Ye Fan stayed close to Shen Tianyin, fearing another accident.
"What exactly was that thing? Why was it so terrifying? It tore a living person to shreds in moments."
Recalling the ferocity of the beast, Shen Tianyin couldn't help but shiver.
Seeing he was still shaken, Ye Fan quickly patted his hand, signaling him not to be afraid, then slowly spoke, "It should be an ancient wolf."
"Ancient wolf? Aren't those creatures extinct for decades?"
Elder Ji asked in disbelief, looking at Ye Fan.
Ye Fan nodded, "Ancient wolves are pack creatures, bloodthirsty, carnivorous, ferocious, highly intelligent, and extremely cunning. They usually have a lead wolf as their leader. Once they spot prey, several, even a dozen, will follow and attack as a group, eventually killing the prey. Later, due to habitat destruction, their numbers dwindled until extinction.
In my previous life, ancient wolves still existed, though not in large numbers. Then, with the death of the last few ancient wolves, they became completely extinct. I never expected to find traces of ancient wolves here in Qianfo Mountain.
"Fortunately, you didn't encounter a pack this time, only a few stragglers. Otherwise, even if we had arrived in time, we might not have been able to save you," Shen Bao said, still trembling with fear.
"Don't worry, aren't we all right now? By the way, what was the result of your entry into the ancient tomb? Did you find the tomb owner?"
Knowing Shen Bao was still unnerved, Shen Tianyin quickly changed the subject.
Indeed, Shen Bao nodded, "We found the main tomb chamber, but we lacked the tools to open the door, so Ye Fan asked us to come out first to rest for the night and go in again tomorrow morning."
Then, he recounted everything that happened after entering the tomb, in great detail, to Shen Tianyin. The more he spoke, the more excited Shen Tianyin became, a flush spreading across her pretty face.
"That's great, we can enter the tomb tomorrow."
Looking at Shen Tianyin's excited expression, Ye Fan and Shen Bao both smiled with satisfaction. Due to the incident, Ye Fan specifically assigned people to guard that night. Nothing happened until dawn.
"Where is Village Chief Kong?" Ye Fan asked with a frown, looking at the few remaining scattered people.
Dong Dabiao also frowned, "Kong Weiren and two villagers from South Village are gone."
"Damn it." Ye Fan cursed, realizing that given the situation, even an idiot would know where they had gone.
"Brother Ye, let's go in quickly. If we're late..." Dong Dabiao said with a grim expression, surprised that Kong Weiren had played such a trick. He found it truly despicable.
Ye Fan scoffed, "He's looking for death himself, why should we save him?" Saying this, he asked Shen Bao to arrange for food to be prepared. An hour later, after everyone had breakfast, they orderly entered the tomb.
Qiao Ping had been following Ye Fan, her face showing unconcealed excitement. As the guardian of this tomb, her family had guarded it for generations. By her generation, they no longer knew the tomb's exact location, yet they still held fast. Today, finally having the honor to personally enter the tomb, how could she contain her excitement?
"Sister Qiao, yesterday, when I entered with Elder Lei and the others, we found some clues and discovered this is a tomb from the Liao Dynasty. This means you must be a descendant of the Jurchens." Tomb guardians were always selected from the direct descendants of the tomb owner; outsiders could never be chosen. Therefore, Qiao Ping was undoubtedly a descendant of the Liao people.
Qiao Ping nodded, "According to the family tree, we are indeed descendants of the Liao people, but the family tree does not record which specific person it was. Perhaps it was to prevent future generations from relying on the prestige of their ancestors." Qiao Ping took this with a broad perspective.
Ye Fan smiled and said nothing more. After all, as long as they opened the door to the main tomb chamber, they would know who the tomb owner was, and Qiao Ping's identity would be confirmed.
Since they had been there yesterday, everything was familiar today. They reached the door of the main tomb chamber without finding any trace of Kong Weiren and the others.
"Did I guess wrong? Did Kong Weiren and the others not come here?" Dong Dabiao frowned and muttered to himself.
But Ye Fan said coldly, "They were here. See the footprints." He pointed to a patch of sandy soil in front of the tomb door, where six footprints were clearly visible side by side. Ye Fan had intentionally scattered a very thin layer of sand there yesterday to prevent anyone from entering. Without careful observation, it was difficult to notice.
"But if they were here, why is there no trace of them?" They searched all the surrounding tomb chambers but saw no sign of Kong Weiren and the others. Had they vanished into thin air?
Ye Fan’s expression turned serious, "Everyone be careful. This tomb chamber likely contains dangers we are unaware of."
As soon as he spoke, the stone wall beside them suddenly emitted a series of banging sounds.
"Retreat." Ye Fan hurriedly commanded, gripping his hiking staff and staring coldly at the stone wall.
With a "boom," the stone wall was suddenly smashed open, and a figure swiftly darted out.
"A python? How can there be a python here?"
The python was five to six meters long, with three bulging lumps on its raised belly. It moved extremely fast, its snake tongue, only an arm's length long, flicking in and out, emitting a pungent odor.
"Into the left tomb chamber." Seeing the python charging rapidly, Ye Fan had no time to think and shouted loudly, pointing to the tomb chamber door behind them.
Without hesitation, everyone hurried into the tomb chamber. After everyone entered, Ye Fan and Shen Bao worked together to close the tomb door.
With a series of "bangs," the python continued to batter the tomb door. Fortunately, the door was polished from bluestone and was very sturdy; otherwise, it would have already been shattered.
"I never expected this tomb to have guardian beasts. This is truly eye-opening," Elder Lei said excitedly, showing no fear. At his age, he had already placed life and death aside. If he could fulfill his lifelong dream within his limited lifespan, he would be content even if he died immediately.
"Elder Lei, what are guardian beasts?" Shen Tianyin asked, puzzled. She knew little about ancient tombs, and this was a noble's tomb from the Liao Dynasty, with even less information available.
Elder Lei looked at Ye Fan, "Young friend Ye should know more about this than this old man. Please let young friend Ye explain."
Ye Fan gave a wry smile, knowing that the old man had likely guessed his identity. However, as long as he didn't confirm it, it would only remain a guess. Seeing Shen Tianyin's eager gaze, Ye Fan had no choice but to explain.
"Guardian beasts, as they are called, are beasts that were raised in ancient times within tombs for people of noble status after their death. Fed with the flesh and blood of sacrificial victims, these beasts would gradually grow. Because they consumed the flesh and blood of living people, these beasts would grow rapidly. They would stay in the tomb and immediately attack anyone who trespassed, devouring the invaders to protect the tomb owner."