Chapter Seventy-Two: Bronze Sand

“Damn, you really do have to stand back to see it,” the Fatty said, giving me a respectful gesture that made me feel a little embarrassed. I thought, if it weren’t for his sharp eyes, I probably would have missed that spot.

“Let’s hurry up and put the last brick in,” I urged him to act.

Cao, the Fatty, crouched by the corner, about to slide the bronze brick into the gap, but suddenly paused and glanced back at me.

“What’s wrong?”

He squinted up at the wall above us. “Miss, what if we put this brick in and the whole wall comes tumbling down?”

I looked up too. “It shouldn’t... Otherwise, my father would have warned us long ago.”

He still looked uneasy and hesitated a while before finally wedging the bronze brick into the corner.

With a sharp click, the bronze brick fitted seamlessly into place. The Fatty immediately sprang up, pulling me back several steps.

We both stared anxiously at the wall, unsure what would happen next.

After a long silence, I noticed a ripple of light reflected from our flashlights on several bronze bricks ahead. Looking closer, I involuntarily drew a cold breath. The reliefs on those bronze bricks... were moving again.

But this time was different from last. Before, just seeing three reliefs shift had chilled me to the bone; now, thousands of bronze reliefs undulated and transformed, as if countless golden insects crawled before my eyes. The figures, animals, and even the objects carved in the reliefs seemed to become aware of our presence, all turning their heads to look at us, each flashing a sinister, unnatural smile.

“You... you stay calm. Don’t... be afraid,” the Fatty tried to comfort me, but his own facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.

Watching the shifting reliefs, I whispered, “Fatty... do you think those things might crawl out?”

“Damn it, don’t say that. It looks like they really could.”

Suddenly, I recalled that scene from the TV where Sadako crawls out, terror overwhelming me, and the reliefs seemed to bulge outward.

Just as the Fatty and I, trembling, were about to retreat, the bronze wall before us quivered. We jumped, thinking it was about to collapse.

This wall was twenty meters tall; even a single brick falling could smash our heads to pulp. As we prepared to flee with my father, I saw the wall begin to sink, vertically downward.

“Hey!” Both of us cried out in shock, for the sinking of the bronze-brick wall was utterly strange—it made no sound, as if the ground beneath it was liquid.

When the twenty-meter wall had sunk halfway, the Fatty and I dared approach to inspect it. Shining our flashlights, we froze in astonishment.

“This isn’t sinking, it’s... melting,” the Fatty exclaimed.

I saw clearly, though I felt “melting” wasn’t quite right. The bronze wall, from bottom to top, rapidly transformed—each brick dissolving into fine bronze sand, and almost instantly, the sand vanished without a trace, leaving no mark behind.

Minutes later, the towering bronze wall had disappeared entirely from sight. Crawling to the spot where it stood, the Fatty and I found not even a dent in the floor. I looked up at the place where the wall once loomed, beginning to wonder if we’d imagined the whole thing.

Suddenly, the Fatty plopped down on the ground, looking dazed.

I let out a long breath and patted him. “Come on, we’ve seen stranger things here.”

He ignored me, slowly pulling a high-priced cigarette from his pocket, bought from those workers, and lit it.

The Fatty wasn’t usually so timid, and nothing that happened just now was more than surprising—why was he so shaken? “Hey, hey...” I called twice, but he didn’t respond. “Yanran, are you in shock?”

“No.” He removed the cigarette from his mouth. “I was just thinking, once I get rich, where should I go to enjoy myself?”

“Come on... can’t you be more realistic?” I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Realistic, very realistic.” He suddenly grabbed my chin, forcing my face forward.

I was caught off guard, his grip hurting, about to struggle, when I saw in the darkness ahead a faint blue glow.

The light was far from us, more than thirty meters, and so faint I’d missed it before. But now, I saw beneath the blue radiance, countless objects arranged in layers, each row more than fifty meters long, at least seven tiers.

“Heh... heh heh... hahaha!” The Fatty first chuckled, then burst into wild laughter, tears streaming down his face. “Good heavens, finally your Fatty has found a treasure trove!”

With a shout, he leapt up from the ground. His excitement startled me, and I realized those rows upon rows of objects must be heaps of funerary goods.

Just then, my father’s voice came from behind. “I told you I wasn’t lying.”

The Fatty immediately turned, helping my father up, wiping his tears as he laughed. “Master Six, what’s the point of talkin’ about lying or not? Look at this... Haha, come on, let’s go in. Hey, Miss, grab the gear.”

Looking at the Fatty’s eager face, I wondered who was truly my father’s son at this point. Still, I could imagine the value of all those objects was beyond reckoning.

As we drew closer, I saw the blue light illuminated the funerary goods, all neatly arranged, separated by stone slabs layer by layer. The highest tier was nearly half a meter taller than the Fatty. Sweeping my flashlight across them, many items gleamed with metallic luster, dazzling the eye, while the pale blue light shone from behind them.

I felt little for these things, and couldn’t really tell which were valuable—they all seemed much the same.

The Fatty didn’t seem tired at all now, almost hugging my father as he moved back and forth admiring the collection, making all sorts of strange, inhuman noises. My father was amused, but I couldn’t stand it any longer and stopped the Fatty.

“With so many funerary goods, if you try to look at them all, we’d never get out.”

He ignored me. “You, second-generation thief, easy for you to talk! I’ve been scavenging for years, but never seen so many treasures, hahaha...” He laughed at an incense burner.

Seeing him like that, I knew he was beyond hope, so I helped my father over, letting the Fatty laugh himself silly.

“Dad, where is the Blue Blood Dragon Pattern?” I thought we’d better grab it and leave.

But after I asked, my father’s reaction was strange. He looked around, his eyes showing a hint of confusion.

Something was off. Watching him, I felt he didn’t know where the treasure was either.

After a long moment, he suddenly looked towards the source of the blue light behind. “It’s... there.”

I could tell he wasn’t certain, though trying to sound confident. But at this point, I could only support him and skirt the funerary goods, heading further in.

As soon as we stepped forward, both my father and I instinctively recoiled. The sight before us filled me with terror. At last, this cursed place revealed its most sinister and bizarre side.