The Lost Tomb : Extras & Special Stories

(Extra Story: 2009 Chinese New Year Special) Chapter 14: Setting a Trap

I didn't know what was going on until they came back. It turned out that, as expected, there was a dispute after Biao Gong's death. My father was hit by someone, and chaos ensued. Even Biao Gong's corpse was knocked over. Later, the police came to break up the scene, but we had completely lost face. Uncle Three said we should call somebody, otherwise we wouldn't be able to stay in the village.

My father said to forget it, it's better to avoid unnecessary trouble, and in the end, we were all members of the Wu family. Uncle Three was so enraged that he ended up quarreling with my father, who angrily went upstairs.

Uncle Two didn't seem to care. He watched my father go upstairs and close the door before beckoning us to his room.

Curious, Uncle Three and I followed him and asked him what he was doing. He took out something from his pocket and said: "Look at this."

"What is it?"

"I found it in Biao Gong's cuff when you were fighting." Uncle Two said.

On the table, I saw that it was a medieval key that looked familiar.

"Isn't this the key to the box where old Biao Gong keeps the genealogical record? We saw it at his house yesterday." Uncle Three said. "What does this mean?"

"Biao Gong left a message for us before he died. It seems that he wants us to look at the family tree again." Uncle Two said, "He may have thought of something before he died."

This was an unexpected change. Uncle Three scolded, "Why didn't you say something just now? It was more convenient to go earlier, but I'm afraid it's a bit problematic now."

I also read our genealogy, but I really couldn't understand the contents, so I didn't have much of an impression. Now that Biao Gong was dead, there was a fear the genealogical record would be stolen, so someone must be guarding it. There was a big fight just now, and it may not be realistic for us to go to Biao Gong's house and look through his things.

"Money makes the world go 'round. Wu Sanxing, don't tell me you can't settle this matter." Uncle Two said.

Uncle Three nodded: "Understood." Then he called the man who was going to stand watch tonight, whispered to him, and the man left. I asked Uncle Three how he arranged it, but he said that children didn't need to know. We would be able to go in tonight to get the things we needed.

I didn't think Uncle Three's method was the way to go, but it didn't matter if he wouldn't tell me, as I didn't have to bear the burden. Turning my head, I asked my uncle what he thought of my phone call earlier. Uncle Two made a gesture not to mention it and told me not to ask.

I was puzzled, and felt like Uncle Two was being secretive. But when I saw his expression, I knew it wasn't a convenient time to ask, so I had to give up.

Soon Uncle Three's guys came back and whispered something to him that made him simply say "Ok." We had dinner and stayed at home until midnight, then set off with a flashlight.

There were few street lamps in the village at night so some places were dark and had no light at all. Rural people went to bed early so there were only dogs barking on the road. I wasn't used to walking in the village at night, so I followed closely behind Uncle Three. After walking for about 20 minutes, he stopped and nodded to Uncle Two, who motioned me to keep silent, and then turned off the flashlight.

I was baffled. After turning off the flashlight, it took a while for my eyes to adjust to the darkness around me, and I only saw Uncle Three tiptoeing around a corner. I was surprised to find that we were back, and the place in front of me was our own yard.

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Uncle Three led me to the corner of the courtyard wall and the three of us sat down against the wall. I kind of understood what was going on now.

Obviously Uncle Three and Uncle Two had other plans besides looking at the genealogical record. Of course, I didn't know what they were thinking at all, but based on this situation, this was obviously an ambush. I stilled my movements and decided to cooperate with them.

It was the middle of the night in winter, and although the weather hadn't yet reached the coldest time, staying up late in the open air on such a rainy night was really torture. Soon my teeth were aching and my whole body had shrunk in on itself. I felt as if my body temperature had been blown away by the wind hitting my neck.

It was after midnight, and I was completely numb from the cold, when suddenly we heard a noise in the courtyard. Uncle Three and Uncle Two appeared to be sitting, and when the sound rang out, they both quivered. It was obvious that they were also unbearably cold. We stood up slowly, looked over the wall into the courtyard, and saw that the big stone on top of the water tank had suddenly moved.

I narrowed my eyes as my nerves sorted themselves out. On closer inspection, I found that it wasn't the big stone that had moved, but the wooden lid of the water tank that was pushed up. Then the stone rolled to one side, the lid was pushed up further, and a man climbed out of the water tank. He looked around and then walked into the house.

"So it was actually hiding here!" Uncle Two whispered.

"Go!" Uncle Three stood up with a wave of his hand. "This bastard finally appeared."

I went to follow, but my feet were numb with cold and I shivered twice before I managed to get up and follow.

While walking, Uncle Three lit a cigarette and seemed to have endured a terrible hardship. Passing through the debris pile in the yard, he pulled a bag from inside. I had no idea when he hid it. He took out the shotgun from the bag and cocked it.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"This is the fierce ghost." Uncle Two sneered.

"Is it a person?"

"In this world, people are more fierce than ghosts." Uncle Two said. Just then, there was a sudden shout from the room. I knew it was bad and cried, "My dad's still upstairs!"

I was about to rush up but Uncle Two stopped me and said, "Don't worry, I was already prepared for this." Uncle Three had broken into the house. As we hurried up to the second floor, we saw my father's door was wide open and the room inside was a mess. A squirming man was rigidly held on the ground by a burly man, crying in pain.

"Da Kui, lift his face up." Uncle Three said. The burly man immediately tightened his hold, pulled the man's upper body from the ground, and stuck out his neck.

At a glance, I recognized this face that I had often seen these past few days— Cao Er Daozi!

"It was you, you son of a bitch." Uncle Three gave an insidious smile, "I've caught you!"

Cao Er Daozi looked surprised and obviously still didn't understand what was going on. I couldn't see my father anywhere, and anxiously asked, "Where's dad?"

"Preparing in the ancestral hall." Uncle Two said, turning to ask Da Kui, "Did you film it?"

"It's all there." Da Kui nodded. "This guy is so ruthless. I was almost smothered by him."

Uncle Three squatted down in front of Cao Er Daozi and said, "Didn't fucking think of that, did you?"

"Damn it! Didn't you get caught by my men at old Biao Gong's house?" Cao Er Daozi looked genuinely baffled.

"With what eyes did you see me get arrested?" Uncle Three asked.

I listened to this dialogue and felt confused. Cao Er Daozi was put to one side, and I asked Uncle Two what was going on. He smiled and said, "I told you earlier, I don't believe in ghosts and gods. In this world, only the human heart is the most terrible thing."

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