Zhao Qian obediently took a high-grade red incense stick from her bag, lit it, and stuck it into the ground, but she was so frightened that she even knelt down to worship it.
"Why are you kneeling to it?" I immediately pulled Zhao Qian to her feet and swept my flashlight back toward the hand. No way. It had been dead for several days already. It should have rotted by now. Why did it look so strange?
The dangling hand moved and reached into the tomb passage from outside. Zhao Qian thought the thing was about to come running over. Her face drained of color, and her legs nearly gave out again.
Without another word, I picked up a stone and hurled it from a distance. It missed the tomb passage and instead knocked down one of the upright poles.
"Brother, those two are back! They're standing there and wildly sweeping their flashlights around," a shrill voice came from the head-high grass nearby.
"What are you babbling about? Axe! Hurry up! We've reached the coffin board." A voice much like the first rang out from inside the tomb passage.
"I'm almost finished peeing. Wait a moment," the shrill voice continued.
I shone my flashlight toward the grass. A man was standing with his back to us, urinating into the thick weeds. Under the beam, he turned his head and cursed, "Hey! You with the surname Hua! That's enough! It's just taking a piss. Haven't you ever seen a man pee before? Why are you shining that thing at me, Brother?"
"Brother, I'm coming. The axe, right?" After the fat man finished, he ran back to the mouth of the tomb passage and handed the axe at his waist to the person below.
"Brother Tian, they seem to be grave robbers!"