Jiang Chan was dragged along, joining this procession heading towards hell. Her body was limp and powerless, her toes dragging on the ground, her burial shroud scraping against the floor.
His vision blurred and swayed due to the effects of the medicine and his weakness. He could only see the glaring red robe trailing on the ground and the cold blue brick walls rushing past on both sides.
Cries, curses, and the cold, harsh reprimands of the supervisor buzzed in her ears. The air was thick with the smell of despair and death.
They were dragged through door after door, deeper and deeper. The light grew dimmer. The dim light from the oil lamps on the walls illuminated only a small area beneath their feet. The damp, chilly air seeped into their bones.
The path beneath my feet had changed. No longer smooth paving stones, but rough, dusty, sloping stone steps. A heavy, earthy smell, a mixture of earth and some kind of old stone, assaulted my senses. Eerie, cold, and deathly silent.
Jiang Chan struggled to lift her eyelids.
Ahead in the passageway, a dark, downward-pointing opening, like the gaping maw of a monster, lay silently. At the edge of the opening were cold, massive slabs of bluestone.
That is the entrance to the underground palace tomb.
At the end of the stone steps lies the grave where they were buried alive.
The old woman dragging her quickened her pace. The foreman's voice rang out from ahead: "Hurry! Push them all in! Get ready to seal the gate!"
The heavy, scraping sound of the stone door closing could be faintly heard from the depths of the black hole!
Jiang Chan's heart sank, like a cold stone falling into an abyss. A tremendous feeling of suffocation gripped her throat.
But the excruciating pain on the tip of her tongue remained vividly clear.
Escape!
We must escape before the tomb doors close!
A tremendous force came from behind!
Jiang Chan, along with several other wailing and struggling women, was shoved roughly into the dark tomb chamber like a tattered sack. She crashed heavily onto the cold, hard floor, her body kicking up a cloud of dust. The biting chill seeped straight in through the thin burial shroud.
"ah--!"
"Let me out! Please!"
"mother--!"
Desperate cries and screams exploded in the enclosed space, making eardrums tingle. The air was foul, carrying a heavy smell of earth and stone, as well as an indescribable, suffocating, stale odor—the odor of death.
Jiang Chan was thrown around and felt completely disoriented. The effects of the medicine left her weak all over and dizzy. She lay on the ground, coughing violently and spitting out dust from her mouth.
The wound on the tip of my tongue was irritated by dust, bringing a sharp pain that pulled me back to a state of clarity.
Run! The stone gate is closing!
She looked up abruptly, her vision still blurry. Dim light shone through the cracks in the stone door, which was not yet fully closed, barely illuminating a corner of the tomb chamber.
In the very center stood a massive, dark, black lacquered coffin, its lid not yet fully closed, revealing a gap shrouded in darkness. That was the old landlord's final resting place.
Around the coffin, things were piled up haphazardly: several rough yellow clay pots, like overturned bowls; several old clothes crumpled into balls, their color faded and gray; a handful of shriveled, blackened ears of grain scattered on the ground; a dilapidated food box with peeling paint, its interior open and empty; several pieces of wood of varying lengths and rough edges lying around; and some broken pieces of coarse porcelain bowls scattered beside the pottery jars, their sharp edges occasionally flashing a faint, cold light in the dim light.
On the other side of the stone gate, the heavy scraping sound grew louder and louder! The gap was shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"The door! The door is closing!" A woman who was close to the door screamed and rushed towards the crack, but was kicked back by an old woman next to her, fell to the ground, and let out a shrill cry.
Jiang Chan's heart pounded, and it felt like all the blood had rushed to her head. Time was running out!
She forced herself to ignore the deafening cries, to ignore her physical weakness and numbness. Her eyes, like searchlights, swept rapidly across the entire tomb, searching for anything she could use!
Inside the tomb chamber, the arched ceiling was very high, constructed from single, smooth blocks of stone, making it impossible to climb. The walls were also made of the same large, seamless stones, offering no foothold for climbing. Apart from the massive stone door that was closing, there was no other exit in sight.
The burial pottery jars were too heavy and useless. Old clothes? Too soft. Ears of grain? Useless. The food box? Broken, the wood too thin and brittle. The wooden planks! A few of them looked fairly sturdy!
One piece of wood, about the thickness of an arm and over a foot long, resembling a corner piece of wood used to support a coffin, caught her attention. It was hard and angular.
Broken porcelain shards! Her gaze finally locked onto a few rough porcelain fragments scattered on the ground not far from her, near a broken pottery jar.
One of the pieces, about the size of a palm, had jagged, broken edges, but a curved notch that looked exceptionally sharp! Like a small, natural serrated knife!
That's it!
Ropes! Ropes were still binding his hands and feet! That was the final restraint!
Jiang Chan's heart nearly leaped out of her throat. Ignoring her aching and weak body, she mustered all her strength and crawled towards the chosen shard of porcelain, using both hands and feet! Her movements were clumsy and slow, like an injured insect wriggling on the ground.
The medication rendered her unable to lift her arms, forcing her to shuffle forward in tiny inching along the ground using only her elbows and knees. The rough stone floor scraped against her burial shroud and her exposed skin, causing a burning pain. Dust choked her nose and mouth.
"Waaah... I don't want to die... Mother..." A woman collapsed to the ground beside her, her eyes vacant, muttering to herself, completely broken.
Her cries mingled with the screams of others, creating a despairing background sound.
Jiang Chan paid no attention. Her eyes were fixed on the shard of porcelain. Closer! Closer still!
The creaking sound of the stone door closing was like a death knell, leaving the gap less than half a foot wide!
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