"Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony..."
Qiu Wanlan closed her eyes tightly, her whole body trembling as she chanted incantations.
"Freedom, equality, justice, rule of law..."
"What are you doing?" Zhang Fan looked at Qiu Wanlan, puzzled. "What are you muttering about?"
"Did I hear wrong?" Qiu Wanlan opened her eyes, but dared not look at the female corpse. She looked away and said tremblingly, "She, she, she seemed to have sighed just now..."
“You heard me right.” Zhang Fan nodded. “I heard it too.”
"You heard that too? It's not my imagination?" Qiu Wanlan was stunned, and she clasped her hands together in prayer. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I've told him not to touch you, but he wouldn't listen. If you have a problem, go find him, please don't come looking for me!"
"What's all the fuss about? Don't make a big deal out of nothing." Zhang Fan gave Qiu Wanlan a disdainful look. "Isn't sighing normal?"
“But she’s already dead.” Qiu Wanlan thought her nephew might have something wrong with his head. “How can a dead person sigh?”
"Why can't a dead person sigh?" Zhang Fan retorted. "Looks like I need to give you a lesson in human medicine."
"After a person dies, there will still be some air in the chest and abdomen. The decomposition of the body will also produce putrefactive gases. If these gases cannot be expelled in time, they will accumulate in the chest and abdomen."
"If an external force changes the position of a corpse, it may compress the gas inside the corpse to be expelled, producing the phenomenon of 'sighing'."
"It's a very simple principle, do you understand?"
Qiu Wanlan stared at Zhang Fan with wide eyes.
"So, we must believe in science." Zhang Fan picked up the cloth bag from the woman's back. "If we look at things scientifically, all the monsters and demons are just physical and chemical phenomena disguised as illusions."
"Don't you believe in ghosts?" Qiu Wanlan regained her composure slightly after hearing Zhang Fan's explanation.
"In the face of staunch Marxist-Leninist believers, all demons and monsters are paper tigers." Zhang Fan put down the female corpse and came out of the stone coffin. "Don't ask me what Marxism-Leninism is. You haven't taken a Marxist philosophy class, so I can't explain it to you in a few words."
Zhang Fan unfolded the cloth bag he had taken out in his hand. The fibers of the cloth bag were already rotten and crumbled at the slightest touch, and a bunch of round beads fell to the ground with a clattering sound.
"What is this?" Qiu Wanlan asked curiously as she came over to help pick up the beads that had fallen to the ground.
“Buddhist prayer beads.” Zhang Fan picked up the beads one by one and placed them in his palm. “They should have been strung together, but the string inside is rotten.”
"I've heard that burial goods often include pearl necklaces and jade necklaces, but this wooden Buddhist rosary is quite rare." Qiu Wanlan placed a Buddhist rosary in front of her.
This string of prayer beads must have been well maintained by the tomb owner during his lifetime. After a thousand years, the wooden prayer beads have not only not decayed, but have also shown signs of jade-like transformation.
"What do you usually put under your pillow?" Zhang Fan suddenly asked.
"Uh, it should be something quite precious, something I cherish," Qiu Wanlan replied.
“So this ordinary string of Buddhist prayer beads was something she cherished.” Zhang Fan pointed to the tomb owner. “She valued this string of prayer beads more than pearls and jade. It seems she was another pitiful, devoted lover…”
"A lover? What do you mean?" Qiu Wanlan looked at Zhang Fan with a puzzled expression.
"Can't you see it yet?" Zhang Fan retorted. "If I'm not mistaken, this string of Buddhist prayer beads was a gift from the Tang Emperor to her before his death. As the Tang Emperor's personal bodyguard, she wanted to stay by his side to protect him even in death. Isn't that a sign of deep affection?"
“But the Tang Emperor only had one queen in his entire life…” Qiu Wanlan was somewhat lost in thought.
"That's why we say she's pitiful, but loving someone doesn't mean possessing them. Perhaps staying by the Tang King's side was the happiest thing for her." Zhang Fan wrapped the Buddhist beads again and placed them under the jade pillow of the female corpse. "Let's not disturb her."
Qiu Wanlan also stood by the coffin, staring blankly at the tomb owner inside. Now she felt that the female corpse inside was not so scary after all.
This time, Qiu Wanlan took the initiative to help, and together with Zhang Fan, they pushed the coffin lid back.
Click!
After the coffin lid was pushed back into place with a soft click, the internal mechanism was triggered and locked again, and the coffin lid could no longer be moved even an inch.
Zhang Fan used his finger to run a bit of dirt over the hole in the soldier-patterned belt.
“Let’s go, we’ve been down here for quite a while.” Zhang Fan walked towards the tomb robber’s hole. “We should listen to the old man’s advice. We’d better leave the cemetery before sunset and find a place nearby to spend the night.”
Zhang Fan went to the corner to extinguish the candles. He noticed that the flames were much smaller than before, and the flames were a pale blue, indicating incomplete combustion.
The tomb was too deep, and only a narrow passage connected it to the outside, so air circulation was actually quite poor. They stayed there for too long and consumed too much oxygen.
The caged bird was also inactive, looking listless and drowsy. It was said that the corpse's breath was poisonous, and small animals were much more sensitive to abnormalities than humans. Zhang Fan didn't know if it was related to this, but he knew that leaving this place as soon as possible was the right thing to do.
Qiu Wanlan crawled ahead with a small kerosene lamp in her hand, while Zhang Fan tied his backpack to his feet and followed closely behind.
Climbing up is much less efficient than climbing down, and there's nothing that can be done about it. Qiu Wanlan doesn't want to be at the back, so if she's at the front, Zhang Fan will naturally be watching over her, which will make her feel much more at ease.
Zhang Fan felt a tightness in his chest and desperately needed fresh air. Opening the stone coffin earlier was too reckless. After all, it contained the accumulated corpse energy of thousands of years, which was suddenly released in a confined space. He was lucky to have survived without being poisoned.
"Let's take a rest first." Zhang Fan heard Qiu Wanlan's rapid breathing coming from ahead.
In this kind of environment, Qiu Wanlan cannot remain calm like Zhang Fan. When a person is under high mental stress, their physical exertion will be several times that of usual.
Although Qiu Wanlan didn't do anything after coming down to the tomb, she was now covered in sweat, and the back of her clothes was soaked.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Wanlan lay down inside the tunnel to make the space in front of her more open, but even so, she was still unable to straighten her arms.
The two men, trapped inside the tunnel, breathed heavily, like two earthworms caught in a straw.
Zhang Fan was in a more difficult situation at the rear. Qiu Wanlan was at least closer to the fresh air outside the cave entrance. He was under the double pressure of being invaded by the filthy corpse air below and the lack of oxygen in front of him. He felt his head throbbing and his headache was getting worse.
However, to put Qiu Wanlan at ease, he did not urge her, knowing full well that haste makes waste.
Qiu Wanlan held the small kerosene lamp above her head and looked down. Zhang Fan also looked up at her. By the light, he saw a disheveled woman looking at him from Qiu Wanlan's side.
"Second Aunt, is there something next to you?"
Qiu Wanlan stared intently at Zhang Fan, asking, "Who is the woman next to you?"
Zhang Fan looked around, but there was no other woman beside him. When he looked up again, the disheveled woman had disappeared.
“We need to speed things up.” Zhang Fan nudged Qiu Wanlan. “We’re all starting to hallucinate. If we don’t get out soon, we might be trapped here and die.”
"A hallucination?" Qiu Wanlan continued crawling forward with skepticism. "Was what I just saw really a hallucination?"
"It's perfectly normal for the human brain to hallucinate when it's lacking oxygen; you should trust science!"
"Everything illogical can be explained scientifically. If you believe this, you won't be afraid of any demons or monsters."
"Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony..." Qiu Wanlan chanted as she climbed.
She felt like she was starting to be brainwashed by the spell. It was incredibly powerful to chant, and it really made her lose all fear of demons and monsters.
Before they knew it, they could see a glimmer of white light ahead; they had finally crawled out of the cave.
The two sat by the cave entrance, taking deep breaths. It was the first time Qiu Wanlan had ever realized that the air could smell so sweet.
The sun is already close to the ridge; it should be dark in another hour or two.
Zhang Fan found a spot on a cliff at the edge of Meishuangping. About ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) above the ground, there was a small platform extending about one and a half meters wide. Standing on the platform, one could overlook the Tang Dynasty Mausoleum without worrying about wild animals. Not far below the platform was a small pool formed by a stream, making it easy to fetch water—perfect for setting up camp.
Zhang Fan used a knife to cut some leafy branches and weave them into a square about two meters long and wide. He leaned it against the cliff face, and this became the sloping roof. The space below the sloping roof was their shelter for the night. The bottom of the sloping roof was fixed to the ground, which also served as a railing, so there was no need to worry about accidentally falling off the cliff while sleeping at night.
Zhang Fan lit several small fires in the shelter to heat up scallion pancakes and smoked meat.
The scallion pancakes were made in the morning, so now they only need to be heated up a little before eating. The smoked meat sizzles on the fire, making it look very appetizing.
However, Zhang Fan wasn't looking at the smoked meat at that moment; his gaze was drawn to two other lumps of meat in the pool.
Well, after all, this is a matriarchal society in the wilderness. If we switch the genders and think of it as men bathing naked in the water, then it's a very normal thing, right?
Zhang Fan glanced at the pool, then quickly looked away.
Do not look at what is improper! Do not look at what is improper!
I glanced at it again, then looked away...
Oh dear, what a sin!
Take one more look, then move away.
Take one more look, then move away.
This is truly the last time I'll see it!
This is truly the very last time I'll see it!
I swear, this is truly the very last time I'll ever see this!
Who would have thought that such a small pond could have such turbulent waves...
Zhang Fan took down the clothes from beside the campfire and changed into them. Their clothes, which had been covered in mud from climbing the tunnel, had been washed in the pool and were now dry.
Now that the clothes are dried, Zhang Fan still needs to deliver them to Qiu Wanlan in the pond.
As he approached the pool, Zhang Fan quickly pinched his nose, otherwise he was afraid he would get a nosebleed.
"Second Aunt, your clothes are dry."
Splash—
Without warning, Qiu Wanlan stood up from the pool and stepped out of the water, water droplets sliding down her dazzlingly white skin.
What's going on?
Zhang Fan's eyes widened like copper bells.
"Don't mind me, in my eyes you're just a sister." Qiu Wanlan dressed in front of him without any hesitation. "You've also discovered my relationship with Yingnan, right? Since you haven't said anything, then I don't need to hide it from you."
Zhang Fan wondered if she should feel shy, then let out a soft moan and turn away to cover her face?
This is a world where women are superior to men, so in Qiu Wanlan's mind, when it comes to women's clothing, it is actually the men who suffer.
Zhang Fan didn't actually mind taking a few more of these losses.
Now he understood why Madam Qiu, Qiu Wanyan, dared to sit directly on him in the pool. So, it turned out the woman had actually gotten the better deal?
Back at their shelter on the cliff, the two finished their scallion pancakes and smoked meat. Zhang Fan then moved the fire aside and laid his sleeping bag on top of it.
The sleeping bag is a simple modification made by sewing together a quilt. After crawling into the sleeping bag, you can fold down the mesh on top to cover your face, which can also keep out mosquitoes.
This was, after all, the wilderness. To prevent any accidents, Zhang Fan and Qiu Wanlan took turns resting, with one sleeping and the other standing guard.
The mountain streams and fields are filled with the chirping of insects, which is really perfect for helping you sleep.
In a daze, Zhang Fan was shaken awake. When he got up, he found that Qiu Wanlan had stomped out the fire and was pointing to a spot not far below.
"Look there."
Following the direction Qiu Wanlan pointed, Zhang Fan saw several beams of light.
A few beams of flashlight light.
This is not something that should be here.
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