Chapter 3 （Corpse-Eating Rats）
1087 Words
The night was dark, the wind howled, and a waning crescent moon hung in the sky.
They had dug about a meter down when an entire black tombstone was fully revealed. The inscription confirmed the identity of the tomb's occupant—a Tang Dynasty princess named Xiu Wen.
Historically, the tradition of elaborate burials began in the Spring and Autumn period. The higher a person's status, the more extravagant the burial, with a greater number of burial items included. This was heavily influenced by Confucian thought, as the ancients believed that the more grandiose the burial, the better it would protect the descendants.
The most "excessive" were the Han dynasty tombs, where the burial chambers were almost filled to the brim with various burial items.
After another ten minutes of digging, Chen Fuwang suddenly felt something soft under his shovel.
Zhao Yang brought the lantern closer and saw that it was a rolled-up, tattered straw mat. A foul stench hit him, nearly making him retch.
He quickly covered his mouth and nose; it was the smell of a decomposing body.
They hadn't even reached the burial chamber, yet the stench was already so strong. However, this wasn't surprising in a place like this. Many poor villagers who couldn't afford proper burials would wrap their dead in straw mats and bury them shallowly in this mass grave.
It was clear that the straw mat contained a corpse, and it was severely decayed.
"Dammit!" Zhao Yang cursed internally. The entrance to the tomb was right below, and this corpse had been buried directly above it. Could it have been trying to absorb some of the good fortune from this auspicious site?
"Keep digging!" Zhao Yang steeled himself. Grave-robbing was a profession that walked the line between the living and the dead. He had already decided to pursue this path, so he couldn't shy away from situations like this. It was a test of his courage.
Chen Fuwang gritted his teeth, tore a piece of cloth from his tattered shirt to cover his mouth and nose, and continued digging.
He had only taken a couple of shovels when Zhao Yang suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet give way. The area around them, about two meters in diameter, suddenly collapsed.
Boom… The sound echoed loudly, and Zhao Yang and Chen Fuwang, already on edge, were caught completely off guard and plunged down.
"Ah… Young Master, help me… help me…" Chen Fuwang screamed, his voice high-pitched with fear. He was usually brave, but this was too much for him.
Zhao Yang was also terrified, cold sweat running down his body as he felt like he had fallen into a bottomless abyss.
Fortunately, the collapse wasn't too deep, about three or four meters, with the earth burying most of their bodies.
Before Zhao Yang could fully react, he heard a sudden, sharp screeching sound in his ear. The sound was piercing.
The lantern had been lost during the collapse, leaving them in total darkness.
Half-buried in the dirt, Zhao Yang turned his head and nearly wet himself in fear.
Around the collapsed pit, there were about a dozen large black shapes, bigger than house cats. Although they were right in front of his face, it was too dark to see what they were. He could only see their glowing, green eyes and sharp fangs as they squealed menacingly.
Zhao Yang was buried in the dirt up to his waist, unable to move.
"Gh-ghost… ghost… ghost…" Chen Fuwang stammered, his voice shaking. He grabbed his Mauser pistol and started firing wildly around him.
Bang… Bang bang bang… bang bang…
Chen Fuwang fired six shots, the sound of gunfire echoing far across the mass grave. The muzzle flash lit up the dark pit.
The shots had the desired effect. The creatures around them, with their sharp fangs, panicked and scrambled out of the pit, disappearing into the night at a rapid speed.
It was a narrow escape!
Seeing the large black shapes flee, Zhao Yang exhaled heavily, feeling as though he had just survived a disaster. He couldn't help but think, "Grave robbing is definitely not for the faint of heart!"
There were still about thirty minutes left until the graveyard shift.
Time was running out.
Zhao Yang and Chen Fuwang quickly dug themselves out of the dirt, managing to find the lost lantern in the process.
The lantern's oil hadn't spilled, so Zhao Yang struck a match and relit it. The dim light once again illuminated their surroundings.
The collapsed pit was about two square meters in size. Zhao Yang's keen eyes caught sight of another dark shape near the edge.
In the weak light, Zhao Yang finally saw the creature clearly. It was a giant rat, larger than a house cat, with two long, sharp teeth at least ten centimeters long. It had been shot in the stomach by Chen Fuwang, but it wasn't dead yet.
"Dammit, it's just a rat!" Chen Fuwang cursed, still pale from the fright. He picked up the shovel and vented his fear by striking the rat's head several times.
"Enough, let's focus on the job," Zhao Yang said calmly. "These rats have been feeding on corpses in the mass grave, which is why they've grown so large. The collapse was probably caused by their burrowing."
Zhao Yang took the lantern and walked around the pit, his sharp eyes quickly spotting a patch of blue bricks on the eastern side.
"Found it!"
Zhao Yang's hands trembled with excitement as he grabbed the shovel from Chen Fuwang and cleared the packed earth away.
A brick-walled tomb entrance appeared before them.
The tomb entrance seemed intact, likely untouched by other grave robbers.
The tomb door was adorned with intricate carvings of cranes among clouds, set against a celestial backdrop, a typical style of Tang Dynasty tomb architecture.
"Fuwang, set the explosives!" Zhao Yang's voice trembled slightly with excitement.
These tomb doors were usually sealed, and the only straightforward way to open them was with explosives.
It was just a shame to damage the beautiful murals.
Chen Fuwang quickly set up the explosives at the tomb entrance, laying out a fuse several meters long.
Once everything was in place, Chen Fuwang lit the fuse.
Boom… The explosion echoed loudly.
The blast was more powerful than Zhao Yang had anticipated, even making the ground twenty meters away tremble slightly.
Fortunately, the mass grave was far from any village or road, so they wouldn't alert the nearby security forces or warlord troops.
- Writer
