Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

Wu Wei used the light from Hei Xiazi's flashlight to see the photo clearly.

The photo is quite old, with yellowed edges, but the image is still clear.

The above is a group photo of an archaeological team, with more than a dozen people standing in two rows.

His gaze lingered on one of the faces before moving to Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling frowned as he looked at the photo, a faint line forming between his brows.

Something in my mind was trying to break through that thick barrier and emerge, but it always fell short.

Wang Cunhai came up from behind, craning his neck to see what was in his hand.

Wu Wei flipped his wrist and put the photo into his pocket.

Wang Cunhai missed his target, his face darkened, and he glared angrily.

Wu Wei didn't even lift his eyelids, and walked straight to the center of the main hall, looking up to observe the dome structure above his head.

Zhang Qiling put the photo in his backpack and began to search carefully in the main hall.

His fingers slid inch by inch along the wall, stopping on a certain stone brick. He then pressed down slowly with two fingers together.

A muffled sound came from deep underground. A crack appeared in the stone wall in front of the main hall, and the wall slid open to the sides, revealing a deep passage behind it.

At the end of the passage, a larger space can be vaguely seen.

The group passed through the passage and found themselves in a tomb chamber.

In the very center of the tomb chamber was a coffin, entirely black, with its base slightly raised and surrounded by a wide pool of water.

The water in the pool had an abnormal dark green color, and the surface was completely still, looking more like some kind of solidified gel.

Only directly in front of the coffin, a narrow stone path spans the water, barely wide enough for one person to pass through.

Wang Cunhai stood by the pool and peered inside. He then turned back and gestured with his chin to Ah San: "You go first."

Ah San looked at Wang Cunhai, then at Wang Cunxi.

He gritted his teeth and stepped onto the stone path.

After taking only two or three steps, a very fine ripple suddenly appeared on the calm green water.

A strand of jet-black hair silently emerged from the water and wrapped around Ah San's ankle.

Ah San looked down and saw that the strand of hair suddenly tighten, dragging him off the stone path.

He struggled desperately, clinging to the edge of the stone path with both hands, but he couldn't stop himself from being dragged into the water.

"Help!"

Wang Cunhai's expression changed.

Fearing the loss of their last remaining scout, they rushed forward and grabbed Ah San's wrist.

Wang Cunxi also stepped forward to help, and the two of them worked together to pull it out.

But the thing underwater was too strong. Ah San shouted for help, but his body was still sinking inch by inch.

The two exchanged a glance and were about to let go when two more strands of black hair silently emerged from the pool and wrapped around their ankles.

The two were dragged into the pool before they could even cry for help.

After a brief period of churning, the water quickly returned to calm, without a ripple.

None of the three made a move.

From the moment we entered the tomb until now, we haven't found a single clue about the token on these two people; they are most likely abandoned by the Wang family.

The Wang family has already given up, so what are they trying to save?

Zhang Qiling looked down at the calm pool, reached out and grasped the hilt of the Black Gold Ancient Sword, the blade resting horizontally on his arm.

Wu Wei pressed down on his hand holding the knife. "Let me try."

He took a few steps back, took a deep breath, and leaped up, landing steadily on the coffin.

"Wu Wei!"

Hei Xiazi and Zhang Qiling spoke at the same time.

"It's nothing," Wu Wei said with a smile, waving his hand at them.

He got down, gripped the edge of the coffin lid with both hands, and first pushed it open a crack.

He glanced inside to make sure there was nothing amiss before using his strength to push the coffin lid open most of the way.

There were no remains in the coffin, only a dark wooden box lying quietly at the bottom.

Wu Wei bent down, picked up the wooden box, and opened it. Inside was indeed a white jade token.

The surface of the card is smooth and warm, with a few faint lines engraved on it, but no words are written on it.

Wu Wei reached out and scooped up the box, using the coffin behind him for leverage, and landed steadily back beside the two of them.

He shoved the box into Zhang Qiling's hand: "Brother, take a look."

Zhang Qiling took it and used his fingers to pry open the copper clasp on the box lid.

The box was lined with a layer of dark red velvet, and a token lay in the center of the velvet.

It is made entirely of white jade, with only a few very shallow lines engraved on the surface, and there are no words on the front or back.

Zhang Qiling flipped the token over twice, put it back in the box, and handed it back to Wu Wei: "Keep it safe."

Wu Wei nodded and stuffed the box into his backpack.

Just then, a person appeared at the entrance of the main burial chamber.

Ah Ning stood there, her clothes torn in several places, her face smeared with blood, but her eyes remained calm.

Give me the things.

Black Bear scoffed, "Do you think that's possible?"

"It's a promise." Ah Ning's voice was hoarse but steady.

"We'll draw it for you, and you can help us get the tokens."

"We agreed to Wang Cunhai and Wang Cunxi."

Black Bear gestured with his chin toward the calm pool of water. "Go there and talk to them."

Wu Wei glanced at the pool of water that had swallowed three people, chuckled, and looked up at A Ning:

"After Jude Kao died, you went with the Wang family, right?"

Aning didn't say anything.

Wu Wei said casually, "I didn't expect the Wang family to value you so much, using two people as bait to make you their backup plan."

Aning showed no surprise on her face.

She knew from the beginning that Wang Cunhai and Wang Cunxi couldn't get out.

"If you don't give me the stuff, you won't be able to leave," she threatened.

Wu Wei was too lazy to waste words with her.

He remembered that the main tomb chamber in the original story had an escape exit, but he didn't know if there was one here.

Ah Ning saw that the three of them didn't take her seriously at all, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

He lunged forward, his dagger aimed straight for Wu Wei's back.

Black Bear stepped aside half a step and said with a smile:

"Wu Wei, if you lose this, I won't be responsible for making you do extra training as a mute."

Wu Wei dodged the blade, flipped his wrist to grab A Ning's arm and pressed it down, still having time to turn back and retort to Hei Xiazi:

"If I win, can I get a discount?"

"I can't make that decision," Black Bear said, shrugging.

In the blink of an eye, Wu Wei had already twisted A Ning's wrist and swept his foot across her, knocking her to the ground.

Ah Ning flipped over and leaped up, pouncing on him again, only to be knocked down once more by a clean and swift over-the-shoulder throw.

On the other side, Zhang Qiling found a loose brick seam on the side wall of the main tomb chamber. He pressed his palm on it to test the strength and confirmed that the back was hollow.

He turned to the two of them and called out, "Come here."

Wu Wei forcefully chopped at the back of A Ning's neck. He didn't like killing people, so he let her sleep forever in the sea.

After she fell to the ground, she and Black Bear walked over there together.

After they took a few steps, Ah Ning, who had fallen to the ground, suddenly opened her eyes, a fierce glint flashing in them.

He pulled a palm-sized black object from his pocket and took a few steps back.

He slammed the block against the stone wall and hurled it in the direction of the three of them.

The three of them turned around at the same time when they heard the sound of something rolling on the ground.

Hei Xiazi instinctively stepped in front of Wu Wei and kicked the flying object into the corner of the wall.

When Zhang Qiling saw what it was, his expression changed abruptly. He took two steps forward and shoved the two of them hard.

The explosion resounded inside the room.

A large hole was blasted in the corner of the main burial chamber, and seawater mixed with rubble poured in through the breach.