My speculation that the Panlong Lock appeared in the tomb passage was agreed upon by Song Laosan and Monkey, but it also raised concerns.
Old Song picked up a few pebbles and threw them into the tomb passage, hoping to trigger the Panlong Lock. Monkey scoffed, "Don't even think about it. This little pressure isn't enough to trigger the mechanism. And even if it were, we wouldn't be able to remove it because its fixing bolt is at the bottom. Once it's opened, it'll look like a blooming lotus flower, and many iron hooks will pop out, sealing off the tomb passage like barbed wire. If the iron hooks are poisoned, it'll be even more troublesome."
"That means if we want to go down into the tomb, we have to find another way." Old Song wasted no time and said to me, "There's no other choice but to go down and take a look."
I estimated the distance using the top of the tomb and the tunnel in the ground. After walking a short distance, I tapped the ground with my foot and then looked at the monkey: "Could you dig another tunnel here?"
The monkey took off its tool bag: "No problem, this frozen soil is much more solid than the sandy soil I trained on, so the possibility of a landslide is extremely low. It's just that my technique isn't as professional."
I lit a cigarette: "How long?"
The monkey assembled the tools, and since it didn't have a mouse costume, it tied its wrists, ankles, and collar with rope: "One meter in half an hour, maybe it will take even longer."
I knew Monkey was the only one in the team who could dig a tunnel, so I nodded and said, "Let's get started!"
The monkey's slender physique is indeed suitable for digging tunnels, because it is more agile inside the pit.
When we first started digging the hole, we all took turns helping to dig a pit half a meter deep. After that, we didn't have to do the rest of the work. After all, digging vertical holes is a dangerous job, and if you don't have the skills, it's easy for the hole to collapse.
Compared to other tomb raiders I've met, Monkey's movements were much clumsy. Besides his lack of experience, it was also because our recent life of sleeping outdoors and eating in the wind and rain had really taken a toll on our physical strength.
Although the technique wasn't very skillful, I could tell that the monkey had put in the effort.
Every time the monkey dug down a certain distance, it would create a small space in the cave wall to fit inside. Then it would fill the soil into a basket made from a travel bag, which we would then lift up using a simple support frame.
After the first basket of soil was brought up, Song Laosan licked his lips and said, "Duan Jinyan and his men have already set up traps in the tunnel they dug, but our tunnel is not protected. I'm worried that if people find our location later, they will go down from here."
I thought for a moment: "Scatter the soil to a more distant place, make a simple camouflage on the ground, and cover up the other hole as well."
Old Song clicked his tongue in worry: "The terrain here is flat, and it's easy to spot any disguises. Even if we do it perfectly, if Qu Ruilin decides to dig around here using his 'underground eyes,' we still won't be able to avoid it."
Although Zhou Peng didn't understand these things, he chimed in, "Didn't you just say that the people who went down first would leave through other passages? Can't we just follow their route?"
"If these people can set up traps at the entrance, they can certainly set them up at the exit. The monkey's skills are not up to par yet, so it's best to leave himself an escape route."
Song Laosan's words also reminded me: "After we go down, we'll seal our tunnel. When we return the way we came, we'll use the tunnel behind us. We just need to remove the dragon lock down there."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Peng asked me, "Mr. Duan, will our trip be over after you leave?"
"No, you have to come down with us." Song Laosan replied bluntly, "After we get what we need down there, we still have to leave these mountains. Without Sasha's guidance, won't we end up like those unlucky guys in the Hall of Offerings, trapped and dying in these mountains?"
Zhou Peng immediately retorted, "Mr. Song, when you hired me, you didn't tell me about tomb raiding! I've heard that ancient tombs are extremely dangerous, with all sorts of traps and poisonous gases. The money I earn doesn't include risking my life!"
“You can choose to stay on the ground, but I must remind you that Sasha and Ivan came here with us for money. The work is almost finished, and they won’t leave until they get paid. Even without your translation, we can communicate with simple gestures. If you want to leave, you can only go alone. Are you confident you can survive in these mountains?”
I emptied the soil from my travel bag onto the ground and smoothed it down again: "I'm taking you down here to protect you. Otherwise, when our pursuers arrive, you'll still clash, and bullets don't discriminate! Going down into the tomb isn't mandatory. Tell Sasha and Ivan that anyone willing to go down will receive one million rubles, including you! Those who don't want to go down can wait up here. But if we find another way out down here, we might not be able to reunite. We don't have enough money to pay your salaries. If you're comfortable with that, you can stay up here."
When Zhou Peng heard my seemingly strategic retreat, he was at a loss for words.
Sasha and Ivan were both men who had lived on the edge, and they had never felt fear while they were with our team.
After all, our daily wage is enough for Sasha to risk his life fighting tigers and bears for a long time. And Ivan's security company is an international enterprise. It's much better for him to take risks in the jungle with us than to go abroad to carry out missions in war zones.
Sure enough, Sasha and Ivan's expressions changed immediately when they heard about the million rubles.
The average monthly income in the Far East is only about 2,000 RMB, while one million rubles is equivalent to nearly 90,000 RMB, enough for several years' salary.
Knowing we were pressed for time, the monkey worked non-stop. By the time we had carried out seven or eight baskets of stolen soil, I could clearly see his arms trembling involuntarily.
After about two and a half hours, the monkey finally stopped moving, looked up and shouted, "Young Master Duan, the tunnel has reached the bottom! I've dug up some rammed earth!"
I heard the monkey shouting and went to the next tomb raider's hole to observe its structure: "We are in a brick chamber tomb. The gaps between the bricks are filled with a mixture of lime, sand, and clay. Once we break through the brick layers, we can enter the tomb passage."
"Ta-da!"
The monkey pounded the soil under its feet a few times with its entrenching tool, then shook its head at me: "No way, the soil here is too hard. With our tools, it's difficult to damage it!"
I thought about it for a moment: "Is it possible to make a horizontal tunnel, connecting our tunnel to another one to create a twin tunnel, and then remove the dragon lock from the side?"
The monkey nodded: "Theoretically, it's feasible, but if later generations follow our tunnel, they can also avoid the Panlong Lock!"
Old Song came up with an idea: "Place the dragon locks we took down inside the horizontal tunnel, and then backfill the tunnel we dug. Even if they decide to dig out our tunnel, it will waste a lot of time and make it unusable."
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