Chapter 385: The Corpse of the Shu King! The Underwater Stone Tiger from the Song Dynasty! (2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At the heart of the treasure lay the Stone Tiger and Stone Dragon. Unearthing these artifacts would clear the path to the treasure. But who could discern their resting place, lost somewhere along the vast Yangtze River?
On the morning of the second day, Luo Feng led everyone once again to set off on their yacht. By noon, there was still no significant find. At two in the afternoon, as Luo Feng and his team passed by Mount Qingcheng, he initiated a scan. Immediately, he observed that the area contained several treasure indicators. Furthermore, there were also a few markers heading into the direction of the mountain.
Luo Feng paused, standing on the deck, hesitant for a moment. These scattered treasure indicators had appeared many times in the past few days, but when dredged up, they were all part of a dispersed treasure. He could not help but respect Zhang Xianzhong. The treasure chests packed by Li Zicheng were sturdy, having lasted hundreds of years without damage, all bound with large iron chains. But Zhang Xianzhong? All the chests dredged up were rotten.
“We should go down and take a look,” Luo Feng sighed, directing the yacht to anchor at the riverbank. With his team, they boarded a small rubber dinghy to reach a location in the middle of the river.
“Are we going underwater again?”
“I don’t want to watch anymore, it’s all just some copper coins, it’s not interesting at all!”
“Exactly, they would be better off searching on land!”
After Luo Feng led the team underwater, he suddenly saw something in front
of him—a huge spherical object. Puzzled, he exclaimed, “What in the world is this thing?” He touched it. Because the river water was murky, he couldn’t identify what it was—only that it felt like metal. Iron? He continued to touch the sphere, which felt like a ball made from chains of iron, with small gaps in between.
[ Ding! Corpse! Ming Dynasty! Valued at 100,000! ]
Damn! A corpse. Luo Feng almost retched with disgust. It was actually a corpse? He immediately surfaced, gasping for air once he reached the shore. Coming across a corpse underwater was far worse than on land. On land, at least there was air between you and the corpse. But underwater, the corpse and yourself were practically in contact—your surroundings filled with corpse water!
“Luo Feng, what was that spherical thing just now? Why did you surface as soon as you saw it?” Qin Rubing asked curiously.
“I’m not sure. I came up to get some tools to pull it out,” Luo Feng replied, his mind beginning to ponder. A Ming Dynasty corpse. Worth 100,000? This meant that it was not just any ordinary corpse—it certainly held some story.
“Good, now that we know the location, all we need to do is send down a hook to pull it up!” suggested one crew member.
“Yes, you guys handle it,” Luo Feng nodded.
Approximately half an hour later, a hook was threaded through the iron chain sphere, slowly raising the object from the water. During the retrieval process, a lot of mud sloughed off from the gaps in the chains. “Damn, is it a sphere wound with iron chains?”
“Indeed, it seems so!”
“Are my eyes deceiving me? Are there bones inside the chain sphere?”
“Is this a Cangue immersion cage?”
“Aren’t Cangue immersion cages usually made of bamboo? This one’s made of iron chains?”
Witnessing this, many viewers grew curious. Who could this person be to warrant an iron chain Cangue immersion cage?
“Is this a male or a female corpse?” Qin Rubing asked, seeing a skeleton inside the iron chains once they were unwrapped.
“In ancient times, weren’t Cangue immersion cages typically used for women?” Su Meiji asked.
“I believe it’s a male corpse!” Luo Feng shook his head, analyzing, “If it were a woman, they would just use a bamboo cage. A man would be stronger, which is why they used iron chains! Also, looking at the pelvis, it is rather small, which indicates it’s a male!”
“Eh? Why is there a copper coin in the iron cage?” the sharp-eyed An Peng spoke up.
“Is it a Dashun Tong Bao?” Luo Feng asked after picking it up and examining it.
Ming Dynasty? Iron cage? Male? A corpse worth 100,000? Luo Feng quickly started putting the pieces together. A thought struck him. The identity of the corpse was starting to fall into place. Looking at the several treasure indicators around, Luo Feng began to feel excited.
“Judging by the copper coin, this corpse should be from the Ming Dynasty, possibly a victim when Zhang Xianzhong sacked the capital of Shu!” “Integrating all the other information, I think I know who this person might be!”
Luo Feng had hardly spoken before Qin Rubing voiced her confusion, ‘What other information? Isn’t it just an iron cage wrapped in chains?”
People are indeed different. Some can only see the surface of things, while others perceive things in a deeper way. Qin Rubing, as expected, was only suited to lying down, waiting for Luo Feng’s doting.
Luo Feng could not help but chuckle at this thought.
“Once we ascertain the specific period, we must consider what happened at this place!”
LUO Feng Degan to recount tne tale.
“The practice of Cangue immersion typically occurred among common folk; it was seldom seen in wealthy households.”
“Moreover, common folk could not afford iron cages!”
“That is because iron was scarce among the common people in ancient times. They would absolutely not use iron as a means of punishment! Would that not be against their own interests? They themselves were in need of iron!”
Upon hearing this, Su Meiji nodded in agreement: “Indeed, it is not a punishment method that common people in ancient times could afford.”
“Moreover, from the ten fingers, kneecaps, arms and so on, one can see that this man did not engage in any physical labor in his lifetime! His teeth and fingers reveal his eating habits when he was alive.”
“Let’s analyze further. This is a man from a good family, from the Ming Dynasty, found in an iron cage, in the capital of Shu!”
“His identity, it could only be Zhu Zhishu, the last Prince of Shu in the Ming Dynasty!”
Luo Feng stated calmly.
However, everyone else around him was stunned.
“Luo Feng, are you saying this is a feudal prince? Could that be possible?” Li
Shishi asked incredulously.
How could several points of analysis lead to a feudal prince?
“Heh, you guys may not know, but this Zhang Xianzhong was addicted to killing! When he stormed into Wuchang, he killed Prince Zhu Huakui of Chu! His method was to put him in a bamboo cage and drown him alive!”
“After he stormed into the capital of Shu, it is said that the Prince of Shu, seeing the grave situation, committed suicide with his consorts. However, he was timid and was unlikely to commit suicide.”
Upon hearing this, Su Meiji asked: “So, was Prince Zhu Zhishu of Shu also subjected to Cangue immersion by Zhang Xianzhong?”
If so, Luo Feng’s analysis was indeed quite accurate.
Back then, when Zhang Xianzhong’s army entered the capital of Shu, there were several startling events in the city within a single day, including a fire in the munitions depot and a lightning strike on the sleeping palace. Zhang Xianzhong captured the capital of Shu amidst heavy rain and hail. Zhu Zhishu was scared, offering money for brave fighters, but none responded in three days. Zhang Xianzhong besieged the Prince of Shuts mansion, and Zhu Zhishu, along with his consorts and palace maidens, allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a well. Almost all of the royal family was captured and killed.
Zhang Xianzhong ordered, “All members of the prince’s house, regardless of whether they are rebellious or obedient, soldiers or civilians, as long as they are related to the Zhu bloodline, are to be executed.” Zhang Xianzhong cut the body and threw it into the river.
This is all recorded in literature.
That is the last sentence: Zhang Xianzhong cut the body and threw it into the river.
“My God, this might really be Zhu Zhishu!”
“He died so pathetically! Suicide would have been more dignified!”
“If you think you’re so tough, why don’t you try committing suicide?” “Do I have a broken country? Why should I commit suicide?”
“Get lost! ”
Luo Feng ignored the quarreling crowd.
Instead, he once again led the team.
They went underwater to find the next treasure marker.
Upon diving, they saw nothing at first. Luo Feng, a bit disheartened, reached into the muck and discovered something hard, like a rock.
[ Ding! You’ve found a stone carving! ]
[ Song Dynasty! ]
[ Worth 1 million yuan! ]
What is this?
A stone carving from the Song Dynasty?
I am looking for treasures from the Ming Dynasty!
Why is the Song Dynasty butting in?
What kind of nonsense is this?
However, having stumbled upon it, Luo Feng still showed respect for the relic.
He carefully pulled the object out.
Once they had emerged from the water, he told the others:
“There’s something down there. It’s big, and I can’t lift it. Can you guys use ropes to tie it up and then hoist it up?”
Upon Luo Feng’s command, everyone immediately sprang into action.
They used seven or eight ropes.
After all, the iron chains just now had gaps, so they were easy to work with.
But if there were no gaps…
They would have to secure it first.
About an hour later,
The stone carving was finally hoisted up by everyone.
The wet stone carving was initially covered in mud, but the mud on the surface had all been washed away during the hoisting process. However, some entangled plankton remained on it. “Damn! It’s a stone carving?”
“How come there’s such a thing at the bottom of the river?”
Once the plankton on the stone carving was cleared, Luo Feng took a look at the shape of the stone carving and was suddenly shocked.
“Is this a stone tiger?”
Luo Feng asked, but he was also puzzled inside.
Could it be the stone tiger in Zhang Xianzhong’s clue?
But the system just said that the stone tiger was from the Song Dynasty!
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