Chapter 421: Shang Dynasty Oracle Bone Scripts! A Thousand People Buried Alive? What Kind of Grand Tomb is This? (2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Despite the privacy they enjoyed within their tents, both parties had to maintain a level of restraint, after all.
On the fourth day, Luo Feng had made his return to the Taihang Mountains, his attention now straying beyond the realm of the seventy-two dubious tombs.
“Begin the third level scan!” he ordered.
Upon the scan’s completion, Luo Feng, true to form, initiated his excavation process as he progressed further into the mountains.
“Excuse me, host, have you finished with the seventy-two counterfeit tombs? Are you abandoning them already?” a viewer asked.
“Do you truly understand our host’s intentions? Once the genuine treasures have been discovered, why would he waste his precious time on counterfeits?” another responded.
“Are you serious? He isn’t interested? The artifacts within those tombs are worth a fortune! It seems Luo Feng is truly squandering resources!” Indeed, Luo Feng had displayed no interest in these fraudulent tombs. Each one was valued at several hundred million. Even if he had unearthed a mere ten of them, that would amount to only a few billion. In his eyes, this was a sheer waste of time.
[ Ding! You have unearthed a Potential Drink! ]
[ Ding! You have unearthed a Super Energy Potion! ]
For a full week, Luo Feng had dug his way from the west to the east of the Taihang Mountain range, then completed a circuit back from the east.
Fortune smiled upon him when he discovered a human site dating back to the New Stone Age. However, it was not an expansive site.
“Could this be an ancient tomb?” he wondered aloud.
After initiating another scan, Luo Feng discovered a cluster of hundreds of treasure markers gathered in the distance.
“The fengshui of this location is mediocre. Surely there cannot be a grand tomb here!” he mused.
Despite his doubts, he began digging in that direction.
Approximately two hours later…
[ Ding! A corpse…
[ From the Zhou Dynasty! ]
[ Value: 100,000 yuan! ]
Heavens above! Could it truly be from the Zhou Dynasty? From such an ancient period? Buried so superficially, judging by the nearby topography, it was unlikely that there had been any significant geological changes in thousands of years.
Furthermore, why was this corpse valued at one hundred thousand? The corpses he had previously excavated were not typically of such value. Or was it because this was a Zhou Dynasty corpse, hence the inflated price? After all, it was indeed from an extraordinarily distant era.
“Goodness, Luo Feng, you should contact the police, this looks like a case of homicide!” one observer exclaimed.
Seeing this, Luo Feng suppressed a chuckle, “This individual died during the
Zhou Dynasty, do you believe the police would be concerned?”
“An ancient person? Is not this burial a bit too superficial? Could it be from the Ming or Qing period?” Su Meiji inquired curiously.
“It is difficult to ascertain. If there have not been any geological changes, it could indeed be older,” Luo Feng replied.
Examining the body further, he could not deduce much. Perhaps because it was a Zhou Dynasty corpse, it was considered valuable?
Luo Feng paused to observe. The treasure markers extended for tens of meters. Luo Feng speculated, could this entire area be filled with such bodies?
[ Ding! You have unearthed a corpse. ] [ Attribution: Zhou Dynasty! ]
[ Value: 100,000 yuan! ]
[ Ding! You have unearthed a corpse, value 100,000 yuan! ]
Four bodies were unearthed consecutively. All from the Zhou Dynasty. And all highly valuable. Moreover, they were all decapitated. This did not seem to be a normal burial; they were likely beheaded and interred here.
Even if it were a crime, the families of the deceased could still reclaim the bodies of the criminals. Could it be? Were these the victims of highwaymen? Or perhaps? Was this a sacrificial pit? Was there a grand tomb nearby? Luo Feng pondered these possibilities without arriving at a conclusion.
Twenty or so more decapitated skeletons were subsequently discovered.
“Could this be a sacrificial burial pit, Luo Feng?” Su Meiji asked after taking a look.
“I am not certain, we need to continue investigating,” Luo Feng responded, shaking his head. He then sat down to consume some nourishment and restore his energy.
The clues currently at hand were too scarce. Nothing definitive could be inferred. The only two facts they were certain of were that the heads had been severed, and the number of bodies was substantial.
After satisfying his hunger and thirst, he continued his excavation.
At half past ten late into the night, the last treasure marker was discovered, revealing yet another corpse. It was still without a head.
“Do you think there will be more bodies ahead?” Luo Feng mused, realizing he was at the boundary of his scan range. This meant that he could not confirm whether there were additional bodies outside of the circle. It was possible that he had only scanned half of the burial pit.
“Engage level one scan!”
Being cautious of his dwindling Reputation Points, Luo Feng reluctantly issued the command.
At the scan’s activation, a myriad of treasure markers began to radiate beneath his feet, stretching out for hundreds of meters in every direction. “Unbelievable! Could these markers indicate the presence of corpses?”
“Engage level three scan!” Luo Feng had no room for uncertainty now.
As he activated the level three scan, he saw the treasure markers once again multiplying, now covering an area of approximately 1300 meters, a dense congregation under his feet.
Hypothesizing the existence of a tomb, he reasoned he could be standing on its outermost edge. After all, graves of companions or servants would likely be situated on the periphery of a burial site! The seemingly frequent decapitations, however, left him puzzled.
As the shroud of night fell, Luo Feng decided it was time to rest, as digging would be impossible in the darkness. The following day was spent in excavation, revealing more than thirty bodies.
“Why are there so many corpses concentrated here?”
“Old Luo, stop your aimless digging. Search for an area with good fengshui, identify it, and then proceed to excavate the tomb directly!”
“This place seems bereft of good fengshui!”
“Indeed, there’s no clear indication.”
The bodies had been unearthed, but the treasure markers lingered below. What could lie beneath the corpses? It became clear: a tomb.
With each new discovery, Luo Feng’s curiosity only grew. It became apparent that the bodies had been interred directly above the tomb. The sheer volume of bodies suggested a burial associated with an important figure from the Zhou Dynasty.
[ Ding! You’ve uncovered a body, valued at 30,000! Originating from the Zhou
Dynasty! ]
“But why has the value fallen to a third?”
Luo Feng was taken aback.
The previously excavated body had been valued at 100,000, as had most of the others.
Yet now, the value had suddenly plummeted to 30,000.
Upon complete excavation, Luo Feng was shocked to find that it was not a human body at all, but the remains of a large animal, possibly a bull.
“Such elaborate sacrificial rites! This deceased individual must have held imperial status!”
“True, look at all these bones! It’s a veritable field of white!”
“Could there possibly be this many imperial tombs for you to uncover? Could this be another of Mr. Cao’s fraudulent tombs?”
“I seem to recall there were no human sacrifices in Mr. Cao’s tomb!”
“True, but there were wives!”
While digging deeper, about 1.6 meters down, Luo Feng suddenly found something that caught his eye.
Could it be? A corpse from the Shang Dynasty?
Valued at 150,000?
This was puzzling. The bodies he had been excavating were from the Zhou Dynasty, but now, a Shang Dynasty body?
Luo Feng voiced his confusion.
“Could this be the tomb? Is this the tomb owner?”
“Without a coffin, do you think it’s likely that this is the tomb’s occupant?”
“The depths at which these bodies have been found are inconsistent. They seem to be from various periods!”
Rather than digging further into the surrounding treasure markers, Luo Feng decided to focus on excavating the body directly beneath him.
The body was quickly unearthed, but it was incomplete. The head, both arms, and legs were missing.
“Why are the head, hands, and feet all absent?”
“Human sacrifices could be a frightening prospect!”
Despite his reservations, Luo Feng continued his excavation, unearthing a pig’s bone in the process.
After several more hours of digging, a variety of skeletal remains were uncovered, none of them human and none of them complete.
Luo Feng considered his options and chose to leave this area, focusing instead on the area where the treasure markers were most concentrated. “Ding! You’ve uncovered a body from the Zhou Dynasty, valued at 50,000!”
Luo Feng glanced down to see a skull.
How intriguing. It seemed he had found a head.
The treasure marker indicated further artifacts below.
With renewed vigor, Luo Feng continued his excavation.
But his mind was plagued with doubt: could there still be a tomb underneath?
“Ding! You’ve uncovered a tortoise shell!” “Originating from the Shang Dynasty!”
“Valued at 50 million!”
A tortoise shell? What kind of tortoise shell could be that valuable?
Worth 50 million?
Luo Feng immediately crouched down and carefully brushed the dirt away, revealing a tortoise shell-shaped object in the soil.
He carefully collected the shell and wiped away the remaining dirt. The shell was adorned with strange symbols, none of which were familiar to anyone present.
With wide eyes, Luo Feng exclaimed excitedly, “Folks, it appears that your host has unearthed an Oracle Bone Script…”
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