Chapter 655: Chapter 623 Opening the Coffin_1
The following day.
After breakfast, the group took the elevator down to the first floor of the hotel, only to see a throng of girls outside the hotel, practically making it impossible to pass through. Zhou Ning was taken aback and for a moment did not quite understand the situation.
Mr. Zhao sighed.
"Having been in Ganzhou for so many days, I had no idea I’d see so many girls in one day. It looks like they are students from Hexi College."
Only then did Zhou Ning remember that the film crew had booked the hotel themselves, though he hadn’t asked which one. But he guessed, considering they were staying at this hotel, which was currently the best one in Ganzhou. Sure enough, looking around, he saw various promotional posters displayed in the lobby.
Even in the most prominent spot, there was a huge printed banner of the big annual movie being filmed, with the male lead, whom Zhou Ning greatly admired. He stood on a lone boat clad in fox fur, his face resembling a sickly young master, yet exuding an untouchable dominance.
The photo chosen was incredibly evocative; not just the girls, but even he took a second glance.
"Just a little news promotion in the evening, and so many people come to wait?"
Mr. Zhao waved his hand.
"You don’t understand the life of a fan since you’re not one. The moment the itinerary was set, the drama troupe and the leading male actor updated the content on Weibo, along with pictures of Ganzhou’s Colorful Danxia and Qilian Mountains. The speed of this promotion was indeed astonishing."
Glancing at the main entrance, Xia Momo shook her head.
"No more idle chat. We can’t get out through the main entrance; let’s go through the back door. By the way, are Director Xu and the others also staying here?"
Mr. Zhao smiled.
"I told you we should be quick. Zhou Xiaozhou has trouble getting up, and you also got up late. We couldn’t just leave you behind. Mrs. Fei went to deliver Chen Cheng early this morning; he got sent back to Qindao. Our leaders are older folks who rise early. I heard they went to see the experts about restoration first thing in the morning."
Hearing this, Zhou Ning hastened his pace.
"Hurry, let’s take a taxi over."
Mr. Zhao shook the car keys in his hand, shaking his head.
"They’ve left a car for us. Tell me, are we now going to take a tour with the experts like the leaders, or are we heading to the forensic lab?"
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Ning waved his hand and said,
"To the Criminal Police Team. Aren’t all our people there? The six cocooned mummies we brought back yesterday should be done rehydrating by now. We’ve brought quite a few people, and today, that forensic doctor, Doctor Zhang, should be back, right? Let him start the autopsy, and we also need to wait for news from the museum."
The group got into the car, and Mr. Zhao, shaking his head, mentioned,
"That old man Feng is pretty good, and his abilities are indeed impressive. I think they would prefer researching the coffin slowly. I don’t know if we could see any signs of tampering from later periods."
Zhou Ning acknowledged with a grunt.
"Last night, Director Xu mentioned the matter of the burial goods. I’ve been thinking about it, and I suppose the likelihood is high that they’re inside the coffin."
Mr. Zhao shook his head.
"I doubt it. If the Sapporo People had been here, nothing would be left. If there were any objects, they would have been completely taken."
Zhou Ning said no more; Mr. Zhao’s reasoning made sense. The question now was whether these coffins were in their original state or had been resealed later. Soon, the car arrived at the Criminal Police Department, and they headed straight upstairs.
Zhu Xingxing felt somewhat embarrassed, as she was supposed to be the team leader, yet while everyone on her team had arrived on time, they were the last to show up.
Zhou Ning briefly checked the hydration condition of the cocoon mummies and then assigned tasks to Zhu Xingxing, with Xia Momo and Mr. Qu, naturally assisting here to restore the decedent’s faces.
After arranging everything and checking the time, they silently got back into the car and headed straight for the museum, especially since the experts were all busy with the materials in the university laboratory, leaving the coffins unattended.
Upon arriving at the entrance and after waiting not more than two minutes, Curator Cui came out jogging.
"Have you finished your tasks?"
"We came to see how things were going here. Have you found a way to open them yet?"
Mr. Cui let out a long sigh.
"It really wasn’t easy. The team Elder Feng brought spent the entire night studying and finally found the problem. This wasn’t any mortise and tenon structure; it was a mechanical lock. Despite being made of wood, there wasn’t a single sign of rot or damage.
In the end, we had to saw open one to figure out how to unlock it. It was the very last one we cut open, the one Elder Feng mentioned, which had a place on the lacquered surface that looked like double eyelids.
Elder Feng said that it had been damaged during transportation, and instead of replacing it, they repaired it on the spot with raw lacquer and glutinous rice among other materials, which resulted in the double eyelid effect; the craftsmanship was indeed very impressive," he said.
Mr. Zhao perked up on hearing this, realizing that a couple had already been opened.
"Let’s go and see, what on earth is inside?" he asked with anticipation.
Mr. Cui nodded with a smile.
"I’ll keep you guessing. You’ll see for yourself at the site, that’s the surprise," he teased.
Zhou Ning didn’t press further. The trio hastened into the museum, bypassing the exhibition area and heading directly to the rear offices. A large courtyard was now crammed full of various cabinets, tables, and the like, obviously due to the museum rooms being occupied by the coffins.
Following Mr. Cui, they walked to the first room on the left.
Elder Feng, with his back to the door, seemed absorbed in something. On hearing their footsteps, he turned around.
At that glance, Zhou Ning almost didn’t recognize him. The old man was quite dirty, his hair a wild mess, his beard scruffy, and his clothes and apron were stained.
Upon seeing Zhou Ning, Elder Feng broke into a childlike grin and immediately ran towards Zhou Ning.
"Director Zhou, you’re here! Come and look, I’m so thrilled. The last and first of these eight coffins have been opened by us. They’re full of grave goods. Not to mention, there are a lot of items from the official kilns.
There are even text-related items, seals, gold crowns, saddles, brocade garments, and various ritual vessels. The items are very miscellaneous and can be said to comprise the most precious things of various regions at the time. Look, there are even glass beads.
Let me tell you, just by the standard of these grave goods, the level of this tomb can be said to be quite high. I think it’s safe to say that it’s not inferior to our princes and marquises in rank, plus there’s an inscription inside the coffin.
It mentions the identity and name of the deceased, the time of death, and even a moving passage that roughly means if, in future generations, Mother Buddha cannot grant you longevity, then open my coffin, take these items, and use them to protect your children and guard the pasture," he explained.
Mr. Zhao, astonished, glanced inside the coffin and indeed saw a stone tablet with inscriptions in an unreadable script, a language that was clearly familiar to Elder Feng.
"What language is this, Elder Feng?" he asked.
Elder Feng, very proud, patted his chest and said:
"The Huihe script, also known as Ancient Turkic. Fortunately, twenty years ago, I was studying Ancient Turkic. These script habits and grammatical features allow for easy dating. The earliest of these coffins, namely the first one, should date back to the end of the Yuan Dynasty or the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.
Although the grave goods inside are from the early Ming period and were placed on top, suggesting the coffin was opened once and items were added later, there are no bones inside, only an urn for ashes. According to the inscription, the person is Boyegu’s most outstanding leader, Altai.
He was poisoned by someone in his quest to protect the herders of Boyegu, leading to his body decomposing, so his descendants cremated him and enshrined his ashes. The last coffin’s occupant is Aguduo, who, going by the timeline, would have lived in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. She is Altai’s great-granddaughter," he narrated.
Mr. Zhao, taken aback, asked:
"A woman?"
"Yes, a woman. Her coffin too contained an urn of ashes along with a full set of grave goods. However, unlike the first, her coffin bore no marks of being reopened. From the epitaph, it appears that Aguduo was a very brave and skilled warrior.
During her reign, she protected the pastures around the Qilian Mountains, including the southern region of Ganzhou City, as well as maintaining a divided state with Guyuan Town. She ruled the largest territory of her time. Her four sons were all very courageous and managed the four tribes of Boyegu together," he continued.
Reflecting on this, Mr. Zhao had an epiphany as he remembered the skeletons found at the southern entrance of the cave:
"It seems the skeletons we discovered at the foot of the southern hill are Aguduo’s four sons. Even in death, they wanted to guard the spirits of their ancestors, praying for a warrior from the Boyegu clan to emerge and continue protecting the land," he deduced.
Elder Feng nodded and, after wiping his hands, pointed at the coffins, commenting:
"I think the other coffins will be similar to these two. Having survived all these years without damage and perfectly preserved, it’s Ganzhou City’s, no, I should say Longyou Province’s, most significant archaeological discovery of 2013," he stated.
Zhou Ning pondered and frowned slightly.
"Elder Feng, are you saying that these coffins could be opened, have items added, and then be resealed?" he inquired.
