Chapter Sixty-Six: Playing the Leading Card

(Just a dozen more favorites to hit a thousand—brothers, did you hear Old Bei’s call?!)

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My father shook his head at me. “It’s the family rule. You don’t understand yet. I’ll explain it to you slowly once we get out. By the way, did you bring the ‘key’?”

I had almost forgotten about that thing. It was only when my father mentioned it that I remembered those three bronze bricks were still with Peanut. Turning my head, I saw Peanut pull the three bronze bricks out of his pocket.

Fatty had been silent until now, but the moment he caught sight of what Peanut held, he quickly came over.

“Hey, it’s those things from the wall, right? Once we put these three in place, the main burial chamber will open?” Fatty looked at my father.

My father nodded. “Cao family’s Ajin, this time you carry me over, and I promise you won’t leave empty-handed.”

“You mean there’s treasure in the main chamber?” Fatty’s interest was instantly sparked.

“Fatty,” my father mustered his strength and spoke in a Beijing accent.

Fatty’s eyes lit up at once, but I hurriedly interrupted them. “Dad, maybe we should come back next time. It’s already a miracle that we’ve made it out alive so far.”

My father spoke slowly. “The Blue-blooded Dragon Pattern was something your grandfather and his brothers risked their lives to get. There are too many entanglements here. Now even those like Stray Dog know about it. Things outside must already be in an uproar. In short, even if we ignore family rules, we have no choice but to take that thing. There are reasons I can’t explain to you right now—when we get out, I’ll let you know.”

From what my father said, it was clear he was determined to return to the main burial chamber. I couldn’t help but recall the terrifying sounds recorded on his phone. It’s true what they say: tomb robbers don’t fear ghosts, and those who fear ghosts don’t rob tombs. And now, even if I opposed, it would be useless. Fatty was already getting ready to set out, and Peanut offered no opinion. Clearly, my voice carried no weight here. I sighed and looked at my father, whose life was hanging by a thread, and said, “What about Qin Feng?”

My father said nothing, only glancing at Peanut.

Peanut was decisive; he went over and picked up Qin Feng, carrying him on his back. Seeing these three so fearless, there was nothing I could do. “Ah… the old burying the young,” I muttered, raising my voice deliberately to annoy my father.

He glared at me, shook his head, and then Fatty stooped to carry him.

When we were all set, Peanut, with Qin Feng on his back, moved to the front.

“Wait,” my father suddenly said in a low voice, making us all turn. “Yuan, you take the lead.”

What? I was stunned. “Dad, I don’t know the way.” I looked at him, completely at a loss.

“It’s fine. Just keep heading west,” he said, reaching out and pointing into the darkness in a certain direction.

But after my father finished, I still didn’t move—not out of fear, but because I couldn’t figure out why he’d made such an arrangement.

“Yuan, don’t be afraid,” my father rasped. “Just keep walking ahead. Until the main chamber is opened, we won’t encounter any danger.”

After he said this, both Peanut and Fatty looked puzzled. I looked at my father, half-understanding, suspecting there must be a reason for all this, but now wasn’t the time to dig deeper. So I took a deep breath, shouldered my backpack, and stepped out in the direction my father had indicated.

Up until now, I’d always followed behind others, my attention focused on my surroundings. But now, leading the group, I realized just how difficult it was to blaze the trail in an ancient tomb. The psychological pressure alone was almost unbearable.

Ahead, only the dim circle of light from my flashlight cut through the blackness, which surged in like a tide from every side. My effective field of vision was no more than five meters, and everything—be it rubble or the occasional funerary object—stood out in eerie relief. After just a dozen meters, I felt I was nearing my limit, glancing back at the others again and again.

Luckily, Peanut was right behind me. Each time I saw the steely look in his eyes, I felt a bit steadier. Fatty, saving his strength, wasn’t chattering as before. It grew eerily quiet all around, and only Qin Feng’s occasional groans of pain broke the silence.

I barely dared to blink, afraid something might leap out from the darkness ahead. With my nerves stretched taut, we crept on for nearly twenty minutes, until suddenly, something appeared at the edge of my flashlight’s beam. I couldn’t see clearly, but I caught flashes of reflected light.

Taking a few more steps forward, I was startled by what lay before me, freezing in place.

Peanut came up behind and, seeing what I saw, freed a hand to pat my shoulder.

What I saw at first glance was hundreds of brass-colored human faces, overlapping and packed together, forming what seemed like a solid wall. Each face bore a different expression—joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, and some so strange they inspired dread.

Only after Peanut patted me did I realize it was actually a bronze door over four meters tall, with all those faces protruding from its surface, as if hundreds of people had smashed their faces into it, leaving lasting impressions.

Suddenly, I remembered the things Eight-Note Rat had told us. It seemed he hadn’t lied after all.

“Don’t mind these things—keep moving,” my father said from Fatty’s back.

Still, we lingered a moment longer. After passing through the bronze door, I noticed impressions on the other side where faces had sunk in, confirming everything Rat had said. Unable to help myself, I glanced back at my father, wondering what these faces really were, and why he seemed so certain we wouldn’t encounter them again.

My father met my gaze and then nodded toward Peanut’s back, shaking his head slightly. He clearly meant for me not to ask—some things must remain unknown to Peanut.

So I turned away and kept walking.

Just as Rat had described, we passed through chamber after vast chamber, and the further we went, the more funerary objects we saw. Beyond the earlier stone artifacts, the later chambers were filled with bronzes and ironware. In one room, we even saw a set of thirty-six chime bells arranged in four tiers.

Fatty stopped dead. “Damn, even the chime bells from Marquis Yi’s tomb only had three levels. This one’s got four! Uncle Six, maybe we should…”

He was clearly tempted, but my father shook his head. “These things are treasures, but if you take them out, the uproar will be enormous. You might lose your head before you can even sell them. Don’t worry—the main chamber will have something even better, and safer, too.”

Fatty was no rookie, well aware of what could and couldn’t be taken. So, disappointed, he moved on. The four-tiered chime bells were truly magnificent—even I, a layman, couldn’t help but admire them. As we were about to leave, I glanced back and caught, out of the corner of my eye, the rightmost bell on the third tier swaying slightly. For an instant, I even saw a shadowy figure slip behind the bells.

“What’s wrong?” my father asked, noticing my odd expression.

But when I tried to point it out, all the strange phenomena vanished. My heart pounded wildly and I quickly looked away, suddenly recalling the white-robed woman I’d glimpsed on the boat coming down from Mount Lu.

I shook my head at my father. “It’s nothing.”

With that, I hurried forward, my pace quickening.

After passing through another chamber, we felt a sudden chill; though darkness still surrounded us, it was clear we’d left the interconnected chambers behind.

“It really has been smooth sailing,” Fatty chuckled.

But before he finished, a dozen flashes appeared in the distance ahead, lighting up our field of vision.