Fan De-biao approached the sarcophagus, and Young Master Liu immediately instructed him, "You old Red Guard who smashed the Four Olds, you're the resident expert on ancient Chinese culture here. Figure out how to open this coffin!"

Fan De-biao let out a sly chuckle, rubbing his hands together. "Heh heh, expert? I just know a little something." With that, he began to feel around the coffin in every direction.

Young Master Liu watched Fan De-biao fumble for a long time without finding anything conclusive, and he began to doubt the stout man's capabilities.

Young Master Liu demanded, "Damn it, can you even understand it or not? If not, Jackson, get over here."

Hearing this, Fan De-biao slapped the sarcophagus and snapped back in exasperation, "Damn it, I didn't pay respects to Chairman Mao before coming in this time; my luck is terrible. And this sarcophagus is completely sealed!"

Jackson, hearing Fan De-biao’s outburst, mimicked his tone and said, "Cheng bi liang zhi fei yue."

Fan De-biao was instantly bewildered. "What's this 'Chen Pi flying to the moon'? Is this the incantation to open the coffin?"

Jackson shook his head. "No... no, that's not an incantation at all. That's your Chinese Classical language. It just means, 'I'm really annoyed.' I was just making an observation."

Young Master Liu and Fan De-biao were essentially on the same level when it came to literacy. Jackson’s statement made Young Master Liu think it was some sort of mantra too, and he was about to ask when Fan De-biao cut in, saving him from further embarrassment. He thought to himself, Damn it, Jackson's Mandarin isn't great, yet he’s showing off his classical knowledge in front of me and Fan De-biao, two actual Chinese people. Thinking this, he felt a pang of shame.

He quickly deflected, stammering, "Don't stray off topic; figure out how to get this coffin open."

Fan De-biao declared, "Why bother figuring it out? Let's just use explosives. As long as the charge is right, it won't hurt what’s inside." This fellow was so accustomed to blasting stones on construction sites that his first instinct for any problem was to just blow it up.

Young Master Liu and Jackson agreed with Fan De-biao’s proposal. They quickly devised a rough plan, allocating the explosive charges to be placed atop the sarcophagus. They just needed Fan De-biao to light the fuse, and everyone else would jump down.

Fan De-biao then pulled a tinder box from his pocket. "The exhilarating moment has arrived! Our first tomb raid is about to succeed, comrades, prepare yourselves." He moved toward the fuse with the tinder box, while Young Master Liu and Jackson got ready to leap.

Just then, a voice rang out from above them: "Stop! Don't light it!" Immediately, a dark shadow crashed into the tinder box in Fan De-biao’s hand, instantly extinguishing the flame.

The three looked up to see a silhouette standing firm halfway up the stone steps.

The shadow maintained the posture of having just thrown something. Judging by the agility displayed, this person must have been Da Guo Guo. Seeing this figure, Young Master Liu felt a mix of shock and delight, an inexpressible feeling swelling in his heart.

Suddenly, the person sprang across the steps, leaping down layer by layer, landing beside Fan De-biao. At a glance, this turned out to be that scoundrel Cai Qing Chong. He appeared to have been through a brutal fight; all his gear was gone. Cai Qing Chong always struck Young Master Liu as a brute with raw strength but little intellect. After that last strike, Young Master Liu’s perception of him underwent a complete 360-degree shift.

Truthfully, Cai Qing Chong’s sudden move had terrified both Young Master Liu and any onlookers. Fan De-biao, who took the brunt of it, was now slick with cold sweat and struggling to recover. Jackson, however, looked rather unfazed, as if he had known this was coming.

Fan De-biao, realizing Cai Qing Chong had struck him, couldn't help but feel angry. "You damn Caterpillar! You actually had the nerve to strike, in this pitch darkness! Aren't you afraid of missing?"

Before Cai Qing Chong could explain, another shadow shot down swiftly from above—it was Da Guo Guo. Da Guo Guo’s voice preceded him: "This sarcophagus cannot be opened. I only resorted to that extreme measure out of sheer necessity." As he spoke, he reached the coffin.

Young Master Liu was about to question them, but the moment Da Guo Guo and Cai Qing Chong stepped onto the sarcophagus, it shuddered once, perhaps groaning under the unexpected weight.

Da Guo Guo stated, "This isn't the place for talking. We’ll discuss it below."

With that, he leaped off the sarcophagus, and the others followed suit without hesitation.

The first fall had been entirely unexpected, so they felt nothing. This time, the jump was deliberate. Upon landing, the earth layer felt remarkably soft, providing surprisingly good cushioning. Jumping down from several meters up caused no significant impact.

Once below, Jackson pulled several tinder sticks from his bag, stuck them into the ground, and lit them. The entire tomb chamber instantly brightened again. Young Master Liu observed Da Guo Guo and Cai Qing Chong. Da Guo Guo’s jacket was ripped to shreds, his hair was a mess, and his hat and goggles were gone. The scholarly air of the former professor had vanished entirely; he now looked every bit the hardened tomb robber. Cai Qing Chong was even more disheveled. Already injured, the exertions above had reduced the bandages on his arm to strips, making him look rather like a mummy from the side.

Young Master Liu cut straight to the chase. "Da Guo Guo, how could you fight those insects with just your flesh and blood? Judging by your appearance, aside from your tattered clothes, you don't seem badly hurt."

Fan De-biao, slightly agitated and clearly overjoyed, chimed in, "I told you so! Those tomb bosses have serious skills; those few little critters are nothing to them."

"Nonsense!" Da Guo Guo snapped. "Damn it, up there, we were cornered! If it weren't for Cai Qing Chong’s secret weapon, the three of us would have been finished."

Young Master Liu looked puzzled and asked, "Secret weapon? What secret weapon?"

Da Guo Guo replied, "I'm not entirely sure what that thing is, but it's a traditional medicine from Cai Qing Chong's family that repels insects."

Upon hearing this, Fan De-biao slapped his thigh. "Hell, those bugs could be handled with insect repellent? I knew we should have packed two bottles of cologne; that works for everything!"

Fan De-biao’s comment left Young Master Liu feeling quite depressed. He wouldn't believe for a second that cologne could repel the Chu and Zhi Bing. He turned to Cai Qing Chong. "Why didn't you use this secret weapon earlier? If you had used it when we first encountered the Chu, maybe we’d all be home by now."

Cai Qing Chong stood to the side like a statue and replied coldly, "This stuff can only be used once."

Only once? Did he not bring enough? Ah well, they were this far in; asking more was pointless. He turned back to Da Guo Guo, inquiring why he stopped Fan De-biao from blasting the sarcophagus earlier.

Da Guo Guo explained, "You all have surveyed the setup here. What’s lying in that sarcophagus isn't Zhang Jiao; it’s merely his shadow."

"Shadow?" This made no sense to Young Master Liu, who pressed him. "What do you mean, how can a shadow be contained in a coffin?"

Da Guo Guo clarified, "The shadow I speak of isn't the reflection cast by the body. To be precise, it’s a substitute. This arrangement is called an 'Shadow Palace' (Ying Gong), a crucial Feng Shui configuration for enlightened individuals who die and ascend to immortality."

Immortality—that was Zhang Jiao’s ambition. To achieve immortality meant eternal life. Thinking of this, Young Master Liu was filled with deep emotion.

Da Guo Guo lit a cigarette and continued, "This configuration requires three steps, known in Feng Shui as the Three Immortals' Art. The first phase is the Nine Dragons Lifting the Corpse Formation. However, only eight dragons can manifest; the ninth is reserved to aid the tomb owner’s ascent. An eight-dragon formation for the Nine Dragons Lifting the Corpse is extremely inauspicious, so the second phase, the Shadow Palace, is employed—the tomb chamber is arranged in an inverted manner to transform inauspiciousness into fortune. The final phase is the location of the tomb owner's real sarcophagus; this final chamber may only contain the tomb owner’s coffin."

Young Master Liu was deeply fascinated by tomb-raiding Feng Shui. After Da Guo Guo’s detailed explanation, he felt he had learned a great deal. He truly was a master tomb raider from Hong Kong; his knowledge of Feng Shui and destiny was extensive. However, after all that explanation, he still hadn’t reached the crux of the matter. He asked Da Guo Guo, "Why can't we open the sarcophagus in this Shadow Palace?"

Da Guo Guo stated, "This Shadow Palace is the accumulation point for all the tomb’s negative energy. Anyone who opens this coffin without understanding the underlying principles will surely face endless troubles. The corpse inside will be at least at the Green Hair level of reanimation (Green Hair: Tomb robbers categorize zombies into seven ranks, from lowest to highest: Black, White, Blue, Orange, Green, Purple, Red, distinguished by fur color. A Green Hair zombie is already a significant threat). This type of tomb chamber actually serves a very practical purpose: preventing robbery. If we break the seal, even if we had three heads and six arms, we couldn't escape doom."

Hearing Da Guo Guo finish, Young Master Liu shuddered. If Da Guo Guo hadn't intervened just in time, they might all be down there now, discussing the construction of communist ideology with Old Man Marx. Fan De-biao, who disliked long-windedness, grew impatient listening to the detailed discussion about the Shadow Palace. "What's the use of all this nonsense? Da Guo Guo, just tell us where the real coffin is. Modern socialist construction rejects idle talk."