As soon as the candle went out, I felt a chill run through me instinctively. But I quickly reminded myself, “It’s just a normal physical phenomenon. The candle has burned out; there’s nothing to be afraid of. If it were still lit after burning out, then that would be something to worry about.”
At that moment, I heard a “thud” behind me. Fatty and I thought something was wrong, so we quickly turned around. To our surprise, we found Big Gold Tooth sitting on the ground, staring at the extinguished candle, his face pale with fear.
This was all Fatty’s fault. He often exaggerated stories about “ghost blows out the light” when bragging, painting them as nightmares. Big Gold Tooth was just a scheming businessman who had never faced real danger. Now, in this eerie underground palace, seeing the candle go out suddenly terrified him, and he was shaking all over.
I sheathed my paratrooper knife and helped Big Gold Tooth up, reassuring him, “What’s wrong, Master Jin? It’s fine; Fatty and I are here. With us around, nothing will happen to you. Don’t be scared.”
Seeing that there was nothing unusual besides the candle burning out, Big Gold Tooth sighed in relief. “I’m embarrassed. I… I’m not really scared. It’s just that when I think about my family relying on me to support them, I get a bit… anxious.”
I waved my hand at him; now wasn’t the time for talking. I lit another candle from the ground, and the three of us moved forward a few steps. This time, the “figure” in the southeast corner was within the beam of our flashlight.
To our surprise, what we thought was a person was actually a stone carving of a face. The stone face was a relief carved into a massive stone cofin. I could swear that when we first entered the Underworld Hall through the tunnel, it was completely empty—there was definitely no giant stone cofin there. It seemed to have appeared out of thin air, just like the stone wall sealing the tunnel.
Fatty, Big Gold Tooth, and I were all confused by the sudden appearance of this giant stone cofin. We stepped closer to examine it.
The stone cofin was about 3.5 meters long and 1.7 meters high, made entirely of large stones. Except for the bottom, the sides and the lid were adorned with a huge human face. The entire stone cofin was gray and looked very heavy.
The face seemed to be a decoration on the stone cofin, with distinct features that resembled a real person, except the ears were slightly larger, and the eyes were staring straight ahead, devoid of any expression. Although it was just a stone-carved face, it had an eerie and cold beauty that was unsettling.
Initially, when we saw the stone face from a distance, illuminated by the candlelight, we didn’t realize it was a stone carving. We also didn’t notice the large stone cofin in the darkness.
Now that we could see it clearly, it felt far more frightening than any ghost or zombie. We were somewhat prepared for those things, but we never expected to encounter something like this.
Fatty said to me, “Old Hu, what the hell is this thing? The craftsmanship looks ancient. Could it have come to life? Otherwise, how could it suddenly appear here? We were so thorough when we entered the Underworld Hall; how could we have missed such a huge stone?”
I replied, “Don’t jump to conclusions. This looks like a stone cofin for a burial. This ancient tomb is full of mysteries, and I have no idea where it came from.” I then asked Big Gold Tooth, “Master Jin, you have a wealth of knowledge. Can you tell us anything about this stone cofin?”
Big Gold Tooth, who had been hiding behind us, said, “Brother Hu, I think this stone cofin is from the Shang or Zhou dynasty.” He pointed his flashlight at the bottom of the stone cofin and continued, “Look, it has cloud and thunder patterns from the Western Zhou period. I can guarantee you that such designs didn’t exist in the Tang dynasty.”
Although I had dealt in antiques for a while, mostly from the Ming and Qing dynasties, I hadn’t encountered much from before the Tang dynasty and had never seen anything from the Shang or Western Zhou periods.
Hearing Big Gold Tooth say that the stone cofin was from the Western Zhou period made things even stranger. I said to him, “If I remember correctly, aren’t we supposed to be in a Tang dynasty tomb right now? How could there be a Western Zhou stone cofin in a Tang dynasty tomb?”
Big Gold Tooth replied, “Well… to be honest, I’m confused too. We’ve walked around this tomb, and looking at the structure of the burial chamber and those plump palace maid murals, this is definitely a grand Tang dynasty tomb. But still, this stone cofin is definitely not from the Tang dynasty.”
Fatty chimed in, “Alright, we can’t all be mistaken. If we were, it wouldn’t make sense for all three of us to remember it wrong. I think this stone cofin isn’t anything valuable. I’m feeling uncomfortable in this Underworld Hall; we should find a way to leave. What dynasty it belongs to doesn’t concern us.”
I said, “That’s not right. The material of this stone cofin is very similar to the large stone slab sealing the entrance of the tomb. They both appeared out of nowhere. If we want to find a way out, we need to figure out what’s going on.”
Big Gold Tooth suggested, “Brother Hu, I think it’s better not to investigate further. We can’t go back through the tomb entrance. Can’t we go through the middle cave instead? The tomb raider who came in before us must left through the cave. Although it’s said to be a maze, we have a compass, so we shouldn’t worry too much about getting lost.”
I nodded, “I know. Besides the compass, we also have sticky rice and a long rope, which can be used as markers. But that cave is unknown in depth, and it might not be easy to get out. My biggest concern is that strange things like these stone walls and stone cofin might appear along that path. Where on earth did these Western Zhou items come from?”
As I spoke, I suddenly remembered something. The elderly couple who let us stay overnight in the village by Panshepo mentioned that there were no Tang tombs in this mountain, but it was said that there was an ancient Western Zhou tomb. Since this human-faced stone cofin is indeed a Western Zhou artifact, could it be that we are not in a Tang tomb but rather in a Western Zhou tomb? If that’s the case, how do we explain the Tang dynasty murals and the layout of the Tang tomb?
Thinking about it made my head hurt, and I couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation. No amount of experience in tomb raiding could clarify what we were facing; it was a completely incomprehensible phenomenon. How could a Western Zhou human-faced stone cofin appear in a Tang dynasty abandoned tomb?
Big Gold Tooth was still on edge. He was a materialist and a thoroughgoing capitalist, not particularly superstitious, and he never really believed in ghosts or gods. If he had to choose between money and deities, he would choose money without hesitation every time. After all, in the antique business, especially dealing with tomb items, one couldn’t be too superstitious. Big Gold Tooth wore a gold Buddha and a jade Guanyin around his neck, but that was just for a bit of psychological comfort.
However, faced with these bizarre circumstances, even Big Gold Tooth was confused and couldn’t help but ask me, “Could the stone walls that suddenly appeared in the tomb be… a ghost wall?”
I had just started to piece together some thoughts when Big Gold Tooth interrupted me. I replied, “A ghost wall? We haven’t encountered that, but I’ve heard it’s when people get lost and walk in circles. Even if a stone wall suddenly appeared in the tomb, it should be different from a ghost wall.”
Fatty urged, “Old Hu, can we hurry up? If you’re saying we should leave, then let’s not just stand here. If you think we need to check out this human-faced stone cofin, then let’s find a way to pry it open.”
I didn’t respond to Fatty’s question. I carefully pushed against the human-faced stone cofin. It was tightly wedged with stone dowels, making it difficult to pry open even with a crowbar. Besides, what if there was a zombie inside? That would be hard to deal with. I glanced at the strange human face on the stone cofin and decided it was better not to disturb it.
We had originally come in hoping to find something valuable, but since we hadn’t found anything, it was best to avoid trouble. As long as we could find a way out, I thought it was wiser to ignore this strange human-faced stone cofin.
I made up my mind and told Fatty and Big Gold Tooth to forget about the stone cofin. We should head back the way we came. At worst, we could find another way out through Longling Mysterious Cave. Staying here any longer might lead to more unexpected changes.
Big Gold Tooth was already thinking along those lines and was eager to get away from the stone cofin. The three of us turned around and jumped into the central tomb hole of the Underworld Hall. Big Gold Tooth led the way, holding two large geese, and Fatty followed him. I took one last look at the candle in the southeast corner of the Underworld Hall, then pushed myself off the sides of the tomb hole and jumped down.
We had already explored this section of the tomb hole, which sloped at a 45-degree angle directly into the center of the Underworld Hall. As we crawled down, something felt off. The sloping tomb hole suddenly seemed to level out into a flat surface. We shone our flashlights around, and to our astonishment, we found ourselves on the floor of a burial chamber, surrounded by strange and bizarre human-faced rock paintings. This was definitely not the same tomb hole we had entered.
We exchanged glances, unable to contain our confusion. “What the hell is this place?” I asked.
Looking around at the peculiar burial chamber, even Fatty, who usually didn’t care about anything, started to feel scared. He asked me, “Old Hu, where are we?”
I shot him a glance and replied, “If you’re asking me, who should I ask? I remember clearly that we jumped down from the central tomb hole of the Underworld Hall, which should have led to a not-so-deep vertical shaft connecting to the sloping tomb hole. How did we end up here?”
Big Gold Tooth said, “Is there any mistake? There’s only one tomb hole in the Underworld Hall, right in the center. The coffin of the tomb owner should be nearby. We’ve walked around the Underworld Hall three times, and besides the tomb hole, there are no other passages. This… this really feels like we’ve hit a ghost wall.”
I waved my hand at them, realizing that being paranoid wouldn’t help. This was definitely more than just a ghost wall. The appearance of a Western Zhou stone cofin in a Tang dynasty tomb raised the question: was this burial chamber also from the Western Zhou? The rock paintings on the walls depicted strange human faces, and this narrow chamber, or perhaps a burial passage, was certainly connected to the human-faced stone cofin in the Underworld Hall.
To conserve energy after entering the Tang tomb, we had only turned on Big Gold Tooth’s flashlight. Now, he handed it to me, and I lit a candle to better observe our surroundings.
We seemed to be in a burial passage, with red ancient rock paintings covering both sides. The colors of the paintings were a deep crimson, vibrant and fresh. If this passage were from the Western Zhou period, it wouldn’t have such a vivid appearance, suggesting it was at most a couple of hundred years old.
Not only the paintings but also the stones that made up the passage showed no signs of age or wear. While they didn’t look freshly completed, they certainly didn’t appear to have been built thousands of years ago; some areas even revealed gray stone fragments.
The passage was several meters wide, extending straight out at both ends, with no visible end in sight. The tomb bricks were massive, ancient, and heavy, exuding a regal aura that was different from the luxurious and delicate style of Tang tombs.
Knowing that I was familiar with the layouts of ancient tombs, Big Gold Tooth asked me about the details of this passage.
I shook my head and replied, “I can’t say for sure yet. If the stone cofin we found in the Underworld Hall is indeed a Western Zhou artifact, then this passage is likely associated with it, both being from the Western Zhou period. Especially considering the patterns on the burial walls, many of them resemble those on the stone cofin.”
Fatty chimed in, “I bet they’re definitely related. That big face—once you see it, you’ll remember it for life. Its half-smile, cold and eerie expression, looks like it was carved from the same mold.”
I said to Fatty, “You make a good point, but you’re not looking closely enough. The stone cofin we saw in the Underworld Hall has five stone-carved faces, all with the same expression. But if you look closely at the rock paintings in this passage, the expressions are not so uniform.”
The rock paintings on the walls depicted slightly distorted human faces, not all resembling the expressionless faces on the stone cofin. The five faces on the stone cofin were devoid of emotion, exuding a strange coldness, while each face in the burial passage had its own unique expression—some happy, some sad, some angry, some surprised, and some hurt. Yet, no matter the expression, they all felt different from those of normal people.
Fatty, illuminated by the candlelight, examined a few of the faces on the burial walls and said to me and Big Gold Tooth, “Old Hu, I took a closer look, and these faces seem really off. No matter what expression they have, it feels… how should I put it? I know something’s not right, but I can’t quite describe it. There’s just something so… so…”
I noticed the oddness of those faces too. Seeing Fatty struggling to articulate his thoughts, I finished for him, “They all look so fake, lacking sincerity. Whether it’s happiness or anger, they all seem artificial, like they’re put on rather than coming from the heart.”
Upon hearing this, both Big Gold Tooth and Fatty nodded in agreement. Fatty added, “Exactly! Old Hu, you have a keen eye. I noticed it too, but I had so many thoughts in my head that I couldn’t express them right away.”
Big Gold Tooth said, “That’s true. The smiles are sinister, and the anger is mocking. In our line of work, when we negotiate with clients, we have to pretend to be sincere. I thought our expressions were fake, but compared to these faces on the burial walls, ours are nothing. The expressions here are so exaggerated… they simply can’t be made by humans.”
Big Gold Tooth’s last statement sent a chill down my spine. Looking at the faces in the murals, I said to Fatty and Big Gold Tooth, “I feel the same way. I just can’t figure out what kind of person would have such strange expressions. Even actors don’t have faces like these! I think our current situation is somehow related to these faces, but… what do they symbolize?”
Although I often claimed to be a genuine tomb raider, my expertise was mainly in feng shui and treasure hunting. I was familiar with the layouts of tombs from various dynasties, thanks to what I learned from The-Secret-Art-of-Yin-Yang-Feng-Shui-in-Sixteen-Characters. However, when it came to cultural factors, historical context, and artifact identification, I was mostly clueless. Even my limited knowledge was often based on guesswork without any solid foundation.
Now, faced with these giant-faced stone cofin and the bizarre expressions in the rock paintings, I had only some intuitive feelings and nothing more. I was far less knowledgeable than Big Gold Tooth. Although he wasn’t a professional archaeologist, he had years of experience in the antique world.
I said to Big Gold Tooth and Fatty, “Fatty, Master Jin, there are too many inexplicable things in this ancient tomb. Wandering around aimlessly isn’t a solution. If we keep stumbling around like this, we might encounter even stranger phenomena. We need to come up with a strategy.”
Fatty asked, “Old Hu, do you have any ideas? If you do, just say it. Don’t keep us in suspense. To be honest, I’m starting to feel a bit scared.”
I knew Fatty wasn’t one to easily admit fear. If he said he was scared, it was because we were in a situation where we had no idea what to do. Although our lives weren’t in immediate danger, our nerves were fraying. So I replied, “I haven’t thought of a solution yet. Finding a way to deal with this depends on us first figuring out what’s going on. Right now, it feels like we’re in a battlefield ambush—we are in the light while the enemy is in the dark, and we’re just passively taking hits without any chance to fight back.”
Fatty sighed, “Right now, the three of us are like three little mice caught in someone else’s trap, completely disoriented and not knowing what’s going on. Next time, I swear I won’t enter an ancient tomb without weapons and explosives.”
I forced a smile and said, “If we even get a next time.”
I turned to Big Gold Tooth and asked, “Master Jin, I see that although we are in a strange environment, we are not in immediate danger. As long as we can sort things out, escaping shouldn’t be a problem. After all these years of dealing with antiques, you recognized that the human-faced stone cofin is from the Western Zhou period. Can you elaborate on that? Let’s analyze it together; maybe we can come up with a solution.”
At that moment, Big Gold Tooth seemed less nervous than Fatty. Unlike Fatty, who feared the unknown and was more afraid of thinking than of tangible threats, Big Gold Tooth was most afraid of direct danger. Although many Western Zhou artifacts had suddenly appeared in this Tang dynasty tomb, they were merely strange and not immediately life-threatening. So while Big Gold Tooth felt tension and fear, he could still manage the psychological pressure for now.
After considering my question for a moment, Big Gold Tooth replied, “Brother Hu, you know that the antiques we deal with in Beijing are mostly from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The older the items, the more valuable they are, and those are usually traded privately; we wouldn’t dare put them on the antique market. Items from the Tang and Song dynasties are considered top-tier in our line of work. Anything older than that, from the Tang and Song periods, can be regarded as a national treasure, and trading them would be risky. In my years in this business, I’ve only handled a few small items from the Tang dynasty.”
Seeing that Big Gold Tooth was going off on a tangent, I pressed him again, “So you can’t be sure that the human-faced stone cofin is from the Western Zhou period?”
He replied, “Of course, I haven’t handled anything that ancient. This Western Zhou stone cofin, if we’re talking about value, could be worth a fortune, but the problem is that no one dares to buy it. If we sold it to foreigners, we could be accused of treason. So for us, it’s practically worthless. Although I haven’t dealt with Western Zhou artifacts, I often read books on the subject and visit museums to improve my knowledge. I consider myself a semi-expert on these ancient items. I can guarantee that this stone cofin is from the Western Zhou period. The use of human faces as decorative elements was very popular during the Shang dynasty, and many important ritual vessels featured human face carvings.”
I was puzzled. “But you just said that the human-faced stone cofin is from the Western Zhou period. If I remember correctly, the Shang dynasty came before the Western Zhou. So is this stone cofin from the Western Zhou or the Shang?”
Big Gold Tooth said, “My dear, let me finish my thought. This type of decoration flourished during the Shang dynasty and continued to be used in important ceremonial objects until the Three Kingdoms period. However, the characteristics changed over time. The stone cofin we saw has a specific feature. Do you know what that feature is?”