Chapter 57 Finally Have a Clue

There was no doubt that these words were secretly carved by a craftsman who recorded what he saw and heard. This craftsman was a Han who had been captured and forced to build this tomb.

It was a bit like what happened to Wang Zanghai, but Wang Zanghai was more capable. And based on how this craftsman’s words were messy and lacked focus, he seemed to be an ordinary person.

I had seen a lot of messages left by craftsmen in many ancient tombs. Some were those just saying they missed their families, some wanted to settle accounts, and some wrote poems. But all of them were engraved in inconspicuous corners next to the tomb owners, left as proof of these ordinary people’s vitality. They were all like us, with blood flowing through their veins and hearts beating in their chests.

When you were in a dangerous ancient tomb, you had to remember that it was also built by people back in the day. They ate steamed buns and drank wine here while also talking about their families and children. You’d start to understand why knowing an ancient tomb was equivalent to knowing a person. If you could see them, then you could solve the traps they had set and also find the escape route they had left for themselves.

There were three more paragraphs of text on the wall, as follows:

The fourth paragraph said: When the atmosphere here changed, something very strange happened. After a long time, the Mongols seemed to go crazy. I think they knew something terrible that we didn’t, so they went crazy.

The fifth paragraph said: The Mongols later died. A Tangut person was sent here to become the leader, so we continued to build. I find it strange that the Mongols knew they would die. Why were they so afraid? Is there something more terrible than death here? But the secret is in the innermost part of this tomb. It’s said that if you want to see it, you can buy off the Tangut.

The sixth paragraph said: I secretly went to that place to see it. I understand what the Mongols were afraid of now and I’m also very afraid. Whoever you are, if you see this record here, you have to repay me. You have to save me. You must save me. I will—

The rest was cut off.

This last bit of text was very strange. It seemed to be addressed to this person’s contemporaries, but any of those craftsmen who built tombs should have known that their contemporaries at the time weren’t allowed to enter the tombs. I didn’t think this craftsman was a particularly smart person. Or, he was scared senseless at that time.

I carefully examined the stone children and found that the air inside the sackcloth bags had been pushed out after the stone children pressed the Wanshi Meat down into the coffin liquid. It appeared this was the cause of the children’s laughter I had heard just now. I didn’t know if there was anything strange in the coffin liquid, so I reached my hand down and felt around. I touched a lot of hair and meat scraps (all of which had been vomited by the giant corpse just now) but didn’t feel anything else.

I sighed and looked at the engravings again; the descriptions were giving me a bad feeling. These words weren’t carved at the same time, but were carved bit by bit in batches. And the fonts were different, which showed that this guy investigated a little bit and then recorded it here.

Moreover, that last sentence gave me the sense that he wasn’t unable to write what he saw directly, he was just unwilling—he wanted to make a deal first. He wanted to be saved before he revealed what the secret was.

That was troublesome, because based on the current situation, he must have died and was probably even among the pieces of rotten flesh in this coffin liquid. It was definitely impossible for a transaction to proceed.

But I was thankful that I was able to find such clues. If it had been in Mongolian again, I could only beat myself to death in this coffin. If that happened, at least my body would already be interred.

But who was this guy? I found it very interesting since this person seemed kind of similar to me. But feeling sympathy for a cunning craftsman from a thousand years ago… I couldn’t help but think that it was fate.

I was certain that there were a lot of clues outside, because he said that if there were any statues with strange eyes, then he was the one who had carved them. And just like in this coffin, there were hidden clues where the statues were looking. That seemed to indicate that this matter wasn’t over, but I had to get out of this coffin first.

When my hands came out of the coffin liquid, they smelled like rot and were slick with oil, which was a little sickening. I couldn’t do much now since the oil on my hands meant that I couldn’t even hold onto my flashlight, so I wiped my hands on the coffin wall until my palms felt a little more comfortable.

I didn’t know what was going on outside, but since Poker-Face locked me in here, I wouldn’t go out and cause any trouble. I pressed my ear up against the coffin wall, but it was quiet outside.

Is it over or is the giant corpse still playing chase with them? Poker-Face’s skills are getting rusty. He used to only have to do it once, so is he in bad shape today? Ah, maybe it’s because Fatty and I usually mess around too much and delay his training.

I thought of how that giant corpse’s head could rotate and shuddered.

At this time, I suddenly heard a child’s laughter come from behind me again. But this sound was especially like laughter.

I immediately looked back and thought to myself, the air hasn’t been exhausted yet. But under my flashlight’s glow, I saw something swimming in the coffin liquid. It left ripples in its wake but then immediately disappeared.

Is it a fish?

Suddenly realizing why the giant corpse had vomited into the coffin, I cursed in my heart, shit! Was there something in its belly that it spit into the coffin to deal with me?!

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