Second Elder Sun's frustration grew with every word he spoke. Veins throbbed on his forehead as if he were on the verge of striking someone at any moment.

Third Elder Sun shook his head and sighed. Pressing the button on his walkie-talkie, he reported, "Boss, there's been a new development down here. Someone has already been through this pit."

A minute of silence filled the walkie-talkie before King Leader's voice emerged, cold and stern. "When was it tampered with? Have you entered the Main Tomb Chamber yet?"

"No, we're still in the Tomb Passage. A towel just washed up with the floodwaters. No need to guess—it's certainly been robbed recently. Boss, you know how those folks operate in the south; hardly anything of value is left in the tombs they've touched."

After a moment's thought, King Leader instructed, "Old Second, proceed into the Main Tomb Chamber and take a look. If there's nothing left there, don't bother with the Ear Chamber. Just pack up your gear and come back up."

"Understood, Boss," replied Second Elder Sun, setting down the walkie-talkie.

I don't smoke, and my sense of smell is quite keen. It was at this moment that I suddenly detected a faint fragrance.

"Second Brother... why is there a scent of burning incense?" I asked, puzzled.

Prompted by my words, Second Elder Sun exaggeratedly sniffed the air ahead of us.

Then, turning to Third Elder Sun, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

"You're right, we didn't notice it before. This is the scent of nanmu," he said, his expression suddenly turning grave.

"What's wrong, Second Brother, Third Brother? Is there something amiss with the nanmu scent?" Their solemn expressions left me bewildered.

I thought to myself, wasn't it normal for the wealthy to be buried in Golden Phoebe Coffins, with the inherent Fragrance of Phoebe Wood?

The relaxed look on the Sun Family Brothers' faces vanished.

"Cloud Peak, give me your hand."

"Huh? What do you need my hand for?" I asked, extending my hand in confusion.

"Second Brother, what are you doing!" I couldn't help but cry out in pain as my finger throbbed.

Second Elder Sun had swiftly cut my fingertip with a sharp small dagger.

Crimson blood flowed out, and the Sun Family Brothers, one after the other, smeared a bit of my blood on their wrists.

"Second Brother, Third Brother, why are you using my blood?" I complained, sucking on my wounded fingertip.

Second Elder Sun explained to me then.

"Cloud Peak, in our line of work—tomb raiding, known as the Upside Down Bucket—we fear encountering the Four Great Evils and the Six Minor Evils."

"The Grave-guarding Beast with Cockfighting Eyes, the subtle scent of Exotic Phoebe Fragrance, the undecaying Black Coffin, the Everlasting Lamp whose oil never dries up—these are the Four Great Evils. Our ancestors' rules dictate that blood is used for exorcism."

His words were shrouded in mystery, yet I listened with a hint of skepticism. Was this an attempt to scare me like a child?

Feeling aggrieved, I murmured softly, "Then... why didn't you cut your own fingers? Why mine..."

Second Elder Sun patted my head with a sly chuckle. "Our blood won't do. It has to be Child's Blood. Cloud Peak, I bet you haven't even held a girl's hand, have you?"

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

I found myself stammering, unable to articulate my words.

Then, I deliberately switched the topic, stubbornly asking, "What are the Six Minor Evils?"

Third Elder Sun shook his head, addressing me, "Cloud Peak, you're new to the trade and haven't seen much yet. You're unaware—these are old sayings handed down by the previous generation in our line of work."

"Quicksand Tomb, Heavenly Fire Pouring Overhead, the undecayed corpse of the Tomb Owner, Seven Orifices Stuffed with Beads, Outer Coffin Larger Than Inner Coffin, and rats nesting in the Coffin—these are the Six Minor Evils spoken of by the Tomb Raiders of the old society."

"Three Hundred and Sixty Professions, every household has its Unique Skills, don't they? In the old society, what we do, Upside Down Bucket—a metaphor for tomb raiding—was called Deviant Eight Gates. In the new society, we're labeled criminals. Orthodox Eight Gates are the upper crust, Deviant Eight Gates the dregs, and then there are those who deal with the dead, the Yin Seven Gates."

Third Elder Sun continued, "Now that you're in this line of work, Cloud Peak, you'll have to get to know these in time. Otherwise, you might be asked and not know, bringing shame to our Northern Sect. The so-called Yin Seven Gates are: First Corpse Sewer, Two Executioners, Three Corpse Chasers, Four Winds Blowing Over the Big Tomb, Fifth Paper Figure Maker, Sixth Bone Collector, and Seven Little Coffin Makers—specialists in crafting coffins for deceased children. These are the Yin Seven Gates. Cloud Peak, as you Travel All Corners of Rivers and Lakes, you must remember this."

At the time, I couldn't really retain all these disordered matters he spoke of. It all sounded so complex, all these various 'gates'—I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Enough, Third Elder," the Second Elder Sun interjected, shaking his wrist, "He's still green. It's no use bombarding him with so much. Let's move on and check out the Main Tomb Chamber ahead. We have Cloud Peak's Child's Blood for Exorcism, after all!"

We waded through the water along the Tomb Passage for another two or three minutes, but the Main Tomb Chamber was yet to appear. As we drew closer and shone our headlamps ahead, we were met with a stone wall instead of the Main Tomb Chamber.

At that moment, a chill breeze, its origin unknown, swept in. My feet, soaked in the murky accumulated water, felt icy cold.

Approaching the stone wall, Second Elder Sun looked up.

There, above our heads on the consecrated Tomb Passage, a large Dark Hole was clearly visible, the source of the chilling wind that blew through.

The cavern was irregularly shaped, and Third Elder Sun furrowed his brows as he peered into it. "This is the work of the group from before. The Consecration site we passed earlier wasn't blasted open; it seems they've switched their point of entry and came down from here. Judging by the shape of this hole, they must have used a Detonator."

Third Elder Sun pressed his Walkie-Talkie, "Boss, straight ahead is a blocked stone wall, not what we expected. It's not the Main Tomb Chamber, and we haven't seen any Burial Artifacts yet."

The Walkie-Talkie's red light flickered as King Leader issued commands from afar, "A tomb with Green Ointment Clay is bound to have a Main Tomb Chamber. Keep searching, head left towards the West Ear Chamber and check the situation there."

"Roger that, boss. How much time do we have left?"

"There are two hours and forty-five minutes left before dawn—the safe time. Try to pick up the pace."

"Understood," Second Elder Sun released the Walkie-Talkie and led me and Third Elder Sun past the stone wall, groping our way towards the western Ear Chamber.

It was my first encounter with a tomb's Ear Chamber, which was essentially a hollowed-out small room. Judging by the waterlines on the walls, this place had definitely been submerged before.

What did I see at first glance?

Heaps of Bronze Ware. A large number of Bronze Ware items were scattered across the floor of the West Ear Chamber—some broken, some intact, small Round Tripods, Square Tripods, Bronze Grains, Bronze Beans, Bronze Goblets. At a cursory glance, there were dozens!

"We've struck it rich, struck it rich!"

Second Elder Sun's eyes were bloodshot with excitement as he babbled into the Walkie-Talkie, "Boss... boss! We've struck it rich! There are dozens of Bronze Ware pieces in the West Ear Chamber! Coated in ancient Mercury Rust—genuine Western Zhou Pit Goods!"

King Leader, who had weathered many storms, responded calmly through the Walkie-Talkie, "Transport them in batches, get them all out."

"Will do," Second Elder Sun whipped out the Snake Skin Bag he carried with him, and couldn't help but mock, "Did those rats from the south turn vegetarian? Leaving us so much meat—I ought to thank their ancestors on behalf of my mother!"

Third Elder Sun, ever the composed one, frowned and said in a heavy tone, "Second brother, something feels off to me. Those rats from the south have noses no worse than ours; they couldn't possibly miss so much meat. This doesn't add up..."

Second Elder Sun, undeterred by the toxic Mercury Rust, picked up a Small Square Bronze Tripod and kissed it, "Haha, my treasure, you're coming home with me!"

He couldn't resist adding, "Third brother, I've noticed you're getting more timid by the day. Why overthink it? Let me ask you, if a group of female university students stripped down and lay on the ground, what would you do?"

"The details can wait until later." (To be continued)

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I have also posted the following more chapters [All free]: https://www.readgates.com/article/7b136c