That night the wind was particularly strong, the northwesterly wind of spring wrapped the sand of Inner Mongolia, forming a sandstorm. Both of us were carrying shovels, and Tiger was carrying a green canvas bag on his back. With our flashlights, we couldn't see more than three meters ahead, and as we walked, we stumbled many times, but relying on memory, we still managed to find the place.

We found the place, but in this pitch-black night, it was a bit difficult to determine the exact location. Fortunately, there was Tiger's pile of poop to mark the spot, so we kept our heads down and felt our way forward foot by foot. After searching for more than ten minutes, we finally found that pile of poop.

Tiger took off his shoulder bag and threw it on the ground. Inside the bag were a crowbar and an axe. He spat into his palm and then picked up a shovel to start digging. I set the flashlight aside and dug together with Tiger.

While we were repairing the river, we were lagging behind, but at this moment, we felt like we had electric motors installed on our bodies and were going crazy. What we cleared was the head of the coffin, about two meters long and one and a half meters wide. It was a very large coffin. Tiger said while digging, “Old Chen, this is called divine favor. With this strong wind, no one will come to patrol at night.”

I said, “How deep is it?” Tiger replied, “Old Chen, let’s dig a trench beside it to lay the coffin down. Once the coffin is down, we can open it.” We started digging next to the coffin and managed to dig a trench just big enough to fit the coffin in, which took us only an hour. On this windy day, we were sweating profusely, and we drank all the water from the canteen. After digging, Tiger and I moved to the other side of the coffin. Tiger yelled, one two three, and we pushed hard, and the coffin slowly tipped over with a bang as it hit the ground. The wind grew stronger, and sand stung our faces. But at this moment, I felt my blood boiling, and my body trembled. We leaned over the coffin, shining our flashlights at each other. I saw that Tiger's eyes were excited and moist. He said, “Old Chen, after tonight we’ll be rich. Once I have money, I’m going back to Beijing. What about you?” I replied, “I don’t know either. But I know I want to get rich.” At this moment, Tiger pulled over the shoulder bag and took out the crowbar. I shone the flashlight, and he swung the crowbar and inserted it under the coffin lid. With a forceful pry, it creaked open a crack. Then, he turned around and pried it out along this gap, making three circles around the coffin lid before it finally came off.

The coffin lid was ten centimeters thick, and this black wood was extremely heavy. Tiger and I exerted all our strength, shouting one two three before we finally lifted the coffin lid. After throwing it aside, we held the flashlight and shone it inside. We originally thought there would be a corpse inside, but what we saw was another coffin inside.

This coffin was the same size as an ordinary coffin and was placed right in the center of this large coffin. I murmured, “Is it from the Soviet Union? The Soviet Union was known for nesting dolls.” Tiger said, “Old Chen, you don’t understand this. The coffins of wealthy families are usually double-layered. The outer layer is called the outer coffin, and the inner layer is called the coffin. Outer coffin and coffin, this is a set. This further indicates that there’s something valuable inside.” At this moment, we shone the flashlight into the space between the outer coffin and the coffin. Inside, there were some broken porcelain pieces. Tiger jumped in and picked up a bottle bottom, saying, “Old Chen, it’s all broken porcelain. If they weren’t broken, just one of them would be worth two or three thousand.” I said, “You should search carefully.” “No, it’s all broken pieces,” Tiger said. “Who knows how far they rolled down from the mountain? They’ve rolled countless times, so there’s no way there are any good ones left. As for this family, why didn’t they put some gold in there?”

Tiger kicked around, but he couldn't find a single complete item. He seemed a bit disappointed, but then he extended the crowbar towards the coffin lid inside. The coffin lid was much lighter and thinner than the outer lid, and the coffin nails were also three points shorter. In just a few tries, Tiger pried open the coffin lid. We stepped on the outer coffin board, bent down, and directly lifted the coffin lid. Then, we shouted one two three and threw the coffin lid out, which landed with a thud on the riverbed. We couldn’t wait to shine our flashlights into the coffin. As we shone the light, the first thing we saw was a pale face under a mass of black hair. This face was whiter than a steamed bun made from snowflake flour, and she wore a brown long dress with white plum blossom patterns. She looked noble and serene, lying here peacefully. Her hair was styled in a high bun, and a golden hairpin glittered in her hair.

But seeing this situation, both Tiger and I were a bit scared. That woman didn’t look dead at all! She clearly looked like someone who was just sleeping. Tiger and I scrambled out of the coffin. After getting out, we ran about thirty meters, one in front of the other, when Tiger suddenly stopped. He shouted, “Old Chen, don’t run anymore.” After we stopped, we turned around and shone our flashlights at the coffin’s location.

I cursed to boost my courage, saying, “What’s there to be afraid of? A dead person is nothing to fear! A person who is dead is no different from a dead dog.” Tiger said, “But that woman looks just like she’s alive. She can’t be a zombie, right? I’ve heard from the elders that if you encounter a zombie, never breathe near its nose. If it sucks away your life energy, it will jump up and bite you. Whoever gets bitten by a zombie will also turn into a zombie. But even if this zombie comes to life, don’t panic. Don’t run in a straight line; instead, run in curves. Zombies are fast, but they are not agile when turning corners. Especially when it comes to a ditch, living people can jump over it, but zombies can’t; they can’t cross ditches.” I said, “So, we should first dig a ditch. If this zombie comes to life, we’ll jump over the ditch.” Tiger nodded, and we carefully walked back, digging a one-meter-wide ditch next to the coffin, one meter deep. According to Tiger, as long as this female corpse comes to life, we can immediately jump over this ditch, and if the zombie chases us here, its body will fall in, and we can bury it right there.

After digging the ditch, we slowly crawled to the coffin, holding the flashlight to shine inside. The female corpse was still lying quietly in the coffin. We crawled onto the outer coffin board and then slowly went down. Tiger said, “I’m going down to get something. Old Chen, you shine the light for me.” I said, “Be careful. Don’t breathe near this female corpse.” Tiger covered his mouth with his left hand and started to explore with his right hand, first pulling out the golden hairpin from the woman’s head, and instantly her hair scattered.

Once her hair was spread out and blown by the wind, it suddenly stood up, floating above her head. This change made all the hairs on my body stand on end, and I felt a shock that made my head buzz. Tiger was also frightened; when her hair floated up, it brushed against his face. He got so scared that he jumped back and sat right down into the coffin. He landed directly on the female corpse’s abdomen, and as soon as he sat down, the female corpse unexpectedly opened her mouth and spat out a shiny rectangular gold medal. The flashlight’s light reflected off the medal, making it glitter. At this moment, Tiger slowly leaned out and reached for the gold medal, slowly pulling it back, but he couldn’t move it at all. So, he gradually applied more force, and with that effort, he actually pulled the female corpse up. Tiger said, “Old Chen, it’s biting tight. You come down and use the axe to break its teeth.” I found it hard to bring myself to smash the corpse’s teeth with an axe. After I went down, I tucked the flashlight under my arm and reached out with both hands to grab the female corpse’s jaw. I squeezed hard, and the jaw opened.

Tiger directly took the medal out. He rubbed it on his body and then threw it into the shoulder bag, saying, “It’s gold, Old Chen, we’re rich.” I replied with a sound, loosening my grip on the female corpse's jaw. I originally thought the female corpse’s head would fall back into the coffin, but once I let go, she didn’t lie down; instead, she sat up straight, and her eyes opened. They were a dull gray, which made me feel very uncomfortable. I didn’t know what was happening; I was very afraid to look into her eyes. Tiger continued to explore, and at that moment, I didn’t want to stay in there for another second and started to crawl out. I had a very bad premonition. As I climbed onto the coffin and grabbed the outer coffin board to pull myself up, suddenly a hand grabbed my ankle. I initially thought it was Tiger. I said, “Tiger, why are you pulling me? I’m going up to shine the flashlight for you.” I turned around and shone the flashlight, only to find Tiger was shining the flashlight inside looking for treasures. And on my ankle was a pale hand.