The Lost Tomb : Extras & Special Stories

(Extra Story: 2009 Chinese New Year Special) Chapter 4: Heaven and Earth

(Translator's Note: Chapter title was 乾坤(pinyin: qian kun) which are 2 of the Eight Trigrams. Qian= heaven (male principle) and kun= earth (female principle). Best way to think of it is yin and yang).

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I still remember the atmosphere in the ancestral hall after Biao Gong said that sentence. The overhead lamp's wattage wasn't enough, the light of the fire was dark, there was wind outside, and everyone wore a very stiff expression. I couldn't say what it was, but I realized that the atmosphere wasn't quite right.

In principle, someone would definitely jump out at this time and say "No, this is an outrageous idea" and so on, which was always seen in TV dramas. At that time, however, there was no voice of opposition and it took a long time before someone finally said: "Who will open it?"

This was followed by another uproar, and Uncle Three sneered, "My eldest brother is in charge, so of course we'll do it."

As soon as this remark was made, I knew immediately why the atmosphere was strange, and I couldn't help but feel stiff.

The Wu family's ancestral estate had been divided down through the ages, but it was basically just a name only. My father's family was also just a name, and at most he could be regarded as a clan leader with a reputation and a voting right. Even so, there was a lot of idle gossip. Just now when Uncle Three said that the coffin might be something hidden by our ancestors, the first thing that probably came to everyone's mind here was: maybe a patriarch from previous generations buried some artifacts that couldn't be disposed of at that time in his ancestral grave.

The era when grave robberies were rampant was different from the present. At that time, the technical strength was limited, and the channels weren't as smooth as they were now. Therefore, many of the things that came out at that time but were too hot to sell were all good and must be very valuable. It turned out that the people here were unexpectedly greedy.

But this was our ancestral tomb and we couldn't be presumptuous, so the atmosphere was a little strange. But Uncle Three's sentence was enough to stir up the pot and it seemed that this matter was beyond my father's control.

Sure enough, before Uncle Three finished speaking, someone jumped up: "Why? We won't have any share in the ancestral tomb!"

Uncle Three gave the man a look: "Shit, Cao Er Daozi, you fucking took your mother's surname, so when did you change it back? Is it your turn to talk bullshit?" His voice had just faded when another cried, "This is a matter for the Wu family. Everyone surnamed Wu has a part in it!"

Uncle Three spit and didn't bother looking at him: "There are a lot of people surnamed Wu! I'm telling you, we have to have three brothers to open this coffin! You have no say in this, but if you want to complain, go blame your grandfather for running too slowly when he was reincarnated!" [1] 

"Fuck you! I'll beat you to death!" The man immediately cursed him, dropped his cup of tea, and stood up, wanting to come over. Uncle Three was a tough character and almost cracked the table with a bang when he stood up and shouted, "Fucking try it!"

Uncle Three's voice was fierce, and coupled with his reputation here, all the people who hung out with him stood up at once. While the other side had more people, those who followed the guy who had just cursed also stood up. There was a lot of abuse flying back and forth at that time, and the two people who were toasting each other just now immediately started to oppose each other. As long as someone started a small fight, it was possible to escalate.

My father's face was wooden and he couldn't handle the present situation at all. When he saw everything unfolding, he couldn't help but clap his hand to his forehead and sigh. Just as this group of people were about to fight, suddenly Biao Gong stood up and kicked the heating stove a few steps forward. Flaming coals suddenly flew out and rushed into the crowd, pushing everyone back a few steps. He then took his bamboo crutch and gave the table a hard whap: "You pair of thieves have turned against each other?"

"Biao Gong! This Wu Sanxing..." one of them cried out. But before he had finished speaking, Biao Gong gave another whap, and the sound was so loud that everyone drew back. Then he said to us, "This is the ancestral coffin of the Wu family! Even if you really open it and find something, you have to bury it again untouched, and no one better get any ideas! As usual, the eldest son and grandson will open the coffin to examine the bones, and everyone else will withdraw!" He said that and swung, as if he was ready to hit someone.

He was from the older generation, so no one dared offend him—those who were beaten could only admit that they were unlucky. A group of people all rushed to the door of the ancestral hall. Uncle Three tried to cheat, but was beaten out with a few good whacks. Only me, my father, and a few old men were left in the ancestral hall.

Biao Gong was so angry that he had to sit down to catch his breath after he had finished driving the others out. My father hurriedly gave him some space. On one side, our relative who everyone called Aizi Tai Gong [2] —whose seniority I didn't know— urged him: "Is it worth it, is it worth it? At such an old age, do you want to piss yourself off?"

"No, it's not worth it!" My father said, and then continued "Take it slowly, slowly."

Biao Gong slowly calmed down, stood up and looked outside, then sat back down, and softly whispered to my father: "A Qiong, I'll settle this for you. Let's say it up front: if there's anything good in this coffin, you have to split it with us!"

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When I think of Biao Gong's face at that time, I still don't know whether to laugh or cry. But it seemed to him that everything was perfectly normal: there was nothing wrong with his face and his expression was surprisingly serious. Without waiting for my father to respond, he got up and walked towards the coffin, while one of the two old men guarded the door and the other went to get the tools.

Dad and I gave each other a wry smile. Biao Gong beckoned us to help lift the nameless coffin under the lamp. When I lifted it up, I found it was extremely heavy and thought that if there was a dead person inside, it must be someone on Shaq's level. Dad and I couldn't lift it at all, and we wondered what the bodies of those who carried it back were made of. There was no way we could do it, but we also couldn't call the people outside to help. Biao Gong lit the brazier again, pressed the wood into it, and poured the paper money into the fire, making it flare up. Then he brought the bench over and put the brazier on it for lighting.

When I thought of opening the coffin, I was shocked, excited, and scared—there was no course like this at university. And this was an ancient coffin, at least over a hundred years old. Looking at it, I suddenly felt that the room was somewhat cold.

The village wasn't large, and soon three crowbars were brought over. If Uncle Three were here, there wouldn't be any problems, but my father and I couldn't do it at all. The crowbar was upside down. When I held it up, I was laughed at by Biao Gong who said, "What the hell are you doing, playing billiards?" In the end, the three old men couldn't wait any longer and did it themselves. After a few tries, the coffin nails were all pulled out. The three men then stepped aside, inserted three crowbars into the gap together, and gave it a hard lift.

The whole coffin made a series of "popping" sounds like wood bursting, and then the lid turned up and over. Suddenly, a strange smell of traditional Chinese medicine reached my nose.

Biao Gong drew the brazier closer for lighting, and we all leaned towards the coffin and saw black water inside that almost reached the mouth of the coffin.

I had never looked at a coffin so closely, and I didn't know if it was normal, but Biao Gong's expression also looked confused. He turned to my father and asked, "Was there any water in the grave?"

My father shook his head: "Wet is wet, there was no water."

"Eh, that's strange. Where did the water in this coffin come from?" Biao Gong asked.

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Notes:

[1] Basically saying that guy's grandpa has less seniority than Wu Xie's grandpa since he was born later.

[2] Short great-grandfather.