Chapter Seven: A Medley

On the other end of the video call, a young man wearing glasses and dressed in an archaeology team uniform adjusted his spectacles, his tone hesitant.

Cheng Ziqiu raised an eyebrow.

That hesitation clearly meant there was some juicy news!

“But what? Could it be that this thing suddenly sprouted legs and ran off?” he teased playfully.

[“Haha, Master Cheng is really baffling the archaeology team!”]

[“Right? The archaeology team even needs someone to authenticate their find—this is hilarious!”]

[“This is like the police calling Master Cheng to ask if the thief they caught is a real thief or a fake one!”]

Cheng Ziqiu chuckled as he read the comments.

“Friends, don’t get too excited. Let’s first hear what the archaeology team has to say.”

He cleared his throat and made a welcoming gesture.

“It’s like this, Mr. Cheng. This knife-shaped coin was discovered in a Western Han Dynasty tomb…”

The archaeologist shifted the camera back so Cheng Ziqiu could get a clearer view of the scene.

“Western Han Dynasty tomb? Knife coin?”

Cheng Ziqiu’s eyebrows twisted into a knot, utterly bewildered.

“Brother, are you sure you’re not mistaken? These knife coins existed during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. For one to show up in a Western Han tomb—it must be possessed or something!”

[“Master Cheng is too harsh, hahaha, the archaeology guy must be turning green!”]

[“A possessed knife coin? If the spirits hear that, they’ll probably form a tour group to the Western Han tomb!”]

[“Master Cheng, with what you said, now I’m wondering if my Qin half-tael coin might have gone wandering off to a Tang Dynasty tomb one day.”]

The archaeologist’s face did indeed turn green.

He gave an awkward smile, pushed up his glasses, and a glare flashed off the lenses.

“Mr. Cheng, we are certain we’re not mistaken. This knife coin was indeed found in the burial pit of a Western Han tomb, and…”

He hesitated, as if gathering his thoughts.

“Moreover, around this knife coin, there are coins from other different dynasties.”

Cheng Ziqiu nearly spat out his water upon hearing this.

In his previous life, having plundered many tombs, he had never encountered such a bizarre situation.

A Spring and Autumn-Warring States knife coin found in a Western Han tomb, mixed together with coins from other eras?

Was the tomb owner a coin collector?

Or was there some hidden secret behind all this?

“Brother, are you sure you didn’t stumble onto a film set? This sounds like some ancient coin exhibition,” Cheng Ziqiu teased.

“Sigh, Mr. Cheng, we also find this strange,” the archaeologist pushed up his glasses again, his eyes behind the lenses filled with confusion.

“We’ve been digging this tomb for almost three days now, and have unearthed quite a few odd things, but this is the first time seeing coins from different dynasties mixed together like this.”

He wiped the sweat from his forehead as he spoke.

“Our captain suggested we try our luck and see if there’s anyone online with expertise who can offer some advice.”

Cheng Ziqiu stroked his chin, feigning deep contemplation and gave a thoughtful “hmm.”

[“Is Master Cheng about to take action?”]

[“Waiting to see the archaeology team get proven wrong!”]

[“Don’t get too excited upstairs, maybe Master Cheng is just as baffled! Hahaha!”]

…

“Alright, tell me, brother, what kind of treasure coins have you dug up? Don’t tell me it’s a mix of Qin half-tael coins, Wu Zhu coins, Kaiyuan Tongbao coins? That would be a true ancient-to-modern crossover party!”

Cheng Ziqiu joked lightly, casually picking up a thermos on the table to take a sip of water, masking the sharp glint flashing briefly in his eyes.

This tomb was likely no ordinary one!

The archaeologist seemed to relax under Cheng’s easy tone.

“Mr. Cheng, you flatter us. It’s not that exaggerated. But indeed, the coins range from pre-Qin all the way to Ming and Qing dynasties. The collection’s quite comprehensive—there are cloth coins, knife coins, round coins, half-tael coins, Wu Zhu coins… and even Tang Dynasty Kaiyuan Tongbao coins.”

The archaeologist rattled off a string of coin names, leaving the livestream audience dazzled.

The chat went silent for a moment before exploding.

[“Damn, was the tomb owner a money changer?”]

[“Is this an attempt to gather the seven dragon balls and summon the dragon?”]

[“Kaiyuan Tongbao? Could the tomb owner be a time traveler?”]

[“Up there, you got it! Maybe the tomb owner was a collector who traveled back in time and brought their treasures along!”]

Cheng Ziqiu set down the thermos, the clink of its bottom against the table crisp and clear amid the noisy chatroom.

“Brother, what you described is quite intriguing…”

Cheng drew out the last word, a glint flashing in his eyes.

“How deep have you dug into this tomb?”

The archaeologist was momentarily taken aback, clearly not expecting that question.

“So far, about three meters, just reaching the top of the burial chamber.”

He paused, then added:

“But the tomb’s structure is a bit odd—the top is quite shallow, doesn’t quite look like a normal tomb structure.”

Cheng Ziqiu stroked his chin, feigning deep thought.

“Three meters? Shallow tomb top…”

His eyes flicked with a sudden idea.

“Brother, bring the camera closer. Let me take a detailed look at the soil around the burial chamber.”

The archaeologist complied, focusing the camera on the soil surrounding the chamber.

Cheng Ziqiu narrowed his eyes, studying the image on the screen carefully.

The livestream viewers grew tense alongside him.

Comments like “Don’t understand,” “Feels impressive,” and “Master Cheng is awesome” floated across the screen.

“Brother, look closely. Isn’t the soil around the burial chamber a bit darker than elsewhere?”

Cheng pointed to a spot on the screen.

The archaeologist leaned in, scrutinized, then compared it with the surrounding soil, hesitating before replying:

“It does seem… a bit darker.”

“Now look at the soil’s looseness.”

Cheng guided on.

“Doesn’t this patch seem more compact, not as loose as the surrounding soil?”

The archaeologist examined it again, this time with more certainty.

“Exactly! This soil is indeed much firmer than the surrounding area!”

A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at Cheng’s lips.

The chatroom, stirred by his mysterious smile, grew even more curious, with viewers speculating wildly.

“Brother, I’m telling you, this tomb is almost certainly staged!”

Cheng’s tone was firm and confident, dropping his words like a hammer.

The chatroom instantly erupted.

[“Staged? What’s going on?”]

[“So it’s not an ancient tomb? A modern trick?”]

[“Creepy when you think about it!”]

The archaeologist was utterly bewildered.

“Mr. Cheng, what exactly do you mean?”

Cheng cleared his throat and explained:

“The items in this tomb are genuine, but their origin is illegitimate—probably smuggled.”

“Someone’s trying to fake these as unearthed artifacts to sell them at a high price. They dug a pit in advance, buried these items to pass them off as an ancient tomb, and planned to excavate them later when the time was right. But you archaeology team beat them to it.”

The archaeologist was stunned into silence, only slowly grasping the meaning.

“You mean… this isn’t an ancient tomb at all, but a modern ‘fake’?”

“Exactly!”

Cheng snapped his fingers.

“Furthermore, I bet whoever staged this will come knocking soon.”

He signaled to a nearby staff member.

“Call the police.”

The staff member immediately understood and pulled out a phone to dial.

The archaeologist instinctively touched his safety helmet, wondering if he was hallucinating from digging.

Smuggling?

Fakes?

Was this plotline too far-fetched?