The villagers rushed to inform the militia squad leader that an old official from the archaeological team had died. When Shirley Yang and I heard this, our minds went blank. That old official was likely Professor Sun, the very person we were trying to find. If he was dead, our mission would be in serious trouble. Why did he have to die now, of all times?
The villager continued to report to the militia leader that only two people from the archaeological team had come. They had asked the villagers to use a basket to lower them into the coffin shop's cave to see what was down there. They had been down for over an hour without any sign of life. The village chief, worried about their safety, wanted to send a few brave villagers down to look for them. However, everyone was terrified, recalling the legends about the coffin shop. No one dared to go down, fearing that the cave led straight to the underworld, and once down, they might never return.
Only the militia leader, a strong man, had been down there before. So, reluctantly, the village chief sent someone to find him for help.