It was my first time on the job, and with such limited experience, I naturally assumed the bones were the remains of the tomb's owner.

Given the grandeur of this burial site, if these were indeed the bones of the tomb's owner, there should have been burial artifacts nearby, or so I thought.

Perhaps some personal seals made of bronze, a selection of finely crafted ancient jade pieces, or even gold artifacts.

Greed overcame fear, and I kept reassuring myself, "It's nothing, it's nothing. Who knows, there might even be a princely seal hidden in this dark hole. If luck is on my side and I find it, I'll be rich!"

With newfound courage, I reached down to the bottom of the jar once again.

As I fumbled around, half-bent over...

"Yikes!"

Something bit my index finger sharply, causing a jolt of pain.

I quickly withdrew my hand and saw that the tip of my finger was bleeding, marked by two small punctures.

My first thought was that I'd been bitten by a snake.

Unsure if it was venomous, I was terrified. I immediately pinched my fingertip and ran towards the east ear chamber, screaming for help.

"Second Brother! Third Brother! Save me!"

Scattered across the floor of the east ear chamber were a few burial artifacts, far fewer in number than in the west ear chamber. The Sun Family Brothers were squatting down, sorting through the items to determine which were valuable.

"Cloud Peak, what's all the fuss about? Have you seen a ghost or what? Who's after your life?"

I showed them my finger, which had stopped bleeding, and said urgently, "Second Brother! I've been bitten by a venomous snake! I'm going to die from the poison any moment now!"

"A snake? Venomous?" Second Elder Sun was immediately panic-stricken.

After examining my finger for a moment, Second Elder Sun asked in confusion, "Third brother... These wounds on Cloud Peak's finger, these two small holes, are they from a snake bite?"

Third Elder Sun thought for a while and then shook his head, "It seems like it might be, but something's not quite right, Second Brother. Look at the width of Cloud Peak's finger and the spacing of these wounds; no snakehead is that small."

Third Elder Sun squeezed the wound, and fresh red blood oozed out.

"It's nothing to worry about, Cloud Peak. Look at how bright the blood is; whatever bit you definitely wasn't a snake, let alone venomous. I'd guess it was probably a mouse, a small one at that."

"A mouse? Do mice bite people, Third Brother?"

"Of course, they do, Cloud Peak. It's just that you haven't seen much. During the ancient mouse plagues, mice could even devour people!"

"Cloud Peak, you don't feel dizzy, nauseous, or unwell, do you?"

I shook my head and said, "Third Brother, I don't feel anything."

"Don't overthink it, it's nothing. Come help with the work. If you're worried, go get a Rabies Vaccine at the hospital tomorrow during the day."

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"Oh," I nodded in agreement, feeling much relieved knowing it wasn't a venomous snake.

It was somewhat strange, though. The number of Burial Artifacts in the East Ear Chamber was significantly less than in the West Ear Chamber. Logically, they should have been equal, with both Ear Chambers housing a similar quantity of artifacts. Yet, after a thorough search, we only found six or seven pieces of Bronze Ware with some value. The rest were severely damaged, fragmented here and there, making it impossible to discern their original shapes.

"Ah, we even brought so many bags, thinking we'd hit a big haul, and it turns out to be nothing but junk!" Second Elder Sun said bitterly.

He pressed the Walkie-Talkie and reported the situation: "Boss, it's a mix of joy and disappointment. The East Ear Chamber is pitifully lean, hardly a few items worth taking, just small trinkets."

The Walkie-Talkie was silent for two minutes, then King Leader commanded, "Take what you can get, and move on to find the Main Tomb Chamber. The real treasure is in the Coffin."

"Boss, we've already made a round down here and haven't seen any trace of the Main Tomb Chamber. What's going on, boss? With your vast experience, give us your analysis."

A burst of radio noise mixed with voices came through.

"It's impossible. A person of wealth and power in ancient times wouldn't be without a Main Tomb Chamber. There's still time, keep looking."

With these instructions, we began our meticulous search for the Main Tomb Chamber.

A true Main Tomb Chamber would have a coffin, an outer coffin, a corpse, and Burial Artifacts.

But unfortunately, after a long search, we still couldn't find the Main Tomb Chamber.

We packed up the few pieces of Western Zhou Goods, and that concluded our day.

On the way back, King Leader couldn't stop shaking his head, muttering, "Impossible, it makes no sense..."

I was a bit tired and fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed, sleeping all the way until noon. I planned to go to a clinic later to get a Rabies Vaccine.

My right hand felt uncomfortable, so I took a look.

To my shock, the index finger on my right hand was swollen to an enormous size, almost as thick as two fingers combined! And from the wound, two small holes were oozing pus...

The swelling was so severe, yet there was no pain or itchiness. Frightened, I touched it and realized it had lost all sensation.

I was terrified, and so was Second Elder Sun when he saw it. He joked nervously about what I had done that morning to develop a One Yang Finger!

Third Elder Sun urged, "What are we waiting for? Hurry and see a doctor!"

They called for Eldest Elder Sun, who was more familiar with the area than us; he led me to a small clinic not far from the Inn.

The clinic's doctor was stunned. He said that in over twenty years of practice, he had never seen a finger swollen like that. The clinic doctor dared not treat me.

Not knowing what had bitten me, he was hesitant to prescribe any anti-inflammatory drugs. He advised us to go to a major hospital immediately. With swelling like that, amputation might become necessary.

The mere mention of possible amputation terrified me.

Second Brother suggested it was a rat bite. "How could a rat bite lead to amputation? Was it a poisonous rat?" he wondered.

With no other options, I proceeded to Shunde First People's Hospital.

The emergency room doctor frowned as he examined my swollen finger. "No fever, no infection. Let's get an X-ray to see if it's fluid accumulation or something else causing the swelling."

After reviewing the X-rays, the doctor confirmed, "It's fluid accumulation; there's some inflammation at the wound." He asked if I felt any discomfort, to which I shook my head no.

Then, using a large needle from an Acupuncture Box, the doctor pierced two small holes in my finger, which I barely felt.

With a gentle squeeze, a copious amount of yellow-white fluid streamed out.

After draining the fluid, my finger immediately reduced in size. The doctor prescribed Amoxicillin and instructed me to take two pills and avoid chili peppers.

After thanking the doctor, we returned to the inn.

"Is your hand alright now, Cloud Peak?" Old Master inquired.

I glanced at my finger, now significantly less swollen, and breathed a sigh of relief, "It should be fine now, no pain or itch."

King Leader nodded, then turned to Second Elder Sun, "Second Brother, I've studied it carefully this morning and called a few other leaders in our line of work. We all agree that it might be the collapse of the Main Tomb Chamber due to Water Accumulation Bubble, or it could be buried elsewhere."

"Cloud Peak, you go rest. Second Brother, come with me, we need to discuss this."

Back in my room, after taking the anti-inflammatory medicine and lying in bed, I felt tired and soon fell asleep.

I had a dream about that lonely large water jar.

A hand covered in rotting flesh slowly extended from a hole, seizing my wrist!

"Ah!"

I awoke from the nightmare, my back drenched in sweat.

Feeling something odd on my hand, I looked down.

At that moment, my finger... my finger...

Had swollen with fluid again.

And it looked even worse than before. (To be continued)

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