Chapter 51: Raging Sea: Porcelain Painting

I had just figured out what Fatty meant by "nourishing Qi and storing corpses" when Poker-face threw out that line out of nowhere, speaking so cryptically that I couldn't grasp it at first, so I asked him what was going on.

Poker-face pointed at the coffin and said, "Look closely at their heads. What's the difference?"

I followed his finger and saw six heads, big and small, hanging from the torso like a bunch of grapes. Aside from being disgusting, there was nothing special about them. I shook my head to show I couldn't see it, and he told me to look more carefully. This time I squinted and finally noticed a problem. It turned out that among these bundled corpses, except for the topmost head, the others seemed to have no facial features. Not only that, they lacked even basic cranial contours, looking more like huge tumors growing on top. Seeing this, I immediately understood what he meant and followed his line of thinking. I also noticed that the joints of each hand seemed to be connected to a single torso, but the torso was twisted so badly—like it had been spin-dried in a washing machine—and the murky black water obstructed the view, making it look like multiple bodies were twisted together.

The more I looked, the colder I felt, but I still had reservations about the conclusion. If what lay in this coffin was a rare deformity with twelve limbs, then what was its origin and identity? In those days, why would such a monster be raised to this size? Fatty had also caught on. He spat and said to us, "Damn, is this thing even human? It's basically an insect!"

His description was apt, but rather mean. I said, "We can't see clearly through the water. It's too early to draw conclusions. Logically speaking, such a severe deformity is practically an aberration. Such a creature would have been killed by its parents at birth, with absolutely no chance of being raised this big."

Poker-face said flatly, "Nothing is absolute."

I shook my head, still unconvinced. Fatty said, "Actually, it's simple. Like I said, let's grab a few basins from next door, bail out this water, and get a clearer look. Besides, there's a stone slab under the corpse pieces. Let's pull it out and check it. Who knows, we might find something unexpected."

I was intrigued. Ever since entering this sea tomb, I hadn't seen a single written character. My understanding of the tomb owner was still a blank slate. If I could read the text on that stone slab, at least I could make some guesses, which might help our operation.

Fatty and I agreed at once. Without another word, we turned and went back to the other side of the corridor, picked three porcelain bowls with handles. These things would be worth millions outside, but in my hands they were returned to their original purpose—what they were meant to be.

Out of professional habit, when I picked up the bowl, I unconsciously looked at the blue-and-white glaze on it. I froze—I hadn't expected the patterns on it to be narrative illustrations.

I guess when I first came in, I was too focused on Third Uncle's matters to study these burial goods carefully. Now that I saw them, I recalled a very trivial detail: after Third Uncle entered this tomb, he, like me, only glanced at these things before resting. But the others were different. It was their first time in a tomb, and they were very excited, so they must have examined these porcelains closely. Could it be that there was something crucial on them?

Thinking this, I hurriedly picked up a few bowls and looked carefully. I found that the paintings depicted a group of people engaged in a civil engineering project—some cutting stone, some hauling logs, some setting up wooden beams. The arrangement of the porcelains followed the progress of the project. The more I looked, the more shocked I became, and sweat broke out on my head. Fatty saw me studying the porcelains one by one and said, puzzled, "Is picking a jar that hard? Don't be picky—just grab one handy."

I wasn't listening at all. I crouched down, crawling as I looked, until I reached the last octagonal bottle. The pattern on it showed a scene of a giant door being rammed open, and then nothing after that. It seemed there should be more recorded on other porcelains.

I was absolutely stunned, barely able to breathe. Although from these simple drawings I still couldn't tell exactly what they were building, the descriptions indicated a project so massive it was almost on par with the Forbidden City. Yet the structures were completely non–Central Plains in style. Damn, I couldn't think of where else in China at that time there could be such a huge building.

I pulled myself together, wanting to tell Fatty about this startling discovery. I turned my head—only to see pitch-black behind me. Fatty had disappeared without a trace.

I was startled and cursed inwardly. That damn Fatty! He left without telling me, knowing I couldn't stand being alone in a place like this. I grabbed a basin at random, stood up, and hurried toward the side chamber opposite. As soon as I entered the corridor, I froze. The door to the opposite side chamber had vanished, replaced by a white marble brick wall!

I knew it was a mechanism, but I hadn't expected it to work so quickly and silently. I panicked. Being alone in a pitch-dark ancient tomb was something I never wanted to experience again.

I calmed myself down, rationalizing that the tomb's mechanisms were very active. If I could just wait patiently, the door would probably reappear in a few minutes.

But without Fatty beside me, the tomb was terrifyingly quiet—my heartbeat sounded like thunder—and the darkness was extreme. In such a place, a minute felt like an hour. I simply couldn't wait patiently.

I took a deep breath and shone my flashlight at the three dark doorways ahead. I couldn't see anything inside them. The most terrifying thing in the world is always in your own mind. As soon as I tried to calm down, I felt like something in the doorway was staring at me. It was spine-chilling.

I slapped myself to steady my nerves and headed back into the side chamber, thinking I'd look at those porcelains again so as not to miss anything. Just then, I suddenly heard a hair-raising cry from the side chamber. I shone my flashlight and saw a huge sea monkey crawling out of the spring's eye. Half its body was already on the bank. That scaly, ferocious giant face—I'll never forget it in my life.

I yelled "My god!" and bolted toward the corridor. Not caring about any other mechanisms, I closed my eyes and charged through. Just as I was about to reach safety, I tripped and fell flat on my face next to the jar. Luckily, my reflexes were decent. I rolled into a sitting position and looked back. I saw two glowing green eyes rush out of the side chamber, heading straight for me.

I gritted my teeth, grabbed the jar, and was about to throw it. The sea monkey reacted very quickly. Seeing I had a weapon, it didn't charge head-on but immediately leaped to the top of the corridor. Taking that chance, I slipped through the left jade door and slammed it shut.

There was an automatic stone bolt at the bottom of the jade door. As soon as the door closed, the bolt popped up. The sea monkey screeched a few times outside and slammed the door fiercely, obviously unwilling to give up. I knew this door was made of very sturdy material; no flesh and blood could break it. I steadied myself. The sea monkey, seeing no response after banging for a while, tried to squeeze through the crack. Watching its big head push in, I got angry. I raised my crossbow and fired a dart straight through the crack. I didn't know where it hit. The sea monkey screamed and jumped far away.

I didn't know if the other door was connected to this chamber. Quickly, I loaded another dart and then switched on my flashlight and miner's lamp, illuminating almost the entire chamber. I took a look and gasped. It was a huge circular burial chamber, and in the middle was an enormous pool. I was standing on the edge of the pool. One more step back, and I'd fall in.

In the center of the pool floated something like a giant foot-washing basin, motionless in the middle. Seeing the painting and relief on it, I knew it was a coffin. I couldn't help but laugh. This tomb owner sure had ideas—making his coffin look like a bathtub. He must have loved taking baths.

I shone the light into the water. It was so deep I couldn't see the bottom. Who knew how deep it was—maybe it went all the way to the base of the tomb. I was pondering what kind of design this was when suddenly my neck started to itch.