Volume Two – The General’s Tomb Chapter Forty-Two – The Frozen Coffin

When I saw the condition of my palm, the first thing that came to mind was the legendary cold poison. Its terror was known only through scattered rumors in the world, but all agreed that to touch it meant certain death or grave injury.

Most crucially, if the spot infected by the cold poison wasn't dealt with immediately, its corrosive power would spread with astonishing speed—within two minutes it could invade the entire body. By then, the person would be completely frozen, transformed into a human-shaped ice sculpture. To try and save someone at that point would be nothing but a fantasy.

At this moment, I thought of the strange dagger we had found earlier in the armory. That dagger possessed healing powers and was exceptionally sharp. Using it to cut open my palm and drain the cold poison was the perfect solution.

With that in mind, I reached inside my coat and pulled out the dagger. I placed its sheath between my teeth, biting down tightly, then drew the blade out in one swift motion. Taking a deep breath, I pressed the dagger slowly against my palm.

A sharp pain shot through my hand. Fearing that a shallow cut wouldn't draw out the poison, I made the incision a little deeper. Knowing how sharp the dagger was, I dared not use too much force, or I might have sliced my hand clean off.

The instant the blade touched my palm, purplish-blue blood welled up. But what astonished both Li Kun and me was that the moment the dagger touched my blood, its entire blade transformed from a gleaming white to a deep, blood-red hue, as if it were absorbing the very essence from my hand.

At that moment, I felt an icy chill in my palm, as though it were submerged in a basin filled with ice water. The sensation made me shudder uncontrollably, and cold breath escaped my lips in visible puffs.

But this bone-deep cold did not last long. After a few minutes, a tingling itch replaced the chill, and warmth slowly returned to my palm, its color blossoming back to healthy red.

Seeing this, Li Kun couldn't help but exclaim, "My god, what on earth is this dagger? It's too incredible! It even heals wounds. Damn, I feel like I'm in a foreign blockbuster."

I looked down at my hand. In just a moment, the deep gash had nearly healed. Give it a little more time, and the injury would be gone as if it had never been.

I glanced at the base of the coffin, where frigid air still streamed out, though now it was dispersing through the tomb chamber. Only a single current of cold escaped, seemingly blocked by the ice coffin itself.

The source of the cold was at the foot of the corpse, at the very bottom of the ice coffin—a place that wouldn't interfere with Li Kun and me examining the body.

Li Kun turned to me. "Old Liu, how are you feeling now? Any problems?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine now. Be careful with that cold air, though. If you touch it, you'll end up like I did. That poison is deadly. If I hadn't cut my hand open in time, I'd be a frozen statue by now."

Li Kun nodded. "Don't worry, I won't go near that spot. I've still got decades of life left in me!"

"Alright, then let's open this ice coffin and take a look."

Li Kun rubbed his hands, pulled a crowbar from his backpack, weighing it in his hands. "Old Liu, you rest a bit. Leave the rest to me."

I stepped back a few paces, waiting for my hand to finish healing, and watched Li Kun.

He gripped the crowbar in his left hand, wedging it into the seam between the coffin lid and the body. But since the lid was nearly fused to the coffin, it only went in a little.

Seeing this, Li Kun fetched a hammer, took hold of the crowbar with one hand, and with the other swung the hammer down hard on its base.

After several heavy blows, the crowbar was firmly lodged in the lid. Li Kun spat into his hands, gripped the bar with both hands, and pressed down. With a series of sharp cracks, he pried open a large gap in the lid.

He grinned, stabbed the crowbar deeper inside, and, bracing it against the inner wall, pulled back hard. With a scraping sound, the lid slowly opened.

We exchanged a glance, Li Kun smiling as he tossed the crowbar aside and pushed the lid open with both hands.

I shone my flashlight inside the ice coffin, and as the lid opened, Li Kun and I both widened our eyes in shock.

There, lying quietly inside, was a stunningly beautiful woman—almost otherworldly in her loveliness. At first sight, Li Kun couldn't help but sigh, "Such a young, beautiful woman, dead like this—what a pity."

Her face was the most beautiful I'd ever seen, bar none. Her body showed no signs of decay; she was full-figured, with the grace of maturity, perhaps around thirty years old. Her high nose and delicate lips, her eyes softly closed, made her appear as if she were only sleeping.

She was dressed in a red bridal robe from ancient times, a dainty golden crown upon her head, stirring a powerful urge to protect her.

I murmured, "If she were alive, she'd surely surpass the Four Beauties of ancient times. Such beauty is unmatched."

Li Kun turned to me. "Could this woman be the wife of the tomb's owner?"

I nodded. "She must be the tomb owner's wife."

Li Kun smacked his lips. "That guy must have had heaven's luck, marrying such a gorgeous wife. Even the founder of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhao Kuangyin, couldn't have found beauty like this."

"That's not the point," I said. "What's incredible is that her body has been preserved since the Song Dynasty."

Li Kun asked, puzzled, "But that can't be. The Song Dynasty was ages ago. Even with the perennial cold in this tomb, surely the body would have decayed by now."

I nodded. "This tomb is extremely cold, and it's located at the 'dragon's eye' of a dragon vein, where the cold has reached the level of cold poison. But even so, preserving a body for so long is almost impossible. How is this possible?"

Li Kun waved dismissively. "Oh, who cares how the body lasted this long? We're not here to solve a case. Old Liu, shine your light here—let's see what treasures we can find."

I nodded and directed my flashlight over the corpse.

As the beam fell upon the woman's body, both our eyes widened yet again, and we couldn't help but utter a low, admiring curse.

The corpse was bedecked in gold and jewels of all kinds. Her hands, folded over her abdomen, each wrist adorned with a vibrant green bangle. Such bracelets, coming from the Song Dynasty and in this condition, would be worth more than gold in today's world.

But that was only the beginning. On her head gleamed a golden crown, her fingers adorned with gold rings and various jade ornaments.

What shocked us most was the dazzling jade pendant at her throat, resting against her white chest. The necklace was a milky white, the pendant nearly the size of a child's palm, secured by rows of carved golden threads.

Faced with such a sight, we both gasped. My heart was in turmoil—these were all ancient treasures from the Song Dynasty, preserved as if new. To hold them was to hold a fortune beyond imagination.

Each piece was priceless, enough to send the underworld's richest and most powerful into a frenzy. Even if auctioned on the black market, they would fetch a world-shaking price.

But if we tried to sell them, no amount of lives would be enough to escape the consequences. Even if we handed them over to the state, we'd be investigated thoroughly—our ancestors up to eighteen generations back would be scrutinized.

While I hesitated over what to do, Li Kun was already helping himself, muttering as he worked, "Damn, Li Kun's good days start now. Once I sell these, the first thing I'll do is win over that little girl Tian Tian."

Seeing him, I said, "Li, even if you get these out, how do you plan to sell them all? I doubt even Xu Tian would dare try."

He paused, then said, "You're not wrong." After a moment's thought, he slapped his hand and grinned, "I've got it, Old Liu!"

I looked at him in confusion. "What idea?"

Li Kun said, "We don't have to sell them all at once. We can sell them one by one. Any single piece here would fetch a fortune, enough for us to live easy for years. When we run out of money, we sell another. That way, it's safe and steady."