Hearing Liu Quansheng say this was the main burial chamber didn't bring much surprise, only a slight curiosity as to why the main chamber was situated in such a location. The 'bang-bang' sound of the wooden fish was gone now; the tomb was utterly silent.

Ge Mei looked around the chamber and asked them, "Since this is the main chamber, could the Coiling Dragon Dark Gallbladder be in here?"

I said, "Very likely. The treasure is probably in that coffin. Let's look around, and if there are no issues, we’ll prepare to open it."

Saying that, I glanced around and found that besides the murals, the coffin, and the four of us, there was nothing else in the entire chamber. However, when I raised my flashlight beam upward, I was immediately stunned.

The ceiling of the chamber was incredibly high, perhaps more than ten meters up. The four walls curved inward the higher they went, meeting at the very top in a space less than a cubic meter. It felt as if we had stepped inside a pagoda. The murals on the stone walls extended upward too, converging at the apex into the head of a monstrous snake.

The others craned their necks, murmuring occasionally. Lu Zong circled once, then asked us, "Do you think this place is a tomb chamber? I heard that only the remains of enlightened eminent monks are buried beneath pagodas. Could the person in this coffin also be a monk?"

I said, "It looks like this is likely a pagoda burial."

Ge Mei asked curiously, "What is a pagoda burial?"

I explained, "Pagoda burial is a very special form of interment. What's buried inside isn't a person, but a monster defined as a yao. Simply put, a pagoda burial is also a kind of grand Xiu Fen (Mound Grave), typically containing the carcasses of animals. This burial style is a suppressive formation. If ancient people feared certain yao causing trouble, they would inter those yao in a pagoda-shaped chamber like this, painting talismans on the walls to suppress them. It's like in the legends of The White Snake, where the old monk Fahai used Leifeng Pagoda to suppress the snake spirit Bai Suzhen. Legend says that during the Qing Dynasty, fishermen along the Yangtze River caught a giant, strange fish, feared it was a river demon, killed it, and buried it using the pagoda burial format."

Ge Mei nodded, then added, "So, what's buried in this coffin is likely some kind of animal."

Liu Quansheng chimed in, "Since this place is a Serpent's Mound, it probably holds the skeletal remains of a snake."

Lu Zong waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Heck! Whatever it is, as long as the treasure is inside, we grab it and get out."

I shrugged, pointing toward the slippery passage we had slid down, "The passage is too slick; leaving won't be easy. Did you forget how we got in here?"

Lu Zong then remembered we had fallen in, but the moment he saw the coffin, his desire to open it overshadowed everything, and he immediately waved off the danger. People are strange; they are exceptionally cautious when facing danger but quickly forget the pain once safe.

I shook my head with a wry smile. "Alright, alright. Since we are by the coffin, let's open it first. If we really get the Coiling Dragon Dark Gallbladder, we can figure out how to leave later."

With that, I called everyone over to take out their folding shovels and approach the coffin.

This coffin was encased in a large outer guo (outer sarcophagus), made of wood and coated in black lacquer. This guo looked heavy and square. Carved onto the lid was a winged serpent: its lower body coiled, its head raised high, its cavernous mouth open as if screeching at the sky. The artisan from back then was highly skilled; even the scales on the snake’s body were fully rendered. The wings on either side of its neck resembled those of a bird, their patterns intricately distributed. The entire winged serpent looked so lifelike it seemed ready to fly right off the lid.

Liu Quansheng clicked his tongue in admiration. "The realism in this carving is incredible. Ancient people were truly amazing."

Ge Mei also nodded, saying, "Yes, this winged serpent looks so real. It’s hard to believe such high-level carving existed in China so many years ago."

Lu Zong scratched his head then and said, "Say, if the coffin lid has a winged serpent carved on it, maybe what’s inside is a winged snake?"

I said, "Regardless of whether it’s a winged snake or not, after all these years, it’s just a pile of white bones. Enough talk, let’s open the coffin."

We stopped paying attention to the exquisite carving and all pitched in to push the outer lid. The lid was very heavy; it took all four of us great effort to move it. With a loud thud, the lid fell to the ground, suddenly revealing a large, pitch-black inner coffin.

This inner coffin was not much smaller than the outer guo, also pure black, reflecting no light even when the flashlight hit it. It was square, similar in shape to the outer guo. Shining the light inside, we found it wasn't sealed shut. We used our folding shovels to wedge into the seam and levered it open. The lid immediately sprang ajar.

Just as we were about to step back to avoid any grave miasma that might rush out, we discovered there was another, smaller coffin lying inside the first one.

Lu Zong frowned, wiping sweat from his shoulder, and grumbled, "Damn it, is it never-ending?"

I wiped my sweat too, admitting that opening coffins was not only a technical skill but also a physical exertion, especially with these oversized sarcophagi. I bent down to look inside and told everyone, "This is likely a double shell, called a Shuang Guo Guan—an outer shell and an inner shell, with the actual coffin inside the inner shell. However, this double-shell style is extremely rare. In ten years of tomb raiding, today is the first time I've had the honor of seeing one."

Ge Mei then said to me, "Brother Ouyang, Master encountered this kind of sarcophagus once. He said these Shuang Guo Guan often contain mechanisms, so we need to be careful."

I nodded. "Correct. Double-shell coffins frequently have lethal traps. Let's not rush to open it; let's examine it carefully first."

Saying that, I asked the others to step back, then bent down to inspect the coffin within the second layer. This inner coffin was about the size of a regular coffin, but unlike the two outer layers, it wasn't black; it was green. The coffin exuded a faint, unpleasant musty odor. I put on my gloves and slowly reached into the outer shell to feel the coffin.

The surface of the coffin was very smooth and ice-cold to the touch, feeling like I was touching a giant river stone. I slowly ran my hand over the entire surface without finding anything unusual. Just as I was about to check the bottom, a inexplicable sense of unease suddenly surged in my heart.

The feeling came out of nowhere but was undeniably present. I couldn't pinpoint what it was, only that a pair of venomous eyes seemed to be staring fiercely at me from the coffin! But I had just examined the entire coffin thoroughly; where were the eyes?

Feeling a chill down my spine, I didn't dwell on it and quickly retreated, returning to the others.

Seeing my expression change, Ge Mei quickly asked, "Brother Ouyang, what's wrong?"

I wiped sweat from my face and asked the group, "Do any of you feel that something is off?"

The three of them looked at each other and shook their heads in response to my question. Just as I was about to speak, that strange feeling returned, this time even stronger. Instinctively, the hairs on my arms stood up. My brain kept sending a signal: Danger lurked within that coffin!

Without thinking further, I quickly spread my arms and shielded the others against the stone wall, moving us away from the coffin. Everyone was confused and shot me questioning looks as they retreated. There was no time to explain; I just managed to say to them, "There seems to be a problem with the coffin..."

Before I could finish, a sharp 'bang-bang' of a wooden fish sounded from inside the coffin. My nerves were already taut, and this sudden sound startled me badly.

Ge Mei was most afraid of things like this. She covered her ears, crying out in a choked voice, "Why is someone knocking on the coffin?"

The sound of the wooden fish was quite loud, and listening closely, it seemed like something was indeed striking the wood! Ge Mei's fearful cries exacerbated the eerie atmosphere in the chamber. Initially, when we heard the wooden fish sound outside, we thought it was a mechanism in the outer circular passage, but now, the sound was clearly emanating from the coffin itself.

Given the strangeness of the noise, I dared not move and signaled the others to be cautious about any potential changes in the surroundings. Then I recalled that since this was a pagoda burial, what lay inside the coffin might truly be some kind of yao. Since we couldn't leave this chamber anytime soon, if some ghastly thing emerged from the coffin, things would get difficult.

The wooden fish sound came in bursts, and the frequency gradually quickened. Soon, my mind felt fuzzy, buzzing. It was then I realized the danger wasn't necessarily something emerging from the coffin, but the sound itself possessing an attack capability!

The knocking frequency kept accelerating. Each strike felt like it was hitting my very soul, causing my blood to surge and my heartbeat to race in rhythm with the wooden fish. Everyone was gradually losing their footing, their legs weakening, and they started covering their ears. But this did little good; the incessant knocking seemed amplified by the special geometry of this pagoda-like space, reaching a very specific sonic frequency. Even though our hands pressed painfully against our ears, we couldn't block the sound from invading.

Lu Zong was the first to break. He suddenly let out a loud roar, as if shouting could dispel the eerie, demonic sound. Seeing Lu Zong like this, I involuntarily felt the urge to shout too, to vent frantically. But then I saw Lu Zong's veins bulging; it seemed his entire body was expressing itself without restraint under the sound. Yet, this venting brought him no relief; instead, it pushed him close to the brink of madness.

Fearing Lu Zong would lose control, I ignored covering my own ears and rushed to his side, pulling his head onto my shoulder and patting his back repeatedly. I could feel his labored breathing from his rising and falling chest; he felt as if a thousand pounds were pressing down on him.

Suddenly, he roared again. His mouth was right next to my ear, and the shout nearly ruptured my eardrums. However, the loud cry right next to my ear counteracted a good deal of the demonic sound, and instantly, I felt much lighter.

I calmed down immediately, my mind clearing. I suddenly figured out why only Lu Zong was acting so abnormally. With this strange wooden fish sound, the harder you fight against it, the more easily you are influenced, sinking deeper until your mind completely collapses. Lu Zong had probably resisted too intensely from the start, shouting out to vent, which only made him more frantic.

Lu Zong was still roaring, and I could even feel him trying to pull away. Fearing he would break if this continued, I stopped thinking and brought my palm down hard on the back of his neck.

Lu Zong’s body went limp, and he collapsed. I helped him lie down and then turned to check on the other two.

Liu Quansheng was gripping his ears tightly. Although his body swayed precariously, he was continuously practicing abdominal breathing, using his diaphragm to force air into his lungs. This technique did keep him somewhat calm. Seeing Liu Quansheng was temporarily holding on, I rushed to help Ge Mei.

Ge Mei was starting to buckle under the pressure and was about to scream when I rushed over and pulled her into my arms. Patting her back, I told her, "Girl, don't resist. The more you resist, the worse it gets. Try to flow with the sound!"

Ge Mei shrieked, "Brother Ouyang, it hurts so much... so much!"

Patting her back, I said slowly, "Girl, don't resist. Relax, close your eyes, relax..."

Ge Mei was quick-witted and perceptive; she gradually calmed down, and her breathing slowed. Liu Quansheng also seemed to have figured out how to deal with the wooden fish sound. He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and continued his slow abdominal breathing.

By then, the frequency of the wooden fish sound had accelerated to an extreme degree, but its destructive power was less than before. Our minds gradually cleared, and our heartbeats returned to normal. Only then did I help Ge Mei sit down.

The moment I sat down, the wooden fish sound abruptly ceased, plunging the surroundings into dead silence.

For some reason, as the sound stopped so suddenly, my brain felt a heavy jolt. I couldn't handle the abrupt transition from extreme noise to extreme quiet and nearly fainted. Ge Mei slumped over, and I quickly caught her, pinching the philtrum of her nose. After a moment, she took a huge gasp of air and woke up completely.

After making sure Ge Mei was seated, I checked on Lu Zong. He was completely unconscious from the blow, but his breathing was steady, which relieved me. Liu Quansheng was in excellent shape, almost fully recovered. Only then did I secretly break into a cold sweat, realizing how disastrous it would have been if we had all lost control. Mental collapse would have been the best outcome.

Liu Quansheng walked over to me and asked, "Brother Ouyang, do you think that wooden fish sound was some kind of mechanism?"

I shook my head. "I fear it's some kind of formation."

"A formation?"

"Yes." I looked up at the pagoda-like space above and explained to Liu Quansheng, "This sound should be an acoustic formation, called the God-Slaying Wind. Its principle relies on a mechanical device to produce sound, which is then amplified by the chamber's special space. Acoustic formations have been lost for a long time; I never expected to encounter one here. I once heard my grandfather say that Old Man Wu is the only person left in the world who knows how to counter an acoustic formation. If Old Wu were here, we wouldn't have been so wretched."

Liu Quansheng's expression darkened. He looked at the coffin and then said, "Since it's a formation, I'm afraid the God-Slaying Wind will sound again soon. If we don't act, a few more bursts and we'll all be annihilated."

Ge Mei had mostly recovered, still shaken, and she urgently added, "Brother Ouyang, we must find a way quickly. If that sound echoes again, I fear I'll end up like Brother Zhang."

Seeing everyone terrified of the sound, I knew that if the God-Slaying Wind flared up again, no one would hold up. I made up my mind: we had to destroy that coffin first. With that thought, I immediately called for Liu Quansheng to follow me to the coffin.

We stood beside the coffin, but I dared not look at it, afraid the inexplicable fear would return. Liu Quansheng had already taken out his folding shovel and inserted it into the seam of the inner coffin lid. He bent down, palm upward, fingertips touching the seam of the lid, and I instructed him, "Old Liu, pry it up slowly, feel for a mechanism. If anything feels wrong, shout, and you must stop immediately."

"Got it!" Liu Quansheng nodded gravely.

Then, I closed my eyes and slowly traced my fingertips along the entire seam of the coffin lid. Once I was one hundred percent certain there were no immediate issues, I told Liu Quansheng, "Old Liu, start!"

Liu Quansheng nodded, then slowly applied force, prying the lid upward.

"Slowly!" I warned Liu Quansheng while tracing the seam again with my fingers.

The coffin lid lifted slowly as the folding shovel levered it. Ge Mei stood nervously behind us, watching the lid, while Liu Quansheng carefully controlled his strength, prying upward. Soon, large beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

I slowed my breathing and focused my senses on the changes within the seam. The biggest feature of a double-shell coffin is that the innermost coffin is often rigged with lethal traps. The two outer shells are there to exhaust the tomb robber’s patience, making them careless when opening the final lid.

All my concentration shifted to the seam of the lid. My fingertips continuously explored the gap, feeling for any potential anomalies. As the lid rose, the gap widened. At that moment, my fingertip slid across a spot, and I suddenly felt something!

"Stop!" I yelled at Liu Quansheng, abandoning everything else.

Liu Quansheng reacted quickly and immediately ceased his movement, holding the shovel steady. I told him not to move and then gently pushed my fingertip a little further into the gap. Soon, my fingertip made contact with a small protrusion. Gently feeling the lump, I realized this protrusion was the trigger for a crossbow trap. The mechanism designer had installed a loaded crossbow inside the coffin and used the coffin lid to hold down the firing button. When the tomb robber opened the lid, the button would spring up, triggering the hidden crossbow bolts to fire outward in all directions, killing anyone near the coffin.

I pushed my fingertip in a bit further and firmly pressed down on the button. Only then did I tell Liu Quansheng to continue opening the lid. As the lid lifted again, I took out my dagger and carefully dug downward around the button. Soon, I uncovered a taut rope. I used the dagger to sever the rope, and then I tentatively released the button. Sure enough, the button would no longer spring up.

"This was the switch for a mechanical crossbow. If we had opened the lid rashly, we’d all be skewered like porcupines. Alright, now we can open it," I said, pointing to the disabled button.

Liu Quansheng nodded, then exerted himself, and the coffin lid was completely pried off, falling to the side. I reached in with the flashlight, and the entire interior space of the coffin was revealed to us.

But the result was completely unexpected—the coffin was empty!

"It’s empty?" Liu Quansheng exclaimed, straightening up.

Before I could say anything, that unsettling feeling surged into my heart again, and an ominous dread instantly enveloped me...