Chapter 6: An Unexpected Turn

"Yunfeng, find a good spot to pile it up first. Don't just dump it aimlessly on someone else's land."

"Don't worry, Second Brother, I know what to do."

There wasn't much of the pale white soil. I took seven or eight small bags from my backpack, separated the soil bit by bit, and stacked them together.

"Huh?"

Just then, Sun Old Second stopped using the whirlwind shovel in the pit.

"Old Second, what's wrong?" Boss Yan asked from above.

"Boss, look," he said, reaching down to grab a handful of dirt. "The deeper we go, the wetter it gets. This isn't a good sign. There might be standing water in the pit below."

Boss Wang frowned. "A water pit? We can't be that unlucky... Try digging another twenty centimeters."

Sun Old Second nodded and began digging again.

"Second Brother, stop! We're right above the tomb passage. There's definitely standing water!" Sun Old Third shouted urgently. "If there's water in the passage, even if we break through, the shaft will collapse the moment it gets soaked!"

Boss Yan couldn't help but curse. "Damn it! We didn't account for this. Old Second, Old Third, come up first. We don't have enough time to deal with a flooded hole."

The Sun brothers threw their whirlwind shovels up first, then braced their legs against the shaft walls and climbed out.

"Boss, I can guarantee that if we go down another meter and a half, we'll hit the roof of the tomb."

The "tomb roof" referred to the stone ceiling; brick ceilings from the Ming and Qing dynasties were called vaulted roofs.

Sun Old Second lit a cigarette, gazed at the shaft he had dug, and squinted. "Boss, we've come this far. Should we take a gamble?"

"What are you suggesting, Old Second?"

He flicked the ash from his cigarette and said coldly, "Tell One-Mole to bring over the water pump and the small generator."

Boss Wang shook his head immediately. "Pumping water? The risk is too high. It hasn't rained lately, and given the temperatures here in Shunde, the pit certainly won't be frozen. If we can't drain the water within two hours, we'll be finished by daybreak. All our efforts will go to waste."

"Second Brother, I agree with the Boss," Sun Old Third said, frowning. "It's certain there's water in the passage. If there's too much, one pump won't be enough."

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do? It's like having a feast in front of us and not being able to eat it!"

Boss Wang rubbed his chin in thought for a moment, then suddenly turned to me. "Yunfeng, what do you think? Should we call it quits and head down the mountain, or keep at it?"

The two brothers turned to look at me as well.

"Huh?"

I was still squatting on the ground, sorting the soil, and didn't expect him to ask me. After a moment of thought, I simply said:

"Boss, I need to make money."

"Brilliant!" Sun Old Second laughed. "Fortune favors the bold! Boss, if the kid isn't afraid, what are we worried about?"

The red light on the walkie-talkie flashed, and Boss Yan immediately spoke: "Contact One-Mole. Tell her to get the equipment here within an hour. If she's a minute late, she loses a percentage of her cut."

Speed is the essence of war.

This was my first time witnessing the organizational efficiency of their logistics team. Less than an hour later, someone arrived on schedule with a water pump and a small generator.

Once the pump arrived, Sun Old Second rolled up his pant legs and went back down the shaft with his shovel. Soon, wet mud began to be tossed up, getting increasingly saturated.

Dozens of minutes later, we heard Sun Old Second shout from the pit.

"Holy shit! It's flooding!"

By the time he climbed out, the water in the shaft had already submerged more than half of it.

After connecting the generator and the hoses, Boss Wang threw the pump into the shaft. Below, we heard the gurgling of water, while above, the pump worked tirelessly to drain it.

We were lucky. The water level dropped quickly, and the shaft didn't collapse.

After pulling up the pump, Boss Yan said, "Old Second, use the needle. Break through the roof!"

The "needle" was a specialized, diamond-tipped piercing tool used in tomb raiding to break through stone ceilings. It was extremely powerful.

Soon, the sound of stone being chiseled echoed from the shaft.

Sun Old Second's voice followed: "Boss! It's open!"

A smile appeared on Boss Yan's face. He checked the time and said, "The pumping took too long. Yunfeng, you go down too. An extra pair of hands helps. Hurry up and grab what you can."

I hesitated for a moment. "Boss, shouldn't we let it air out? What if there's no oxygen down there?"

Boss Yan chuckled. "Haha, you, Yunfeng—think about it. If the tomb were perfectly sealed, would so much water have leaked in?"

"Don't worry, the air circulation will be fine."

I put on my headlamp and, for the first time in my life, descended into a tomb shaft.

Sun Old Second had broken a large hole through the roof. I braced my legs against the sides of the shaft and lowered myself bit by bit.

The roof was two or three meters above the tomb passage. Seeing the height, I felt a surge of fear and didn't dare to jump.

There was still some standing water in the passage, reaching up to the calves of the Sun brothers, who were already standing below.

"Jump, Yunfeng! It's not that high! We'll catch you!" Sun Old Second shouted from below, his headlamp shining upward.

I muttered a quick prayer to the heavens and jumped. I didn't land steadily, face-planted into the water, and swallowed a mouthful of the stagnant tomb water.

"Yunfeng, you need to train more. Look at those skinny arms and legs of yours. You alright?" Sun Old Second laughed and helped me up.

The passage was cruciform. We were at the center, with turns leading to the eastern and western side chambers; straight ahead was the main tomb chamber.

Sun Old Second rubbed his hands together and smiled. "We're in luck. The passage hasn't collapsed. Based on the style, this belongs to a feudal lord from the early-to-mid Western Zhou period. At this rank, there's definitely a blocking stone in the main chamber. If it has already collapsed, we won't have to waste our energy. Even if it's still standing, it doesn't matter; Third Brother is a master at dealing with those."

"Right, Third Brother?"

"Second Brother, you're too kind," Sun Old Third said, staring into the darkness ahead. "As long as there's no 'come-and-go' stone locking the door, I can handle anything under three tons."

Our plan was to raid the main chamber first, then the side chambers.

The three of us waded through the water.

Just then, a red object floated toward us on the surface of the water.

"What... what is this?" Sun Old Third fished it out.

He spread it out. It had been washed over from the main chamber—it was a modern, pink towel... and it even had a brand logo printed on it.

Seeing the towel, the brothers' faces turned ghastly.

Sun Old Third looked up, his headlamp illuminating the ceiling.

It was clear: in the northwest corner of the roof, there was a small hole drilled through, and the surrounding stone was covered in a dense web of cracks.

"Damn it!" Sun Old Second threw the towel aside.

He stared at the hole and said, "This was done with a hammer drill! They planted explosives inside. Those bastards didn't have a diamond needle, so they tried to blow the roof open! This towel was used to plug the hole and muffle the blast!"

"This Western Zhou tomb has already been looted!"

"It must have been that group from the south. And we went through all this trouble!"

"We're just here to scavenge their leftovers!"