Long long ago, in the northwestern part of China, there was a place called Kuancheng. In Kuancheng, there was a prince who was extremely greedy and loved to exploit the people for wealth. As a result, the common folk within his domain were filled with resentment and all hoped that this greedy prince would die soon. However, misfortune lasts a thousand years, and instead, the prince seemed to grow younger with each passing day.
It turned out that this prince also followed the way of Qin Shi Huang and Han Wu Di, hoping to obtain the elixir of immortality to enjoy endless glory and riches. In order to find the elixir of life, he not only sent people out to search everywhere but also kept hundreds of wandering alchemists to refine pills for him. Every day, the prince would consume some of the golden pills refined by these alchemists. However, as time passed, the prince's physical strength rapidly deteriorated. He knew in his heart that his end was near, but alas, he had no children under his knees and could not bear to part with his immense wealth.
Thus, he chose a secret burial site for himself and invited skilled artisans to design the tomb chamber. Afterwards, he hid all the valuable jewels there. Of course, those workers, skilled artisans, and those who transported the jewels were all killed by the prince's men. Later, even those who did the killing suddenly disappeared. From then on, it seemed that the only person in the world who knew this secret was the prince himself. Not so, for two of the prince's trusted servants also knew this secret: Zhou Li and Ding San.
One day, the prince could no longer hold on. He summoned Zhou Li and Ding San to his bedside and gave them a series of low instructions. The two nodded their heads busily in agreement, and it seemed that both had an uncontrollable joy. Seeing the happiness of the two, the prince also laughed, and he was even happier than the two. After all, dying with a smile is better than dying in pain.
Zhou Li and Ding San secretly carried the prince's body out of the mansion, turning corners for half a day until they reached the graveyard at dusk. The two threw the prince's body aside and went together to open the tomb door. Zhou Li touched Ding San and asked softly, "What do you want to take?" Ding San replied with a grin, "Brother Ma, what I want most is the noisy dragon pearl. Brother Ma wouldn't be thinking the same thing, would you?"
"Not at all, not at all, I just want the dragon phoenix cloak in the treasure house." While Zhou Li said this, in his heart he thought: Good lad, everyone in the mansion knows you want the prince's ever-present purple dragon jade pendant. It's mine, don't even think about taking it from me. By this time, the tomb door had already been opened. The two exchanged smiles, turned around, and carried the prince's body inside. As soon as they entered, the two simultaneously put down the body and turned back to close the tomb door.
Inside the tomb chamber, it was pitch black, yet exceptionally dry, without the usual dampness of caves. Both were very familiar with the situation inside the cave and successfully reached the center of the tomb chamber. They carefully placed the prince's body into the stone coffin. The lid of the coffin had not been closed yet, slanted against one side of the stone coffin. Ding San pushed Zhou Li and said, "Let's go get the treasures."
"The lid of the coffin hasn't been closed yet?"
"If you don't go, I'll go first. Whatever's left, don't blame me."
Hearing this, Zhou Li became somewhat anxious, saying while walking quickly towards the northern part of the tomb chamber and surpassing Ding San, "I'm coming, I'm coming." Faster than expected, Ding San saw Zhou Li ahead of him and quickly pulled out a dagger from his bosom, stabbing it directly into Zhou Li's back. By the time Zhou Li realized it, it was too late. He turned around and stared viciously at Ding San, as if trying to kill him with his eyes. His hands barely reached halfway before they dropped like deflated balloons, and his body fell down shortly after. Ding San pulled out the dagger, fearing that Zhou Li wasn't dead clean, and stabbed a few more times, muttering, "Brother Zhou Li, don't blame me. This is 'man dies for wealth, bird dies for food.' If I didn't kill you, I might have been killed by you. This can only blame your lack of wit." After finishing, Ding San wiped the blood off his hands with Zhou Li's clothes, turned to the stone coffin, and pulled the purple dragon jade pendant from the corpse's waist, tucking it into his bosom. Then he approached the northern wall, stretching out both hands to feel along the wall, trying to find the mechanism to open the door. However, as he was feeling around, he suddenly felt a chill and then great pain in his back. He realized it was a dagger, thinking: Could Zhou Li have come back to life? With his last bit of strength, he turned around to see, and it was the prince. In an instant, everything became clear. The prince smiled at him and said, "You can leave now, only when you leave first can I leave peacefully..." The rest of the words Ding San would never hear. The prince looked at the two corpses on the ground and smiled satisfactorily, thinking: This pill really works, pity it cannot make me live forever. The prince took the purple dragon jade pendant from Ding San's bosom and tucked it into his own. Wobbling, he walked to the stone coffin, just about to lie inside, when suddenly he remembered something. Thus, he bit his index finger and wrote the following words on the coffin lid: "Three feet forbidden land, nothing shall enter. If violated, gods and ghosts will be angry. A huge rock in the sky, I will be reborn." By the time he finished, he was completely exhausted and fell headfirst into the stone coffin. Earlier, three living people came in, but now there were only three corpses. Alas, the two servants followed their master all their lives, but in the end, they were harmed by their master. Blame it on their greed and the master's lack of virtue. The tomb chamber was eerily quiet, the wounds of the two corpses still bleeding, and the blood-red words on the coffin lid were crystal clear, fresh and vivid, as if warning something.
Time flies, and a thousand years have passed, reaching the early Republic of China period. A team of five early Chinese archaeologists came to the former Kuancheng. Because they learned from historical records that there was once a prince in Kuancheng who was extremely greedy, yet died quietly, as if disappearing from the world all at once. That was all the historical record contained. So where did the prince and his unimaginably rich treasures go? This became a millennium-old mystery. They came here, first to uncover this mystery, and second to find the treasure to contribute to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
The former Kuancheng now remained only as rubble. The former secret tomb of the prince, after a thousand years of wind and rain, was no longer as hidden as before. The five archaeologists quickly found the entrance to the tomb based on their rich experience. Excited, the five opened the tomb door together. Inside was pitch black, and they could only grope forward with the light of torches. Wu Duo was leading the way with the torch, followed by Zhao Qi, Fan Bin, Mo Xiangwen, all holding shovels and other specialized tools. Li Jing held the torch at the rear. He carefully examined the walls on either side of the passage with the torchlight, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat. On both sides were carved many evil ghosts, all showing teeth and claws in various poses: some holding a human leg, ready to eat; others holding a human head, enjoying it thoroughly; still others glaring at the intruders, seemingly ready to jump down at any moment. Suddenly, Li Jing heard a scream from up ahead and felt the surroundings become much darker. Originally, under Wu Duo's foot, a set of daggers suddenly sprang out, and due to the pain, he fell forward, resulting in being pierced by countless blades. Zhao Qi behind him was stunned, thinking: If I had taken a few more steps, I would have met the same fate as Wu Duo. The four calmed themselves down, and Zhao Qi led the way, bypassing the dagger array to continue moving forward. This time, the four were much more cautious. Therefore, they narrowly escaped death several times. Finally, they arrived at the center of the tomb chamber. At this point, each was already covered in injuries.
The scene in the tomb chamber shocked the four greatly. Two corpses lay on either side of the stone coffin, about five or six meters apart. Blood flowed from the two corpses and intersected at one end of the stone coffin, then flowed along either side, finally converging on the other side of the stone coffin, encircling it in the middle. The four faintly smelled a trace of blood, causing them all to break out in goosebumps. After discussing for a while, they split up to work. Zhao Qi, Fan Bin, and Mo Xiangwen searched the other three sides of the tomb chamber for other passages. Li Jing went to the stone coffin to examine the corpses' conditions. The corpses were not lying face up, but face down. Li Jing carefully flipped the corpse over gently, intending to turn it over, but the corpse did not budge, and he felt a sense of elasticity where his hands touched. Li Jing did not pay attention, and tried again with more force. The corpse was finally flipped over. As soon as Li Jing's gaze fell on the corpse's face, he couldn't help but let out a startled cry. Hearing the sound, the other three immediately rushed over, asking Li Jing what happened. Li Jing pointed at the corpse's face in the coffin, and the other three fixed their gazes on the corpse's face, all startled. The deceased appeared to be dressed in very noble attire, undoubtedly the prince they were looking for. Strangely, it seemed as if the person had just died recently. After carefully studying the corpse in the coffin and the two outside, they confirmed that they were indeed from a thousand years ago. As to why the bodies had not decayed after a thousand years, the four were at a loss.
After resting for a while and stabilizing their emotions, the four resumed their work. Li Jing carefully searched the deceased's body and discovered a purple dragon jade pendant, a large pearl, and some other treasures. Just as he was about to further search the two corpses beside the stone coffin, a scream was heard, followed by another less than a second later. It turned out that Zhao Qi searching the northern wall had been pierced through by a spear extending from the wall. And Mo Xiangwen searching the eastern wall, startled by Zhao Qi's scream, was cut off half an arm by a sword extending from the front. Blood gushed out immediately. Fan Bin immediately ran to Zhao Qi, while Li Jing ran to Mo Xiangwen, supporting him to sit by the coffin cover. By this time, blood had already soaked half of Mo Xiangwen's body, some flowing onto the coffin cover. Li Jing immediately tore a large piece of cloth from his clothes to bandage Mo Xiangwen. At this time, Fan Bin walked over somberly. Li Jing immediately understood what had happened. Suddenly, Fan Bin stared straight-eyed, pointing at the coffin cover and shouting, "Look, what's that?" Li Jing followed Fan Bin's gesture and looked. There were several blood-red characters on the coffin cover: "Three feet forbidden zone, nothing may enter. If violated, gods and ghosts will be angry. A huge rock in the sky, I will be reborn." The blood letters glowed red under the torchlight, as if warning the intruders. "I've seen a ghost. I've seen a ghost..." Fan Bin kept screaming, followed by maniacal laughter, pounding his chest and running towards the cave entrance. Soon, Li Jing heard a scream, followed by silence. Li Jing felt a deep fear rising from within. He no longer cared about seeking treasure, picked up the unconscious Mo Xiangwen, and stumbled out of the tomb with a torch in hand. Li Jing first placed Mo Xiangwen by a tree, returned to close the tomb door, thinking there must be many secrets left unexplored inside. Perhaps one day he would return.
Mo Xiangwen could no longer participate in archaeological work and had to recuperate at home. The doctor said the injury was not serious, and with rest for three to five months, he would recover. However, Mo Xiangwen's wound did not improve, and he was always frowning. One day, Li Jing visited Mo Xiangwen again. Mo Xiangwen grabbed Li Jing and whispered, "It seems my wound won't heal. I always feel that the ancient tomb we explored was strange. Is there a ghost or some evil presence inside?" Li Jing recalled that when Fan Bin discovered those curses, Mo Xiangwen had already fainted. Thinking about those curses made Li Jing shudder, and he hurriedly told Mo Xiangwen, "When we left, we found these sentences on the coffin cover: 'Three feet forbidden zone, nothing may enter. If violated, gods and ghosts will be angry. A huge rock in the sky, I will be reborn.' Do you think it's these curses causing trouble?" Mo Xiangwen did not respond, just stared blankly, murmuring, "If violated, gods and ghosts will be angry." Seeing Mo Xiangwen's low spirits, Li Jing thought he was tired and excused himself to leave. Less than half a month later, Mo Xiangwen passed away. According to Mo Xiangwen's neighbors, on the night before his death, he cried and screamed incessantly, repeatedly saying, "Don't kill me, don't kill me. I didn't intentionally disturb you, I won't come again." Followed by a loud scream. The next day came the news of Fan Bin's death. Hearing these rumors, Li Jing was even more frightened, thinking that originally five of them went to explore the tomb, three died inside. Now Mo Xiangwen had also died mysteriously. Could he escape this calamity? From then on, every time he closed his eyes, he saw the person in the stone coffin coming towards him, saying, "Return my treasure, return my treasure..." Within two months, Li Jing also succumbed to despair. The mystery of the ancient tomb added another layer of mystique.
Time flew by, and nearly 90 years passed, reaching the year 1997 AD. By this time, Liu Wei, the great-grandson of Li Jing, was already in his thirties. Coincidentally, Liu Wei was also an archaeologist who enjoyed exploration. Due to improved skills, Liu Wei had also bought a new house. Thus, he began organizing the relics left by previous generations in the old house. Among them, a brocade box caught Liu Wei's attention. He gently opened the brocade box to see what was inside. The box was opened. Liu Wei immediately froze, seeing inside a purple jade pendant, intricately carved with a dragon, lifelike and almost leaping out. Next to the jade pendant was a duck-egg-sized pearl, perfectly round and shining brightly. Liu Wei had seen many treasures before, but ones like those in the brocade box were rare. He thought, these two treasures could be priceless. Where did our family acquire them? Looking at the bottom of the brocade box, he found a folded letter. He quickly took out the letter and opened it, reading: "To future generations: In the tenth year of the Republic of China, I, along with Wu Duo, Zhao Qi, Mo Xiangwen, and Fan Bin, went to Kuancheng to explore an ancient tomb. However, three of us died inside the tomb, and Mo Xiangwen also passed away soon after. Below is an introduction to the situation inside the ancient tomb..."
The purple dragon jade pendant and the noisy dragon pearl in this box were obtained from the ancient tomb, worth a fortune. Originally intended to be presented to the government, but the incompetence of the government disheartened me, so I entrust future generations to present them to a virtuous government. Recently, I often dream of the person in the stone coffin demanding the treasures, suspecting the presence of evil spirits. I fear I won't live long, hence this final note. The dangers inside the ancient tomb are extraordinary, and there are magical curses. My descendants must not enter.
Li Jing, September 13th, Tenth Year of the Republic of China
After reading the letter, Liu Wei chuckled in his heart, thinking his great-grandfather was too superstitious, how could there be evil spirits demanding treasures? Nevertheless, this ancient tomb was worth exploring. Thinking about the adventure, Liu Wei became spirited. The next day, he first went to the cultural relics department and handed over the two treasures to the state. After expert appraisal, these two treasures were over two thousand years old, indeed rare treasures. After handing over the treasures to the state, Liu Wei immediately returned to his unit and applied to explore the ancient tomb, submitting his great-grandfather's letter to his superior. The superior leadership took this matter seriously, dispatching three capable individuals to accompany Liu Wei in finding the ancient tomb.
Following the directions in Li Jing's letter, they quickly found the tomb entrance. The tomb entrance was now dilapidated, missing a corner, resembling a gaping dark mouth ready to swallow something. The four gathered their courage and were about to enter when two elderly farmers approached, shouting, "Hey! Don't go in, there are ghosts inside." The four paused, and Qi Hua asked, "Villagers, what kind of ghosts are inside?" An elderly farmer replied, "There are evil spirits inside, and they eat people. We often hear screams at midnight, all coming from here." Another elderly farmer grew impatient, pulling the speaking farmer and saying, "We must hurry, if we stay too late, we might be dragged down by the evil spirits for a snack." Qi Hua and Feng Ben Tai were startled. Feng Ben Tai said to Liu Wei, "We have already found the correct location of the ancient tomb, let's go back first. When we have more people, we'll come again." Liu Wei disdainfully said, "We've come all the way here, how can we give up halfway? It's almost the 21st century, do you still believe in those superstitious things?" Zhang Liwu also chimed in, "That's right, we shouldn't leave without at least checking the situation inside, which will help with future large-scale excavation." Feng Ben Tai's face turned red, and he stopped talking. Thus, the four took their torches and entered one after another. Liu Wei led the way, followed by Qi Hua, Feng Ben Tai, and finally Zhang Liwu. Upon entering, the four were startled to see the carvings on either side of the passage, though a thousand years old, still lifelike and vivid. The four unconsciously drew closer to each other. Shortly after, they arrived at the knife array, seeing piles of white bones on the blade clusters, and some animal carcasses emitting foul odors. Clearly, since Li Jing and others entered, this place had been visited multiple times, not only by various animals but also by other people. They bypassed the knife array and, after several turns, successively discovered more animal and human skeletons, casting a shadow over each of their hearts.
Finally, they reached the center of the tomb chamber. Fortunately, Li Jing's letter provided a relatively detailed description of the mechanisms inside the tomb, otherwise, the four would not have safely reached here. The scene inside the tomb chamber was basically the same as described in the letter. The two corpses beside the stone coffin were still in place, and the bloodstains surrounding the stone coffin were clearly visible. Different was that there were more corpses under three walls, emitting a strong stench. The entire tomb chamber gave off an eerie atmosphere. A sense of fear arose from within each of them. They first went to the stone coffin and peered inside. Instantly, the four felt as if they had fallen into an ice hole in the depth of winter, the cold penetrating their very core. Originally, the corpse inside matched exactly what was mentioned in Li Jing's letter, appearing as if it had just passed away, remaining unchanged after 90 years. None of the four could explain why. Liu Wei specifically observed the slanted coffin lid, wanting to see the curse inscription. However, the coffin lid was smooth, bearing no inscriptions. After the other three checked, they found nothing unusual. The four then went to the other two corpses beside the coffin, discovering they had already become mummies. Using the torchlight, they carefully examined the three walls of the tomb chamber, finding piles of decaying snakes and scorpions beneath the walls. Another shadow was cast over each of