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墨書 Inktalez
After everyone descended along the rope into the Dragon's Mouth, I followed suit. As I entered, a chill swept over me. Looking up at the Dragon's Mouth, I noted that the drop was less than ten meters.
Removing the black cloth from the flashlight revealed a bright beam of light, but it also startled us. We found ourselves in a circular platform about five meters in diameter, scattered with numerous broken or rusted short spears.
These must be traps within the Tomb. Fortunately, much time had passed since they were set. Gazing at the broken Metal Spears, I couldn't help but think that had this been hundreds of years ago, one could easily have met their demise here, sending a shiver down my spine.
From this five-meter diameter platform extended a burial passageway. Unlike any I had seen before, which were either made of brick or composed of bluestone, this passage was carved from solid rock. After being sculpted, it had been polished smooth. The ceiling of the passage was semi-circular, making the entire structure quite sturdy.
"Are you all ready?" I asked.
"We're ready," the four replied in unison, their voices tinged with excitement.
This time, I led the way with Fat Ma following closely behind and the clay figure bringing up the rear.
The environment inside the Tomb was damp yet devoid of moisture, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere that soon prompted someone to reach for their water bottle.
I couldn't help but remind them, "Drink less."
The person holding the bottle paused but eventually capped it again.
Those who frequently venture underground know how precious water can be when needed; it could mean life or death.
After traversing this straight passageway, we encountered a set of Stone Steps. Descending them, the passage began to narrow; initially wide enough for two people to walk side by side, it now barely accommodated one.
However, to our surprise, there was a Lampstand every few meters that could be lit, allowing us to maintain some light source.
We turned off our flashlights and proceeded under the dim glow of the Lampstands. Silence enveloped us as we moved through the passage; the atmosphere felt oppressive. The light from the Lampstands emitted a faintly corrosive odor that lingered in the air.
As I walked ahead and lit another Lampstand, by the time I reached the sixth one, I felt my hands growing weak and my head spinning slightly.
Something was off; suddenly realizing this, I glanced back at Fat Ma. His expression mirrored my own fatigue.
I felt a sinking sensation in my heart and shouted, "Quick, put on the Gas Masks!" As soon as I said this, everyone weakly responded and hurriedly donned their masks as fast as they could.
"What happened?" Fat Ma asked.
"We might be poisoned; there could be some toxic substance hidden here." After I spoke, everyone began to pay attention to their surroundings, but the area was barren, making it impossible for anything to be concealed.
I glanced at the Lampstand and thought, Oh no! I almost overlooked it. This type of toxic gas could have been released from it. I quickly blew out the flame.
"What are you doing?" Old Sun asked.
"Blow out all the flames on the Lampstand!" My words jolted everyone awake, and they quickly extinguished the candles around them.
The flashlight's beam brightened again, revealing a thick white smoke clearly visible in the light.
The owner of this Tomb was truly malicious, and I had made a common mistake; fortunately, everyone was okay.
"Let's take a break," someone suggested, feeling exhausted.
Seeing that the Lampstand was still emitting white smoke, I declined the suggestion. We could rest after we got through this passage. They had no choice but to muster their spirits and continue forward.
As we encountered more Lampstands ahead, I felt as if I were facing death itself and didn’t even want to look at them.
After passing through the narrow passageway, everyone took off their Gas Masks and gasped for air. Each person's face was pale, but after a while, a hint of color returned.
That was too close.
At this point, the passage we were in was once again spacious like when we first entered. The difference was that this passage connected to a burial chamber. Upon discovering the chamber, everyone's spirits lifted a bit.
According to Fat Ma, we were about to reap the fruits of our Revolution.
Fat Ma squeezed past me with a grin and strode forward confidently. This Fat Ma had already forgotten his previous fears; I followed closely behind him.
Once we entered the burial chamber and six or seven beams of light illuminated the space, we were all stunned. If the Golden House we encountered before represented wealth at its peak, then this burial chamber was, in many ways, a paradise of sculptural art. However, when my gaze lingered on one particular statue, an icy chill surged up my spine as if my very soul had been captured by its presence, causing me to shiver involuntarily.
Yes, because the carvings in this tomb are all of the Yin Officials. The Yin Official refers to the position that controls human life and death, commonly known as Yama, representing the underworld: hell.
These carvings are all embedded in the walls, much like the Great Buddha in the Caves of Henan. However, the material used for these sculptures is black stone, which adds an eerie quality to them, and their expressions appear fierce and terrifying.
Not only are there carvings around the four walls, but there is also a depiction of a Yin Official on the dome of the tomb. The overall atmosphere gives off a damp and chilling feeling.
I pulled my gaze back and began to examine the tomb more closely.
Based on my knowledge of basic tomb structures, this should be the antechamber. Before entering, the old man informed us that this might be a tomb from the Shang Zhou period.
I had not researched this aspect before, so I was unsure what a tomb from the Shang Zhou period looked like. Now, seeing these statues of Yin Officials, I felt that this tomb was definitely not a good place.
At a glance, in one corner of the tomb, there were four discolored jars. The sizes of these jars varied; the largest was about one meter tall, while the smallest was only a few dozen centimeters. The bases of the jars were wide, while their upper parts were relatively narrow.
The four jars stood side by side in one corner of the tomb, next to them were statues of Yin Officials, Yama, and the judge.
I grabbed my flashlight and walked toward the jars. As I got closer, I could see that their original color was likely black, and faint traces of paintings could still be discerned on their surfaces.
The seals on these jars were tightly closed like those on wine jars; however, the sealing material appeared different and seemed to resemble cowhide. Additionally, there was a seal affixed to them that looked like a talisman.
As I was engrossed in examining them, a clay figure approached and stood beside me. Fat Ma had already wandered around but found nothing valuable; his attention was now drawn to these jars as well.
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