When we were working in the tomb, we wore rat suits, which were one-piece suits made of coarse cloth, linen or canvas. They were tight-fitting, wouldn't snag or tear, and were not afraid of scratches. They also provided dust and water protection.
The liquid that the female corpse had just sprayed all landed on my clothes and gas mask. I didn't have time to check it carefully. When I felt that the distance was about right, I took out the Hundred-Foot Ruler from my toolbox.
The principle of the Hundred-Foot Baton is similar to that of a baton. It is a steel pipe with a diameter of five centimeters, with multiple steel pipes inside like a nesting doll. It can be extended by threads and fixed to places with support points on both sides as needed.
I fixed the hundred-foot rod in the tomb passage, then draped a rope over it, tied one end to my waist, and quickly turned back.
On the other side of the seesaw, Qu Ruilin saw me return and shone his flashlight on me: "What's that on you?"
"unimportant!"
I swung the knotted rope toward him: "I'll count to three. When I count to two, I'll start running. When I count to three, you'll start running! Give it your all, you only get one chance!"
Qu Ruilin's mental fortitude was much stronger than I had imagined. He tied a knot and put it on his body without any mental preparation: "Come on!"
"Ready! One! Two!"
When I counted to two, I sped up and ran into the tomb chamber. Once the ropes binding me were taut, I roared, "Three!"
After I finished counting, I used almost all my strength to drag the rope and run wildly into the tomb.
"Clang!"
As I ran, I heard a series of loud noises behind me, and the ground beneath my feet trembled violently.
I knew the boulder had fallen, but I didn't dare to relax at all and kept running frantically while dragging the rope.
After running for another two or three meters, the rope around my waist suddenly tightened, almost pulling me down.
Seeing that the rope was taut, I turned around and pushed aside the prayer flags: "Qu Ruilin! Are you still alive? Qu Ruilin?!"
"...I'm fine!"
Two seconds later, Qu Ruilin's voice came, followed by the flashlight beam.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Qu Ruilin appear in front of me.
Although we don't get along, having someone I know by my side in such a strange tomb passage is at least a psychological comfort.
Qu Ruilin shone his flashlight on the stains on my body: "What's this on you?"
"There was a tofu corpse in the tomb passage ahead. It was a man-made mechanism. In addition to scaring tomb raiders, the body was also used as a human skin container to store solutions. I almost fell for it."
I sprayed oxygen a few times into the breathing port of my gas mask, and felt the pressure in the oxygen tank getting lower and lower. I then asked, "Is there a problem with the air here?"
Qu Ruilin took out an air quality monitor and checked: "The oxygen content here is still very low, and the levels of toxic metals such as lead, mercury, and arsenic are exceeding the standards, and the values are still increasing! In addition, the humidity here is also quite high. I don't know if there is mold or parasite eggs. You can't take off your gas mask!"
"The excessive levels of toxins here are probably the toxins from the corpse evaporating. We need to keep going! We don't know if there are any more of these ahead, so be prepared."
I left with a remark, then went back to pick up the key and headed deeper into the tomb with Qu Ruilin.
We hadn't gone far when another female corpse appeared ahead of us.
Although Qu Ruilin had heard my description of the female corpse, he was still startled: "The fact that this body is so well preserved means that it must have been preserved using some kind of mercury immersion method. If this tomb used a large amount of mercury, we're in trouble!"
I raised the crutch key and pushed over the female corpse in front of me, which looked like a dislocated elbow: "Although our gas masks can filter out poisonous gas, skin contact with mercury is still dangerous. Be extra careful when traveling here!"
When Qu Ruilin saw the wounds on my hands, he took off his rubber gloves and handed them to me: "Put these on, be careful of mercury poisoning from the wounds."
I took the gloves and put them on. In the next twenty meters or so of the tomb passage, I pushed over two more corpses. The space suddenly opened up, and I felt that my breathing was much easier, but I was still suffocated. I didn't even have the strength to take a step.
In front of us was a cliff several meters long, stretching to the walls on both sides.
Across the cliff is a plaza, at the end of which stands a massive palace gate, flanked by three interconnected pavilions.
This type of pavilion-style building is called "Que," which is one of the highest-level architectural forms in ancient China.
This overlapping structure is called a triple-arched gate, which is usually erected only in front of the palace gate where the emperor resides, and is a landmark building that signifies the emperor's supreme status.
The use of three-tiered gate towers in Han Dynasty imperial tombs began with Emperor Jing and continued until the Tang and Song Dynasties. This was an exclusive ritual system for imperial tombs, holding a position in the tomb system equivalent to the Nine Tripods, which could only be used by emperors.
Because of the lack of oxygen, the buildings here have retained their original appearance.
The white walls, paired with black terracotta tiles and green glazed tile trim, create a grand and imposing atmosphere.
"The emperor goes out of the palace tower three times! This is the highest level of ceremony that only ancient emperors could enjoy!"
Seeing the style of the towers on both sides of the palace gate, I exclaimed in surprise, "This is not a tomb gate, but a palace gate. The purpose of this palace gate is to replicate the royal etiquette!"
"Perhaps this place should no longer be called the Tomb of the Demonic Monk, but rather the Mausoleum of the False Emperor!"
Qu Ruilin glanced at the air quality monitor in his hand: "The oxygen concentration here has exceeded 17%, which is barely enough to meet the breathing standard, but it is still below the minimum allowable concentration of 19.5%, and the levels of toxic substances are still excessive."
"After being filtered by gas masks, the oxygen content of the air we breathe is at most about 15%. Staying here will cause problems for our head, lungs, and circulatory system."
I tapped my head, trying to stay clear-headed: "We have no way back. We need to find a way to get across the cliff ahead and see what's behind the palace gate on the other side."
Qu Ruilin saw a rock at his feet, picked it up with his foot, and kicked it toward the cliff.
"Thump!"
Two or three seconds later, the sound of the stone hitting the ground came over.
Qu Ruilin was overjoyed: "This cliff isn't very deep. It might be an artificial waterway used to store water back then. I have a grappling hook with me. We can jump down and then climb to the other side!"
"Let's go take a look!"
After regaining some strength, I walked to the edge of the cliff, shone my flashlight down, and exclaimed, "Holy crap!"
"What's wrong?"
Qu Ruilin, who was following behind me, was also confused and stepped forward to take a look: "Holy crap!"
The cliff in front of us is about 20 meters long, more than 10 meters wide, and about 3 meters deep.
It's more like a rectangular pit that was dug out by man than a cliff.
In feudal times, class divisions brought about much suffering.
In this pit, which is about 200 square meters in size, there are countless female corpses standing in dense clusters.
The practice of funerary sacrifice had been abolished in the Tang Dynasty, but surprisingly, this cruel practice was still being continued in this ancient Indian tomb.
Many of the corpses had their flesh torn off due to the vibrations from the iron chains and suspended stones, leaving only their skeletons fixed in place by steel nails. Some had lost half of their bodies, or were left with only their heads. The ground was covered with the disgusting black slime that came from inside the corpses.
Looking down from above, the densely packed corpses resembled a freshly opened can of sardines.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com