Ferocious Tomb

I found a place to sit down and after a while, my fluctuating thoughts finally calmed down a bit, allowing me to carefully observe the gold seal Uncle Li gave me.

The gold seal was not large, only about the size of a child's fist, but it was quite heavy, weighing at least eight or nine hundred grams. The gold alone was worth quite a bit of money. Judging from the wear marks on it, the seal must have been passed down for at least a thousand years. The worn patterns were intricate, varying in depth and intensity, clearly the result of constant handling. They were very rounded, impossible to fake, as this kind of wear pattern was naturally formed. In the eyes of seasoned professionals like us, any artificial attempts to create such patterns would be easily spotted.

At the top of the gold seal sat a creature with the shape of a lion but with wings, vividly carved.

I recognized this creature, it should be the mythical beast Pi Xiu. It seemed that this gold seal was not an official seal from ancient times, as official seals wouldn't have the Pi Xiu carved on them. After all, although Pi Xiu was a mythical beast, it was fierce and brutal, typically used at the entrance of houses to ward off evil spirits. Carving it on a gold seal was unheard of.

At that moment, I couldn't quite pinpoint the origin of this seal. So, I scrutinized it even more carefully. Below Pi Xiu, the gold seal was engraved with some very mysterious patterns, resembling characters, but I couldn't recognize them. It seemed that none of the ancient scripts I knew had such tadpole-like characters.

Turning over the gold seal, there were eight large characters engraved on it: "Heavenly Officials Bestow Blessings, No Taboos!"

Uncle Li watched me fiddle with the gold seal with a squinted smile, waiting until I finally put it down in frustration before asking me, "Xiaotian, do you recognize this object?"

"I don't. From the craftsmanship of the Pi Xiu carving, I can roughly deduce that this gold seal was cast during the Eastern Han Dynasty. The large mouth without anus, the curved fangs behind, these features are characteristic of that era."

I shook my head helplessly and said with a bitter smile, "But if you ask me about its origin, I'm clueless. I consider myself quite knowledgeable about these things, familiar with various treasures from different eras, but I've never heard of this. It doesn't look like an official seal, nor a private seal, so I'm at a loss."

"Not recognizing it is the right answer, because there might be only this one seal like it in the whole world!" Uncle Li raised his eyebrows, crossed his legs leisurely, lit a cigarette, and said, "Xiaotian, do you know what your ancestors from the Gě family did?"

I nodded, "My father told me he was a tomb raider from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but he died in a tomb."

"You know too little!" Uncle Li said lightly, "In that era, tomb raiding was much more sophisticated, divided into official and private. Since there was no law against tomb raiding at the time, it was rampant, evolving into various schools, numbering in the hundreds. Four of them were the most famous: General Faqiu, Inspector Mogu, Taoist Banshipper, and Mount Unloader! Among them, General Faqiu and Inspector Mogu were official tomb raiders. In that chaotic era, various warlords began to target the dead for their valuables to fund their armies, setting up Faqiu Generals and Mogu Inspectors to excavate tombs and retrieve burial goods. Taoist Banshipper and Mount Unloader belonged to private tomb raiders. They were mostly heroes of the time, raiding tombs when there were tombs to be raided, and ruling the mountains when there were none. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, these two schools became the mainstream of tomb raiding. In a sense, the practitioners of these four schools had refined this craft to the extreme. They not only knew how to find tombs with certainty, but also how to deal with dirty things inside. They even developed treasures to guard against them after opening the tombs. So much so that there is a saying among the people: Faqiu has seals, Mogu has talismans, Banshipper has techniques, and Mount Unloader has armor!"

I fell into deep thought after hearing this. Uncle Li wouldn't talk about these stories for no reason. After a while, a bold idea emerged in my mind, and somewhat incredulously, I asked Uncle Li, "Could the seal in my hand be the Faqiu General's seal?"

"You're very clever. Indeed, this is the Faqiu seal. Keep it with you for the next few days. With it, those dirty things won't dare to harm you recklessly." Uncle Li said, "And your ancestor was not just an ordinary tomb raider. He was a Faqiu Lieutenant under Cao Cao's command. He lost his life once he failed to rob a tomb!"

"Did he lose his life because of that one failure?" I asked.

Uncle Li nodded solemnly, "At that time, it was when Cao Cao was defeated at the Battle of Red Cliffs. In order to recover and regroup his forces, he looted everywhere to replenish his finances. Thus, he ordered your ancestor to rob a large tomb, threatening to wipe out your entire family if he refused. Your ancestor had no choice but to go, but as soon as he entered the main tomb and lit a candle, he encountered a bad omen, which usually meant certain death. Normally, in such situations, they would retreat immediately. However, your ancestor feared Cao Cao's order to wipe out his family, so he proceeded with the robbery. In the end, he never came out."

I was stunned upon hearing this, looking at Uncle Li with a complex gaze.

My father had never told me about these things, so how did Uncle Li know?

But before I could ask, Uncle Li suddenly looked up and said seriously, "Xiaotian, do you know where your ancestor's tomb is?"

I shook my head.

"It's the largest tomb in the Qinling tomb complex!!" Uncle Li said, "That tomb is very dangerous. Recently, it was excavated again, and over two thousand artifacts were unearthed. Eighty percent of them were bought by a foreigner, but that foreigner died a gruesome death before leaving the country. All the people who touched those artifacts had strange encounters. Those who took less managed to survive, but those who took more all died. And their deaths were particularly gruesome, as if they were eaten alive! Except for that foreigner, all the others who interacted with those artifacts encountered strange occurrences. That's why I didn't let you accept those hundred Bait knives. That tomb is too dangerous."

I fell silent, with several questions swirling in my mind.

Based on the timeline, that tomb complex should have existed before Cao Cao's era, but the Bait knives were from Cao Cao's time. Could it be that people from later generations continued to bury things in that place?

If that was the case, how many different eras of tombs were gathered in that tomb complex?

For a moment, I became intensely interested in that tomb, eager to know why so many tombs were gathered there. But these thoughts were fleeting, and soon I thought of another question—since Uncle Li knew about the dangerous tomb in the Qinling Mountains and my ancestor's story, my father must know as well. He couldn't be ignorant of the danger of that place. So why did he go there?

Thinking of this, I immediately raised my head and asked, "Uncle Li, my dad didn't go to the Qinling Mountains to collect 'antiques,' did he? Can you tell me what he went there for?"

Uncle Li's expression froze, he sighed lightly, remained silent for a long time, and then looked at me seriously, saying, "There are some things you're not ready to know now, and it's not good for you. Xiaotian, if you trust me, don't ask. When the time is right, I will tell you!"

That line again...

I felt a bit frustrated and powerless. After experiencing this series of events, I suddenly felt that my father and the Uncle Li in front of me were so unfamiliar, not the ones I used to know. But I couldn't muster the strength to understand everything, and this feeling... it's really damn uncomfortable!

By this time, it was gradually getting light outside. Uncle Li glanced outside, got up from his chair, and said, "Let's go. I'll take you to see an old friend who can help you figure out what's haunting you."

At the mention of this, I forgot about my father's issue for the moment. I quickly got up to put on my coat. After all, this was the most important thing right now. Without solving it, I didn't know if I could make it through tonight, even with the Faqiu seal in my possession.

The two of us packed up and closed the shop before leaving.

After we stepped out, I realized that the place Uncle Li was taking me wasn't far from my shop. It was at the south end of the antique street, at a place selling coffins and wreaths, with a small wooden sign hanging above the door with four characters written on it—Iron Mouth Fortune Teller.

A fortune teller?

I felt a bit nervous. I knew all the fortune tellers on this antique street were basically charlatans. I didn't expect the expert Uncle Li brought me to see would also be a fortune teller. Could it be that he was also a fraud? But since Uncle Li brought me here, I couldn't say anything. I could only take it one step at a time.

It was early morning now, and the funeral shop was deserted, with no customers in sight except for a child about eight or nine years old feeding chickens at the door.

Uncle Li approached with a smile and asked the child, "Is Zhou Fortune Teller here?"

"Looking for my grandpa to tell fortunes?" The child glanced sideways at Uncle Li, then focused his gaze on me, sneered, and said, "You guys can leave. My grandpa doesn't tell fortunes for dead people."

"..."