Someone died right before their eyes. With a face depicting terrifying agony and fingers scraping into his throat, the light in his eyes disappeared as he stared at them with despair. Mirroring a deflated balloon, a body that had lost its flesh and bones would lose its shape, leaving behind a bag of skin and clothes that laid flat on the ground.

Those who were still alive looked on with horror. Whether or not one was a veteran tomb robber who had raided several tombs, no one had truly witnessed such a gruesome scene!

The most they had seen were simple trick candles, rising corpses, fire ceiling, and door-sealing quicksand. The top of the list would be traps and ghostly activities. However, all of them were merely fooleries, parlor tricks hoaxing the faint-hearted to leave the tombs.

And these were only seen in tombs of emperors, the ones belonging to first-rate generals or anyone lower would not even have the luxury of those traps. At most, it would take them three hours to empty the place and leave.

But this time, this time they were not even at the palace gate yet and the tomb master had already sent them such a big gift!

Behind Mr. Yan, Zhen Mu and Lei Jie exchanged glances. 

Mr. Yan looked at the two sets of skin in silence. 

The booming sound was still ringing all around them when suddenly, a bulge formed in the skin and started circling them!

Have you ever seen little children putting adults’ clothing and running about?

This was it! The two unknown objects were moving around in their comrades’ skin. They were even making eerily cackling sounds of children playing!

It was at this moment that everyone’s hair shot up!

“Zhen Bei!” Zhen Mu unsheathed his Chang Feng as he rushed for Zhen Bei, guarding him behind himself. His sharp eyes remained on the things moving on the ground.

And Xiao Luo also rushed forward to shield his mentor. He grabbed his bag and had one hand in it, ready for an attack.

Mr. Yan had a vacant expression as he stared at things on the ground. A second later, a sneer broke out and Xiao Li, his last henchman with prevailing kung-fu, drew his daggers as he got closer to his boss. 

He looked at the skin of his kinsmen without being perturbed. There was even a smile on his face.

How can there be any sense of camaraderie between these men? They died because of their impotence and too early, after all, he was prepared to cut them down himself.

In just a few seconds of crisis, everyone’s true standing was exposed. Only Zhen Hao screamed pitifully as he saw the monster closing in!

“Ah! Ahhhh! Yan you jerk, are you blind?! Quickly save me!! Quickly!!”

“Zhen Mu, you idiot! Come here now! Ahhhhhhh!”

Mr. Yan had not spoken yet but Xiao Li was chuckling: “Zhen Mu, your master is calling you~” 

He had been tolerating Zhen Hao for too long and hence, deliberately taunted Zhen Mu. No matter how one looks at it, Zhen Mu was a dog the Zhen family raised for Zhen Hao’s sake! 

He wanted to see if Zhen Mu could swallow his insult and save Zhen Hao or standby and watch the deadweight die!

However…..Xiao Li laughed like a notorious hyena….. regardless which of them die, to us, it’s a good thing, right boss?

He looked towards his boss but was stunned by the man’s delighted expression. 

Was the boss that dissatisfied with Zhen Hao?

Any man would have been angry with such humiliation but although Zhen Mu was born with a valiant fierceness, he was also gifted with a golden heart, strong and tolerant as a mountain.

He held Chang Feng with a deadly grip. His jaws were clenched tight and veins appeared on his cheeks. He shut his eyes and hampered his anger. As he was about to step forward to save Zhen Hao, two pairs of hands grabbed him from behind.

Zhen Mu looked to his left, Lei Jie was standing behind him. With a lack of sincerity, she said: “Oh, sorry. I almost tripped, good thing you’re standing here.”

“…..”

Zhen Mu looked to his right, Zhen Bei was holding on to his sleeves with tears in his eyes. Like a pitiful dog so frightened that his fur was standing on ends, he said: “Brother, I’m scared.”

“…..”

Zhen Mu was stopped for a moment. And it was at this moment that the two things on the ground giggled and rushed at Zhen Hao.

As he was squealing like a mouse, the human skin was blanketed over his face and body.

When the skin bag was placed over him, it muffled his screams. Like a broken cassette, his cries were intermittent and eerie. Finally, with a thud, his eyes turned white as he lost consciousness.

Zhen Mu leaped forward. His pupils constricted having seen the two things that lurked inside the skin. It was a human-shaped monster with movements like a jellyfish. Though transparent, their facial features were that of two teenagers, giggling mischievously at them.

Zhen Mu raised his sword, preparing himself for a fierce battle but as things turned out, the two tomb guardians were befuddled instead. They ceased their attack and even took a step back.

“… jiii jii?” This man carries the scent!

“…..ji ji!” Can’t kill, can’t kill! The master will be angry….

The two tomb guardians whispered intelligible words under the aghast gaze of everyone in the room.

In Wang Xiao Mie’s eyes, the two young lumps were quite lovely but to the people present, talking monsters were many times more terrifying!

“Shibo…” Xiao Luo’s hand was stuck to his weapon inside his backpack, “Those things are freaky, if we don’t destroy it now, they could kill us later!”

“Shut up!” Lei Jie pressed his shoulder, her sight never left the two monsters. She whispered: “Look!” 

Xiao Luo quickly looked over and found that the two blobs suddenly shrank as if something had scared them. They melted into a puddle of moving water then disappeared into the ground.

“!!!”

 None was able to relinquish their concern towards the tomb’s ceiling descending upon their heads, they just stared at Zhen Mu in bewilderment.

When did this guy get so powerful?!

…. in actuality, Mu Jiu and Mu Shi were scuttering away because they were fearful of the repercussion from Wen Feng Jin should they kill the wrong person.

Unaware of why they ran away, Zhen Mu was also baffled.

But it was always a good thing that the monsters ran away. The biggest threat was gone and an exit was also revealed.

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Zhen Mu did not hesitate and went to pick Zhen Hao up. He yelled back at the man surnamed Yan: “Mr. Yan, are we getting out of here or not?!”

Mr. Yan looked at him with calculations in his eyes, “Why are we leaving? The code is not hard to guess. According to what’s written on this silk scroll, the tomb master had set the code to the year most important to himself…”

“In the year 1326 of the ancient calendar, he graduated from the Academy. 1328, he rounded up his father’s men and formed the dark guards. 1330, he persecuted countless courtiers for revenge. In the same year, he was given the title of Dark Lord. 1334, he found the immortality elixir and was attacked. That year, he fled back to the Academy with his Shixiong but that did not work out and his Shixiong died. It was then that he took the elixir and became immortal. The following year, he killed his master and fellow disciples. Next, he began to eliminate enemy clans and dignitaries, forcing the current emperor to abdicate and supported a new emperor… 1445, the tomb palace was completed and the coffin was ready. He buried himself in the same coffin as his Shixiong, perishing for love…”

“Woa, this person was quite passionate, doing so much for his Shixiong…. He’s definitely a good man!” Zhen Bei blinked: “I guess the most important year to him is 1334, when his Shixiong died or 1445 when they were buried together.”

Lei Jie nodded in agreement: “But we still can’t tell which one is most important to him. One wrong move…”

“You’re only half right.” Mr. yan interrupted.

“Half?”

“That’s right. The code indeed has something to do with his Shixiong but it has nothing to do with what I just read to you. The real answer is…”

“…his Shixiong’s year of birth, the year 1308.”

Everyone: “…..”

What the! So why the hell didn’t you say so?! The roof is coming down and turning us into a paste and yet you’re giving a historical lecture?!!! And what’s with this tomb master?! It’s like setting a phone password to that of his girlfriend’s birthday, are you a high schooler?!

Damn it!

Zhen Mu and Lei Jie were grinding their teeth as they looked at the Yan guy harshly.

A little embarrassed, Mr. Yan coughed lightly and looked at Xiao Li. 

It took a while but Xiao Li eventually understood his boss’s cue! He said: “Boss, you’re so knowledgeable!”

Mr. Yan’s mouth twitched and said: “It’s nothing. Just a little research I did.”

Zhen Mu, Zhen Bei: “…..”

Lei Jie, Xiao Luo: “…..”

Is their intelligence also being attacked in this tomb?

After they knew the code, the big gate was hastily opened, allowing them to leave the collapsing room. Zhen Mu carried Zhen Hao on his back and Zhen Bei followed closely behind.

Beyond the gate was a whole different layout. The walls were etched with painted carvings and even the floor they walked on had special totems sculpted on each brick.

To better compare, envision the interior design of a peasant’s home in contrast with that of royalties!

Mr. Yan glared at the paintings on the wall. His hand formed a fist then immediately relaxed. He stroked the wall gently.

Wen Feng Jin, I’m finally here…

Oh how I want to see the look on your face when you see me.

Wen Feng Jin, I will get what I want by all means! Because that is what you owed me!

…..

In the depths of the tomb

Wen Feng Jin reached into the coffin and caressed the face of his sleeping bride. With ivory skin and rosy cheeks, his love donned a red ceremonial gown as he laid inside the coffin. His hair, sleek and soft like a spider’s thread, spread out from beneath him.

“…..Shixiong has always been beautiful.” 

“Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve longed for the day when I’m able to touch you like this every time I wake up in the morning….. I’ve already let them in. Soon, you’ll be able to get rid of this shackle, you won’t have to suffer anymore…”

In his deep slumber, Wang Xiao Mie’s eyes quivered under his eyelids and flickered his lashes, but he was not able to wake up.

…..

For the latter part of their journey, the tomb intruders were like tourists who had bought their tickets, wantonly cruising through the magnificent underground palace with no tomb guardians to stop them.

The wintry cold tomb palace was the resting place for the dead. Its soundless desolation could make one long for a hug. 

A majestic structure such as this could not be fully illuminated by a mere flashlight, making them feel like ants that had fallen into an abyss by mistake. A sense of unease was always lurking in their hearts as they feared that monsters could appear at any moment…

“Shibo, why is it that my heart keeps thumping even though nothing has happened?” Xiao Luo asked Lei Jie discreetly.

Lei Jie gave him a glance but before she could say anything, all the lamps suddenly lit in succession.

The thousands of light rays illuminated the whole tomb, making the place bright as day.

Two rows of monsters of all shapes and sizes were lining up on both sides of their path, eyeing them without blinking.

Lei Jie: “……my dear disciple, did you just activate the voice command to turn the light on?”

Xiao Luo: “…..”

“What are you waiting for?!” Xiao Li readied his daggers and looked at the monsters in a cold sweat, “Damn it, which one of you stepped on the trigger?!”

At this critical moment, Zhen Mu put the unconscious Zhen Hao on the ground and pulled out his Chang Feng. He looked troubled but still kept his calm.

Mr. Yan, on the other hand, had witnessed a strange light coming from the main palace and a grin appeared on the stiff face.

“Xiao Li, put down your weapons. It seems the tomb master has invited us in!”

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