"Big brother, what's a Mustard Seed Belt? Is it kelp?"

Eldest Elder Sun didn't laugh; he looked at me and said, "It's not any kind of kelp—it's a person's name. There's only a brief mention of him in the records. Unexpectedly, we stumbled upon him. What should we do? Are we still taking action tonight? I see Second Brother and Third Elder are already prepared."

King Leader asked with a serious look in his eyes, "There haven't been any problems at the base, right?"

Eldest Elder Sun nodded, "No, the young lads under A Mole are quite sharp."

"Boss, let's hold off on moving this batch of goods, especially this Bronze Bean. Once word gets out from Shunde, there's a good chance it will draw wolves."

"Wolf from the South?" Boss asked with a dark expression.

"I'm afraid it's not just the Wolf from the South. Everywhere you look, it's a case of too many wolves and not enough meat; all scavenging for bones. If our pot lid isn't secured tightly, the smell of meat might just attract the wild wolves."

"Boss, I've made up my mind," King Leader said, stretching out his hand, "Five days. We shorten the time to five days. Get everything out for me. After we get our hands on it, we'll leave Shunde as quickly as possible and find somewhere to lay low for a while."

From the conversation between King Leader and Eldest Elder Sun, I could tell they were both a bit nervous, as if they were wary of something.

...

The hour of Zi had passed, atop Moth Mountain.

Second Elder Sun squatted on the ground smoking, while Third Elder Sun was tallying the burlap sacks.

"All's quiet. Let's begin," Eldest Elder Sun's voice came through the Walkie-Talkie.

"Cloud Peak, how many sacks do you have?"

"Second brother, I've got four left."

"Alright, that should be about right," Second Elder Sun said, stamping out the cigarette butt in his hand.

At that moment, a series of eerie bird calls emanated from Moth Mountain, their cries unsettling in the dead of night.

"That's an ill omen," King Leader cursed twice as he looked back at the dark expanse of Moth Mountain. He said the bird was a Death-Announcing Bird, not a creature of good fortune.

The Death-Announcing Bird is an Owl, known in ancient times as the Night Owl. It was most often seen at Chaotic Burial Mound, hence the ominous moniker.

"Ptui, ptui, ptui! Damn death bird," Second Elder Sun spat several times in the direction of the mountain.

Once the owl ceased its call, we commenced our endeavor.

The Thief's Hole we had previously prepared was expertly concealed by A Mole's men. A seamless turf of yellow grass had been laid atop it, with four wooden stakes for support underneath. From the outside, it was nearly impossible to spot any flaw.

After clearing away these items and securing our headlamps, the Sun Family Brothers braced themselves against the sides of the Thief's Hole and slid down. I struggled somewhat and was the last to descend.

Inside the consecrated tomb, the murky water that had pooled was now scant, incapable of submerging one's feet, though the ground was a bit muddy, sticky underfoot as we walked.

The tomb passage was dim and damp, noticeably cooler than above.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Adjusting my headlamp, Second Elder Sun said to me, "The boss was right; we need to pick up the pace. Cloud Peak, go check the West Ear Chamber we explored yesterday. See if anything was overlooked in the corners. If there's nothing missed, then come help us on the east side."

Having dispensed these instructions, I temporarily parted ways with the Sun Family Brothers who headed right towards the East Ear Chamber, while I turned left to make for the West Ear Chamber.

Alone now, and in the depths of the tomb in the dead of night, fear began to creep over me.

I steadied my headlamp, silently praying, "No offense meant, no offense. Oh master of the house, forgive my intrusion. I seek but a modest fortune, Amitabha Buddha."

It is said that when a living person lights a candle, spirits may extinguish it. I had once inquired of the boss, "Boss, we adhere to the rule 'no touching gold at cock's crow,' and though we're not official Tomb Raider Officers, for safety's sake, couldn't we light a white candle in the tomb? I've heard that if the candle goes out, it means the Tomb Owner is displeased and we should leave, lest we encounter ghosts."

Old Master had laughed heartily at this. He said, "Cloud Peak, my dear boy, you've watched too many movies and TV shows. A snuffed candle signifies the Tomb Owner's displeasure? So, if it remains lit, does that mean the Tomb Owner is pleased? What, are they happy to welcome us as we dig up their grave? That's ludicrous."

"Moreover, Cloud Peak, consider this: indeed, in ancient times, grave robbers known as 'Gold Touching' would light a white candle in the tomb chambers, but that was for illumination. How else to conduct a tomb raid in pitch darkness? They didn't light candles out of desire, but out of necessity due to the absence of electricity!"

"Now we have headlamp flashlights; what need is there for candles? Some tombs may still contain methane from decomposed bodies. One spark could set off an explosion. Understand, Cloud Peak?" These were the exact words King Leader had told me back then. It sounded like a joke, but upon reflection, I found it rather sensible.

After walking for a few minutes without incident, I arrived at the West Ear Chamber.

The floor of the West Ear Chamber was bare. Using the light from my headlamp, I scanned the area but found no remnants of anything. The dozens of bronze wares that were once here had been completely cleared out by us.

In the northwest corner of the Ear Chamber stood a large water vat covered with a stone slab, forlorn in its solitude.

"Hmm? My second brother mentioned that the vat wasn't valuable, but... could there be any burial artifacts inside it?"

With that thought, I decided to take a closer look.

Indeed, as my brother had said, it was only upon approaching that I realized the vat was indeed made of fired clay.

The earliest porcelain appeared during the Eastern Han Dynasty, at which time primitive celadon was the norm. Prior to that, the use of coarse pottery and bronze ware was widespread, which seemed consistent with the time period.

What puzzled me, though, was how such a large object could have been fired.

There were no visible seams of assembly on the surface of the vat, indicating it had been shaped and fired in one piece. The size of the kiln box required to accommodate such a large vat was beyond my comprehension.

The stone slab covering the vat was made of bluestone. I tried pushing it with one hand at first, but it didn't budge; it was quite heavy.

Now aware of its weight, I used both hands this time.

The stone scraped against the vat, emitting a series of grating, piercing sounds as I gradually pushed the slab aside.

"What's this foul smell?"

I hadn't noticed it with the stone slab in place, but now the odor was unmistakable.

At that moment, I found the Western Zhou tomb to be rather peculiar. When I first descended, there was a faint scent of fragrance; now, I was hit by a stench reminiscent of rotten eggs left out in the heat of summer.

I adjusted my headlamp and peered into the vat, lowering my head.

I saw that at the bottom of the vat was a hole no more than twenty centimeters wide, and beyond that, nothing.

I could tell that the sulfurous smell of rotten eggs was emanating from this hole.

The beam of my headlamp shone down, but it was no use; the hole below was just darkness.

Feeling a sense of strangeness, I leaned over the edge of the vat and reached my right hand into the dark hole at the bottom.

"What's this?" After groping around strenuously, a solid sensation transmitted to my fingertips. I felt a long, hard object.

I thought to myself, "Could it be... a bar of gold?"

"But that's not right; no gold bar is this light."

Feeling that I had a firm grip on the object, I adjusted my angle a few times and, bit by bit, lifted it out.

It was something white. After pulling it out, I bent my head down and shone my headlamp on it.

It was a human femur!

"Ah!"

I screamed in fright and dropped the bone.

"Is this... could this possibly be the tomb owner's remains? A bone from the Western Zhou period that hasn't decomposed into dust?"

In my panic, I overlooked something.

At that moment, I simply did not see that the femur still contained marrow. (To be continued)

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