Chapter 14: Pioneer

Hearing this, Zhang Luxun raised an eyebrow with a hint of amusement. "Oh? Is that so? Tell me about it."

Uncle Tai forced a flattering smile. "If I tell you, can you loosen your grip on my hand first?"

The three-sided military dagger in Zhang Luxun's hand spun twice, its tip coming to rest right against Uncle Tai's throat. Zhang Luxun showed no courtesy whatsoever. "You are not in a position to bargain. Choose for yourself: live or die."

Uncle Tai was practically on the verge of tears. He had never encountered someone so unreasonable. Fearing that this merciless star would lose patience and stab him, Uncle Tai hurriedly spilled everything he knew.

As it turned out, according to the information he had obtained, this ancient tomb was built for a god, and legend had it that there were extraordinary divine miracles inside, though he didn't know the specifics. Combined with the fact that Boss Wang had mentioned the "River Wood Collection" indeed recording such a place, the two of them had pooled their resources, gathered some like-minded experts, and come inland to search for the legendary divine miracle.

The moment they arrived, however, they ran into a taimen fish over two meters long, which instantly claimed the life of one of their men. Venturing further in, they ran straight into Zhang Luxun and his two companions, and consequently, the entire operation had collapsed right here.

It was truly bad luck.

After observing the situation, Zhang Luxun realized that the man in the grey windbreaker who had been tailing them outside the food stall was missing. That was likely the one who had ended up in the fish's belly.

Having heard the whole story, Zhang Luxun turned his head and asked Lao Yang, "Is what he's saying true?"

Lao Yang froze for a moment, clearly not expecting the conversation to shift back to him so abruptly.

"M-more or less..." Lao Yang stammered, his eyes darting away evasively. "I can't really describe it. You'll have to go in and see for yourselves to understand. You wouldn't believe me even if I told you now."

Wu Xiexie let out a hiss, ready to curse. "Are you still refusing to give up until you see the coffin? Would you only be happy if Mu Yu and I went down there and threw our lives away?"

"N-no! That's not it!" Lao Yang waved his hands frantically. "There really isn't any danger down below. I... I wouldn't lie to you..."

Even Lao Yang himself sounded unconvincing, let alone Wu Xiexie, who had already learned his lesson the hard way.

Taking advantage of the trio's distraction during their conversation, Uncle Tai stealthily unbuckled his belt and, without a trace, inched his hand toward where his gun was placed, planning a brilliant counterattack on flat ground.

While keeping a sideways glance on Zhang Luxun and the others' movements, he reached out to grab the weapon. Just as he was about to succeed and a surge of joy rose in his heart, a black military boot suddenly pressed down on top of the gun he was trying to retrieve.

Uncle Tai's gaze followed the military boot upward, tracing a long, straight, slender leg clad in black tactical trousers, and further up to a three-sided military dagger, as well as Zhang Luxun's handsome face wearing a half-smile.

Damn it!

Uncle Tai chuckled awkwardly and sheepishly withdrew his hand. "Well... what if I said it bumped into my hand all by itself? Would you believe that?"

Zhang Luxun let out a scoff. "Do you take me for a blind man?"

Uncle Tai's face turned ashen, and he completely wilted.

Wu Xiexie puffed out his cheeks, holding back laughter. *Oh man, this guy is truly a talent.*

Zhang Luxun dragged him over to the pile where Boss Wang was and tied him back up.

Taking advantage of the moment, Wu Xiexie unloaded the ammunition magazines from their firearms and picked out two weapons that felt right for himself and Mu Yu.

"What should we do with these people? Just leave them tied up like this?" Wu Xiexie asked Zhang Luxun.

Uncle Tai, along with the newly awakened Boss Wang and the others, pricked up their ears, sweat beading on their foreheads from tension.

"No." Zhang Luxun stared at them with a malicious grin. "We'll bring them along when we go down the tomb and make them our vanguard pathfinders."

"Alright, whatever you say." Wu Xiexie expressed no objection.

Lao Yang opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, he said nothing. He knew very well that Wu Xiexie's heart was already entirely biased toward Zhang Luxun; even if he voiced a dissenting opinion, it wouldn't make the slightest difference.

Hearing Zhang Luxun's words, Uncle Tai and the others let out quiet sighs of relief. As long as they weren't going to be executed on the spot, they could play it by ear once inside the tomb and surely escape at least one or two of them.

Unfortunately, they rejoiced too soon. Zhang Luxun curled his knuckles and tapped each of them sharply on the chest.

The next instant, a numb, tingling sensation instantly spread through their limbs. Even though Zhang Luxun had unbuckled the belt tying their hands, they felt utterly weak all over, as if they had just finished a twenty-kilometer armed cross-country march. Their limbs were so limp and devoid of strength that they could only manage to shuffle forward step by step. Running was completely out of the question, let alone launching a counterattack.

At that moment, Uncle Tai and his companions were filled with intense regret. If they had known the mainland was this dangerous, nothing could have persuaded them to come here.

However, it was too late for regrets now; they could only resign themselves to their fate.

Lao Yang pulled the iron chain with all his might.

Accompanied by the screeching sound of rusted mechanisms turning, the secret door was hoisted open, revealing an aperture wide enough for two people to descend simultaneously.

Zhang Luxun instructed Uncle Tai and the others to shoulder their respective equipment and line up to enter the secret door one by one.

Descending through the pitch-black opening led to a long, steep flight of stone steps, seemingly endless. The surrounding stone walls were damp and slick, slippery enough to cause a fall with the slightest carelessness, making the climb down extremely arduous.

Uncle Tai and the others practically sat on their buttocks, sliding down step by step. Lacking any surplus strength, maintaining their balance was already the absolute limit for them; if they actually tried to stand and walk, they would tumble down after less than two steps and break half their bones.

Zhang Luxun singled out the oldest and frailest-looking man among them, ordering him to walk at the very tail end of Uncle Tai's group. This old fellow had a useful brain, and if he did happen to tumble down, someone else at the bottom would cushion his fall so he wouldn't get too badly hurt.

That old man, none other than Master Liang, was overjoyed. He brought his hands together in a bow toward Zhang Luxun and attempted to strike up a friendly rapport. "This humble old man has neither fame nor name, just a nickname in the underworld—Master Liang. May I ask the honorable surname of this master?"

"I share the humble surname Yu." Zhang Luxun pointed toward the entrance to urge him down quickly, as Uncle Tai and the others had already gone quite a distance ahead.

Master Liang beamed with a face full of wrinkles, acknowledging the order obsequiously. "Ah, very well, Master Yu. I'll head right down and scout the path for you."

Zhang Luxun thought to himself that this old fellow certainly knew how to be accommodating. He then gestured to Wu Xiexie, and the three of them entered the secret door in the previous order: Lao Yang leading the way, Wu Xiexie in the middle, and Zhang Luxun bringing up the rear.

The first section of the path was extremely difficult to traverse, with steps so narrow they could barely accommodate half a foot. After walking for the span of an incense stick, the grade of the stone stairs shifted, gradually becoming angled and gentler, while the steps slowly widened as well.

As they walked, the sound of water drifted from ahead, and the stone steps completely vanished, giving way to flat ground.

When Zhang Luxun and the other two descended, Uncle Tai and his group were sprawled on the ground, so exhausted they didn't even want to twitch a finger.

*This is absolute torture,* Uncle Tai wept inwardly. *What kind of sins did I commit in my past life?*

After a brief rest, the party set off again, moving in the direction of the rushing water.

The sound of water grew louder and louder, and periodically, a wave of warm air blew from ahead, carrying a thick scent of sulfur.

Rounding a bend, the space before them suddenly opened up.

Suddenly, a violent gust of wind swept in from directly ahead, knocking the entire group off balance and sending them swaying sideways.