Ancient tomb excavation traces

As I continued to fall, I saw countless bluish-gray hands reaching out from the walls around the bottomless pit. They were densely packed and grotesquely grasping at the air.

I closed my eyes, trying to banish the torture-like screams from my ears, but their sounds stubbornly pierced my mind, making my teeth ache and my limbs go weak. I thought bitterly: If this is what hell looks like, then my Feng Liu is far too popular!

"ah--"

After the feeling of weightlessness replaced the fear of being bound, a few sharp screams pierced the eerie atmosphere and pulled me awake. I opened my eyes and saw several shadows falling downwards in various shapes from within a circular beam of light the size of a well opening above me.

"Mother—"

Just as I was congratulating myself on not being lonely on my journey to hell, I realized that the tearful cry belonged to Bao Cai. What? He was also struck by ball lightning and died? Then the other two figures—could they be Lao Chai and Wei Zi? Good heavens! Truly, we don't ask to be born on the same day, month, and year, but we do ask to die on the same day, month, and year!

I was the first to hit the ground. My back bounced a few times, and then, amidst the pain, I vaguely heard Bao Cai cry out "Ouch!" before I completely lost consciousness.

When I woke up again, my muscles ached so much I couldn't even turn over. In my daze, I saw a strange figure illuminated by dim light—no, not strange, but an old man dressed in ancient clothing. Seeing his old face curiously scrutinizing me, I was utterly bewildered.

Perhaps seeing that I was awake, the old man's face lit up with a joyful smile. I watched him excitedly run out, shouting, "He's awake! He's awake! He's awake!" Hearing his voice, I was immediately startled, thinking, what happened to me? Wasn't I dead? Are there still people in hell? No, that can't be right, how can the dead feel pain? Could it be that I was rescued by a movie crew? No, who would go to such a godforsaken place to film a movie? The cost would be too high!

I racked my brains, but nothing seemed right. So I rolled up my sleeves to check for any wounds. A wave of doubt washed over me. "Strange," I thought, "I was clearly struck by ball lightning, my whole body felt like it was going to explode. How come I have no wounds, only a backache?" Just as I was about to get up and ask what was going on, a figure suddenly ran in from outside. Looking closely, I realized it was Bao Cai. He was dressed in ancient clothing, and when he saw me, I could even see his chin trembling with excitement.

He called out to me in a trembling voice, "Young master, you're finally awake. I thought I, Liu Baochai, was going to grow old and die alone in this era."

"This era?" I was suddenly confused, looking at the windbreaker I was still wearing, feeling lost.

Bao Cai wore a bitter expression and said, "It's a long story..."

For some reason, the moment Bao Cai's bitter face appeared, my accurate sixth sense kicked in again, giving me goosebumps.

Putting aside all the confusion, all I wanted was to quickly resolve my doubts, so I eagerly said, "Make it quick!"

Bao Cai gave me a sullen look and said, "We've time-traveled!"

cross?

Haha, after hearing Bao Cai's words, I could feel my lips twitching. Time travel! Are you kidding me? I suddenly remembered what my deskmate and I said back in high school: Do you believe there's another dimension in this world? We live the lives of modern people, while in another dimension, the people of the Qin Empire are also living. They haven't disappeared; they've simply lived in another space.

Thinking of this, I chuckled dryly. Even though I felt like everything happening to me was a dream, I still asked, "Now... what era is this?"

"The late Eastern Han Dynasty!" Bao Cai's voice was almost tearful.

"The late Eastern Han Dynasty..." I repeated softly, my heart tightening. Wasn't that the era of my ancestors? It was a time of warlord conflicts, powerful clans vying for supremacy, and the people suffering. How could I be so unlucky? Other people who transmigrate to the Song Dynasty or the wealthy Tang Dynasty become young masters, but I transmigrated from a peaceful era to a turbulent one.

A chill ran down my spine. I glanced at Bao Cai, who was dressed in a coarse cloth shirt, and then asked, "Where are Lao Tiao and Wei Zi?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Bao Cai's lips curled into a smile, and he burst into loud sobs. My heart clenched, and filled with fear, I asked again, "Where are they?"

Bao Cai looked at me, tears welling up in his eyes in the candlelight. After a while, he took a deep breath and choked out, "It's gone..."

My heart skipped a beat when I heard that. I immediately sat up, trembling, and walked to him, grabbing him excitedly as I asked, "It's gone! What do you mean by 'gone'?"

Bao Cai held my hands, heartbroken, and said, "When I woke up, it was just you and me. I searched the neighborhood, but Wei Zi and Lao Chou weren't there!" Bao Cai cried even harder. Although they were gone, at least there was no body, so there was still hope. I thought optimistically: maybe they've inexplicably ended up somewhere like us. If we're in the same time and space, perhaps we can meet again. If not, or in a worse situation, we brothers might never see each other again. Thinking of this, I couldn't stop the tears from falling.

Everything seemed like a dream, illusory and fleeting. Gazing at the blue sky and white clouds, the lush green grass, and the rustic, dilapidated farmhouses, I couldn't believe I had traveled back to ancient times, but I eventually accepted reality.

The old man who saved me and Bao Cai was a farmer. His family was extremely poor, and with years of war, life was as he himself said—it was better to be dead. Originally, Old Man Wang had two sons. One joined the Yellow Turban Rebellion but was later killed by the warlords who suppressed it. The other went to find a way to survive but never returned, leaving the two old people to depend on each other for survival, barely able to afford food.

Perhaps because Old Wang had lost two sons, he and his wife were especially kind to Bao Cai and me. Although Bao Cai and I didn't know what would happen next, we were extremely grateful to the two old people for saving our lives. So, for days on end, we brought them food and, while hope was still high, went to look for Lao Tiao and Wei Zi. But the final result was disappointing; Bao Cai and I were so hungry we were exhausted, and we still hadn't heard a word about our two friends.

Bao Cai dug up some wild vegetables. Over the past few days, I've been quite impressed by his ability to identify plants, including some wilderness survival skills. Although he's been eating mostly herbaceous plants every day, at least he's managed to fill his stomach.

We landed in Qiaotou Village, Wuling County, Jingzhou. According to Bao Cai and I, this place is now Yuanling County, Hunan Province, roughly where our accident happened. The current time is the first year after the Yellow Turban Rebellion ended, which is the fourth year of the Zhongping era. Based on this conclusion, I suddenly thought of my ancestor, Feng Xie. He should be around twenty years old at this time. I figured since we'd already unfortunately transmigrated here, we might as well take this opportunity to meet my legendary ancestor and find a way back to the modern world.

After making a plan, Bao Cai and I carried bamboo baskets and returned to Old Wang's house. Their thatched roof had a hole in it, the bedding on the bed was tattered, and there were bamboo hats belonging to their two sons on the wall.

We had barely stepped into the thatched hut when Old Man Wang followed, sighing and groaning as he entered.

Upon seeing him, Bao Cai immediately asked, "Uncle Wang, what's wrong?"

The old man looked up at us, then sat down dejectedly on the bench and said, "I have news about my second son."

I wanted to say "That's great!" but seeing the old man's sad face, I figured the news was bad, so I remained silent.

I poured tea for Old Wang. After a long while, he calmed down, looked at the earthenware bowl in his hand, sighed, and said, "Ge San from the village ahead said... that my son and his brother went to the tomb to steal things from the dead. Now look what happened, they've lost their lives there!"

When Bao Cai and I heard about the tomb raiding, we looked at each other in disbelief, thinking: "The things that have happened to us lately are really strange. First, we ran into the den of tomb raiders, and now we've traveled back to the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Old Wang's son even lost his life because of tomb raiding. This... it feels like we've fallen into a vortex of tomb raiding and can't get out."

The old man wiped away his tears with his rough hands and continued, "My eldest son died tragically, his remains were abandoned in the wilderness, unable to return to his homeland. My wife and I couldn't even pay our respects to him. Now even my youngest son..."

Seeing Old Wang's heartbroken expression, I didn't know how to comfort him. In this world, there are many stories of white-haired people burying their black-haired counterparts, and fallen leaves unable to return to their roots. Now that it has happened to my benefactor, I can't help but feel uneasy.

The next day, Old Wang's wife fell ill and was bedridden. Old Wang called a doctor. The doctor said that Old Wang's wife was depressed, thinking that she was about to pass away, that her eldest son's remains were suffering from wind and rain outside, and that her younger son was in someone else's grave and could not return home. Therefore, she was unhappy and listless all day long.

Looking at this kind old couple, I felt as if they had aged several years overnight. A sense of intimacy I felt in this foreign world and place stirred a strong sense of responsibility in me towards them.

After that, Bao Cai and I took even better care of the two elderly people. However, in the chaotic world, the living conditions were extremely harsh. Many people in Qiaotou Village either starved to death or were brutally killed by the soldiers. It became increasingly difficult for Bao Cai and me to get food. This kind of life was too miserable. Bao Cai looked like a monkey, skin and bones, while my face, which resembled Chen Bolin's, had become haggard and aged.

For the first time, I longed for the leftover food and wine from that restaurant, but those memories were now distant, a mere spiritual yearning in my dreams. Sadly, the distance between Bao Cai and me and our home is beyond description; the late Eastern Han Dynasty is over a thousand years removed from modern times. Perhaps we will never return, never see our parents again. Thinking of this, we could only sigh with regret. The next day, we faced reality, giving the food we had found outside to the elderly couple, while we kept filling our empty stomachs with water.

However, this situation did not last long. Granny Wang died, and when Old Man Wang had his last breath, he asked me to find Ge San, hoping to find the remains of his son Wang Yu so that they could rest in peace.

We will remember the kindness we have received for a thousand years. Although Bao Cai was extremely unwilling to go to the underground tomb, he couldn't persuade me in the end. After we finished arranging the funeral for the two elders and packed our luggage, we set off.

The sky was an unbelievably blue all the way, and I marveled at how fresh the air must have been in ancient times. But we'd come to the wrong era, because we saw abandoned corpses and skeletons exposed in the wilderness. This weighed heavily on Bao Cai and me, leaving us almost speechless. After all, we were born into a peaceful society, free from famine and war. To evolve our bodies and minds to withstand all kinds of suffering now truly requires preparation and time.

Bao Cai and I vomited the whole way, feeling more distress and unease than fear. It was springtime, and mosquitoes were swarming. The corpses on the road were already rotting and stinking. In the distance, thick black smoke and dilapidated houses against the backdrop of blue sky and white clouds, along with the green leaves and flowers of spring, looked both strange and unreal.

This desolate scene did not end. We walked for a while without seeing a soul, until we found a village. There were a few people in twos and threes wearing tattered clothes watching us warily, as if Bao Cai and I were some kind of man-eating monsters.

After searching for a long time, we finally found someone to talk to. Bao Cai and I listened to his broken dialect and tried our best to understand it. Finally, we found Ge San's house.

When I met Ge San, I was a bit shocked. He was tall and burly, with a cold and imposing demeanor, as if we owed him millions. But later, I understood. In this era, if you didn't make yourself look fierce, you might get killed by ruthless people. And from Ge San, I learned that to survive in this chaotic world, you had to have skills; otherwise, your own body might be offered up and become someone else's meal.

After hearing his words, Bao Cai and I felt our hair stand on end and a chill run down our spines. We thought to ourselves: This era is almost like a zombie apocalypse. No wonder the villagers looked at us so strangely when we entered the village earlier. They were afraid we would eat them!