“Wow, these ancient folks really had a lot of free time,” Xiang groaned.
We decided to rest for a while and eat something. Then we resolved to enter the water to see what was really there. The pool was about a meter in diameter. We agreed that Xiang would go in first to scout — a very dangerous plan.
We had no professional diving equipment, nor any lighting tools. This wasn’t us recklessly sending Xiang into danger — it was that only Xiang, given his swimming skills and physique, had a real chance of returning alive if anything went wrong underwater. Xiang dove in, and we waited anxiously.
After a while, Xiang broke the surface, gasped for air, and said, “It’s very bright down there. Three meters down, you have to turn, but I didn’t make that turn and came back.”
“Bright down there? How is that possible?” I asked.
Lao Sun suggested, “Maybe there are luminous pearls in the water.”
Since the pool seemed safe, we immediately decided to dive in. Xiang led the way while I brought up the rear. After descending a short distance, it really was bright. Lao Sun’s eyes were sharp — with a quick motion, he had a glowing pearl in his hand. We maneuvered a few turns underwater, holding our breath until it was almost unbearable. Suddenly, we sank quickly and shot up to the surface. Climbing onto the bank, we realized we had already reached the tomb interior.
Inside the tomb, luminous pearls were everywhere, illuminating the passage brilliantly. As soon as we emerged from the water and steadied ourselves, a huge venomous snake lunged at me. I quickly jumped back into the water. The snake changed direction, opening its mouth toward Xiang. He leapt and narrowly avoided disaster — the tomb passage was extremely narrow.
Xiang grabbed an iron rod and struck. Before the snake could react, Xiang had smashed it hard, crippling it. The snake reared up, inflated its throat, probably ready to spit venom. This creature, thicker than a bowl, could have easily killed us if it sprayed. At that moment, two even larger snakes began crawling toward us, clearly eager to join the fight.
We were in grave danger. Without thinking, Lao Sun hurled an object at the snake’s head. Only then did I realize he had thrown one of the luminous pearls we had picked up in the water — the pearl fell, and the snake perished. I leapt from the water, brandishing my sickle, and hid in a crevice in the tomb wall, waiting for the other two snakes to approach so we could ambush them.
But they didn’t come. For the moment, we were safe, and our nerves calmed slightly. The area where the snakes had been was now off-limits — who knew how many more were lurking? We moved in another direction. The tomb passage grew narrower and narrower.
At first, the passage was wide enough for a horse-drawn cart. Soon, it could only fit one person at a time. Fortunately, we had collected seven or eight luminous pearls, lighting the tomb brilliantly.
We pressed on. Suddenly, Xiang fell into a hole in the floor and disappeared from sight. Lao Sun didn’t hesitate for a second and followed immediately. I had no choice but to close my eyes and jump in as well, landing on a pile of stones.