When Dashao heard from Daguoguo that he had seen something ghostly, his heart skipped a beat. He thought to himself that this place was indeed full of strange things—first Fande Bao showed up, then Daguoguo ran into something odd. The more he thought about it, the more chills ran down his spine.
Daguoguo waved his hand, signaling everyone to come see what had happened. He then led the way back along the path they had taken earlier. Caiqingchong glanced at Liu Dashao and Fande Bao before turning to follow Daguoguo.
Once Daguoguo and Caiqingchong had left, Fande Bao turned to Liu Dashao and said, “Brother, since those two are gone, I need to go grab a couple of treasures. Wait for me, okay?”
Liu Dashao gave Fande Bao a disbelieving look and motioned for him to hurry.
Fande Bao rummaged through the treasure pile for a while but couldn’t find anything he liked. Liu Dashao was starting to get impatient. “Fande Bao, for crying out loud, are you done yet? Just grab a couple of things already! We still need to go check out what weird thing Daguoguo found.”
While still sifting through the relics, Fande Bao replied, “Damn it, these are all national first-class treasures. I’m trying to find a couple of lower-grade ones—otherwise, it’ll be hard to sell them later.”
Just then, Fande Bao seemed to spot something in the pile. He reached deep into it and after a moment pulled out a small bronze chime bell. Before Liu Dashao could even get a good look, Fande Bao had shoved the bell into Dashao’s waistband—luckily not into his pants…
Shaking his head, Liu Dashao said to Fande Bao, “Alright, let’s go already! Otherwise Daguoguo will get suspicious.”
With that, Liu Dashao turned on his flashlight, pointed it toward the way back, and ran out. He hadn’t gone far when he saw Daguoguo and Caiqingchong standing there, staring blankly at a stone wall.
Running up to them, Liu Dashao asked, “Daguoguo, what’s going on?”
He then turned to look at the wall himself. Water was seeping out from the stone, and now it was much worse than when he had first noticed.
Daguoguo looked puzzled and said, “The relics in that tomb were so well preserved, so the environment here should have been dry for a long time. If this level of moisture continues, in less than ten years, all those treasures will be ruined.”
His words left Liu Dashao confused. He thought to himself, “This is strange—could it be some kind of monster messing around again?”
“What are you two staring at like that?” Fande Bao ran over and asked. “You two are grown men—why are you standing around like idiots looking at a broken stone wall?”
Liu Dashao looked at Fande Bao and asked, “Why did you take so long to get here?”
Fande Bao gave a silly grin and shook his head. “Nothing, I just tripped over a rock and did a faceplant.”
As soon as Fande Bao finished speaking, Daguoguo shouted again, “What are you dragging your feet for? Hurry up and come help me with this!”
Caiqingchong’s expression changed. Without bothering to examine the wall any further, he quickly ran off.
Liu Dashao muttered to himself, “I wonder what important thing Daguoguo found. I hope it’s not another ancient monster.”
Seeing Liu Dashao standing there lost in thought, Fande Bao walked up and patted him on the back. “Hey Dashao, what’s wrong? Why are you spacing out? Let’s go help.”
Liu Dashao snapped out of his thoughts and followed Fande Bao toward the riverside.
As soon as they exited the cave, Liu Dashao shined his flashlight in Daguoguo’s direction. There, floating on the river, was something about five meters long, glowing brightly. Daguoguo was trying to grab it with one hand while covering a wound with the other. Each time he touched it, he quickly pulled his hand back, curling into a ball while clutching his wound in pain. Despite several attempts, he couldn’t get it. On his final try, the moment his hand touched the object, he tumbled into the river, screaming in agony.
Seeing Daguoguo fall into the water, Liu Dashao rushed toward him. When he first reached the riverbank, he couldn’t see clearly because the river bent into an S-shape. After running for more than a minute, he finally reached the resting spot. By then, Daguoguo had already been pulled out of the water by Caiqingchong and Su Yougui, and Fande Bao was treating his wounds.
Fande Bao muttered while working, “Daguoguo, really, you should know better than to move around with an injury. Look at what happened—you’re suffering for nothing. If your wound gets infected, you’re done for.”
From a distance, they hadn’t been able to see clearly what the object was, but now up close, they could finally make it out.
Floating on the river was a wooden boat, poorly constructed, clearly a makeshift craft. The entire vessel was divided into two parts. At the rear, about a meter long, was a large bag filled with items, and beside it lay two military shovels. At the front was a miner’s lamp, which was the source of the light Liu Dashao had seen earlier. The second section was where people would stand, seemingly capable of carrying four to six people.
Daguoguo and Caiqingchong had already pushed the boat to the shore. Daguoguo shook the water from his clothes and said, “Look at all this gear—only tomb robbers would use something like this.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Dashao’s heart sank. “So someone else has entered the tomb of that old bastard. But if the boat came out, where are the people?”
Daguoguo’s expression eased slightly. “That must have been their mistake. They probably got too excited after looting the coffin and forgot to stabilize the boat, so it floated out by itself. It seems like they’re still trying to find a way out. We need to get in there fast—we can’t let them take the relics.”
Upon hearing Big Guoguo mention seeing something ghostly, Liu Dashao felt another wave of alarm, thinking to himself that this place was indeed full of strange things. First, Fan Debiao had discovered something odd, and now Big Guoguo had encountered something eerie. As he pondered this, a chill ran down his spine.
Big Guoguo waved his hand, signaling everyone to come and see what had happened, then led the way back along the path they had just taken. Cai Qingchun glanced at Liu Dashao and Fan Debiao before turning to follow Big Guoguo.
Seeing that both Big Guoguo and Cai Qingchun had left, Fan Debiao turned to Liu Dashao and said, “Brother, now that they’re not here, I need to grab a couple of treasures. Wait for me, alright?”
Liu Dashao rolled his eyes at Fan Debiao, speechless, and gestured for him to hurry up.
Fan Debiao rummaged through the pile of treasures for a while but couldn’t find anything he deemed suitable. Liu Dashao grew impatient and said, “Fan Debiao, are you done yet? Just grab a couple of things and let’s go. We still need to see what strange thing Big Guoguo has found.”
Fan Debiao, still sorting through the artifacts, replied, “Damn it, these are all national-level treasures. I’m looking for a couple of lower-grade items, or else they’ll be hard to sell.”
As he spoke, Fan Debiao seemed to find something deep within the pile. After a moment, he pulled out a small bronze chime. Before Liu Dashao could get a closer look, Fan Debiao stuffed it into his belt—fortunately, not into his pants.
Liu Dashao shook his head and said, “Alright, let’s go! Otherwise, Big Guoguo will start to suspect something.”
With that, Liu Dashao pointed his flashlight back toward the path and ran off into the distance. Not far away, he saw Big Guoguo and Cai Qingchun staring in shock at the stone wall.
Liu Dashao ran up to Big Guoguo and asked, “Big Guoguo, what’s going on?”
As he spoke, Liu Dashao turned to look at the stone wall, where water was continuously seeping out, much more severely than when he had last seen it.
Big Guoguo, looking somewhat surprised, said, “The artifacts in that cave are so well-preserved; the environment here should have been dry for a long time. If the humidity continues like this, those things will be ruined in less than ten years.”
Hearing this, Liu Dashao was baffled, wondering if this was the work of some monster or something equally strange.
“What are you all staring at?” Fan Debiao ran over and said, “You guys are grown adults, why are you staring at a broken stone wall like this?”
Liu Dashao glanced at Fan Debiao and said, “Why are you only showing up now?”
Fan Debiao chuckled awkwardly and shook his head, “Nothing, I just tripped over a rock and fell face-first.”
As soon as Fan Debiao finished speaking, Big Guoguo shouted again, “What are you dawdling for? Come over here and help with this thing!”
Cai Qingchun’s expression changed, and he quickly dashed out, not bothering to study the stone wall any further.
Liu Dashao thought to himself, “Has Big Guoguo found something extraordinary? Please don’t let it be some ancient monster again.”
Seeing Liu Dashao standing in front of the stone wall in a daze, Fan Debiao walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “Dashao, what are you doing? Stop daydreaming and come help.”
Liu Dashao snapped out of it and, without further thought, followed Fan Debiao as they ran toward the river.
As soon as they exited the cave, Liu Dashao shone his flashlight in Big Guoguo’s direction. Floating on the river was something about five meters long, emitting a dazzling light. Big Guoguo was holding one hand over a wound while trying to pull the object from the river with the other. As soon as he touched it, he recoiled, clutching his wound and curling up in pain. He tried several times but failed. On his last attempt, as soon as he touched the object, he tumbled into the river, howling in pain.
Seeing Big Guoguo fall into the river, Liu Dashao immediately ran toward him. When he reached the riverbank, he realized the river was shaped like a distorted “S.” After running for over a minute, he finally reached the spot where they had rested earlier. Big Guoguo had already been pulled out of the water by Cai Qingchun and Su Yougui, and Fan Debiao was tending to his wound.
Fan Debiao muttered, “Big Guoguo, I told you not to move around with that injury. Now you’re just making yourself suffer. If that wound gets infected, you’re done for.”
From a distance, they hadn’t been able to see what the object was, but now, up close, it was clear.
Floating on the river was a boat made of wood, crudely constructed and seemingly makeshift. The boat was divided into two parts. The stern, about a meter long, held a large bag filled with items and two shovels beside it. The bow had a miner’s lamp, which was the source of the light Liu Dashao had seen earlier. The second part of the boat was the area where people could stand, seemingly able to accommodate four to six people.
Big Guoguo and Cai Qingchun had already pushed the boat to the shore. Big Guoguo climbed out of the river, adjusted his clothes, and said, “Look at this boat’s setup. Who else but grave robbers would use something like this?”
Hearing this, Liu Dashao was startled and said, “So someone’s come to rob this old bastard’s tomb? But if the boat’s here, where are the people?”
Big Guoguo relaxed slightly and said, “This might just be their mistake. They probably got too excited after robbing the coffin and forgot to secure the boat, so it drifted out. It looks like they’re still trying to find a way out. We need to hurry in and stop them from stealing the artifacts.”
Fan Debiao, unconvinced, retorted, “Aren’t you a grave robber yourself? Why are you trying to ruin your own kind’s work now?”
Big Guoguo angrily replied, “You don’t understand a damn thing. Do you know why I quit this line of work? In the past, tomb raiders did it just to make a living, taking one or two items and leaving. But now, the tomb raiding business has become corrupt. These people are in it just for the money, taking even the smallest things of value. They’re nothing but thieves. I refuse to associate with such people, which is why I work alone now.”
Fan Debiao, scolded into silence, ran over to Liu Dashao and said, “Dashao, help me out here!”
Liu Dashao thought now wasn’t the time for this discussion and said to Big Guoguo, “Big Guoguo, let’s not focus on being angry. We should first check out their equipment so we’re prepared if we run into them.”
Big Guoguo grunted in agreement and motioned for Liu Dashao to help open the bag. Liu Dashao jumped onto the boat and examined the bag closely. It was of very high quality, and after searching for a while, he couldn’t find the opening. Giving up, he pulled out a dagger and started cutting into the bag, but after a while, he had only managed to create a few splinters.
Daguoguo snapped angrily, “You don’t understand a thing! Do you know why I quit being a treasure hunter? Back in the old days, the ‘Mojin Corps’ only took one or two items to survive. But now, tomb robbers only care about money. They’ll take anything, even something worth just a penny. That’s no better than bandits. I refuse to work with people like that, so I started working alone.”
Fande Bao was left speechless by Daguoguo’s scolding and turned to Liu Dashao. “Dashao, back me up here!”
Liu Dashao thought to himself that this wasn’t the time to argue. He said to Daguoguo, “Forget about being angry. Let’s check out their equipment first so we’ll be ready if we run into them.”
Daguoguo grunted in agreement and called Liu Dashao over to open the bag. Liu Dashao stepped onto the boat and examined the bag closely—it was of very high quality. After searching for a while without finding an opening, he gave up and pulled out his knife to cut it open. But even after slicing at it for a while, he only managed to make a small tear.
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