the path that man had walked.

It was only because Fu Yan had promised his mother that he would bring that person back to his mother's grave to repent, no matter whether the other person was dead or alive.

The Ganoderma lucidum that Fu Gang and countless others have been searching for is said to have been buried with King Ling. Even though the treasures in King Ling's tomb are rich enough to rival a country, the value of all the treasures combined is not as great as that of a single Ganoderma lucidum.

According to tradition, the most important items would be buried in the coffin with the tomb owner.

Although Fu Yan felt that Fu Gang was terrible, he had to admit that Fu Gang was very powerful. At the same time, if he really found the Ganoderma lucidum, Fu Yan was sure that the other party would do anything to bring it back, whether by stealing or robbing.

If the Ganoderma lucidum is still in the coffin, it means that Fu Gang and the archaeological team at that time may have encountered something they didn't know about and did not come to this place.

Watching Ji Qiaoyu's operation, John once again turned into a curious baby.

"Why do we have to light a candle here before opening the coffin? Is there some magical saying or reason behind this?"

Without waiting for Ji Qiaoyu to answer, the red-collared brother, who was under John's supervision and was not allowed to touch the three brothers, tutted his tongue and said in a tone that sounded a bit mean and asked for a beating: "You don't even know this. Foreigners really don't know anything."

"Then you understand?"

"Of course, although we are not from the tomb-robbing sect, who doesn't know this? Big fool, let me show you what the three of us are capable of."

"Don't touch gold when the cock crows and the lights go out."

John: "What do you mean? I don't understand."

"You don't even understand this, you're a fool." Seeing that John wasn't offended by his deliberate insults, Red Collar rolled his eyes and nudged Green Collar with his elbow. "My three idiots all know this, Third Brother. Tell them something and open their eyes."

Green Collar heard the Red Collar's instructions and nodded innocently: "But, what's the explanation for this? It's just that you can't touch the gold when you hear the rooster crow or the lights are out."

【Listening to your words is like listening to your words. 】

Seeing that the green-collared man couldn't give an answer, John looked at the red-collared man who spoke first.

Red Collar: Look at what I’m doing!

John humbly asked, "Is there any reason why you shouldn't touch gold after the cockcrow and the lights go out?"

How could Red Collar know so much? When asked urgently, he said impatiently: "What our ancestors said is right. What principle do you need? You have so many questions. If you want to know, go ask your ancestors."

John scratched his head. The problem was, even his ancestors didn't know either.

Ji Qiaoyu finally couldn't stand it anymore. Brother Xiaohong was too arrogant as a prisoner. He didn't recognize his own status at all, especially now that he was still in the tomb. He kept talking about his ancestors. Is that reasonable and auspicious?

Ji Qiaoyu: "I've said it countless times. In this new era, we must adhere to science. 'Don't touch gold after cockcrow' means leaving after daybreak might lead to being discovered. Of course, even at night, you can't do that without a permit. The key is to light a candle. It's actually very simple. The principle is to judge the air quality inside the tomb by the burning of the candle. If the candle goes out, it means there's not enough oxygen inside the tomb, and it's time to leave."

【Key point, welcome to approach science with Xiaoji.】

I think what Xiaoji said is probably correct. Even if our ancestors didn't understand how to describe these scientific principles at the time, they were able to reach conclusions in advance, which is quite impressive.

With a creaking sound, the coffin lid was slowly pushed open.

The people surrounding the coffin also saw what was happening inside: two masked corpses were leaning against each other.

Professor Miao's narration followed:

"Aside from the mask, Madam Wang wore an exquisite phoenix robe, while Prince Ling wore a dragon robe. Perhaps this ever-victorious emperor wished to continue expanding his territory in the afterlife with his beloved wife and soldiers, and even after death, he wore a majestic suit of armor."

"Even after death, Prince Ling remains a towering figure. It's easy to imagine how majestic he was in life. Madam Wang, beside Prince Ling, is much smaller and more delicate in comparison. The two of them lie quietly together now, their faces unseen, yet one can still guess at the tacit understanding and perfect match this couple once shared."

[Can someone with medical expertise please explain? Prince Ling must have been at least 1.9 meters tall, almost 2 meters tall.]

Madam Wang and Prince Ling are such a perfect match. One can imagine the handsomeness and beauty beneath their masks, along with their different body shapes. They have it all. Plus, even if they can't sleep together in life, they'll share a common destiny. They'd rather be like lovebirds in heaven than live alone. It's truly captivating.

[Key point: My attention is still on the plot. I just watched it carefully in the coffin and didn't see the legendary meat Ganoderma lucidum.]

So, did Father Fu take the Ganoderma lucidum away? But where did he and the other team members go?

【Why is there a dirty hand there?】

Before the audience could discuss the whereabouts of the Ganoderma Lucidum, while everyone's attention was drawn to Prince Ning and Madam Wang, at the signal of the red-collared man, the blue-collared man took advantage of John's inattention, flexibly untied the rope tied to his hand, and then reached into the coffin.

Their target was the sword that was buried with Prince Ling in the tomb. After so many years, it was still shining with gold. The entire scabbard seemed to be made of gold, and there were many gems on it. Even if there was only this one, it could be sold at a sky-high price.

The moment the blue collar succeeded, the red collar shouted, "Run!"

I have already touched the most precious sword that was buried with the deceased. If I don’t run away now, when will I run away?

However, at the moment when Red Collar shouted, Fu Yan and John also reacted. Without waiting for the three brothers to escape or for Fu Yan and John to capture the three brothers again, a gust of cold wind suddenly blew out, and the candle in the southeast of the tomb that was lit by Ji Qiaoyu himself was extinguished.

Ji Qiaoyu's eyes narrowed. According to scientific explanation, the lights went out because there was insufficient oxygen in the room, urging them to leave. However, according to the ancestors, it was because the tomb owner did not welcome visitors and was politely asking them to leave. At this time, the tomb robber had to return all the treasures he had obtained to the tomb owner and then evacuate quickly, otherwise, something bad might happen.

"Put it down." Ji Qiaoyu said loudly to the three brothers, "Have you forgotten the rules of our ancestors?"

However, the three brothers had been blinded by greed. Just as Ji Qiaoyu, the tomb raider, was explaining the theory to them, Red Collar ran back the way he came, shouting, "There are no gods or ghosts in the world. They are all fools!"

Fu Yan behind him did not catch up, but took out the wooden barrel that he had shown to Red Collar from his waist, and shouted in a low voice: "Stop, or we can try to see whether your legs are faster or my bullets are faster."

The red collars then remembered that Fu Yan still had weapons in his hands that could threaten them.

He finally stopped and turned to meet Fu Yan's cold eyes. However, he still didn't let go of the sword that seemed to be attractive. He swallowed and said in a hoarse voice, "You dare to open the wooden warehouse and kill people?"

Fu Yan pursed his lips upon hearing this. The sound of a rifle being loaded could be heard softly from within the tomb. "I forgot to tell you, I'm the best at shooting of all the subjects. And there's no need for me to kill you. Your hands and legs will do. And judging by your current behavior, I'm legitimately protecting the national treasure."

It was Fu Yan's turn to ask, "Do you still want to run?"

"I, I..." Red Collar stammered. The other two brothers didn't dare to say a word. They just looked at Red Collar. There was no doubt that they would obey whatever decision their eldest brother made.

Red Collar finally chose to compromise. He slowly leaned over and was about to put down the golden sword. However, before the sword fell to the ground, Red Collar suddenly stood up and swung the sword in his hand randomly.

This didn't seem to be his intention. Red Collar looked like he had some kind of hysteria, with a look of fear on his face. It could be seen that he had opened his hands, but the sword seemed to be stuck to his hands. No, not like.

There was a sizzling, indescribable smell of barbecue in the air, and a bluish-purple flame suddenly ignited on the palm of Red Collar's hand that had previously held the sword.

Before everyone could react, something unexpected happened.

From the coffin, there was a clattering sound caused by the collision of armor and the compression of joints that had been unable to move for years.

Amid the synchronized screams of the interstellar audience and the archaeological team members on the screen, King Ling slowly sat up.

Ahhhhhh!

[Nima, didn’t you say there’s no Zongzi brother? Broken voice——]

Not only were the audience puzzled, Ji Qiaoyu also murmured in disbelief: "How could it be?!"

"Don't just stand there, run!"

Fu Yan pulled Ji Qiaoyu's arm and shouted loudly.

Immediately afterwards, the interstellar audiences saw a thrilling chase. Some viewers who had been to the haunted house, especially those who had played the Xiangxi corpse-driving game, dreamed of that terrifying night that could never be escaped and was repeated endlessly.

[Sweating profusely, folks.]

[The footsteps follow me like a shadow, I want to escape but I can’t! ! ! ]

[Not only is he Zongzi Brother, but he's an enhanced Zongzi Brother. Director Huan, are you trying to force Xiao Ji and the others into a desperate situation?]

Just as the audience said, after King Ling's corpse transformed, he became a big zongzi with infinite strength. Through the bronze mask on his face, the people who were fleeing in a hurry could still see the ghost fire burning in his empty eyes.

Not only that, when Brother Zongzi picked up the sword that Red Collar finally threw on the ground, his fighting power more than doubled.

The entire underground tomb seemed to tremble with every step.

"Bang, bang, bang."

Fu Yan and John tried to shoot with wooden rifles, but the bullets could not penetrate Ling Wang's armor made of unknown material. Even if the bullets penetrated Ling Wang's exposed hands and feet, it would only make this "walking corpse" stop moving for a moment before starting to move again.

The sword was unsheathed and indirectly cut across the ground, bringing out sparks. Under his powerful attack, the ground cracked directly. One can imagine what the consequences would be if it was hit.

Red Collar awkwardly dodged the sword that was slashing from above his head. Perhaps it was because he had the misfortune of touching King Ling's sword before, that he was treated even more specially by Brother Zongzi at this moment.

The embarrassed Red Collar rolled over and stood up, feeling something was wrong. If this continued, he would be the first to be hacked to death.

Suddenly he looked at John and howled, "Give me back my gunpowder!"

If bullets can't penetrate it, I don't believe that explosives can't kill it.

Seeing that John didn't move immediately and instead looked at him with disbelief, Red Collar shouted, "Give it to me! It's already late. We're all in this together. No one can leave until I get rid of this big guy. I know the rules better than you. Together we stand, divided we die!"

Fu Yan said quickly to John: "Give it to him."

The red collar received the gunpowder he had rubbed with his own hands, and he felt more confident. He called out to the green collar, and the blue collar said in a stern voice: "Show us all some color!"

Seeing this, Fu Yan followed the other team members and shouted, "Quick, everyone get into the passage."

The red collar pulled the fuse and quickly threw the explosives into the air. The green collar and blue collar appeared out of nowhere. The green collar put his hand in front of his eyes and took aim: "Left, at the distance of the next chicken leg, shoot!"

"Here we go!" The blue-collar man picked up a stick from somewhere, and with a bang, he threw the half-burned explosives at the big dumpling like hitting a baseball.

Rumble, a pungent smell exploded in the tomb.

The three brothers also rushed to the passage outside the tomb.

Although earthen gunpowder cannot match the power of real explosives, its explosion in a small space will definitely have an impact on the tomb. Rocks fell behind him, and Professor Miao had a sad face. But at this time, the lives of the team members were more important.

We must not let this weird thing out.

"Ahem, is he dead?"

Everyone was praying silently. John held his breath and concentrated, but he still heard the familiar sound of armor colliding and moving.

Everyone's heart sank.

…

After a series of twists and turns, the other two bags of poison were thrown out, and everyone finally got rid of the monster that was chasing them like a shadow.

However, due to the explosion of explosives, several parts of the tomb collapsed. Although everyone escaped the pursuit, they were trapped in a closed space by the collapsed boulders.

John put down Grandma Miao from his back. Her face was covered with dust and sweat, and her arms had many scratches.

Well, there is one more difference, that is, Brother John's head is bald at the moment. Don't get me wrong, it's not that both the hair and the scalp were chopped off, but during the escape, the big zongzi chopped off the thick golden hair that John bought at a high price with a sword... Fortunately, the wig protected and delayed John, allowing him to save his life.

The other members of the archaeological team also suffered injuries of varying degrees, but no one complained. They all thought that they were lucky to be alive after surviving the disaster.

The most eye-catching ones are the three brothers.

The man with red collar was seen carrying a large package on his back, while the men with green collar and blue collar had pearls, gemstones, jade and gold ornaments all over their necks and arms... Even when facing life and death, they had not forgotten the purpose of their trip, and demonstrated the saying "a thief never leaves empty-handed" to the fullest.

[Honestly, at this point, I really admire the three idiots.]

I finally understand why Xiao Ji gave Brother John the hair growth powder. I'm not so scared of Brother Zongzi anymore. Thinking about that scene where Brother John's wig fell off just now, I can't help but laugh.

What should I do next? Fallen rocks are blocking the road, there's Zongzi Brother behind me, and there's a secret room over here. It seems like a dead end.

The three red collars gathered together, feeling somewhat regretful: "It's a pity that we didn't bring enough before."

As the name suggests, if there is no road, then move the mountain and create a road by yourself.

However, the last of the explosives had been used up. Even though Red Collar had the unique skill of kneading gunpowder with his hands, he was helpless now. Red Collar looked at Ji Qiaoyu: "Hey, tomb raider, do you have any ideas?"

Ji Qiaoyu finally came back to his senses at this moment. Perhaps, his master and the archaeological team had also encountered similar monsters on the way.

No matter what the reason, Prince Ling has turned into a corpse. The most important thing right now is to find a way out.

Suddenly Ji Qiaoyu's eyes lit up, and Fu Yan noticed the change in Ji Qiaoyu's expression: "Did you think of it?"

"Yes, when ancient craftsmen built tombs, they would set up a final escape route at the end, equivalent to today's emergency passages. Come check with me and see if we can find a hollow wall. There should be a mechanism!"

After careful and rigorous exploration, Fu Yan discovered a clue when he knocked on a stone slab.

"Here, it should be empty down there."

Everyone gathered around Fu Yan, and right above the stone slab that Fu Yan discovered stood a bronze figurine with a blurred face. It was very heavy, and several people could not move it at all even with their combined efforts.

Finally, Professor Miao found a mechanism-like design on the palm of the figurine's hand. "It seems like I can put something here?"

Corresponding to the shape of the bronze hand, everyone analyzed that it was probably a long object. The first reaction was that it was a long sword. After all, not long ago, King Ling was still using his sword to chop people around.

Fortunately, Red Collar had not forgotten to collect the spoils while running away, and there was a sword among them. Now he stood there with his hands on his hips: "I knew this would happen, so I prepared the props in advance."

But when they were stuffing it in, the others discovered that some of the goods were not the same as the ones described.

"No, the thing here should be smaller and more delicate. What could it be?"

After some experiments, Green Collar accidentally took out a fan from his arms and inserted it into the hole, which finally opened the passage.

Ji Qiaoyu and Professor Miao originally thought that this bronze doll was a sculpture of Prince Ling, but now it seems that it is not. As everyone knows, Prince Ling values ​​military power over literature and never wears a folding fan!

Who else could it be if not Prince Ling?

Soon, the answer was revealed.

Following the passage left by the craftsmen, everyone moved forward in the dark. However, what lay before them was not the way out, but a tomb within a tomb hidden beneath the tomb of Prince Ling, which was built by absorbing the Feng Shui of the tomb of Prince Ling.

Standing in front of the tomb within the tomb, looking at the underground river flowing by, Ji Qiaoyu finally got an answer to his doubts about why Prince Ling turned into a corpse.

From the outside, Prince Ling's tomb looks like a mighty dragon. However, who would have thought that the surging river was actually artificially designed to divert the water into an underground river.

The precious land above became a dangerous place, and the tomb within a tomb below became a real blessed land. Even Prince Ling was regarded as the "general" guarding the gate by the owner of the tomb within a tomb.

How rampant.

And this rampant person is none other than Zhai Xingji, the Yin-Yang sorcerer who found the Ganoderma lucidum for King Ling!

In the underground river of the tomb within the tomb, people found the corpses of the archaeological team members from 20 years ago, as well as a deformed beast that was as big as a hippopotamus, neither a fish nor a crocodile, and was moving quickly in the water.

It turned out that twenty years ago, the archaeological team did not enter the tomb of Prince Ling first, but accidentally discovered the tomb of Zhai Xingji.

Not only that, they also found the Ganoderma lucidum that Fu Gang had been searching for in the tomb. The mechanism of the tomb within Zhai Xingji's tomb was even more dangerous than that of the Lingwang Tomb above, and it was also designed as a single line. If you entered from one direction, you could only exit from the other side. There was no other way. Everyone dodged and fled, and after losing almost half of the archaeological team members, they finally escaped from the tomb within the tomb. However, what was waiting for them was an underground river and the beasts in the river.

Can't look back, nor can I move forward.

In the end, after the exhausted and seriously injured people had used up all the supplies they carried, they died in the dark underground.

However, perhaps they guessed that someone would come looking for them one day in the future.

Before they died, Fu Gang and Ji Nanguo used their own blood to write on the rock wall the method they had summarized based on their own experience, which could help Ji Qiaoyu, Fu Yan and others avoid the mechanisms in the tomb and leave.

Finally, Fu Gang left his last three words on the rock wall, whispering to his child, who he didn't know whether he would come here or not, and to his wife who was waiting for him to return home: "I'm sorry..."

Fu Yan knelt on one knee beside Fu Gang's corpse, lowered his eyes, and saw the Ganoderma lucidum that Fu Gang had held tightly in his hand until his death. It was out of tune with the atmosphere of the entire underground tunnel. Even after twenty years, even after being separated from the soil, it still looked lifelike and mouth-watering.

However, there was no greed in Fu Yan's eyes.

He raised his hand to lift up Fu Gang's corpse and said softly, "I will take you back. You can confess to your mother in person."

As for the Ganoderma lucidum, Fu Yan planned to collect it in a professional container and then hand it over to Grandma Miao. Although he did not think that a plant whose effects were exaggerated could really make people immortal, if there were some beneficial substances in this unprecedented vegetation, and after research and extraction, it could be made into medicine to treat some insurmountable difficult and complicated diseases, it could be regarded as... doing good deeds for his mother and Fu Gang.

Don’t leave any regrets in your next life.

However, the moment Fu Yan reached out and touched the Ganoderma lucidum, the plant that seemed alive before turned into powder and dissipated into the air.

Helplessly, the group carried the remains of their predecessors into the tomb within the tomb.

It was another scene that dazzled the interstellar audiences. It was even more thrilling than the one in Prince Ling’s tomb, and it was filled with mysterious mechanisms at the unique level of the Yin-Yang Master.

Beans are scattered to form soldiers, jade is rotten and corpses are poisonous, and flowers bloom in the underworld...

Fortunately, there were warnings left by their predecessors. Finally, with the concerted efforts of two generations, all twelve people finally returned to the ground alive.

Although John could no longer run fast after breaking a leg, Blue Collar and Green Collar had large areas of burns on their bodies. Red Collar beat and scolded his brother, but still fought with his body when his brother was entangled by the vampire vine. Now he was carried by Little Blue, and his face looked more than twenty years older. Little Green also lost an arm.

Fortunately, fortunately they are all still alive.

Brother John sighed softly, "It's great to be alive."

Professor Miao looked at the white clouds in the sky and said softly, "We are taking everyone home."

The journey to Prince Ling's tomb came to an end. Before being taken away by Uncle Hat, Xiaolu looked at Ji Qiaoyu and asked uncertainly: "If I continue like this, will I still be able to earn money and marry a wife through my own hard work in the future?"

Ji Qiaoyu nodded heavily: "As long as you are willing, it will definitely be possible, Ji Banxian said so."

Green Collar showed his usual silly smile: "Well, I will definitely behave myself after I get out. Also, thank you, you are also a good person, and you will definitely live a very good life."

If Ji Qiaoyu had not helped him at the critical moment, he and his elder and second brothers might not have been able to get out.

【Wow, the adventure is over. 】

【Sprinkle flowers.】

The author has something to say:

It keeps crashing, update is late, sorry TT