Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1406: Chapter 1391: The Corpse Is Missing?

The SWAT team leader on the side cautiously explained: ”Our people are all stationed outside, afraid to come in, for fear of damaging the things inside. But those tomb robbers were too cunning, they dug tunnels from another side to get in, our people didn’t expect them to...”

The more the SWAT team leader explained, the worse Professor Xie’s face became, his gaze fell on the fragments, unable to suppress the anger in his heart, he shouted at the team leader: ”Enough, get out, take your people and leave!”

The SWAT team leader shrank his neck, leading his people out dejectedly.

Professor Xie was angry but had no outlet to vent his frustration, so he could only take it out on these SWAT officers.

In the archaeology field, people despise those amateurish tomb raiders the most, because they have no awareness of cultural relic protection. They force their way into ancient tombs, valuing items based on their monetary worth. Items deemed worthless are often trampled and destroyed by them.

Such people are actually more detestable than professional tomb robbers, because, on some level, professional tomb raiders are of the same lineage as archaeologists. They themselves are archaeologists, even with more experience and knowledge than some expert professors. These professional tomb robbers usually only take the items they desire without damaging anything in the tomb.

Some ancient tomb raiders even had an unwritten rule that after entering a tomb, they could only take the three most valuable items and were absolutely not allowed to take more. If they did, their ancestors would blame them, and they might encounter something bad in another tomb.

Therefore, these tomb robbers would often abide by this unwritten rule. This is also why many excavated ancient tombs today still contain many intact items despite being looted as sieves, because these remaining things were left by the tomb raiders.

In the tomb chamber, Professor Xie asked Ji Kun to gather all the broken ceramic fragments on the ground and take them away after processing.

Although these ceramic vessels were scattered and broken, once taken out, experts could restore and piece them together. The Cultural Relics Bureau generally has skilled restorers capable of repairing broken funerary items, and many archaeologists have mastered this basic skill.

Huo Sining had long noticed the moved sarcophagus. Seeing Professor Xie’s instructions to Senior Brother Ji Kun, she also followed closely, entering the main burial chamber with her camera to start a close-up of the sarcophagus.

Unlike the horrifying scenes Huo Sining had seen in TV series where opening a sarcophagus reveals an ancient corpse lying inside, her camera followed along to find only a pile of what looked like woven fabric inside the sarcophagus, but the bones or skeleton she expected to see were nowhere to be found.

”Where’s the body?”

Seeing this, Su Qingqing exclaimed in shock, her face turning somewhat pale. She suddenly recalled a scene from a ”Tomb Raiders Notes” she recently read, and her eyes immediately showed panic and fear, thinking: Could it be that the body inside this sarcophagus, like the thousand-year female corpse in that book, ran out of the sarcophagus?

Seeing Su Qingqing like this, Huo Sining knew she was probably scaring herself again with something she thought of.

Professor Xie, who was accustomed to this, knew his disciple’s temperament, couldn’t help but sigh and explained, ”The body is underneath, the top is covered with the Longevity Quilt. What we need to do now is clear the things on top...”

Saying that, Professor Xie put on rubber gloves, walked to the sarcophagus, and began to clear the items inside. Several experts around him saw this and also put on gloves to assist Professor Xie.

Ji Kun and Su Qingqing held a stack of plastic bags, each labeled with records of the order and number of unearthed artifacts. For each item cleared, it was sealed in a bag, and these items, once entering the Cultural Relics Bureau, would be cataloged as research literature, marked with the number of the artifact unearthed from a particular tomb, providing materials for other experts and scholars to research.

”It’s really strange, these tomb robbers went to great lengths to enter the ancient tomb and even pried open the sarcophagus, yet the items inside seem untouched. Why is that?”

As several experts cleaned, one couldn’t help but express his opinion and question.

”They probably didn’t have time. The tomb robbers who came in might have been a mix of groups, quarreling over the spoils and turned on each other.”

”I think there’s a high chance of that being true. I noticed bloodstains on the ground earlier, and according to the SWAT team, there’s also a gun. These guys are really outrageous!”

”I heard some escaped? How many were caught?” Su Qingqing couldn’t help but join the lively discussion.

”Four. Apparently among them were two Dongyang guys; these Dongyang folks just don’t seem to disappear, they’re everywhere. During the Anti-Japanese War, who knows how many cultural relics they looted from us? Isn’t that enough? Now they’re eyeing our ancient tombs too, it’s infuriating!”

”Speaking of which, I also watched the New York International Treasure Appraisal conference’s live broadcast where Miss Huo showcased treasures, it was thrilling, really taught those Dongyang guys a lesson. Those Dongyang guys have some nerve, using our country’s golden jade suit to flaunt power, Miss Huo hit them squarely on the face, it was gratifying!”

”Haha, if watching the live broadcast felt like that, I was right there at the scene, the plot twist was so fast, we were sitting in the delegation seats, completely unaware, and when Ningning brought out the Imperial Jade Seal, the Dongyang folks sitting next to us turned green!”

As Su Qingqing eagerly recounted the events of the New York treasure appraisal conference, detailing her conflicts with Sakai Ichiro and Watanabe Yasu in New York, the experts became intrigued.

Just as everyone was chatting enthusiastically, Professor Xie took out the woven fabric they had just cleared, preparing to bag it when suddenly an expert said, ”Wait, this fabric...”

Upon the expert’s words, Huo Sining, along with everyone else, looked over at the piece of fabric in Professor Xie’s hand.

”What’s wrong with this fabric?” Professor Xie didn’t know what the expert wanted to say.