Chapter 47: Raging Sea: First Puzzle Solved

*********************************************** The ending of the previous chapter was posted incorrectly and has been corrected. Please forgive me.

*********************************************** The three of us were stunned. Our round trip had only taken about five minutes. There was no way anyone could have moved all our equipment in such a short time. Besides, there was only one path from the side chamber to the passageway—where could these things have been taken? The three of us exchanged glances, our faces grim. This really was one trouble after another. Even Fatty started to get scared, saying, "Could it be that there's more than one zombie here?"

I waved my hand. Now wasn't the time to discuss zombies. We could still fight a zombie, but without the scuba gear, how were we going to get through that tens-of-meters-long underwater tomb passage? This was a very serious problem. If we weren't careful, we could all be trapped and die in this underwater tomb.

I asked Fatty, "You were the last one to take off your gear. When you came over to put it down, did you move anything?"

Fatty said, "Of course not! Those eight steel tanks were so heavy—I wasn't about to move them around for no reason."

I figured he was right. We'd all been there at the time. If anyone had moved those things, we'd have known. Besides, they really were heavy. Moving them all at once was practically impossible.

We stood there in a daze for a while. Fatty, seeing that just thinking wasn't doing any good, suggested we look around. He said even if ghosts had moved the stuff, they must have left some clues. I thought that made sense, so I started moving the porcelain jars one by one to see if the gear was hidden behind them. This was actually a bit self-deceiving—the place was so small that if anything was there, we'd see it at a glance. But at that point, we had to try anything, even with slim hope.

We searched very carefully, for a good five or six minutes. The more I searched, the more something felt off. I couldn't pinpoint the problem, but there was an indescribable weirdness to everything. Finally, Fatty discovered it. He suddenly cursed, "Damn it! This isn't the place we were in just now!"

I turned and looked. His flashlight was shining on a corner where I remembered there being nothing. Now there was a stone pillar, one end embedded in the wall and the other exposed, carved with many rare birds and strange beasts. This was a completely different tomb chamber structure from before. We immediately checked the other three corners. Sure enough, all four corners had undergone the same change. Sweat started to bead on my forehead. This wasn't just illogical—it was utterly bizarre.

I looked at Poker-face. He nodded and said, "He's right. This seems to be another room. The baby coffin in that corner is gone too. The arrangement of the funerary objects is very different. And look at the ceiling—"

I looked up and got a huge shock. The yin-yang star chart relief on the dome had been replaced by two giant snakes entwined around the entire circular beam, carved so lifelike that they seemed about to pounce down and bite me. My heart trembled at the sight. I quickly lowered my head and said, "What's going on? Did we go through the wrong door?"

Fatty said, "How could that be? This place is obviously the only way in—like the one road up Mount Hua. The place is big. We went from here to that crappy passage, got shot full of arrows like hedgehogs in that crappy passage, and ran back here. There's no mistake! If I'm wrong about this, I'll change my surname from Wang!"

By then I realized we might have run into the same thing Third Uncle encountered twenty years ago. But the current scene was a bit different from what he described. I didn't know what had changed. Back then, Third Uncle hadn't taken off his scuba gear, so he was lucky enough to escape through the spring. And I had known this might happen when I came in, yet I hadn't taken any precautions. Thinking about it, I couldn't help blaming myself a little.

Fatty was already a bit dazed. He asked me, "You Southern School types are supposed to be familiar with mechanisms in ancient tombs. Have you ever seen something like this before?" Of course I hadn't. I sighed. "There's no one else here, so I'll be straight with you—this is only my second time tomb raiding. Don't expect me to know about tricky stone mechanisms or whatever. I can't even name all these bottles and jars properly. Don't count on me."

Fatty didn't believe me. "Hey, little comrade, don't scare me. I was really hoping you'd have some insight."

I gave a bitter laugh, not knowing how to answer him. I said, "This situation is so bizarre that even if I were an expert, I probably couldn't figure it out. Look—in just a few minutes, what kind of mechanism could completely change all the furnishings in a room and even alter the structure of the building? That's impossible. There must be another reason."

Poker-face nodded faintly in agreement. Fatty scratched his head and said, "If it's not a mechanism, what is it? Magic?"

When he mentioned that, it reminded me. "Well, maybe. I once heard a story about a grave robber who entered an ancient tomb and found it magnificent, like a palace. There was even someone inside drinking. When the man saw him, he not only invited him for a drink but also gave him a belt. They drank several cups, and the grave robber got drunk and passed out in the tomb. When he woke up, he found himself lying next to a decayed coffin, and the belt was a snake. Isn't that a bit like our situation?"

Fatty said, "Like hell! At least that guy got to drink. We only have water. How can you compare?"

Hearing that, I thought he had a point. At this moment, I was hesitating whether to tell them about Third Uncle. Mainly because it was all over the place. If I said it, it might involve Poker-face, and I still didn't know where he stood. If I said something wrong, it could cause bigger trouble. After thinking it over, I decided to tell half and hide the rest.

Fatty was still sighing. I asked them to sit down and picked out some things about Third Uncle to tell them. Fatty kept interrupting, and I couldn't go on, so I had to make it shorter and shorter. Finally Fatty cursed, "You little brat! You knew so much and didn't say anything—that's just awful. Look at us now, stuck in this half-dead situation!"

Poker-face listened intently. Suddenly he grabbed me and asked, "What did Third Uncle say when he was unconscious? Say it again!"

Seeing how serious his expression was, I stammered, "He... he said 'elevator.'"

Poker-face let out an "oh," then suddenly smiled and said, "So that's how it is—"