Volume Two – The General’s Tomb Chapter Thirty-Nine – Encountering Traps Once More

Hearing this, Li Kun was taken aback and asked, “Don’t tell me we just triggered the self-destruct mechanism of the tomb?”

I nodded and replied, “That’s highly likely. Enough lingering—let’s head to the next place as fast as possible. Best if we’re out before the tomb chamber destroys itself.”

Li Kun nodded as well. “Alright, let’s hurry and try to get out within two hours.”

With that, I stood up and swept my flashlight around the stone chamber. On both sides, there was a stone door. I lowered my head in thought, then said to Li Kun, “We’re in an antechamber. If I’m not mistaken, one of these doors leads to the main burial chamber, while the other should be another antechamber. If I’m right, one of them should be the tomb owner’s wife’s chamber.”

Li Kun’s eyes widened at my words. “Then what are we waiting for? We should definitely check out the wife’s chamber first—there must be treasures inside.”

I nodded. “Let’s not waste time, then. The stone door on the right should be the other antechamber.” As I spoke, I shone my flashlight at the stone door on the right.

Li Kun and I shouldered our backpacks, pushed the stone coffin back into place, then jumped down from the platform and headed to the right-hand stone door.

As we approached, I finally understood why we’d felt so cold this whole time. From the crack in the stone door ahead, wisps of icy air seeped out. Even my breath came out in visible white plumes.

I stared at the stone door and reached out to stop Li Kun, who was about to open it. “Hold on, Old Li. There has to be a trap on this door.”

At my words, Li Kun immediately took a few steps back. “We’ve been walking for so long without hitting a trap—I almost forgot we’re not safe yet.”

I waved my hand and began inspecting the stone door. Unlike the doors we’d seen before, this one had two large bronze rings. What made me wary were those rings. Normally, such rings serve to let people pull the door open, but who would need to open a tomb door from the inside? The only ones opening it are grave robbers.

What’s more, a thin layer of ice covered the door. If you didn’t look closely, you’d miss the tiny holes scattered across its surface. I guessed these holes were likely the trap’s mechanism.

Seeing this, I grew vigilant, took off my backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out a climbing rope.

Li Kun, puzzled by the rope, asked, “Old Liu, what’s the rope for?”

I replied, “Don’t touch the door yet. There’s a trap.”

Li Kun nodded, understanding. He gently lifted the ring, and I looped one end of the rope around it and tied a secure knot. Li Kun slowly set the ring back down.

I took hold of the other end of the rope and gestured to Li Kun. Together, we moved behind the platform.

I said, “Let’s pull together. As soon as it moves, we hide.” Li Kun nodded, and we both yanked hard on the rope.

The instant we pulled, a sharp hissing came from in front of the door, as if something sharp was thrust into the ground.

Once the sound faded, I looked up—the door was half open, not quite enough for us to enter. We redoubled our efforts and pulled the door wide.

As the stone door slowly opened, the noise died away. I looked up—the trap appeared to have finished firing and should be safe now.

I said to Li Kun, “It should be fine now. Let’s check it out.”

Li Kun nodded, and we both cautiously approached the door.

Just ahead, three neat rows of steel spikes were deeply embedded in the ground.

Li Kun crouched to pull one out, but I yanked him back. “Don’t touch. These spikes are poisoned.”

He gasped. “Damn, good thing you noticed. Otherwise, we’d be full of holes—this trap is vicious.”

I replied, “Every trap in a tomb is meant to kill. Otherwise, what’s the point? You wait here while I check farther in for more traps.”

Li Kun said, “Be careful, Old Liu.”

I waved him off, reassuring him, and shone my flashlight down the passage.

The passage was about as wide as the door, but it was coated with a thick layer of ice. Stepping inside felt like entering the Arctic—my whole body temperature dropped instantly.

I smiled wryly. Even if there were more traps in the passage, they’d be useless now. The ice was nearly ten centimeters thick. No way to trigger any pressure plates beneath.

Still, I didn’t let my guard down. I untied the rope from the door ring and said, “Old Li, hand me the entrenching tool. I’ll check if the traps can still be triggered. If not, we can relax a bit.”

Li Kun tossed me the tool. I tied the rope to the handle and flung it into the passage.

The moment it landed, a mechanical whir sounded from both sides. I cursed inwardly and leapt out of the passage just in time.

Turning back, I saw darts shooting from both sides above. The steel spikes exploded against the ice, sending shards flying through the tunnel.

I sucked in a breath. “Damn, I didn’t expect the trap to be this sensitive. Looks like any pressure on the floor makes the darts fire. This makes things tricky.”

Li Kun clapped his hands. “Old Liu, I have an idea.”

I turned to him. “What’s your plan?”

Li Kun looked at the ice, riddled with holes. “Let’s use the simplest method—just keep triggering the trap until it runs out of darts. There can’t be an endless supply.”

I looked into the passage, then nodded. “That’s not a bad idea. Let’s do it.”

Li Kun said, “Leave it to me. You wait back there.” He took the entrenching tool and rope, stood by the door, and started tossing them into the passage repeatedly.

After more than ten minutes, Li Kun turned and called, “Old Liu, come see this.”

I put down my water bottle and hurried over. “What did you find?”

Li Kun pointed inside. “Look.”

I gazed down the passage—the steel spikes were clustered in the center, but none along the sides. My heart leaped. “Heaven never bars all exits! We have a way through now.”

I said, “Old Li, gather our things and put your backpack on your head. We’ll use it as a shield.”

Li Kun nodded. We packed up, holding our backpacks overhead, and crept into the passage.

I shone my flashlight ahead. The passage was about twenty meters long, and with the icy floor, we had to be extra careful. We didn’t walk together—Li Kun stayed on the right, I on the left.

I raised my flashlight overhead and scanned the walls—both sides were covered with tiny holes, the firing points for the darts.

I said, “Old Li, stick close to the wall and be careful.”

Li Kun nodded. “Don’t worry.”

As we took the first step, we heard darts hiss into the ice—not hitting us, but close enough to make our hearts pound.

The sound of darts striking the ice made our scalps tingle, but we forced ourselves to press on despite the fear.

After a while, I realized the trap didn’t fire endlessly. There must be about a hundred darts per section. After each volley, there would be a mechanical sound as the next round was loaded, a pause of about two seconds.