Chapter 1022 Thin-skinned coffin
"What's this?!"
Everyone instinctively let out a low gasp, and the sound echoed into the spacious stone chamber, immediately creating countless muffled echoes. In this narrow tunnel, it was as if many unseen people were simultaneously exclaiming in surprise.
This eerie feeling is chilling.
But Ashina Zhuxie's eyes lit up with surprise. He was tall, half a head taller than the average Western Turkic soldier. So while the soldiers in front were still carefully checking for danger with their torches, he could see at a glance, by the flickering and faint light of the torches, that there was a natural stone platform in the center of the stone chamber, about knee-high. On the platform, there seemed to be a huge, square object, dark and indistinct in the firelight.
Even before he could see it clearly, two words had already flashed through his mind—
Coffin!
Something so large and square seems to belong only to a coffin, and the long passageway we just came from resembled a tomb passage, and this stone chamber does indeed look like a tomb.
But is that really Zuo Chen'an's coffin? Is this really Zuo Gong's suspected tomb?
With such joy and doubt, Ashina Zhuxie reached out and pushed aside the people in front of him, about to walk directly up. As he moved, the others also gradually saw the scene in front of them that was gradually being exposed to the firelight—this tall stone chamber was almost the size of a palace, half natural and half carved, because two of the stone walls were obviously smooth and natural, with traces of water flow, while the other two walls, like the passageway they had just come from, had traces of axe and chisel cutting.
Of course, none of these are the most important. The most important thing is what's in the center of the stone chamber!
Upon seeing the stone chamber, after initial surprise and hesitation, and realizing that there seemed to be no danger inside, the group quickly entered the chamber. The firelight approached and immediately illuminated the huge object directly above the stone platform.
That really was a coffin!
Everyone was overjoyed, and even Green Smile couldn't suppress a smile. They originally thought that finding Zuo Gong's suspected tomb would be fraught with difficulties, but they found it so quickly. It was such a surprise!
Overjoyed, she couldn't help but walk forward, wanting to see the coffin in detail. But she wasn't the only one who thought so; the other Turkic soldiers had already surrounded it without any hesitation. Two of them even impatiently climbed onto the stone platform, walked to the coffin, and waved to the people behind them: "Huo, come here quickly!"
In an instant, everyone climbed onto the stone platform and examined the coffin closely.
But upon closer inspection, while everyone else's eyes were still filled with joy, a look of worry slowly crept into Wang Shaoqiu's shrewd eyes. He shook his head and whispered, "That's not right."
The people around him were too busy rejoicing to notice his mutterings. Only Lvxiao and Leiyu, who were standing next to him, vaguely heard what he said. Lvxiao turned to look at him, as if she wanted to say something, but hesitated. Leiyu, on the other hand, said, "What's wrong?"
Wang Shaoqiu glanced at her as well. Although he didn't want to speak to this Turkic Khagan, who was clearly not on good terms with him, it seemed that only she would listen to him now. So he said, "This coffin is too thin. As a duke, Zuo Chen'an couldn't possibly be buried in such a simple coffin. Moreover—"
After he finished speaking, he looked up and around. Although it looked like a tomb, it was too simple and not in accordance with the proper burial regulations for a county lord.
Of course, perhaps Zuo Chen'an deliberately used such a simple tomb to mislead those who wanted to find him. After all, he had offended many people in his lifetime and was afraid that someone would seek revenge, or even more afraid that someone would covet his wealth. But such a simple coffin was inappropriate. Wang Shaoqiu reached out and gently tapped on the coffin lid, and sure enough, he heard a clattering sound. It really was just a thin wooden board.
But someone nearby said, "Sigh, what does it matter how much you care when someone's dead?"
"That's right. Maybe that Zuo guy was afraid people would find his coffin, so he deliberately made a thin-skinned coffin to fool people."
"We finally found it, so we can't just let it go like this."
"Pry it open and see what's inside!"
As they spoke, someone drew a dagger from their waist, eager to pry open the coffin lid, but Wang Shaoqiu immediately stopped them, saying, "Don't move!"
Stopped by him, the group showed displeasure. Ashina Zhuxie also frowned and turned to look at him. Before the other party could ask any questions, Wang Shaoqiu said, "If it really is Zuo Chen'an's coffin, he can set up a false tomb to protect himself. This coffin is probably not that simple. There may be some traps or hidden weapons that can hurt people."
"What kind of traps or hidden weapons?"
A Turk nearby, who had long coveted the treasure that might be buried in the coffin, kicked the thin-skinned coffin in displeasure upon hearing the words of obstruction, saying, "What could possibly be in such a thin-skinned coffin?"
That's what they said, but a few people had already taken Wang Shaoqiu's words to heart. For example, Li Miao and Gao Chen were originally palace guards. Although they had never seen the tombs of kings and nobles with their own eyes, they were very familiar with such legends. They knew that if this was really Zuo Chen'an's coffin, there must be some trickery inside. It was safer to stay away. So the two of them secretly tugged at Lü Xiao's sleeve. But at this moment, Lü Xiao was focused on the coffin and couldn't wait to pry it open to see what was inside. Other Turkic soldiers, however, did not believe in such superstitions and still put all their strength into using the daggers in their hands to pry open the coffin lid.
Soon, they loosened a few nails, and the crowd surged forward again, forcefully lifting the coffin lid to the side—
With a loud crash, the coffin was completely opened!
"careful!"
Wang Shaoqiu gasped in surprise, shoving aside the people around him with his long arm, nearly falling off the stone platform himself. Hearing his voice, Ashina Zhuxie hurriedly protected Lei Yu and stepped back. Everyone stared wide-eyed at the coffin.
A faint golden light suddenly flashed before everyone's eyes.
What followed was a foul stench that instantly filled the entire stone chamber as soon as the lid was opened. Everyone felt nauseous from the smell, and some even dry heaved. Meanwhile, the torches in the hands of several soldiers flickered inexplicably, with a faint white light emanating from the flames.
This unexpected turn of events put everyone on edge.
What's in that coffin?
However, apart from that golden light and the nauseating stench, there was no other movement. The crowd cautiously approached and peered into the coffin. Immediately, someone let out a low gasp of astonishment.
"This, this is—!"
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