As soon as Uncle Diao gave the order, everyone shouted in unison, grabbed their ice axes, and slowly descended the cliff. The heavier equipment was sent down first using a sliding shovel.
Everyone organized their belongings and put on their gear. Wang Zhicai and Lin Simiao were genuine intellectuals, unfamiliar with this kind of equipment. Fan Debiao said it was fine—he would carry Lin Simiao. She, however, refused. In the end, Wang Feifei carried Lin Simiao, while Fan Debiao carried Wang Zhicai. Because of this, Fan Debiao was in a huff for quite a while.
They reached the bottom smoothly, but after overcoming so many obstacles beforehand, they found this ease strangely unsettling.
Now, standing below, they could clearly see the Golden Ancient City. Earlier, they had only caught a glimpse from above, but now they stood directly before its defensive wall.
Before them lay a wooden framework reinforced with mud. They were standing on the city’s defensive slope, which had been constructed from poplar trees, reeds, and silt.
Everyone removed their climbing gear, retrieved their respective equipment from the pile that had been slid down, and then proceeded toward the ancient city.
Liu Dashao’s first impression upon entering the city was one of disorder. The city was scattered with numerous animal bones—mainly sheep and camels, followed by horses, oxen, donkeys, and dogs, with a few pig, rabbit, fish, and bird bones as well. Scattered across the ground were also ceramic household items, evidence of how hastily the city’s inhabitants had fled when the city fell.
As soon as they entered the city, everyone started preparing for the night. Suddenly, the scene was filled with activity. An outsider might have thought they were here on vacation.
Their purpose, however, was different from Uncle Diao’s group. They were here to explore and naturally did what they came to do. The group began collecting data. Wang Zhicai was particularly excited—visiting the long-dreamed-of Golden Ancient City, he couldn’t get enough of every item he saw.
While everyone was crouched together examining a ceramic bowl on the ground, Wang Feifei pulled Fan Debiao aside. It seemed it was now time to make use of Fan Debiao’s expertise in feng shui. Wang Feifei wanted Fan Debiao to locate the tomb of the Golden Queen.
Fan Debiao naturally longed for the Golden Queen’s tomb, but if tasked with finding it, it would be quite challenging. As Fan Debiao whispered to Wang Feifei for a while, Wang’s brows furrowed tightly—clearly, Fan was just talking nonsense.
Liu Dashao couldn’t let Fan Debiao mislead others, so he quickly interrupted their conversation: “You can’t just find the Golden Queen’s tomb without any knowledge of feng shui. But don’t worry too much—Uncle Diao’s group certainly has a way.”
“That’s right! The young master is absolutely correct. The Golden Queen wasn’t from the Central Plains, so she wouldn’t have used feng shui,” Fan Debiao said, relieved that Liu Dashao had come to his rescue, secretly wiping sweat from his brow.
Wang Feifei looked around at the surroundings. In her eyes, one could see inner confusion and an urgent longing. After collecting herself, she said, “Let’s call it a day here. Tomorrow we’ll see what Professor You has planned.” With that, she signaled to Wang Zhicai and others to wrap up their current tasks.
Wang Zhicai carefully flipped through the ground a few times, showing disappointment at finding nothing. Suddenly, as everyone stood up, a fragrant aroma wafted over—it seemed Uncle Diao’s group had started cooking.
At the scent, Fan Debiao’s mouth began to water. He rushed straight toward Uncle Diao’s group. In truth, who wouldn’t feel some urge upon smelling that fragrance? Fan was simply more openly expressive of his emotions. With their stomachs already protesting from an entire day without food, everyone, filled with excitement, moved toward the source of the aroma.
Arriving at where Uncle Diao’s group was cooking, it felt like they were selling off pots and pans. The already chaotic ancient city became even more disordered by their activity. If any eccentric artists saw it, they would surely exclaim, “That’s called art!”
Sweating profusely…
But judging from Uncle Diao’s group’s manner, they seemed ready to commit fully to this endeavor.
The food consisted of long-stored frozen meat and compressed rations—understandable, given the desert setting. Yet the flavor was unmatched. Upon inquiry, they learned that the cook was the same big guy who had used explosives to catch snakes earlier, which surprised Liu Dashao.
After a satisfying meal, it was time to rest. Boxer pulled out his sleeping bag, and without much conversation, everyone buried themselves in sleep. They all knew that if they couldn’t act quickly next, there wouldn’t be much time for rest—this was the reality of their grave-robbing profession.
Liu Dashao lay in his sleeping bag, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. He took out his phone to make a call, but no matter how many times he tried, the signal wouldn’t go through.
With nothing else to do and bored, Liu Dashao stared at the sky, but it was pitch black—nothing to see.
Just then, he noticed the fire nearby flicker. Turning his head, he saw a shadow sitting there lost in thought. In the dim light, Liu squinted and recognized it was Ni Renzhang (Mr. Mudman), certain he hadn’t mistaken him.
It turned out the kid couldn’t sleep either. Liu Dashao thought for a moment and decided to wake Fan Debiao to go chat with Ni Renzhang.
He nudged Fan Debiao a couple of times, but Fan mumbled something and wouldn’t wake up. Seeing how deeply asleep Fan was, Liu decided not to bother him and went alone.
Liu Dashao slowly approached. Suddenly, Ni Renzhang’s body began to sway. Liu felt something was off, immediately crouched low, and looked carefully. He saw Ni pulling something white from his ear—it was earplugs. So he was listening to music? Liu Dashao was so startled he broke into a cold sweat. Just as he was about to scold him, Ni suddenly stood up and walked away.
Where was he going? To pee? Liu Dashao wondered, and a mischievous idea came to mind—to scare him!
He sneaked ahead, and Liu Dashao sneaked behind. Suddenly, Ni stopped in an open area. At that moment, he didn’t have a flashlight, only the faint moonlight. Ahead was pitch black—Liu couldn’t see what he was doing.
Since he had stopped, Liu Dashao’s plan began. Thinking of how mysterious Ni usually acted, Liu couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of him getting scared.
Just as he was about to act, he looked ahead and his heart sank. The area was completely dark—there wasn’t a soul in sight. Ni Renzhang had vanished!
Liu Dashao immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. Ni must have been taken by something. How could someone so skilled suddenly disappear? Instantly, Liu felt his back hairs stand on end, his whole body chilled to the bone.
Liu Dashao’s mind immediately screamed one word: “Find him!” Regardless of the danger, he steeled himself with courage and dashed forward quickly.
He had only run a few steps when he felt his foot slip, and suddenly he fell into a hole, instantly plunging into total darkness.
No flares, no fireworks, not even a flashlight. The darkness was overwhelming. The atmosphere around him felt oppressive. Liu Dashao frantically patted himself down and found only his phone. He turned the phone’s backlight to maximum and shone it around.
But the phone’s dim light was useless—it was swallowed entirely by the darkness. Liu Dashao immediately felt an indescribable discomfort, a feeling unlike anything he had ever experienced.
He took a deep breath and held it, thinking that he must have fallen into a hole, and there should be a way out nearby. But after feeling around, he couldn’t find anything to grab onto. His heart grew even more anxious.
Then Liu Dashao recalled a science fiction novel he had once read—could he have entered another dimension? What was going on? Would anyone find him? Would he die here? His mind was flooded with such questions, his head throbbing.
Liu Dashao had no idea where he was and dared not run around. The only thing he could do now was stay calm. He forced himself to calm down and listened carefully to the faint sounds around him.
Then, he heard the faint sound of flowing water nearby, but it quickly disappeared. Suddenly, he felt something brush against him from behind. Liu Dashao’s heart skipped a beat. Instinctively, he reached behind to scratch, but there was nothing there.
At this point, Liu Dashao completely lost control of himself. His emotions spiraled into panic. Finally, he screamed hysterically: “Help!”
But his voice seemed to be swallowed by this place—no echo, no response. He was completely swallowed by the darkness, his clothes soaked through with sweat.
Liu Dashao opened his mouth to scream again when suddenly he felt a slight breeze in front of him, and his lips tightened.
“Don’t make noise!” a voice came from behind him.
The moment Liu Dashao felt his mouth being covered, he instinctively tried to pry the hand away. The hand felt very large, yet unusually soft.
Only when the person spoke did Liu Dashao stop struggling—not out of trust, but because he was overwhelmed by extreme fear. At first, he thought it was Ni Renzhang, but upon hearing the voice, he realized his mistake—it was a woman’s voice.
A woman? Could it be Wang Feifei? No, her hands weren’t that big. Then who was it? Could Ni Renzhang be a woman in disguise? A flood of questions rushed into Liu Dashao’s mind.
The hand tightly covered Liu Dashao’s mouth without the slightest relaxation. Liu Dashao twisted his head, trying to see who this woman was. Just as he turned his head around, he felt something hit his head. A buzzing sound filled his ears, and suddenly his entire body felt boneless and limp.
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