Under the frenzied digging of a crowd of people, what lay buried in the pit finally began to emerge.

“Good lord!” someone suddenly let out a gut-wrenching shriek.

As his iron shovel plunged down, he had dug up a gleaming white skull. The skull rolled twice before coming to a stop at his feet.

“Ahhh!” The people around him all screamed in unison, stumbling backward.

Master Niu was also startled, and immediately ordered his men to surround and protect him. It was the Taoist priest who stepped forward to look, his face breaking into delighted surprise: “Master Niu, congratulations, congratulations! To dig up human bones means we are close to finding a tomb. As long as we keep digging, there will surely be a great burial mound beneath.”

Master Niu, heartened by these words, rallied his spirits at once and waved to the people around him: “Did you hear that? The Daoist Qianqiu says there is a tomb down there. Hurry up and dig — get this tomb uncovered for me.”

But no sooner had he finished speaking than the sky suddenly darkened with thick black clouds, and in an instant, wild winds, thunder, and lightning erupted.

The gale whipped the trees on the mountain back and forth, sending sand and grit flying in all directions. Everyone was forced to grab hold of the nearest object and cling to it for dear life.

Shi Ting quickly seized Yan Qing’s wrist. Noticing that Xiao Jin beside them was nearly blown off his feet, he reached out and pulled him close as well.

The three of them huddled down in a pit they had previously dug. Above their heads, grass and stones whirled madly through the air, while lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky, giving them the terrifying illusion that the very earth and mountains were shaking.

“Don’t be afraid.” Shi Ting wrapped his arms around Yan Qing, pressing her face against his chest and turning his back to the wind, shielding her from the worst of the blowing sand with his own body.

Yan Qing pressed against his clothing and felt the powerful, steady beating of his heart. Even in the midst of such harsh conditions, she could not help but feel the corners of her mouth curl upward.

These past days, she had been fighting alone. At times she had truly wanted to give up. Now that he had finally woken, she could once again enjoy his protection, could once again rest easy within the shelter of his arms.

She knew — she had become utterly unable to live without this man.

“The terrain of this mountain offers no shelter from wind and no collection of rain. When lightning and strong winds come, it will always be like this.” Shi Ting said softly to reassure her. “Therefore, it is simply impossible for a great tomb to exist here.”

No one knew how much time had passed, but finally the dark cloud overhead was blown away by the wind, and calm was restored to the mountain.

Yan Qing poked her head out from Shi Ting’s arms. Where the wind had swept through, trees lay toppled and askew in every direction. Many people sprawled on the ground or clung to trees, looking utterly disheveled.

Master Niu had just been held firmly by two of his subordinates — that was the only reason he hadn’t been blown away. The moment the wind died down, he leaped out in a frantic rush.

“You cowardly, gutless curs — why aren’t you digging? Get moving! Whoever dares to slack off, I’ll throw them into the mountains to feed the wolves.”

At that moment, someone boldly spoke up: “Master Niu, just now the dark clouds blotted out the sun and wind and thunder raged — it must be that the tomb we’re digging has disturbed the gods and spirits. We cannot dig further; we will be cursed.”

“Get out of here.” Master Niu stepped forward and kicked the man into the dirt pit. The man let out a cry of agony as he fell to the bottom, breaking his leg, and screamed in pain.

“Ghosts and gods, bah! I, Master Niu, have never believed in such things. I only believe in money — a tomb means treasure, and treasure means beauties and fine wine.” Master Niu grabbed the nearest man and shoved him toward the edge of the pit. “You — dig.”

The man trembled with fear. Thinking of how the sky had suddenly changed color just moments ago, he firmly believed in the power of gods and spirits. Perhaps there was something in this tomb that could not be disturbed — perhaps the heavens were warning them. To keep digging would only enrage the gods and bring divine punishment down upon them.

“You there, go — go, go.” Master Niu yanked over a few more people, but these men were clearly frightened out of their wits and dared not go anywhere near.

“Worthless fools.” Master Niu picked up a shovel and swung it at one man’s head.

“Stop!”

A sharp command rang out, and Master Niu’s hand froze in mid-air. He turned around to see a young man with cold, clear features standing there — he remembered him as a relative of Old Li’s.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Master Niu narrowed his eyes. “Quite the nerve you have.”

Shi Ting released the grip he had on Master Niu’s arm. “I’ll dig.”

Master Niu laughed and clapped Shi Ting on the shoulder. “You see? This is what I call knowing which way the wind blows.”

Shi Ting paid Master Niu no mind, but took the shovel and began to dig. As the earth turned, bone after pale bone was revealed beneath.

Those watching felt their hearts grow cold with dread, and they shrank back one after another.

What Shi Ting had uncovered was not a tomb — it was a bone pit.

The pit was filled entirely with skeletal remains. The clothing on the bones was tattered and rotted, much of it already decomposed.

Shi Ting shot Yan Qing a meaningful look. She hurried over at once, and as she helped him dig, she picked up the bones and examined them.

When those around them saw her handling human bones without so much as a flicker of fear on her face, they couldn’t help but swallow hard. This young fellow’s nerve was truly extraordinary — these were dead people, after all.

“What are you all standing around for — dig!” Master Niu shoved the crowd toward the edge of the pit, forcing them all to dig together.

They dug for over two hours straight. A pit five meters wide and six meters long was eventually laid bare before everyone’s eyes.

Without exception, this pit contained nothing but bones — white skeletal remains that had fallen apart from their original limbs, impossible to tell which bone belonged to which person, all heaped together in dense, layered piles.

Everyone who looked upon this sight went pale with horror.

Yan Qing gave Shi Ting a nod. He took her hand, and together they climbed out.

“You said there was a tomb down there — so where is it?” Master Niu, having found not the grand burial mound he so desperately wanted but instead a pit full of corpses, turned his fury on the Taoist priest.

This Taoist priest was a fraud who knew nothing of geomancy. He only knew that where there were dead people there was a tomb — he had never imagined he would find a charnel pit.

But he was quick-witted. His eyes darted around, and he said at once: “I have heard that in ancient times, the locations chosen for tombs were extremely well concealed. All the workers who participated in constructing a burial mound would be killed and buried upon its completion. Master Niu, I believe these are the people who built the tomb — which proves there truly is a great burial mound on this mountain!”

Master Niu was indeed persuaded again. “Very good! Did everyone hear that? There is a great tomb beneath, now dig!”

At that moment, another dark cloud drifted across the sky. Thunder and lightning erupted once more.

“The vengeful souls have come to claim their due!” someone suddenly screamed, threw down their hoe, and ran down the mountain.

With one person leading the way, others immediately followed. The whole group scattered and fled in a rout, abandoning their tools.

“What are you all doing? Get back here! Whoever runs, I’ll break their legs.” Master Niu hopped up and down, shouting furiously.

Beside him, Daoist Qianqiu looked at the sky, then at the bone pit full of remains, and felt a chill run down his spine. With all this thunder and lightning, perhaps something truly was stirring here.

“Master Niu, the sky suggests a heavy downpour is coming. If we remain on the mountain and a mudslide hits, we’re finished.”

Master Niu heard this and found it reasonable, so he nodded. “All right, all right — retreat for today. We’ll continue digging when the rain stops.”

A torrential downpour broke loose. The small village was enveloped in rain and mist.

Xiao Yue fed Old Li a little thin congee, then walked to the doorway for what must have been the dozenth time. Rainwater dripped down from the eaves in long, unbroken streams like pearls fallen from a broken string. She gazed toward the front gate, worry flickering in her eyes.

Big Brother and Big Sister had been gone for a whole day. Outside, there was this tremendous rain — she had no idea how they were doing.

She had heard that mudslides were common on that mountain. If they happened to get caught in one…

Just as Xiao Yue’s mind was spinning with anxious thoughts, the old front gate was suddenly pushed open. Shi Ting used his coat to cover Yan Qing’s head and ran with her all the way into the courtyard.

Xiao Yue quickly pulled open the gate, joyfully welcoming them inside. Seeing that their clothes were soaked through, she hurried to fetch clean towels.

“You’re back.” Old Li, lying in bed, saw them return safely and said happily: “It’s good that you’re back.”

Though he had unintentionally saved these two, he had never expected them to repay him with such loyalty and devotion — risking their very lives to take this burden upon themselves on his behalf.

Shi Ting handed the towel to Yan Qing, then walked to the bedside and bowed deeply to Old Li. “Thank you, Uncle, for saving our lives.”

Old Li quickly waved his hands. “Think nothing of it — I only did what anyone would do.”

Shi Ting had always been a person who repaid both kindness and enmity in full. Those who had shown him grace, he would repay a hundredfold; those who sought to harm him through any means, he would never let off lightly.

“Your clothes are soaked through — dry off quickly, or you’ll fall ill.” Old Li urged them with warm concern.

Xiao Yue brought out hot water with slices of ginger. Shi Ting and Yan Qing each drank a large bowl.

Fortunately, the rain had started just as they were nearly home, so they had not been drenched to the bone.

“Did things go smoothly today?” Old Li studied the two of them carefully. Seeing that they were uninjured, he finally relaxed.

“Today, we found a bone pit on the mountain.” Shi Ting said.

A bone pit?

Both Old Li and Xiao Yue were startled. There might be tombs on this mountain, but a bone pit?

“I counted the skulls — there were thirty-four in total.” Yan Qing sipped her hot ginger water. “And every bone I saw belonged to a male.”

Old Li blinked. “You can determine sex just from bones?”

“Compared to female skeletons, male pelvises have larger, rougher skulls with heavier bone mass, more pronounced muscle ridges, and a narrower pubic arch angle. Based on the shape of the pelvis alone, it is not difficult to determine gender.” Yan Qing replied with a smile.

Xiao Yue’s eyes went wide, her expression one of utter disbelief.

Old Li, marveling at this, could not help but ask curiously: “Where did these bones come from? Could they really be ancient burial sacrifices?”

“No.” Shi Ting firmly rejected Old Li’s guess.