Chapter 178: Chapter 178: You Must Definitely Be the Modern Successor of the Tomb Raider Captain!
Zhao Zhenhao was completely dumbfounded!
He knew that bringing Wang Hao along would definitely be a surprise, but he could never have imagined that Brother Hao would be so awesome!
“Seek the dragon, divide the gold, entwine the mountain, one entwine equals one barrier, if in the barrier there are eight dangers, don’t leave the Yin and Yang Eight Diagrams!” Tell me, doesn’t this sound like something only a professional tomb raider could say?!
Everyone was just stunned!
Brother Hao even knew such histories?!
“Wait a second, Brother Hao,” Fang Wenbin rubbed his temples desperately: “That’s a lot to process—you just mentioned that Prince Xiao of Liang, Liu Wu, built a huge tomb, and then Cao Cao, out of financial necessity, plundered this tomb to finance the military?”
“Exactly,” nodded Wang Hao. “At that time, Prince Xiao of Liang, Liu Wu, cut through mountains to form corridors and bored through mountains to create hiding places, involving extensive projects and grand scales, recognized by the archeological world as the foremost tomb chamber, magnificent in form and rich in funeral objects, absolutely breathtaking. And that’s not all, the very first ice storage and the earliest seated toilet in the history of the Heavenly People’s Republic were discovered in this very tomb. There’s a saying in the archeological world, ‘Nine out of ten Han tombs are empty,’ and that’s where it comes from!”
Everyone looked confused again!
Oh crap, so that’s where “nine out of ten homes are empty” comes from!
“During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, an ancient text called the ‘Wei Spring and Autumn’ was passed down. In this text, Cao Cao is described as,” Wang Hao started to tell a story, “Cao Cao sent troops to Xuchang, raided the tomb of Prince Xiao of Liang, broke the coffin, and collected tens of thousands of pounds of gold. Did you know that with just this looted treasure, he sustained his soldiers for nearly three years? You can imagine how much treasure he got.”
Everyone was stunned! Was there really such a thing?
Wang Hao continued, “To ensure the success of tomb raiding and the collection of treasures, Cao Cao resourcefully created the position of Faqiu Zhonglang General in the military, who supervised the Tomb Raider Captains dedicated to tomb raiding and treasure hunting. In 218 AD, Cao Cao decreed his will in Xuchang, choosing a burial site in barren land, buried deep in flat ground without any seals or trees, with no gold or treasures inside the tomb. After his death, fearing that people would dig up his tomb, he set up seventy-two doubtful tombs.”
“I know this!” Fang Wenbin, being an adventure enthusiast, said eagerly, “The legend of the seventy-two doubtful tombs is confusing and mysterious. Tomb raiders throughout the ages racked their brains to find Cao Cao’s mausoleum but came up empty. Is the legend of the seventy-two doubtful tombs actually originated from these Tomb Raider Captains?”
“That’s right,” Wang Hao nodded, “Before Cao Cao died, he ordered the execution of eighteen Tomb Raider Captains to be buried with him, to prevent future generations from using the Ghostly Skills of the Tomb Raider Captains to dig up the seventy-two doubtful tombs! Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, and unexpectedly one of these Captains escaped, vanishing into the vast world, never to be seen again…”
As he said this, he sighed lightly, and everyone’s view of him changed!
The Tomb Raider Captain from the past had escaped, could it be…
“Brother Hao,” Zhao Zhenhao gulped and swallowed, “Could you be the descendant of that last Tomb Raider Captain?!”
That’s some wild imagination, thumbs up!
“I didn’t say that,” Wang Hao decisively acted ignorant, but his hands were busy picking up some necklaces from his bag, “Do you know what these are?”
Everyone looked baffled and shook their heads together, “No idea!”
The necklace in Wang Hao’s hand had a dark transparent pendant, glinting with a moist luster under the firelight, its front end sharp and pointed, with the cone-shaped bottom embedded with several strands of gold thread, forming a “see-through pattern.” The talisman itself was engraved with the ancient characters for “Tomb Raider.”
“This is called a Tomb Raider Talisman, only worn by legitimate Tomb Raider Captains!” Wang Hao spun another yarn, “Wearing this can protect you from evil spirits, making entering ancient tombs as if entering an uninhabited realm!”
He wasn’t completely wrong, after all, if there were people in the tombs, that would truly be spooky…
Of course, none of the others noticed the loophole in his statement, all exclaiming together, “Awesome!”
Actually, a genuine Tomb Raider Talisman should be made from a pangolin’s claws, which Wang Hao obviously couldn’t find on short notice, so he had to have a few made temporarily. Of course, it was good enough to fool the country folk…
“Come on,” Wang Hao said, “Oh, I came in such a hurry this time I didn’t prepare any welcome gifts. Here, each of you take one of these Tomb Raider Talismans as a charm for warding off evil spirits when we enter the ancient tomb.”
A Tomb Raider Talisman gifted by Brother Hao, that must be something really good!
Everyone hurriedly took one respectfully and put it around their necks, and it really seemed like the real deal!
After everyone had put on the Tomb Raider Talismans, Wang Hao continued to explain, “The token of the Tomb Raider Captain is the Tomb Raider Talisman, the Faqiu Zhonglang General’s is the Faqiu Seal, the Banshan Taoist typically uses various household items as tools, and the Xieling Sect involves a large group digging graves, causing more damage to the artifacts in the tombs. Of course, by the time of the Song and Yuan Dynasty, disciples from Faqiu, Banshan, and Xieling sects were rarely seen, hence it was often thought that these sects had lost their lineages, leaving only the Tomb Raider Sect.”
“Brother Hao, I’m impressed, I’m really impressed!” Fang Wenbin’s eyes were as wide as a bull’s: “So, Brother Hao, can you tell us about the intricacies of tomb raiding?”
Everyone nodded vigorously, all extremely curious, weren’t they?!
“As for tomb raiding, there are six verses of secret codes, and I’m going to share them with you now.” At this point, Wang Hao confidently switched into know-it-all mode and began: “These six verses are known as Faqiu Seal! Tomb Raider Talisman! Banshan Xieling Dragon Seeking Skill! Human Lights a Candle! Ghost Blowing Lamp! Survey Inversion Seeking Star Peak! Mercury Spot! Nurture the Bright Vessel! Dragon Tower Palace, countless others! Sunk Coffin! Bronze coffin! If your fate isn’t strong, don’t approach! Vertical burial pit! Casket grave! Banshan Xieling, walk around it! Red-clothed fiend! Smiling corpse! Rather listen to the ghost’s weeping than its laughter!”
After Wang Hao finished these six verses, everyone was bewildered again!
They felt as if they had lived their lives in vain!
Not even a single finger of Brother Hao could they match! Look at Brother Hao’s reservoir of knowledge, eloquently talking about everything!
“Bro… Brother Hao,” Zhao Zhenhao was astonished and pleaded, “Can you explain these six verses to us? I don’t understand them!”
Everyone continued nodding in agreement, and even Bai Yaning was staring intensely at Wang Hao, almost afraid he wouldn’t explain.
“Explain? Alright,” Wang Hao cleared his throat, “Oh, why am I so thirsty?”
“Brother Hao, here’s some water for you,” Fang Wenbin immediately handed over a bottle of mineral water, a brand Wang Hao had never heard of, but the packaging sure looked expensive! Fancy stuff! Good job, kid!
After having a drink, Wang Hao, pleased with Fang Wenbin’s actions, started explaining: “This first verse, ‘Faqiu Seal, Tomb Raider Talisman, Banshan Xieling Dragon Seeking Skill,’ refers to the four major tomb raiding sects: Faqiu Sect, Tomb Raider Sect, Banshan Sect, and Xieling Sect! Each of these four sects has its unique skills and techniques for tomb raiding! Do you know what these tomb raiders call themselves?”
Everyone shook their heads: “No idea!”
Wang Hao said: “These four sects are respectively known as Tomb Raider Captain, Banshan Taoist, Xieling strongman, and Faqiu General!”
Everyone exclaimed together: “That’s so impressive!”
Wang Hao continued: “Of course! Let’s start with this Tomb Raider Captain, according to historical records, the Tomb Raider Captain originated in the Eastern Han at the end of the Three Kingdoms period, when Cao Cao, to supplement insufficient military funds, established positions such as Major of Faqiu and Tomb Raider Captain, which were specifically responsible for raiding tombs to procure wealth to supplement the military expenses.”
Fang Wenbin asked, “Then, Brother Hao, why did Cao Cao raid tombs at that time? Was it really to make up for the shortfall in military expenses?”
They only knew that tomb raiding could make money because the tombs were from ancient times, and the items dug up could be sold as antique relics. But Cao Cao was raiding tombs from his own era, how much could those items be worth?
“You’re underestimating the nobles of ancient times,” Wang Hao responded. “Back then, during the Han Dynasty, Prince Xiao of Liang, Liu Wu, was the grandson of Liu Bang, son of Emperor Wen of Han, and the younger brother of Emperor Jing. He enjoyed prosperity and riches his whole life, but even such a person had his regrets. His greatest regret was not ascending to the utmost power. As the saying goes, what you regret in life, make up for after death. Since he couldn’t fulfill his dream in this world, Prince Xiao of Liang decided to do so in another world, thus he constructed a massive tomb, so that he could indulge in being an emperor after his death!”
Again, everyone looked at him—still not admitting it, you absolutely must be the present-day descendant of the Tomb Raider Captain!
Please favorite and vote for this story!