Chapter 48: Driving the Chickens into the Coop

The group was ascending the mountain.

Suddenly!

Mantis Luo, accompanied by six bodyguards, all turned sharply and launched a fierce assault on Wu Ping!

Wu Ping’s face paled in shock. His hands spread wide like a great bird’s wings, and he swiftly stepped backward, his limbs moving in a flurry of defensive strikes as he fought while retreating.

It wasn’t just that he was facing seven opponents—Wu Ping might not have been able to win even against Mantis Luo alone.

After only a few exchanges, Wu Ping was knocked to the ground.

“Crack!”

A beef tendon rope, tied into a complex knot, suddenly tightened around Wu Ping’s body, binding him firmly like a wrapped rice dumpling.

Xu Qingguo finally realized what was happening and her face drained of color.

“Godfather, what are you doing?!”

Mantis Luo’s hand flicked lightly like a whip, striking Xu Qingguo’s neck. She went limp and collapsed to the ground.

“Miss, my apologies!”

Wu Ping’s eyes blazed with fury.

“Seven against one! Mantis Luo, you truly are a man!”

Mantis Luo ignored him, brushing dust from his hands before unexpectedly delivering a sudden palm strike that knocked out Old Bai Kuai, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines.

Old Bai Kuai was also bound with rope.

Jiang Sheng’er walked over slowly.

“Xiao Guo, it’s too dangerous to go down into the tomb. You all should rest outside these days. Your godfather will come out and reunite with you.”

“You must take good care of Miss and Xiao Wu... As for Master Bai, he might still be useful in the capital. Just keep him from starving.”

The three bodyguards nodded and each carried one of them, stepping down the mountain.

This was an expected outcome.

Xu Qingguo had been desperate in Chang City, and Jiang Sheng’er dared not keep her at home. He had pretended to agree to bring her westward but then suddenly had her and Wu Ping restrained tightly to avoid the risks of descending into the tomb, planning to reunite with them later.

The old man deeply cared for his goddaughter!

I had to go down into the tomb, as Jiang Sheng’er relied on me to control Liao Xiaoqin.

Since both Fat Dong and Xiao Yao had already come, they naturally had to enter the tomb as well. After all, the tomb’s depths were my domain. Jiang Sheng’er feared unexpected trouble and depended on those two to keep me in check.

At the moment of their clash, I suddenly felt a strong urge to boost my combat power.

Though five hundred coins allowed me to strike unexpectedly, my martial foundation was too weak. Facing a group of experts, unless I were a thousand-handed Avalokitesvara, I could only take blows passively.

“Wait! I want to say a few words to Meng Xun!”

Xu Qingguo was deeply wronged, tears welling up in her eyes.

The bodyguard carrying her stopped, looking at Jiang Sheng’er.

Jiang Sheng’er nodded slightly, signaling approval.

The bodyguard set the limp Xu Qingguo down.

I walked over.

Xu Qingguo looked up at me dazedly.

“Bring your head closer.”

I leaned in.

Suddenly!

My ear was bitten tightly by Xu Qingguo, and blood instantly dripped down, the pain almost making me jump up.

But my whole body couldn’t exert force, not even to push her away—I had to grit my teeth and let her bite.

After a long while, she released me, her chest rising and falling heavily as she gasped.

“Does it hurt?”

I replied, “Not too bad.”

Xu Qingguo bit her lip with silver teeth, then glanced deeply at Xiao Yao before saying, “Remember the pain! And remember my kindness!”

I was speechless.

She couldn’t come down with me into the tomb, so she used this ear injury to warn me to never cross Jiang Sheng’er.

But why did she look so intently at Xiao Yao?

Seeing this, Jiang Sheng’er waved his hand.

The bodyguards carried Xu Qingguo and the others away.

That left just myself, Fat Dong, and Xiao Yao on our side.

On the other side were Jiang Sheng’er, the tomb raider Old Ou, Mantis Luo, and four bodyguards.

The group traveled through the night.

Since Jiang Sheng’er had been here before, there was no need to scout the path, allowing the group to move swiftly, reaching the planned location around 8:30.

I was astonished.

An ancient tomb from the mid-Western Zhou period!

Many who date ancient tombs often use the Luoyang shovel to bore holes and extract soil. If they find a sealing layer of a mix of bluish-white plaster and mud, they deem it a Western Zhou tomb.

But this method isn’t very accurate.

Bluish-white plaster appears in tombs from the Shang to Tang and Song dynasties but is more heavily used and thicker in Western Zhou tombs—for example, the fish kingdom tomb’s plaster layer is between thirty and fifty centimeters thick. Later tombs mostly use a type of rammed earth.

Chronological differentiation by yin-yang methods rarely involves soil; it's mainly done by observing the tomb’s shape.

That is, the distinctive form of the burial mound indicates its age.

Early Western Zhou tombs favored no sealing or markers (no obvious surface signs).

Mid-period tombs mostly had mounds shaped like the character “甲” (jia).

Later tombs were nearly all shaped like “中” (zhong).

The hillside before us looked like any ordinary mountain, unremarkable. But its shape was clearly large on top and narrow at the base, with sharply defined ridges and no large trees—only shallow-rooted weeds grew because the compacted earth beneath blocked water, preventing tall plants. This was a typical mid-Western Zhou “甲” character-shaped burial mound.

Old Ou spread out a map, twitching his mouth a few times as he explained with his finger.

“Second master... this Western Zhou tomb has a zigzag anti-theft passage. Last time you came, you entered from the tail end of the zigzag by tunneling in, but because... because a trap was triggered, that entrance is now completely sealed. Also, due to heavy rains recently, both sides of the middle section of the mound have collapsed badly, with severe water accumulation, so no new tunnels can be dug.”

“In summary, the only possible entry point for Liao Xiaoqin this time is at the head of the mound. I suggest we follow her route, trace her steps inward. If we encounter false branches inside, we’ll light special incense at the entry points to prevent her from hiding. We will then slowly advance like herding chickens into a cage, compressing her into the main burial chamber and seize her!”

Impressive!

Two brief paragraphs analyzed the tomb’s structure, the approach, and the capture method in detail, hitting the core precisely.

Jiang Sheng’er nodded.

“Agreed.”

Old Ou turned to me, a bit smug, asking for my opinion.

“Little... Little Meng, what do you think of this chicken-herding plan?”

I replied,

“Drive the damn chicken into the cage? What nonsense!”

Old Ou’s mouth twitched wildly as he pointed at me.

“You... how dare you swear?”

Fat Dong shot back.

“Damn! Are you even human?!”

Old Ou’s face twisted, a fierce hatred flashing in his eyes, but he forced himself to keep quiet.

After all, he knew he wasn’t human either.

At around nine o’clock, we arrived at the head of the “甲” shaped burial mound.

The top was covered with various weeds, leaving no trace of human passage.

But Old Ou’s analysis was spot-on—Liao Xiaoqin could only have dug a brand-new tunnel nearby and would have disguised the entrance surface to avoid detection.

The mound’s head covered over a thousand square meters, so finding Liao Xiaoqin’s tunnel was extremely difficult.

I made a rough guess based on my school’s methods but didn’t voice it, and Jiang Sheng’er wouldn’t ask me.

Then came Old Ou’s showtime.

He climbed to a high spot and scanned around.

Then, expertly wielding the Luoyang shovel, he dug several times around, pulling up mixed soil and sniffing it. He pulled some nearby grass, inserted a long iron rod, pressed his ear to the ground, and ordered a bodyguard to tap the rod with an iron stick.

“Ding, ding, ding...”

The clear metallic tapping sounded.

Listening for direction!

I had heard Liao Xiaoqin describe this method before—the metal sound resonates differently between hollow and solid earth, and subtle differences can reveal empty tombs or tunnel directions.

However, distinguishing these is so subtle that only those with extensive tomb experience and exceptional hearing, honed by long training, can do it.

This was a rare skill gifted by heaven—neither Liao Xiaoqin nor I could manage it.

Today, I gained some insight!

The iron rod was moved six times.

The final position matched exactly where I had guessed my sister-in-law had entered the tomb!

Only about ten minutes had passed.

Old Ou looked thrilled, standing up and pointing at the mound.

“Dig! Dig!”

Two bodyguards went over, brushing aside some disguised grass clumps stuck to a wooden board.

One struck the board several times with a shovel.

“Crack!”

The board quickly split.

A bodyguard bent down to pull it open.

As soon as it opened,

“Shhh, shhh, shhh!”

Several arrow-like projectiles shot out rapidly like guided missiles.

The bodyguard pulling the board was caught off guard, screaming in pain and falling backward.

Liao Xiaoqin had set a trap!

No wonder she’s called the Iron Fan Princess!