Chapter 308: Guess Comes True
Gao Mingcheng has been searching in the mountains. He is in good physical condition and full of energy, so it doesn't matter even if he doesn't sleep all night.
He went into the mountains to search overnight, not to catch the murderer and gain merit, but to confirm whether the murderer went into the mountains to dig ancient tombs.
Maybe because he experienced this in his previous life, he is very sensitive about it.
It would take a lot of time for others to go into the mountains to look for people, but not for him. He could go around the entire Taohualing in a short time.
However, most of the night had passed and Gao Mingcheng still found nothing. But he did not give up and continued searching.
Gradually, a ray of light appeared in the east, breaking through the darkness, and a hint of grayish-white appeared between the sky and the earth.
Gao Mingcheng stopped on a hillside and decided to take a short rest.
He took out an aluminum military canteen from his pocket and drank several gulps to quench his thirst. Then he looked around and found a high peak.
But that was not enough, he also chose a tall tree and climbed up. The tree was a fir tree with a slender trunk and lush branches and leaves on the top.
There were birds nesting on the treetops. The noise of his climbing startled the sparrows in the nest, and the sparrows flew away, chirping.
When one bird calls, a hundred birds respond.
Birds are early risers, so there is a saying that goes - the early bird catches the worm.
Today they were just woken up early by someone, but it wasn't a big deal. The sparrows gathered together to condemn it, then flew away to look for insects.
Gao Mingcheng quickly climbed up the trunk to the treetop. The fir tree was tall and slender, and it was actually not easy to climb. Thanks to his strong hands and feet and flexible body, he was able to climb up successfully.
Standing on a high place, you can enjoy a broad view and see the mountains at your feet.
Gao Mingcheng watched carefully. Although the trees blocked some of the view, fortunately it was winter, not midsummer.
Another thing is that, generally speaking, there will not be lush trees growing around ancient tombs. This is because the ancients took some protective measures when building the tombs.
They built tombs, piles of sand, charcoal powder and various medicinal powders. This underground environment is not suitable for trees to take root.
After exploring for a while, Gao Mingcheng found several suspicious locations and decided to check them out.
He started to climb down from the tree, and when there were about two meters left, he was too lazy to climb down little by little, so he just jumped down.
After landing steadily, he headed towards the nearest place.
As time passed, the sky became brighter.
Although Gao Mingcheng has good eyesight and can see roughly at night, good light is naturally more conducive to observing the surrounding environment.
He headed towards a relatively empty place.
If there is a relatively empty spot in a mountain with lush vegetation, there must be a reason for it.
Grasses and trees compete for spring, and all vegetation yearns for sunlight. If there is no reason, it will never be empty.
He walked all the way over and saw from afar that the empty hillside had been dug up!
Soil and rocks were scattered all over the ground. With the help of the morning light, he could see that there was a lot of sand among the soil and rocks. Piling sand in the cemetery to mark the tomb and keep it dry was a common method in Song Dynasty tombs.
Gao Mingcheng ran a few steps quickly and when he got closer, he saw that there were two damaged coffins underneath, with the coffin lids scattered around, exposing two dry bones.
The soil that was dug out was very fresh, which showed that it had been dug out not long ago, and there was a hoe next to it.
This year was also a dry year, so the coffin was very dry, with little dirty water. There was nothing else in the coffin except two dry bones.
Found it!
Gao Mingcheng's heart was pounding, and he felt that it was as expected.
Although these two ancient tombs were looted, it does not mean that they were dug by the murderer Wang Zhi. Assuming that it was Wang Zhi who dug them, is he still in the mountains or has he gone down the mountain?
This requires Gao Mingcheng to find the answer.
He lowered his head and looked for footprints. There were many and mixed footprints on the side. If the ground was dry, it would be difficult for people to leave footprints when walking on it. However, the soles of the tomb robbers' shoes were stained with fresh soil, so some traces were left more or less.
These traces are particularly obvious to those who are paying close attention.
Gao Mingcheng followed these traces and soon found a cave.
This cave is not big, it is naturally formed and is half-moon shaped. Because the cave is shallow, when Gao Mingcheng found the cave, he saw Wang Zhi who was still sleeping.
Next to Wang Zhi, there were some pottery jars and porcelains taken out from ancient tombs.
The ancients regarded death as life, so they would use pottery jars to store grains and cereals in tombs, implying that there would be food to eat after death. These pottery jars are basically not valuable. Real tomb robbers generally do not touch these pottery jars, but only look for exquisite porcelain and objects that the tomb owner keeps close to his body.
Because they believe in the existence of spirits after death, some tomb owners will bury their most beloved objects, such as jade, gold and silver items, books, scrolls, etc.
No one knew how Wang Zhi found this ancient tomb, but he was obviously no better than Gao Mingcheng, a half-witted man, so he moved all the intact things to the cave.
Gao Mingcheng glanced around and then left quietly. When he came back, he was holding two pieces of vines in his hands.
He didn't have a rope with him, but the vines in the mountains could serve as a substitute.
So before Wang Zhi woke up, his hands and feet had been tied by Gao Mingcheng.
During the tying process, Wang Zhi woke up in a daze. He subconsciously stretched his body, but found that his hands and feet could no longer move.
He screamed in panic and struggled to run.
"Don't worry, you can't run away." Gao Mingcheng's voice rang out, but he didn't look at Wang Zhi. Instead, he squatted down and looked at the things brought out of the tomb.
In addition to the worthless pottery jars, there are also some lacquerware, including plates and small boxes, which are painted with some patterns and look quite exquisite.
The small box has a lock, but the green rust is the mark left by time.
Gao Mingcheng tried to open it, but it was impossible to open it unless he broke it violently. He shook the box and heard something banging inside.
This box might be a dressing box, which contains women's jewelry.
Just as Gao Mingcheng looked down at these things, Wang Zhi said in panic: "Who are you? Let me go, I can give you half!"
"Hehe, I'm sorry, I want them all!" Gao Mingcheng sneered and said deliberately.
Wang Zhi was stunned. He looked down at the butcher knife beside him, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.
He begged in a low voice: "Okay, I'll give it all to you. Then let me go and I'll leave right away."
"Hey, where are you going? There's a hole dug in this desolate mountain, it's very convenient to bury you." Gao Mingcheng stood up. He noticed that Wang Zhi's eyes were fixed on the butcher knife, so he pretended to kick it accidentally and kicked the butcher knife far away.
Wang Zhi saw that the butcher knife was getting farther away from him, and his heart was beating rapidly. At this moment, he had the urge to kill, but he could not move.
Gao Mingcheng didn't take his murderous intent seriously, but instead thought about how to bring the people and things down the mountain.
The place where he found Wang Zhi was actually not that far away. If a normal person went into the mountains, as long as they found the right route, they could get there in half a day.
But this was too much trouble for Gao Mingcheng. It would be better for him to do some work himself and bring all the people and things down the mountain.
His eyes fell on the half of yellow muntjac meat in the cave.
The meat was relatively fresh, and it must have been hunted by Wang Zhi.
Well, it’s a good opportunity for him to have a good meal first.
(End of this chapter)
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