A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 92 Stone Statue

"Third Uncle, it's right here, take a look." Zhang Niu turned around and led his third uncle up, pointing to the depression in front of him.

Uncle San, standing at the edge of the depression, lowered his head and frowned, saying, "Was this depression originally like this?" Then he raised his head and looked at the long depression.

Zhang Niu didn't understand why his third uncle would ask that, but he still nodded: "No, it wasn't this deep yesterday. When I came over this morning, half of the stone tablet was showing."

Touching his white beard, he muttered these two phrases over and over again.

This annoyed Zhang Niu. Why did his third uncle only ever say those two sentences? Now, the depression was just yellow mud, and water had already seeped into the cave entrance.

After walking back and forth several times, Uncle San still couldn't figure it out. This place was located on the edge of the mountains and forests, and the terrain wasn't the legendary feng shui treasure land; it looked more like a dangerous place described in the book.

The longer he looked, the more puzzled he became; the more he looked at the place, the less it resembled a tomb.

After thinking for a long time, he said, "This is indeed an ancient tomb, but this place seems to be a dangerous place as described in the books. We'll only know the specifics once we go inside."

Zhang Niu gleaned a lot from these words. This place was undoubtedly an ancient tomb, but his third uncle's expression seemed a bit unnatural. Could this be the dangerous place they were talking about?

"Third Uncle, what do you think we should do with this ancient tomb?" Even after discovering the tomb, they still needed their Third Uncle's advice.

"Let's talk about it when we get back." Uncle San felt a little tired when he came up.

Back in the bamboo pavilion, Liang Shan brought out a pot of freshly brewed "Lady's Tea."

"Third Uncle, try this freshly brewed 'Lady's Tea'." He placed the teapot on the bamboo table.

Seeing this, Zhang Niu quickly opened a glass and poured some for his third uncle.

"It smells good. This year's Beauty Tea is quite nice." He picked up the teacup and smelled it.

"This tea was bought from the tea mountain and roasted by my family, but their roasting technique isn't very good."

Uncle San was a little surprised when he heard this. "No wonder, it tasted a bit burnt when I drank it."

Zhang Niu didn't particularly like drinking tea. He preferred drinking a bottle of cola to the time spent on tea.

"Why aren't you guys ordering anything?" Uncle San asked casually when he saw Zhang Niu sitting down without drinking tea.

"I don't really like drinking this. It's a waste of good tea," Zhang Niu said with a smile.

"What you said makes a lot of sense. You young people are still in a rough and impetuous stage. When drinking tea, you need to be in a peaceful state of mind to experience its naturalness." Uncle San started with profound wisdom.

That really fits Zhang Niu's current situation perfectly.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Niu picked up the teapot and filled his third uncle's cup.

"I wonder what you think of that ancient tomb we just saw?" Zhang Niu was still very concerned about this matter.

"An ancient tomb? You've discovered an ancient tomb!" Liang Shan exclaimed from the side, the news quite unexpected.

Zhang Niu had no intention of hiding it from Liangshan. "Yes, the stone tablet I carried this morning was that inscription tablet."

Liang Shan recalled the stone tablet covered in yellow mud that morning. At first, Liang Shan thought it was a forest boundary marker or something. Liang Shan even had a boundary marker at home that he used as a small stool.

"Should we notify the county's cultural relics bureau?" Zhang Niu understood his third uncle's thoughts to some extent.

Waving his hand, Third Uncle laughed and said, "No need. This isn't some big ancient tomb. If it were a royal tomb, we would really have to report it. But this is the patriarch's tomb, so I doubt they would bother to come."

"So, should we bury it back, or...?" Zhang Niu asked somewhat embarrassedly.

"Just say you want to see it, why be so coy?" Uncle San knew what Zhang Niu was up to as soon as he brought the stone tablet down that morning.

"Well, it's just talk." Zhang Niu actually really wanted to go inside and see what the ancient tomb was all about.

"Don't even mention you, even this old bone of mine is thinking about taking a look." He took a sip of tea and continued, "Since it wasn't you who dug it out, but rather it exposed itself, let's go take a look this time, and do some archaeology."

Seeing his third uncle's joyful expression, Zhang Niu had originally thought that the report would be submitted first, but he didn't expect to dig it up and take a look first.

"When will we start digging?" he asked hastily.

"No rush. Your ancient tomb has just emerged. We need to release some of the earth's energy accumulated over hundreds of years. Later, you can widen the opening to allow air to circulate inside."

"Okay, I understand."

"This afternoon, go to the village chief's house and ask him to bring some men up tomorrow morning," he instructed.

After taking his third uncle home in the afternoon, Zhang Niu rushed to the village chief's house.

As soon as I reached the door, I saw the village chief who had just returned. "Where did you come from?"

"Is there anything you need after returning from the meeting in town?" the village chief asked, carrying a black briefcase.

"Yeah, something came up."

"Let's talk inside." He opened the door and led Zhang Niu inside.

"My third uncle wants you to call some people to my place tomorrow," Zhang Niu said, sitting down and immediately launching into a conversation.

"Third Uncle is going to ask for help?" This was a bit of a surprise. Third Uncle rarely asked for help, and when he did, it was usually for something important.

"Um, in the wasteland near my house by the mountain, they found an ancient tomb, and it's from the Tang Dynasty," he said in a low voice.

"Ah!" he cried out, the news was too frightening. "This—is—really?" the village chief's voice trembled slightly.

"Otherwise, why would I be waiting for you at the door? Even Third Uncle went to check on you." Anyone would be surprised to hear this. It's normal for Zhang Niu to be surprised by the village chief.

"Then, does Third Uncle intend to report it, or...?" After all, the village chief is the head of the village, so this matter of the ancient tomb still needs to be asked.

"The ancient tomb is very small. My third uncle's idea is not to report it. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to open an empty tomb?"

The ancient tomb was small, so the village chief didn't pay much attention to it. Other small tombs discovered nearby were also dug up privately. Why would they leave an opportunity to make money unexploited?

Since this was Uncle San's idea, the village chief agreed and asked, "When will the digging begin?"

"Tomorrow morning, I'll have you call some people in the village. The cave entrance is still ventilating, it will take another night. If you're unsure, you can go ask your third uncle."

"No need, I'll bring people over first thing tomorrow morning." He nodded to acknowledge.

After speaking with the village chief, Zhang Niu got up and went back to prepare to enlarge the hole.

After Zhang Niu left, the village chief sat in his chair, still somewhat puzzled as to how an ancient tomb could be discovered in the mountains.

In the evening, the village's long-absent broadcast came on.

Under the large camphor tree at the entrance of the village, the villagers who were enjoying the cool air began to chat.

"What do you mean by this? We're going to the mountain village first thing tomorrow morning," the gossipy old woman in the village said.

"You never know. They're setting up a resort, right? They're probably helping out. Maybe they'll even get paid."

"Isn't that Liangshan in the village something that Zhang's son invited? I heard the salary is pretty good." The gossipy woman continued chatting.

"If you cook well, his son will invite you upstairs right away, believe it or not," said Wen's mother with a smile as she busied herself threading bamboo strips.

The village's broadcast system provided villagers with more topics to discuss in the evenings.

The rooster crows. A new day begins.

Last night, the villagers whose names were called all brought hoes, shovels and other digging tools to Happy House.

Uncle San and the village chief walked up together, chatting and laughing. Many of their companions asked what they were going up there for, to which the village chief replied simply, "You'll find out when you get there; don't ask now."

This left everyone a little puzzled. But looking at the village chief's smiling face, everyone knew that going up there might actually be a good thing.

Zhang Niu led them to a depression at the edge of the forest.

"The reason I called everyone up here today is that this depression you see in front of you is going to be excavated," Zhang Niu said after everyone had followed.

Everyone stared at the hollow in front of them, filled with yellow mud, somewhat puzzled as to why they were digging in this place. While they were still wondering...

"Are you all still wondering why we're opening up this land? To be honest, there's an ancient tomb beneath this depression in front of you," the village chief said.

The news stunned them. An ancient tomb? Did they all come here to open an ancient tomb? Immediately, they began to whisper among themselves.

There was no other way; sooner or later they would find out it was an ancient tomb once they started digging. The village chief and the third uncle didn't intend to hide it; instead, they simply told them directly.

"Quiet down, everyone!" The village chief quickly called out as he saw everyone talking.

The village chief's shout silenced everyone. Although the village chief was usually easy to talk to, if he really got angry, he could make things difficult for you, and you'd be finished.

"Everyone, just dig this depression down. The village will pay for it as a reward for your hard work. Besides, we don't know what we might find in this ancient tomb. It might even be an empty tomb."

The village chief's words made a lot of sense. Discovering an ancient tomb doesn't necessarily mean there's anything valuable inside; it could very well be an empty tomb.

In these mountain villages, scrap collectors occasionally come by and take away broken jars and other odds and ends. The villagers don't really recognize antiques, so they end up selling them cheaply to the scrap collectors. But everyone knows that things unearthed from ancient tombs are definitely antiques.

Zhang Niu could only watch from the sidelines; he was too young. In this place, seniority mattered. Besides, he knew nothing. If he had been greedy and recklessly ventured in last time, the centuries-old energy of the earth might have prevented him from escaping.

Fortunately, no fruit trees were planted in this depression, and it's right next to a forest. The soil can be dug out and dumped next to the forest.

Uncle San sat in the chair brought by Zhang Niu, looking very excited. He felt a great sense of accomplishment as he excavated the ancient tomb in front of him.

The opening in the hole in front of the stone tablet slowly widened. A foul odor wafted out.

The villagers digging in the soil all covered their noses.

"It stinks!"

"Everyone, come up and wait. I guess this smell wasn't dissipated yesterday. Let it air out first," the village chief shouted, unable to bear the smell himself.

The hole has been dug open. Looking down from above, it's pitch black inside, and you can't really make out anything.

The weather wasn't sunny today, which was good weather for the diggers.

"Zhang Wa, light this and throw it down to see." Hearing the voice, Zhang Niu turned around and saw the village chief holding a candle.

He threw the lit candle into the hole. The brief glimmer of light revealed the scene below. A stone staircase led down in front of him. Below was a square space; just as he saw this, the candle he had thrown in suddenly went out.

"Damn it, how did it go out so quickly? If it had been any longer, I would have been able to see the whole thing!" he cursed at the candle.

"What do you see?" the village chief shouted from above.

I jumped onto the depression. "Below is a stone staircase, a square space. Just as I was about to look at the candle, it went out."

"Don't rush, it'll go out when the candle is thrown down after only a short while." Uncle San knew exactly what he was doing; the candle was brought by the village chief at Uncle San's request.

After a short break, the smell wasn't as strong as before. Everyone continued digging. Gradually, a stone staircase appeared before them, leading down. About ten steps of the staircase came into view.

"Look, there are two more statues down there, everyone come and take a look."

Just as they reached the stone steps, Zhang Niu, with his sharp eyesight, spotted what was inside and shouted.

"Stone statues?" Zhang Niu's shout made Uncle San a little suspicious. How could he see stone statues as soon as he entered? This was strange. Uncle San, who was well-versed in ancient books, knew a bit about ancient tombs from the Tang Dynasty. Could it be that he had guessed wrong?

Upon reaching the entrance of the cave, one can see the muddy stone steps below, as well as the stone statues Zhang Niu mentioned. However, the inside is pitch black, and one can only vaguely make out the two stone statues standing on either side of a large gate.

This made Uncle San even more puzzled. Tombs are usually connected by a long corridor leading directly to the main burial chamber. How could this be?

"Let's keep digging. Although we can see the stone steps, no one dares to go down first because it's too dark inside and we're afraid there might be some danger."

Upon seeing the stone statues inside, everyone became excited, even though they appeared blurry. This still lifted their spirits.

"Third Uncle, what do you think of that stone statue?" The village chief also looked at it, but couldn't figure it out.

Uncle San stroked his beard and chuckled, "This place is still confusing even for me. A tomb wouldn't be like this, but we'll have to dig deeper to find out. Once we've dug out most of the soil on top, we'll probably be able to see it more clearly."

"Oh, I see." But I'm afraid this depression won't be cleared out anytime soon.

Uncle San sat back down in his chair and continued to ponder deeply.

The entrance to the cave gradually widened. Now, half a large depression had been excavated. The reflected light allowed everyone to see the two stone statues inside.

On the left is a stone statue holding an ancient halberd in both hands.

On the right is a stone statue with a black iron rod standing upright, with sharp spikes protruding from it; this is a mace.

The two stone statues had extremely fierce expressions. Just their open eyes alone were enough to make one's hair stand on end.

People outside couldn't help but feel a little frightened when they saw it; they never expected that just two stone statues could be so frightening.

"The ancient painters were truly amazing. Just from those eyes, you can feel fear. They were truly incredible." Uncle San looked at the stone statue, nodding and commenting from time to time.

Although none of them possessed the same erudition as Uncle San, they still felt that the stone statue seemed more realistic than the statues in the temples outside the village.

They've struck it rich! These two stone statues alone could probably fetch a lot of money.

"This stone statue is probably meant to represent a goalkeeper. One side is the sky, the other is wolf fangs, which shows that this ancient tomb is not simple." Uncle San said, patting his back as he stood up.

"The tea is here. Everyone, please come up and rest for a bit."

From afar, Liangshan brought in a bucket of boiling water. Perfect for them, who had just been digging in the dirt.

Everyone dug up a lot of soil, which was a good opportunity to rest. Digging is hard work, and this was something Zhang Niu had ordered Liangshan to burn before they arrived. Fortunately, it wasn't a scorching hot day.

Uncle San was still drinking Liren High Mountain Tea. Only the village chief and Uncle San would drink it here; others would just scoop up some hot water and gulp down several bowls.

Zhang Niu was also busy digging, which was considered his contribution.

"Third Uncle, do you think this place might be an ancient cellar?" the villagers began to ask.

"It's hard to say. Everyone has seen those two stone statues in front of the stone gate, right? If it were a cellar, there would be no way they would be placed there," Uncle San simply answered the villagers' questions.

"Could it be... a secret chamber for the rebellion?" Soon, a new question arose.

Looking at the stone statue in front of him, he shook his head. "Impossible. If it were a secret chamber for a rebellion, there would be no need to bury this stone tablet above it, nor the inscription carved on it. This place is undoubtedly an ancient tomb, but the secrets inside can only be found by going inside."

After resting, everyone continued to dig out the remaining soil.

The soil was dug away, revealing a square area underneath. Inside the simple square room, there were only two stone statues standing on either side of the stone door. The yellow muddy water was probably knee-deep, likely seeping in from the rain a few days ago.

Several daring villagers cautiously began to wade into the water.

"It's flat ground down there, paved with stones," the person who went down shouted quickly.

"Then be careful, don't rush." ​​The ancient tomb is fraught with danger.

They walked a few meters into the water. Nothing happened. Zhang Niu and the others standing on top were relieved.

After walking around the square room and finding nothing amiss, everyone started coming down to see if there was anything to retrieve from the water. Unfortunately, after searching the entire square area, they couldn't even find a broken bowl.

Seeing that everyone below was alright, Third Uncle slowly walked down as well. He stood in front of the stone door.

The stone gate before us is not a single massive rock, but rather two massive rocks joined together. On the upper left side is carved a halberd, and on the upper right side, a spiked club. Due to the passage of time, these two objects are faintly visible on the stone gate.

"Could the patterns on the stone gate be related to the stone statues in front?" Uncle San wondered to himself.

Zhang Niu stood before the stone statue, silently gazing at the halberd in its hand. The weapon in the statue's hand seemed custom-made to him, and he couldn't help but gently touch it; it was icy cold.

"Third Uncle, come quick! The weapon in this stone statue's hand is made of iron!" Zhang Niu shouted as he felt the coldness.

"What? Iron?"

These words drew a crowd, and some even flicked the object lightly, making a tinkling sound.

Third Uncle also stood in front of him, staring intently at him.

Someone shook the halberd forcefully, and with a crash, the half of the door engraved with the halberd swung open on its own.

The door opened.

Now everyone knows that these two stone statues are the keys to opening the stone gate.

Fangtian corresponds to Fangtian. Langyabang corresponds to Langyabang. It seems the ancients really knew how to make connections.

The stone door was open. A chilling, yin energy blew out, and water rushed in.

The seemingly endless passage and the stone statues in front of the door made this ancient tomb seem a bit different. Could this be the path to the patriarch's tomb?

Today's update is here, it's a bit late after several revisions. Please give me some votes!