The Unorthodox Tomb Raider

Wu Xie then realized that the crack had not actually opened on its own.

Instead, it was pulled apart by more than a dozen huge iron chains inside; the jade platform was the switch that activated these huge iron chains.

As soon as the switch was turned on, a large gash was torn open in the tree.

The enormous bronze coffin then appeared clearly before everyone.

Wu Xie could even see that the coffin was covered with inscriptions.

Wu Xie looked at the inscriptions thoughtfully, as if pondering something.

The silence around the coffin was eerily profound; not a single person spoke.

The crowd acted as if they were afraid of waking the person buried in the coffin.

Even the sound of breathing is very subtle.

At this moment, Uncle Wu took out an iron bar and knocked on the coffin.

A muffled sound came from inside, and at that moment Pan Zi turned to look at Wu Xie.

……

"Wu Xie, you have some knowledge of inscriptions and scripts. Can you decipher what is carved on this coffin and what it describes?"

Pan Zi asked.

"I can't understand the details in a short time, but I can understand a few parts. What I can confirm is that the coffin is indeed containing the remains of King Lu Shang, and then it's probably about his life and deeds. His death was the same as described in history. He suddenly passed away in front of Duke Lu, and then there's not much else."

Wu Xie said.

"And here? What is this?"

Pan Zi asked.

"This should indicate the date of burial, but we'll have to check back to find out the exact date. I can't tell you what it is right now."

Wu Xie said helplessly.

Just as Wu Xie and Pan Zi were studying the inscriptions.

Uncle Wu is studying how to open the coffin.

Uncle Wu used an iron rod to turn over several iron chains, each of which was as thick as an arm.

Based on our understanding of history, China had just entered the Iron Age at that time.

Iron smelting was a luxury that only high-ranking officials and nobles could afford.

A chain of this size would be a luxury item that only an emperor could afford.

However, an iron chain is still an iron chain, and after years of wear and tear, it has long since aged beyond recognition.

Uncle Wu pulled out a gun he had picked up from another tomb and fired a few shots.

Several chains were broken, leaving only a few to hold the coffin in place.

"Wu Xie, don't study the inscriptions there yet. There will be plenty of time for you to study them slowly later. Let's open this coffin first."

Uncle Wu said.

……

Just as everyone looked toward the coffin, it suddenly shook.

As if there were some living creature inside, a muffled thud followed.

Wu Xie initially thought it was just a hallucination caused by his own nervousness, but when he looked at the others...

Wu Sanshu and Pan Zi showed expressions of surprise.

The crowd took several steps back.

They were afraid that some creature might suddenly appear in the coffin.

"Third Uncle, are we seeing a ghost? What is in there? Why did it suddenly shake? Maybe we shouldn't open this coffin."

Pan Zi was somewhat frightened.

"A living person can't be killed by holding their pee, right? The coffin looks extremely well-sealed. Even if there were any goods inside, they would have suffocated long ago after all this time. If all else fails, let's pry up one or two layers to check the situation. This is a big job. After we do this, we won't have to worry anymore."

Uncle Wu carefully examined the coffin.

"Brother Fang Yun, Brother Qi, I'm about to open this coffin."

Uncle Wu looked at Fang Yun and Zhang Qi.

Fang Yun nodded, indicating that Uncle Wu could open the coffin.

The coffin in front of us was enormous.

In Wu Xie's memory, the heaviest bronze outer coffin should be the giant coffin from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng at Leigudun.

It weighs approximately nine tons.

The one in front of us is about the same size as the one in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng.

The bronze coffin in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng was inlaid with wooden planks.

Judging from the outside, this one appears to be made of bronze.

Its weight is probably even greater than that of the giant coffin in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng.

Panzi and Uncle Wu searched for a gap and then wedged the pry bar in.

By applying force using the lever principle, a snapping sound is heard.

The bronze outer coffin plate tilted upwards, and Wu Xie quickly went up to help push it out.

Chapter 242 Jade-Inlaid Lacquer Coffin! The Black Corpse Appears!

As soon as Wu Xie touched the coffin board, he felt that it weighed at least 800 jin (400 catties). It took several people working together to barely push the coffin board down.

As the outer coffin lid was pushed down, the breathing sounds coming from inside the coffin became even more intense.

This made everyone's hearts jump into their throats; they had previously thought it was just their imagination.

It is now confirmed that there is indeed a living creature inside the coffin, and it is still breathing.

Wu Xie, who was easily frightened, was already trembling with fear and was starting to back down.

At this moment, Uncle Wu and Pan Zi became even more excited.

Because inside the bronze outer coffin was an extremely exquisite jade-inlaid lacquered coffin.

The entire coffin, inlaid with jade, was covered with jade stones, arranged in a very neat and orderly manner.

Upon closer inspection, one can also find the idea that the sky is round and the earth is square.

……

"Third Uncle, we're really rich now! Just these jade pieces alone are priceless. We'll be set for life, eating, drinking, and having fun."

Pan Zi's eyes lit up.

Pan Zi became more and more excited as he spoke, and quickly reached out to remove all the jade stones from the jade-inlaid lacquer coffin.

He even completely forgot about the injuries on his body.

Uncle San quickly called a halt.

“You’ve been digging graves with me for so many years, don’t you know that this jade-inlaid lacquer coffin only fetches the highest price when sold as a whole? If you sell all these jade pieces, you’ll only get a few million, which isn’t even enough for the few of us to split.”

Uncle Wu said angrily.

Pan Zi realized he had been too hasty when he heard Uncle Wu say that, so he stepped aside.

We awaited Uncle Wu's next instructions.

“In general, during the Warring States period, the feudal lords had two outer coffins and three inner coffins. We have now removed the two outer coffins and two inner coffins, so the last one is the most precious. We have to be more careful when we go to the back to avoid damaging this valuable thing.”

As he spoke, Uncle San took out a small knife he always carried and carefully removed the jade-inlaid lacquered coffin.

This process took more than half an hour, and Uncle Wu was already drenched in sweat.

It's easy to imagine how much Uncle Wu valued this jade-inlaid lacquered coffin.

Uncle Wu carefully folded the jade-inlaid lacquered coffin, placed it in his backpack, and handed it to Wu Xie.

Wu Xie only realized how heavy it was when he put it on his back.

"This isn't our biggest find from this tomb raiding. The biggest find is on the bottom layer. Everyone, please stand back a little and don't get too close. Let me take a look at what's inside this coffin."

Uncle Wu said cautiously.

……

As he spoke, Uncle Wu pressed his ear against the coffin and listened carefully.

The people standing to the side didn't dare to breathe, just quietly watching Uncle Wu.

After a long while, Uncle Wu slowly raised his head.

He wore an extremely ugly expression, as if he had encountered a ghost.

"Third Uncle, have you discovered something?"

Wu Xie quickly asked.