Chapter 1

With a deafening roar, the tomb's sealing stone was completely chiseled open by the grave robbers outside. Countless beams of light streamed in, blinding me.

At this moment of newfound freedom, we in the tomb were quite composed. No one made a sound, waiting in the shadows for Lao Wei's instructions.

However, there was one person in the tomb beyond our control: the old hag lying on the ground.

This old woman usually looked like she was half-dead, ready to kick the bucket at any moment. But as soon as the sealing stone was opened, she suddenly perked up, scrambling to her feet like a madwoman and running towards the entrance, yelling, "Who told you to open the door? Who told you to open the door? You've ruined my plans! You've ruined my plans!"

The grave robbers, initially overjoyed at the prospect of entering and finding treasure, were stunned to see a disheveled old woman with a ferocious expression charging at them.

Deep underground, in an ancient tomb that hadn't seen the light of day for ages, such a scene was enough to send even a group of grown men into a frenzy of fear!

"Holy crap!"

"It's a *zongzi*!" (corpse)

"An ancient *zongzi*!"

"She's risen from the dead!"

"Brothers, retreat! The tomb owner has reanimated!"

"..."

The grave robbers were thrown into chaos, shouting and scrambling to retreat.

But the passageway outside the tomb was already narrow, and there were many grave robbers. In their panic, how could anyone get out?

Eventually, the group was jammed together, unable to move back an inch. Seeing the old woman already upon them, the grave robbers in front screamed and swung the iron hammers in their hands, smashing them down on the old woman's head.

"Damn it! To hell with you, old *zongzi*! I'll smash you to death!"

I watched, cold sweat pouring down my back. I was about to speak when the iron hammer landed squarely on the old woman's head.

In an instant, the grave robber had cracked the old woman's skull open. She didn't even have a chance to fight back. We were all dumbfounded. Lao Wei didn't even have time to shout "Stop!"

Seeing the old woman fall to the ground, the grave robber with the iron hammer didn't stop. He thought this old woman was an ancient zombie; how could she fall so easily?

He went berserk, raining blows down on the old woman. At first, she could still scream, but in the blink of an eye, she couldn't even whimper.

Lao Wei finally reacted. He quickly turned on his flashlight and swept the beam across the grave robbers, then shouted, "Stop! Drop your weapons and surrender! You're surrounded!"

The Xiaoling Guards, following Lao Wei's instructions, also turned on their flashlights and raised their weapons, forming a show of force against the grave robbers.

The grave robbers were caught completely off guard by our "surprise attack." They were stunned for a full half-minute before realizing that we weren't ancient corpses, but living people – and the authorities, there to arrest them!

In the beam of the flashlights, I saw that the leader of these rats was none other than "Big Hand," the *zhiguo ren* (pot setter) I had met at the small inn! I never expected to encounter them here!

At this critical moment, *Zhiguo ren* Big Hand roared, "Damn it! We're ambushed! Brothers, scatter!"

With his command, one of the grave robbers grabbed a handful of sand from who-knows-where and threw it at us. The rest scattered like birds and beasts, immediately trying to escape.

Seeing them retreat, the Xiaoling Guards immediately fired two shots into the ceiling.

Lao Wei shouted, "Stop or we'll shoot! Freeze!"

But this threat was clearly not enough. The grave robbers still fled for their lives.

The Xiaoling Guards had no choice but to aim at the grave robbers lagging behind, firing two shots at their torsos and legs.

The space in the ancient tomb was narrow, and there was no cover. The two shots hit their marks, one hitting a man in the calf and the other in the lower back. Both fell to the ground.

Lao Wei shouted, "Stop! Everyone stop!"

But the remaining grave robbers were desperate criminals, willing to risk being shot as they fled for their lives.

Lao Wei quickly led us in pursuit, but we had been trapped in the tomb for over forty hours, with little energy intake. We had only drunk some water to stave off hunger. Now, we were all tired, dizzy, and weak. Catching anyone was a pipe dream.

By the time we chased them outside, the grave robbers had long since scattered like birds and beasts.

Some had climbed back up the rope ladder in the tunnel, while others had hidden in other tombs. In short, there wasn't a soul in sight.

Lao Wei took a few steps before bending over, panting, sweat pouring from his forehead.

He waved his hand at us and said, "Forget it, don't chase them. In our current condition, we might not be able to catch them anyway. Forget it."

Hu Wazi was optimistic and carefree, saying, "In a way, we were saved by these grave robbers. Let's let them off this time as a way of returning the favor."

Lao Wei nodded and led us back to check on the wounded.

First was the old woman. She had kicked the bucket on the spot, completely and utterly dead, with no chance of survival.

Second was the grave robber who had been shot in the lower back. He must have injured a vital organ, as blood was gushing out non-stop. It wasn't even flowing, it was spraying.

Xiao Liang tried to stop the bleeding, but it was completely useless. In his condition, unless he was taken to a hospital within minutes, and a major hospital at that, even a god couldn't save him.

Lao Wei took one look and shook his head. "He's a goner."

The only one with a chance of survival was the rat who had been shot in the calf. His injury wasn't serious, at least not life-threatening.

Lao Wei gave him a pair of silver bracelets (handcuffs), asked him a few simple questions, and learned that they were indeed led by *zhiguo ren* Big Hand, and their goal was to loot cultural relics. They never expected that, by chance, they would end up saving us.

At this point, the situation became a bit tricky.

We had been trapped in the tomb for two days and two nights, over forty hours. Now, everyone's mental and physical state was reaching its limit.

Lao Wei was cautious. He suggested that we return the way we came, first to rest and recover, and second to transfer the captured grave robbers out so they wouldn't be a burden.

But as soon as he voiced this idea, he was met with opposition from several people.

The first to object was me.