When the book-traveling little detective meets the two-faced prince

The coffins here are the same as the coffins in the Huaifeng Village tomb chamber in terms of wood, shape, and patterns. They are all made of fir wood.

There are quite a lot of coffins, but they are arranged neatly and orderly.

Such a contrast.

The scattered gold, silver and jewelry seemed disorganized.

"This isn't a treasure trove, it's clearly a cemetery."

The hundreds of coffins in front of him and the huge impact brought by such a horrifying scene made Liu Yunhe unable to help but blurt out such a sentence.

He couldn't understand why so many people came forward, even risking their lives, to search for the place where the rumored treasure was hidden, and it was actually a cemetery for the dead.

The people around him also had serious expressions.

"That's right." Guan Ziheng looked at the only exposed corpse from a distance, timid but unable to suppress his curiosity, and said, "But... why is he the only one not in the coffin?"

"Go over and have a look."

Lin Lezhi's eyes were filled with vigilance and solemnity, but he could not conceal the determination revealed in his eyes. His urgent desire for the truth made him walk straight towards the corpse under the banyan tree.

Seeing this, the others followed closely.

Without the support of flesh, the corpse was scattered all over the ground. But even so, because no one had moved it and it was still wearing clothes, it was still possible to tell from the general direction of the corpse that it had been leaning against the trunk of the banyan tree.

The deceased was wearing a white shirt with large spots of dried blood on his chest and sleeves.

In such a cold and damp place, even though the dead have turned to bones and the blood on their bodies has dried up, and there is no smell of blood, this scene alone is enough to shock people.

After arriving at the corpse and squatting down to pay respect to the deceased, Lin Lezhi first looked at the shoulder blade area hidden under the clothes.

The clothes were untied, and in the bright light of the fire, the marks on the shoulder blade of the corpse were so clear that they seemed to be deeply imprinted in Lin Lezhi's eyes.

The scar reflected in Lin Lezhi's eyes made him stand there in a daze, but the surging emotions in his heart were difficult to calm down.

"The deceased was a man. He most likely died of stone lung disease, the same cause as all the corpses in the coffins in the Huaifeng Village cemetery."

Different from Lin Lezhi.

Qingchuan, who was proficient in medicine, first noticed the gray-white particles between the bones, like pebbles.

Suddenly, something struck Qingchuan. He looked at the hundreds of coffins placed around him, his eyes filled with compassion. He couldn't believe it and said, "...Could it be that all the corpses in these coffins died of this disease?"

Listen and.

Everyone's heart trembled.

Rather than shock, there is more sadness and unwillingness to believe it.

Looking at the coffins scattered all over the floor, Guan Ziheng found it unbelievable and unwilling to believe it, "What on earth could have happened to cause so many people to die from this disease?"

"Quarrying." Lin Lezhi suddenly spoke, his expression extremely solemn and certain. "I'm afraid this is the treasure that Hong Mingxu and his group are really looking for."

"Here?" Guan Ziheng wasn't very clear about what was happening on the island. He glanced at the scattered gold and silver around him and asked uncertainly, "You mean... these gold, silver, and jewelry?"

Lin Lezhi shook his head, stood up, and said, "Earlier on the lake island, Qingchuan mentioned that stone lungs are common among those who make a living from quarrying. Constantly inhaling tiny dust particles from the stone dust deposits in the lungs, and over time, they form grayish-white pebbles in the lungs, hence the name."

"But there's no sign of quarrying here." Realizing his explanation wasn't accurate, Guan Ziheng continued, "Illegal quarrying is a serious crime. Even if private mining is taking place, even if it's jade, it must be reported to the government. It's absolutely impossible to mine privately, let alone gold, silver, and iron."

But as he spoke, Guan Ziheng began to lose confidence. He looked at the corpse lying on the ground, the gray-white particles between the bones, and his voice weakened as he muttered, "However, the corpse in the tomb of Huaifeng Village did die of this disease. This..."

"Do you remember Feng Yuan once said that Huaifeng Village moved to the lake island over two hundred years ago, and the Northern Qi Dynasty was established over four hundred years ago, but the Lantern Festival is even older than that. And the specifications of the Huaifeng Village crypt are exactly the same as what we saw in the canyon."

Guan Ziheng followed Lin Lezhi's words and thought of a possibility. His eyes tightened as he said, "You mean... the people in this canyon moved here from Huaifeng Village. They most likely lived in Huaifeng Village before the establishment of the Northern Qi Dynasty."

"Yes."

"But..." Guan Ziheng still couldn't figure it out. He said puzzledly, "From the results, it seems they all died of stone lung disease. However, apart from the coffins and gold, silver and jewelry, there are no signs of mining here."

There were no mining tools or craftsmen, only coffins and dead bodies everywhere.

"Who says there's no evidence of mining? Everything we've seen along the way is strong evidence."

As he spoke, Lin Lezhi took out the small knife from his sleeve and gently tapped the banyan tree behind him with the handle of the knife. Then the dead banyan tree seemed to come alive and made a dull sound.

"Everything we've seen along the way here—the tomb's massive doors, the lamps, and even the banyan tree before us—is made of iron, while the incense burner on the altar is made of copper. Although they're all coated with lacquer to mask the metallic sheen, the sound they make when struck is undeniable. Bronze has a resounding, high-pitched sound, while iron has a dull, low-pitched quality."

The moment the sound rang out, everyone was shocked.

The copper stove at the door could be said to be custom-made, but the banyan tree in front of it was so big that if it was made by someone and then transported here, it would definitely not be concealed.

For such a large object to remain unknown, it could only have been made in private.

It is also exquisitely made, which requires not only superb craftsmanship but also years of time.

"In addition, the burial pits of Huaifeng villagers and the statues in the village's earthen temples also prove that these people once lived in Huaifeng Village and smelted iron on the lake island. Later, for some reason, they collectively moved to this canyon."

Although Lin Lezhi spoke clearly and Guan Ziheng understood every word he said, as well as what he said before, when Lin Lezhi said that the Hundred Bone Pit and the statue could also serve as evidence, Guan Ziheng couldn't understand what the connection was.

Not only Guan Ziheng found it difficult to find the connection, but everyone else was also confused, with puzzled looks on their faces.

Qingchuan's eyes were filled with confusion, and he asked, "I wonder what the relationship is between the Hundred Bone Pit and the statue and this place?"