The Informal Tomb Raiding Diary: She is the occupant of the tomb!-Chapter 77: Forming a Temporary Cross-Border Exploration Team
Chen Qinghan picked up a team of people in a border town, and we switched to a bus to continue heading towards Jade Country.
With new people joining, he and I stopped discussing the Heavenly Maiden Tomb and the island.
I didn’t recognize any of the new members. Qinghan’s teammates were always changing, and each team had a different style, which I found quite surprising.
This time, the team included foreigners, or more accurately, it was a foreign team with Qinghan as their guide.
I’ve seen many foreigners in my own tomb. Tomb Robbers dug their way in, but some mountaineers or explorers also stumbled in through cracks in the mountain. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Previously, I never thought much about this. I only paid attention to those entering and didn’t focus on the patterns of their entry.
The fog sparked my curiosity. Given that the ancient tombs were sealed, it made sense for Tomb Robbers to get in, but why would tourists accidentally wander inside?
So, I carefully recalled those who ’accidentally’ fell into the ancient tomb, the timing of their entrance, and I found a pattern.
Like with Qinghan and his team, those who ’accidentally’ stumbled into the tomb all entered the mountains just before a blizzard struck.
After they inadvertently fell into a non-existent ’sinkhole,’ the blizzard would hit, and their families and rescuers naturally assumed they were lost in the storm.
The blizzard acted as a ’trigger,’ much like the torrential rain before the fog descends.
At the right time, when someone happened to step through the ’door,’ they would have an ’encounter.’
Although, to be honest, no one who went through it fared particularly well.
On the road, I asked Chen Qinghan about the ’numbers’ he mentioned inside my tomb. What did it mean, as Nightmare also kept emphasizing ’numbers.’
Chen Qinghan said he saw it in a mural. It was only then he explained why he collaborated with Chairman Cheng to search for the Nine Nether Flower in the snowy mountains.
In the mural of the Heavenly Maiden Tomb, the Nine Nether Flower possessed mystical powers, but the research group had never known its location.
Until three months ago, they discovered a new set of murals. However, the imprints of the murals had already been taken away, and the person who obtained them acted swiftly, immediately arranging a team to head to UN.
If they had followed the proper procedure, Qinghan’s research group wouldn’t have reached the snowy mountains before the others, so officials dispatched Qinghan as an ’undercover’ to quickly join Boss Lu’s operation team.
My tomb was located abroad. At that time, they had no better or faster method, so Qinghan had to take a risk.
Because Qinghan held the method for unlocking the mechanism, Boss Lu was aware of Qinghan’s suspicious background but didn’t eliminate him initially, hoping to extract more information from him.
No wonder he teamed up with the Tomb Robbers and was abandoned after entering the tomb passageway.
He must have disclosed some methods of overcoming challenges, just without revealing everything.
The key was the mural they discovered together, which recorded the location of the Nine Nether Flower.
Because the mural indicated the Nine Nether Flower was kept in my tomb, it led to much speculation on their part.
I figured Boss Lu must have realized, after reaching the mine tunnel, that they believed the Nine Nether Flower was hidden in the underground palace or secret chamber of the ancient tomb, when in fact, the mural’s indicated location was ’next door’ to the ancient tomb.
Since there was no illustrated partition, they misunderstood.
Boss Lu was the only one who thoroughly inquired about the mine tunnel’s background, combining the mine’s story with the spatial relationship of the ancient tomb and mine tunnel, leading her to first realize the mistake and attempt to rectify it, but...
Heavenly Maiden Tombs exist worldwide, with research and exploration by more than one country. The Heavenly Maiden Tomb in Jade Country was entrusted to a foreign team for research.
The patron was a wealthy individual from Jade Country, officially permitted to hire a foreign team for excavation and research of an ancient tomb within the nation’s borders.
I found it odd that these people didn’t just fly directly to Jade Country, but instead waited for us at the border town, insisting on taking a car into Jade Country. Were they not tired, or were they on a sightseeing tour?
When I discreetly posed the question to Qinghan, he quietly informed me that they had brought many weapons, which couldn’t be taken on a plane.
I mentioned they could purchase weapons locally, to which Qinghan replied their equipment was custom-made, unavailable elsewhere.
During the drive, a foreigner consistently engaged me in conversation, speaking broken Chinese but with great enthusiasm.
Unlike the previous rich kids who had many questions that led to me doubting life itself, this individual’s chatter was abundant—from the weather to road conditions, to the local customs, his hometown’s customs, his life’s anecdotes, and a keen interest in this mysterious land.
If we were still in the ancient tomb, I would have enjoyed chatting with him because at that time, I had no other source of information.
But it’s different now. I was engrossed with scrolling through my phone, and his incessant talking was a distraction!
"May I ask for a favor?" I reminded myself that this was a law-abiding society; I needed to restrain myself and speak politely.
"Of course, happy to!" The large young man smiled even brighter, radiating an inexplicable foolishness.
"Please be quiet." I smiled as I made the ’request.’
The large man’s smile froze instantly, while his teammates beside him burst into laughter.
They winked and grinned, apparently delighted to see the big guy get deflated.
The big guy slunk back to his seat, like a sulky brown bear. His hair was brown, looking just like the brown bears I’d seen in videos.
The bus driver was hired in Jade Country, bilingual in Chinese and foreign languages. He drove particularly steadily at first but grew tired after a while. When I got tired, I leaned over, half-reclining on Chen Qinghan, using him as a human cushion, pushing him against the car window in the process.
I adjusted to a comfortable position to continue scrolling through my phone, suddenly feeling a gaze lingering on me, persisting for a while.
I looked up to see the big guy across the aisle looking at me with a face full of grievance.
Wow, this person holds a grudge. I courteously asked him to be quiet just now, yet he still harbored resentment. Living people’s hearts are really fragile!
We finally arrived inside Jade Country a few days later. Our destination was at the border between Jade Country and Yun Province.
The group first rested in the county before going to Mani Village, the nearest village to the ancient tomb, which had no hotels; staying in the village would mean lodging with locals.
However, with our group of over twenty people, along with weapons and equipment, staying with villagers was not feasible.
Fortunately, the road to Mani Village had been newly built, in good condition, so the team leader planned to drive there and then trek through the primeval forest on foot.
The destination this time was even more ’off the beaten path’ than the snow-capped mountains. The road had just been completed, and the villagers had only recently gained vehicle access, making it an incredibly remote place.
