The Unorthodox Tomb Raider

"I'm so sorry, I was just too excited. Please don't mind. Let me think about how to express it to you, uh..."

“Look closely at this part of the bone. Look closely, there is a very smooth notch here. The notch is the same color as the bone, so it is relatively old.”

"I'm excited," said Master Liang.

Wu Xie and Lao Yang were still completely bewildered, not knowing what Liang Shiye's intentions were.

Even if we know there's a gap, what can we do?

"Let me tell you directly. This bone is actually the collarbone, which is where you are. This notch is called an old bone injury. It was there before the person died. The cut is very sharp and there is no sign of bone healing. This means that the time when this wound appeared was almost the same as the time when the person died."

"In other words, this wound should be the direct cause of this person's death. It is believed that someone used a knife to cut the aorta above the collarbone. Because the knife was cut very quickly, it cut into this bone."

Fang Yun said calmly.

"Wait a minute, didn't Master Liang just conclude that this is a site of the Miao people's cave burial custom? If that's the case, then this person must have died an unnatural death. Such a person wouldn't be buried in a cave with everyone else!"

Wu Xie realized the problem.

Liang Shiye had also calmed down from his excitement. He glanced at Fang Yun, who nodded to signal Liang Shiye to continue.

"And it's not just this one. All the corpses here died like this. Look, there are seven collarbones here alone, all with these cut marks. So my guess is wrong. This is not the so-called Miao cave burial site, but a massacre site. I have a bold idea: all these thousands of people were killed by having their throats slit. If you don't believe me, just open any coffin and you can prove whether what I'm saying is true or not!"

Master Liang could not contain his heartfelt joy.

"Master Liang, so what if this is a pile of corpses? Isn't it normal for something like this to appear in a place like this? You're not referring to this as the big secret you're talking about, are you?"

Wu Xie said with a hint of helplessness.

"No, this is just the beginning. The real topic is yet to come."

"Master Liang said quickly."

"Since Master Liang still has something to say, let him continue. I'll find a place to lie down for a while."

Old Yang said impatiently.

Wu Xie subconsciously looked at Fang Yun, who nodded, indicating that it didn't matter if he rested here a little longer.

"The big secret is this."

Then, Liang Shiye pulled something out from the fragments of the coffin.

After taking it, Wu Xie examined it carefully for a moment, then quickly took the torch and compared it closely. He already had the answer in his mind.

"This is an official's hat from the Qing Dynasty. Why would something like this be here?"

Wu Xie quickly asked.

"That's right, this is an official hat from the Qing Dynasty. These official hats come in two types: warm and cool. The part you see here has no lining, which means it's a cool hat. And this person died in the summer. The strangest thing is this. Although this small piece is inconspicuous, I believe that with your eyesight, you can tell what it is at a glance."

Wu Xie looked in the direction that Master Liang was pointing.

It was only after looking at it that Wu Xie began to feel a chill run down his spine.

This item is called a peacock feather headdress. Wearing a peacock feather headdress means that the official is at least a fifth-rank official.

Why would an official of the fifth rank or above die in such a desolate place? Although the burial ceremony would certainly be much less elaborate than that of the imperial family, it wouldn't warrant such a violent death in this remote wilderness.

Liang Shiye found many more fragments of the peacock feather in other places.

Wu Xie glanced at them and realized there were at least several hundred pieces.

Wu Xie recalled that during the Qing Dynasty, there were only a few officials, but here there were thousands of corpses.

Even if all the fifth-rank officials were killed, it would be impossible to reach such an astonishing number of several thousand people.

Chapters 324: Old Yang and Fatty must be from the same lineage!

“Old Wu, we’re pressed for time and have a lot of work to do right now. If you want to know all that, you can discuss it with Master Liang after we finish this round of fighting. There will be plenty of time then. I think it’s best not to stay here any longer. We still have a long way to go.”

Old Yang, standing to the side, couldn't understand what Liang Shiye and Wu Xie were talking about, and he seemed very impatient, as if he wanted to go down into the tomb immediately.

However, Wu Xie seemed to ignore Lao Yang completely, paying no attention to what Lao Yang was saying, and instead continued chatting intently with Master Liang.

"According to your deduction, Master Liang, since this is a place where human lives are slaughtered, logically speaking, even if so many people have been killed, they shouldn't be put in coffins. Why not just throw them in? What is the purpose of going through all that trouble?"

"Another point is why it was placed in this coffin, and why the coffin was arranged in a Qimen Dunjia formation, using these spells to create a large array. Isn't that redundant? Is someone trying to cover up some truth or something, so they did this on purpose? That would be too cruel and bloody, after all, this involves thousands of lives."

Wu Xie quickly asked.

"This matter is probably not as simple as you think. There must be some unspeakable secrets involved. It is possible that the thousand coffins outside are closely related to the ancient tomb below. However, I can tell you that there are not as few fifth-rank officials as you think. Several thousand people can be easily gathered together. Moreover, at that time, whether to kill or not was just a matter of a word from the person above. It was not that complicated."

Fang Yun said calmly.

"My thoughts are similar to yours, young friend. I also feel that there might be some major secrets hidden here. If we want to find out the truth, we must go to the ancient tomb. However, I cannot be 100% sure that all the dead people in those coffins are fifth-rank officials. Nobody can say for sure, and it's impossible to open all the coffins."

Liang Shiye added.

“My three ancestors, can we go into the ancient tomb first to explore the truth of so many things? There are so many coffins here, just being here makes me feel uneasy.”

Old Yang couldn't hold back any longer.

"My curiosity has been piqued too. In that case, Wu Xie, you don't need to lead the way. With that kind of method, we'll probably be wandering around for a long time. Give me the torch, and you all follow behind me without running around. It's just a small formation; getting out of here will be quite easy."

Fang Yun said calmly.

Fang Yun also had his own thoughts. Based on the scene of the thousand coffins outside, the mysterious ancient tombs, and the strange bronze tree, Fang Yun couldn't help but have a guess in his mind, which was a secret he had seen in an ancient book.

Fang Yun wanted to quickly verify whether his conjecture was correct, so he decided to take the lead and lead them away from the thousand-person coffin.

Wu Xie was more than happy to have Fang Yun lead the way; with Fang Yun on the case, there was no difficult trap in the world that could hold him back.

Moreover, the travel speed will be much faster, which will allow me to continue discussing the situation with Master Liang.

So the four of them got up and continued their journey, with Fang Yun leading the way and the other three following closely behind, stepping over the rotten coffin.

The coffins and remains here are already rotten, so there's no fear of any other accidents happening.

Fang Yun's route was extremely strange. People who were not proficient in Qimen Dunjia could not figure out what method Fang Yun used to deduce the way out of this place. Even Liang Shiye, who was standing next to him, did not know how deep Fang Yun was hiding.

Sometimes, after walking for three or four minutes, Liang Shiye would unconsciously glance at the hands of his watch, do some mental calculations, and realize that the route he had taken was roughly the same as Fang Yun's.

However, Fang Yun had nothing in his hand except a torch.

Master Liang knew that the person in front of him, who appeared to be the youngest of the three, had actually mastered the art of Qimen Dunjia. Otherwise, he would not have been able to find the correct route out so easily without relying on anything.

· ·········Request flowers· ···

Whenever they encountered a coffin blocking their way, Wu Xie and the others would work together to move it away, and along the way they discovered a lot of useful information.

Some of the deceased in the coffins were still wearing official robes, and the patterns on the robes were still faintly visible, which suggests that some of the deceased were soldiers.

Besides the corpse in the coffin, there were also many rats, all of which were as huge as before. The group ignored the rats to avoid affecting Fang Yun's judgment.

After the group had been walking for about ten minutes, the torch in Fang Yun's hand could no longer hold up and was clearly dimming, indicating that it was about to burn out completely.

The ambient light level also dropped to within ten steps in an instant.

“If the torch goes out completely, then we can only proceed using the method we mentioned before. Without the coffin next to us as a reference, my method will not be able to determine the correct route in a short time, which may take a little longer. Everyone should be more careful when walking in the dark to avoid any unexpected events.”

Fang Yun gave instructions.

"What's the point of relying on torches at this point? The torches are almost burned out, and they'll probably go out completely in about a minute. We need to rely on high technology now. Don't forget I have a signal gun. The light from that flare can last for at least three or four minutes, so finding a route shouldn't be a problem."

As he spoke, Old Yang raised the signal gun in his hand.

Fang Yun and Wu Xie didn't have time to stop Lao Yang. They heard a bang, and the signal flare shot out from the signal gun, flying straight upwards.

"Old Yang, do you know a fat guy outside? I feel like you and that fat guy are really from the same lineage. Have you forgotten that we're in this cave? If this signal gun is fired straight up, it will soon hit the mountaintop and fall down, causing a fire."

Fang Yun said helplessly.

Before Fang Yun could finish speaking, everyone looked up and saw that the signal flare had already hit the mountaintop and was spraying downwards before it even started to burn.

Chapter 325 Kerosene! The big black rat is on fire!

"What fat man? What are you talking about? These are just rotting coffins. Think about how damp and dark it is here. Even if a signal flare really catches fire down here, it won't amount to much. At most, the flames will go out naturally in a short while. We can use that time to see the route of our operation more clearly. Everything is going according to plan, so don't worry."

Old Yang said nonchalantly.

"I think you really are in cahoots with that fat guy. Do you even know what we're standing on? It's all oil under our feet, one of the defenses of this thousand-person coffin. This oil will ignite immediately if it comes into contact with a spark. What an idiot."

Fang Yun cursed.

Old Yang still didn't believe it. He touched the sticky ground with his hand, put it to his nose and took a careful sniff. Sure enough, it smelled like fuel oil.

Old Yang was now completely panicked.

In the blink of an eye, the sparks from the signal flare had already hit the ground.

Small flames had already begun to appear on one of the coffins, and suddenly a fire snake shot up from where the small flames had just appeared.

The fire serpent was spreading between the coffins at an astonishing speed. In just a few seconds, a fire dragon that moved close to the ground roamed through the pitch-black cave, causing the coffins to explode wherever it went.

The fire dragon thrashed about like a fish in water, and in no time all the coffins around it burst into flames, the firelight illuminating the cave as brightly as day.

Wu Xie and the other two were in a panic, but fortunately they didn't lose their composure and run around in circles. Fang Yun calmed down and searched carefully. Suddenly, Fang Yun saw a patch of ground that was completely devoid of any flames.

"I've located the exact spot of the pit. You all need to run with me quickly. Don't linger for even a moment. Although the fire won't kill you instantly, it will inevitably cause an accident if left unattended."

Fang Yun quickly replied.

Before the three could react, Fang Yun leaped up as if he were stepping through the air several times, passing through a wall of fire and arriving at a safe place.

At this moment, Wu Xie also realized what was happening and quickly started running. Wu Xie never expected that he had the talent to be an athlete.

Such a crisis can indeed bring out a person's potential. Wu Xie also quickly ran two steps and stepped over the coffin, which was more than a meter high.