Chapter 162: Thief

"Click, click, click."

Seeming to notice a strange sound behind them, Xiaoling turned around to take a glance, but was immediately frightened into a loud scream. A terrifying monster had appeared directly behind them, causing the hair on the bodies of the rest of the group to stand on end as they whipped around to look.

"Ah!"

"A monster!"

Panicked, the group attempted to scatter in all directions, only to make the horrifying discovery that the tomb chamber seemed to be sealed shut. The surrounding walls, floor, and ceiling were entirely composed of blue flagstones without the slightest gap. The terrifying zombie was already slowly closing in. With a mere wave of its hand, Mutou was violently hurled through the air, crashing heavily into the wall and leaving his life or death completely unknown. Xiaoling and the others felt their scalps go numb with sheer terror.

Reaching out, the zombie grabbed the middle-aged woman, lifting her into the air in a single, effortless motion. A series of cruel, chilling laughs issued from its throat. Upon seeing his wife in mortal peril, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth and lunged forward desperately to rescue her, but the zombie merely pivoted its body, nimbly evading the sneak attack. It then delivered a fierce kick to his back, sending him flying across the chamber to crash against the wall.

As Xia璐 witnessed this scene, her heart turned as dead as ash.

The ritual was real.

"Get back." Just as Xia璐 was about to close her eyes and await death, her body was suddenly yanked backward by someone. All the invisible restraints and the bone-chilling cold instantly vanished without a trace. Right in front of her, a young man leaped forward, a Tang sword materializing out of thin air in his hand. With astonishing force, he drove the blade straight into the zombie's skull, pinning it hard against the wall. Casually tossing the middle-aged woman aside, the young man pulled out his sword, spun around in mid-air, and delivered a side kick that cleanly severed the zombie's head, sending it flying off to the side.

Even after hitting the floor, the zombie's head continued to emit strange, muffled cries. At that moment, a massive wolf suddenly materialized within the tomb chamber. With a single low growl, the zombie's head instantly fell silent, and both the head and torso simultaneously disintegrated into piles of gray powder.

"Phew, good thing it wasn't the vanguard squad," Qin Yang muttered, shaking his head.

"You—are you human or a ghost?" Xiaoling asked, still retaining a shred of courage amidst her terror.

"Human." Qin Yang glared at the group with annoyance. "If I hadn't shown up early, you lot would have been torn limb from limb ages ago. You've got the nerve to ask if I'm human or a ghost? And the rest of you, carrying around a few pieces of worthless rock while giggling stupidly—did you really think you wouldn't lure the zombie out?"

"What worthless rocks?"

Upon hearing this, the professor's temper flared up, and he was about to retort when he suddenly noticed that the tomb chamber had changed. It was still the same size, with the same stone coffin and the neighboring lamp, and the doorway had reappeared. However, the cultural relics and porcelain artifacts that had previously been laid out on the floor had abruptly transformed into chunks of pitch-black stone. Cold sweat poured in torrents down the group's bodies. They clearly remembered those being items of immense archaeological value just moments ago; why had they turned into mere stones?

What on earth was going on here?

Everyone plunged into a terrifying vortex of confusion. Could it really be, as Xia璐 had claimed, that ghosts haunted this place?

Aside from attributing it to the supernatural, the professor could find no rational explanation. Even if he tried to accept that they were hallucinating due to some stimulant drugs, how did one account for the zombie? The gray powder left behind by that zombie was still right there on the ground. Just then, Qin Yang and the others suddenly heard a series of eerie laughs echoing one after another from not far away. The divine wolf attempted to charge forward, but Qin Yang stopped it.

"Move now, leave this place," Qin Yang said. "If you want to go off on your own, I certainly won't stop you, but if you run into danger, I will definitely stand by and do nothing."

Hearing this, the crowd hurriedly followed closely behind Qin Yang. However, as they stepped out of the tomb chamber, they discovered that the path they had come by was now blocked by a massive boulder, causing a fresh wave of panic. Unfazed, Qin Yang calmly lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and led the group deeper into the corridor. Along the way, the walls were no longer covered in mysterious black patterns, but rather vivid, figurative carvings. This tempted Professor and the others to stop and study them; the narrative reliefs carved into the walls held immense research value. Qin Yang completely ignored those who were mesmerized by the murals, whereas Xia璐 clutched Xiaoling tightly, staying right at Qin Yang's heels.

"We need to wait for them," Xiaoling said anxiously after they had walked a fair distance. She was about to call back when she found Qin Yang's blade pressed flat against her neck.

"What—what are you doing?" Xiaoling swallowed hard, the cold glare of the blade making her entire body go limp.

Qin Yang sneered, "The lives and deaths of those people have nothing to do with me. The only reason I saved you lot was because I happened to pass by and did it on a whim, so you wouldn't die at the hands of the Xiliang army. If you go screaming and shouting to draw the Xiliang archers over and end up getting me even slightly scratched, I will kill you."

Such absolute ruthlessness made a cold sweat break out all over Xiaoling's body.

Judging by Qin Yang's demeanor, Xiaoling knew he meant every word he said. Inwardly, she cursed him as a selfish bastard. Sensing the tense atmosphere, Xia璐 quickly interjected, "Mister, please give me a moment. I'll go call them back. Please don't resort to violence."

"Considering you have some semblance of sense, I'll give you one chance." Qin Yang withdrew his blade, walked over to the divine wolf, and began casually sketching something on the ground. Xiaolu and Xiaoling let out sighs of relief and hurried back to Professor and the others.

"Heavens, this is an authentic depiction of the late Eastern Han dynasty!" the professor said excitedly. "If we can fully decipher these murals, our understanding of the chaotic era of the late Eastern Han will become infinitely more authentic. This holds supreme research value for the late Eastern Han and the Three Kingdoms period!"

Before he could finish, Xia璐 hurried over and said anxiously, "Professor Guan, now is not the time for research. Do you really want to be trapped here for the rest of your life?"

"Yes, Professor Guan, we can report this to the state after we get out. The state will surely find a way to reopen this place," Xiaoling added. "Let's hurry and go. If that man refuses to take us with him, we truly will be trapped here. He's already losing his patience."

Only then did Professor Guan and the others recall their current predicament. With a look of profound regret, they snapped a few photos with their cameras before hurrying back. By this time, Qin Yang had finished his cigarette. Signaling the divine wolf to scout ahead, the group followed closely. They encountered nothing terrifying along this stretch of the path, which emboldened Xia璐 to step forward and ask in a soft voice, "Mister, are you here grave robbing?"

"I have no interest in acquiring private wealth," Qin Yang replied indifferently. "I'm here to find someone."

"Find someone? Did your friend come here too?" Xia璐 asked, puzzled.

"Would you believe me if I said they've been here all along?" Qin Yang suddenly chuckled.

Xia璐 was startled. This place had existed for over a thousand years; if someone had been here all along, wouldn't that make them a ghost or a zombie? With a creeping sense of horror, she cast a glance at Qin Yang. Only now, under the illumination of the lamps and torches, did she notice that Qin Yang's pupils were as pitch-black as precious gems. While ordinary people were said to have black eyes, they were actually dark brown with only the pupil appearing black, but Qin Yang's eyes were a pure, unbroken black, resembling an unfathomable abyss. The sight made Xia璐 involuntarily take a step backward.

"Don't worry, I'm human," Qin Yang said with an amused smile. "A bona fide citizen of the Republic."

"That's good, that's good," Xia璐 nodded hurriedly.

As they walked along, several figures suddenly appeared around a corner, giving the rest of the group a fright. Qin Yang, however, merely narrowed his eyes—they were those foreigners. Stephan, the leader, was holding a gun, his backpack stuffed with burial goods, and the faint outline of several precious pearls could be seen inside. However, the original group of five had been reduced to just three, all of them looking thoroughly flustered.

"Grave robbers." Xia璐 and the others understood instantly; they must have encountered those monstrous zombies as well.

Stephan and his men had been startled by the sight of shadows, but upon realizing they were ordinary people, they let out sighs of relief. A flash of ruthlessness crossed their eyes as one of them barked in accented Chinese, "You lot, right now—come over here!"

With the muzzle of a gun pointing at them, Qin Yang remained entirely unfazed. He shrugged, and with a mere wave of his hand, his Tang sword vanished completely without a trace. Xia璐 and Xiaoling were so shocked by this spectacle that they sucked in sharp breaths of cold air; was this guy even human?

"Don't get excited, we mean you no harm," Qin Yang said. "There are roads enough for everyone, so there's no need to resort to murder with firearms, is it? If the noise attracts those monsters, nobody will have an easy time of it."

"Cut the crap," Stephan snapped. "Get over here quickly."

Qin Yang nodded and signaled the divine wolf to follow. The foreigners had never seen such a pet and were startled at first, but they quickly recovered their composure. Forcing the group to walk at the front, they trailed behind with their guns raised, gesturing to the side. "Walk this way."

Assessing the local layout, this path could also lead out, so Qin Yang offered no resistance and walked on ahead. Professor Guan and the others dared not disobey and could only follow. Passing by a tomb chamber, Stephan gave Mutou a shove, ordering him to go inside and fetch the items housed within. Terrified, Mutou hesitated and resisted out of fear, prompting the hot-tempered Bager to curse loudly and deliver a kick straight to Mutou's back, sending him stumbling inside. "Damn it, get those things out here right now, or I'll blow your brains out."

"Too bad. Should've just killed those few back there," Qin Yang muttered to himself.

"What is it?" Xia璐 asked in a low voice.

"They're here, that's what," Qin Yang said, jutting his chin forward.

Xia璐 and the others looked in the direction he indicated, and the hair on their bodies instantly stood on end. Guided by the flickering light of the torches and flashlights, they faintly made out several shadows moving at high speed at the far end of the gloomy corridor. Meanwhile, Mutou dragged a small bronze vessel out from the chamber. Bager snatched it away and shoved it directly into his own backpack. Sensing that those creatures were closing in fast, Qin Yang lunged forward proactively, the divine wolf instantly tensing for a pounce.

"Go back! Get back immediately!" another foreign man roared at the top of his lungs.

Instead, Qin Yang strode up to the entrance, grabbed Mutou—who was just about to turn and retreat inside—and hurled him out into the corridor. With a flick of his wrist, his Tang sword drove straight into the man's chest. Just as Stephan and Bager raised their weapons to fire, the divine wolf leaped forward, its claws slashing out. Yelling in pain, the men dropped their handguns to the floor. Qin Yang delivered a swift kick to each of them, turned around to grab the still-dazed Mutou, and barked in a low voice, "Follow me."

None of them dared to hesitate any longer. One by one, they bolted after Qin Yang. The two foreign men, apparently sensing the encroaching danger as well, fled without even bothering to pick up their firearms, vanishing blindly into the depths of the tomb.