That made sense; the strength of two people was definitely greater than one. Although she was light, her muscle strength was no less than mine!
With Zheng Bingbing in front and me behind, my arms were longer than hers, effectively cradling her. This way, our pushing force could converge at a single point.
Indeed, it worked. The left half of the stone door slowly opened under our combined push. After opening it about ten centimeters, I, for the sake of easier closing later, had her and I push the right door open by the same amount. This way, the door handles would be at the same horizontal level, making it more convenient to use the crowbar for leverage when closing.
Carrying the chainsaw and ladder, we re-entered the cave. Zheng Bingbing shivered from the cold. I didn't dally; I immediately set up the ladder, ready to work. I knew the chainsaw's noise would be considerable, almost certainly heard by the people at Han Yin Temple. I had to work fast and finish opening the vault before Xing Yao and the others arrived.
Zheng Bingbing held the ladder steady for me. I straddled the top of the ladder, calculated my position, and turned on the chainsaw.
*Vroom—zzzzzzt!* Sawdust flew!
No matter how sturdy a coffin was, it was still made of wood. The chainsaw cut smoothly into the coffin board. I had measured; the radius of the chainsaw blade was exactly two centimeters greater than the thickness of the coffin board. I carefully watched the remaining clearance in the middle of the chainsaw blade. As the saw moved forward, I maintained a two-centimeter gap, ensuring I could cut through the coffin board without sawing into Mu Jige's body.
It was delicate work, but fortunately, the chainsaw was of good quality, stable, and easy to control for such precision.
Soon, the line at the bottom was sawed. I then made two vertical cuts at the head and tail of the coffin, about half a meter high, and finally, a horizontal cut across the upper half of the coffin.
A minute later, the last line was cut. I turned off the chainsaw and gave a gentle poke. The cut section swayed precariously. I looked down at Zheng Bingbing. She was covered in sawdust on her head and face, waiting for the result with a somber expression.
I lowered the chainsaw to her and switched to the crowbar. I inserted the flat end into the saw kerf and pried outward forcefully. The rectangular wooden board was dislodged, falling to the ground with a loud thud, bouncing once and nearly hitting our ladder!
Without further ado, I peered into the coffin. Inside, there was another layer, not of wood, but of what looked like some kind of cotton cloth, yet it was very stiff. Was it a shroud? Its shape was clearly human, lying flat. A woman.
As the smell of burning wood gradually dissipated, I noticed a faint, lingering fragrance emanating from the coffin. It was hard to describe; it made me feel dizzy. Worried about poisoning, I turned my head aside, took a deep breath, held it, and poked the shroud with the crowbar. It felt soft yet firm, and I could clearly sense flesh beneath the cloth!
"Bingbing, give me a rope!" I urged, already hearing shouts from outside the cave, from Xing Yao and the others down the mountain. They were asking, "Who's up there?"
"Isn't that the archive? What do you need a rope for?"
"Stop chattering, hurry up!" I pressed.
Zheng Bingbing handed me a rope. I passed it under the body's waist, brought it back around, and then passed it under the knees and through two spots on the back. Zheng Bingbing had taught me this method on the way; it was used for moving bodies in wilderness rescue.
After securing the knots, I immediately pulled the body out of the coffin. Fortunately, it wasn't heavy, perhaps seventy or eighty pounds. I hoisted her onto my shoulder and climbed down the ladder.
Suddenly, one end of the shroud loosened, and a pair of pale, tender little feet dangled down. Zheng Bingbing shrieked in fright, "Ah! Uncle! What is that!"
"A person," I said calmly, tucking her feet back in.
Soft and smooth, like boneless, it felt quite nice…