63: Chapter 63: The Contents of the Wooden Box 63: Chapter 63: The Contents of the Wooden Box After flipping through that layer of mud and sand, the stones below were chaotically scattered.
Some were as big as human heads, others no larger than a fist.
It took over ten minutes for Chen Hai and Sun Jinzhong to reluctantly clear these stones to one side.
The hole blocked by the stones had a diameter of just over one meter, a normal person would have to crouch down and shrink their body to barely squeeze through.
“Brother, there really is a cave down there; which one of us should go in first…”
Both already impatient, Sun Jinzhong asked Chen Hai with a beaming smile on his face.
Chen Hai, on his first visit to the sinkhole, had claimed there were treasures to be excavated; Sun Jinzhong was actually quite skeptical about it.
However, the appearance of this cave entrance now completely dispelled the doubts in his heart.
“No need to rush in, Brother Zhong!”
“The cave has been sealed for decades; the air’s quite stale.
Let’s wait a bit for it to ventilate, then it won’t be too late for us to go in!”
Tilting his head, Chen Hai pondered for a while before speaking.
He pretty much knew what was inside the cave without having to enter.
Apart from the bones of the woman in floral clothing, there was only a battered wooden box inside the cave.
This place was where those Japanese Soldiers who had caused the woman’s death had once settled.
The Japanese Soldiers had lingered in this cave for a while, and the wooden box contained loot they had scavenged from nearby homes.
Because their withdrawal was so hasty, when they left the cave, some items were not taken and remained in the box.
As years went by, Chen Hai wasn’t quite sure what was left inside the wooden box.
He only knew about the existence of the cave mainly because, during the fierce battle with the woman in floral clothes, he had absorbed a lot of her memories and gleaned these details from those fragments.
The Japanese Soldiers had been shrouded in too much Evil Qi.
When she first transformed into a spirit, the woman was too weak.
She did want revenge, but at that time, she couldn’t even get close to the soldiers.
After they withdrew, those Japanese Soldiers never reappeared.
As time passed, mud washed down by the rain completely buried the cave entrance, allowing the place to remain undisturbed until now.
Chen Hai and Sun Jinzhong waited near the now-opened cave entrance for about ten minutes.
When Chen Hai struck a match and lit a candle he had brought with him, then stretched his hand into the cave and the candle didn’t go out,
he finally nodded to indicate to Sun Jinzhong that they could enter.
“Brother, I’ll go in first!”
With a grin, the already eager Sun Jinzhong crouched down, holding the candle and slowly moved toward the cave.
Though the entrance was small, after only a meter or two, the space inside suddenly opened up.
Both Sun Jinzhong and the closely following Chen Hai no longer needed to stoop; they could almost stand upright as they moved forward.
“Brother Zhong, watch your step, be careful of snakes inside!”
Seeing Sun Jinzhong’s flip-flops on the ground ahead, Chen Hai kindly warned.
“Brother, there are human bones here…”
Sun Jinzhong, who had always boasted about his courage even to the point of stealing cows, suddenly jumped up in a fright.
The entire cave was, in fact, only about four or five meters deep.
Walking to where Sun Jinzhong now stood, the way ahead was already at its end, and under the illumination of the candlelight in his hand, the interior of the cave could actually be seen at a glance.
A skeleton that had begun to decay but still looked intact lay at his feet.
At a time , and in such a place, stumbling upon such a thing would inevitably quicken one’s heartbeat and stir unease.
Sun Jinzhong’s reaction, in fact, was fairly composed; after all, he merely shuddered a few times and did not scream outright.
“Brother Zhong, it’s only a skeleton; it just looks a bit harrowing, there’s really nothing to be scared of!”
“When we leave later, we ought to dig a hole and bury this thing in the ground, so she can rest in peace!”
Patting Sun Jinzhong on the shoulder, Chen Hai said with a comforting smile.
Truth be told, he was a tad nervous himself, but his resolve was strong, and he could keep his composure.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dragged his cousin over here.
“Cousin, are we really going to dig a hole to bury this skeleton?” Hearing Chen Hai say this, Sun Jinzhong shivered again and hurriedly inquired.
“That’s right!” Chen Hai nodded and added, “The woman in the flowered clothes tormenting Uncle Hanchu was the owner of this skeleton!”
“When I scattered her soul, I promised her a proper burial, so she could rest in peace!”
“I must fulfill a promise I made to someone, Brother Zhong, don’t you think?”
Sun Jinzhong did not respond, his heart already fluttering with panic, and now he shuddered several more times.
“Cousin, you’re not going to tell me that the treasure hunt you mentioned was to dig up this thing, are you?”
After a moment of silence, Sun Jinzhong spoke up, tentatively asking again.
“Of course not!” Chen Hai laughed.
Pointing to the very back of the cave, at an extremely decayed wooden box that could easily be dismissed as rubbish, he continued, “The treasure I spoke of is inside that.”
“However, I’m not quite sure what’s actually inside that wooden box.”
“Whether we can find a treasure inside, that will depend on our luck!”
Hearing this, Sun Jinzhong’s eyes lit up.
Even the fear in his heart was temporarily subdued; holding the candle, he quickly moved to the dilapidated box and squatted down by it.
The lid of the box had rotted away and was quickly pried off by Sun Jinzhong.
The first thing that caught his eye were several palm-sized, unmarked tin cans.
These cans were likely filled with military rations.
After opening one and confirming his suspicion, the tin cans were promptly cast aside by Sun Jinzhong.
Military rations from over half a century ago, even if the cans were well-sealed, he dared not eat the contents casually.
Then, the other items within the wooden box were taken out one by one by Sun Jinzhong and placed on the ground at his feet.
Colorful porcelain bottles and jars, numbering six or seven.
Half of these bottles and jars were damaged, while the others were still in good shape.
However, due to improper storage, their quality was average, and they were not very appealing.
After taking these bottles and jars out, Sun Jinzhong merely glanced at them and quickly moved on.
His gaze remained unswervingly fixed on the other items that had been taken out of the wooden box.