Chapter 85

Chapter Eighty-Six White Bones

"Partridge Sentinel" reacted with divine speed; in the shaft, seeing a golden-armored warrior suddenly raise a mountain-splitting axe to cleave him, he immediately shouted, his body springing backward to press against the stone wall behind him, simultaneously unfurling his Diamond Umbrella to shield his head and face, while the twenty-panel mirror case also slid from his waist, the gun barrel thrust forward, using the left hand holding the Diamond Umbrella to rub open the trigger, assuming an offensive-defensive posture, aiming the muzzle at the golden-armored warrior opposite.

The reason "Partridge Sentinel" had just shouted was that, having trained external martial arts to a certain degree, if he made a vigorous movement, he would involuntarily emit a peculiar sound from his mouth, related to human respiration; if he did not shout, he would easily suffer internal injury, not because he was frightened into yelling.

However, "Partridge Sentinel" shouting this cry was no problem, but it startled Father Thomas, who had not yet descended the ladder, causing him to slip and fall from the ladder.

"Partridge Sentinel" heard the wind above and knew someone had fallen; he hastily raised his Diamond Umbrella to catch the falling American priest, fortunately the distance was not too great, Father Thomas was brushed by the arc of the Diamond Umbrella's canopy before landing on the ground; though he fell and hurt his waist and legs, it was not serious.

At the same time, "Partridge Sentinel" used the faint blue phosphorescent light to clearly see the golden-armored warrior holding the mountain-splitting axe; it turned out to be a false alarm—the warrior was a sinister-colored painting on the stone wall, yet the painting was so lifelike, colors vivid and striking, the warrior's build similar to a commoner, face ferocious, beard and eyebrows bristling, clad in golden armor and wearing a golden helmet, immensely majestic; moreover, the painter's craftsmanship had reached the pinnacle, the golden-armored warrior's movements full of tension; though a static avoidance painting, the power within seemed ready to burst forth; a cold glance made it truly seem as if it would at any moment burst from the painting and break through the wall.

At this moment, Elder Dust also climbed up from the shaft, saw the warrior mural and repeatedly praised it; Elder Dust and "Partridge Sentinel" carefully examined the warrior's features on the mural and determined this golden-armored general was a senior general of the Qin state of old, named "Ong Zhong," godlike and peerless, legend says even gods and ghosts feared him; since the Tang dynasty, large noble tombs' first outer wall has borne the painting of the "Ong Zhong" general, serving the same purpose as door gods, guarding the tomb's safety.

However, such color paintings exposed on the outermost part of the tomb are easily eroded by air; over time, the colors in the painting volatilize upon contact with air; moreover, "Partridge Sentinel" and other tomb robbers, when flipping tombs, usually enter from the bottom or side of ancient tombs, rarely through the front gate, so they have only heard of this legendary tomb-guarding general "Ong Zhong," today being the first time seeing him, thus inevitably gazing a few more times.

"Partridge Sentinel" said to Elder Dust: "Master, this Western Xia tomb is indeed deeply influenced by Central Plains culture, even the ancient Qin general's likeness has been copied over; it seems this mural of the tomb-guarding general should be the stone gate of the Great Buddha Temple below, we are now at the Xuan Gate."

Elder Dust raised the horse lamp and examined the stone wall bearing the "Ong Zhong" painting, nodding: "There are nine horizontal and seven vertical door nails on the wall, indeed a tomb gate..." Before Elder Dust finished speaking, the golden-armored Ong Zhong on the stone gate flashed twice and then vanished.

Father Thomas entered this gloomy and terrifying passage, nerves taut, when suddenly, under the horse lamp's light, the golden-armored warrior on the wall disappeared before his eyes; he startled, turned pale, and repeatedly crossed himself on his chest.

Elder Dust said to Father Thomas: "Foreign monk, no need to panic; the air here is gradually circulating, the pigments on those paintings have volatilized and disappeared, not the work of ghosts or gods."

Father Thomas, still shaken, felt this place everywhere exuded a mysterious and strange aura; even the omnipotent God probably does not know what the world beyond this stone gate is like; today being forcibly brought in by these two Chinese, he is truly unlucky; perhaps this underground world leads to Satan's domain, or perhaps there are werewolves, vampires, zombies, etc., inside; although Father Thomas is a priest with firm faith, he cannot change his fear when facing darkness; he often blames himself, thinking his faith is not steadfast enough; perhaps this encounter is God's trial for him; he must find a way to conquer his innate fear of darkness, yet this inborn psychological trait is hard to overcome in a short time.

"Partridge Sentinel" had no time to attend to the American priest's current complex emotions; he carefully examined the tomb's Xuan Gate, knowing it was a quicksand gate; this tomb gate's design is ingenious: behind the gate lies a large quantity of sand; after burying the tomb owner, the stone gate is closed from outside, the gate's base has tracks; when the gate closes, it drives the rear mechanism, causing a large amount of sand to flow out, automatically backfilling the tomb passage behind the gate, using the quicksand's force to press the gate shut, filling the entire tomb passage with quicksand; thus, while backfilling the tomb passage, it also adds a safeguard to the gate; although the gate is not thick, it can no longer be pushed open from outside.

However, immediately "Partridge Sentinel" and Elder Dust noticed a small detail easily overlooked: the gap beneath the stone gate, where no sand had leaked out; because no matter how ingeniously the Xuan Gate is made, the gap beneath must exist for the track, so when the quicksand gate closes, a small amount of fine sand is always squeezed out through the gap.

This absence of fine sand clearly indicates the quicksand mechanism behind the gate has not been activated; if it were according to burial conditions, this would seem incredible; but this tomb contains no buried person, only the Western Xia court's rare treasures; the Western Xia people prepared to retrieve these upon future restoration, so they could not seal the tomb gate completely.

This saved much labor; no need to dig a thief's tunnel again; they could directly push open the stone gate to enter the tomb passage's treasure chamber; "Partridge Sentinel," Elder Dust, and the American priest three joined forces to push the Xuan Gate.

The Xuan Gate was not sealed shut, and the quicksand mechanism behind it had been artificially closed; though the stone gate was heavy, it was not the thousand-jin giant gate of imperial tombs, merely a barrier at the tomb passage entrance in a noble tomb, only a few hundred jin of force; before the three exerted full strength, they pushed the gate open a gap wide enough for one person to pass.

"Partridge Sentinel" led with his Diamond Umbrella raised, immediately firing a fire spirit child; the fire flashed, illuminating the entire passage clearly; on both sides, the sand reservoirs were completely empty, inside hollow as can be; the tomb passage floor bricks were laid flat and even; "Partridge Sentinel" knew the flatter and more orderly the passage, the greater the hidden danger; inside likely lay hidden arrows, flying knives, poison gas, etc.

Elder Dust also warned from behind: "Partridge Sentinel" must be extra vigilant; the quicksand gate not being sealed, possibly because the Western Xia people were in haste to flee, had no time to attend to it; anyway, this Great Buddha Temple has already been swallowed by the deteriorated natural environment; the ground has no markers; those who do not know the way cannot find it; also possibly a trap to make tomb robbers entering the Xuan Gate grow complacent; as the saying goes: "Xuan Gate easy to enter, Xuan Way takes life"; some Xuan Gates are indeed massive and thick, with rear stone balls and quicksand blockades, but those are clumsy methods; as long as sufficient external force intervenes, they can be opened; true mechanism ambushes are first in the tomb chamber, second in the tomb passage; these two points are必经之地 for tomb robbers.

"Partridge Sentinel" naturally dared not be careless; having never entered a Western Xia tomb before, he focused his mind and regulated his breath, stepping on the tomb bricks forward; the passage length is about twenty-three zhang, at the end another great gate.

The situation near this gate is unusual; the gate is tall and wide, forming a round arch like a city gate, occupying the entire cross-section of the tomb passage; the gate as a whole is carved from white beautiful jade, without any pattern, inscribed with many Western Xia characters; "Partridge Sentinel" et al., though not knowing the meaning, suppose it should be some Buddhist sutra; a bronze bar lies horizontally on the jade gate, in the center hangs a huge lock, without key; behind the gate must be the tomb chamber serving as the treasure vault.

Strangely, on both sides of the front white jade gate, there is a very deep arched round hole; appearing very deep; "Partridge Sentinel" including Elder Dust have never seen such a cave form in a tomb passage; yet clearly these two holes are identical in size, symmetrically built on both sides, man-made, constructed extremely solidly, the four walls' stone slabs smooth as mirrors, height and width each about one zhang, certainly not hastily made; should have been pre-designed when the entire tomb was initially planned, forming an integral part of the tomb.

Based on Elder Dust's experience judgment, this might be a mechanism; he and "Partridge Sentinel" analyzed it; "Partridge Sentinel" said to Elder Dust: "There is a copper lock on the jade gate; I am skilled at picking locks, only fear that once the copper lock is broken, it will trigger mechanism ambushes..."

Elder Dust waved his hand, saying: "I see this lock cannot be opened; a copper lock installed on the jade gate is surely superfluous; anyone able to reach the tomb chamber before would not be stopped by such a petty copper lock; legend says the Song dynasty had linked-core locks; you see whether this lock's body is connected to the jade gate; if you move this lock, it will surely trigger poison gas or similar mechanisms."

"Partridge Sentinel" dared not touch the lock body; he carefully examined it repeatedly; indeed, the copper lock is integrated with the copper bar on the jade gate; let alone picking the lock, even touching it will trigger some mechanism, firing at those before the gate; "Partridge Sentinel" seeing this could not help but break into a cold sweat; he has always been cautious and prudent, yet today inexplicably anxious as if on fire; had it not been for Elder Dust exposing the mechanism, he would already have lain dead on the spot.

Elder Dust now perceived the crux; he said to "Partridge Sentinel": "It seems the jade gate is merely a facade; though made of fine materials, it is absolutely a false gate, cannot be broken into; the two side arched holes certainly also have mechanisms; this Western Xia ancient tomb is not large in scale, but arranged with exquisite ingenuity; if one wishes to enter the tomb chamber, only from below the tomb passage can one do so; the Western Xia people, no matter how clever and strange, cannot escape the influence of the Five Elements Yin-Yang theory in feng shui; this tomb passage's theory merely utilizes the Four Gates Four Aspects, copying the cat to draw the tiger; the stone slabs under our heads and feet are certainly movable, allowing entry into the tomb chamber from below; if not mistaken, it should be the sole entrance."

Following Elder Dust's instruction, "Partridge Sentinel" pried up the tomb bricks beneath the passage one by one; indeed revealed a large opening leading straight to the tomb chamber behind the jade gate; this Western Xia's petty trick truly could not surpass Elder Dust, this old expert in tomb flipping.

Still led by "Partridge Sentinel" holding his Diamond Umbrella ahead to scout, the three drilled from the passage into the tomb chamber; in the passage hung a huge black stone, like a black honeycomb; "Partridge Sentinel" and Elder Dust did not know what it was; using the phosphorescent tube to look, it seemed like stone or jade, unknown what it is; they felt better not to touch it, slowly edging past from the side.

Upon entering the tomb chamber, they all felt their eyes brighten; in the six-zhang-wide tomb chamber, pearl light and treasure qi, piled like small mountains of various treasures; under the phosphor tube's blue light, they appeared extraordinarily colorful and dazzling; most conspicuous was the coral tree in the center, inlaid with all kinds of gemstones, a court's inner secret treasure, truly not vulgar; moreover, countless scriptures and classics, boxes large and small; the good things from the Western Xia imperial palace might all be here.

American priest Father Thomas stared with both eyes wide; he consulted Elder Dust, asking whether they could take out one or two items; just any item could be used outside to build several church schools, giving wandering children a place to eat, study, and find religion.

Elder Dust said to Father Thomas: "Such a good deed, what objection could there be? However, these are national treasures, must not be disturbed; before I became a monk, I also had some family property; if you wish to build schools, I can contribute my entire fortune; anyway, monks have the four empties; holding onto those gold and silver things is useless."

"Partridge Sentinel" only worried about the "Yuanchen Pearl"; other rare treasures, though beautiful, in his eyes were merely like straw and paper paste; he trod upon the ground covered in jewels, walked a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped, turned his head to say to Elder Dust behind him: "Oh no, there is a corpse in this treasure vault."

Previously judging this empty tomb would have no corpse, upon hearing "Partridge Sentinel" say this, Elder Dust also startled, hurried forward to look; only saw in the tomb chamber corner a skeleton white as jade; the frame was much taller than an ordinary person; the white bones clutched a string of keys in hand; behind it stood a pitch-black Thousand-Hand Buddha, neither stone nor jade; the phosphor tube shone on it, emitting not a single ray of light; contrasted with the white bones before, it made black and white distinct, chilling to the bone.

Seeing this, Elder Dust's heart sank: "Serious trouble; tonight the moon meets great destruction, the Bodhisattva closes its eyes, all dharma implements will lose efficacy; if there are unsettled spirits in this Western Xia treasure vault, we shall die without burial place; moreover, how could there be a Thousand-Hand Thousand-Eyed... black Buddha here?"