?

  Being reminded by the fatty, I didn't dare to act rashly again. But just waiting like this wasn't a solution either. That gunshot earlier definitely meant something had happened, but now those people had mysteriously disappeared. Had they entered one of the passageways?

  At this time, the fat man pointed to the bronze statue and said: "I think that thing is a bit strange. Think about it, bronze is such a precious treasure, and there's no reason to make such a big statue for nothing. This thing has seams, I reckon it should be able to open."

  Fatso's tone was extremely interested in the bronze statue, eager to open it. I said: "This is not a coffin, what are you rushing for?" Fatso snorted and said: "Since following you, every time I try to open a coffin, nothing goes smoothly. Now that we've finally found a bronze statue, let me have some fun! Besides, think about it, those people who fired the gun earlier, they must have seen this statue when they came down, do you think they wouldn't do anything?"

  Fatso said that, I was somewhat moved, this bronze statue appeared here, but it's a bit unusual. Immediately, I agreed with Fatso's point of view, and the two of us went to the side of the statue, ready to open it.

  The fat man's hands were stuck in the gap, trying to climb up, but it didn't budge. It seemed that the lid was tightly closed. I rummaged through my equipment bag and handed him a mountaineering crowbar, saying: "The difference between humans and animals is that humans first learn to use tools."

  The fatty spat a mouthful of saliva onto his palm, then wiped it on the seam, saying: "So do you know what animals are doing when humans use tools?" I didn't react in time, raising an eyebrow to indicate he should continue. The fatty chuckled and said: "Animals are watching from the side." I almost choked on my own saliva, just as I was about to retort, the fatty let out a loud creaking sound, and the puppet seemed to have loosened up a bit, revealing a thin black gap. At the same time, I suddenly caught a whiff of a faint smell from the tip of my nose - it was an indescribable odor that fell somewhere between fragrance and ugliness, but this smell, I was all too familiar with.

  In an instant, I felt as if I had been drenched with cold water all over. Subconsciously, I rushed forward and pressed down on the person, shouting "Stop!"

  Fatso was pressed by me, and the seam that had just been pried open suddenly closed. He was so tired that he was panting, his face flushed red as he shouted at me: "You naive thing, if you're not going to use any strength, then don't mess around! Now Fat Brother is busy making revolution, where's the time to play with you?"

  I swallowed hard and didn't have the mood to argue with Fatty, that smell was the smell of rotting flesh.

  And it's even more intense than corpse oil, with a flavor similar to that of agarwood, but how is it possible for there to be agarwood here?

  I recalled that Wen Jin had told me when we were in the Western Queen Mother's country, "Her time is almost up." Could it be... Wen Jin ultimately couldn't hold on and she petrified here? A chill ran down my spine as I made this guess, and a nameless sorrow and fear rose up in my heart.

  Fatso noticed my unease, his expression changed, and he said: "What's wrong? I think you look... quite strange." I panted heavily, hoarsely saying: "Fatso, didn't you smell anything?"

  "What smell?" The fat man's nose moved, sniffing in the air, and then slowly sniffed towards me, immediately fanning the wind, saying: "Tian Zhen, you stink too much, if there really is any smell, it's been overwhelmed by yours."

  I'm about to curse, and with a tone that's almost tearful, I say: "Fatty, take another sniff, isn't your nose usually sharper than a dog's?" Fatty snorts, moves his nose again, and suddenly changes expression. The fat on his face freezes, he looks at me, then turns back to the bronze coffin, swallows hard, and says in an extremely low voice: "Heavens... this seems to be... that smell."

  I nodded and smiled wryly: "It's just that taste."

  Fatso let out a cold breath, grabbed my arm with one hand and pulled me away from the bronze statue. He cocked his gun and spat, saying: "Running into a widow on the way out, bad luck."

  That crowbar was still stuck at the seam and didn't move a single thread.

  Fatso cautiously stared at the bronze statue and said, "How can there be a ban on this place?"

  I have now gradually calmed down and said two words to Fatso: "Wen Jin."

  The fatty let out a sigh and shook his head, saying: "If it's really like that, then it's a pity."

  Then he said another sentence: "How can I be trapped in this puppet?"

  I recalled the sound of gunfire and Hei Yanzi's unfinished sentence. Could it be that Xiaohua and the others encountered the zombie Wen Jin, and managed to lock him up during the fight?

  I stood with Fatso beside the bronze statue for half a day, and there was no reaction inside. Finally, Fatso said: "If it's really your Aunt Wen Jin inside, then this matter is big, I've been thinking, what did she see in Yuanyu? Now it seems like an unsolved case."

  I nodded, feeling extremely heavy in my heart. It was difficult to determine whether the person inside was Wen Jin or not, but this taste and the appearance of the forbidden product here were simply too coincidental. Since I didn't see what's inside, I could almost be 90% certain that it was indeed Wen Jin.

  This way, all clues were cut off.

  Wen Jin said that in the fallen jade, she saw everyone's past, including Mian Youping.

  The material of that fallen jade is exactly the same as the Ghost Seal, perhaps it's the material used to make the Ghost Seal. Then, did Wen Jin ever see the process of making the Ghost Seal? Now, the only person who might know all the secrets has turned into a terrible monster in the depths of Kunlun Mountain.

  The young and gentle face of Wen Jin appeared in my mind, feeling suffocated and sour, more is the heavy, Wen Jin died, all clues were broken.

  Just as I was talking to Pangzi, a loud clang suddenly rang out. Myself and Pangzi subconsciously looked towards the source of the sound... only to see that the iron crowbar which had been stuck in the seam had now fallen onto the ground paved with green bricks.

  I felt a sudden jolt in my heart as I gazed at the bronze statue, and a sense of foreboding surged up within me.

  At this time, the fatty hurriedly said: "Niang's, Tianzhen comrade, don't look anymore. Since the bronze statue has been sealed with a ban on women, it is estimated that there are no more Zan Sheng Jing. Let's start from these eight mountain caves. If we don't act now, we will be overtaken by Powder Shirt and Qi."

  Chubby reminded me with one sentence, no matter who is inside, it's impossible to open the coffin and verify at this moment. The most important thing now is to find that volume, Zan Sheng Jing, which recorded the life experience of Song Da La people, which may be the only way to save the oil bottle.

  I nodded, just about to go study the eight mountain caves, when my eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of something white under the bronze statue. I narrowed my eyes and shone my flashlight over, crouching down to take a closer look at the thing.

  It seemed to be a piece of cloth, very new, with a white color, only the size of a child's palm, half of which was pressed down by a bronze figurine. Due to the curved shape of the human body of the bronze figurine, I easily took out the cloth, which was a white cloth with nine cursive characters embroidered on it in black thread.

  In an instant, I was struck as if by lightning.

  This nine is the symbol of the old ninth door, when the old ninth door was prosperous, there was a banner: the nine-character opening mountain flag, which was erected by the old ninth door. Later, due to being too showy, it suffered many blows, and this flag became history, but the nine characters have been passed down in the old ninth door. My grandfather told me that this nine has two layers of meaning.

  Firstly, the tomb raiding profession is a beheading offense if caught, and there are few people in this line of work. Unlike legitimate professions, which have successors everywhere, our profession's rules are that as long as the source of people doesn't dry up, internal conflicts are allowed, but if external forces get involved, we must unite and cannot let the industry's incense die out.

  As for the second layer of meaning, Grandfather didn't say anything, but I had seen these nine characters embroidered on one of Third Uncle's clothes. It was a snow-white Tang suit that he only wore when our clan held its annual gathering. The whole outfit was snowy white from head to toe, with only the cuffs having a nine-character pattern that looked like a flying dragon, which was quite eye-catching. I always thought that outfit was inauspicious, like something you'd wear for a funeral.

  But these nine characters now appear at the bottom of this bronze statue.

  At that moment, I remembered the words written in San Shu's letter: My body has begun to emit a strange smell, a smell that I had smelled before in the underwater tomb, it was the smell of death.

  Could it be...the person inside isn't Wen Jin, but rather...Third Uncle.

  I remained in a squatting position, with all sorts of guesses floating around in my mind. I wanted to dismiss this idea, but no matter what, I couldn't convince myself. At that moment, there was only one thought in my heart: open the coffin.

  But if it's a fierce wife inside, just the two of us, me and Fatso, we're probably taking our own lives. But if it really is Third Uncle... no way, I have to confirm this no matter what.

  But fatty...

  I got up, quietly told my thoughts to the fatty, and slowly said: "Fatty, really. In this life, there are two things that I, Wu Xie, will always remember. The first thing is fighting with San Shu, and the second thing is becoming brothers with you and Xiao Ge. Thank you. But let me finish this matter, you go back."

  Fatso was silent, his mouth pursed into a line, his two eyes staring straight at me. After a while, he finally spoke up: "Wu Xie, come over here." I took a deep breath and walked closer to Fatso. I knew he must be furious, but with this puppet in front of us, what awaited me was likely a deadly trap. In the past, we had Hu Bayi to help us turn danger into safety, but this time, it was just Fatso and me, and almost certainly a fatal outcome.

  As soon as I walked in, I was punched hard by the fat guy, who used a lot of force. The punch sent me tumbling to the ground, and my head spun. Unconsciously, I cursed: "Wang Fatso, you're asking for a beating!"

  Fatso cursed and said: "You damn well deserve a beating. I came to this Douli to save Xiao Ge, if we don't find the Zan Sheng Jing, we won't leave. If you want to open the coffins, then open them, who cares what's inside, whether it's zongzi or corpses? Come one by one, come in pairs! Damn it, why should Fatso go back!"

  My eyes grew hot, and I said, "Fatty, this bronze statue, I have no choice but to open it. The outcome inside is very important to me. Your kindness, Wu Xie, I will remember in my heart. This is a family matter of the Wu household. You still need to save your little brother. Let me open this statue, you leave."

  Fatso's face turned iron-green, and he glared at me for a while before suddenly advancing. He gave me a fierce push, and I was already injured, so Fatso's push made me stumble backward several steps. Then he picked up the mountaineering axe from the ground and inserted it into the seam again. Only then did he shout at me: "If there really is your Uncle San inside, don't try to stop me when Fat Brother fires his gun later!"