Chapter 49 Stone Corridor

All my attention had been focused on the coffin just now so I didn’t look at the porcelain jar very carefully. I quickly took a few steps back as the jar wobbled and rolled a few times, changed direction, and then rolled towards the stone door leading to the outer passage, where it eventually slammed into the door frame with a loud bang and came to an abrupt stop.

We all looked at each other in dismay. Was Fatty right and there really was a zombie inside of it?

We stood there frozen for a while, not daring to recklessly move towards it. At this time, Fatty suddenly spoke up in a lowered voice, “Guys, this jar really is weird. Why don’t we take the initiative and shoot a few spears at it?”

Of course, I didn’t agree with this so I whispered back at him, “Don’t you dare! Just find out what it is first!”

There were a few reasons why I said this. First, I had already noticed that this large blue-and-white porcelain jar was from the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, which meant that it was definitely a treasure. There weren’t many jars of that size left in the world so it was definitely a rarity, and if we broke it, then there would be one less of them. Secondly, I didn’t know what kind of strange thing was inside that jar. If it was really a zombie as Fatty had said, then we’d inevitably have to fight it. I had spent too much energy swimming underwater just now so I knew I definitely wouldn’t be able to run away.

But we were currently in an ancient underwater tomb more than ten meters below the surface. I didn’t know how long the air would last. If this stalemate continued, it wouldn’t do us any good. The anxiety was making my whole body break out in a sweat but the decision on whether to attack or retreat was so difficult that I couldn’t make a decisive choice.

At this time, Fatty saw me hesitating and said, “We can’t be sure that there’s actually a zombie inside of it. This place has an access point to the sea so maybe some crabs or lobsters climbed into it. There’s no need to scare ourselves. Let’s just go and take a look.”

The woman shook her head, “Our main goal is to enter the main tomb chamber. There’s no need to waste any time along the way. I think it’s best to avoid it and see if there are any other ways out of here.”

As soon as I heard this alternative, I immediately checked the ear chamber again more carefully, but unfortunately, this place was clear at a glance—there was no other door or hole for us to crawl through.

Fatty couldn’t stand it anymore and said, “We’ve got two choices right now: either move this jar or go back. There’s no other way. But I’ll tell you this—since we’re already here, there’s no way I, Fatty Wang, will be scared into going back because of a jar!”

I looked at A Ning’s expression and saw that she was also very determined. Bald Zhang didn’t say a word, looking as reticent as always. The three of them then looked at me simultaneously, as if they were asking for my opinion.

I still hadn’t made a decision yet. Of course, rushing over there wasn’t a good idea but Fatty also had a point. There were a lot of things in this ancient tomb that scared us, but we would eventually realize that we were just scaring ourselves. I looked into A Ning’s eyes and involuntarily felt my heart soften. “Ok,” I said to them, “we’ll take it one step at a time. If it’s peaceful, then we’ll leave it alone. If it’s not, then it’s four against one. We’ve got four spearguns in hand so there’s no need to be afraid of it!”

Fatty patted my shoulder approvingly. I took out my speargun, turned the safety off, and pointed it at the jar as Fatty took the lead. Then, the four of us cautiously walked towards the outer edge of the door.

I wasn’t very scared, just a little nervous. It was a shame my diving suit couldn’t absorb sweat because it was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable.

We were almost close enough to see what was inside the jar, but at this time, there was a sudden sound and then the jar rapidly spun around. All the blood rushed to my brain and I almost pulled the trigger.

Fatty deftly took two steps back and gestured at us not to move. Then, the porcelain jar suddenly started rolling again, but this time, it rolled in a straight arc before making its way down the dark corridor. We listened to the rumbling sound of it rolling around for a long time before there was a “clang” sound, as if it had run into something again. After that, the sound disappeared.

We immediately moved to follow it and found that the corridor outside was pitch black. I turned on my flashlight and saw that the walls were made of white marble blocks. The corridor itself was very simple with nothing in it except for two trenches on both sides of the stone floor and lanterns placed in them at one-meter intervals. In ancient times, these trenches were filled with oil that could be set on fire in order to provide lighting in the tomb. At the other end of the corridor was a jade door, which was flanked on either side by slightly smaller doors. These three doors were all open, indicating that someone had entered before us. The jar had stopped in the center of the small door on the left and wasn’t moving.

This time, I really couldn’t shake the feeling that something strange was going on. Based on this jar’s behavior, it almost seemed like it was doing everything it could to show us the way short of saying, “Follow me.” This must be a conscious act, which meant that maybe the thing inside the jar wasn’t a zombie but a ghost?

I looked at Bald Zhang but couldn’t tell whether he was nervous or scared. I decided to voice my theory to the others and get their opinions on it. When Fatty heard it, he agreed that it made sense. Then he heaved a big sigh and said, “Your idea sounds reasonable. In fact, I was also just thinking that this thing was rolling around too easily, almost like a bowling ball.”

I smiled bitterly in my heart. Fatty noticed that I was a little confused about the situation and said, “Since we’ve already reached this point, let’s not hesitate here. We’ll follow him all the way and see what his purpose is. In any case, the result will be the same no matter what we choose.”

Everyone nodded. Fatty then patted me on the shoulder and said, “There are usually traps set along bare stone paths like this. Brother Wu, can you look and see if you notice anything?”

I knew that this was my responsibility so I nodded and used my flashlight to illuminate the ground. The floor of this corridor was made up of small stone tiles, which made me think that a crossbow trap had been installed. If there were any traps here, I figured they might have already been destroyed or triggered since Uncle Three had been to this place. But if that wasn’t the case, then the situation would be a little more troublesome. I warned them of the dangers, adjusted my backpack, and stepped forward first.

To avoid traps, it was best to cling to the walls, but there were two “lighting” trenches on either side of the walkway. Since I didn’t know what was in them because of how dark the corridor was, we could only walk alongside them.

I told the others to focus most of their attention on the feeling under their feet, but in fact, even I didn’t really have a clue of what to look for. When placing your feet, how much weight to put down and how fast you moved were all important factors, but these things could only really be gained with experience, which I didn’t have. So, the more I walked, the more panicked I felt.

After walking ten paces in such an uneasy manner, I was covered in a cold sweat. The others behind me could see how nervous I was and also started to worry. “It seems that this type of mine clearance job isn’t easy,” Fatty said. “Young comrade, if you’re too tired, shall we take a break?”

I didn’t have time to argue with him and said, “Don’t talk. If I get distracted, we’ll all die.” The words hadn’t even left my mouth when I suddenly felt a vibration under my foot. I looked back and saw that a stone tile beneath A Ning’s foot had sunk down and she was looking at me in a panic.

I sighed dejectedly while thinking to myself, we’re done for. How could we be so unlucky? Now we’re going to be shot so full of arrows we’ll look like hedgehogs. I heard a whistling sound right as a crossbow bolt flew past A Ning’s ear. But before any of us could react, the second bolt had already arrived and was flying right towards her chest.

These things were moving as fast as lightning, but A Ning’s expression suddenly changed and then she turned around just as quickly and grabbed the arrow out of the air. The series of movements barely took a fraction of a second and happened so fast that I didn’t even see her shadow clearly.

I was taken aback by her skills, but the situation didn’t leave me any time to carefully consider everything. I felt a series of vibrations under my feet and shouted, “Duck! There are more crossbows!”

As soon as I finished speaking, more than a dozen white lights came soaring through the air. I hurriedly ducked my head to dodge one and suddenly saw something covered in white hair crawl out of the jar in the distance and quickly go into the stone door on the left. I was about to shout a warning to the others but then I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest. I looked down…Shit! I didn’t know when it had happened, but I now had two crossbow bolts sticking out of my chest, buried about two or three centimeters beneath my skin. 

<Chapter 48><Table of Contents><Chapter 50>　

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Alright, new router, new modem, new me. ⊂(▀¯▀⊂) Let’s hope this does the trick so we can keep the DMBJ train rolling~~~