Chapter 49: The Last Mechanism and the Disappearing Head
Du Yunzhang was about to lend a hand, but Luo Mei stopped him, "Don't move! The force now is just right. If you use too much force, the mechanism might be triggered, and you and I will end up like Master Lan!"
Hearing her words, Du Yunzhang immediately stopped making any rash moves and could only stare at Luo Mei as she continued to work. The slate slowly began to move under the force of Luo Mei's Luoyang shovel. Just when the edge of the slate was within a finger's width, Luo Mei stopped pushing.
"Why did it stop?" Du Yunzhang asked.
"You can't push it anymore, or it will trigger the mechanism." Luo Mei wiped the sweat off his forehead and explained.
"How do you know?"
"Here!" Luo Mei pointed to a crack beneath the stone slab. "The stone here has begun to show a metallic luster. Obviously, this change has occurred because the mechanism is pressed underneath! If we push it again, there will be a bloody disaster."
"Is this all your experience gained from years of tomb robbing?"
Luo Mei chuckled, "I can't help it. This is my old trade. No matter where I go in the martial arts world, even if I get married, I can't give up this skill to leave a way out for myself."
Du Yunzhang wore a look of disdain on the surface, but deep down he held a deep admiration for his former lover. After all, comparisons are detrimental, and comparisons are detrimental. As a woman, serving Master Lan as a concubine, Luo Mei's temperament and courage were a hundred times stronger than those of the frail ladies of noble families or movie stars like the Fourth and Fifth Concubines. It was just that they were not his kind, otherwise he might have really...
Du Yunzhang shook his head as he thought of this, putting the strange thought behind him. He pointed at the cracked sarcophagus and asked Luo Mei, "So, how do we open it?"
"Easy." Luo Mei placed the Luoyang shovel in her hand under the protruding coffin lid, then collected her rope and tied a knot at the end of the Luoyang shovel handle. But at this moment, she let out a "huh?"
"What's wrong? What went wrong?" Du Yunzhang asked.
"When we were pulling the coffin before we passed out, I remember there were two ropes. One for me, and one for Fan Zheng. How come only my rope is left now? Where's the other one? Director Fan, did you take it back?"
Fan Zheng spread his hands and said, "No, I didn't put it away. If you don't believe me, look..." As he said that, he lifted up his clothes. The rope was originally wrapped around his waist, but now his waist was empty.
"Is it necessary to use two ropes?" Du Yunzhang asked.
Luo Mei thought for a moment and said, "That's not necessary. A long enough one will do. But... forget it, Lao Du, you and Brother Yin help me together."
Du Yunzhang glanced at Fan Zheng, implying that he didn't need a hand. Luo Mei gave him a look that seemed to indicate that she didn't trust Fan Zheng, and Du Yunzhang nodded slightly, understanding what she meant.
"Come on, Brother Yin, you and Lao Du each take one end of the rope, and when I say 'pull,' pull hard." Luo Mei took the rope's midpoint, tied a knot around the Luoyang shovel, and then, on top of the coffin, he again maneuvered, somehow securing the Luoyang shovel to the coffin lid. He crouched down and tucked his head under it. "Both of you, try to stay as far away from the coffin lid as possible. At least five steps away..."
Now Du Yunzhang and Yin Chuan both scratched their heads, "I say, your rope is not that long." Du Yunzhang estimated the distance and it was obviously not meeting Luo Mei's requirements.
"That's why I thought of two ropes, but this one is almost long enough. Look, aren't there some long, slabs of stone scattered around? Pull the rope tight, hold one end against the stone, and pull with the other end, and you'll have enough distance."
Although Yin Chuan and Du Yunzhang had no idea what Luo Mei was up to, since she sounded confident, they did as she said.
Linlang quietly watched them busying around. Although she wanted to help, she was still a layman and a woman. Yin Chuan told her not to get involved and just to rest and watch. He also secretly gave her a task: keep an eye on Director Fan Zheng and be on guard if he showed any unusual behavior.
When everything was ready, Luo Mei told Yin Chuan and Du Yunzhang to concentrate and not be distracted, otherwise if they got caught in a trap and ended up like Master Lan, they wouldn't blame her. So the two of them were extremely alert, waiting for her order.
"One, two, three, pull—"
Luo Mei gave the order, and the two immediately pulled the rope hard. The coffin lid began to move, the gap widening. Just when everyone thought the coffin had been opened and the treasure inside was within reach, there was a sudden, crisp sound of a spring snapping, and a cold light flew out from the crack in the coffin, arcing through the air in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, Yin Chuan and Du Yunzhang were a little further away, and Luo Mei was hiding under the coffin lid, so the silver blade of light didn't hurt them. Even so, it still scared the people in the distance and made them cry out in surprise.
"Oh my goodness! What was that just now?" Du Yunzhang was still in shock and couldn't help muttering.
"See what I said? This is the fatal mechanism in the coffin." Luo Mei stood up and answered.
"Thanks to Miss Luo's reminder, otherwise we might have followed in Master Lan's footsteps." Yin Chuan said with a long sigh.
Luo Mei called the two to the side of the coffin and pointed inside, "Look! The mechanism is here."
Yin and Du peered closely. Beneath the coffin lid lay a crescent-shaped metal blade, gleaming with a faint, cold gleam. Its edge looked particularly sharp, and one end of the blade was secured by a folding bracket, with a spring-like mechanism at the end. Apparently, when someone pushed the coffin lid open, the spring would spring out, sending the sharp metal blade careening across the neck of the person opening the coffin. Anyone too close would be instantly decapitated. Once the blade rebounded, the coffin lid would automatically close, but it was caught by the Luoyang shovel, preventing it from returning to its original position.
"This Shen Wansan is so vicious that he can design such a cruel ambush!" Du Yunzhang sighed.
Luo Mei ignored him and carefully used the Luoyang shovel to push the gap of the pin spring tightly, making it unable to move. Then he said: "There is blood underneath, you see -"
Yin Chuan had sharp eyes and immediately noticed a round object in the dark space below the metal blade mechanism.
"Is that... Mr. Lan's head?" he exclaimed.
Du Yunzhang quickly took out a light source and shone it inside. Sure enough, the thing was indeed Master Lan’s fat head.
"My goodness! I never thought that Eunuch Lan, who was once so powerful in the Forbidden City, would end up with such a miserable end. Life is so unpredictable." Du Yunzhang sighed.
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