Upon re-entering the tomb, as the crowbars began to pry, that mysterious force reappeared, persistently opposing us.
Zhang Wenjie squatted down, rubbed his eyes, and used his miner's lamp to shine into the gap.
"The gap is too small, the visibility is poor, and it's hard to see inside. Vaguely, it seems like the coffin lid is being pulled by a net from inside."
Chen Duoyu, not one to engage in much mental effort, immediately drew his dagger and inserted it into the gap, gently moving it back and forth a few times. He said the sensation in his hand was peculiar, much like cutting meat with a dull knife.
"Brother, Second Brother, you guys give it a try too. This feeling is like tearing apart pantyhose, hehe."
"Little Three, speak less," Chen Lao Da reprimanded sharply.
Chen Lao San realized his mistake and clapped his hand over his mouth.
An hour later, suddenly the coffin lid loosened, and a few wooden pegs fell down.
"It's open, it's open!" Chen Duoyu pulled out the dagger excitedly.
Together, we opened the coffin lid, and a pungent odor hit us, but after a day of ventilation, it was still within tolerable limits.
It turned out that the net-like structure was the silk lining inside the coffin and the cotton blankets and clothes on the corpse, which had stuck together with the coffin lid over the years.
However, the magnitude of the force was beyond everyone's expectations. The superb craftsmanship of the ancients was truly unimaginable.
The bones had completely rotted away, turning into a pile of mud. The bone frame was as black as charcoal, fused with silk items, and could not be separated. Many coins with green rust spots were scattered on top.
There were many burial objects inside, mostly daily items used by Emperor Wen, mostly gold and silver utensils and jade products, such as bowls and chopsticks, wine vessels, ornaments, jade discs, jade pendants, and jade ornaments.
We also found a bronze sword, a symbol of status. Although the blade was rusty, the various colored gemstones inlaid on the hilt still glittered brightly, dazzlingly.
With everything mixed together, it was difficult to separate them. The Chen brothers put on soft leather gloves and roughly sorted through them, including bones and tendons, all packed into woven bags.
This situation had a professional term in the industry, called "disjointing," which was similar to bundling.
What concerned Zhang Wenjie was not these items, but the book "The Annihilation of Gods." However, there were no pleasant discoveries.
I said, "Mr. Zhang, there are still two coffins left. Who knows, maybe the book you want is in one of them?"
Chen Duoyu also chimed in, "Exactly. Even if we can't find that old book, this pork can still make for a good year. Not a loss, hahaha."
"Little Three, stop babbling so much. Get to work."
Chen Lao Da reprimanded once again, his gaze falling on the corpse of Chen Lao Er.
Chen Duoyu slapped himself and remained silent, focusing only on the task at hand.
Zhang Wenjie's face was heavy, his brows furrowed. He said to me, "In ancient times, the distinction between honor and inferiority was of utmost importance. It's highly improbable that such an important text as 'The Annihilation of Gods' would be in the other two coffins."
I was left speechless by his retort, shaking my head awkwardly, and smiling.
Zhang Wenjie, still not giving up, rolled up his sleeves to start searching. Chen Lao Da quickly stopped him, handing him a pair of gloves.
"Put these on. In case you cut your hand and get infected, it would be troublesome. Second Brother has already passed away. We can't afford any more accidents."
Inside ancient tombs, there were no ghosts, thousand-year-old dumplings, or ten-meter-long snakes slithering around, but that didn't mean there was no danger.
Bones buried underground underwent complex chemical changes, producing various bacteria and viruses. Some could remain dormant for a long time, but once they encountered a new host, they would multiply rapidly, ultimately costing lives.
Zhang Wenjie put on the gloves, grasped the skull of the corpse with both hands, and gently twisted it off, just like picking a watermelon.
"Guangting, take this."
He handed over the head, sending a shiver down my spine. I dared not reach out to take it, gesturing for it to be placed aside instead.
Zhang Wenjie used the dagger to pry under the pillow, effortlessly pulling it out as if cutting tofu.
After washing it with mineral water, upon inspection, it turned out to be a pottery pillow, exquisitely crafted with extremely refined craftsmanship.
Carved on it were the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise, symbolizing eternal control of imperial power and peace under heaven.
"You're still remarkable, with such keen eyes," Chen Duoyu exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up.
Zhang Wenjie shook the pottery pillow by his ear, his eyes brightening.
"There's something inside, making a noise."
Immediately, he lifted the pottery pillow over his head.
"Hey hey hey, what are you doing? Don't, don't, don't, please don't."
Chen Duoyu tried to stop him repeatedly, but Zhang Wenjie paid no heed, bringing the pottery pillow down heavily onto the ground with a loud "crack," breaking it into pieces, and several golden leaves fluttered down.
Picking them up and examining them, they turned out to be several gold foils, densely inscribed with characters. After careful scrutiny, three characters suddenly appeared on one piece of gold foil: "The Annihilation of Gods."
"I've found it, finally found it."
"Such a peerless treasure, even a glance is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I never thought I'd actually obtain it."
"Hahaha."
Suddenly, Zhang Wenjie burst into laughter like a madman, a feeling that we couldn't comprehend, all of us staring at him with blank expressions.
"To preserve 'The Annihilation of Gods' in this manner, ingenious, truly ingenious."
With that, he couldn't help but kiss the gold foil, which had been scraped from a coffin. It was as disgusting as eating feces just to look at.
Gold foil, made from pure gold, was resistant to corrosion and decay, sourced from the Eastern Jin Dynasty and perfected during the Northern and Southern Dynasties through over a dozen processing steps.
"It's strange, why didn't the pottery melt when making the pillow?" Zhang Wenjie glanced at Chen Duoyu. "The firing temperature of ceramics is between 700 and 1000 degrees, higher than the melting point of gold, so 'The Annihilation of Gods' was preserved."
Through a comprehensive analysis of the entire Yongling tomb, it was deduced that Emperor Wen of the Western Wei Dynasty, Yuan Baoju, was deeply influenced by Buddhist beliefs in karma and reincarnation, seeking salvation not in this life but in the next.
Full of fervor and ambition, he was nevertheless sidelined from imperial power, remaining a mere puppet despite his lofty status as a ruler.
He couldn't save the people of the world, couldn't save the woman he loved, and even killed her with his own hands.
In the fourth year of Dàtǒng, in 538 AD, the Rouran invaded in force, encroaching on the borders of Western Wei, while Eastern Wei also harbored ambitions to seize Western Wei territory.
Under the coercion and inducement of Yuwen Tai, Yuan Baoju formed a marriage alliance with the Rouran, marrying the daughter of the Khan, Yu Kuilu, and making her Empress.
That same year, Yefu was deposed.
In the sixth year of Dàtǒng, in 540 AD, under pressure from the Rouran military, Yefu was executed.
Powerless to resist in life, she could only hope for salvation after death, but dared not openly express it, hence the discreet appearance of numerous images of Buddha destruction in Yongling.
After a short rest, we prepared to open the coffins of the two empresses.