Ancient Tomb Youlan They fell into the tomb passage, and their supplies were almost exhausted...
When Wen Zichuan woke up, he didn't know how much time had passed.
He looked up at the cave entrance and found that it was pitch black outside. Fortunately, there was a layer of fine sand at the bottom of the cave. With the cushioning of the backpack and Cheng Sizhou's close protection, he was not injured.
"Brother Zhou, Brother Zhou!" The light was dim and he couldn't see clearly, so he could only rely on feeling to judge Cheng Sizhou's situation.
"Hmm..." Cheng Sizhou also woke up and sat up with his forehead pressed against his chest. "Where is this?"
"I don't know. We fell into a hole." Wen Zichuan held his face. "How are you? Are you hurt?"
Cheng Sizhou held his hand: "I'm fine, I'm not hurt."
He raised his head and estimated that the cave entrance was about seven or eight meters deep from the bottom of the cave. They fell down but didn't even get a scratch on their skin. It was truly a blessing in disguise.
The two of them supported each other to stand up, and faced the situation before them, they couldn't help but sigh.
They didn't carry much supplies in their bags. Although their cell phones still had battery, they had no signal at all and were lucky enough to be able to use them as flashlights.
Wen Zichuan removed the safety rope and felt around the cave walls. He said dejectedly, "The safety rope isn't long enough, and the cave walls are slippery. Otherwise, I could have tried to climb up."
"The cave walls are very smooth?" Cheng Sizhou quickly checked the stone walls on both sides. The touch was indeed very special. It was neither like the ones formed by the impact of running water in a natural cave, nor like the products of polishing by modern industrial machinery.
His judgment of light and color was superior to that of ordinary people. After observing the area, he said, "Zichuan, we are already in the ancient tomb."
"We entered the ancient tomb?" Wen Zichuan was a little bit unbelievable. His original plan was to first enter the village, pay a visit to the Wu Heng tribe leader, and ask about what happened that year. If allowed, he would then enter the ancient tomb to look for clues.
Cheng Sizhou turned on the flashlight and came over to hold his hand: "We can't go up anymore, let's go forward."
Wen Zichuan followed him and opened his cell phone to check the time. It was a little after nine o'clock in the evening, which meant they had been unconscious for almost three hours.
The tomb passage was so dark that the light from a mobile phone flashlight could only illuminate a small area. He turned on his own flashlight, hoping to see more clearly.
"One is enough, use it sparingly." Cheng Sizhou said.
"Brother Zhou, can you see clearly?" Wen Zichuan put away his phone after hearing his words.
"It's not very clear, but it can be seen that it is an ordinary tomb passage." Cheng Sizhou stopped and took off his coat and gave it to Wen Zichuan, "Put it on. We are going downstairs. It will be very cold down there."
"But, you also..."
"Get used to it. As promised, Brother Zhou will protect you."
It was August, the scorching heat outside. They knew the temperature would be low in the mountains, but they only brought one or two pieces of autumn clothes.
Unexpectedly, the further down they went in the tomb passage, the colder it became. They had to put on all the clothes they could wear and try to keep warm by layering them.
"Who is buried in the ancient tomb? Why is it so big?" Wen Zichuan's voice echoed in the tomb passage. Although his voice was pleasant, it always felt a little gloomy.
"The Book of Burial says that in feng shui, obtaining water is the most important, and hiding wind is the second best. The porcelain gui unearthed from the ancient tomb indicates that the dynasty was more than a thousand years ago. If the tomb builders paid attention to placing the tomb against the mountain and facing the water, then the river we saw when we came here must be the direction of the tomb door." Cheng Sizhou is not an archaeologist, but he still knows the basic feng shui patterns.
Wen Zichuan was so dizzy from the fall that he couldn't remember which side the river was on or which side the mountain was on.
"We're in an ancient tomb, but the layout isn't right," Cheng Sizhou said, his mind already forming a flat model of the section he'd walked through. "A typical large tomb has an antechamber, a main chamber, a back chamber, and an annex. If this isn't a burial pit, then they've dug a secret passage from the main chamber to the outside."
"Why do we need to dig a secret passage? Aren't ancient tombs supposed to be sealed to prevent theft?" Wen Zichuan asked.
Cheng Sizhou didn't guess the key, but there was no way forward, blocked by a tomb door.
"It's a jade pendant!" Wen Zichuan let go of Cheng Sizhou and, using the flashlight's beam, walked up the steps in front of the tomb door in two or three steps. He pointed at the jade pendant inlaid on the door and said, "Xiao Liang really brought it back to the ancient tomb."
Cheng Sizhou also walked over and clasped his fingers together: "Is this your piece? Or are there many similar pieces?"
Wen Zichuan said firmly, "Of course it's mine. I don't know how many times I've looked at its patterns. Besides, is it possible that something from a thousand years ago can be mass-produced?"
Jadeware is made from polished jade. From ancient times to the present, no two stones have exactly the same patterns.
Because his hand was shaken away, Cheng Sizhou was so panicked that he ignored even the most basic common sense.
"Why is the jade pendant embedded in the door?" Wen Zichuan recalled the tomb-raiding novels he read in college. "Could it be the key to the tomb door?"
He reached out and touched the jade pendant, but the tomb door remained silent.
He pressed harder, and the jade pendant actually dented. Then the tomb door slowly moved sideways, revealing a narrow gap that was wide enough for one person to pass through.
"Wow, it's open!" Wen Zichuan was very happy and thought that reading the novel was not in vain.
While he wasn't noticing, Cheng Sizhou had already stood closest to the crack in the door. The ancient tomb had been excavated for rescue purposes and was probably safe, but if there was still any hidden danger, it would only come at him.
Fortunately, they were lucky. Apart from some strange smell in the air, there was nothing else.
According to Cheng Sizhou's inference, after passing through this door, one should reach the main part of the ancient tomb. As to whether it is a tomb passage or a tomb chamber, one has to go in and take a look at the layout to know.
It becomes even darker inside. The pitch-black environment even has a kind of black hole-like magic that can absorb any light that accidentally enters it.
Cheng Sizhou's cell phone was running out of battery, so he switched to Wen Zichuan's.
"It doesn't look like a tomb chamber, but it is a standard rectangle. It might be a tomb passage." Cheng Sizhou raised a weak light source and illuminated one side of the wall.
Wen Zichuan rubbed his eyes. After staying in the dark environment for a long time and trying hard to see things, he felt that his eyes were itchy and painful, as if they were smoked by smoke.
"Brother Zhou, my eyes hurt a little." He pulled Cheng Sizhou's hand.
"Let's take a break first. Close your eyes and rest for a while." Cheng Sizhou found a place to sit down and let him lean on his shoulder.
Including the day's journey, they had already walked for more than twelve hours, and even the strongest man could not bear it.
In addition to the trouble caused by Xiao Liang, the two of them had to run for their lives and fall into the water. Their clothes got wet and dry again, and they had to wear them all to keep warm. Their physical strength and energy were severely overdrawn.
If it wasn't that sleeping in a tomb was inappropriate, then it would definitely be best to get enough rest before continuing to look for the way.
I don’t know where Zhou Han and the others are. If they don’t meet up soon, their food and water will run out.
Cheng Sizhou forced himself to stay sleepy and planned to let Zichuan get some sleep before taking him out of the ancient tomb.
Historically, no emperors or generals were buried in the Longji Mountain area, and archaeological reports have also proved that the ancient tombs were not large in scale.
If nothing unexpected happens, it must be a traditional layout facing north and south, gathering water and hiding wind. As long as you walk further south, you will be able to walk out of the tomb.
"Brother Zhou, I feel so uncomfortable..." Wen Zichuan was sleeping in a daze, mumbling to him.
It's broken! Cheng Sizhou touched his forehead and it was as hot as red-hot iron.
The usual medicines were all in Wen Zichuan's backpack. He reached out and took them, but he couldn't find any medicine to reduce fever after searching everywhere.
There is no medicine, only physical cooling methods.
There are only two bottles of mineral water left. If I use them, I will have no water to drink tomorrow.
In a hurry, Cheng Sizhou took off all his clothes, stood in the crack of the tomb door, let the wind blow his skin cold, then unbuttoned Wen Zichuan's shirt and pressed his skin against his.
They went back and forth like this countless times until his fever finally subsided, and the two of them snuggled up and fell asleep.
But even in his dream, Wen Zichuan couldn't help wrinkling his nose. The strange smell in the air disturbed his sleep.
He opened his eyes in a daze and was suddenly shocked to find that he was sitting in a moving prison van.
Yes, a prison van, very similar to the props assembled with wooden fences used in costume dramas.
But this prison van was made of iron, not like a prop car, so he could just stick his head out and slip out.
What's more, his hands and feet were all tightly locked with iron rings and chains, and they couldn't be taken off easily by just pulling them off.
But why was he in such a place? Where had Cheng Sizhou gone?
He was about to shout when suddenly, a flood of memories flooded into his consciousness. A voice from the unknown told him, "You are Wu Wen, the leader of the Beiling Wu Clan."
Wu Wen...? The Beiling Wu Clan...?
The clan leader Wu Wen in the prison cart was also very weak and was captured by an enemy army.
Not long ago, this army heading south sent envoys to the Beilingwu tribe, offering to exchange ten cows and ten sheep for the tribe's high-quality jade mines.
This was an extremely unequal transaction. They were bullying others by taking advantage of their power, so the Wu Clan naturally refused to surrender.
The position of the leader of the Beiling Wu tribe has always been inherited by women. The tribe leader Wu Rao knows very well that her tribe members have lived in seclusion for a long time and never participate in disputes between tribes. The jade mine is coveted by others, which is nothing but a crime of possessing a treasure.
So, while she was dealing with the enemy, she sent people to the southern court to request reinforcements. Unfortunately, the reinforcements did not arrive and the enemy had lost their patience.
In order to cover the evacuation of her tribe, Wu Rao and her attendant witches used mechanisms to defend the empty city.
Although they bought some time, the enemy was cunning and kept coming back. Because they were outnumbered, some of Wu Rao and the witches were killed in the battle, and some were captured.
They were all women, and when they died they would just turn into dust, while those who were captured were living a life worse than death.
The Beilingwu tribe was forced to flee far away, and the jade mine fell into the hands of the enemy.
According to the rules of the tribe, if Wu Rao died in battle, a woman should be chosen from the descendants of Wu Rao or the witch to succeed as the new tribe leader.
However, the situation in exile was precarious, and choosing another woman would push her to the edge of the cliff.
Wu Wen is Wu Rao's only son. In order to protect the women in the clan, he disguised himself as a woman and temporarily took over the position of clan leader.
As the clan leader, he cannot lead his people into exile forever. He wants to avenge his mother and take back his people's habitat and jade mine.
Wu Wen used the secret method passed down by the Wu clan to create a fire and burned the enemy's grain carts. This made the enemy leader furious, and he threatened to arrest all the Wu clan members, chop off the head of the clan leader and mutilate his body, and enslave the clan members for generations.
Wu Wen's revenge was not over yet. Although he was very cautious in every action, he was still captured by the enemy.
All the Wu tribe warriors who fought with him were killed, and he was thrown into a prison cart with wounds all over his body and taken to the enemy camp in the north.
Wu Wen knew what was waiting for him next. He could die, but he had to avenge his mother and tribe.
The prisoner cart left long ruts in the snow. This winter was exceptionally cold, and food was in short supply in the north, so the enemy thought that exchanging ten cows and ten sheep for the jade mine was already a great mercy. That was why they hated the witch tribe so much that they dared to set the demon fire and burn their grain carts.
Wu Wen curled up his body. His clothes, which were not thick to begin with, were soaked with blood. The cold wind blew, and it was bone-chillingly cold.
When he was almost frozen to unconsciousness, several rough enemy soldiers dragged him out of the prison van and threw him to an extremely warm place.
The floor of the tent was covered with sheepskin. Wu Wen fell on it and didn't feel any pain, but he could clearly feel the pain the sheep felt when it was skinned.
A drunken man strode over, his leather boots with iron buckles tapping on his spine. "Are you the new leader of the Wu Clan? You're the one who burned my grain cart?"
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