Da Guoguo strapped the package onto himself, tying a slipknot. He then followed the group’s ascent. The fact that he, previously injured, could now move with such agility somewhat startled Young Master Liu. Frankly, witnessing this made him almost believe the legend of Nuwa creating humans.

Snapping back to reality, Young Master Liu found himself alone at the cave mouth. Looking up, Da Guoguo and Cai Qingchong had vanished, apparently having already climbed onto the stone slab. Su Yougui had reached the base of the stone slab and was preparing to swing over the edge, while Fan Debiao and Jackson had moved to the middle of the central stone pillar. Without hesitation, Young Master Liu leaped and began climbing the pillar himself.

Since the pillar was carved with numerous designs, climbing was remarkably easy, especially since he was unburdened. In no time, he caught up with Fan Debiao and Jackson.

Young Master Liu sidled up to Fan Debiao, grumbling, “Damn it, you’re not much of a pal, not even calling out for me when you got up here!”

Fan Debiao replied, “Who said I didn’t call? You were spacing out below. Hey, brother, why are you always daydreaming?”

Young Master Liu pondered for a moment, then said to Fan Debiao, “Biaozi, I feel like something about our entry into this place… is off.”

Fan Debiao scoffed, “What’s off? You were unconscious for a while; did waking up make you superstitious? Tell me clearly what’s wrong. We’ve been through thick and thin; we’re brothers. Don’t keep anything bottled up.”

Young Master Liu shook his head. “I can’t exactly pinpoint what’s wrong, but my gut tells me this is far more complicated than it appears on the surface.”

Fan Debiao spat, “Gut feeling? Hell! Gut feelings are worth squat. If your intuition were any good, you’d be better off intuiting what treasure is inside that horned coffin—that would be more direct.”

“Hey, what are you two doing down there? Hurry up and climb! There are good things up here,” Jackson called, poking his head over the stone slab toward Young Master Liu and Fan Debiao. It turned out that this foreign lad Jackson had already reached the top while the two were talking.

Fan Debiao turned back, “Don’t overthink it. In an ancient tomb, treasure is king. We grab Zhang Jiao’s loot and leave, and there won't be anything wrong.” With that, he began climbing toward the stone slab.

Young Master Liu thought that perhaps he was indeed overthinking things, maybe the mysterious atmosphere of the tomb was getting to him. He usually indulged in baseless rumination when idle. Shaking his head with a slight smile, he chased after Fan Debiao onto the stone pillar.

Just as Young Master Liu reached the bottom of the pillar, Fan Debiao swiftly hooked a leg over and flipped neatly onto the slab. Young Master Liu grabbed the slab with both hands, trying to emulate Fan Debiao’s move, but his feet slipped, leaving him dangling in mid-air. Fortunately, his arm strength was decent enough to keep him from falling. Although the pillar wasn’t far from the slab’s edge, flipping up from below was no easy feat. Fan Debiao’s swiftness earlier was likely spurred by Jackson’s shout about “good things”; the fellow truly seemed like someone who’d risk his life for money.

This wasn’t the time for contemplation. Young Master Liu mustered every ounce of strength he possessed. After a fierce struggle, he finally hauled himself onto the slab. Sitting down, panting heavily, a nervous tic made him shuffle slightly forward, terrified of slipping off.

He touched his forehead; it felt cool. He broke into a cold sweat just climbing a pillar. It seemed he had indeed grown significantly weaker over the past few days!

Young Master Liu scanned his surroundings first. Nothing particularly remarkable—just natural stone walls, except for a stone opening about as tall as a man, which was quite eerie. It felt as though a pair of icy eyes were staring out from within. He took one look and dared not stare any longer.

He rubbed his temples to clear his head and happened to see Fan Debiao pointing at the coffin, cursing Jackson, “Damn it, you said there were good things! This moss-covered stone sarcophagus is what you call a good thing?”

Young Master Liu stood and approached the coffin. If this thing held any value, then he could just pick up some random scrap rock outside and sell it for money. Perhaps Jackson mistook this massive green box for a treasure upon first sight.

Young Master Liu examined it closely. The box was over two meters long and more than half a person high. It was covered in moss, and he judged it worthless because through the gaps in the growth, he could see it was merely made of common stone.

Young Master Liu nudged Da Guoguo’s arm: “What in the world is Zhang Jiao up to? With so many mechanisms in this tomb, why is the sarcophagus so shabby?”

Da Guoguo narrowed his eyes. “You’ve all guessed wrong. This isn't shabby. Who has ever seen stone exposed to the air for millennia without decomposing? I suspect this coffin holds another secret.” With that, he motioned for everyone to start scraping off the moss.

Following Da Guoguo’s orders, Cai Qingchong and Su Yougui grabbed their entrenching tools and set to work. With a few swift scrapes, the surface of the sarcophagus was cleared.

The surface showed nothing special, only the carving of a large tiger, identical to the jade pendant. However, once the moss was gone, they realized the stone sarcophagus was incredibly hard and smooth. Cai Qingchong had been scraping with significant force, and the shovel blades were not soft, yet they only left tiny scratches on the surface.

Da Guoguo leaned in for a closer look, examining the coffin for a while, then declared, “I was right; this stone is Profound Iron Ore, the raw form of Profound Iron.”

Upon hearing the coffin was made of Profound Iron Ore, Fan Debiao’s energy surged. He and Jackson began hacking at the sarcophagus with their entrenching tools. In just a few swings, all the moss was cleared, revealing the complete coffin in full view.

The carvings on the other sides depicted a dragon coiling around the sarcophagus. The ninth dragon was indeed on the coffin; it was now literally a “Nine Dragons Supporting the Corpse.” Oddly, however, a human face was carved in the center of each side. The faces were round, possessing eyes and a mouth, but no nose.

Da Guoguo was greatly surprised to see these faces. “This is the style of a Western Zhou sarcophagus. In the Eastern Han period, these face-carved coffins were a very inauspicious symbol. Could this not be Zhang Jiao’s coffin? But how did so many items from the Western Zhou end up here?”

Hearing Da Guoguo say the coffin was from the Western Zhou, Young Master Liu’s mind became a jumble—an ancient tomb of indeterminate era, then Zhang Jiao’s tomb, and now a Western Zhou sarcophagus. These things were not from the same period; how could they be gathered in one place?

Fan Debiao declared, “Whether it’s Zhang Jiao or a Western Zhou coffin, let’s just open it. If the funerary objects are from the Western Zhou, they’ll be worth more.”

Jackson chimed in from the side, “Yeah, the Western Zhou Dynasty predates the Han Dynasty in China; the things inside would have greater archaeological value.”

Da Guoguo pondered for a moment, “Blast it, who cares anymore—let’s open the coffin.”

Fan Debiao cheered twice, “Roger that! The Long March of 800 li is about to reach victory, comrades, advance!” He then started searching for a seam in the sarcophagus.

After searching for a while, Fan Debiao cursed, “Damn it, this coffin is sealed tight! How do we open it?”

Da Guoguo grunted in acknowledgment and moved to the coffin to scrutinize it closely, running his hands over every surface. When he reached the side carved with the tiger, he paused, examining it carefully. “Da Shao, bring me the tiger-shaped pendant you took from the female corpse’s neck.”

Young Master Liu was slightly surprised, wondering what Da Guoguo needed it for. He pulled the tiger jade pendant from his pocket, walked over, and handed it to Da Guoguo, asking, “What do you need this for?”

Da Guoguo pointed to the tiger carving on the coffin and said, “Look, the mechanism of this coffin lies right here.”

Young Master Liu looked closely and felt a surge of both shock and joy. The tiger’s head had a recessed carving that was an exact match for the tiger pendant. Could this jade pendant be the key to opening the coffin? It seemed fated that this group would open it. He thought that if he hadn’t been observant enough at the time, they would never have opened the coffin. But since the coffin required the tiger pendant to open, it had to be connected to Zhang Jiao.

Saying this, Da Guoguo inserted the jade pendant into the matching indentation on the coffin. It fit tightly; the rope attached to the pendant couldn't even be pulled out. Yet, the sarcophagus remained motionless. Seeing no reaction, Da Guoguo twisted the pendant’s cord. A series of interconnected mechanical sounds followed, then a loud boom, and one side of the sarcophagus automatically slid aside. Da Guoguo immediately warned everyone to be alert and quickly retreated to the side, as did the others without delay. Thus, the coffin was opened.

Seeing the sarcophagus open, Fan Debiao rushed forward like a shot, shouting, “The fruits of revolutionary success, I’m coming!” His head plunged straight into the coffin. Because his movement was so abrupt and his own mass generated significant inertia, he nearly tumbled completely inside. Fortunately, Su Yougui was quick enough to grab the back of Fan Debiao’s shirt and yanked him back with force.

Witnessing this, Young Master Liu and Jackson both burst out laughing. Young Master Liu walked up to Fan Debiao and teased, “Feeling good? You almost became burial goods for the mummy inside.” Hearing Young Master Liu’s jab, everyone present laughed.

Fan Debiao spat, “Damn it, what burial goods? It’s a secret chamber in there!”