Chapter 45: Dangerous Tail
"Huh! We're finally safe!" Master Lan wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh.
"Master, how did this bug come out?" the fifth concubine asked coquettishly.
"Who knows? Anyway, he just came out for no reason." Master Lan said perfunctorily.
"No, it's impossible for it to appear for no reason." Du Yunzhang shook his head.
"Of course it's not without reason," Luo Mei said, "One of us must have unknowingly triggered some tomb-xue mechanism and released these bugs."
Yin Chuan lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought. After a long moment, he spoke softly, "Since we entered the tomb passage, we've encountered so many traps and ambushes. It always feels strange to me."
Linlang was a little puzzled. "How is it strange?" She glanced at everyone. "Oh... You mean, the tomb owner set up so many deadly traps, but none of us were killed or injured? So you find it strange?"
"No, it's not. After all, the tomb owner didn't know the tomb robbers' skills, so it's understandable that we didn't suffer any casualties. Besides, this fellow named Tan was injured after all."
"So what do you mean by 'strange'?"
"Have you all failed to notice that none of the traps we encountered along the way were at the front of the group, not even in the middle. They were all at the back?" Yin Chuan asked. "Logically, the tomb owner should have placed the traps at the front to stop intruders from moving forward, but now they're doing the exact opposite. It's as if they're deliberately blocking our retreat and forcing us to move forward."
"That's nothing strange!" Luo Mei took over Yin Chuan's words. "We in the tomb-robbing business all know that there are only three types of tombs worth a big fight. The first type is the tombs of ordinary dukes and princes. Although the tombs are densely packed with traps, effectively hiding the location of the tombs is the key to their anti-theft efforts. The second type is the mausoleums of emperors of all dynasties. Almost everyone in the world knows where they are, but there are so many suspected tombs, some real and some fake. Maybe this time you thought you were tricked into going to a suspected tomb, but it might be the real mausoleum, and you just didn't explore it thoroughly enough. As for the third type..."
"The third type is someone like Shen Wansan?" Du Yunzhang couldn't help but interrupt.
"Shen Wansan was a man of immense wealth. Ever since he was buried in the west, all the tomb robbers must have set their sights on this place. A shrewd man like Shen Wansan could have foreseen these things after his death, but he couldn't afford to be buried without splendor. After all, his relatives, friends, and neighbors were all watching. Even the emperor was keeping an eye on the Shen family. So he knew that it was impossible to prevent tomb robbers. It was better to let them steal. Once they had robbed everything, no one would bother them anymore."
"But if that's the case, then what's the point of him setting up these mechanisms in the tomb?"
"If there were no mechanism, the tomb robbers would definitely find it strange and would doubt whether the tomb was a fake one. But with the mechanism, they have no doubts. Moreover, the mechanism is designed to activate only after the tomb robbers have passed. This not only propels the tomb robbers forward, but also lets those who come later know that someone has already been there, thus discouraging them from trying again. This is the tomb of the third type of tomb owner who is deeply scheming."
"It turns out there are such complicated things going on here!" Du Yunzhang exclaimed.
Yin Chuan's suspicions about the mechanism in the tomb didn't dispel his concerns after hearing Luo Mei's words. Instead, he felt something was fishy. He simply suspected that Luo Mei had deliberately come up with a seemingly plausible but flawed story to conceal her true purpose in robbing Wan San's tomb, so he stopped asking.
"In that case, should we continue moving forward and just pay attention to the mechanism behind us?" asked Mr. Lan. He seemed to believe what Luo Mei said.
"This is just my guess based on experience. Everyone should be more careful and not let their guard down," Luo Mei replied.
"Di Feiyan, what should we do next?" Fan Zheng asked.
Luo Mei glanced around at the area they were currently in. It was much more spacious and flat than the previous tomb passage, and the spiral tunnel seemed to have reached the bottom. "I suspect there should be a passage leading to the main tomb chamber around this cave. Let's split up and search."
Master Lan, living in luxury, was certainly unwilling to move. The fourth and fifth concubines were also languid and motionless. Fan Zheng had two subordinates at his disposal, so naturally he wouldn't personally intervene. Therefore, the only ones Luo Mei could command were Yin Chuan, Du Yunzhang, Linlang, Yuan Laoer, and Tan Zhuozi. Tan Zhuozi had a leg injury, so he could only count as half a man. Thus, the four and a half men began to search the several-foot-square cave.
At first, Linlang worried about an ambush hidden in an obscure spot, but Luo Mei assured her that the tomb's owner would definitely not design a trap in such a spacious tomb. For one thing, the vast space would make it difficult to trigger, and even if it did, the vast space would likely force it to dodge, making such a trap absurd.
After searching for a while, Yin Chuan finally found the entrance to the cave on a curved wall. He called Luo Mei and the others over. Luo Mei looked up, shone the light, nodded, and said, "It seems that this should lead to the main tomb."
"But... it's so high, how can we get up there?" Du Yunzhang felt helpless when he saw that the top of the cave was at least three or four meters from the ground.
"The old way," Luo Mei replied. She asked Fan Zheng for a rope again, had the little monkey climb to the cave ceiling, and secured the rope to a rock ledge inside. She held onto the rope, scrambling up the cave wall and finally reaching the entrance.
Yin Chuan, Du Yunzhang, and the others then painstakingly carried Master Lan and his two concubines up, then asked Fan Zheng and the other two if they wanted to join them. Fan Zheng told them to go ahead, while he and two of his men covered the rear. This puzzled Yin Chuan. One of them was injured, so why were they so unwilling to accept his help? However, since they were ungrateful, he didn't want to be ignored.
So Yin Chuan, Linlang and Du Yunzhang went up one by one. Finally, Fan Zheng didn't seem to intend to help his two subordinates and climbed up first. Finally, Tan Zhuozi and Yuan Laoer assisted each other and climbed up with great effort after a long time.
"The secret treasure is just ahead, haha, we're about to get our hands on it!" As soon as he came up, Yuan Lao Er couldn't contain his excitement and whispered to himself.
Luo Mei snorted, "Don't be too happy too soon! Do you think the trap you just encountered is over? Who knows what troubles may arise in the future!"
Fan Zheng glared at Yuan Lao Er, implying that he should stop talking and just follow behind him. Seeing that the eldest brother had lost his temper, Yuan Lao Er and Tan Zhuozi dared not say anything more.
Although the tunnel ahead was still narrow, it was no longer a downward spiral passage, but a straight, horizontal path. This time, the team had walked less than fifty steps before a left turn appeared.
"It feels like we are not far from our destination." Luo Mei murmured.
After hearing her say this, Yin Chuan, Du Yunzhang and Lin Lang behind her all felt a little nervous, as if the destination was not some secret treasure or huge fortune, but a real crisis.
Just as the team turned the corner and took a few steps, Yin Chuan and the others suddenly heard the last commotion of the team. Someone was saying, "Why is it gone? Why is it gone?"
"What's going on back there?" Luo Mei also noticed that the atmosphere in the team behind was not right, so he turned around and asked.
All I could hear was Yuan Lao Er shouting amidst his rapid panting: "Tan Zhuozi... is gone!"
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