Volume Two – The General’s Tomb Chapter Forty – The Mouth That Brings Fortune

After we had slowly edged along the wall for a dozen steps, Li Kun stopped in his tracks, turned his head to my right and said, “Old Liu, this is bad.”

I halted and glanced over. The ice ahead of Li Kun was riddled with countless pinholes, the stone slabs on the ground perforated as well. There was no way forward, but the path to my left remained safe.

Upon seeing this, I bowed my head in thought, recalling the pattern of the trap earlier, and said to Li Kun, “After walking for so long, I’ve noticed a pattern in the steel needle mechanism. Have you realized it? This trap doesn’t fire constantly—it shoots out in batches. After one batch is expended, the mechanism pauses for about two seconds to reload.”

Li Kun nodded, “Just tell me what to do, Old Liu.”

I took a deep breath. “Listen carefully, Old Li. I’ll go ahead to trigger the mechanism and exhaust this batch of needles. When it’s spent, you’ll hear the mechanism whirring above. In that two-second window, rush across. The instant you hear the mechanism start, go.”

Li Kun wiped the cold sweat from his brow and nodded vigorously.

After reminding him once more, I slowly lifted my foot and began to walk forward.

As my steps landed in the passage, steel needles from both sides above rained down furiously toward the center. The moment my foot touched down, the passage fell silent, and I heard the whirring sound from the mechanisms above.

At that instant, I swiftly turned to look at Li Kun behind me.

He was already pressed against the ice, sliding toward me, his body flattened because the slippery ice made movement difficult.

Just then, the whirring sound abruptly ceased, and Li Kun hadn’t yet regained his balance.

Li Kun shouted in alarm, slung his backpack onto his back, and tried to stand.

He was half-crouched, his head exposed toward the center of the tomb passage, holding his backpack aloft as he tried to stand.

In that instant, steel needles rained down like a storm. One needle nearly pierced Li Kun’s head—he jerked his head aside. There was a sharp crack from the handle of the army shovel above his head, and a shower of sparks erupted above him.

Li Kun clung tightly to the wall, breathing heavily, muttering, “Damn, nearly died here.”

He glanced up at the shovel handle—a steel needle had pierced straight through. Wiping more sweat, he said, “When I get home, I’ll fix this shovel up and build a shrine for it.”

Seeing that Li Kun was unharmed, I relaxed and turned to him. “Old Li, are you alright?”

Li Kun signaled that he was fine, and I gave him a thumbs-up. He slowly edged toward me.

When he reached me, I said, “Not bad, Old Li. You’re quite agile!”

Li Kun started to scratch his head, but I quickly grabbed his hand. We weren’t safe yet—if he had raised his arm, he’d have lost it.

He realized what had happened, and I asked, “You’re not hurt, are you?”

Li Kun lifted his head slightly. “This is nothing. I’m not just anybody—I used to pull up willow trees by the roots. If not for…”

Before he could finish, I cut him off. “Enough, don’t bring up your old stories. We’re not out of danger yet.”

I turned and looked ahead—about ten meters remained to the end of the passage.

“We’ll keep going, we’re almost there.”

Li Kun nodded, and we continued forward.

Halfway there, I stopped. Li Kun, behind me, couldn’t see what was ahead and asked, “Old Liu, why did you stop?”

I sighed, “Now we’re truly stuck.”

I gestured to the spot ahead. “Look.”

Li Kun tiptoed to peer forward. The passage was impassable, the floor densely covered with steel needles, the ice riddled with holes.

He asked, “What now, Old Liu? We can’t get through. Do we have to go back?”

I sighed, “I have no solution. Unless the mechanism stops, we have no chance of getting through.”

The moment I finished speaking, something unexpected happened—the passage fell utterly silent, as if a storm had vanished in an instant.

Li Kun and I were stunned. “Old Liu, what’s happening? Why is it so quiet?”

I looked at the mechanisms above, puzzled. “Could it be that all the steel needles have been used up?”

Li Kun said, “That’s quite possible. We’ve been here a while, and I spent ages triggering them at the entrance.”

I nodded and said, “Old Li, let me borrow your army shovel.”

Li Kun handed it over.

I took the shovel, crouched, and slammed it down onto the steel needle-ridden floor. There was a loud bang, but nothing stirred from the mechanism above—it was as if it had broken.

I struck the floor a few more times, then relaxed and tossed the shovel back to Li Kun. “Looks like the trap really is spent. We’re safe now.”

Li Kun looked at me, as if I were some kind of oddity.

I touched my face. “Is there something on my face?”

Li Kun marveled, “Old Liu, is your mouth blessed? The moment you said the trap would stop, it did stop. I swear, you have a magic mouth.”

I rolled my eyes. “Stop joking. Let’s hurry up. Who knows what kind of place this is, with so much ice.”

Li Kun nodded, “I’d like to know what’s in here, too. Even the passage is frozen.”

“Let’s go see. Watch your step, don’t let these needles pierce your feet. There’s no poison on them, but it’ll hurt like hell if you get stabbed.”

With that, we walked slowly toward the stone door.

We came to the stone door and shone our flashlights on it, discovering that cold air was seeping through the cracks. I shivered, stepped closer, and saw that the center of the stone door was coated in thick ice.

Li Kun joined me. “Old Liu, isn’t this supposed to be a burial chamber? Why is there ice here—could it be a glacier beyond the door? Why is it so cold?”

I shook my head. “No idea. We’ll have to go in to find out.”

I looked at the door handle and nodded to Li Kun. Together, we grabbed the handle and pulled with all our strength, but the door didn’t budge.

Li Kun, stubborn, said, “I refuse to believe this. If I can uproot willow trees, I can open this stone door.”

He pulled at the ring with all his might, veins bulging on his forehead, face flushed. Seeing this, I knew brute force wouldn’t do.

I patted his shoulder and signaled him to stop. I placed my backpack on the ground and pulled out a crowbar.

Li Kun saw the crowbar and understood. “Let me,” he said, spitting into his hands and gripping the crowbar, jamming it into the crack.

Since the center of the door was iced over, it was hard to wedge the crowbar in. I took out a small hammer and said, “Hold it steady, Old Li. I’ll hammer it in.”

Li Kun positioned the flat end at the crack, and I hammered the tail. After a few blows, the crowbar’s tip wedged in.

Li Kun gripped the crowbar and pulled hard to the left. Cracking sounds filled the air as the ice shattered, chunks falling to the ground.

I nodded to Li Kun, and together we grabbed the handle and pulled. The stone door slowly opened.

As it did, we shone our flashlights inside. A dazzling light reflected out, and a wave of icy air engulfed us.

Feeling the cold, both of us shuddered.