Chapter 2: The Shackles
This is such dark humor.
Mu Fei was speechless for a moment.
At this time, Mr. Xu, who was working with Mu Fei, picked up his phone and said, "You really found the wrong person this time, you see."
Mu Fei leaned over to take a look and saw a conversation between a colleague and a peer on the screen. The latest news was two hours ago, but Mr. Xu had been busy looking up ancient books, so he didn't see it.
[Are you looking for Nanchu’s Tan Chunying? She’s known for not having any real skills, so she switched to the cultural tourism industry a long time ago [wipes sweat] You don’t even know how long it has been since your company’s information was updated]
[Here, take a look at the news]
There were also two news reports, both of which were published by local media in Nanchu.
Chinese and foreign artists came to Nanchu to collect folk songs and visit the spiritual master's ceremony and ancient witch dance in Tanjia.
There were also leaders of the provincial cultural and tourism departments and tourists from all over the world visiting Tan Chunying's home. Tourists took photos with the Wu Nuo masks, tourists took photos with Tan Chunying's family, tourists took photos with the masks, and Tan Chunying's family...
Tan Xiao also appeared in it.
Mu Fei's pupils suddenly trembled.
——She saw a news release, which showed that Tan Chunying had led a gathering of hundreds of local aunties to perform a square dance adapted from the spiritual master's sacrificial dance!
It seems that everyone in Nanchu knows that the Tan family is engaged in cultural tourism, except them, who didn't know and made a big mistake.
Mu Fei said that Tan Xiao seemed to be not shy in front of their principal, and she thought she was covering for Tan Xiao, but she didn't expect that she had completely misunderstood.
"Alas, the people who make our living are a mixed bunch, and the real skills are being passed on less and less." Mu Fei sighed secretly.
But don’t mention it, many colleagues like Tan Jia have jumped to another track and caught up with the trend of the times.
As they directly became the official mascots of Nanchu, it can be considered a different way of achieving the same goal.
"So what do you say now? Keep shaking people?"
"I'm looking again. There are still many wizards in Nanchu. It's all because of our outdated information."
"You know, it's good to still have the information to use."
Tan Xiao was deeply disappointed. This place was completely different from what he had imagined. It looked like the other party was also disappointed. He tentatively asked, "I feel like I can't help you anymore. How about I go back?"
Mu Fei was also a little embarrassed. Generally speaking, they would not disturb people who were "not interested", so she decided to see Tan Xiao off now.
But before Mu Fei could speak, Mr. Ji from the Cultural Relics Research Institute spoke up. He was also one of the leaders of the excavation team. "Don't worry, young student, you spoke well before. Can I ask two more questions?"
That's true. Tan Xiao was originally called here for this reason, and Tan Xiao has already proved that he knows a lot of theoretical knowledge.
Tan Xiao also nodded.
Mr. Ji picked up the stack of photos on the table and flipped through them. "There are a few witch figurines in the tomb. They are dressed similarly to the pair of funeral figurines, but they are placed in a different location and their movements are also slightly different. Do you think they are also funeral figurines? Or are they performing other rituals? Do you think their job is to protect the tomb owner, drive away ghosts, or communicate with the gods?"
In ancient times, the Nuo ritual for a major funeral was described like this: "In a major funeral, the coffin is placed first; when it reaches the tomb, the eyes are placed into the grave, and spears are used to strike the four corners to drive away the evil spirits."
That is to say, the wizard of the funeral rite will follow the coffin into the tomb and perform rituals with a spear to drive away ghosts.
There are an even number of figurines. The other four shaman figurines shown by Mr. Ji also wear red and black checkered clothes and phoenix pattern clothes, but their movements are a little different. Some have their fingers linked together, making strange and complicated gestures, and some are in a lifting or grasping posture, which is different from what is described in ancient documents.
So what are their specific functions? For questions like this that involve practical operations, scholars have to rely on speculation.
Mr. Ji believed that since Tan Xiao was able to recognize the Great Funeral Nuo, he might be able to provide some useful information, which is also very important for their archaeological work. After all, the excavation work still has to continue.
Tan Xiao took the photo, observed it carefully and said, "Look at this pair of witch figurines standing next to the tomb guardian beasts. One is beating a drum, and the other is shooting an arrow. They are driving the tomb guardian beasts and shooting ghosts. In the other pair, one is doing the Yu step and making hand gestures."
Needless to say, Yu Bu and hand seals are not something that any religion or sect does not have its own hand seals. It is said that Yu Bu is based on Dayu's steps and has the effect of summoning ghosts and gods. It is also widely spread. It is said that Dayu was also a wizard.
The drum and bow were the standard equipment for the ancient Chu witches to perform rituals. The Chu witches often "beat the drum and shoot". In those days, the Chu State presented peach bows and thorn arrows to the Zhou emperor, which was very representative.
Tan Xiao pointed out the details in the photo, exactly the intertwined fingers. After thousands of years, they were a little blurry, but Tan Xiao had excellent eyesight and still recognized it.
Tan Xiao said: "I don't know what this hand gesture was called in ancient times, but now we call it 'Fag Position'. As the name suggests, it is to shackle the opponent and imprison him so that he cannot move."
Mr. Ji listened carefully, and when he heard the last sentence, he felt a chill all over his body, "This!"
He couldn't help but stood up and said in a lost voice: "Legs! Lao Mo's posture is like being shackled! Could it be that Lao Mo got into trouble because of this witch figurine?!"
Tan Xiao had just arrived here, and it was absolutely impossible for him to know what had happened to the Lao Mo he mentioned when the confidentiality work was done extremely well, not to mention that his attitude had always been one of not understanding and not believing.
And Lao Mo was the archaeological expert who was inexplicably hit by an unknown evil spell as mentioned by Mu Fei. He was on the front line cleaning up cultural relics at the time, but he didn't expect to be hit as soon as he went down. Except for his eyeballs, almost his whole body was paralyzed and he relied on nutritional injections to survive. He had been visibly thin and weak in the past few days.
I went to the hospital and consulted experts, but they were all helpless.
During his many years of archaeological career, Mr. Ji experienced some things that ordinary people could not believe, so he sought help from the staff of the Provincial 404 Office who happened to be in Nanchu. Unfortunately, they were helpless and could not even locate the source of the problem.
Because the Chu people worshipped witches, there are too many witchcraft elements in the tomb, including several pairs of witch figurines, tomb guardian beasts, silk paintings, jade bi, and other funerary objects. Moreover, the tomb was not fully excavated because the excavation was stopped just after the old Mo incident.
But Tan Xiao's words were like a ray of light that cleared the clouds, allowing them to vaguely locate these witch figurines.
Looking at the photo again, the witch figurine with a damaged face and the same color as before, and the smile on the corner of its lips is even more weird...
There was silence in the place. Everyone stared at the photo of the witch figurine and their breathing became lighter unconsciously.
"What should we do about this, Mr. Xu?" Mr. Ji looked at Mr. Xu from Office 404 and was worried about his old friend. "Now that we know it's because of the witch figurines, is there any way to break the spell?"
Tan Xiao looked at Mr. Ji's excitement and said weakly, "I still think that you should go to the Tropical Diseases Institute of the Provincial Hospital and try again. It's the only place in the province that can draw blood for parasite testing."
After his research, he found that many of the so-called soul-losing and poisonous insects were actually parasites...
Mr. Ji said that his colleague seemed to be in shackles, but Tan Xiao thought that it might be the poisonous gas that had been trapped at the bottom of the tomb for thousands of years.
Mu Fei forced a smile. She felt a little helpless now and didn't have the energy to refute.
Tan Xiao considered himself the mascot, but it was he who brought them the clue. Fortunately, they did not let Tan Xiao go back easily before.
"Don't worry," Mr. Xu said with a smile on his face, looking very calm and steady, looking at Tan Xiao, "Why don't we wait for Xiao Tan to tell us, what is the remaining figurine?"
Yes, there is still a witch figurine that we haven’t mentioned yet.
"The male shaman figurine also steps on the Yu steps, and his long gown has phoenix patterns. The Chinese all say that they are descendants of the dragon, but the Chu area was the so-called 'barbarians' in ancient times, and the customs were very different. The Chu people all respected the phoenix, but despised the dragon and despised the tiger. The phoenix represents the hope that the tomb owner will ascend to heaven." Tan Xiao said, looking at the other male figurine.
"But the male figurine was obviously holding a magical weapon in his hand, but it's gone. These pairs of shamans work together, one using a magical weapon while the other casts a spell. We don't know what he's using or who he's using it on, but we can only judge from his companion's actions that he's very aggressive."
Mr. Xu murmured, "Since we know it's most likely related to this thing, there's actually a simple way to deal with it, which is also the ancient custom of Chu, to send away the evil and bury the evil spirit - find the source, cast a spell, and then bury it. But now it seems that the source has not been unearthed yet."
——This is interesting. The things they wanted to bury have not been dug out yet.
Besides, this thing is a priceless cultural relic. Where do you want to bury it?
…
The rain outside had stopped for the most part without me noticing, leaving only the sound of raindrops falling to the ground.
After a moment of dead silence, Ji Lao frowned and said, "So, we still have to go down to the tomb! I have been down there before, and I know the location of the witch figurine. It shouldn't be too far away. I will go down to the tomb and look for it."
At that time, because of Lao Mo's accident, the cleaning of the ruins was suspended, so the same batch of cultural relics had not been taken up yet, only photographs were taken.
"Mr. Ji, isn't it too dangerous?" someone advised.
After Mr. Mo was tricked, everyone said it was impossible not to be afraid, because who knows if it will be them next time. And what if there are other traps in the tomb?
"Things have to be solved. I've been down there once, so it's more appropriate for me to go. The previous project has already caused some damage to the tomb, and we can't wait any longer in this weather. Whether there's something wrong with Lao Mo or not, we have to go down again. The excavation work must be pushed forward."
Mr. Ji said firmly.
Some people also think that what Mr. Ji said makes sense, because there are experts here to give them courage, "The experts from the 404 Office are here, so there shouldn't be any problem."
Mu Fei was concerned about Ji Lao's health, "Can you handle this?"
Mr. Ji: "I deadlifted 250 kilograms."
Mu Fei: “…………”
Mr. Ji has been on the front line for many years, so he has worked a lot. He also exercises to strengthen his physique. Although he is old, his clothes are full of muscles...
This problem is clearly not an obstacle.
"Well, we have thought about going down to investigate before, but we are short of manpower and supplies when we come to Nanchu, so we have not decided yet." Mu Fei looked at Mr. Xu, the senior, and said, "What do you think?"
Mr. Xu and Mr. Ji looked at each other for a long time and said, "Then, let's go to the tomb!"
After discussing it, they finally decided that Mr. Ji would take two experienced staff members, two armed men from outside, and Mr. Xu to go down together.
As for Mu Fei, she said: "You also know that I am a civilian, so I will sit at the top."
Out of concern for the situation in the tomb, they thought again and again and decided not to bring too many people down to avoid losing control of the situation.
Although Tan Xiao thought the talk of sorcery was ridiculous, the scene before him was still quite moving. After all, there really was an expert who had contracted a strange disease.
He saw that it was already past eight o'clock in the evening, and asked eagerly, "Excuse me, should I wait here?"
"We don't know when we will find it, and we may need your help to identify the nature of the artifact. How about this, you have to wait a little longer tonight. If we haven't come up yet, you can go home and rest." Mr. Ji said after hesitating.
"Okay, okay, I just need to go to bed before twelve o'clock." Tan Xiao said.
This is the tomb of a king from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Ordinary people don't have the opportunity to watch it. Don't you see how strictly it is guarded outside? Not only is it fenced off, but the barbed wire is also pulled up high.
…
While everyone was preparing their tools, Tan Xiao felt that it would take a while, so he simply took out a physics test paper and started writing.
Mr. Xu took out some incense, candles and paper money, and with just a snap of his fingers, the incense started burning.
Tan Xiao was a little confused. This unheard-of organization, 404 Office, was weird and full of weird things. He didn't know if it was really an official organization or just a scam...
"Haha, have you seen this?" Mu Fei asked in a low voice when she saw Tan Xiao watching the ceremony.
Tan Xiao retracted his gaze. He was not so easily overturned from his worldview. He also whispered: "I performed this on Children's Day in elementary school. Rosin powder and incense came into contact and emitted flames. It's an old trick."
Mu Fei: “…” They really hired a pure little charlatan.
Everything is ready over there, and we're about to go down to the tomb.
They tied safety ropes around their bodies and stood at the original roof of the tomb. During the subway construction, cracks were dug out of the roof stone, so after evaluation, some of it was excavated and preserved as much as possible.
This tomb of the King of Chu was a very "advanced" and rare horizontal cave at the time. It used a large amount of stone. Its roof was even well preserved and there was ample space inside the tomb.
It is a large-scale tomb. Its productivity is ahead of its time, at least a few hundred years ahead of its peers. This is why Mr. Ji and his team attach great importance to it. The value of this tomb is too high.
At this moment, there were people nearby filming with video cameras and camcorders. After filming a circle, when it came to Tan Xiao, they zoomed in for a close-up.
Tan Xiao was locked in by the camera and looked away embarrassedly, "What is this for?"
"Such an important archaeological activity must be recorded in its entirety. There may even be a documentary about it in the future. Congratulations on being on camera." Mu Fei said. As she spoke, she took out a camera from her bag and started taking pictures. Seeing Tan Xiao staring at her, she explained, "Save the files. I need to keep a work log when I get back..."
Tan Xiao: "..."
Over there, Mr. Ji and his team had already hung down the cracks one by one. It must be said that Mr. Ji was in good health as he had been working on the front line for many years.
"We are down and heading to the ear chamber. It's safe."
A voice with a crackling noise came from the intercom. It was Mr. Ji reporting that he was safe. Everyone agreed to use the intercom and pull the safety rope on time to ensure safety.
Mu Fei led a few informed staff members to stand in a circle nearby to guard. There were not many people, after all, there were too many people at the excavation site, and the matter had to be kept confidential.
Maybe because she was so impressed by Tan Xiao's eloquent talk about theoretical knowledge, she couldn't help but ask, "I say, do you really not believe in us at all?"
"To be honest, it's just this little bit, no more." Tan Xiao said honestly, "Besides, even if you guys are serious, it has nothing to do with me. It's just like the UFO hearings in other countries, isn't it more formal and aboveboard ?"
Tan Xiao showed an open-mindedness that surprised Mu Fei, but what he said was really very reasonable and had nothing to do with him.
In particular, since the generation of Tan Xiao's mother, they have no real skills, only theoretical knowledge. After using their expertise to jump into the cultural and tourism industry, they have almost gotten rid of their identity as a charlatan in the popular sense.
She laughed and said, "Okay, just treat this as an archaeological activity."
"Yeah, I'll watch for a while and then go do my homework." Tan Xiao looked into the crack. It was pitch black inside and he couldn't see anything. However, the stuffiness in the air became more obvious, making him feel that it was going to rain.
rustle……
Tan Xiao vaguely felt that he heard some noise, like the sound of some insect crawling.
It's a deserted place, and it's raining, so it's normal to have insects running around. It's just because Mr. Xu burned a lot of incense at the scene, and they complained about the mosquito repellent effect before, but they didn't expect that there were reptiles instead of mosquitoes.
But he glanced at the people around him. They all seemed very calm, not making a fuss at all, showing the composure of adults.
Mu Fei was still looking back at the photos in the camera, complaining: "The image quality is terrible. Our company's camera is ten years old, but we are reluctant to change it. Others have already changed to micro single-lens cameras!"
rustle.
The sound came again.
Tan Xiao looked around curiously, and when his eyes passed through the crack, he seemed to see a round object flash by, orange in color, and there was also a wet and sticky feeling attached to his body, as if it had substance.
He thought uncomfortably, this felt like...
It feels like being "watched" by something.
