Chapter 571: Anomaly

Talk about weirdness and it becomes weird; the next night, under everyone's eyes—mainly observed by multiple Camera Heads—the two things started causing trouble again. The three coffins were rushed to a temperature‑ and humidity‑controlled storage; originally, after being coated with a protective transparent paint, they were placed in a regular storage, but now they are sent straight to the climate‑controlled vault to avoid another thermal expansion and contraction.

The Yunshui Spear was wrapped in sound‑absorbing material, and the blade of the long spear was completely encased in soft silicone and supported by a frame to prevent the silicone from being torn by its own weight—experts have verified that the long spear's blade is extremely sharp, comparable to modern daggers or combat knives. This wrapping also prevents any so‑called resonance; if further changes occur, we'll look for another theory.

The next night returned; the coffins still emitted a gurgling snore, and the long spear trembled, but with greater amplitude—the high‑speed vibrating blade even sliced through the silicone sheath. This is hard to explain, whether from thermal expansion, contraction, or acoustic resonance… That night the coffin's sound grew louder and the spear's vibration intensified, eventually falling off the rack.

Now it's not only archaeologists; scholars from many fields have shown great interest—folklorists to historians, physicists to chemists, all the academicians displaying extraordinary curiosity. This would be a hot news item for the public, but it's been suppressed, and everyone who knows has been ordered not to leak it.

One must realize that the general scientific literacy of our people is quite low; it's not as foolish as the evangelical Americans in the Eagle Nation, but the more people there are, the dumber they become—that principle still holds. This news can't be released now; unrest wouldn't necessarily follow, but a rogue leak could cause trouble, and the higher‑ups dread trouble… Superstitious activities creating a murky atmosphere is ultimately undesirable.

Another question is whether it can be studied. Since the discovery of Bai Lang's tomb, some have begun to think that the accounts in the official histories might actually be true—that perhaps there was an era when humans possessed miraculous powers. Research might uncover the source of those powers, and perhaps recreate them in this age—if not to extend lifespan, at least to imagine humans delivering a punch that shatters a city wall or running as fast as a truck… Moreover, contemporary historical records already contain legends of cultivators who lived for several hundred years, almost like terrestrial immortals.

The coffin and the long spear showed no further changes; at the moment the sun rose they abruptly stopped and returned to their inert state. Good, that's settled—apply every method! Thus the Yunshui Spear was sent to the metallographic analysis lab for detailed scanning, and the coffin was disassembled again and taken to the MRI room for a meticulous centimeter‑by‑centimeter inspection. Yet the examination wasn't finished when night fell again.

More people came to watch this time; they saw the separated coffins emit a gurgling sound while the cloth‑covered long spear shook off its fabric, emitting a high‑pitched whine, leaving many with incomprehensible expressions. Soon, however, many showed excited looks, perhaps recalling legends of Zuo Ci, Ge Hong and other immortals said to have lived for several hundred years.

Research continued the next day; a thorough analysis of the long spear revealed no odd incised markings—just an ordinary long spear, its only peculiarity being its great weight. The coffins were similar; their surface carvings and paint were no different from those of contemporaneous or later Tang, Song, and Ming coffins unearthed, aside from a different style of mythic‑beast motifs.

However, detailed scanning did reveal handprints on the coffin lid and the sarcophagus lid that are invisible to the naked eye, confirming one thing—this first great general of the late Han era was indeed somewhat "abnormal." Revived after death? A feigned death leading to ascension? The late‑Han/Three Kingdoms period was when Daoism proposed the concept of "corpse‑liberated immortal," so such a possibility may exist. In any case, these artifacts now display unmistakable supernatural qualities.

On the third night everything changed: the sound from the coffins turned into a tiger's roar, and acoustic analysis showed that the roar originated spontaneously inside each of the three nested coffins. Meanwhile, the Yunshui Spear simply floated in mid‑air, deterring anyone from approaching—who knows if it has become sentient. It completely shattered everyone's worldview that night.

No results have been uncovered—there truly are none—each night at exactly midnight the phenomenon activates, and by sunrise it returns to normal. The only manifestations are the coffin's tiger roar and the long spear's cold glint floating in the air. "Anti‑gravity technology?" multiple physicists have tried to decipher it, but all investigations have yielded nothing.

The relevant authorities have indeed gathered some unsettling reports—unusual phenomena have appeared nationwide that cannot be explained by existing scientific theories. They cannot be attributed to hysteria, mass illusion, or neurological disease, because the most common outcome among those involved is sudden cardiac arrest, with a few cases of other types of death—situations that could not possibly occur on the spot.

Who would have thought someone could "drown" in a thirty‑second‑floor office? Or that someone could burn to death in a cold storage? Humans have not developed special abilities, but anomalous "locations" have emerged… These strange sites cause severe consequences: some involved people died, some went insane, and others suffered psychological trauma without losing their minds—trouble lies in those who are still sane spreading the news…

People say they saw ghosts, entered a bizarre environment, and only luck saved them from death; the environment contains "ghosts." The authorities are quite vexed; a thorough analysis shows that most of the deceased were scared to death, and aside from rare cases, the so‑called "ghosts" cannot harm people by physical means—perhaps ghosts are merely hallucinations, but hallucinations with "consciousness" are no good…

One could try electromagnetic or acoustic interference, though it's unclear if that would resolve these odd locations, and some anomalies appear to move—if we call them ghosts, that's not an impossible explanation.

The latest findings show that neither radio waves nor sound waves help, nor does looping Buddhist or Daoist scripture; this eerie place still "devours" people, and the incidents occur mysteriously unless the area is completely sealed off. Continuing like this won't work… Even the Gugong Bowuyuan has shown similar incidents. Fortunately, so far they only occur at dusk in the seldom‑trodden corridors of the palace and in the dilapidated halls awaiting repair, where figures in Qing‑dynasty eunuch or maid attire appear…

In the Gugong Bowuyuan, tourist‑restricted areas and even unrepaired halls occupy about thirty percent, perhaps more; it took staff to discover this, otherwise a visitor incident would be a disaster…