Chapter 2: The Princess in the Thunderbolt

  Perhaps it was a coincidence, perhaps it was fate, but when Jian Yu Mei and her father arrived at Chen Jia Village on that summer night, the sky began to thunder and rain.

  When dark clouds gathered in the sky, a strong wind was about to blow, and lightning began to appear in the sky, Jian Yu Mei was called up by her father.

  "Mei'er, hurry up, put on your raincoat and come out with me!" Jian Tianhong said hastily.

  Jian Yu Mei flipped over and got up, he took out two raincoats from his bundle, gave one to his father, and put on the other one himself.

  "Come on, let's go to that wasteland I pointed out to you during the day! Hurry up, the storm is coming!" Jian Tianhong said.

  After finishing speaking, Jian Tianhong took Sword Yu Mei and hastily and quietly left the farmhouse where they were temporarily staying.

  They hurriedly arrived at that piece of wasteland. The land here is not very good for growing crops, and the terrain is slightly higher than the surrounding fields.

  "Mei, you stand over there and I'll stand here. You lie down on the ground and listen carefully. Every time a thunderclap strikes, change your position to listen again. If you hear any unusual sounds, tell me!" Jian Tianhong said.

  "Alright, Father!" Jian Yu Mei said.

  At this time, a thunderclap sounded, and Jian Yu Mei fell to the ground. He listened carefully, as one thunderclap passed, the heavens and earth shook violently, as if they were about to split apart.

  Thunder raged across the sky and earth, slowly, the ground began to shake, Jian Yu Mei discovered that the earth beneath her was also roaring.

  He was a little frightened, but seeing his father from afar also hearing it, his father's face was full of joy.

  The first thunderclap shook through the heavens and earth, and the voice from the ground also roared past with it. When the sound disappeared into the distance, Jian Yu Mei remembered what her father had said: change positions.

  He moved one position in the direction of the source of the sound from just now.

  At this time, the second thunder also rang out, and the thunder from the sky struck the ground. Sword Envoy Mei heard an even louder roar than before, coming from underground. It seemed that the roar from under the ground was about to shake out from the depths of the earth, competing with the thunder in the sky for dominance.

  In a flash, Jian Yu Mei saw her father slowly approaching her position as well.

  When the final thunder continued, Jian Yu Mei and her father were already in the same direction.

  They lay on the ground together, listening to the sound from beneath the earth, a sound so earth-shaking.

  As if the earth were going to crack open.

  Jian Tian Hong's face was filled with surprise, "Mei Er, it's right here!"

  Jian Tian Hong finished speaking, took out a small wooden wedge from his bosom and inserted it there.

  At this moment, a huge lightning bolt tore through the night sky!

  "Dad, look!" Jian Yu Mei pointed at the sky with some terror.

  Jian Tian Hong quickly turned around, and he saw that the lightning in the air still reflected now in the air, but the shape of that lightning seemed to be a person's face, accurately speaking, it looked like an ancient woman's face.

  That high bun, those long eyebrows, that melancholy gaze, that straight nose, and those lips that seem to be about to open, are all so lifelike!

  She looked at Jian Yu and his father, as if sighing, yet seemingly wanting to say something.

  It was just a moment, the lightning disappeared, and the sky fell back into darkness, with heavy rain pouring down.

  At this time, Jian Yu Mei suddenly saw a mysterious smile on her father's face.

  Many years later, when Jian Yu Mei understood the meaning of that smile, he regretted why he couldn't stop his father at that time.

  I don't know if these signs are bad omens or not, but Jian Tian Hong didn't seem to want to stop, and instead became even more vigorous.

  After determining the location, Jian Tianhong brings Sword Yu Mei here every midnight.

  They dug earth every night until dawn.

  They dug a tunnel with Luoyang shovels, the diameter of which was just enough for one person to go down. They carefully concealed the excavated soil in a low-lying area they found and covered it with a lot of wild grasses.

  That place is generally imperceptible to people and indeed no one has ever discovered it before.

  When they had been working for over a dozen days, on the last night after digging the earth, Jian Tianhong told Jian Yuemei, "Mei'er, it's done! We've dug through to below the main tomb chamber. With just a little more effort, we can enter the main tomb chamber!"

  Because the top and sides of the main tomb chamber are solid protective layers, this time Xiantian Hong chose to drill into the underground of the main tomb chamber and then go up through the main tomb chamber, which is a commonly used method.

  They slept until noon after they returned home that day.

  In the afternoon, Jian Tianhong went to buy some good wine and dishes. At dinner time, Jian Tianhong and Jian Yuemei had a good chat.

  "Mei'er, your mother passed away early, and I haven't taken good care of you. As a father, I feel guilty. Today, let's have a good drink together, just the two of us!" Jian Tianhong said.

  "Dad, drink a little less, we still have to go to work later!" Jian Yu Mei said.

  "Hmm, no big deal, your father's drinking capacity is not a problem with this little wine! Mei'er, after we finish this job today, let's stop doing it, I think the gain from this tomb won't be small! You see, when we found this tomb, there were almost no other thieves' holes, which is rare. This shows that basically nobody has discovered this place before. We're lucky to have found this tomb, it's our destiny to get rich!" said Jian Tianhong.

  "Hmm, Father, actually I hope we can just have a peaceful and safe life. This grave, I always feel like it's strange, you know? At night when I'm digging the soil, I always feel like someone is watching me! I often inexplicably feel scared!" Jian Yu Mei said.

  "Son, don't be afraid, I'm not feeling that way now. I feel very solid and peaceful! Come on, eat your food. Son, after we finish this deal, we'll go back and buy that house. With the remaining money, I'll buy some land. In a few years, I'll find you a good wife, and then I can stay at home and play with my grandson! Haha!" Sword Tianhong laughed as he said this.

  Jian Yu Mei also remembered the hardships of these years, looking at his father's slightly graying hair, he nodded.

  "Come on, have another cup!" Jian Tianhong poured wine for Jian Yuemei.

  Jian Yu Mei finished drinking in one gulp, Jian Tian Hong smiled.

  This is a rare sight of Jian Yu Mei seeing Xian Tian Hong so happy, as if he's going to attend some kind of appointment.

  That night, after the village's watchman finished beating his drum for the first watch, Jian Yu Mei followed her father to that graveyard.

  When the father went down to the tomb, Jian Yu Mei was thinking about these things. He always felt that something was not quite right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. After all, his experience was still insufficient, whether it was tomb raiding experience or worldly experience.

  He had actually seen that his father was not quite right, but he couldn't stop it, because some things seemed to be unstoppable. He only remembered his father's strange smile, the smile before going down to the tomb, which made him feel uneasy in his heart.