Da Guoguo chuckled and addressed Young Master Liu, "What box? That down there is a sarcophagus. Whose sarcophagus would be placed here? Everyone really needs to go down and take a look."

Saying that, Da Guoguo instructed Cai Qingchong to take out the nylon rope. Cai Qingchong replied with resignation, "Big Brother, I only brought a few meters of rope this time. I figured I'd use it to deal with the grave robber's tunnel."

Hearing this, Da Guoguo said, "Don't blame you. No one expected a cliff like this to suddenly appear. It looks like everyone will have to climb down with their bare hands."

When Da Guoguo mentioned climbing down without ropes, Fan Debiao became quite unwilling, insisting they must go back to buy a few long hemp ropes.

Da Guoguo slapped Fan Debiao on the head, "Damn it, is this all you've got? Where's the fighting spirit you had in Harbin? Didn't you just see the cliff? There are plenty of protruding and recessed spots on it; climbing will be quite easy."

Young Master Liu said to Fan Debiao, "Fan Debiao, are you even a man?"

Provoked by Young Master Liu, Fan Debiao became agitated: "You bastard, you're not a man?" With that, he rolled up his sleeves and started to climb down, absolutely refusing to be outdone by Young Master Liu.

Da Guoguo caught Fan Debiao's arm, "Don't be so impulsive. If we’re going down, we need to prepare first." He then told everyone to put on their gloves and tuck their daggers into their belts for any sudden need.

Once everyone had prepared as Da Guoguo instructed, Da Guoguo fired three emergency flares upwards in succession, then took the lead in the descent.

As they were climbing down, Young Master Liu’s foot seemed to step on something. Focusing his eyes, he realized it was one of the yong figures they had seen from above the cliff. Now much closer, the yong appeared even clearer.

It turned out the yong was made of bronze, intricately covered with patterns of thunder and cloud motifs. The entire bronze yong was suspended from the cliff by bronze chains. Despite weathering a thousand years of change, the bronze yong retained its luster, showing not a single trace of rust.

At this point, Da Guoguo and the others also encountered the bronze yong. Da Guoguo examined it and remarked, "This thing looks like a product of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Anyone wealthy enough to afford bronze on this scale during the Eastern Han period would certainly be above the noble class. But why would such a rich person be buried in such a desolate place?"

Upon hearing Da Guoguo say this was from the Eastern Han period, Fan Debiao’s eyes fixated on the bronze yong, gleaming with avarice.

Hearing Da Guoguo’s thoughts, Young Master Liu found it exceedingly strange and asked, "Da Guoguo, what is this yong for? If it's for human sacrifice, shouldn't it be a human effigy? Why make it look like a giant beehive? Is the tomb owner sacrificing bees?"

Da Guoguo shook his head, "I don't understand this either. This tomb, damn it, simply doesn't follow conventional rules. Even though I have knowledge of the layouts and Feng Shui principles of tombs from various eras, I can’t figure out the intent here."

Fan Debiao interjected from the side, "Who cares if it follows the rules or not? Let's hurry down, open the sarcophagus, and everything will become clear."

Da Guoguo nodded, "Since this tomb is so bizarre, we can only take it one step at a time."

Just as everyone resumed their descent, the emergency flares suddenly burned out. Instantly, the group was plunged into absolute darkness.

Suddenly, a faint clinking sound reached Young Master Liu's ears. It sounded like something was striking the bronze yong. At first, it was a simple rhythm, but then more and more sounds joined in, until there were countless noises overwhelming them.

The sound made Young Master Liu's whole body go numb. Da Guoguo's expression shifted, and he released another flare. The area was illuminated once more.

The five men stared around in stunned silence. They saw that the bronze yong figures dotting the cliff face were vibrating continuously; the noise they had heard was the sound of the bronze yong figures striking the rock.

Due to the violent shaking of the bronze yong, the group nearly lost their grip and fell from the cliff. Everyone clung tightly to the protrusions on the rock face. Just then, the flare extinguished again.

Simultaneously with the flare dying, the vibration of the bronze yong stopped. Since both of Young Master Liu's feet were planted on a ledge, he freed one hand, pulled out his flashlight, and shone it toward a nearby bronze yong.

He watched as the honeycomb-shaped bronze yong slowly split open along a central line, revealing something red inside. Looking closely, Young Master Liu was utterly terrified, nearly losing his grip and plunging into the abyss.

In the darkness, suspended on a hundred-meter-high cliff like ants clinging to the rock, the light from the flashlight darted wildly around them.

The bronze yong slowly opened, fully exposing the red object within. It was precisely the flayed corpse they had seen in the tomb chamber above. The body looked as if it had been skinned alive, only appearing more horrific due to the pecking marks left by the Yinglong. Its two bulging eyes stared straight at Young Master Liu, and Young Master Liu stared straight back.

At that moment, Fan Debiao next to him shrieked in a strained, high-pitched voice, "Holy hell, what is this thing stuffed inside the bronze?!"

Following Fan Debiao's scream, Da Guoguo fired two more flares.

When the flares ignited, Young Master Liu looked around and saw that all the bronze yong figures encircling them had opened, revealing flayed corpses inside. As if these bodies were all watching them, a chill ran down their spines under the collective gaze.

Young Master Liu stuck out his tongue, "These really are human effigies, but they look like people skinned alive just moments ago. Where could so many fresh bodies come from?"

Da Guoguo glanced at the bronze yong beside him, "No, these aren't recently deceased people. Look, there's a layer of white substance inside the bronze yong. These bodies must have been preserved inside these figures using this white substance after being flayed!" Da Guoguo pointed inside the bronze yong.

Upon hearing Da Guoguo finish speaking, Young Master Liu quickly looked where he pointed. There was indeed a layer of white, viscous ** substance. Upon closer inspection, this substance appeared to be subtly flowing.

Young Master Liu asked Da Guoguo, "Da Guoguo, what exactly is this stuff? How can it keep corpses from decomposing for a thousand years, yet the skin had to be stripped off?"

Da Guoguo shook his head, "I'm not sure exactly what this white substance is, but it's clear that it serves a preservative function. Many medical texts and remedies from the Eastern Han period have been lost to this day, like Hua Tuo's Qing Nang Shu or Yu Ji's Yao Fang Lue. It seems their preservation techniques back then were quite advanced."

Cai Qingchong examined the corpses closely, "No, these bodies weren't put into the yong after being flayed. Instead, after the bodies were placed inside the yong, their skin was corroded away by the white substance inside."

Fan Debiao, who had intended to probe the white substance with his finger, immediately flinched back in fright upon hearing Cai Qingchong mention corrosion, quickly withdrawing his hand and hurriedly putting his gloves back on.

Seeing Fan Debiao’s reaction, Young Master Liu almost burst out laughing. Fan Debiao composed himself and asked Cai Qingchong, "How did you know this substance was corrosive?"

Cai Qingchong smiled faintly and replied, "This isn't the time to ask that. Even if you knew, it wouldn't bring any good news!"

Feeling rebuffed, Fan Debiao grumbled inwardly, "Hmph! So what if he knows it's corrosive? I don't care to know such things anyway."

Da Guoguo remarked from the side, "Why the hell would they bother with so many corpses here? Even if it were for human sacrifice, there’s no need to open the yong and let the bodies 'air out'!"

The flares were gradually dying down. Just as Fan Debiao was about to launch another one, Da Guoguo suddenly stopped him: "Shh, quiet. Listen carefully!"

They quieted down and listened intently. They could hear a very faint sound echoing around them, like a group of children whispering. The sound seemed to move closer and farther away, sending chills down their spines.

Fan Debiao whispered, "What the hell is that noise? Did those corpses come back to life?"

Listening to the sounds, Young Master Liu felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had heard it somewhere before. Suddenly, inspiration struck him, and he exclaimed in shock, "That’s the sound of the Yinglong! Up above, there was only one calling, but now there’s a whole flock! And they’re all around us!"

Fan Debiao refused to believe that Yinglongs were swarming around them, clicking his tongue dismissively: "Didn't we check the entire area when we first came in? Where would all these Yinglongs come from?" Saying that, he snatched a flare from Da Guoguo's pack and fired it off.

In the brief flash of light illuminating the surroundings, everyone froze in horror. Countless Yinglongs were circling near them. Water dripped from the feathers of these Yinglongs, and most of them were actively pecking at the flesh of the corpses.