Chapter Seventy-Four: Exploring the Ancient Tomb

Faced with such an incomprehensible phenomenon, I thought for a moment and then said to little Ah-Si, "Ah-Si, can you still find the burial hole that the Sky-Breaking Master crawled into?"

Ah-Si nodded and said, "I'd remember it even if you beat me to death!"

"That's great!" As I spoke, I stood up and said, "Take me there! I'm going to meet this monster, the Sky-Breaking Master."

I already understood that the truth was right before my eyes now; it just depended on whether I had the courage to unearth it.

However, my words plunged the scene into silence.

At this moment, besides myself, the people present were Hong Ye, Shuihe, and Zhao Hong. All of them looked at each other, seemingly unsupportive of my idea.

Actually, I could completely understand.

Along the Old Qi Road, we had suffered greatly at the hands of the Bright Lamp King. This cat demon possessed profound cultivation, and if we were to truly fight to the death, the outcome would be unpredictable.

Moreover, since the old squad leader was now laid to rest, and we had obtained the precious saber that symbolized the honor of the Zhao family, why take another desperate risk to provoke it?

Besides, that ancient tomb cave was the Sky-Breaking Master's "home turf." What kind of traps or tricks lay hidden inside were completely unknown to us. To descend so rashly would inevitably place us in an extremely passive position.

Consequently, Zhao Hong was the first to try to dissuade me, saying, "Old Tian, shouldn't we drop this and not go? Venturing down there recklessly, we probably aren't a match for him. It wouldn't be bad to just wait for the Sky-Breaking Master to come back up and deal with him then."

I shook my head, rejecting the idea. "Old Zhao, I can't wait. You heard what Ah-Si said just now. Because of the kitchen knife, the Sky-Breaking Master will deal with me sooner or later, and he has already harmed me several times. Rather than sitting here waiting to die, it's better to catch him off guard!"

Just at that moment, to everyone's surprise, Zhao Shuihe agreed with me!

This young Madam Zhao clapped her hands, gave me a thumbs-up, and said, "You've got guts. I like proactive men. Go ahead with peace of mind! We'll support you from behind."

No matter how I listened to her words, they sounded awkward. However, since it was rare for someone to support me, I felt a bit more reassured and bold.

Therefore, I immediately made arrangements: "Let's do this, Hong Ye. You and Zhao Hong stay home and watch over Wang Hou. Ah-Si and I can just go; too many people will only cause chaos."

While speaking, I handed the kitchen knife to Hong Ye and added, "With the knife in your possession, and there being so many people in Zhaojialou, the Sky-Breaking Master shouldn't dare to pull anything. If I haven't returned by tonight, follow the old rule: call the police. Report him, the Sky-Breaking Master, for murder."

At this time, Xian Hong Ye looked at me with a serious expression and said, "My opinion is the same as Zhao Hong's. Statistically speaking, I don't advise you to go. It's too risky, and there's even another possibility."

"What possibility?"

Hong Ye explained to me, "It's possible that what the Sky-Breaking Master said to the cat demon was deliberately staged for little Ah-Si to hear, purely to lure you over there."

I gave a bitter laugh. Hadn't I considered this possibility myself?

Yet I had no choice. Who made Wang Hou lie in bed like that? Who made my old squad leader die such an unclear death?

I desperately wanted to know the truth and the purpose behind everything!

Therefore, I firmly stated, "I must go, for the sake of my comrade-in-arms, and for the truth!"

Hong Ye opened her mouth, but said nothing more. However, I could read a trace of concern in her eyes.

Concern? Maybe so, maybe not, but either way, that look made me feel quite comfortable inside.

After that, seeing that everyone had no further objections, I turned around to leave.

Yet precisely at this moment, Zhao Shuihe called out to me.

She patted my shoulder and said, "I'm going with you!"

Her words left me extremely astonished.

I asked doubtfully, "You? Stop causing trouble, will you? What can you possibly do if you go?"

Zhao Shuihe glared at me and said, "Have you forgotten what I told you? The Bright Lamp King is a debt owed by my Zhao family! Right now, I am repaying that debt for my ancestors!"

Zhao Shuihe's words left me refutation-less, because we had discussed this beforehand.

Moreover, I could tell from her gaze that when this fire-tailed Bright Lamp King was created by "Zhao Huo" three hundred years ago, it was definitely not meant simply for keeping watch over the estate. The Zhao family had very likely used its power to commit some heinous deeds.

Although there was direct evidence lacking, one could glean a thing or two from the illicit dealings between the Sky-Breaking Master and that cat demon. Furthermore, this beast had now grown too big to control; if allowed to continue developing, sooner or later it would turn Zhaojialou upside down.

Therefore, I nodded and reluctantly agreed to her request. However, I finally put forward a condition: "Obey orders and listen to commands! Don't go pointing this way and hitting that way, putting me in a difficult spot."

No sooner had I finished speaking than Xian Hong Ye suddenly sneered and said, "Then I bid you two a respectful farewell. Zhao Hong and I are pulling back first. With a matter this big, I need to go consult your Uncle-Master Zhao Haikun."

With that, Xian Hong Ye retreated immediately, not giving me a chance to explain, leaving me standing there dumbfounded and instantly recalling that misunderstanding in Wang Hou's bedroom earlier.

Alas! What kind of sins have I brought upon myself!

After Xian Hong Ye left, Zhao Hong pointed at me and scolded, "See that! Sister-in-law is angry. You, you cannot have any character issues!"

While speaking, Zhao Hong followed her out as well. Two of the three generals were gone, leaving only me behind, feeling almost like crying.

Zhao Shuihe looked at my expression, her eyes curving into narrow slits. She patted my shoulder and said, "If you give me the kitchen knife, I'll help you mend your relationship."

"The knife is never going to you, give up that thought!" I shouted loudly, then called out to Ah-Si, "Old Si! Let's go, let's see what kind of cat this Sky-Breaking Master really is!"

Hearing me call him "Old Si," Ah-Si realized that I truly regarded him as a brother. Thus, he nodded at me gratefully, while not forgetting to confirm once more, "You really treat me as a friend?!"

"Nonsense!" I said unceremoniously, "I'm not as perverted as Little Nine; I won't have you amuse me for entertainment, nor will you be grave-robbing. If you're willing, work with me!"

When I finished, little Ah-Si shed a tear of gratitude before leading me straight toward the Zhao family's ancestral tombs.

When the three of us arrived at the Zhao family's ancestral graveyard, I truly felt the grandeur and eeriness of this burial ground.

If one could view these ancestral graves from the sky, they formed the shape of a bottle, with the mouth of the bottle being the entrance where we stood. Beyond that, the ancestral tombs were entirely recessed into the body of the Shiren Gu Mountain. Surrounded halfway by mountains, it tightly wrapped around the souls of the departed who had protected them for hundreds of years.

Looking in from the entrance of the cemetery, there were towering, crisscrossing tombstones and numerous grave mounds. They intersected and intertwined, giving off a stern and chilling atmosphere.

Suddenly, I even felt as though I had walked into a "forest" composed of the dead, a forest imbued with ghostly chills.

Standing at the entrance and looking at the rather spectacular scenery, I couldn't help calling out, "Ah-Si! Everything depends on you now."

Ah-Si nodded, and then led me deep into the midst of these grave mounds.

I followed Ah-Si's footsteps forward for a long time. Because we were afraid of being discovered by potential lurkers and wild cats, we walked very slowly and covertly, frequently using tombstones as cover to observe the conditions of the path ahead.

As we walked, I indeed discovered some aspects of the Zhao family's ancestral tombs that differed from ordinary cemeteries.