Grave Robber Chapter 15-1

Chapter 15: Ghost's Signal (1)

The surroundings seemed to quieten down.

Xiao Bei was gasping for air as he asked, “has he gone down?”

Fatty knew who Xiao Bei was asking for so he nodded his head. Xiao Bei’s eyes dimmed.

“It’s dangerous below.”

“What did the murals show?” Fatty asked.

“That this place isn’t the tomb of some Tu Si, but was used to suppress evil spirits!”

Fatty sucked in a breath of cold air. “What do you mean?”

“Do you still have that jade?”

“Yes…you know why it’s cursed?” From fatty’s looks and the way he flatly asked the question, it was impossible to find any trace of surprise.

“I saw from the murals that originally there was a bronze mirror in here. It was meant to be inlaid onto the coffin and that jade was the hanging ornament of the mirror…” Xiao Bei severely coughed twice before he continued. “Remember the dried blood-stained ditch? A large-scale sacrificial offering was most likely done here once to issue a curse. I think that somebody had committed a grave sin and after death was cursed. Also, for the sake of preventing the curse from leaking, those people, at that time add a secret method to the bronze mirror and placed it on the coffin to suppress it…”

For a moment, the two looked at each other and none spoke a word.

“Those monsters below dared not climb up the altar, so let’s go down first.” Fatty took the initiative to speak first and slid down the rope.

Xiao Bei understood that, currently, those monsters below were eyeing them covetously. It was already impossible for them to return using the route they came in from before. Hence their only hope lay in what was below the altar.

For this sort of sacrificial offering method, all those people involved in its construction, such as workers and slaves, would be sealed beneath alive to prevent evil from being brought above ground. But, in order to survive, they most likely might open up a tunnel as their escape route and this would be Xiao Bei’s group's chance.

Regarding why those monsters dared not climb up the altar, it might be due to the scriptures which covered the surroundings. Also, these things did not have the intelligence. Xiao Bei quietly packed all the scattered things into the bag. He carried it and quickly followed fatty down the hole within the altar.

Xiao Bei did not know how long he had slid down for, his surrounding were pitch black. The fire-stick in fatty’s hand was giving off a bleak radiance. Instead of bringing comfort to Xiao Bei, it caused the atmosphere to have a tinge of strangeness.

The tunnel below the altar was very deep and it twisted and turned like a letter ‘S’. Currently, the two were stuck at the last curve.

“This is?” Xiao Bei picked up a b.u.t.ton that was on the ground.

Fatty turned his head and looked. “This is a mark left behind by Xing Man Tian. It looks like he hasn’t met with any danger. Still, let’s be careful.”

Xiao Bei nodded solemnly and the two headed further in. Though the surroundings were dark and gloomy, no life-threatening events occurred,but this caused Xiao Bei to be even more anxious.

From the information he gleamed from the murals, by placing the bronze mirror above the coffin, it was to suppress and seal the curse within. Now that the jade from the bronze mirror had fallen off and ended up being pa.s.sed into fatty’s hands, this also indicated that the bronze mirror was already no longer placed on the coffin.

Is it possible that everything is a lie? There is no curse? But what’s the explanation behind those series of bizarre death? Now there wasn’t even a single trace of that black cat. They could only continue to move forward and explore to find more clues.

“In ancient times, was there really such a thing as curses?” Xiao Bei voiced out his thought. The fire-stick in fatty’s hand suddenly flickered.

“There are many unexplainable things that even I am not sure of, but I believe they exist. Don’t spout nonsense and also don’t talk too loudly as it might attract unnecessary trouble.” Fatty said coldly. Though fatty’s tone was cold, he still briefly answered Xiao Bei’s question. Many weird things do exist in old tombs.

In fact, Xiao Bei already knew that fatty and Xing Man Tian were the type of people who were cold on the outside but warm on the inside. On the surface, they acted unconcerned but actually, they were also very much concerned, even if it was to an irrelevant character like him.

Suddenly, sounds echoed out from somewhere. It was neither the sound of footsteps nor the sound of wind.

“Dīdā, dīdā.”

As the two walked deeper, the sound became clearer as if it what made it were right beside their ears. Xiao Bei became vigilant and he tightly held the dagger in his hand. The dagger was given to him by Xing Man Tian after saving him. Even from the dangers he faced, Xiao Bei did not lose it. It could be said that Xiao Bei had already become more familiar with fatty and Xing Man Tian.

This dagger was surprisingly sharp, who knew which material was used to forge it. When hacking stone, it would not bend or chip. Xiao Bei’s palm was now covered with sweat.

Fatty flicked off the safety switch of the pistol and was prepared to fire at any given moment.

"Xū.” Fatty gave Xiao Bei a stop hand signal and he, by himself, went forward while leaning against the wall.

“Huālālā, huālālā.”

It was the sound of dripping water but how was there water all the way down here? Unless it was underground water? Though Xiao Bei was suspicious, he still listened to fatty’s instruction and anxiously waited in the same place.

Pā!

Alone, Fatty turned and pointed his gun down the path. Pieces of rocks that had been by his feet, he kicked them all over the place. The crisp sound was particularly clear, especially in this quiet environment.

Xiao Bei felt anxious and wanted to rush up. He got the feeling of wanting to throw his dagger through the air. Humans, during the time when they were facing the unknown, would always seem frail.

Fatty lowered his gun and allowed Xiao Bei to move forward. At that, Xiao Bei finally heaved a long sigh of relief.

“Wa, this, this is too spectacular!” Xiao Bei walked up and was dazed by the scene in front of him.

Stalact.i.te covered the whole ceiling and droplets of water slid down from the top – dripping, and hitting the surface of the depression (a deep pool of water that could lead to an ocean or another chamber with air). The sound from before was produced from here.

The tunnel below the altar had led them to a place filled with charm and beauty. This caused Xiao Bei to feel like he was in a movie as only in the movie would this scene appear.

The depression wasn’t very large and the things in Xing Man Tian’s bag were scattered around. The tunnel had now led them to a dead end but, had Xing Man Tian went down to the bottom of this depression? Then, where is that mysterious coffin?

One by one, mysteries were placed in front of his eyes, greatly overwhelming him.

Xiao Bei and fatty looked at each other for a moment before they immediately took off their coat. In order for them to know the result, they had no choice! Right before them was their only route and that was to go into the water! To dive into the depression and search for answers!

"Sī sī, sī sī."

Fatty bent down and turned his body. He quickly picked up the engineering shovel and the pistol from the ground. He vigilantly asked, “What’s was that sound? Did you hear it?”

“Sound?” Xiao Bei did not hear anything but his hands stopped what they were doing and he listened carefully.

Fatty’s words were something he had to believe as he did not have the experience; that, and everything had to be done according to fatty’s instruction. Furthermore, the most important reason was that it would be better to believe it was the truth than not. In this place, where danger was lurking all around them, security was just a false impression, and he had to always stay vigilant at all times.

"Sī sī." That sound once again sounded out, albeit faint, like the messy static noise of a radio in the middle of the night. In this situation, it would cause anybody to feel absolutely terrified. The cold wind blew pa.s.sed.

“I heard it, a little…a little scary…” Xiao Bei shivered.

“What do you think?” Fatty asked.

“Like…like my home’s broken antique radio…” Xiao Bei’s mouth twitched but he could not laugh. It really sounded like that and this made it a little bit frightening. How would that thing even appear here ah? This was really absurd.