So he turned to Da Guo Guo and said, "Those bearing the Mojin Talisman are all masters of tomb raiding. Has this tomb already been raided by these few? But if they succeeded, why would they be dead here?"

Da Guo Guo shook his head and replied, "This is called the Jia-Jade Mojin Talisman. It’s made by soaking a pangolin's claw in jade solution for forty-nine days, then consecrated by a Mojin Captain using a secret method of the Mojin school. The Jia-Jade Mojin Talisman was most commonly used during the Three Kingdoms period. By the Tang Dynasty, the consecration incantations for the Jia-Jade Mojin Talisman were largely lost. That these people came to raid tombs is certain; as for why they died here, only they would know."

Fan Debiao was both pleased and angry. "Damn it, so this tomb was already cleaned out a thousand years ago by these few Mojin Captains! Good thing he was neutralized here, otherwise these artifacts would have been lost again. Everyone, let's tidy up and call the archaeology team!"

After speaking, Fan Debiao sidled up to Young Master Liu. "Young Master, when we’re done, secretly set aside a couple of small items. This trip was precarious, bordering on certain death, so we deserve to skim some profit."

"No, these are not the funerary objects from this tomb!" Cai Qing Chong suddenly interjected from the side.

Hearing Cai Qing Chong, Da Guo Guo quickly picked up a piece of jade and a bronze sword from the ground, examining them closely. He frowned. "This jade should be from the Qin Dynasty, and this bronze sword is from the Shang Dynasty. How can they appear in a Han Dynasty tomb?"

Cai Qing Chong explained, "These funerary objects must have been taken from other tombs they raided and brought into this one."

Upon hearing this, Da Guo Guo sucked in his breath. "Could these people be 'Official Bandits' from the Three Kingdoms period? But if they were 'Official Bandits,' this scale is a bit small."

Fan Debiao, somewhat confused, asked, "'Official Bandits'? What the heck are 'Official Bandits'?"

Young Master Liu actually knew a little about 'Official Bandits' and explained to Fan Debiao, "The Three Kingdoms period was an era of warlord chaos and the height of tomb raiding. The largest scale operations were by 'Official Bandits.' They didn't even call it tomb raiding; digging up graves is more accurate. They raided tombs only to fund their military expenses, so every tomb they hit was stripped bare. The most famous 'Official Bandits' during the Three Kingdoms period were Cao Cao's contingent."

After Young Master Liu's explanation, Fan Debiao nodded but still looked utterly bewildered.

Fan Debiao secretly whispered to Young Master Liu, "Since these people were those 'Official Bandits,' it means all this loot is ill-gotten wealth. We should definitely take more!"

Young Master Liu felt so exasperated he was borderline hypoxic. He gave Fan Debiao a sidelong glance and ignored him. Seeing that Young Master Liu offered no encouragement, Fan Debiao stopped talking and went off to examine the treasures himself.

Noticing Da Guo Guo constantly frowning, Young Master Liu asked him, "Da Guo Guo, does something feel wrong?"

Da Guo Guo stroked his chin. "All five of them wear the Jia-Jade Mojin Talisman; they must be professional Mojin Captains, because 'Official Bandits' wouldn't bother with these things. But these five couldn't possibly have moved this many artifacts. There must be others. Where did those people go? Did they die somewhere else?"

Hearing Da Guo Guo, Young Master Liu was also thoroughly perplexed. Just as he was about to contemplate this further, Fan Debiao suddenly rushed over to the group holding a bamboo slip. "Quick, look! I found a martial arts manual!"

A martial arts manual... Hearing Fan Debiao say this, Young Master Liu would have burst out laughing if the atmosphere hadn't been so tense. He turned, took the bamboo slip Fan Debiao held, and examined it closely for a moment, unable to help but frown.

It was covered in unreadable script. He figured that since these five Mojin Captains were from the Three Kingdoms period, this must be the script of that era. Young Master Liu reluctantly handed the slip back to Fan Debiao. "Brother Biao, I can't read this. Can you explain it?"

Upon hearing this, Fan Debiao was ecstatic. Usually, Young Master Liu was the cultured one in front of him, but now Young Master Liu was asking him for clarification.

Fan Debiao proudly took the bamboo slip. "Young Master, what is this called? This is called a tiger falling into flatlands being bullied by dogs, ha ha..."

Young Master Liu cursed silently, Damn it, he doesn't even know how to insult someone properly. He compared himself to a dog! That son of a gun actually thinks he's cultured.

Da Guo Guo said from the side, "Hurry up and tell us what the bamboo slip says!"

Fan Debiao gave Young Master Liu a smug look, then unfolded the slip and began reading intently. Fan Debiao frowned, staring at it for quite a while, but he still hadn't spoken. Da Guo Guo was starting to get agitated. "Hurry up! What are you dawdling for?"

Fan Debiao closed the slip, exasperated. "Damn it, I can't read this either."

"Hmm!" Da Guo Guo responded, quickly snatching the bamboo slip from Fan Debiao’s hand. After a careful look, he said, "No wonder. This uses specialized tomb raiding terminology. It’s normal that you two can't understand it."

Fan Debiao remarked from the side, "These Mojin Captains are really crafty, actually using their own special language!"

Young Master Liu gave Fan Debiao another look. "Stop talking nonsense. They call that culture!" Then he asked Da Guo Guo, "Da Guo Guo, what does it say?"

Da Guo Guo took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes to clear his head, and explained, "This records the number of tombs these Mojin Captains raided on their journey, along with some strange occurrences."

Young Master Liu's curiosity was immediately piqued—this was more interesting than any novel!

Da Guo Guo clarified the contents of the slip: "These five Mojin Captains were 'Official Bandits' under Cao Cao, directly managed by Xu Chu, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry General, along with over a hundred subordinates. After Cao Cao suffered from his chronic headache, he became bedridden. Learning that a panacea existed in the world, he dispatched his Mojin Captains to raid various large tombs across the land. These five captains traversed mountains and crossed rivers, robbing a Shang Dynasty royal tomb and two tombs of Warring States feudal lords, but they never found any clue related to the elixir of immortality. As the five men were worrying, Zhang Yan, a former Yellow Turban general who defected and became a Black Mountain Bandit, presented a blueprint, claiming it contained clues about the elixir. Cao Cao took the blueprint, saw it depicted a tomb-finding map, and ordered these Mojin Captains to take their subordinates and the looted artifacts to the location indicated on the map."

Da Guo Guo continued, "The five Mojin Captains immediately recognized it as a map concealed by characters. They excavated the burial mound and entered an unfinished ancient tomb of unknown date. Later, beneath that tomb of unknown age, they discovered the tomb of Zhang Jiao, located within a cave."

Hearing this, Young Master Liu exclaimed, "Good heavens, if Yinglong hadn't accidentally smashed through the tomb wall, we might still be blindly bumping around in that unfinished, date-less ancient tomb right now!"

Fan Debiao cursed, "Who was so damned unlucky to build an ancient tomb above this place to ** us? That person was truly wicked."

Da Guo Guo paused, then went on, "When they reached the coffin, they realized this Eastern Han tomb was the resting place of the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao. Legend says this Great Teacher could summon a strange type of insect that could fight armies. These insects must be the tentacles. Just as they were preparing to open the coffin to retrieve the elixir of immortality, something suddenly appeared..." At this point, Da Guo Guo stopped.

Da Guo Guo’s abrupt halt made Young Master Liu's gut churn with anticipation. "What did they encounter?"

Da Guo Guo shook his head. "Nothing more. The bamboo slip ends right there."

Young Master Liu figured the bamboo slip might have a second volume and immediately told Fan Debiao to look for it. Fan Debiao replied, "Where would there be a second volume? This is the only one."

Hearing Fan Debiao, Young Master Liu was very disappointed. He turned to Da Guo Guo and asked, "Da Guo Guo, what do you think they finally encountered?"

Da Guo Guo shook his head. "I don't know!"

Hearing this, Young Master Liu felt a wave of disappointment. The story was about to reveal its climax, and then it hit a snag. He paused, then asked, "Da Guo Guo, you just said this was Zhang Jiao’s tomb. Did Zhang Jiao really have such power?"

Da Guo Guo rolled up the bamboo slip and said, "Zhang Jiao was from Pingxiang, Hebei. He was the leader of the 'Yellow Turban Army,' the peasant uprising force at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the founder of the Way of Supreme Peace. Having received the Taiping Qingling Shu (also known as the Taiping Jing) from the Taoist Yu Ji and others, he took it upon himself to save the world through religion. Utilizing certain religious concepts and socio-political ideas within it, he organized the masses, beginning his preaching around the first year of Emperor Ling’s Jianning reign. In the first year of Zhongping, Zhang Jiao launched the uprising using the slogan, 'The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise; the year Jiazi favors the world!' He styled himself the 'Heavenly General' and led the masses, an event known as the 'Yellow Turban Rebellion.' Unfortunately, Zhang Jiao died suddenly shortly thereafter, and the insurgent army was quickly suppressed by the Han Dynasty."

After Da Guo Guo finished, Young Master Liu nodded in understanding. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind, connecting the mention of an insect-summoning master in the slip with what Fan Debiao had told him earlier. He flashed a thought and said, "Fan Debiao, didn't you learn in a latrine about an ancient sorcerer who could summon tentacles? It seems the person lying in that coffin must be him."

Fan Debiao nodded. "That must be him, eight or nine times out of ten. Why would that old Cao Cao bother wanting the elixir of immortality from the short-lived Zhang Jiao? If it were true, why didn't he achieve immortality himself!"

Hearing Fan Debiao, Young Master Liu countered, "Taoist arts are profound and vast; there are many secrets we don't know. Perhaps Zhang Jiao didn't die suddenly—maybe he ascended to immortality?"

Fan Debiao sounded unconvinced. "Ascended to immortality? That’s preposterous, and you believe it!"

With so many mysteries left unsolved, Young Master Liu had no mood to argue with Fan Debiao and went over to the pile of funerary objects to search for clues.

After searching for a while, he found nothing but artifacts, feeling frustrated. Suddenly, Da Guo Guo's voice echoed from the other side of the cave, "Damn it, how can this thing be here?"