Ancient tomb excavation traces

After seeing the young Taoist priest and Chu Ba, Bao Cai and I felt much more at ease. For two people like us who had only ever held a pen and a carving knife, wielding a knife to slay monsters was indeed a bit out of character. Besides, I hadn't taken care of myself in a long time; even my once-tied-up hair was now a mess, and I'd lost a lot of weight due to not eating enough lately. Bao Cai joked that I was starting to look more and more like an artist, the kind of decadent kind.

I told him to stop criticizing me. Right now, I'm discussing with the young Taoist priest and the others what to do next. Should we return to the Bronze Chamber the way we came, or is there a better way out?

When Bao Cai heard me say we should return the way we came, the man leaning against the wall suddenly sat up, vehemently disagreeing. At that moment, Chu Ba was treating the young Taoist's wounds. Seeing the crimson ancient jade on the boy's chest, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Brother, this is a precious jade for sealing away evil!"

Bao Cai hadn't noticed before, but after glancing at it, he blurted out, "Oh my, Eighth Master, this kind of thick, high-quality jade is definitely precious. You could buy any piece from an antique stall and it would look better than this."

Hearing this, the young Taoist priest was not angry. Instead, Chu Ba smiled and said, "You don't understand. This jade looks lifeless, but it is a treasure for sealing away evil spirits. Even if you want to buy it with a lot of money, you may not be able to buy it. And even if you do buy it, you won't know how to use it."

Upon hearing this, Bao Cai walked up to the young Taoist priest who was resting with his eyes closed, squatted down to examine him, and, unable to discern anything, frowned and said, "Forgive my poor eyesight, but this jade is not translucent at all, and it has black impurities..." He stared intently, then exclaimed in surprise, "My goodness, that black aura inside is moving!"

"This is the evil spirit in the passageway..." The young Taoist opened his eyes, put the dead jade back into his bosom, and said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Bao Cai swallowed hard in surprise, then stood up, gave an awkward smile, and moved to my side, clearly still shaken by what he had just seen.

In fact, the "dead jade" is recorded in an ancient family book. It is said to be a Taoist treasure for warding off evil spirits. Like most high-quality woods and Buddhist prayer beads, the color of the material will deepen and the overall texture will become more stable with years of handling. The dead jade is initially emerald green, but it will slowly turn golden over time. If it has sealed many evil spirits, its color will become increasingly reddish. Of course, if the thing inside is very malevolent, black energy (vengeful spirits) will slowly spread, turning it into a piece of black jade. Black jade will cause the Taoist priest to be devoured by evil energy, falling into an abyss from which there is no return.

The jade pendant was on the young Taoist's chest. It looked quite old, and in terms of color, it was definitely a top-grade piece of jade, exactly the same as the one described in my family's ancient records. So when I first saw it, I wondered if it was the same piece, but considering the young Taoist's name and his deeds in the Tomb Raiders' Sect, the answer was obvious.

Knowing this, I asked the young Taoist priest anxiously how long it would take for the black mist flowing inside to disappear.

He probably didn't expect me to ask this, and paused for a moment before saying indifferently, "Not too long..." He said it very simply, but it wasn't easy. Moreover, from my observation of that black aura, it was constantly expanding. If it continued to expand, the young Taoist priest would be swallowed up by the yin energy inside. It was like a time bomb that would take his life when the time came.

I roughly know how to unlock the vengeful spirits within the Death Jade, but the prerequisite is that the person using the jade must have sufficient spiritual power, and a ritual of deliverance is required. However, in this ancient tomb filled with yin energy, it is extremely difficult to do such a thing, unless one can leave before the Death Jade is completely corrupted.

The young Taoist priest wouldn't tell us this sad reality, and I didn't want to expose him. I just wanted to abandon those funerary objects and get out of there as soon as possible. After thinking about it, I told Bao Cai and Chu Ba about my idea of ​​leaving, but my idea was immediately rejected by both of them.

The outcome was as expected. Because Chu Ba lived during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, he had more experience than I did. He knew the cruelty and harsh realities of the outside world. The Tomb Raiders' Sect was a large sect, outwardly engaging in legitimate business, but everyone knew that during times of war, the only way to do business was to sell weapons. However, in those days, private forging of ironware was forbidden, and violators would be subjected to torture. Only when they had no other choice did their ancestors resort to this risky and morally reprehensible path. But looking at how cruel these tomb owners were, if they had taken a few items, many people could have survived the chaos of war; it would have been a good deed.

As for Bao Cai's objection, it was obvious without even thinking. He was just a graduate student majoring in zoology, a true scholar, but even such a scholar risked his life in the ancient tomb for only one purpose...

Knowing I couldn't refute their reasons, I could only try to deduce the tomb's structure from the route we took to get there, hoping to find another shortcut to the main coffin chamber.

As I was thinking, a shadow suddenly appeared in my peripheral vision.

My heart skipped a beat, and I turned my head to look. At this moment, Chu Ba had already stood up in astonishment, pointing in the direction of the shadows, his chin trembling: "You...you..." Before I could finish, he excitedly ran over, calling out, "Chen Tiao!" He reached the stone pillar and caught Chen Tiao, who was about to collapse. Chen Tiao was soaking wet and said, "Eighth Master..."

I slowly got up. The feeling was both real and unreal. In fact, last night when I was resting, I dreamed that Chen Yi was standing in front of me with a miserable look on his face. He asked me to tell his parents that he had died far from home and that I should become their godson and take good care of him... Now, looking at him, he looked almost exactly like the one I dreamed about last night. He had a head of wet, seaweed-like hair, a pale face on his fat face, half-open eyes, and bloodstains that had been smeared on his skin...

"Ryuko..." he called out to me weakly... Chuba and Baocai were checking his injuries.

I stood there, dumbfounded, staring at him, feeling lightheaded... I don't know how much time passed, but then he looked at me and cursed, "Damn it, why aren't you reacting at all? I just got back from the brink of death, and you and Little Celestial Master were just sitting there, not even giving me a warm hug!"

As I listened to his witty banter, tears silently streamed down my face. I unconsciously wiped them away. The Chen Yi before me was no illusion; he had truly returned, though his condition was far from good…

At this moment, the young Taoist priest had already stood up. He walked to my side and reminded me, "Brother Feng, it's Brother Chen. Let's go over..."

I could truly feel his presence. My mind was buzzing, and I couldn't help but rush over and hug him tightly. Chen Yu coughed a few times, and Chu Ba quickly stopped him, saying that Chen Yu was still injured and that hugging him would only reopen his wounds.

Old Tai took a breath and said to Chu Ba, "It's alright. Our Liu Zi is an artist, he's been sentimental since he was a child. Why don't we give him a hug? With his vivid imagination, he'll still think he's dreaming!"

Looking at us, Bao Cai, with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face, said, "You two are both grown men, can you stop acting like this? You're behaving like... you know!"

Just as he was making fun of us, Lao Tiao reached out and hugged him, laughing and saying, "Come on, don't be jealous!"

Bao Cai pretended to shove him a few times, saying, "Damn it, you managed to survive even in a pile of corpse oil, you're really tough!"

Chen Yi said, "That's right... When I was about to enter the gates of hell, I thought I was going to leave. I felt really uneasy leaving you two weaklings who couldn't even kill a chicken here, so I ran back as fast as I could, in the direction I had come from in my daze..."

Before the old man could finish speaking, I was already sobbing uncontrollably. Just imagining him really gone, vanished from this world, leaving only me and Bao Cai—how utterly desolate that would be…

My crying made Bao Cai unable to stop either. He choked out, "Damn it... I've suffered so much since I was a child, but I've never cried like this. You little bastard, you're still alive and you still have to collect so many of my tears!"

Just then, Chu Ba, who was standing to the side, also inexplicably started crying, muttering, "You bunch of people..."

The three of us looked up at Chu Ba, who looked heartbroken, completely bewildered. Bao Cai looked at me and exclaimed in surprise, "Can crying be contagious?"

I said, "Chu Ba is younger than all of us, yet he carries so many burdens. Now, seeing him cry, he seems like someone his age."

"But why is he crying?" Chen asked, puzzled. I shrugged.

When Chu Ba heard what we said, he wiped away his tears and said, "I'm happy that Cui Zi is back, but now I'm thinking of my tragically deceased ninth brother..."

Speaking of Liang Jiu, my heart clenched. Chen Yi, unaware of what had happened, hurriedly asked me what was going on. I briefly recounted the events to him. Upon hearing this, Chen Yi looked dejected and said, "Jiu is a man of honor, I never expected..." He was about to continue when he suddenly slapped his forehead, his face filled with anguish, "Damn it! In my excitement, I almost forgot the important matter—that Miao girl!"

Hearing the words "Miao girl," my heart skipped a beat. I quickly asked Chen Yi what had happened. Chen Yi looked at me earnestly and said, "After I fell into that stagnant water, I barely conscious. The only thing I remember is someone dragging me to a dry area. When I woke up, I saw a Miao girl lying next to me, but she's unconscious. Sigh... Does anyone have any herbs? I have to go save her!"

Hearing this, my heart tightened, and I quickly asked Chen Tiao to lead the way, to which Chen Tiao nodded. We descended a natural staircase formed by a stone curtain, reaching the edge of the stagnant water. Behind us lay a dried corpse, resembling a mud wall, beneath which lay a gruesome figure, her face veiled in a faint gray. If it hadn't been for her help, we might all have perished… Thinking of this, I felt a pang of regret, regret for not protecting her properly, for leaving her in this state. With that thought, I bent down and reached out to check her breath. But my hand froze in mid-air. Bao Cai hurriedly asked, "How is she?"

With a solemn expression, I said, "He is breathing, but very weakly..."

Upon hearing this, Lao Tiao immediately pulled Bao Cai over and said, "Think of something, save her!"

Upon hearing this, Bao Cai hesitated and said, "Old man, I did study some medicine when I was in school, but it was all for animals..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Yu interrupted, "Hey, stop talking nonsense! We're just hominids, treat this girl like an animal. She's my benefactor, I can't let her die!"

At this moment, Chu Ba also squatted down and took down all the bamboo jars from his waist. Then he searched for usable herbal powder inside. According to him, these were all herbs prepared by his ancestor, his mother. They were very effective and, if there was enough time, they could definitely save him.

Thus, the five of us men scrambled to our feet, doing everything we could to rescue the Miao girl.

Removing the arrow, stopping the bleeding… Bao Cai performed all the surgical procedures, but this wasn't modern, and there was no medical equipment. All of these were traditional methods Bao Cai had learned, and they were all for animals. He was so nervous that he was sweating profusely, and his hands trembled uncontrollably. Chen Yi, seeing this, took a blood-stained cloth and wiped his sweat, looking quite professional. Meanwhile, the young Taoist priest kept a close eye on the Miao girl's pulse, and Chu Ba served as Bao Cai's backup, providing him with herbs whenever needed.

We don't know how much time passed, but the five of us were exhausted and lay on the pile of dried corpses. The Miao girl's breathing gradually became smoother, and Bao Cai said weakly, "This girl has a really strong will to live. She was barely breathing, but she still managed to bring her soul back. She can be considered a heroine among women."

Chen Yi said, "If you ask me, Liu Baochai, you could open a clinic or something when you go back. Look at you, you can still save people even in these circumstances..."

This was the first time I'd heard Chen Tiao praise Bao Cai, and I couldn't help but burst out laughing, saying, "Old Tiao, is this the first time you've served Bao Cai so obediently?"

As soon as he said that, Chen Tiao retorted, "How can this be called serving? This is called cooperating! Didn't you see how many people are standing around when someone is having surgery in the hospital?" As he spoke, Chen Tiao turned to the side and looked at the Miao witch. Judging from his expression, he was probably feeling a stirring of lust and was about to lose control of himself.

Just then, we heard the Miao girl muttering something in Miao language, which we couldn't understand. However, the young Taoist priest remembered a few key words. He stood up and said with a serious expression, "This girl knows a lot of things..."