Chapter 46
Tongque Town, Anxin City, Jiannan Province. The island forest, at the ancient tomb site.
The archaeologists and other staff members who had rushed over through the night, travel-worn and covered in dust, gathered in a circle. Before them was a deep pit already visibly more than ten meters deep.
But clearly, the shape below still could not be seen clearly, and the passage had not yet been completely opened.
Beside them, an archaeological shelter had already risen from the ground. A drone equipped with a LiDAR mapping system rumbled in midair.
Inside the shelter, some machines had already been simply installed and had begun operating and analyzing.
Tomb excavation by state archaeological teams had always had a pleasant-sounding term: rescue excavation.
Unlike tomb robbers, who saw money and lost all reason, caring only about stealing valuable objects and cultural relics while destroying tombs without restraint, archaeologists basically excavated ancient tombs through professional methods. Their purpose was to explore the historical remnants preserved in ancient tombs, uncover historical information, investigate missing parts of history, restore the social appearance of the flower-growing nation from thousands of years ago, and confirm the times and years that had once existed.
This was an important source of tracing roots and building national confidence.
But, to put it nicely—
Many principled archaeologists claimed that they passively excavated tombs, and that it was all for the sake of rescuing cultural relics damaged by tomb robbers or needing to be removed due to modern construction.
But the meaning of archaeologists’ existence was archaeology. Without “ancient,” where would there be “study”?
Therefore, the bottom line of principle was that, under the premise that technical methods allowed it and cultural relics and sites would not be damaged, of course they would excavate as much as they could.
And the ancient tomb before them was truly somewhat pleasantly surprising.
“Old Gu, our luck is good this time. This tomb actually hasn’t been visited by tomb robbers yet.” A plain-looking man in his fifties with a full beard laughed heartily, his mood excited.
His surname was He, and his name was He Caiying.
The old man referred to as Old Gu, who seemed to be the leader of this operation, nodded.
He was thin and wiry, his eyes sharp and gleaming. “Luckily we came early. Yesterday, after receiving the news, we contacted the local police station. The police have already caught two waves of rats.”
“My heavens? These tomb robbers have noses sharper than dogs,” a student beside them could not help exclaiming.
After all, as someone in this field, he had followed his professor on several tomb excavations.
Up to now, he had never excavated a tomb that had not been visited by tomb robbers…
This one in Tongque Town was actually the first!
The student’s eyes also shone brightly, as though he had regained the anticipation he had felt before his first tomb excavation.
“Big Boss Shen is really amazing. Who would dare believe that he could discover something strange just by looking at the feng shui of this forest? If he hadn’t said there was a tomb here, even I, someone who professionally studies this, wouldn’t have noticed.”
His family had a long academic background. His elders had previously been experts in related fields.
After all, archaeology itself was considered a niche discipline. If one wanted to truly study it properly, four years as an undergraduate was far from enough to achieve anything.
Therefore, influenced by what he had heard and seen since childhood, he could not say he was proficient in knowledge about tombs, history and culture, or even side paths like feng shui, but he could at least understand some of it.
Yet he had not expected Shen Jinfeng to be even more formidable than a half-professional like him!
“Who is Big Boss Shen?” He Caiying asked in confusion.
He was old, specialized in archaeology, and spent every day with cultural relics and ancient books. He almost never went online.
“Old Gu, wasn’t this tomb discovered by you?”
Old Gu shook his head and gestured for the student beside him to explain.
Receiving the instruction, the student introduced his idol with radiant delight.
“That’s a long story, Professor He. I have to first explain to you that in recent years, there’s been a variety show that has swept across the whole country. You should have heard of it too. It’s called What Kind of Person Are You. The founding purpose, format, and content of this program are mainly…”
He first introduced the format of Being Human. After all, setting up a virtual world as a variety show world was also an unprecedented first.
“This year, the show has its third season, and the theme is wilderness survival. The production team set up its data based on real-world locations. Coincidentally, Tongque Town is by the sea, so the forest we’re currently in is part of the scenery the production team used as reference.”
“Big Boss Shen’s original name is Shen Jinfeng. Because he’s really too amazing, I call him Big Boss. Hehe.” The student smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
At present, the preliminary detection robot was still down in the pit testing soil quality and filming footage. The drone data had not yet been fully collected, and after it was collected, there would still need to be 3D modeling.
The archaeologists who had arrived earlier had only made preliminary judgments based on their own experience and expertise. As for whether to open the tomb, whether to go down, and what specific preparations needed to be made, they still had to wait for further feedback before analyzing and deciding.
Therefore, everyone’s mood was still relatively relaxed.
Hearing the student say this, He Caiying became interested.
“Hahaha, I understand. He’s your idol? Tell me, how exactly is he amazing?”
The student had been granted permission to promote him. Moreover, his idol’s greatness was visible to all and absolutely undeniable, so once he began introducing him, he spoke with great fluency and endless enthusiasm.
After promoting all of Shen Jinfeng’s glorious deeds, he finally reached the most important topic.
“The place we’re standing in now is exactly the place Big Boss Shen discovered in the show. At the time, he walked into this forest, and one of his teammates fell into a swamp. In the face of danger, he stayed calm and cooperated with another teammate to save the teammate who fell in. After sending that person back, he came back again. Because with one glance, he saw that something was wrong with this forest!”
“His original words were: hidden wind and gathered qi, flourishing vegetation, layered mountain forms, dampness opening the foundation. This place has excellent tomb feng shui.” The student turned around on the spot and introduced it to the others.
He Caiying’s eyes lit up.
He had worked hard studying feng shui. The moment he entered this forest, he had felt something was off.
But even he had not summarized it as thoroughly as those few sentences.
It was as if he had suddenly been enlightened. He now completely understood what the strange intuition he had felt upon entering this forest had come from.
“This Big Boss Shen has studied feng shui deeply!” he exclaimed.
And it was tomb feng shui, at that.
The student nodded. “Yes. Big Boss Shen judged from feng shui that there was a tomb here, and with one search, he accurately found the tomb’s location. Just now, you and Professor Gu also confirmed that this is the most suitable direction to dig down into the tomb.”
He pointed at the large pit ahead.
Professor Gu nodded in approval. “I watched the original video Xiao Bai gave me. That young man does have some skill.”
The student’s eyes seemed to be sparkling. One could see the admiration coming from the bottom of his heart. “Yes. Then after Big Boss Shen made his judgment, he dug a hole several meters deep, right where we’re digging now. After he dug out blue clay and that unknown blue substance, he directly judged that this tomb was from before the Han dynasty.”
One had to know, he had only dug a little over two meters.
Generally speaking, when they did archaeology, looking at soil quality did indeed have referential value, but they still had to dig very deep.
It was best to see the soil and building materials of the tomb itself. If one had experience and relevant knowledge, only then could one judge the approximate era and even the identity of the tomb owner.
At present, the era and the tomb owner’s identity still had to be verified. But according to the information collected so far, Shen Jinfeng’s guess was very likely correct.
He Caiying was surprised as he listened. “Yo, hearing you say that, this child really is good material for archaeology!”
Hearing his idol being praised, the student proudly nodded as though sharing in the honor. “Yes! Big Boss Shen is super amazing!”
Not only in archaeology, but in every aspect, he was super amazing!
He was like a treasure mountain. After digging through one layer after another, one would look again and find hundreds and thousands more layers below.
Just then, the preliminary detection robot returned with the humidity, soil density, and gas analysis data from the bottom of the pit. It had also brought back a small pinch of soil from the bottom and the footage it had filmed.
The group of experts immediately surged forward to check the data.
“According to the information fed back after the preliminary detection robot went down, the deep soil density and humidity eighteen meters below all meet excavation standards. The gas is non-toxic, there is no standing water, and the tomb’s sealing condition should still be intact.”
Someone looked at the data and began analyzing.
“Looking at the terrain map below, the tomb passage is shaped like the character ‘?,’ with turns on all four sides. The direction of the main burial chamber is hard to determine, but based on this arrangement, similar ones indeed haven’t been discovered after the Han dynasty. It is somewhat similar to an aristocratic tomb from the Yin-Shang period discovered the year before last. It might even be earlier, from Xia.”
Professor Gu’s voice trembled slightly with joy, almost unstable.
“It may not merely be two thousand years old. Three thousand years is possible too.”
He Caiying also clenched his fists from the side.
“After the drone data modeling is complete, we’ll analyze it and first get the preparations done.”
Because they had come here at short notice, their equipment and manpower were not fully prepared.
Sometimes, for the excavation of a large tomb, it was possible for an archaeological team to station themselves there for a year or more.
Usually, they needed to establish an emergency analysis laboratory, a cultural relic preservation studio, and even chemistry-related analysis laboratories nearby.
After all, their purpose was rescue excavation, not the destructive excavation of tomb robbers who disregarded all consequences.
What method to use for excavation, what high-tech means to apply, and what preventive protection measures to prepare in advance to prevent cultural relics from being damaged after they were unearthed were all very important.
Secondly, they also could not underestimate the wisdom of their ancestors.
Ancient funerary culture had been prosperous. For example, when the tombs of princes and nobles were constructed, they usually gathered the skilled craftsmen of the age. There were countless anti-theft methods such as mechanisms and poisonous gas.
If preparations were not done properly, it was possible for people to die inside.
Therefore, sometimes, even when a treasure was right before their eyes, they could not immediately make a move.
It was like a beauty wearing a veil and standing before you. No matter which angle you looked from, she was a beauty. You knew very well that she was beautiful enough to strike your heart.
But that layer of veil simply could not be removed, and you could not glimpse her true appearance.
Still, at least the person was there.
She truly existed and could not run away.
Now was the time to do the preparatory work before lifting the beauty’s veil!
The group of archaeological workers urgently and energetically began their work.
He Caiying rubbed the soil brought up by the robot between his fingers and discovered that once they reached the lower layer, the deeper it went—
The unknown blue crystalline minerals occasionally mixed into the soil became purer and more crystalline, emitting a dazzling luster under the sunlight.
It was strangely beautiful.
“If that young man on the show hadn’t demonstrated it for me by directly touching it with his hands, I wouldn’t have dared to touch it directly,” He Caiying said with a smile.
When the student heard him say this, a flash of inspiration suddenly came to him. He thought of what Shen Jinfeng had said to Qin Ye on the show, asking him to help find a professor from the materials department to test its properties after they came out.
Big Boss Shen had some understanding of tomb robbery, regardless of whether he had learned it from tomb-robbing novels.
Of course, the nonsense that he had learned it from tomb-robbing novels was only enough to fool netizens. Someone knowledgeable like him naturally would not believe it so easily.
But precisely because he worked in a related field, from childhood to adulthood, he had encountered countless strange people and extraordinary scholars and had heard of countless experts and fortuitous encounters.
He knew that there was no need to be curious about things one should not be curious about, nor to investigate them deeply.
So if Big Boss Shen understood ancient tomb knowledge so well, would he not know the principle that unknown substances should not be touched casually?
He had even specifically requested that this blue crystalline mineral be verified… Could it be that he knew something?
Although Big Boss Shen had deliberately spoken lightly at the time, thinking about it now!
The student’s heart pounded. In a daze, he felt as though he had come into contact with some extraordinary truth.
Just as he was about to say something, Professor Gu actually spoke first.
“Eh, Old He, wrap up that clump of soil in your hand and give it to me.”
He remembered that before departure, the university president had specifically reminded him to bring back some kind of blue crystal-like mineral substance for the materials department professor to test.
“What’s wrong?” He Caiying did not understand, but he did not refuse.
He took the plastic bag an assistant beside him handed over and shoveled a handful of soil into it.
Although Professor Gu did it, he did not take the president’s words seriously and casually replied, “I’ll find someone to help test it.”
“Maybe this soil is also a treasure,” he said jokingly.
Seeing that Professor Gu had already done it, the student swallowed the words that had reached his lips.
The others burst into laughter.
They all said one after another, “Old Gu, you really have gone mad from archaeology. Not a single cultural relic in the tomb has been brought out yet, and now you’re looking at soil and wishing even that were a treasure. Could this treasure soil possibly be the same batch preserved from thousands of years ago until now?”
He Caiying also laughed, but he had been the one to bring up the topic.
He directly handed the soil to the student under Professor Gu and sighed, “Speaking of which, that Big Boss Shen Xiao Bai mentioned just now—I watched the video of that young man. He looks clean and fair, young, knowledgeable, and spiritually perceptive. He really is good material for archaeology.”
“Old Gu, what do you think about me poaching him over to join my team?”
Professor Gu frowned and pondered for a moment. “The feasibility isn’t very high.”
“Why?”
“That young man is in the entertainment industry. You also know how quickly celebrities earn money. After getting used to fast money, how could he still settle his heart and do archaeology with us old men? It’s hard work, and there isn’t much money.” Professor Gu sighed.
The current state of the archaeology industry was also rather severe.
There were not many universities nationwide that offered this major, and the number of students enrolled was very small.
The problem was, for archaeology, studying only four years as an undergraduate was simply not enough. At the very least, one had to study to the master’s level, or even the doctoral level.
But even then, unless one followed the right supervisor, most graduates still had nowhere good to go.
Even if they entered an institution like the Institute of Archaeology under the Academy of Social Sciences, the pay was still average.
So in earlier years, there had even been students who, after completing their studies, ran off to rob tombs.
Tomb robbery was shameful, but unfortunately, tomb robbery brought money quickly.
It made teachers like them grieve deeply.
He Caiying suddenly understood and sighed. “That’s true.”
At this moment, the student who had introduced his idol earlier spoke up.
“Not necessarily.”
Facing the puzzled gazes of the two big shots, the student hesitated for a moment before saying, “Big Boss Shen is very rich himself. In a previous interview, he said that he entered the entertainment industry to search for value. But in the entertainment industry, he’s often scolded and unhappy. Maybe if we try to poach him, we’ll really succeed? Archaeology has a lot of value too. If he didn’t like it, why would he study it?”
He selectively ignored the fact that Shen Jinfeng’s reputation had now almost completely reversed across the board.
If he could work together with his idol, that would be too great!
Professor Gu looked thoughtful. “I’ll ask around later.”
After listening to the student say that they wanted to poach Shen Jinfeng to work here, and since the other party had indeed provided help, he invisibly began to treat him as half one of their own.
Professor Gu was famously protective of his own.
He had also heard somewhat about the filthy dealings in the entertainment industry. On top of that, the student often muttered that Big Boss Shen had been harmed or something.
He himself was only an archaeology professor and academician, but some relatives in his family had considerable influence, and there were even more members of high society who owed him favors.
He decided to go back and learn about the situation, helping the promising young man he thought highly of solve some small troubles.
As for He Caiying, his focus was: “Such a good young man is often scolded by people?”
“He’s participating in that variety show?” He turned back to ask the assistant who had come with him. “Xiao Zhou, aren’t you the one who operates our institute’s social media account? Why don’t you post a statement thanking this young man? Don’t they say people in the entertainment industry are afraid of official accounts like ours?”
Xiao Zhou did not know whether to laugh or cry. “How am I supposed to post that? We haven’t even excavated the tomb yet.”
In the end, he could not resist He Caiying’s demand.
Moreover, once he went online, he discovered that many netizens were tagging the official account, asking for an answer.
After understanding the ins and outs, Xiao Zhou logged into the account to reply and posted on Weibo.
Before the work was accomplished, a notice was released first.
This was also an unprecedented first for the official account of the Institute of Archaeology, Academy of Social Sciences.
However, it was indeed effective.
The official account posting on Weibo was, in an alternative way, supporting Shen Jinfeng and proving his ability.
On this perfectly ordinary noon, the netizens eating melons thoroughly boiled over.
Combining @TheMountainsKnowNotTheWildflower’sFragrance’s two videos with the reply and notice from @InstituteOfArchaeology, AcademyOfSocialSciences—
What kind of satisfying novel scene was this?!
[Awesome is the only word! Ahhhhhhh, Big Boss Shen is awesome-class!]
[I really respect him. I thought he was genuinely just saying things casually. I even thought he was deliberately showing off in front of Qin Ye at the time, just pretending to be cool. It’s just that his reputation is good now, so I didn’t dare say it… Sorry, I was wrong!]
[So Big Boss can master a field of knowledge just by reading tomb-robbing novels? I’ve read plenty too. Why am I still completely confused and unable to see anything?]
[I thought everyone who read novels remembered everything when the book was open and forgot everything once the book was closed…]
[All these years, I’ve been reading novels for over ten years! Cultivation novels, tomb-robbing novels, metaphysics novels, rebirth and transmigration novels, tech novels, leveling-up novels, supernatural ability novels—I’ve read batch after batch of them… How come I haven’t learned anything?]
[So that blogger @TheMountainsKnowNotTheWildflower’sFragrance’s previous video was actually real! Help, Tongque Town isn’t exactly a popular tourist attraction, but it does rely on tourism. People have been coming and going for so many years, and there was actually a treasure sitting there undiscovered?]
[Insider gossip: I heard that a few months ago, a group of tomb robbers was nearby, but because it was a scenic area, they were afraid of attracting attention. Also, because they weren’t certain and only had guesses, they didn’t make a move. Now they’re regretting it to death.]
[LMAO, so after several thousand years, this tomb became part of a scenic area and was saved by it? Damn, a tomb from thousands of years ago is now a scenic area! Why is that so terrifying!]
[? Huh? What’s so terrifying about that? Shouldn’t we be praising our ancestors’ wisdom? Their eye for feng shui was truly amazing! Eh, now that you mention it, with such incredible feng shui judgment, could what gets dug up be another grand tomb that shocks the whole country?]
[Looking forward to it! @InstituteOfArchaeology, AcademyOfSocialSciences, waiting for your follow-up updates!!! Don’t forget to make a sound when there’s progress!]
…
Because this divine twist was far too legendary.
Who would dare believe it?
The Being Human production team simulated deserted island data and somehow simulated someone’s tomb into it.
And it was actually discovered by a guest inside!
The cyber coordinates corresponded to real-world coordinates, and there really was a new archaeological discovery.
Even a television drama would not dare film something like this!
The production team that had accidentally done this good deed was also dumbfounded.
Although Sun Xinping had already had some guesses when he received the phone call asking for the coordinates, how would he dare imagine that this would actually come true?
He swallowed.
Beside him, Xiao Li scrolled through his phone and exclaimed repeatedly, “Big Boss Shen is way too amazing! He isn’t a big boss. He’s a god, right? He’s practically omnipotent!”
“From now on, I’ll believe whatever he says on the show!”
“Director, what other personas did you assign him again? Don’t tell me Big Boss Shen is proficient in all of them!”
Sun Xinping instinctively wanted to say, how could that be possible?
He had never seen anyone that awesome.
But when he thought about it, Shen Jinfeng’s current level of awesomeness had already exceeded his imagination.
No way. Could Shen Jinfeng really catch every single persona without missing even one?
He suddenly felt that what Xiao Li said made sense.
He looked at the young man on the screen, who had already woken up, and shivered.
Too amazing. This could no longer be described with the words “big boss”!
At this moment, Goat, who regularly went to check the backend data, paused. His eyes widened, and he suddenly cried out in surprise.
“My heavens, the number of online viewers has increased by more than ten million compared to an hour ago!”
Clearly, the viewers who had gone offline earlier had returned.
And they had brought in a new wave of viewers too.
“Big Boss Shen really is a lucky star!” After all, his bonus was tied to the data.
Now when Goat looked at Shen Jinfeng, it felt like he was looking at a gold ingot.
Two words were written all over him: bonus.
On the screen, Shen Jinfeng was not the first to wake up.
He had not been sleeping deeply in the first place.
Hearing the sound of someone getting up, he also woke up. Since he was awake, he might as well get up.
Shen Jinfeng spent two seconds clearing his head, got out of bed almost without making a sound, and walked outside the house.
He discovered that the first person awake was Qin Ye.
The tall young man was lying on the lounge chair that belonged to him. Somehow, although it was clearly a leisurely scene, his body posture did not seem relaxed.
His long legs rested on the ground, as if he had nowhere to put them.
Even his back carried a sense of loneliness.
Shen Jinfeng shook his head, scattering his overly rich imagination.
He walked over and sat down beside Qin Ye.
He spoke softly. “You’re awake.”
Hearing the sound, Qin Ye turned his head to look at him.
He was clearly expressionless, yet somehow, those dark eyes seemed to carry a trace of grievance.
He quietly looked at Shen Jinfeng for two seconds, then turned back and looked straight ahead.
From the side, even his jawline seemed tightly drawn.
He also spoke softly. “I couldn’t sleep.”
Shen Jinfeng casually asked, “What’s wrong? Did you sleep too much last night?”
Qin Ye blinked.
After a moment of silence, he finally said, “Little Captain, you promised that this afternoon, the two of us would go to the forest.”
He emphasized “the two of us.”
Shen Jinfeng: “…”
Numb.
Guilty.
He knew it. The secret admirer really had not let this matter pass!
