Chapter 397 - 397: Traps and Near-Death Experiences! Luo Feng’s Close Call! (1)
Having receiving the system’s prompt about the presence of a stele, Luo Feng was sparked with a sense of curiosity and excitement. For nearly half an hour, he fervently dug, revealing a cavity more than a meter deep. Amidst the churned earth lay the mysterious stele.
During the process of excavation, Luo Feng encountered something quite extraordinary—human bones. They were remnants of the Three Kingdoms era, valued at a significant 3,000 yuan.
As Luo Feng continued his mission to uncover the stele, a bizarre sight revealed itself—three human bodies lay atop the ancient artifact. Their presence puzzled Luo Feng. If they were supposed to accompany the deceased into the afterlife, why were there only three, especially considering this was believed to be Cao Cao’s grave? Furthermore, who would place these bodies on the stele, potentially tarnishing it?
Upon moving the bodies aside, the entirety of the stele was finally exposed. Measuring approximately one and a half meters long and about a meter wide, it was a perfect rectangular prism. Soil residue filled some of its carved indentations, which Luo Feng meticulously cleaned, revealing four large engraved words: “Death to the Opener!” The viewers buzzed with comments. “Damn, those four characters are spine-chilling!”
“Boss Cao, is indeed ruthless!”
“Feel the death stare of Boss Cao from 1800 years ago!”
“True to our boss Cao, ‘Dare to open my tomb? Prepare to die!’”
“Boss Cao: ‘Try laying a finger on me, I dare you.”‘
“I believe this is undoubtedly Boss Cao’s tomb!”
The stele, intimidating and domineering, caused an immediate surge in attention. Its popularity skyrocketed due to its menacing inscriptions. Li Shishi, gripped by fear, tugged at Luo Feng’s arm. “Luo Feng, should we continue?” she asked.
Chuckling, Luo Feng reassured her, “Do not fear, Li Shishi. I, Luo Feng, born and raised under the national flag, do not scare easily, especially not by mystical matters.”
Qin Rubing chimed in with a challenge. “Then Luo Feng, do you not believe in these things? Don’t you understand fengshui? If you’re not a believer, why bother learning about it?”
Sighing, Luo Feng retorted, “Fengshui is a part of our culture. Understanding it simply allows us to decipher how the ancients liked to be buried and where they preferred their final resting place. It’s a tool for finding tombs, not a superstitious belief.” He laughed, understanding her confusion. In essence, this was about knowledge influencing one’s destiny, far from any feudal superstition.
Luo Feng resolved to proceed. “Let’s get on with it and pry open this stele!” His words showed a blatant disregard for the warning inscribed on the stone. “Death upon opening, you say? Today, I, Luo Feng, will test the validity of your threat.”
The viewers gasped.
“He’s truly going for it!”
“The host is not one to back down from challenges!” The affluent heirs were not one bit deterred by the challenge; rather, they felt invigorated.
With their unanimous decision, the stele was quickly pried open, revealing nothing more than mud beneath it. A few voices from the crowd conjectured,
“Host, you should stop digging. These three bodies could be grave robbers who failed to heed Boss Cao’s warning and met their doom here!”
“This might be a cursed tomb!”
Luo Feng contemplated this possibility. Could these three individuals have been intruders rather than companions of the deceased? Could they have been grave robbers?
Shaking off his doubts, Luo Feng resumed his work. He had started this excavation, and he would see it through. Noticing a golden hue beneath the stele, he murmured, “There seems to be a tomb passage underneath!” and continued his exploration.
A sudden realization dawned on him. “Wait, these bodies are from the Three
Kingdoms era? Then they weren’t grave robbers! During that era, even though Boss Cao had passed away, his descendants were still very much alive. Nobody would dare rob his tomb!”
Had the bodies belonged to the Tang or Yuan Dynasty, Luo Feng could confidently infer that they were grave robbers. But if they were from the Three Kingdoms era, it was highly unlikely. As a rule of thumb, emperors’ tombs were rarely desecrated as long as the respective dynasty persisted.
A conjecture formed in Luo Feng’s mind. “Could it be that these bodies were placed here by Boss Cao himself, purposefully arranged alongside the ‘Death Upon Opening’ inscription to intimidate potential trespassers?” Smiling at this possibility, he mused about Boss Cao’s fondness for riddles and tricks.
Of course, someone with a faint heart might panic upon discovering the bodies, dreading them to be cursed. But Luo Feng was made of sterner stuff.
Suddenly, Luo Feng’s shovel struck something solid.
[ Ding! You have discovered an ancient tomb from the Three Kingdoms era, valued at three hundred million yuan! ]
Surprised, Luo Feng exclaimed, “Only three hundred million? For this place? This has to be a false tomb. If it were Cao Cao’s actual tomb, it would surely be worth much more than that!”
By late afternoon, Luo Feng unearthed a sealed entrance to a tomb passage.
The outside was caked with mud, but a quick jab with his Jungle Blade revealed a hollow interior.
“Here’s the entrance to the tomb passage, and given its intact state, it’s clear that it hasn’t been robbed!” Luo Feng announced. Although he voiced this with apparent enthusiasm, inside, he felt a tinge of disappointment. Despite not having been robbed, it was still a false tomb, with the funerary objects likely of limited value.
Around five-thirty, Luo Feng managed to pry the entrance open wide enough for a person to pass through. “Everyone, let’s rest for a bit, grab a bite, and then we’ll explore further…” he suggested.
One hour later, having replenished their energy, the group was ready to venture into the tomb. By then, night had fallen. Equipped with a headlamp, oxygen tank, gas mask, and other necessary gear, Luo Feng began his descent.
Standing at the entrance, Luo Feng illuminated the passage with his headlamp. The tomb passage extended for over twenty meters and was about three meters wide, with an arched ceiling roughly two and a half meters high..