Chapter 92: Cause and Effect (4)

The few of them had already gone completely mad. Old Du, his voice trembling, asked, “We do not need to go anywhere else, we can come back later. Just selling these jars alone will make us rich. Guo Er, Er Wa, do you think we should even pry off those pipes on the wall and take them too?”

Guo Er was already opening several canvas bags, preparing to get everyone to pack the jars. Hearing Old Du’s words, he took a deep breath and said, “If those pipes are gold too, they would be worth a lot. Let me see how long they are first. If they are not too hard to deal with, we will pry them off as well.”

As he spoke, Guo Er shone his flashlight onto the wall. But the moment he saw the relief carvings, his expression changed. What the hell was this?

The wall was carved with a mass of worms intertwined together. As if that was not vivid enough, white pigment had been applied, making them look almost real. The worms seemed to be devouring each other, fewer and fewer, until in the end only one was left.

Guo Er felt a wave of nausea. Those worms looked like roundworms, their forms grotesque and ferocious, disgusting and terrifying at the same time. Forcing himself to hold it down, he shifted the flashlight onto the metal jars, only to realize the metal pipes were extremely long, extending all the way up to the ceiling.

The others were also observing. Almost five jars shared a single metal pipe, and there were quite a few of these pipes. If they were all gold, then just these pipes alone would be worth a fortune.

“Damn it, how long does it go on for?” Guo Er muttered. The pipe had already reached the top of the wall and was still continuing upward. He finally aimed the light at the ceiling and realized all the pipes were heading upward with no visible end.

Why?

Because all those pipes extended into a huge jar embedded in the ceiling.

“Guo Er, see that? There is another big jar up there, that big. How much would that be worth?” Old Du’s voice was so excited it had changed pitch.

It was no wonder he reacted like that. The jars on the ground were only about the size of a fist, but the one above their heads was as large as a human head.

“I see it. We just need to figure out how to bring it down.” Guo Er had indeed seen it. He felt that something about this tomb chamber was strange, different from the burial goods he had seen before. But under the lure of gold, he could not care less.

After a moment of silence, Guo Er said, “Han Niu, you stand at the bottom. I will sit on your shoulders, then we will lift Jiang Yaomaoer up. Jiang Yaomaoer, you go up and hold the jar. I checked, it is supported by these pipes. As long as we twist one a little, we can take it down.”

Guo Er’s observation was indeed careful. Although the jar was suspended high on the wall, it was actually supported by those upward extending pipes. Gold was not very hard. As long as one pipe was loosened, the entire large jar could be taken down.

They did as they said. The group began forming a human stack inside the eerie chamber. Fortunately, the room was not too tall. Jiang Yaomaoer did not even need to stand fully upright while sitting on Guo Er’s shoulders to reach the jar.

“Old Niu, can you hold it?” Guo Er, stuck in the middle, felt somewhat uncomfortable, but he was more worried about Han Niu.

“Fine,” Han Niu replied briefly. With him, a simple “fine” meant there was no problem.

“Jiang Yaomaoer, hurry up.”

“Stop rushing, almost there…”

After about five minutes, Jiang Yaomaoer finally managed to twist a section of the pipe free and pull it out from the jar.

“It is done, it is done!” Jiang Yaomaoer shouted excitedly. Once one pipe was removed, the rest would be much easier.

“I know it is done, but stop dripping your saliva on me,” Guo Er laughed and cursed.

“Who is dripping saliva?” Jiang Yaomaoer sounded confused. He was excited, yes, and he liked gold, but it was not like he was looking at a naked woman. Why would he be drooling?

But his words made Old Du pay attention. He shone his flashlight over and realized the pipe Jiang Yaomaoer was holding was dripping liquid.

As everyone’s attention shifted, especially Guo Er’s, his expression changed instantly. He almost lost his balance.

That was not water dripping from the pipe. It was blood red.

What kind of blood would not dry after so many years?

Guo Er’s mind went numb as countless possibilities flashed through it. Trembling, he reached out to touch the liquid that had fallen on him. He rubbed it between two fingers, then brought it to his nose.

A strange, pungent smell hit him. It was not the scent of blood. Something indescribable.

Everyone fell completely silent, including Old Du, who had been the most aggressive earlier.

Guo Er forced himself to calm down and said, “Jiang Yaomaoer, keep going. I checked it. This is not blood. Take it down and we leave immediately.”

Jiang Yaomaoer agreed, but at this point he was already in too deep. There was no turning back. If he had not seen the gold, he might have gritted his teeth and left, but now, how could he bear to walk away?

The chamber fell into silence again, leaving only the sound of Jiang Yaomaoer working on the pipes.

No one knew how long had passed. By then, Guo Er, Jiang Yaomaoer, and Han Niu were all covered in that red liquid. Finally, Jiang Yaomaoer managed to bring the jar down.

It was placed in the center of the room. The few of them stared at it with complicated expressions. The carvings were exquisite, though no one knew what they depicted. The metallic sheen was just as seductive as before.

The jar was sealed. None of them felt like opening it. They were not in the mood. The pipes above still occasionally dripped red liquid.

Tap, Tap.

“Pack up the things. We are leaving,” Guo Er ordered.

The others began scattering to collect the jars.

At that moment, a strange sound came from inside the large jar.

It sounded like a chicken’s cry, yet also like the screech of insects. Either way, it was extremely unpleasant and made one’s skin crawl.

“What is that?” Jiang Yaomaoer reacted first, shrinking back.

Old Du closed his eyes as if pretending not to hear, stuffed a jar into his bag, and said, “Whatever it is, we take the things out first.”

“No, what if we bring something bad out with us? That could kill our entire families,” Jiang Yaomaoer’s voice was trembling.

As if in response to him, from deep within the tomb, or perhaps underground, came a woman’s laughter.

It was hollow, emotionless, and echoed through the chamber, nearly scaring the men out of their wits.

Guo Er spat on the ground. That was what he did when nervous. At least he still had quick thinking.

“Old Du, Jiang Yaomaoer is right. We cannot take unknown things back. That sound just now… it was far away, so we should be fine. But this jar, what do we do with it?”

Greed is sometimes incomprehensible. Once Guo Er asked, everyone fell silent. They could not bear to leave it behind. Even though it was only slightly larger, antiques were not judged by size or weight. Bigger often meant more money, sometimes many times more.

After a long silence, Old Du gritted his teeth again and said, “We are four grown men. What are we afraid of? It is just a small jar. If it is a mule or a horse, we drag it out and see. As long as it is not a ghost, I will step on it to death.”

“What if it is a ghost?” Jiang Yaomaoer asked, his body trembling.

“Nonsense. You are the one who deals with those things. If it were a ghost, would we still be alive right now?” Old Du snapped.

“I only know a bit about taboos and ways to ward off evil. How would I know anything else?” Jiang Yaomaoer muttered. At least he had been somewhat reassured.

“Open it and see,” Han Niu said simply.

“Fine, let us do it,” Guo Er agreed.

As he spoke, he and the others tightened their grip on their tools. The task of opening the jar was handed to Han Niu.

Han Niu did not hesitate. He spat twice into his palms, rubbed them together to warm them, then placed his large hands like fans against the jar.