landbeastnovel Chapter 23 Blowing Up the Grave
Chapter 23 Blowing Up the Grave
Faced with that bottomless, dark tunnel, everyone instinctively held their breath and gripped their weapons tightly.
The torchlight flickered at the edge of the cave entrance, but could not illuminate the depths, as if a ferocious beast lurked there, ready to devour its prey.
"I'll scout ahead." Old Hu pulled out a pheasant from somewhere, tied it around the ankle, and stuffed it inside.
The rope was slowly lowered for more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters) before stopping.
Everyone stared nervously at the taut rope.
Hu Laosan waited a moment, then slowly began to pull the rope back.
Soon, the pheasant was dragged out.
Its feathers were covered in dust and cobwebs, making it look somewhat disheveled, but it was still lively and energetic, flapping its wings in fear and emitting sharp cries.
"It seems there's no deadly poison gas or traps near the cave entrance," Old Hu said, tossing aside the pheasant. "But the dirt under the monster's fingernails definitely came from here."
Upon hearing this, Wu Zhichong's gaze swept across the room, finally settling on a thin, small servant.
"You," Wu Zhichong pointed at him, "go inside and check the situation."
The servant's face turned pale instantly, and his legs began to tremble. His lips quivered as he tried to say something, but he dared not disobey Wu Zhichong's orders. His eyes were filled with fear and pleading.
Huang Shujian frowned: "No need."
The servant felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and almost collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with gratitude as he looked at Huang Shujian.
"Just stuff the explosives in."
"If one pack isn't enough, stuff in two. If two packs aren't enough, stuff in three."
"No matter how precious the gold and silver treasures inside are, they are not as precious as the lives of our brothers."
Upon hearing this, not only the thin servant who was mentioned, but all the servants around him began to look at Huang Shujian differently.
The initial awe has been replaced by genuine trust and gratitude.
Wu Zhichong was taken aback for a moment, then nodded: "Young Master is right! I'll go prepare right away!"
He immediately ordered a few people to go to the carriage and unload the homemade explosives and fuses he had brought.
Taking advantage of this moment, Huang Shujian called Hu Laosan to his side: "Master Hu, in your opinion, besides that monster, what other dangers might be in this tomb?"
Old Hu rubbed his hands together: "Reporting to the young master..."
"This type of tomb is much less dangerous than the tombs of kings and nobles."
"Even if there are things there, they're most likely wild beasts mutated by the damp, corpse-like atmosphere of the tomb."
He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice even further: "There's another possibility... it's a zongzi (rice dumpling)."
"Zongzi?" Huang Shujian's gaze sharpened.
"They're dead people who've turned into zombies," Hu Laosan explained, a hint of fear on his face.
"Some corpses, due to the feng shui of their burial site, resentment before death, or some other reason, do not decompose after death, possess immense strength, have poisonous fingernails, and enjoy sucking the yang energy and blood essence of the living; they are extremely ferocious!"
As he spoke, he pulled over his bulging satchel and began rummaging through it.
Several black donkey hooves wrapped tightly in oiled paper, a small jar of dark-colored, fishy-smelling black dog blood, a bag of plump glutinous rice grains, a roll of red thread soaked in cinnabar, and a peach wood dagger that looked quite old...
All of these are folk remedies for controlling zombies and evil spirits.
Huang Shujian nodded approvingly: "Master Hu has made thorough preparations."
He then turned to Hu Wan, who was waiting nearby: "Hu Wan, take a few men and find some sturdy fishing nets, the stronger the better. Also prepare a few buckets of kerosene and plenty of torches."
Hu Wan quickly agreed and turned to make arrangements.
Old Hu's eyes lit up: "Young Master, you're brilliant! That thing is most afraid of sunlight and fire!"
Huang Shujian looked up at the sky; the sun was setting in the west, and it would soon be dark.
Before long, Hu Wan and his men brought several bundles of large-mesh fishing nets woven from a mixture of coarse hemp and iron wire, as well as several barrels of kerosene with a pungent smell.
The number of torches was doubled, illuminating the area around the tomb as bright as day.
Wu Zhichong's side is also ready.
"Sizzle—" The fuse burst into flames and burned rapidly.
"Shove it in!" Wu Zhichong growled.
Ma Yongzhen took the lit explosive charge and quickly pushed it deep into the tunnel. Then everyone retreated rapidly to find cover.
"Boom—!"
A deep, muffled thud came from underground, and the ground beneath our feet shook violently!
A stream of murky air, carrying mud and gravel, spewed from the entrance of the tomb.
Smoke and dust filled the air.
After the dust settled slightly, everyone peered out and saw that the entrance to the tomb had widened a bit and some soil had collapsed, but the overall structure still seemed quite stable and the tomb had not collapsed.
"Damn, it's pretty sturdy!" Wu Zhichong spat. "Keep frying it!"
The second explosive charge was ignited and inserted deeper.
"boom!"
The ground shook again.
The third one...
The fourth one...
It seemed that the fuse burned for an unusually long time until the fifth explosive charge was lit and inserted.
Everyone held their breath and waited.
"boom--!"
A deafening roar, several times more powerful than before, suddenly erupted from the ground! It was like an earth dragon turning over!
"Snap... Splash..."
Amidst the violent tremors, the ground where the tomb was located finally gave way and collapsed, creating a large pit!
Gravel and soil cascaded down like a waterfall, and dust billowed into the sky!
Everyone was shaken so badly they staggered, their ears ringing.
"Cough cough cough..."
The smoke and dust made people cough.
After a while, the dust gradually settled.
The crowd, still shaken, gathered around and saw that the original tomb-raiding hole was gone, replaced by a large pit nearly two zhang in diameter!
The bottom of the pit was pitch black, with only scattered clods of soil and broken bricks and stones.
Wu Zhichong roared, "Everyone! Load your guns! If anything shows up, shoot immediately!"
"Clang! Clang!" A sound of bolts being pulled back and chambered.
Dozens of rifles and Mauser pistols, their dark muzzles all pointed at the deep crater, created an atmosphere of extreme tension.
However, once the smoke and dust completely dissipated, the bottom of the pit was utterly silent.
Only a musty, cold air, mixed with a faint smell of gunpowder, slowly rose from the bottom of the pit.
Wu Zhichong waited for a while, and seeing that there was indeed no movement, he waved his hand and said, "Move away the collapsed rubble!"
Some of the servants put down their guns, picked up the shovels and crowbars they had brought, and began to carefully clear the rubble from the pit opening and slowly dig downwards.
The soil and bricks were gradually removed, and a corner of the tomb chamber was slowly revealed.
The musty smell in the air grew stronger and stronger.
suddenly!
"Ah! Something's there!" a servant who was bending down to move stones cried out in alarm.
A small black shadow suddenly darted out from the gap between two rubble like lightning, brushing past the servant's cheek, leaving only a blur in its wake.
With a soft "rip!", the servant staggered backward, clutching his face, blood seeping from between his fingers!
"What is that?!"
"Where?!"
"Fire! Fire now!"
This sudden attack threw the already tense crowd into chaos!
Some people looked around in terror, while others instinctively pulled the trigger!
"Bang! Bang!" Sporadic gunshots rang out, hitting the earth and rocks, scattering sparks and further exacerbating the chaos.