Tomb Raider: The man is in the Nine Gates, but the system insists it's the Primordial Era.

At a dock in Changsha.

The pale, emaciated man, who appeared to have illegally crossed the border, arrived at the Changsha dock with his arm hanging from the boat. After disembarking, he couldn't help but cough repeatedly.

Before the man's eyes, the phantom images of dark green water ghosts kept appearing, climbing up from the shore.

The man shook his head violently, coughing up a mouthful of foul blood.

The man was only wearing tattered pants, and his exposed upper body had a Qiongqi tattoo on his shoulder.

"Zhang Qishan, is Zhang Qishan here?!"

The man's eyes were bloodshot and red. He grabbed a passerby who suddenly walked past him and shouted anxiously through gritted teeth.

The passerby turned his head, a strange smile playing on his lips.

boom!

The man, realizing that the passerby was also hallucinating, collapsed to the ground, unable to catch his breath.

"Waves, waves, waves..."

As dawn broke, Scarface, who had just brought back information that Su Mu wanted to find out from Renjia Town, was in an unusually cheerful mood, humming a strange tune.

"Hey, there's a dead body here, didn't you see it?"

As Scarface passed by the dock, he saw an unidentified stranger lying on the shore. He looked up and asked the boatmen and dockworkers around him.

Everyone seemed to ignore them and continued with their work.

These days, they can't even get enough to eat, so how can they have the mind to care about others?

Moreover, the guy who fell to the ground had a hideous tattoo on his shoulder, so he was obviously no good.

Perhaps he was one of the lucky ones who managed to escape during a power struggle between some gangs?

If it were in the past...

The poor, scarred-faced man wouldn't bother with any of that.

But now he is very rich and in a good mood.

"Rickshaw, come here! Help this man into the rickshaw and take him to Old Tea Street. I'll give you double the money!"

Scarface casually hailed a rickshaw that had been working all night.

Upon hearing that he would be paid double, the rickshaw driver sprang to his feet and jogged over, pulling his rickshaw along the way.

"Sir, could you pay first?"

"No problem, here you go."

"Bring another one, and take me with you too."

"Here it comes!"

Seeing the other party's arrogance, the rickshaw drivers nearby all lifted their rickshaws and squeezed through.

"One is enough. Here, give this money to the rest of the brothers to have breakfast. Everyone has been busy all night, let's rest before we start working again."

"Sir, you are truly a great and kind person!"

"Don't say that about me. I used to come from the bottom of society. I was just lucky enough to work for Manager Su of our True Immortal Temple."

"Whenever you have time, just come to the old tea street and wait there. There aren't many cars there on weekdays, so it's hard to get a driver."

"..."

The scarred man, who was constantly scattering money at the rickshaw pullers, revealed the main reason.

Last time, he almost wore himself out trying to find a carriage for Su Mu's trip.

Seeing so many rickshaw drivers parked at the dock, he hatched a plan to have them wait outside the True Immortal Temple from now on.

While providing convenience for themselves and others, it also makes it easier for these rickshaw drivers to earn money.

"Also, go and call me a doctor. I'll cover the travel expenses. When you get to the Old Tea Street, come to the Zhenxian Temple shop to get reimbursed."

Scarface, sitting in the rickshaw, hailed another car to pick up the doctors from the clinics that were almost open.

"Alright, sir!"

"Let's go."

Scarface glanced at the unconscious stranger lying in the rickshaw next to him, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

I remember on the way to Changsheng Mountain to sign up for the tomb raiding activity at Ping'er Mountain, Su Mu explained a lot of the secrets of the Nine Gates to them.

Among them was a description of the Qiongqi tattoo.

This unconscious stranger had a lifelike Qiongqi tattoo on his shoulder, something that ordinary martial arts practitioners couldn't easily acquire for a cheap price.

It must be related to that Buddha Zhang Qishan!

A fool throwing money around at the dock?

Ha ha.

It was just a cover-up.

……

The sky is bright.

Su Mu, who slept alone in the guest room arranged by the Huo family, did not sleep all night.

"The ability to teleport requires a complete visual memory to be used; I can't access it..."

"If we really want to rob someone, does that mean we have to resort to violence and murder? Kill that girl's family? Kill those people who paid to care for my illness for seventeen years...?"

"The Huo family isn't short of money; they couldn't buy it anyway..."

"The effects of elixirs and talismans are not readily apparent; they need more time to develop..."

"Ah! Where on earth did that woman Huo Jinxi get her hands on the Nine Provinces Fortune Cauldron?!"

Su Mu, still preoccupied with the Nine Provinces Fortune Cauldron, couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

Simply.

He decided not to sleep. Taking advantage of the free time, he picked up the ancient books he kept close to his body and began to read and study them one by one.

"...The handle of the Big Dipper shifts westward, landing in the Xun position. The wind, wood, and metal elements combine to create a killing force, and the Xun wind transforms into a bleak and desolate wind. This signifies trouble in the southeast: war, border troubles, conflicts, plagues, severe punishments, lawsuits, and turmoil."

According to observations by Yuan Tiangang of the Tang Dynasty, the handle of the Big Dipper shifts westward, and the vernal equinox will be more than a month later when the same phenomenon occurs. The North Celestial Pole is far from the Big Dipper, and the Big Dipper is difficult to see in winter…

These days, whenever Su Mu is overwhelmed by impulses and restlessness, he takes out these ancient books that he keeps close to his chest and reads them.

The art of stargazing is recorded in several ancient books. The content is complex and cannot be learned without a certain amount of patience and mental strength.

He had often wondered why this damn system didn't just give him a quick "ding" and let him learn everything, instead of making him go through all this trouble and effort.

But as he read the contents of these ancient books, he gradually became able to immerse himself in them without relying on external things.

Bloodlines can be obtained directly.

Other skills, however, require time to learn.

Fortunately, it seems that after consuming the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill, his physical body and spiritual awareness were greatly enhanced.

Never forget.

Distinguishing between the past and present.

Su Mu, engrossed in a book in his room, was unaware of the passage of time outside.

After a while.

Huo Xian'er, who had gotten up and dressed, came over to call him to have breakfast together.

Huo Jinxi still did not appear at breakfast time.

This left Su Mu, who wanted to obtain the Nine Provinces Fortune Cauldron hidden in a basement of the Huo family, with no choice but to leave temporarily.

"Miss, you haven't done your homework for today..."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Huo Xian'er waved her hand and boarded the rickshaw with Su Mu, heading towards the old tea street.

Old Tea Street.

As dawn broke, tea vendors, tea shops, and tea houses had already opened their doors.

After thinking all night about how to deal with the frequent customers, Partridge Whistle also wrote a notice last night stating that the True Immortal Temple would no longer accept money to buy elixirs and talismans.

Upon seeing the notice, the crowd who had come with money looked bitter and turned away helplessly.

Next to the True Immortal Temple is Qi Tiezui's gambling den, the Eighth Master of the Nine Gates.

No one has ever dared to cause trouble on this street.

Su Mu got off the rickshaw, and Huo Xian'er blushed and subconsciously followed him off. She inexplicably took Su Mu's hand and they walked into the shop together.

"...This is the infamous Twilight Grass, known as the king of poisonous creatures in Southeast Asia. This old man can't save it."

"It's alright. Our boss hasn't arrived yet. He just wants you to stabilize his condition so he doesn't die too quickly."

"This poison is unstable; nine out of ten people will die from it."

"That powerful?"

"And also, sir, you've really put this old man through a lot of trouble. This poison is extremely contagious..."

"..."

Su Mu looked at the scene before him with a puzzled expression, then his gaze instantly settled on the unconscious man with the Qiongqi tattoo on his shoulder.

Dusk Grass, from Southeast Asia, is held by a direct descendant of the Zhang family.

People from the Southern Archives?

Su Mu frowned, pushed aside the person in front of him who hadn't noticed him entering the store, and walked straight to the unconscious person.

"Grind the pills into powder, mix them in the bucket, add five pills, and start sprinkling them from the place where you brought this person from. Quickly!" Su Mu ordered with a stern face.

Unaware of the grave mistake he had made, Scarface, pale-faced, ran and began sprinkling disinfectant along the way.

"Don't worry, doctor. Just take this antidote pill and you should be fine."

"Wait, come back here and let others do the water-sprinkling. Now come here, I'm asking you, where did you bring these people from?"

"The dock, the pier, the owner... I don't know, I didn't know it would turn out like this..."

"I'm not blaming you. Someone must have designs on our place."

After making the arrangements, Su Mu instructed someone to give the antidote to the unconscious person and then take him upstairs to rest.

He looked at the tattoo that remained visible on the unconscious man's shoulder, his expression changing slightly. "It's not just Twilight Grass, it should be the legendary Five-Peck Disease Seedling..."

"Did the Zhang family from the south come along too...?"

"I've got it. Someone, go and fetch the adjutant Zhang Rishan. Tell him I need an arrow that can carry a thousand troops immediately."

"..."