"You... you’re disregarding your own life... for money... huh..."
"No money, what’s the use of this life?"
Secretary Jin pulled out a dagger and rubbed it up and down Old Ding Dalin’s face: "Old thing, I’ll give you one more chance."
"I’ll open it... I’ll open it..."
Secretary Jin let go, and Ding Dalin, clutching his neck, gasped for air before replying:
"Small temple tombs focus on confinement, large temple tombs focus on sealing. It’s all done to nail whatever is suppressed inside right here. To open this kind of tomb, there is no other way but to use a brute force method to pry open a crack at the corner first and then pull it open with external force.
But I’m advising you, think it over, seriously."
"Heh, if you’re scared, go find a place to hide upstairs, don’t get in the way."
"Good advice falls on deaf ears..." Ding Dalin cast one last glance at the pit before climbing out, then out of the fishpond and onto the outside.
He picked up the Compass again, cradling it in his arms, bowing his head and muttering under his breath as if praying.
"Xiao Yuan, that old man wasn’t the boss after all, huh?"
"When he can lead everyone to make money, he is the boss. If he becomes an obstacle to earning money, then he is not."
Li Zhiyuan realized, Old Ding had recognized the temple tomb, but obviously, his words were useless now.
Hooks were fixed one by one; this side signaled with a gesture, and then the machines started on the other side.
But the cables were tense, and still the top couldn’t be removed; it merely made the dome topple slightly out of place.
Which means, this pagoda, was skew.
"Go down and pry!" Secretary Jin had now replaced Ding Dalin as the commander.
A group of divers began to pry and smash with tools, all busy and sweating profusely, as time also ticked away second by second.
"Xiao Yuan, how come they can’t open it yet?" Run Sheng yawned; he was starting to feel sleepy.
Li Zhiyuan also felt somewhat bored, roughly estimating that this group of divers had been busy for nearly two hours now.
During this time, some people left due to exhaustion and were replaced with new people who continued to work, presumably taking turns with those on watch duty.
Hearing this sound, Li Zhiyuan and Run Sheng both quickly perked up; it seemed there was finally some progress.
There was a crack opened, next would be easier to break the wall, accompanied by the "creak creak" sounds of winching ropes, eventually, the cable violently retracted, flipping the domed top entirely open, revealing the inside.
For now, it was not clear whether it was the top of the pagoda or the passageway of the tomb chamber.
The experienced divers all retreated, no one foolishly rushing in at this time.
After a while, seeing no activity inside, Secretary Jin threw several flares inside, but it seemed very deep, the brightness extinguished soon after entering.
One of the divers brought over a long pole, tying a rooster to the top of the pole and probing it inside. After a while, when the pole was retracted, the rooster was still alive.
The pole was thrown away immediately, landing far away.
Secretary Jin nodded: "Descend and explore."
Two divers strapped ropes around themselves and formally entered the tomb.
"Xiao Yuan, what should we do, the Corpse hasn’t come out yet, hope they don’t really rob it successfully."
Li Zhiyuan sighed and said, "Then we..."
Just then, Li Zhiyuan saw Ding Dalin walking towards the rooster still tied to the pole; he squatted down, reaching out.
The rooster suddenly broke free from its binds and pecked his hand fiercely.
This scene, Li Zhiyuan saw clearly from above, but even he could not comprehend how the rooster managed to do that.
Because on the pole, there were still the rooster’s feathers and even skin, it had almost popped out of its own shell to peck someone.
And after pecking, it seemed even more excited, frantically clucking "cluck cluck cluck" on the spot.
This image was eerily unsettling; although often eating chicken, it was Li Zhiyuan’s first time seeing a bloody chicken moving about.
Ding Dalin, not caring about the hole bleeding on his palm, turned his head and shouted at Secretary Jin and his people:
"It’s out, it’s out, it’s out!"
"Old thing, keep it down!" Secretary Jin cursed.
At that time, all the divers were gathered around the entrance of the fishpond, waiting for a response from inside, and due to the line of sight, they couldn’t see the rooster.
Secretary Jin pointed to one person: "You, go up and see what’s wrong with the old man."
Before that person could move, the two ropes started to signal a pull; meaning the two who went inside were ready to come out.
Everyone outside breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed safe inside, and now they just waited for the two who went in to come out and explain the situation before everyone could go in and move stuff.
Secretary Jin ordered: "Pull up the ropes."
The people outside began to pull the ropes, not to drag them out, but to slowly lift the ropes, indicating the two inside were steadily walking out.
Before long, they emerged.
"There are good things inside, lots of good things!"
"So many things, but too heavy; the two of us couldn’t carry them. There’s also a coffin, a black one tied with chains, very stately. Definitely treasures inside!"
Faces lit up with excitement, some went up to help the two divers untie the ropes.
But just then, the two people untied their own ropes.
Not with hands, but their whole bodies, from their own clothes, no, from the tops of their own heads, came out.
"There are good things inside, lots of good things!"
"Hurry and move them, hurry up and move!"