How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Chapter 143 Re-exploring the Mountain Tomb

With both daughters by his side, it's the perfect time for the family to reunite. Delaying it any longer might only cause more people to worry.

He sent the two younger children to school, while Qiushuang and Guiying were sent to the shop. The previous antique shop had closed down, and now a general store selling goods from both the north and south had reopened. Needless to say, Guo Zixing had arranged everything, including the staff and goods.

On this day at the end of February, Lü Peijun brought her two daughters, Guo Zixing, Chief Zhang, and others to Qingdai Mountain once again.

Guo Zixing was quite surprised that he was able to bring him along this time, after all, the Lu family's ancestral property that he had been longing for was obtained so easily.

Lu Peijun explained that Guo Zixing had helped a lot, and since he didn't want to trouble two people for the same thing, he decided to give him half of his ancestral property as a thank you gift. Guo Zixing then pretended to refuse.

Putting aside other matters, having made ample preparations, Lü Peijun planned to use this opportunity to lure out all the other members of the Lü clan.

If word gets out that the Lü family's ancestral property has been excavated, I don't believe they'll be able to sit still.

"Dad, who is this person?" Qingru asked from the side. Last night, Lü Peijun suddenly brought back a person whose face was unclear, hidden under a stubble beard, who smelled terrible and was dressed in rags. She almost mistook him for a beggar fleeing from war.

To everyone's surprise, Lü Peijun didn't explain much, only saying that he would be the person who guards the house from now on.

You've already brought Guo Zixing along this time, are you still not at ease and have to bring this person along? Although he's washed himself clean, he's still unshaven.

"Just call him Lao Hei. He's a close friend of mine. He's resourceful and highly skilled in martial arts. We need him this time."

"Oh," Qingru replied and then fell silent.

After several hours of trekking, we finally arrived at Qingdai Mountain again. In the daytime, Qingdai Mountain towered into the clouds. Located in a remote area, surrounded by dense forests, it was usually sparsely populated, with only a few ancient pine trees standing not far from the cave entrance.

The cave was hard to find, but it was also easy in some ways. The vines at the entrance were completely hidden, so from the outside, you would never guess that there was a cave entrance there.

Lu Peijun glanced at Qingru, then looked at the tree on the mountaintop, and finally lagged behind, letting Qingru lead the way.

Having learned from their previous experiences, Qingru took the lead without hesitation, followed by Lü Peijun, Yanru, and Lao Hei, while Guo Zixing led the others at the rear.

He had no objection to this arrangement; after all, it was someone else's ancestral property, and he was already doing well to be able to benefit from it.

Turning on her flashlight, Qingru followed her memory, the footprints on the ground were messy and disordered. Clearly, no other visitors had come here since the last time.

"Dad, Yanru, you two need to be careful. The ground is covered in moss and very slippery," Qingru reminded him.

The further they went, the harder the ground became, and the more moss grew. Yan Ru didn't dare to step on it too hard, for fear of slipping and falling.

It took less than ten minutes to reach the stone tablet, which read "Tomb of the late Madam Lü," with the smaller characters next to it saying "Those who open the coffin will die."

Lu Peijun's eyes were filled with complex emotions as he raised his hand to touch the marks left by the knife and chisel.

Qingru and the others stood by and did not dare to disturb him.

Lü Peijun took a deep breath and slowly shifted her gaze to the marking above the tombstone…

Yanru asked in a low voice, puzzled, "Father, why is 'deceased mother' inscribed on my great-grandfather's tomb?"

"It's nothing, just a way of writing to mislead others. A woman buried in the mountainside is considered unlucky. If tomb raiders come and see this, they won't bother them."

Lu Peijun continued, “Look, it says ‘Those who open the coffin will die’ here. It might not be just a well-intentioned warning. This stele is just an empty stele; there’s nothing underneath it.”

"hiss~"

There it was again, that terrifying hissing sound, as if some cold, slippery creature was crawling on the ground.

Lu Peijun squatted down and reached out his hand toward the source of the sound, and the little black snake readily crawled onto his arm.

"This is a tomb guardian beast."

"So small?" Yan Ru asked in surprise, thinking that tomb guardian beasts were all as majestic and imposing as stone lions.

"Although the black snake is small, it is very powerful. I think it was the little black snake that guided you out when you first came here, right?"

Qingru nodded, "That's it. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt me at all; in fact, it was quite docile."

"Hehe, you are the eldest daughter, this is the black snake recognizing its master."

Yan Ru also reached out and gently touched the little black snake. The black snake only hissed twice and then ignored her, wrapping itself around Lü Peijun's arm like an armlet.

“Our ancestors considered this when they built the tomb. Alas… well, the burial goods are meant to be taken out by future generations when they need them. Qingru, Yanru, kneel down with me.”

After saying this, Lü Peijun knelt down first, and Qingru and Yanru also looked solemn.

Guo Zixing and the others stayed a little further away; they were outsiders, and it was best not to get involved.

Lu Peijun bowed devoutly and said, "This unworthy descendant, Lu Peijun, has come today with his two daughters to retrieve the belongings of our ancestors. I hope our ancestor will grant our request." After saying this, he kowtowed three times, and the two sisters naturally did the same.

Lu Peijun secretly observed Guo Zixing and, seeing that they were behaving themselves, signaled Lao Hei to follow so as not to fall behind.

Lu Peijun kowtowed near the tomb of his ancestors. He crawled a few steps on his knees, with Qingru and Yanru following closely behind.

Lu Peijun turned to look at the tomb of his ancestors, then looked up at the sliver of light shining from above, and reached out his hand in that direction.

He felt three protrusions under his hand, corresponding to his thumb, middle finger, and little finger respectively. He pressed down hard, and a dull mechanical sound came from behind. With a "click," a layer of moss around the stone tablet was shaken off, revealing the dark hole behind the stone tablet.

Lu Peijun leaned out to look, and a cold, damp smell hit him. It was pitch black inside, and he couldn't see anything at all. The echo seemed quite loud. Lu Peijun turned around and called to everyone, "It's ready. Tie the ropes around yourselves and go down to explore. Young Master Guo, you'd better leave someone up there to keep watch, otherwise we don't know how we'll get back up."

\"Um!\"

Everyone agreed, and several men tied the rope around their waists. Lü Peijun then tied the rope around Qingru and Yanru's bodies as well.

Once everything was ready, we were about to go down.

Just as Lü Peijun was about to take a step, Qingru grabbed his sleeve and said cautiously, "Father, be careful."

"Ah."

Lü Peijun nodded and jumped down.

This was his first time in such a place. A strong smell of blood hit him right in the head, and he couldn't help but frown and shut his mouth.

"Boom."

Lu Peijun fell to the ground. He quickly covered his mouth and nose, trying to suppress the nausea churning in his stomach, and looked around.

It was pitch black here, with not a single ray of light emanating from it. If it weren't for the miner's lamp overhead, one probably wouldn't be able to see anything at all.

But the smell of blood was too strong, unlike the unique fishy smell of the little black snake. So where was it coming from?