?

  I held up a lighter and observed the surroundings. Suddenly, I thought that if this was really a burial pit, there must be a passage connecting to the tomb chamber.

  The practice of burying slaves with their masters originated in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Although there were also many burial pits for slaves before the Shang and Zhou dynasties, most of them were not recorded, so they cannot be used as historical evidence. In ancient China, the left was always considered superior to the right, which was considered inferior. This tradition was also followed in burials, with slaves being buried on the southeast side of the tomb, a position considered extremely yin and lowly. In order for these slave spirits to serve their masters well, a passageway connecting the main tomb was developed after the Qin and Han dynasties, known as the "ghost road" in the Book of Burial.

  The famous Terracotta Army is a kind of burial pit, only at that time there was no ghost road, so the Terracotta Warriors and Qin Mausoleum are far apart. And this area in front of me, if it's really a burial pit, may have a ghost road leading to the underground palace.

  An idea suddenly sprang up in my mind, and I was greatly invigorated. The heart that had been tightened with fear also relaxed, but this lighter may not last for long, and there is always the danger of running out of oil at any time. What I need to do now is to make a long-lasting light source as soon as possible, and then find that ghostly road.

  As I thought of this, my gaze fell on those corpses. There were male and female corpses, old and young, and the clothes on their bodies had long been integrated with the corpse. Due to the cold natural environment and high-altitude climate here, these corpses have gone through thousands of years and are still lifelike, even the eyeballs have not shrunk.

  Under the dim light, there were several corpses' eyeballs staring straight at me, making my hair stand on end. With my whole body soaked and a chill running down to my bones, I didn't dare think any more and hastily limped around to search among the corpses for materials that could serve as a light source.

  The wound on my foot had lost its pain due to the cold, and I limped forward for over ten meters, still only seeing dense corpses everywhere, without even a speck of sawdust. The flame from the lighter was sometimes bright, sometimes dim, and I didn't know when it would go out. My heart was anxious like a burning fire, and if there weren't so many corpses around me, I almost wanted to curse my mother.

  If the lighter goes out, I'll be stuck here in the dark with a pile of dumplings. If I'm not careful, one or two lively ones will try to communicate with me emotionally. The thought alone makes my whole body shudder and break out in a cold sweat.

  The lighter's flame was flickering even more fiercely, and I had already walked about 20 meters away from the water's edge towards the shore. When I turned back, I couldn't see that patch of water surface anymore. Not only did I not find anything to use as a torch, but I also didn't see a single shadow of the ghostly path.

  This burial pit is also unknown how big it is. Just the corpses I've seen so far are no less than a hundred, and I don't know how many slaves were killed when it was first built.

  At this time, my gaze fell on a very small corpse. Judging from the body shape, this corpse should be that of a child, about six or seven years old when he died. However, from my angle, under his raised neck, there was a ferocious scar, with purple flesh rolled up.

  The child's face still retains the terrified expression at the time of death, and although the flesh has withered, that twisted expression is still shocking to look at. The ancient people created many miracles that cannot be explained until now, such as the bronze tree and the bronze gate, which inspire awe while also seeming foolish.

  This child, who was once cut and bled by someone, thrown into an underground full of corpses, must have been filled with resentment and fear. In my heart, I felt a sense of sympathy for the fate of this corpse, but at the same time, a crazy idea emerged.

  My gaze shifted to the child's corpse's hand, his hand seemed to have been chopped off before death, without a palm, only a bulging arm, the arm had shrunk and dried up, forming a dark purple color, but the fat inside still hadn't completely dissipated, if it was ignited, it could burn for a long time.

  As soon as this thought emerged, I shuddered all over. I didn't know how I could have such a terrible idea, but when I saw the fire that was about to go out at any moment, thinking of what I would face next, my heart felt not only fear, but also an inexplicable frenzy.

  I don't want to die, dying here is too terrifying.

  In my mind, I saw a picture of my own corpse sleeping with these thousand-year-old dumplings, and I was almost scared to death by my own imagination. My eyes were fixed on the child's corpse, and my heart was struggling violently. When I thought about pulling off his arm to use as a flashlight, I felt a sensation in my palm, stiff but soft, with a faint smell... But just for a moment, I walked towards the child's corpse, and at this moment, I suddenly understood the madness of that German team back then. When people are in extreme fear and despair, they can really do anything.

  My throat is stiff, my outstretched hand is trembling, looking at the child's corpse with a twisted painful face, I couldn't help but feel my throat tighten, although there was a voice in my heart constantly urging me to make a quick decision, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

  These two years have been a real struggle, and although I've gained some weight, the thought of using corpses to light up the place still makes me shudder.

  I stared for a long time, not daring to make a move, putting on a calm expression to give myself psychological hints, but my hands were shaking to death. Now like this, if Fatso sees it, he will definitely laugh at me for three years.

  Just then, a faint crackling sound appeared in my ear, which was the sound of the lighter flame jumping.

  I hastily lifted my head and saw that the flames had already shrunk by half compared to before, although they hadn't turned green yet, but I estimated it would soon reach its limit.

  I saw this, and I couldn't care about being afraid anymore. In my heart, I scolded myself severely, then immediately kowtowed to the child's corpse and said: "Little friend, I'm currently trapped here and need to borrow your body for a moment. I hope you'll be magnanimous and won't hold it against me. If I can get out of here alive, I promise to find the best Tibetan trumpet player to help you attain enlightenment."

  I used to think of myself as a young man of the new era, with Marxist theory in my mind. I never believed in ghosts or gods and thought that people who sought divine intervention were simple-minded and had been poisoned by feudal superstition. But over the past few years, I've encountered more than ten instances of ghostly encounters, and it's become as common as eating a meal to see a ghost hitting the wall. If anyone still wants to talk to me about atheism, I'll punch them directly.

  I finished speaking to the corpse, and there was a moment of silence around me. The flame from the lighter danced nervously, but at least it didn't go out. I said "thank you" to the zongzi (glutinous rice dumpling), then gritted my teeth and, suppressing the trembling of my nerves, reached out to touch the corpse's arm. Trying to ignore the eerie feeling in my hand, I used all my strength to pull, and that withered arm was torn off by me. I quickly lit it on fire with the lighter.

  Although it was frozen stiff, the fatty tissue mixed with fabric ignited quickly, and at this moment, the specially equipped three-proof lighter finally lit up with a green light, which flashed dimly and went out with a "poof".

  The sound is extremely faint, but in this dead silent space, it is exceptionally clear. That weak voice seems to be in your nerve endings, making people feel a bit eerie.

  I held the "torch" and watched the dancing flames, suddenly feeling a chill run down my spine. I had never thought that I would do something so terrifying. Subconsciously, I looked at the child's corpse, and in an instant, I met a pair of icy eyes staring back at me.

  My heart skipped a beat and I felt limp all over.

  Just now, the child's corpse was clearly leaning back its neck, how did it lower its head? Suddenly, all the hairs on my body stood up, and I retreated a few steps in a daze, staring at that broken child's corpse with dead eyes. Perhaps I used too much force just now, and the remaining three limbs of the child's corpse also looked like they would break at any time, making my scalp feel numb.

  At once, without caring about anything, I held up a torch and ran away. At the same time, behind me, there was a sound of bones rubbing against each other, as if someone who had not moved for too long was moving their joints.

  I already knew without looking, it must be that thousand-year-old ice dumpling resurrecting, I suddenly had an urge to scold my mother. Just now didn't we agree on something good, and you didn't even resist, what are you stirring up trouble for at this time?

  Suddenly, I remembered the lighter that had gone out, and in an instant, a spark of inspiration struck - could it be that the lighter... had been blown out?

  At this time, the sound of bones rubbing against each other behind me was getting closer and closer. The human flesh torch in my hand at this moment was the only source of light, and I couldn't give it up, so I could only flee with a fart and urine flowing.

  In the past, in Douli, there was always someone who would pull me through at critical moments. But this time, I knew that no one would be able to pull me through again.

  There is a psychologist in the US who says that when people are extremely frightened, they will forget about the things that scared them and enter a state of frenzy. I think I'm not far from that state right now. At first, I was still dodging the corpses under my feet as I ran, but by the end, I was almost stepping on these bodies as I ran.

  At this time, a thought suddenly popped up in my mind. When Laozi was so fearless and bold, no one appreciated it, which is somewhat unfair to the scene.

  I've had enough, I even thought of jumping off a cliff, damn it, I must have been stimulated too much and my nerves are all messed up, to actually have such an unreliable idea, absolutely infected by that dead fat guy.

  I ran all the way with a torch, stumbling and staggering for over a hundred meters, but still didn't see the end.

  I felt a chill in my heart, and I thought something was off. The scale of this burial pit is too grand. The legend that Sangba told us dates back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. Even if it were the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty, they wouldn't have been able to afford such a large-scale burial.

  So, who was buried in this heavenly coffin? What is the purpose of such a large-scale burial pit? At this moment, I couldn't think too much, and I could only run forward with all my might. I didn't even have time to look back, and all I could hear was that thing getting closer and closer, accompanied by the sound of bones rubbing against each other, and a burnt smell.

  It wasn't until then that I realized it was the smell of burning human flesh. This thing had been burning for half a day, yet there was no sign of shrinkage. Just as I thought this, I felt a pungent smell coming from behind my ear, which rushed straight into my nostrils. My heart skipped a beat and I reflexively crouched down, only to hear a whizzing sound beside my ear, as if something had just flown past my head.

  I sensed that thing in front of me, scaring me to hastily retreat. As a result, I had just run one step when my foot transmitted a severe pain. The wound that was scratched by the radish began to bleed again.

  At this time, I found that not far in front of me was the end of the tomb pit, and on the dark stone wall there was a grayish-white tomb door. The tomb door had a big hole in the middle, obviously blown open by explosives or something similar. My heart was shocked, someone had been inside before, whose team was it?