After I noticed that the stone figure at the scene had been dragged, everyone gathered around. Manjing twisted the rescue rope into two strands and wrapped it around the stone figure. Then we all grabbed the ropes on both sides.
Just as everyone was about to drag the stone figure away, Song Laosan suddenly spoke up: "Wait a minute, don't you guys feel like something's off about this?"
Lin Que glanced at Song Laosan: "Aren't we in a hurry to arrest someone? What's so strange about this?"
Song Laosan shone his flashlight on the stone figurine that was tied up with rope, and then on the ones next to it: "Look at these statues, they all look exactly the same. The one in front of us doesn't have any special markings either. How did Duan Jinyan and his men find out that there was something wrong with this stone figurine? What evidence do they have?"
Qu Ruilin shone his flashlight to both sides and asked me, "Can you see anything?"
"There are six stone figurines on each side, totaling twelve. They are arranged in a straight line, just ordinary stone figurines, which only serve the purpose of warding off evil spirits and guarding the tomb. There are no other special features."
I looked at the stone figures arranged on both sides and then at the surrounding walls and ground: "There are no totems or murals here, and the way the stone figures are arranged is nothing special. It's just a ritual. I don't see anything special about it."
Song Laosan nodded: "You see, even Xiao Duan hasn't noticed anything wrong with this place yet. So why did Duan Jinyan and the others move this stone statue?"
Lin Que stared at Song Laosan with wide eyes: "You wouldn't happen to be a spy for the Black Robe's side, would you? Duan Jinyan and the others are right in front of us now. Instead of hurrying to find them, why are you always finding fault here?"
"Alright, Duan Jinyan is a Feng Shui master, especially when he enters the Yellow Springs region. There are few people in this world who can match him. So what he can see, we may not be able to see. Since the thing is right in front of us, let's check it."
Wei Shengnan interrupted their argument: "Let's fight!"
"one two three!"
As Qu Ruilin shouted the slogan, we all put in more effort and began to pull the stone statue by dragging the rope.
When Song Laosan saw the stone statue move, he didn't join us in the work. Instead, he shone his flashlight on the ground beneath the statue and said, "There are signs of chiseling in the stone below, and it's fresh work!"
"Did they destroy the keyhole?"
Qu Ruilin frowned: "Everyone, put in more effort and move the stone statue!"
Qu Ruilin's words were also my concerns, and without his reminder, I increased my strength.
With the grating sound of the millstone, we slowly pulled the stone statue away from the ground. I felt we were close enough and was just about to turn around for a look when I heard Song Laosan shout, "Everyone lie down! There's a bomb!"
"careful!"
Upon hearing Song Laosan's shout, I instinctively pressed Jiang Man down and knocked her to the ground.
"boom!"
Two seconds later, a loud bang came from behind us, followed by the sound of rubble hitting the ground.
After the explosion subsided, I shone my flashlight around and asked, "How are you? Is anyone injured?"
"No!"
"I'm fine too!"
"...!"
Hearing my words, everyone responded. Song Laosan also spoke up: "There was a fragmentation grenade down there. After the safety pin was pulled, it was weighed down with a counterweight and a spring was also pressed down. This is a common way for special forces to set up booby traps. Luckily, I have sharp eyes and kicked it away far away as the grenade bounced up. Otherwise, when the grenade exploded in the air, the shrapnel would definitely have flown over like a shower of flowers."
"Did they destroy the keyhole and also set up booby traps?"
After hearing Song Laosan's explanation, I got up and ran towards the location of the stone statue.
On the ground beneath the stone statue, a groove has been carved out by hand, but it is clearly newly dug out, as there was nothing there before. There is also a spring stuck in the groove.
"These guys even know how to set up booby traps! Doesn't that mean that if we follow them, we'll not only have to watch out for the mechanisms inside the tomb, but also for the traps Duan Jinyan and his men have set up? These guys are carrying springs to launch grenades, which means they were prepared in advance! To be able to launch grenades into the air before they explode, these guys are really cunning..."
Lin Que stood beside me muttering to himself, while shining his flashlight upwards and pointing to the ceiling, saying, "Big brother, look up!"
I looked in the direction Lin Que was pointing and saw a hole about the thickness of a thigh and about twenty centimeters deep above our heads. Inside the hole was a thinner cavity that looked about the same thickness as the neck of a chicken's head.
Wei Shengnan saw the keyhole above her head and suddenly realized: "When we checked before, we didn't find this hole above our heads. Duan Jinyan and the others must have opened it and disguised it. They were just shaken down by the shock wave from the grenade explosion."
A member of the Wei family looked at the keyhole above his head with a face full of suspicion: "It must be at least four meters high here, right? How did Duan Jinyan and the others climb up?"
Lin Que clicked her tongue and said, "We have ropes here, but there's not a single point of support at the top of this cave. We can't get up there! How do you think Duan Jinyan and his men got up there?"
Jiang Man sighed as well: "We originally prepared a simple ladder, but Xue Dong and the others took everything with them, and now we're all separated. What are we going to do?"
Looking up at the high ceiling, I felt a bit of a headache, but I still comforted myself, saying, "A living person can't just die from holding their pee. Let's brainstorm and we'll definitely come up with a solution."
Manjing said in a muffled voice, "Aren't there so many stone figures here? If we pile these stones up, we can use them as stepping stones, right?"
"You make it sound so easy. These statues are made of granite. It would take several of us just to move them. How could we possibly stack them up so easily?"
Song Laosan rolled his eyes and looked at us: "How about we build a human wall? After all, there are ten of us here. We can stack two layers on top of each other and then lift the two lighter girls up. Do you think this method is reliable?"
"Now that things have come to this, without any materials, we have no choice but to give it a try."
I took off my backpack, and then took the chicken head mold key out of Manjing's backpack and handed it to Jiang Man: "Have them drag me down, and then you step on me and try to put the key in, but don't turn it. Check if there are any hidden holes on the outside of the keyhole. Many ancient tombs with keyholes have multiple anti-theft measures."
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