Firecracker Tan

"Stand aside," Firecracker Tan said as he opened his backpack.

He took out a few brown tubes resembling dynamite, walked back, counting the steps to the small tunnel we came through, then carefully selected the appropriate length for the fuse and inserted it into the dynamite.

"Time for some fun! Go back at least ten meters and cover your ears," he instructed.

We hurriedly moved back to the small tunnel, squatted down, and used our fingers to cover our ears.

Then we heard him shout, "Get ready, 3…2…1…!"

He came running toward us and nearly tripped.

Luckily, he recovered quickly and cowered down beside us.

"Boom!!!"

A loud explosion echoed, and I felt the blast wave brush across my face.

Amy Lee quickly radioed Kurnawan, "Kurnawan, are we still clear? Over."

"Yes, the coast is clear. Over."

Amy Lee sighed with relief and then motioned for us to proceed.

We returned to where the wall had been obstructing our path.

The explosion had created a hole in the wall, just big enough for us to get through.

Inside was the main chamber of the tomb.

There was a coffin, with a reddish tint, emitting a pleasant aroma.

I knew immediately that it was made of sandalwood.

As of today, the price of sandalwood can easily fetch $200 per kilogram, which made me wonder what other valuables could be hidden inside.

All around the chamber, there were copper coins, jewelry, and porcelain vases scattered about.

Bobby got excited and began stuffing the copper coins and jewelry into a black trash bag.

"Sam, come and help me," he called out, motioning me over.

I quickly obliged; after all, I wanted to make money too.

While helping Bobby, I turned to see what Amy Lee and the rest of the team were doing.

To my surprise, they weren't very interested in the burial treasures.

Their attention was focused solely on the coffin.

Sea Snake Fang and Firecracker Tan took out crowbars, and together they pried open the coffin lid.

They then stepped back and covered their noses and mouths with their shirts.

This was done to let any poisonous gas escape—what we call "尸毒" in Chinese, literally meaning "corpse poison."

After a few minutes, they used their hands to fan away any remaining gas.

Then they leaned in to take a closer look inside the coffin.

Curious, I joined in and peered into the coffin.

There was a skeletal head, with the rest of the body having already decomposed.

I noticed something inside the skeleton's mouth and carefully pried it open to reveal a huge pearl.

My instinct told me that, of all the burial treasures in this chamber, this pearl was the most valuable.

I quickly passed the pearl to Bobby; it seemed safer in his hands than anyone else's in the team.

However, the pearl wasn't what Amy Lee was looking for.

"That's it? There should be a map pinpointing the location of the gold ingots," she muttered.

Amy rummaged through the remains of the skeleton, but to no avail.

There was no map to be found.

"Maybe it's here somewhere in the chamber," Amy Lee mumbled as she kept searching, and the rest of us began to look for the map as well.

"Look, Sam, there's a hole in the wall," Bobby said, as he put his hand into the hole, trying to dig out whatever was inside.

"Stop, pull out your hand!" I tried to warn him, but it was too late.

He suddenly cried out in pain and yanked his hand out of the hole.

Bobby shook his hand vigorously, and then something fell out of his grasp.

It was a red-colored worm.

The worm quickly scurried away, but Sea Snake Fang stepped on it, causing green liquid to ooze out from its carcass.

The worm died instantly.

A foul smell filled the air, reminiscent of rotten meat crawling with maggots, and just the thought of it made me nearly vomit.

Just in case, I took a picture of the red-colored worm.

"Argh…my hand," Bobby groaned, his right hand now swollen to twice the size of his other hand.

The worm must have been poisonous.

I hurriedly took out my water bottle, washed the bite wound on his hand, and then bandaged it up.

Amy Lee came over, checked his condition, and glanced at her watch.

"It's already 4 AM; villagers will start their day soon. Let's call it a day and get Bobby back to Pontianak for treatment."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and we left the tomb, closing it up with the soil we had dug out earlier.

By the time we arrived in Pontianak, it was 8 AM.

We knocked on the doors of several clinics, but no one answered; the doctors hadn't started arriving yet.

Fortunately, one clinic had a doctor living on the second floor.

He reluctantly opened the door after seeing Bobby's condition.

Within a few hours, Bobby's condition had worsened.

The white bandage had become soaked in red and yellow fluids, and inflammation had already set in.

The doctor shook his head, cleaned the wound with alcohol, and gave Bobby some injections.

Bobby eventually calmed down and fell asleep.

With Bobby looking much better, we decided to head back to the hotel.

I carried Bobby into his room and then went to Amy's room.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Here," Sea Snake Fang comforted me, offering me a cigarette.

"Thanks," I replied, lighting up the cigarette, taking a deep puff, and exhaling a huge sigh.

Amy Lee was on the phone with someone. "There was nothing inside. Are you sure about your lead?" she asked, nodding continuously before ending the call.

After a few moments of silence, she looked up and said, "The lead should be correct. No one would be able to lie with my father's three-spirit powder.

"The map should be in the tomb somewhere. Let's get Bobby okay again before we make our next move. I will do my best not to leave anyone behind."

"Help me!" Just as she finished speaking, a loud scream echoed from downstairs.