Volume Two – The General’s Tomb Chapter Thirty-Two – The Burial Chamber

The instant I saw Li Kun struck by the arrow, my mind went completely blank. If I hadn’t blocked Li Kun's forward rush, how could he possibly have been hit? His leap landed right beside me, and next I heard him gritting his teeth in pain. But in the very next moment, Li Kun raised his head at my side and looked at me, saying, “Damn, I was so anxious when I lunged forward that I banged my knee. It hurts like hell.”

I was taken aback. “Li, what's wrong with you?” As soon as I spoke, the dragon-head mechanism in the corridor gradually came to a halt.

Li Kun noticed my hesitation and asked, “Liu, what’s up with you?”

Seeing Li Kun so unconcerned, I wondered if he’d lost all feeling after being struck. Could the arrow be poisoned?

With this thought, I raised my head to look at Li Kun’s back. Sure enough, an iron arrow was lodged there, only a sliver of its tail visible. Because Li Kun wore a backpack, and the arrow wasn’t that long, I couldn’t tell how deep it had penetrated.

Seeing the arrow buried that deep, I sucked in a breath and said, “Li, how does your back feel?”

Li Kun paused. “My back?” He turned his head to look, and as he did, his backpack moved along with the arrow. The next moment left me stunned.

When Li Kun turned, the backpack and the iron arrow shifted together, yet he showed no sign of pain.

He said, “My back’s fine. Liu, what’s gotten into you?”

With his words, my heart finally settled, and I slumped to the ground. “Damn it, Li, you scared the life out of me. I thought you were dead.” As I spoke, I raised my hand and slapped him hard.

Li Kun, seeing my reaction, realized something was off. “Liu, what’s wrong? I’m fine, alive and well.”

I said, “Take off your backpack. See what’s on it.”

Li Kun replied, “Why so mysterious?” He took off his backpack and placed it in front of him.

Upon seeing his own backpack, Li Kun understood why I’d acted as I did. The moment he saw the iron arrow deeply embedded in it, cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He looked up at me and stammered, “My God…”

I said, “It’s lucky you’re alright. Otherwise, I’d have no way to explain to your father.”

Li Kun swallowed hard, then unzipped his backpack and rummaged inside. The iron arrow had pierced deep into the entrenching shovel within his bag, and the shovel’s iron head now bore a small hole where the arrow had struck. If the dragon-head mechanism had been any stronger, the arrow would have pierced through the shovel and into Li Kun.

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Li Kun wiped the cold sweat from his brow, yanked the iron arrow from his backpack, and tossed it to the ground. Then he took out the entrenching shovel.

Seeing the state of the shovel, I drew in a sharp breath. “That mechanism really packs a punch. It managed to pierce even such a sturdy shovel.”

Li Kun nodded, lost for words, overcome with lingering fear. The arrow had sunk more than ten centimeters into the shovel; had there been nothing else in his backpack for protection, Li Kun would have been impaled.

I patted Li Kun’s arm. “Alright, you’re fine. Next time you sneeze, just don’t aim at my face. You sprayed me just now.” As I spoke, I unconsciously wiped my face.

Li Kun relaxed. Surviving such a disaster surely meant good fortune would follow. He nodded. “Looks like I’m blessed with great luck.”

I nodded. “That’s right, fools have their fortunes.”

Li Kun nodded absentmindedly, then caught himself. “Hey, Liu, are you calling me a fool? You’re the fool!”

I laughed. “Enough, get up. Let’s open this stone door. Every extra second in here feels unbearable.”

Li Kun agreed. “Yes, let’s hurry. I don’t want to spend another second in this wretched place.”

We stood, gathered our things, and looked at the red stone door before us. I nodded to Li Kun, and together we pushed the massive double doors open.

As the stone door opened, a cold draft swept toward us, though it wasn’t overwhelming.

The chill made us shrink our necks, but nothing felt amiss. We stepped inside and swept our flashlights around.

To our surprise, the room was as grand as the previous hall, a large burial chamber with nearly twenty coffins.

Li Kun and I approached the nearest coffin to inspect it. Having learned from his last experience opening coffins, Li Kun was cautious, fearing another corpse might leap out.

He asked, “Liu, whose coffins are these? There are so many.”

I walked to the coffin. The wood was not ordinary; even today it would be considered fine. Each coffin was carved with soldiers, and at the front stood a general in red armor.

Looking at the coffin, I said, “These must be the personal guards of the tomb owner. Such figures usually had followers willing to die for their general. Though they were called subordinates, the bond was closer, more like brothers.”

Li Kun nodded. “So, after the general died, his guards willingly followed him into death, choosing to be buried with him?”

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I shook my head. “That’s just my guess. Maybe the tomb owner wanted guards in death and had his personal soldiers buried with him, so he’d still have protection in the afterlife.”

Li Kun rolled his eyes. “You always have to brag.” He moved to the coffin, touched the lid, and asked, “Liu, do you think these guards have any burial treasures?”

I shook my head. “I can’t say. If they willingly died, there might be burial goods. If they were forced, there probably aren’t, maybe just their armor and weapons.”

Li Kun pursed his lips. “Let’s open it and see. We’ll learn more about the tomb owner too.”

I agreed. “Alright, wait. I’ll light the Ghost Offering incense. If the incense breaks again, we mustn’t take anything.”

Li Kun nodded. “Don’t worry, hurry up.” He pulled the entrenching shovel from his bag and tossed me the crowbar.

I hefted the crowbar and moved to the left side of the coffin, while Li Kun stood on the right. We exchanged glances, then wedged our tools into the coffin lid’s gap and pried it open.

With a creak, the lid popped off, and Li Kun smiled at me. “Liu, step aside, leave the rest to me.”

I nodded. Li Kun rubbed his hands, bowed toward the sky, and muttered, “Heaven bless us, please let there be something good. If there is, I, Li, will pay to build bridges and roads to benefit society.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are you going to open it or not? If you don’t, I will. Enough with the prayers.”

Li Kun grinned. “You have to be sincere. If we find something good, we’ll make a fortune.”

He spat in his hands, rubbed them together for extra grip, moved to the head of the coffin, pressed his palms against the lid, and pushed hard.

The lid groaned under his strength, then with a loud crack, Li Kun shoved it off and it crashed heavily to the floor.

Li Kun looked at me in bewilderment, pointed at the fallen lid, and said, “Liu, believe me, it fell right when I pushed—I didn’t mean to. The lid wouldn’t budge, so I had to push harder.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, you’ve already offended the occupant. We’ll cover it back up afterward and apologize.”

Li Kun nodded. “Don’t worry. I, Li, take full responsibility. I’ll cover the coffin again and burn two sticks of incense for the fellow inside!”