Chapter 18: The Tempest Rages

“Brother, what exactly did you see? Tell us already,” Ma Xu could no longer hold back his impatience and urged me.

I shook my head, a grave look crossing my eyes, and stroked my chin thoughtfully.

“This isn’t a Tang dynasty tomb,” I said, narrowing my eyes, my tone resolute.

At these words, Black Jacket and Ma Xu both froze. In their eyes, there was no doubt that this tomb belonged to the Tang dynasty, yet I had voiced a different opinion.

“Brother, are you sure you’re not mistaken? This is clearly a Tang tomb,” Ma Xu was the first to stand up and question me. Black Jacket was much more composed; instead of immediately refuting me, he scrutinized the stone coffin carefully.

I lowered my arms and circled the stone coffin once, then declared firmly, “This is a tomb from the Western Han dynasty, but it imitates the style of the Tang dynasty.”

Ma Xu burst out laughing. “Brother, you’re getting more and more absurd. The Tang dynasty was hundreds of years after the Western Han, and you’re saying this is a Han tomb mimicking the Tang style? Isn’t that backwards?”

Seeing my solemn expression and deep silence, Black Jacket realized things weren’t so simple. He patted Ma Xu, signaling him to keep quiet, and with a faint smile, looked at me. “Brother, what do you mean? We’re not well-versed in this, so we can’t see the intricacies.”

Black Jacket always respected me, so I decided not to keep them guessing and explained my thoughts.

“Look, this tomb is strange. The murals seem to depict Tang dynasty scenes, but the artistic style is Western Han. You should know, the Tang people couldn’t have imitated this style, as it had already been lost by their time.” I analyzed seriously, pointing at the reliefs with conviction.

Ma Xu frowned in disbelief. “You’re basing your conclusion just on the artistic style?”

“Of course not. Look closely. The pavilions and towers may resemble those of the Tang dynasty, but there are subtle differences from genuine Tang architecture—they look somewhat out of place.” I pointed to the buildings depicted on the street scene, showing Ma Xu and the others.

Upon seeing this, Black Jacket nodded, half understanding. “Brother’s right. The architecture is indeed a bit irregular.”

“And there are other inconsistencies. Look here, here, and here—these all differ from Tang artifacts.” I pointed out each of the suspicious details, finally convincing them.

Ma Xu scratched his head in confusion. “But if it’s a Western Han tomb, how could there be traces of the Tang dynasty? Did the tomb’s owner know what Tang artifacts would look like? That’s almost supernatural!”

“I suspect the tomb’s owner may have foreseen something,” I mused, rubbing my chin.

“A prophet?” Ma Xu’s eyes lit up, and he grew more curious about the person lying in the coffin. Circling it eagerly, he spat twice into his palms and exclaimed, “Enough talk! I say we just open the coffin and find out everything!”

No sooner had he finished than Ma Xu placed both hands on the stone coffin and pushed with all his strength. But how could one small Ma Xu move such a massive coffin? He pushed for ages, but the lid didn’t budge.

“Damn, this coffin is ridiculously heavy!” Ma Xu was nearly exhausted, panting heavily.

I had expected he wouldn’t be able to open it, so I smiled slightly. “If you could open it yourself, we wouldn’t need so many people here.”

“Brother, think of a way, quickly!” Ma Xu was sweating profusely, excitement surging at the thought of treasures waiting inside.

Without another word, I leapt onto the coffin, squatting atop it. I leaned down and pressed my ear to the stone, listening carefully for any sounds within.

Ma Xu laughed at the sight. “Brother, do you think the tomb owner is still alive? Or that he could talk to you? What could possibly be moving inside?”

I ignored him. Black Jacket shot Ma Xu a glare, and he dared not speak again.

I listened intently, faintly hearing the sound of air currents inside. Suddenly, I felt uneasy—something was wrong with this coffin.

Seeing my troubled expression, Black Jacket sensed a change and asked, “Brother, what did you find?”

I immediately jumped down, grabbed Black Jacket and Ma Xu, and said, “Quick, let’s go! This tomb is dangerous! Take Zhao Zhiqiang with us!”

Ma Xu was taken aback and grabbed me, about to ask what was happening, when a sound of stone scraping echoed behind us. Turning back, we saw the coffin lid opening on its own.

“What the hell is happening?!” Ma Xu’s face turned deathly pale, ashen like a corpse.

“Run!” I realized danger was imminent, and our lives were at stake.

The three of us, with Zhao Zhiqiang in tow, started to flee, but suddenly a fierce wind swept through the underground chamber, so strong that we could barely move. Ma Xu’s feet nearly lifted off the ground, and I yanked him back.

“Brother, I—I don’t want to die!” Ma Xu shouted, his eyes filled with desperate longing for life.

I gritted my teeth and yelled, “If you don’t want to die, hang onto me and don’t let go!” Hearing my words, Ma Xu clung to me even tighter.

Soon, the four of us huddled together, pressing against a pillar in the chamber.

I didn’t know how long the wind raged. Suddenly, strange noises came from the wind, and then Ma Xu’s cries echoed, “Ah!”

Bracing against the gale, I opened my eyes to see a dagger embedded deeply in the back of Ma Xu’s hand.

I knew things wouldn’t be so simple!

“No, we must leave at once—this place is too dangerous!” I shouted, releasing the pillar. The tomb’s owner clearly intended for us to die here. If we didn’t escape now, we’d perish.

“No, I won’t let go! If I do, I’ll die horribly…” Ma Xu began sobbing, refusing to move no matter how I tried to pull him away from the pillar.

I shouted over the wind, “If you don’t leave now, you’ll be riddled with arrows—the daggers are only going to increase! If you don’t believe me, stay here!”

With that, I let go without hesitation. Ma Xu panicked, grabbed my leg, and scrambled to follow me.

The wind was fierce, sending debris flying throughout the chamber. Even without the daggers, it was hazardous, but the mechanism also released daggers that whirled on the wind, seeking to kill us at any moment.

“You stay here. I’ll go and close the coffin!” I got Black Jacket and the others into a safe corner, then struggled to stand.

“Brother, I’ll go with you,” Black Jacket said, rising with determination in his eyes.

Knowing he meant well and worried for my safety, I nodded. With our agreement made, we moved slowly toward the coffin.

The closer we got, the stronger the wind became.

Just as we were about to reach the coffin, a sharp pain struck my back. My body tensed, blood sprayed from my mouth, and Black Jacket’s face changed dramatically when he saw my condition.

“Brother, you—are you wounded?” Black Jacket looked at me in concern.

I forced myself to ignore the pain and nodded. “Quick, keep going.”

“Brother, are you sure you can manage?” Black Jacket was stunned by my tenacity, for there was a dagger stuck in my back.

I said nothing, just kept walking. I knew that if I couldn’t get the money, I at least had to survive to see my father again; if I died, my father and sister would be left with nothing.

Just as I was about to collapse, I finally reached the coffin. I grabbed it tightly, and Black Jacket picked up the lid. The two of us worked together to cover the coffin, but at that moment, something utterly unexpected happened.