Chapter 13: They Really Found an Ancient Tomb

The assistant director’s head buzzed. For a long moment, he couldn’t get a word out.

Viewers watched open-mouthed as the camera pointed at the newly dug robber’s hole. In that short time, the three men had actually made an opening large enough for an adult to crawl through!

Liu San descended, grinning from ear to ear. “Holy crap! Ha! Is the soil really this soft? A few thrusts of the shovel and we actually made a hole! Brother Chen, you picked an incredible spot!”

The astonishing scene drew a flood of viewers, sending the stream’s popularity soaring.

【Popularity】+1 +1 +1…

【They’re really going in?】

【Is that soil so loose? It’s looser than my grandma’s teeth!】

【Could this be a stunt? Did the crew dig that hole in advance?】

【Probably not. Even if it were, I’d be scared to crawl into that pitch-black hole!】

【I don’t envy him this money. He’s risking his life for a variety show!】

After the call, Wang Qiang lay at the opening and shouted down, “Jiang Chen! Come back up! This isn’t just some tomb; it could be somebody’s ancestor! Can we please stop?”

Jiang Chen ignored him. Wang Qiang peered inside and saw something even more shocking: they had lit a candle. A red flame glimmered in the southeastern corner, while Liu San chanted under his breath.

“People light the candle, ghosts blow it out. Tomb raiders live together and die apart! Ancestors, your junior is short of money today. Let me borrow a few little things to get by. If you agree, let the candle stay lit. If you don’t… it’s too late anyway, we’re already inside!”

Chen Ming adjusted his glasses and corrected him precisely. “Master Liu, geologically speaking, the candle tests the oxygen concentration underground and helps prevent carbon dioxide poisoning. Don’t indulge in superstition.”

Listening from above, Wang Qiang felt his scalp tingle. Was this anything a normal contestant would do?

Meanwhile, in the production office, an operations staffer stared at the numbers on the screen, sweat gathering on his forehead. He too had assumed Jiang Chen was staging a stunt; the man certainly knew how to attract viewers. But the more he watched, the more wrong it looked: the professional-looking hole, the colors of the rammed-earth layer…

He burst into the assistant director’s office. “Something’s happened!”

The assistant director had just ended Wang Qiang’s call and was still in shock. “I know, I know. Are they digging a tomb?”

The staffer nodded rapidly. “They may have found a real one!”

The assistant director stared at him for five full seconds. “Wasn’t he putting on a show?”

“That’s what we thought at first.”

“And now?!”

The staffer pointed at his tablet. “Several people with relevant expertise in the stream are telling them to protect the site. They say those layers are the mottled rammed earth found in major ancient tombs!”

The assistant director’s vision darkened and he nearly fell. “Where’s the director?”

The staffer caught him. “In a meeting.”

The assistant director gritted his teeth. “Fine. I’ll tell him now. If this is real and that meeting goes on much longer, he may be holding his next one somewhere else—possibly sewing uniforms in prison!”

He ran all the way to the conference room and burst in. “Director!”

The director held a cup of tea and frowned. “Why the panic? Has the sky fallen?”

“Something’s happened to Jiang Chen!”

The director calmly blew tea leaves away from his lips. “When doesn’t something happen to him? Yesterday he blew up a courtyard. What now? Set a street on fire?”

The assistant director waved his hands. “This is different! He seems to have found a real ancient tomb!”

The director’s cup stopped in midair. The room fell silent. He slowly raised his head. “What do you mean, a real ancient tomb?”

The assistant director swallowed. “A tomb. From ancient times.”

The director slammed down his cup. “I know what an ancient tomb is!” His expression shifted from indifference to utter dismay. “Isn’t finding one a good thing? Report it to the cultural heritage authorities and we’ll have our show!”

The assistant director grimaced. “The problem is, they went there intending to rob it. And they’re already inside!”

The director sucked in a breath. “Whose idea was tomb robbing?”

The assistant director said nothing, only looked at him. The director clutched his chest. “Jiang Chen?”

A silent nod.

The director closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “Why did I let him on this show?”

“Because he draws viewers,” the assistant director answered honestly.

The director’s eyes flew open. “How many viewers now?”

The operations staffer hurried to answer. “One point eight million online!”

“How many?”

“One point eight million.”

The director fell silent for half a minute. Then he gritted his teeth. “Don’t shut it off yet.”

The assistant director stared at him. “What?”

The director hurried to add, “No, I mean, make sure they’re safe first.”

The assistant director exposed him mercilessly. “Director, you hesitated! You just want those numbers!”

The director slapped the table. “Shut up!”

His reasoning was simple. How could a backwater like Jiangzhou have a real ancient tomb? It was probably a graveyard or an abandoned air-raid shelter. Jiang Chen and the others were bold enough to go down and put on a show, and they were drawing an enormous audience. That was good. They would wait and see.

If Jiang Chen really had a talent for finding ancient tombs, why would he be on a variety show? He’d have made his fortune already!

Back in the hills, Wang Qiang received the director’s instructions. After hearing them, he felt terrible. The director wanted him to follow the contestants down and film, not stay above!

Wang Qiang stared into the black opening, close to tears. “What did I do to deserve this? How did I end up filming contestants like these? Couldn’t I film chefs making breakfast? I’d even film someone collecting scrap!”

He cursed, but he still needed his job. Gritting his teeth, he shouldered the camera, turned on his flashlight, and carefully slid down the rope, grumbling all the way.

As soon as he landed, he swept the flashlight ahead and froze. Good grief! It really was a burial chamber!

The walls were built of gray bricks. Though somewhat dilapidated, their orderly structure was still visible. A stale, earthy smell hung in the air. Viewers saw everything clearly through the camera, and the stream erupted.

【Holy shit! They actually found one?!】

【Those brick walls, that structure—how could an ordinary person’s tomb be this big?】

【I take it back. This isn’t scripted; it’s a crime broadcast live!】

【Jiang Chen must have some mystical gift. Yesterday a bomb, today a major tomb. Is he really going to the moon tomorrow?】

【Wang Qiang, stop shaking! Point the camera at the murals! Let me see!】

Several knowledgeable viewers soon appeared in the comments.

【The size and laying pattern of those gray bricks are typical Han-dynasty rectangular bricks!】

【Judging by the curve of the vaulted ceiling, this may be the scale of a Han general’s or prince’s tomb!】

【Jiangzhou was remote in the Han dynasty. A tomb of this size would be an astonishing discovery!】

The atmosphere reached a peak, and the popularity figures jumped frantically.

【Popularity】+1 +1 +1 +1 +1

Wang Qiang edged forward with his flashlight, legs weak. He didn’t dare speak loudly, afraid of disturbing something unclean. Suddenly, a sinister laugh came from ahead.

“Heh heh heh… Heh heh heh heh…”

Wang Qiang nearly threw his camera away.