After Fan Debiao finished speaking, Liu Dashao was both surprised and delighted. The answer had been so simple all along, yet he had overcomplicated things. Still, this entire situation was quite out of character for Master Diao’s usual style.
Liu Dashao paused for a moment, then asked Fan Debiao with confusion, “Where’s Ni Renzhang? Why didn’t he come back with you?”
Fan Debiao let out a sigh, “That kid saw those holes and jumped straight down without a second thought. Everyone should hurry over, or he’ll grab all the treasures for himself.”
Upon hearing the word “treasures” from Fan Debiao, Master Diao’s men’s eyes turned red with greed. Chaos immediately erupted as they scrambled and pushed their way out of the palace gate, following the path Fan Debiao had taken.
This is just how people are—self-serving and easily swayed by profit and money. They are willing to risk their lives for something illusory.
Liu Dashao glanced back and felt relieved that at least Old Wu, the big guy, and Rat hadn’t followed the others. It seemed these three were the only ones truly trustworthy and loyal to Master Diao. Of course, none of the explorers moved either—at least not until they received orders from Wang Feifei.
But hadn’t everyone come here for the treasures inside? They couldn’t let the important items fall into the wrong hands, even though, in a way, they were all helping “tour” personnel.
No words were exchanged, only a brief exchange of glances. Everyone understood each other’s thoughts without delay and rushed out of the palace gate one after another, led by Fan Debiao heading straight for the location where Fan Debiao and Ni Renzhang had discovered the holes.
The ancient city was densely packed with houses, and they dashed swiftly between them. Liu Dashao avoided looking at the houses beside him, as just a glance made him dizzy. Fan Debiao led the group in a frantic sprint for over a minute before reaching the designated spot.
They slowed their pace and saw a crowd gathered in front of an open space, murmuring amongst themselves. Liu Dashao wondered silently why no one was going down.
In a few quick steps, they arrived at the open area. Before them lay numerous identical holes, like deep, dark eyes staring at the sky, as if silently signaling something.
Was it an ancient civilization? A mysterious past?
Or perhaps—death itself!
Liu Dashao crouched down to peer into one of the holes. Darkness swallowed everything below. He turned on his flashlight, but the beam barely penetrated the depths, revealing only vague, indistinct shapes—essentially useless.
Master Diao gazed deeply into the abyss, lost in thought, but could not recall even a fragment of what had happened there long ago.
Old Wu, seeing no one dared to descend, shouted angrily, “You all ran faster than rabbits, but now you don’t have the guts to go down? If you want to find the treasures, you’d better listen to Master Diao’s orders!”
His words left the others speechless, heads bowed. It turned out Old Wu actually commanded some authority—perhaps these people were his own recruits.
Truthfully, the holes did give off a chilling vibe, an instinctive unease that even the bravest would feel.
Master Diao approached Fan Debiao and asked, “Which hole did Ni Renzhang go down?”
Fan Debiao looked around, momentarily confused, scanning the holes left and right before finally pointing at one, “This one.”
“Sure?”
“Absolutely!”
Master Diao took a deep breath in front of the hole Fan Debiao indicated. Without hesitation, he declared firmly, “Down we go!”
Liu Dashao felt no particular emotion—this was inevitable and necessary. In other words, it was both their duty and their right.
After giving instructions, Master Diao turned on his flashlight and jumped down first. Seeing this, the others turned on their flashlights and followed one by one.
With all the flashlights on, the space below seemed bathed in daylight—no darkness, no shadows, because the area was so cramped. More than twenty people packed into the space made it unbearably crowded, nearly suffocating Liu Dashao.
As he silently cursed Fan Debiao for leading them the wrong way, the ground suddenly gave way beneath them, revealing a square hole. Behind it lay a staircase, and people slowly began to move inside one by one.
Liu Dashao finally understood. He and Wang Feifei were the last to enter. After walking a short distance down the stairs, they saw everyone frozen in place. Liu Dashao also stopped in shock.
The scene before them was completely unexpected. It wasn’t the hellish underworld of the Yellow Springs he had imagined. Instead, it was a breathtaking queen’s chamber. The entire space was about the size of a basketball court. To one side was a small pool, with water continuously trickling down from above. The water was crystal clear, glistening under the flashlight beams, creating dazzling ripples.
Colorful murals adorned the walls. Judging by their style, they seemed reminiscent of Dunhuang art, yet unlike the twisted forms often seen in Dunhuang murals—these were remarkably realistic.
Liu Dashao’s first impression was that this was a tomb, and not just any tomb—it was filled with burial treasures. Despite centuries of erosion from wind and sand, the scattered treasures continued to proclaim the former glory of this place.
At the sight of the treasures, everyone rushed down the stairs, scrambling to grab them. Wang Zhicai and Lin Simiao were no exceptions. Chaos erupted once more.
While others rummaged through the treasures, Fan Debiao even broke into a folk song: “The golden mountains of Beijing shine in all directions; Chairman Mao led us to seize the land.”
Among them were archaeologists and tomb raiders—two professions sworn enemies—yet now working side by side. Thinking about it, tomb robbers and archaeological explorers were indeed two sides of the same coin in some ways.
Liu Dashao had no time to examine the treasures on the ground. Compared to the treasures, the murals on the walls fascinated him more. In fact, everyone—Master Diao and Wang Feifei included—was now intently observing the murals.
The murals were incredibly realistic. Even someone without archaeological expertise could understand their meaning. The story they depicted was long and intricate, like a historical scroll.
The four walls were connected seamlessly, with the mural stretching across them all. Liu Dashao was searching for the beginning of this historical narrative when a sudden thought struck him: the tomb walls were sealed. So where was Ni Renzhang? He had come down, hadn’t he? Had he simply vanished into thin air?
The thought unsettled Liu Dashao. How could a grown man just disappear like that?
He carefully examined the surroundings again but found no doors or exits. Then he thought of the pool. Could Ni Renzhang be hiding inside? Though it seemed absurd—why would he hide?—Liu Dashao still approached the pool’s edge, inspecting it closely. Finding nothing, he even jumped in, searching for a long time without result. At last, Liu Dashao was certain: Ni Renzhang had vanished.
“What are you doing, Boss?” As Liu Dashao pondered, Fan Debiao suddenly spoke from behind, nearly making him fall into the water in surprise.
Liu Dashao turned around and noticed everyone staring at him with strange expressions. Perhaps his earlier actions had seemed erratic. He gave an awkward smile and waved them off, and they resumed playing with the treasures.
As Fan Debiao turned to leave, Liu Dashao grabbed his arm and asked, “Fan Debiao, are you sure Ni Renzhang came down the same hole we did?”
Fan Debiao looked puzzled. “I was right beside him! He definitely jumped down this hole—I swear on Chairman Deng!”
“Absolutely sure?”
“Of course! My words are truer than pearls!”
Liu Dashao, seeing Fan Debiao’s certainty, knew he wasn’t lying. He reminded him, “You didn’t notice that Ni Renzhang is missing.”
Fan Debiao looked around and then said dismissively, “That kid probably went to another tomb chamber. He’s not interested in this stuff. Liu Dashao and Liu Yueban might be, but not him.”
Liu Dashao almost wanted to strangle him. What kind of observation skills were those? He said, “Didn’t you notice this tomb is sealed?”
Fan Debiao quickly scanned the room and replied, “With all these treasures around, I didn’t even notice this was a sealed tomb.” He paused, realization dawning. “Shit! If it’s sealed, how could Ni Renzhang just disappear?”
Liu Dashao, seeing Fan Debiao finally grasp the gravity of the situation, said, “Exactly. Otherwise, why would I ask such a pointless question?”
Fan Debiao’s expression now clearly showed his fear. He eyed the tomb suspiciously and muttered, “What the hell is in here that could make a grown man vanish like that?”
Liu Dashao thought for a moment and said, “It’s definitely not a mummy. Look around—there’s no sign of a struggle. That means Ni Renzhang was taken instantly, which shows how terrifying that thing must be. It might even be what scared those ‘tour’ people to death.”
Hearing this, Fan Debiao felt his confidence completely drain. “This is serious. We should talk to Master Diao about it.”
Liu Dashao nodded. He climbed out of the pool and approached Master Diao, explaining everything—Ni Renzhang’s disappearance and their theories. Master Diao had been deeply engrossed in studying the murals, but upon hearing Liu Dashao’s words, his face darkened instantly.
Master Diao said nothing, but his thoughts clearly aligned with Liu Dashao’s. Indeed, anyone faced with such a situation would feel bewildered and unsure of where to begin.
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