Hearing this question, Qian You suddenly became energetic. He coughed forcefully a few times to attract the attention of his gang brothers and said:
“Boss, brothers, I’ve brought help for you. Don’t worry, we’ll be able to get out soon.”
Hearing this, everyone was overjoyed and excitedly asked: “Is it the Gong Sun family from Xiangzhou’s martial arts world? Or is it Dragon God Fort from the Black Water River?”
“If it’s either of these two, we’ll be saved this time.”
“Yes, the head of the Gong Sun family is Fifth Rank, with many experts under him, including those skilled in left-path techniques. Dragon God Fort is even stronger. However, both these forces have unsightly appetites. I’m afraid we won’t get a share of what’s in the tomb, and we’ll have to pay an exorbitant fee.”
“Has pig fat clouded your mind? What use is money when you’re dead? As long as they can save us, everything else can be worked out.”
The sickly boss exhaled a turbid breath and nodded, “Qian You, you’ve done well.”
…Qian You remained silent for a long time, then said with an odd expression: “I… the help I found isn’t the Gong Sun family, nor is it Dragon God Fort.”
“What?”
Everyone was disappointed, their excited expressions vanishing without a trace.
Among the martial arts forces near Xiangcheng, the Gong Sun family and Dragon God Fort were undoubtedly the leaders, with close ties to Xiangcheng’s officials. Many skilled jianghu fighters were affiliated with them.
If anyone in Xiangcheng could save them, it would be these two forces.
The hope in the sickly boss’s eyes immediately dimmed.
The white-robed deputy boss spoke up: “If it’s neither Dragon God Fort nor the Gong Sun family, then what rank and identity are the helpers you invited? Are they independent cultivators, or do they have a sect background?”
The deputy boss was called Gong Yang Su, a spellcaster. As is widely known, apart from the Sky Watching Bureau, independent spellcasters in the jianghu were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
Spellcasters could read auras and were skilled in geomancy, making them natural-born tomb raiders. Therefore, Gong Yang Su was a treasure to the Later Earth Gang. Although he was the deputy boss, everyone in the gang listened to him.
As soon as Gong Yang Su spoke, everyone immediately fell silent and looked at Qian You.
“As it happens, I encountered those helpers by chance on the roadside, but they seemed to be looking for someone as well…” Helmsman Qian You looked towards the little barbarian girl from the Southern Frontier and sighed:
“Miss Li Na, they’ve come to find you.”
Everyone then looked at the girl from the Southern Frontier. Li Na, who was struggling with a baked flatbread, raised her head, crumbs at the corners of her mouth, looking very confused.
“This is my first time in Great Feng, and no one from my tribe came with me,” Li Na shook her head, indicating she was alone and friendless.
Qian You explained: “One of the people I met was a Sixth Rank Bronze Skin Iron Bones Realm martial artist, extremely handsome, carrying a woman with disheveled hair on his back…”
Before he could finish, Li Na hurriedly shook her head: “I don’t know them.”
“But they were indeed looking for you. They even asked if there was a girl from the Southern Frontier among the people who entered the tomb. I thought, in Xiangcheng recently, you’re the only girl from the Southern Frontier.”
The sickly boss frowned slightly. He didn’t believe Li Na would conceal or quibble about this matter. Firstly, this girl was pure and innocent, without guile.
Secondly, they were all in a desperate situation, a time to work together. Who wouldn’t want to get out quickly? Concealing this information would be meaningless at this point.
Finally, if this girl had a sixth-ranking martial artist friend in Great Feng, why would she have starved for three days and nights? If he hadn’t invited her for a meal, she would have been ready to rob and loot.
Thinking of this, the sickly boss pondered and said: “Didn’t you say there were several people? Tell us in detail about the characteristics of the others.”
Qian You nodded and said: “Besides that man and woman, there was a burly, fierce-looking monk; a swordsman in a cyan robe who could fly on a sword, truly a divine skill.”
“Flying on a sword?” The sickly boss was greatly shocked. He had never heard of a martial artist who could fly on a sword.
“Do you know them?” Gong Yang Su looked at Li Na.
The little barbarian girl from the Southern Frontier shook her head: “I don’t know them.”
Don’t know them? How… how is this possible? The hero and his companions were looking for Miss Li Na… Qian You, harboring doubts, continued:
“There was also a Daoist priest. I heard the others call him Daoist Gold Lotus.”
“Daoist Gold Lotus?!”
Li Na suddenly let out a scream, her face beaming with joy. She repeatedly said: “I know him, I know him. Daoist Gold Lotus is a senior I trust very much… Woo woo, Daoist Gold Lotus has come to find me, Daoist Gold Lotus is truly a good person.”
So she does know him… Everyone felt relieved.
It seemed that the one who truly knew Li Na was this Daoist Gold Lotus, and the others were helpers the Daoist had found.
The burly bald man should be the warrior monk Heng Yuan, also known as Number Six… The cyan-robed swordsman who could fly on a sword must be Number Four. Hmm, with the Heaven-Human Dispute imminent, he should be in the capital now… Who is the handsome sixth-rank martial artist? Do we have such a person in our Heaven and Earth Society? Li Na’s not-so-clever mind spun quickly, matching the “friends” mentioned by Qian You.
But she couldn’t figure out who the “man and woman” were.
“Miss Li Na.”
A gang member’s face was excited, his eyes bright as he looked at her, “How powerful are those friends of yours?”
Li Na, being simple-natured, answered every question: “Daoist Gold Lotus is an expert from the Earth Sect. I’m not sure exactly what rank he is, but he’s much, much stronger than me.”
Everyone imagined scenes of tearing zombies apart with bare hands and fighting hand-to-hand with man-eating monsters. And this Daoist Gold Lotus was even more powerful than her. Their hearts immediately burned with hope.
“The bald monk is a Buddhist warrior monk, also very powerful.”
Li Na didn’t know much about Heng Yuan, so she skipped over him and continued: “As for the cyan-robed swordsman, his name is Chu Yuan Zhen. He’s one of the protagonists of the Heaven-Human Dispute, representing the Human Sect in the duel against the Holy Maiden of the Heaven Sect.”
“What?!”
Everyone exclaimed in surprise. Even the sickly boss was dumbfounded.
Xiangzhou wasn’t far from the capital, only a three or four-day horse ride. News of the Heaven-Human Dispute had already spread throughout the capital region and surrounding states.
Even in Xiangcheng’s martial arts world, many jianghu figures had gone to the capital, planning to witness the grand event of the Heaven-Human Dispute, although it was just a life-and-death contest between junior members of the Human Sect and Heaven Sect.
Now, hearing out of the blue that one of the protagonists of the “Heaven-Human Dispute” had come down to the tomb to rescue them.
The Later Earth Gang members felt as if they were old farmers in a field hearing that the emperor was coming to help them plant rice seedlings.
It was so dreamlike that it made one doubt its reality.
But this was said by Li Na, and they all knew Li Na’s character. She was an innocent and kind girl, without guile, warm-hearted towards others, and wouldn’t lie.
However, this didn’t mean she was a fool. The Later Earth Gang members had once witnessed a jianghu person, who had been recruited to explore the tomb together, trying to violate her in the night.
As a result, Miss Li Na swung one palm, and that head exploded like a watermelon.
Daring to travel thousands of miles from the Southern Frontier to the capital, without a few tricks up one’s sleeve, one couldn’t even make it to Xiangcheng.
“An expert from the Earth Sect, a warrior monk from Buddhism, a disciple of the Human Sect involved in the Heaven-Human Dispute…” A member of the Later Earth Gang swallowed hard, his expression excited:
“Then, then who are that man and woman? What’s their background? To be able to travel with these people, they must be famous figures, right, Miss Li Na?”
Excited gazes turned to her, expecting to hear a dazzling name from her lips.
Li Na tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said: “I don’t know them.”
What a disappointing answer… everyone thought.
At this point, Qian You coughed and asked: “Boss, you mentioned earlier that there was a monster hunting you. What kind of monster is it?”
“Its shape is like a huge lizard, but with a human face, full of fangs, extremely fast in movement, yet silent,” the sickly boss said in a low voice, fear flashing in his eyes:
“It likes to eat internal organs. Anyone killed by it has intact limbs, but their internal organs are empty.”
This isn’t right. The corpse I saw had its lower half bitten off in one bite… Qian You’s heart sank. He asked again: “What about its size?”
“About seven feet long, not too big.”
At this moment, Li Na’s ears twitched, catching an unusual sound in the silent darkness. She instinctively stood up and shouted: “Be careful, it’s coming again!”
As soon as she finished speaking, a shadow darted out from the darkness. With a flick of its tongue, it wrapped around the nearest Later Earth Gang member, about to drag him away.
Bang!
Amidst the sound of shattering floor tiles, Li Na charged out like a cannonball, slamming hard into the shadow.
In the instant the yin creature was knocked away, it whipped its tail, striking Li Na’s back. With a crisp sound, her clothes at the back tore, exposing delicate skin with fine beads of blood seeping out.
After being knocked away, the yin creature suddenly went silent, as if it had retreated.
But Li Na didn’t let her guard down. She concentrated on listening, trying to catch any traces of movement around them.
“Everyone be careful, this evil creature is very cunning. Watch out for its sneak attacks.”
The sickly boss drew his weapon, and together with the gang members, they stood ready for battle.
Over the past few days, one after another of the Later Earth Gang members had died, allowing the survivors to understand the monster’s nature.
That evil creature didn’t dare to confront Miss Li Na head-on, often hiding in the darkness to ambush them at opportune moments.
It would strike once and immediately retreat.
Li Na slowly backed up, snatching the torch from Qian You’s hand. Her pretty and cute face was filled with seriousness. She held the torch, listening for a moment, then suddenly threw it.
In the flickering firelight, everyone saw a huge lizard-like monster clinging to the wall. Its two grayish-brown eyes were on either side of its head, looking somewhat dull, seemingly very insensitive to light.
Qian You saw the monster’s appearance clearly for the first time. It was less than ten feet long, with a tail as long as its body, covered in thick scales.
The moment the firelight illuminated the monster, Li Na, having eaten, displayed her powerful explosive strength. She silently bent her knees and suddenly sprang forward, her figure disappearing before the sound of shattering tiles under her feet could be heard.
The monster clinging to the wall sensed something amiss. Its body flickered and disappeared.
Li Na, with rich hunting experience from the Southern Frontier, pursued relentlessly. Man and beast vied in the burial chamber. Soon, there came the sound of “bang bang” fighting, the monster’s howls, and Li Na’s shouts.
Finally, all was calm.
“Miss, Miss Li Na?” The sickly boss forced his voice not to tremble.
In the deathly silence, Li Na’s groan was heard: “It hurts so much.”
Then, she walked out from the darkness, dragging the monster’s corpse in her hand.
Cheers erupted as the Later Earth Gang members wept tears of joy, shouting to release their pent-up emotions. The crisis that had plagued them for days was finally over.
Li Na threw the yin creature’s corpse in front of everyone and asked gleefully, “Can we eat it?”
We don’t dare, we don’t dare… The Later Earth Gang members shook their heads repeatedly.
“Miss Li Na, this creature grew in the tomb, feeding on poisonous things and rotting flesh, absorbing yin and filthy qi. It’s highly toxic to us,” the spellcaster Gong Yang Su warned.
“Whoosh, whoosh whoosh…”
Wind sounds carrying a foul stench blew in from the passageway ahead, extinguishing the torches.
The wind sounded like breathing, rising and falling rhythmically.
No, it was breathing.
Gong Yang Su’s face suddenly turned pale. He said in a hoarse voice, “There’s yin and evil qi ahead. Something’s coming.”
The hearts of those who had just narrowly escaped death and were feeling joyful sank once again.
“Go light the torches,” the sickly boss ordered, then looked at Li Na with a grave expression: “Can you still fight?”
Qian You tremblingly ran to where the torches were, took out a flint and struck it repeatedly. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and he couldn’t get a spark to light.
The breathing sound grew closer, and the stench became stronger. But there was no sound of footsteps.
“Hurry, hurry up, quickly…”
Qian You was about to burst with anxiety. Click, click, the flint finally produced a weak flame, lighting the oil on the torch.
“Whoosh!”
The flame rose, dispelling the darkness.
Qian You grabbed the torch and, without a word, threw it towards the distance.
The torch hit the ground, bursting into dazzling sparks. In the sudden brightness, everyone saw the scene in the passageway.
In the passage, a huge yin creature was crawling forcefully forward, poised to hunt.
This yin creature was three times the size of the previous one, of the same species. Its grayish-brown eyes were somewhat dull, its lips closed, but its upper fangs protruding.
There’s another one?!
The burst of light from the torch lasted only for an instant. In the next moment, they could no longer see it.
The sickly boss felt a gust of yin wind brush past as if something extremely fast had grazed him. Then, he realized Li Na was gone.
“Li Na!!”
The sickly boss shouted, suddenly turning around. Everyone else made the same motion.
Behind them, the monster had caught the little barbarian girl from the Southern Frontier in its mouth, shaking its head in a deadly sway.
The sickly boss’s eyes nearly popped out as he roared, “Save her, save her, kill this beast!”
In the darkness came Li Na’s painful roar.
Just then, from the passageway on the other side, a shout rang out: “Stand down!”
A cyan-robed man holding a torch rushed out of the passage, raising his sword finger to pierce the torch. The flame seemed to come alive, suddenly surging up.
The cyan-robed man pinched a tuft of flame between his fingertips, suddenly flicking it out.
The flame streaked through the air, tracing a straight, brilliant line in the darkness, piercing into the monster’s back.
Bang!
Flesh exploded, the stench of burning meat filling the air.
The yin creature suddenly attacked and released its prey from its mouth. Coming to its senses, it let out a deep roar and charged towards the cyan-robed man like a phantom.
A figure flashed out from behind the cyan-robed man, meeting the yin creature head-on. In the process, a point of golden light appeared between his eyebrows, spreading across his entire body.
He let out a deep roar and rammed into it headfirst.
Duang!
The yin creature seemed to hit an iron plate, its entire head shaking, its forward momentum stalling. The golden glowing figure, on the other hand, was sent flying backward, like a divine iron, smashing into the wall with a bang.
In this interval, another figure leaped into the air, taking advantage of the yin creature’s dizziness to land steadily on its head.
Chanting “Amitabha” in his mouth, he raised his fist, as large as a sand pot.
Bang bang bang…
Under the rain-like barrage of fists, the yin creature went from violently struggling to convulse all over and finally lost its life as its brains were beaten out.
Daoist Gold Lotus, holding a torch, was the last to appear. He said gently, “Don’t be afraid, we’re here to rescue you.”
Qian You excitedly shouted, “They are Miss Li Na’s friends, the reinforcements I invited!”
The Later Earth Gang members stared at Daoist Gold Lotus, feeling his gentle demeanor and unfathomable depth, perfectly matching their image of a supreme expert.
“Thank you, Daoist, for saving our lives. Thank you, Daoist, for saving our lives.”
The Later Earth Gang members cheered.
Daoist Gold Lotus, holding the torch, nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping around, seeing Li Na lying in a pool of blood in the distant darkness.
Daoist Gold Lotus went forward to check her condition. Half of her body had been torn and bitten, a bloody mess with organs faintly visible. From the bloody wounds, countless fine silver lines emerged, quickly covering those terrible injuries, stopping the bleeding, and repairing the damage.
As long as the life-bound gu hadn’t been damaged, a person of the Gu tribe wouldn’t die.
Daoist Gold Lotus breathed a sigh of relief.
On the other side, Zhong Li grabbed Xu Qi An’s ankle, leaning back at a 45-degree angle to pull him out of the wall.
Xu Qi An dispersed his Vajra Invincibility and asked loudly, “Daoist, how is your young friend’s condition?”
“She’s injured, but her life isn’t in danger,” Daoist Gold Lotus beckoned to Zhong Li and said:
“Miss Zhong, do you have any medicinal pills for healing?”
Zhong Li responded with an “Mm,” and pulled out a porcelain bottle from her coarse linen robe, obediently handing it to the Daoist Gold Lotus: “One pill a day, complete recovery in three days.”
Daoist Gold Lotus pulled out the wooden stopper and sniffed. It was a healing pill of excellent quality.
The Sky Watching Bureau is truly wealthy. This poor Daoist hasn’t had money to refine pills for many years… Daoist Gold Lotus thought enviously as he bent down to pry open Li Na’s mouth and fed her a pill.
Xu Qi An, holding a torch, eagerly came over to examine the legendary Number Five. Her hair was black with a hint of brown, slightly curled at the ends, and the young girl’s figure was like that of an agile leopardess.
Her features were quite delicate, with thin lips and a straight nose. Her skin was a healthy wheat color, very much fitting the image of a little wild girl from the Southern Frontier.
Not bad looking, her features slightly more pronounced than those of Great Feng women… She’s a beautiful online friend! Xu Qi An nodded, quite satisfied.
After confirming that Number Five was not in serious danger, Xu Qi An and Chu Yuanzhen waved their torches, examining the corpse of the evil creature.
“What kind of monster is this?”
The uncultured Xu Qi An said in his heart: Holy shit.
“It should be a tomb guardian beast,” the knowledgeable Chu Yuanzhen explained. “I’ve read relevant records. After ancient people died, they would place strange beasts in their tombs to serve as guards protecting the burial chamber.”
“The number of these strange beasts would initially be very large. To survive, they could only feed on their companions or corpses. Until they gradually died out.”
Daoist Gold Lotus added, “Generation after generation, nourished by yin qi, devouring corpses and the poisonous creatures in the tomb, they’ve become completely unrecognizable, vastly different from their ancestors.”
“Is the corpse of any value?” Xu Qi An asked.
Daoist Gold Lotus shook his head.
“Zhong Li, I’ll leave her in your care. Carry her well,” Xu Qi An practically shifted his gaze away, no longer paying attention to the evil creature’s corpse, and said:
“Don’t stray too far from me, or I won’t be able to look after you.”
If you’re too far away, my invisible wings can’t protect you!
Daoist Gold Lotus was a bit uneasy about this arrangement. After all, Number Five was already injured, and to have her follow the Sky Watching Bureau’s prophetess seemed too cruel.
With this guy’s luck, there shouldn’t be any major problems… Daoist Gold Lotus then turned to the survivors of the Later Earth Gang, comforting them with a few words before saying, “Stay close to us, we’ll lead you out.”
After speaking, he gestured for Xu Qi An to lead the way.
The group, holding torches, continued forward.
The sickly boss, watching the backs of the experts, recalled the recent battle. The cyan-robed man carrying a sword must be one of the protagonists of the “Heaven-Human Dispute.”
The Buddhist warrior monk was incredibly powerful, killing the evil creature with his bare hands. Miss Li Na hadn’t detailed his identity, and I had thought he was just a helper, who would have thought he was so strong?
That young Sixth Rank martial artist seemed quite ordinary… the sickly boss thought to himself.
In his view, it was only natural for a Sixth Rank Bronze Skin Iron Bones martial artist to be able to take a hit, so Xu Qi An’s earlier performance was average, without any particularly outstanding moves.
As for that disheveled woman, she was strange and hadn’t fought, so it was impossible to judge her abilities.
Amidst these thoughts, the sickly boss heard a subordinate exclaim joyfully, “We’ve left the maze!”
At the end of the passage was a huge burial chamber. In the center of the chamber stood a large bronze coffin. Besides this, there were some burial goods in the room: gold and silver, vessels, ceramics, books, and so on.
Over the long years, the silver had severely oxidized, taking on a candle-wax appearance, while the gold was still in relatively good condition. As for the books and silk fabrics, they almost crumbled at a touch.
This tomb isn’t completely sealed off from oxygen… Xu Qi An glanced around and asked, “Is this the main tomb?”
“No, it’s a side chamber,” the sickly boss said. “It should be one of many side chambers surrounding the main tomb.”
The Later Earth Gang members excitedly collected valuable items like gold and silver, ignoring things like books. This wasn’t because they were uncouth and only recognized gold; on the contrary, the Later Earth Gang was professional.
So they were more aware that in such an ancient tomb, books couldn’t be taken out – they had long since decayed.
Chu Yuanzhen had an instinctive fondness for books and casually flipped through a few. The pages were as brittle as ash, crumbling at the slightest touch.
However, he wasn’t completely without gain. At least he knew who was buried in the coffin.
“This tomb is no ordinary one. It’s the tomb of an emperor, and this is where one of his consorts is buried,” Chu Yuanzhen said.
“What do we do now? Going to the main tomb might be dangerous. Returning the way we came means entering the maze again.” He looked at Xu Qi An, “I think the latter is safer.”
Although he was very curious about the identity of the tomb’s owner, safety first, safety first. Xu Qi An nodded, agreeing with Scholar Chu’s suggestion.
Except for the unconscious Li Na and the indecisive Zhong Li, the Heaven and Earth Society members unanimously agreed that returning the way they came was the right choice.
Immediately, they led the miscellaneous members of the Later Earth Gang back into the maze.
…
After walking for an unknown length of time, Xu Qi An led everyone out of the passage and into a side chamber.
“Why are we back here again?” The sickly boss frowned.
The Heaven and Earth Society members remained silent in contemplation.
“Let’s try once more,” Xu Qi An looked at Daoist Gold Lotus and the others.
“Alright…” Chu Yuanzhen nodded with a grave expression.
…
After an unknown period, Xu Qi An once again led everyone out of the passage and into a side chamber.
“W-why are we back here again?” The sickly boss’s voice trembled.
The expressions of the other Later Earth Gang members changed, some turning pale, their eyes filled with fear.
“Sh-should we try one more time?” Xu Qi An swallowed.
“…Alright,” Chu Yuanzhen said in a hoarse voice.
…
For the third time, they arrived at this side chamber.
The tomb-raiding team fell into a deathly silence. Xu Qi An stiffly turned his neck to look at Zhong Li.
Zhong Li shook her head.
Daoist Gold Lotus remained silent for a long time, then sighed deeply, “Let’s go in. If we don’t, I’m afraid we’ll never be able to leave this tomb.”
Xu Qi An, Chu Yuanzhen, and Hengyuan exchanged glances, then gritted their teeth and said, “Alright.”
Then, he looked at the Later Earth Gang members and warned, “After entering the main tomb, don’t touch anything carelessly, and don’t speak rashly. Understand?”
Although the tomb raiders were greedy, they also knew that their lives were most important. They nodded repeatedly.
At this moment, Gong Yang Su, wearing a dirty white robe, looked at Zhong Li and said, “Whatever you do, don’t use the aura-viewing technique here.”
This old man… Xu Qi An discreetly examined him.
Zhong Li lowered her head and pecked, “Mm.”