The Informal Tomb Raiding Diary: She is the occupant of the tomb!-Chapter 64: The Watermelon-Cutting Symbol

Baozi wrinkled her nose, let out a long sigh, and shook her head, saying, "You two are both so sparing with words; the atmosphere must be terribly dull when working together~"

Sparing with words, was the most euphemistic term she could think of, but the little expression on Baozi’s face didn’t agree. I guessed she originally wanted to say ’two reclusive gourds,’ but perhaps was cautious talking to someone she just met, so she used a relatively softer term.

"Who’s dull?" Suddenly, a loud voice rang out from outside the tent, with a hint of laughter in the tone.

The curtain was lifted, and the man in his thirties who had been talking to Chen Qinghan walked in.

"Qinghan, he always ignores me, and I can barely get a few words out even when we finally meet! Hmph~" Baozi puffed out her cheeks, turning into an angry baozi.

"Yo, such a big offense not to pay attention to our beloved genius little fairy, I’ll beat him up later." The man chuckled, coaxing Baozi, obviously familiar with her.

"Uncle, you’re the best at lying. You said the same thing last time and the time before. No way, I’m not going back. I want to go down to the tomb with Qinghan!"

"Don’t be silly, little Baozi; descending into a tomb isn’t a picnic. The dangers inside are unpredictable by gods or ghosts. You haven’t received professional training. If you go, would Chen focus on work or on you?"

"But... I can help. I’ve already deciphered the writings in the Heavenly Maiden Tomb; I can be their translator!"

Her words startled me. A teenage girl had actually deciphered the writings in the Heavenly Maiden Tomb?!

I suddenly didn’t really want to hang out with these extraordinary people...

"You can wait until they photograph the writings in the tomb and then translate them." The man spoke kindly, but there was no room for negotiation.

This must be the team leader Lu Hao mentioned. I secretly observed him to see if he had extracted any information related to me when interrogating Lord Qi’s subordinates. If he had, there should be a difference in his attitude or the way he looked at me.

"Sigh..." Baozi’s request to enter the tomb was denied; she slumped onto the table, feigning dead.

"Little Leng, Chen is at the medical tent; he wants you to go over there." The man didn’t ask me anything, nor did he give me any unusual glances.

"I’m going too!" Baozi instantly revived at the words.

"They have work to discuss; you wait here." The man’s words were like a grown-up’s command, disallowing play and urging one to finish their homework first.

Baozi slumped back onto the table, watching me leave the tent pitifully.

No matter how much of a genius, she’s still a child. I secretly chuckled to myself, skirting the bonfire to head straight for the big tent where Mr. Zhe Shou was.

In the center of the tent was an operating table with a shadowless lamp hanging above it, things I’d seen in movies.

Zhe Shou lay ashen-faced on it, covered with a white sheet. On the side table were blood-stained scalpel and cotton balls, but Zhe Shou had no breath left.

Chen Qinghan stood beside the operating table, staring blankly at Zhe Shou’s corpse.

"You were looking for me?" I approached him, asking softly.

"Yes, wanted to show you something." Chen Qinghan lifted a corner of the white sheet, revealing the left chest of the corpse.

I saw a pattern on the left chest, not a tattoo embedded into the skin, but fresh red tissue that seemed to grow out of the flesh.

"Does it look familiar?" Chen Qinghan asked.

A circle split in the middle, forming two halves, slightly misaligned vertically, like a sliced fruit in a mobile game, this is...

I felt like I’d seen it somewhere before. I recalled carefully as static objects around me began to blur. After a dizzy spell, I saw a large black ship, with a hideous face on the bow, an emblem of the sliced fruit right on its forehead.

The black ship surged through the waves, unaffected by the storm, with the face on the bow wide open, as if someone were standing in its mouth.

The wind and rain obscured my vision. From my perspective, I seemed to be submerged in water, or perhaps sitting on a small boat. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Upon drifting out of the recalled scene, my face still felt wet with rain, and the sharp headache mellowed, throbbing dully in my head.

Chen Qinghan was supporting me for I don’t know how long, with me half-leaned on him. This time was different from previous occasions, as the headache subsided, but my heart felt inexplicably stifled.

There was an urge to shout, I held back for a while, and Chen Qinghan didn’t hurry to question me, simply patting my back gently.

"On the sea." I mumbled.

"What?" Chen Qinghan lowered his head, asking.

"I saw a ship with this mark, at sea."

"Know which sea region?"

"No idea, but there was an island, and the ship seemed to be heading towards it."

I realized that recalling details from a memory didn’t trigger a headache once I’d exited the recall.

Such as remembered conversations, peripheral scenes, or even feelings at the time.

Indeed, in the memory, there was an island behind the large ship, but islands on the sea are countless, without specific coordinates, finding that island would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Wait, the island had two particularly high peaks, like this!" I extended my index and middle fingers, making a ’V’ gesture.

"Such mountains are rare, maybe it can narrow down the search. Can you draw?"

"Simple ones, yes."

Chen Qinghan picked up a clipboard from a nearby table, flipped over the paper with grids, took out a pen from the clip, and handed it to me.

The medical tent had no chairs, so I leaned on the side of the table, recalling the shape of that island.

Chen Qinghan pulled the white sheet over, covering the corpse’s face, muttering as he did, "The cause of his death is suspicious, with internal organs decaying from inside, no external injuries, within less than an hour."

"Bitten by bugs?" Lord Qi died quickly because bugs drilled inside him; if Zhe Shou was also bitten, he might die in a short time, though the manner differed from Lord Qi’s.

"No, his body had no bite marks at all; he was well protected, not even a bruise on him."

"Could it be because he told Lord Qi something he shouldn’t have? You’ve seen the strange death of the other Sakura person, it was an odd death too."

"What do you think?"

"I have a bold guess."

"Let’s hear it."

"The Heavenly Maiden Clan, bearing this mark, still exists. Somehow, they compelled the two Sakura people to rob Tomb 003, looking for something."

It wouldn’t be those wines and goblets, nor the big pearls in the coffin; they came with a clear purpose.

Chen Qinghan lowered his head in thought, not responding, so I continued, "The previous archaeological team couldn’t open the main tomb chamber’s door, but Lord Qi could. There are no records of secret chambers or passages in the team’s data, yet Lord Qi seemed aware of their existence. Also, the guide poem Lord Qi and the Sakura person mentioned while you slept, it surely wasn’t written by the archaeological team."

"You’re suggesting someone guided them to the location of the Heavenly Maiden Tomb along with pertinent information, someone who might be from your clan?"