"Do you think that thing gave up?" Da Xiong asked me.

I replied, "I don't know. Why don't you go out and check?"

Da Xiong shook his head and said, "I'm tired. Tell it to wait until I catch my breath!"

We waited a few more minutes, and still nothing stirred. Only then did the three of us finally let out a collective breath, leaning back against the stone door to rest.

After recovering some strength, Xie Yuting managed to pick up his flashlight and carefully examine their surroundings.

The four walls of this secret chamber were also constructed of black stone, but there were two lamp holders on the east and west walls—presumably perpetual lamps lit for the deceased, though they were now extinguished.

The stone sarcophagus in the center resembled the one we had seen when first entering the cavern. Its gray body was adorned with simple carvings of auspicious clouds and solitary cranes, the lines clean and unembellished.

What set it apart from Central Plains tombs was that both ends of this stone coffin were identical in size, resembling a box.

I figured this might be due to ethnic differences, or perhaps what we were seeing was merely the outer shell, with further chambers concealed within.

I am no tomb raider; I never engage in opening coffins, so I wasn't particularly interested.

However, Xie Yuting beside me’s eyes lit up, and he kept staring at the coffin.

I knew this wasn't about greed; Xie Yuting's family was undoubtedly wealthy, and his cultivation and demeanor suggested he was of high standing. But grave robbers, upon seeing a casket, feel an irresistible urge to open it—much like a cleaning lady who wins five million dollars still can't help but pick up trash on the street. It was almost a professional compulsion, which I could understand.

But I also knew that no matter how much his teeth might itch, it was useless right now; the floor before us was covered in those metallic discs—deadly things.

Da Xiong squatted on the ground for a while, growing impatient, and muttered, "This is so frustrating! Just because of that woman's single sentence, we’re letting ourselves be suppressed. Damn it, rather than suffocating to death in here like this, we should just take a risk and fight back!"

With that, he snatched up one of the nearby metallic discs and angrily hurled it toward the coffin.

I was about to stop him, but it was too late. I watched him wade through the pile of discs as if crossing a river, then leap onto the stone coffin and shout to us, "Comrades! The Korean War volunteer army has crossed the 38th parallel! Let us liberate the South and teach those Koreans a lesson!"

Seeing that he was unharmed, I also relaxed, picked up a disc, and began to examine it closely.

These metal discs felt very cold. The material seemed like copper but wasn't; it possessed a golden-yellow sheen tinged with red, and the overall object was extremely hard. The surface was smooth, undoubtedly requiring modern machinery to achieve such precision. To craft even one of these perfectly by hand over two thousand years ago during the Warring States period would have taken at least a year. Hundreds of these discs spread across the floor represented an enormous amount of labor.

Looking closer at the two small holes in the center of the disc—which I had always assumed were openings—upon touching them, I found they were actually just two dark spots. Because the two spots on the front and back were symmetrically aligned, and the disc’s surface was convex, it easily created the illusion of two holes.

I wondered then, if the surface of the giant disc in the ice painting also had only two spots, how did those long-necked ghost-humans get inside? Could this thing truly be akin to a spaceship, with these holes serving as hatches that opened when necessary?

As I pondered this, Xie Yuting beside me remarked, "The discs here are dead..."

His words brought to mind the disc we saw in the hut at the Wei State ruins. It looked identical to these, but it possessed a heartbeat, and when smashed, it bled a blood-like substance—it seemed almost animalistic. This disc in my hand showed no sign of life, which is why Xie Yuting called these ones dead.

Perhaps it was precisely because the discs were dead that they posed no threat to us?

But the more I thought, the more confused I became. Creatures like clams live in completely sealed spaces, yet they still open up when they need air. This object in my hand was perfectly sealed; the previously assumed holes didn't even exist. How could this life form sustain itself? Considering the giant, glowing disc in the ice painting, it looked more and more like some kind of aircraft. Could it be that the disc itself wasn't the creature, but rather it was imprisoning an alien life form inside?

I shared my confusion with the other two. Da Xiong immediately told me, "That's simple! We'll open one and find out!"

He scanned the ground and spotted the disc he had thrown earlier, which now had a hole in it. He hopped down from the coffin and retrieved it.

When I shone the flashlight on it, I gasped.

The impact had smashed away one side of the copper shell, revealing what was inside: it was filled entirely with hair—dense, tangled hair surrounding the corpse of some unknown animal. Due to the immense age, it was impossible to tell what it had been.

Da Xiong curiously poked the hair with his finger, and the unexpected happened: the hairs instantly stiffened like tiny snakes, lunging toward his finger. Da Xiong cursed, "Damn it, what the hell!" and quickly shook his hand away.

Xie Yuting was even more startled. He grabbed Da Xiong's hand and yanked the black hairs off. In doing so, he pulled off a layer of skin from Da Xiong’s finger due to the sheer force.

I felt a chill run down my spine. That hair had only been latched onto Da Xiong’s finger for about a second, yet it had rooted so deeply. Had we hesitated any longer, wouldn't these strange hairs have tried to bore into his body?

Xie Yuting threw the broken disc far away, his face alarmingly pale, almost bloodless.

Seeing his unusual reaction, I asked him, "What's wrong? Have you seen this before?"

Xie Yuting nodded slowly. "My older cousin and a friend once encountered something similar in a cave near Mount Siguniang. Although I don't know what it is, anyone possessed by it dies. We should be extremely cautious."

Da Xiong was muttering while sucking on his finger. "Stop thinking about it! I bet there's a clue on the old guy lying in that coffin. Let's open it up and get rich!"

The three of us aimed our flashlights at the stone sarcophagus and observed it for a moment. Xie Yuting expertly informed us, "This is the outer sarcophagus; there's another inner coffin. This person’s status was clearly not that of a commoner. The outer casing is a stone chest type; it needs to be pulled out from the foot end..."

Xie Yuting moved to the foot of the coffin and told us, "You two back up a bit; there might be mechanisms."

We retreated about three or four meters away from the coffin. Da Xiong, however, stretched his neck out to watch.

Xie Yuting fumbled beneath the coffin lid for a moment before announcing, "Got it!"

I knew he had found the latch mechanism underneath. He braced his legs, pulled back forcefully, and the stone chest groaned with a loud Huo sound as he yanked it out nearly half a meter.

He immediately drew the Zhan Xie Saber, leaped backward, and created distance between himself and the opening.

The three of us watched the exposed section of the stone chest with high alert, daring not to make any sudden moves.

After a full minute passed, Xie Yuting beckoned us to gather closer.

A faint, delicate fragrance drifted out from the stone chest, instantly clearing our minds. Inside the stone container, there was a second, blackened wooden coffin made of camphor wood—this was the source of the scent. I had heard that Yin Chen Wood was the best material for ancient coffins, with camphor wood being the next best, suggesting the person inside held a respectable status.

Xie Yuting shone his flashlight on the inner camphor coffin. He noted that the wood was hard but the shape was very archaic, lacking any elaborate carvings.

He kicked the lid of the stone chest entirely out of the way, revealing the complete camphor coffin.

He looked inside and told us, "There's no quicklime used for preservation; the Zongzi inside has probably rotted down to mere bones."

I thought, that’s great news; no chance of reanimation then!

Xie Yuting, gripping the Zhan Xie Saber, instructed Da Xiong, "But just to be safe, clear away those copper discs on the floor. If anything does try to rise, we need a clear escape route!"

Da Xiong grumbled an affirmation, then started kicking and shoving the copper discs blocking the path to the door out of the way.

Only then did Xie Yuting use the Zhan Xie Saber to pry at the bronze nails on the coffin lid. The nails were severely rusted, and it took every ounce of his strength to pull out the few crucial ones.

Then, he took out the battered iron shovel we had been carrying on our backs, wedged it into the seam of the lid, and began to lever it open.