The Lost Tomb : Sea Of Sands

Chapter 45: Mailed Corpse

Li Cu couldn't understand what Su Wan was trying to say over the phone. He didn't receive a response to the several questions he asked, and it sounded like there was a lot of confusion over there. It seemed like Su Wan's family was close by, so he had to hang up the phone.

Li Cu was grumbling to himself as he took a taxi back to Su Wan's place: If Su Wan was being beaten, wouldn't it be embarrassing to go in by himself? But when he got out of the taxi, he saw Su Wan already waiting for him at the door. He paid the driver and then pulled Li Cu upstairs without saying anything.

Entering Su Wan's room, Li Cu saw the big package Su Wan had mentioned lying there in the middle of the room like a giant coffin. Su Wan's words didn't do it justice. He hadn't described this thing's real size; it was almost as big as his bed.

"How did you move it in?" Li Cu asked, "This thing couldn't fit through the door."

"I got it in from the balcony." Su Wan said, "My father gave me the idea to use the wire we used to decorate our house to pull it up bit by bit."

"Your father didn't ask what it was?" Li Cu stepped forward and saw that the "big guy" was wrapped in a cardboard box. The sealed tape had been cut off, and the packaged had obviously been opened and then covered again.

"Of course he did." Su Wan said, "I told him it was your stuff and we had to respect your privacy. That's why I called you in such a hurry. You have to muddle through and figure out what to do with this thing."

Su Wan wasn't being disloyal since it was originally sent to Li Cu, but he didn't know what to do. If he really couldn't think of a way, he'd have to repack it, move it down from the balcony, and then find a cart to take it back to his house.

"Don't worry, I'll take responsibility anyways." Li Cu said, "What did you say was inside?"

"See for yourself. I just took one look at it and... it's terrible." Su Wan glanced at the box and Li Cu realized that he hadn't gone near it since they had entered the room.

"What the hell is it? Just tell me so I can be mentally prepared." Li Cu said, "I'm not going to open it like this."

"I didn't see it clearly, but I think it's a person." Su Wan said.

Li Cu had really heard it right; this was really a human being. What the hell was going on? He asked again "Is it alive or dead?"

"What do you mean alive or dead? What kind of thing do you think would be sent 'alive or dead'? He's dead, and must have been for a long time."

Li Cu looked up at the cardboard box and said to himself: Damn it, it's really a corpse, right? It's possible. Wu Xie and his group are surely capable of doing such a thing.

Thinking that, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, went to the side of the box, and opened it again. He saw a smaller plastic box inside that looked like those storage boxes sold in supermarkets. There were clasps on the side, and he opened them one by one. When he lifted the lid a little bit, he realized that the plastic box was sealed and there must be more than plastic in there.

When he broke open the lid of the plastic box, he found that it was very heavy and there was an insulated bi-layer in the box. After opening it, a pungent smell emerged and began to fill the air.

Li Cu saw a lot of dry bags inside, and the mummy was wrapped in a kind of gold foil, leaving only its head exposed.

It was a man's corpse that showed clear signs of decay. Obviously, the environment around the body had changed while it was decaying, which suddenly halted the process. Then, the body began to dry and finally became like this. Maybe this man had died in the desert.

The process would take at least two to three months, but Li Cu couldn't tell whether this was an ancient corpse or a modern one. But one thing was for certain— he didn't see a bun on the corpse's head like the ones the ancients usually wore. The corpse's hair was cut to a very neat, short length. It was also sparse and covered in a strange dirt.

Li Cu saw a card lying on the corpse's chest, and when he picked it up, he saw a name written on it: Huo Zhongshu (No .487). There was small print at the bottom:

Discovery area: Third tunnel, North's Sixth District.

Discovery date: June 12, 1984.

Found by: 037.

This was a memo card, and although it only had a few lines, it contained a lot of information. There were two names here: one was Huo Zhongshu and the other was 037. Huo Zhongshu must be the name of the corpse, 037 was the one who found it, and the place where it was found was the third tunnel in the North's sixth district.

This place was obviously very large, because it had six districts in the North alone, and there were many tunnels in those districts. Based on common sense, Li Cu speculated that there should be more tunnels in the South, West, and East districts. The word "tunnel" was also very important because it meant that the North's Sixth District was either inside a mountain or underground.

"What do you think?" Su Wan asked when he saw Li Cu standing there in a daze.

"You might need more space." Li Cu said.

"Why?"

"I think this is only the first corpse, and there may be many more coming." Li Cu pointed to the number after Huo Zhongshu's name, "At least more than four hundred such bodies."

Su Wan opened his mouth, looked at Li Cu, and then looked at his room. After a long time, he said, "Are you sure?"

Li Cu shook his head: "Not necessarily, but I think you should be prepared. There's a very high probability."

Su Wan stammered, "That, that, how is that possible? It's not like we're running a funeral home!"

"Funeral homes wouldn't be able to handle so many bodies, especially if there are more than four hundred." Li Cu sat down on the floor and pinched his brow, feeling particularly tired. "We'd better rent a warehouse in advance."

When Li Cu said these words, he still had a bit of hope in his heart that maybe he was being a little overdramatic about the whole thing. Su Wan also thought that it was just a possibility.

But even if there was only one corpse, it still made them miserable. Su Wan refused to stay in the same room with it, but if they went out for the night, Su Wan's dad would surely burst a blood vessel when he entered the room.

But if they couldn't keep it at home, it would be even crazier to leave it outside. How would they explain it if it was seen by others? Two children carrying a corpse down the road... if they were caught, it would surely be one of Weibo's most popular headlines tomorrow.

After thinking for a long time, Su Wan had an idea. The second phase of the upscale residential area where they lived was still under construction, and the site was just across the road. Nobody worked at the construction site at night, and there was nothing covering the muddy foundation. They could wait until it got dark, transport the corpse over, and temporarily bury it in the pit while they looked for a warehouse tomorrow. If what Li Cu said was accurate, it would be better to be prepared.

Li Cu said: "I agree with the latter. But in regards to the former, it's not feasible to dump a body on a moonlit night. What if we encounter the police?"

Su Wan said, "We either do that, or you sleep here and I'll go to a hotel. I don't mind if you hug that brother for a few nights."

Li Cu was too scared when he thought about it, and could only nod. Su Wan told him to stand guard while he went to get a cart and some shovels so they could work hard later that night.