Chapter 58: Kalavinka

Just after Cheng Xiangru heard Leng Ying say that a newly opened tomb tunnel usually needed to air out for a whole day before anyone could enter, he immediately saw Boss Zhou directing his subordinates to lower a rope ladder into the tunnel, which left him somewhat startled.

"Uncle Zhou, are we going down right now?" Cheng Xiangru stepped forward and asked.

"No rush. Let's get the preparations sorted out first and test the air quality." Boss Zhou seemed to anticipate Cheng Xiangru's worries and explained with a smile, "Didn't your dad and the others just go in not long ago? We've already located the destroyed tunnel, which confirms that much. Therefore, we won't need to wait too long, as the air down below has already been circulated. We'll test the air quality down there shortly, and if there are no major issues, we can go in."

Cheng Xiangru had still harbored doubts about whether his father had really been here, but hearing Boss Zhou say this again, his trust increased by a few points.

Correspondingly, his trust in Leng Ying decreased by a few points.

Once the rope ladder was properly secured, someone drove thumb-thick ground anchors into the earth beside the tunnel to fasten it.

After waiting for about half an hour for the dust inside the tunnel to settle, someone put on a gas mask, grabbed a silver briefcase, and was the first to dive into the tunnel, climbing down the rope ladder.

Another half-hour or so passed, and the person who had just entered the tunnel climbed back up—having already removed his gas mask while still down below.

After brushing the dust off his body, the man reported to Boss Zhou, "Boss, the air quality is fine. We can go in."

Boss Zhou looked around and said to Tan Cheng, "You and the brothers stay outside and keep watch. If anyone suspicious shows up, just..."

He paused mid-sentence, his gaze turning as cold as the edge of a blade.

Tan Cheng nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, Boss. I know what to do."

Boss Zhou put on a smiling face again and said to Chen Shangke, "Shangke, you haven't fully recovered yet. Why don't you stay up here as well?"

Chen Shangke's eyes rolled. "Don't be like that. Since I've already come this far, bring me down to take a look around."

Lin Xiaqi spat in disdain and curled her lip. "You're in this state, and you're still thinking about pulling off petty thefts? We certainly don't want to be dragged down by dead weight."

Chen Shangke turned red with anger and snapped, "Don't point fingers at me! Weren't the two of you thinking the exact same thing when you decided to come? You were both staring at me with eager eyes back when we were locating the site, and now that it's time to go into the tomb, you call me dead weight? Is that fair?"

Boss Zhou raised a hand to cut off their bickering. "Stop arguing. Let's all go down together. With more people, we can look out for one another." With that, he looked at Leng Ying. "Young lady, you've spent so many years with Zhifeng and the rest of them; your experience is definitely the richest among us. You take the lead."

Cheng Xiangru felt his heart skip a beat. He knew full well that Boss Zhou was obviously using Leng Ying as a human shield in the front, and just as he was about to object, he heard Leng Ying readily agree, "I have no problem with that! However, you all need to make sure you protect him."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gazes toward Cheng Xiangru.

Boss Zhou nodded. "Don't worry. You walk in first, I'll be right behind you, Little Cheng will follow me, and the others will bring up the rear. Little Cheng will be completely safe."

"That settles it then!" Leng Ying shot a playful wink at Cheng Xiangru. Without any further hesitation, she grabbed the rope ladder and was the first to dive into the tomb tunnel.

Cheng Xiangru instinctively wanted to reach out and stop her, but he was a fraction of a second too late and could only watch helplessly as Leng Ying slipped into the tunnel, gradually vanishing into the darkness.

Boss Zhou patted Cheng Xiangru lightly on the shoulder, smiled, and followed Leng Ying into the tunnel.

Lin Xiaqi advised in a gentle tone, "Little Cheng, you don't need to worry; nothing will happen. How about I go down third, and you follow right behind me? I'll have Luobao bring up the rear, and the two of us will be able to protect you."

Cheng Xiangru smiled without speaking, then quickly crawled into the tunnel himself.

Whether it was Boss Zhou or Leng Ying, both were worried that Cheng Xiangru might be in danger, whereas what Cheng Xiangru worried about was that Boss Zhou and Leng Ying might come to blows.

Neither of these two trusted each other, and each had their own hidden agenda—he just prayed they wouldn't stir up any trouble!

The tunnel was reasonably spacious. Cheng Xiangru grabbed the rope ladder and moved step by step away from the ground, descending about twenty-odd steps before reaching the bottom.

By this time, Boss Zhou and Leng Ying had already switched on their high-powered flashlights, observing the surrounding environment, and both seemed stunned by the murals on the left and right walls.

Cheng Xiangru saw that painted on the walls on both sides were floating clouds and clusters of palaces, with countless human-headed, bird-bodied monsters soaring freely through the air.

Whether it was his imagination or not, Cheng Xiangru actually heard a rhythmic melody playing softly beside his ears, though he couldn't figure out where the graceful music was coming from.

Boss Zhou explained, "Little Cheng, look. The things painted on the wall here are all Kalavinkas."

"Uh... what?" Cheng Xiangru was completely baffled.

Boss Zhou explained, "Kalavinkas are magical creatures from Buddhist legends, possessing the most beautiful singing voices in the world. In Jurchen ancient tombs, Kalavinkas are a very common element, which can be considered major evidence of the Jurchen people's Sinicization. Once you encounter them more often in the future, you won't find them strange anymore."

Cheng Xiangru was filled with vigilance. "Uncle Zhou, did you hear any strange sounds?"

Boss Zhou frowned. "I certainly did."

Judging by his reaction, he apparently hadn't figured out the source of the music either.

Right at the front, Leng Ying smiled dismissively. "Take a closer look at the mouths of those Kalavinkas on the wall. Isn't there a hole inside each of them?"

Cheng Xiangru also switched on his flashlight and stepped closer to the wall to examine it. Sure enough, he saw that while the Kalavinkas in the murals were depicted in various poses, they all shared one common feature: each had a small hole about one centimeter in diameter right inside its open mouth.

Because the open bird beaks of the Kalavinkas were painted black, those circular holes were quite inconspicuous and would be completely missed without close inspection.

"Put your hand near the hole and feel it. Is there air flowing out?" Leng Ying asked indifferently.

Cheng Xiangru reached out to touch it and indeed felt a gentle current of air brushing against his fingertips.

Leng Ying explained, "This is actually a very common mechanism in large ancient tombs. Pipes connect the tomb passage to the outside air. The internal and external air exchange right here, producing sounds of varying pitches. Hearing it all of a sudden, it sounds just like singing. Grave robbers who don't know the trick would probably lose their nerve the moment they reached this point."

"Why go to such a complicated length?" Cheng Xiangru asked, feeling extremely puzzled.

Leng Ying said, "After rulers die, they can't bear the loneliness, so they listen to little tunes in their spare time. It's just a way of cultivating their sentiment, I suppose."

Ancient rulers each had their own distinct beliefs; it had nothing to do with cultivating sentiment and everything to do with the tomb owner's ideals during their lifetime.

Cheng Xiangru was very interested in the content of these murals, but after looking through them carefully, he felt somewhat disappointed, as he didn't see any clues pointing toward the golden sword.

Before long, Lin Xiaqi and the others descended one after another.

After inspecting the murals on the wall, Zhulov clicked his tongue in wonder. "I've seen spirit ways made quite exquisitely before, but this is the first time I've ever seen a tomb passage designed like this."