Chapter Seventy-Five: First Glimpse of the Ancient Tomb

The next evening, “Disciple, unless it’s a matter of life and death, you must not ignite the Threefold True Fire within you, understood?” Chen Yao traced a sealing talisman over Ye Dong’s heart with his finger. “This is my improved seal; it can prevent enemies from using magic eyes to probe your secrets. As long as you don’t actively use Taoist arts, even their masters won’t be able to easily see through you.” Ye Dong nodded repeatedly, “I will remember your teachings, Master!” After bidding farewell to Chen Yao and the others, he departed with Huiyan to the rendezvous point agreed upon with Lord Wei and his party.

The mountain wind howled, branches swaying and nodding, and though the starlit night remained bright, the ground had lost its former tranquility. After Lecheng routinely checked Ye Dong for any listening devices, Lord Wei handed some equipment to Ye Dong and teased, “Brother Tian, are you nervous?” Ye Dong snorted coldly, “Me? Nervous? I’m just too excited!” Lixing and Lord Wei exchanged glances, sneering inwardly, “Go on boasting, let’s see if you don’t end up crying for your parents later!”

The car stopped, and they proceeded on foot. Climbing over a dense forest, they finally arrived at a muddy, pitted area. Though a few lamps illuminated the place, in the endless darkness they seemed no brighter than fireflies, evoking helplessness and oppression. “Lord Wei! You’re finally here!” As they arrived, five or six diggers, already waiting, greeted them eagerly, “Lord Wei, Brother Lecheng, Brother Lixing.” “Call him Brother Tian, and her Sister Huiyan,” Lord Wei gestured toward Ye Dong and Huiyan. “Brother Tian, Sister Huiyan!” Seeing the mud-caked diggers, Ye Dong said coldly, “Why are these useless fellows here?” “They’re very useful,” Lord Wei explained with a smile, “The dirty, backbreaking work of digging and hauling bricks can’t be left to distinguished guests like you two.” Huiyan snorted, “Don’t forget you took half a million from the young master as a guide fee!” The diggers exchanged shocked glances, “Half a million? My god!”

Lecheng, holding a Bagua compass, approached Lord Wei and whispered, “Lord Wei, the auspicious time is almost here.” Lord Wei nodded, stretched out his hand, “Brother Tian, let me show my humble skills.” He took a flute from his breast pocket and began playing a series of eerie, unsettling melodies.

As the demonic music entered their ears, Huiyan felt a suffocating pressure in her chest that she couldn’t shake, forcing her to cover her ears. Ye Dong, to his surprise, found he could resist the music’s invasive effects without reciting any mental purification spell—his extraordinary body seemed to shield him naturally. “How strange, could it be because of my ‘transcendent physique’?” Ye Dong glanced at Lixing and Lecheng, both closing their eyes and covering their ears against Lord Wei’s demonic flute. He mimicked their actions, thinking, “Can’t hurt to play along.”

The flute played for five or six minutes before it gradually ceased. Lord Wei then respectfully bowed to the four cardinal directions and loudly declared, “The prelude ritual is complete. Begin digging!” The diggers, in a frenzy of joy, began excavating at the spots marked by Lord Wei and Lecheng.

Huiyan gripped Ye Dong’s arm tightly and whispered, “That flute made my heart race, like I’d taken a stimulant!” Hearing her, Ye Dong became even more cautious, “You’re right. Look at those diggers—they seem tireless!” The six diggers grew more excited as they dug deeper, their faces alight with manic smiles. Though covered in mud, they didn’t seem inconvenienced at all. Huiyan whispered, “Look at their hollow eyes—they’re on the verge of losing themselves.” “That demonic music is truly overpowering!” Ye Dong suppressed his anger and quietly asked Lord Wei, “Hey, why do these people seem insane?” Lord Wei chuckled inwardly, “This kid’s a novice, not a bit of tomb-raiding experience!” “They’ve been ensnared by my Soul-Stealing Flute. They’re my pawns now! I can make them live or die as I wish.” “Damn you,” Huiyan cursed silently, but feigned indifference, “How much longer will they dig? Why not finish before calling us?” Lord Wei shook his head and smiled, “Miss Huiyan, tomb-raiding requires ‘entering and leaving together,’ a tradition passed down by our ancestors—never to be neglected!” Huiyan retorted coldly, “Entering and leaving together? What a joke. If these workers get trapped in the tomb, will you save them or not?” Hearing her, Lord Wei and his companions exchanged glances and laughed, “‘Entering and leaving together’ doesn’t mean all go in and all come out—it just means the same number that go in must come out.” Huiyan pressed, “Isn’t that the same thing?” “No, no,” Lord Wei’s smile grew sinister, “Miss Huiyan, I never said those who come out have to be human!” Huiyan shivered internally, “Then what are they?” “You’ll know once you’re inside,” Lord Wei said mysteriously. “Just don’t be frightened then!”

The pit grew deeper, and the diggers’ heads began to disappear beneath the earth. Lecheng called out, “Hey, if you hit water, tell us immediately!” The men nodded, digging on like zombies. The bizarre scene reminded Ye Dong of the ghost’s foolish companions, “They did this same job back then—how did they die?”

“There’s water! Water!” Suddenly, one of the diggers shouted. Before he finished, a powerful jet of water blasted from the pit, tossing him high into the air and slamming him to the ground. “How could water shoot up so fiercely?” Ye Dong and Huiyan had assumed Lecheng meant ordinary seepage, not a geyser. Lecheng ignored the fallen man and shouted into the pit, “If you want to live, climb out now!” The remaining five seemed to snap out of Lord Wei’s spell, scrambling frantically up the muddy slope. “Let me up first!” “I’m first!” “Get out of my way!”

Ye Dong watched as the men completely ignored their injured companion, feeling anger rise within him. “Do people only care about their own survival at moments like these?” “Ow, it hurts!” The man thrown by the water survived, groaning in pain, “My leg!” Ye Dong glanced over and saw Lixing snort, walking up to the man, “Where did you get hurt?” The man pointed to his leg, wailing, “My leg, I think it’s broken!” Lixing picked up two branches and splinted the leg, “Bear with it. You’re lucky to be alive.” The man thanked him profusely, “Thank you, Brother Lixing!” Seeing Lixing, usually the most ruthless, acting kindly, Ye Dong grew uneasy, “Lixing is acting out of character—what’s his real motive?” “Let me help you sit over there,” Lixing helped the man up and called two other diggers to watch over him, further deepening Ye Dong’s suspicion, “What game is he playing?”

The water jet continued to shoot skyward for more than ten minutes before finally subsiding. As the water pooled across the ground, Ye Dong asked curiously, “Lord Wei, where did such a powerful jet come from?” Lord Wei patted Lecheng’s shoulder, “We owe it to our formation expert!” Lecheng grinned slyly, “Brother Tian, you’re unfamiliar with this. That pit is a ‘water pocket,’ the mouth of the tomb—a mechanism designed to flood intruders instantly. Impossible to guard against!” Ye Dong nodded uncertainly, “So you drain it first before entering?” Lecheng responded with pride, “Exactly. Break the water mechanism and our entry will be much safer.” “Brother Lecheng, the water has stopped!” a digger informed them. “Keep digging. We’ll enter through this water pocket soon!”

After another half hour of digging, there was a metallic clang—the digger’s shovel struck something hard. “Lord Wei, there’s a door here!”