Young Master Liu realized he had lost his composure just now, actually shouting out that accursed word, 'Mingqi.' He scratched his head, genuinely unable to conjure up a decent excuse, so he simply went all-in and explained Mingqi as a brick. He claimed that since Fan De-biao lacked a weapon, finding a sturdy brick to handle danger was common practice back in his hometown, where they called bricks 'Mingqi.' He was surprised that these city folk were simple enough to swallow the whole tale.

"Advisor, what did you discover?" Wang Feifei asked Fan De-biao.

"There are some strange things in there. I'm not an archaeologist, so I don't quite grasp it. Come and take a look!" Fan De-biao gestured toward the tomb wall behind him.

The very top of the entire burial chamber featured a circular pathway, and the group was currently standing on the only protrusion along that entire route. Wang Feifei told Fan De-biao to lead the way and examine the "discovery" he mentioned.

Fan De-biao led them to a tomb wall and pointed, saying, "My 'discovery' is right here."

Young Master Liu stared at the wall and couldn't help but freeze. It was just an ordinary brick, looking ancient, perhaps, but possessing no discernible research value. A feeling of having been thoroughly duped by Fan De-biao immediately washed over him. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Fan De-biao step forward and his entire body sink directly into the wall.

Witnessing this scene, Young Master Liu could only gasp in disbelief again and again. What in the world was happening? His mind whirred; this was absolutely supernatural.

"It's the legendary Man-Eating Wall!" old man Kramar exclaimed in astonishment.

"Man-Eating Wall? What does that mean?" Wang Feifei asked old man Kramar.

Kramar cleared his throat and said, "It's a desert legend. It’s said that a team once encountered a wall in the desert—just a single wall. Those people found it strange: why was there just one wall standing in the middle of nowhere? Driven by curiosity, the entire team went over to investigate, and then..." He paused right there.

Kramar had hooked all of their intestines with anticipation. They thought the old man was playing games, leaving them hanging. Wang Zhicai, highly interested in such matters, urged old man Kramar to continue the story immediately.

Old man Kramar cleared his throat again and spoke with a mysterious tone, "As a result, the moment that team touched the wall, they were instantly sucked in. After that, they were unconscious. When they woke up, they found themselves in the ancient city of Niya. No one knew what happened to them inside the wall, and that is how the legend of the Man-Eating Wall began."

Old man Kramar's tale sounded like idle boasting to Young Master Liu, who treated it merely as a ghost story. Besides, Fan De-biao had entered and come back out, hadn't he? How could this be the Man-Eating Wall Kramar spoke of? In his view, this was just some mechanism in the tomb.

Seeing everyone else staring fixedly at the wall, as if drawn by some strange magic, Liu approached Wang Feifei and whispered in her ear, "Do you actually believe him? That's utter nonsense!"

Wang Feifei glanced at Young Master Liu and said coolly, "It's not what he said about the Man-Eating Wall that concerns me; it’s that the wall itself feels strange."

Observing a hint of apprehension in Wang Feifei regarding the wall, Liu decided to play a trick to frighten her. He leaned in conspiratorially and said, "It is indeed strange. Didn't everyone just hear gunshots here? Now that we're inside, there isn't a single shell casing in sight. Maybe the Man-Eating Wall really did suck in both people and bullets." To heighten the terrifying atmosphere, he deliberately made his tone highly mysterious.

Young Master Liu expected her to start trembling, but instead, Wang Feifei casually raised her arm and said, "Come on, let's go take a look inside."

Young Master Liu was baffled. This girl could be terrified by a mere snake, yet she dared to enter the legendary 'Man-Eating Wall'? He actually felt ashamed of his words from earlier.

Seeing that the others had already gone in, Young Master Liu dared not delay. He cautiously approached the wall. Only upon touching it did he realize this wasn't a wall at all—it was bark! The wall was constructed from the bark of Populus euphratica trees, painted to resemble bricks, creating a convincing 'wall.' How could everyone have missed something so simple?

Once inside, Young Master Liu saw Fan De-biao holding a flashlight. Finding this odd, he asked where Fan De-biao got it. Fan De-biao mumbled that he picked it up off the ground, suggesting someone had been here before them.

The beam from this military-grade torch was intensely bright, clearly illuminating the small space. It was a small, square burial chamber, barely worth mentioning, with its surrounding walls constructed from the same bricks as the outer tomb wall. Young Master Liu suspected these, too, might be poplar bark, so he knocked on one. It was indeed solid wall. The chamber floor was littered with animal bones—some recognizable, others not—along with pottery shards and some metal implements, all severely weathered.

Wang Zhicai and Lin Miaoke became energized by the sight and immediately squatted down to study the artifacts. Young Master Liu noticed Wang Feifei, Fan De-biao, Jackson, and the others standing before one wall, lost in thought. He decided not to join Wang Zhicai in examining the ground treasures and instead stood up and walked over to Fan De-biao’s side.

When he reached that wall, he saw that it was covered in convoluted drawings that bore a six or seven-tenths resemblance to the content on the sheepskin scroll Old Wu had given Uncle Diao.

Seeing Wang Feifei engrossed, Young Master Liu asked if she had noticed anything. Wang Feifei shook her head, saying she couldn't make sense of it. Jackson looked utterly bewildered; Liu didn't bother questioning the foreigner.

Fan De-biao remarked, "Maybe this wall is made of tree bark too. Let's try touching it; it might be the exit." With that, he reached out to touch the wall.

The moment Fan De-biao made contact, his expression shifted. He struck the wall several times with force. It seemed this wall was not their gateway to paradise.

"Not good!" old man Kramar suddenly cried out.

Before anyone could react, a large volume of white smoke enveloped them all, plunging them instantly into confusion.

The mist thickened, and their field of vision rapidly narrowed. In less than a minute, they were completely swallowed by the white chaos. This white fog carried an eerie chill and a strange, sweet scent, vaguely similar to the odor from the Populus euphratica box.

Jackson fired two signal flares, but neither had any effect; each seemed to be instantly swallowed.

"What's happening?" Wang Feifei's voice cut through the haze.

"This must be a mechanism in this tomb. I think what Kramar called the ghost wall is this," Wang Zhicai said.

"Everyone, stay close together. Don't get separated," Jackson instructed.

The burial chamber wasn't large, so everyone moved toward the center. Young Master Liu stepped back twice and bumped into a solid mass of flesh; he instantly realized it was Fan De-biao. Not wanting to discuss matters with him now, he informed Fan De-biao of his proximity and then vigilantly took up a defensive position.

Wang Feifei now displayed exceptional command skills. First, she had everyone report in, then meticulously arranged their positioning, and finally instructed them to search for a way out.

Since nothing was visible, aimless wandering was impossible, so Wang Feifei laid out a detailed plan. Young Master Liu, Fan De-biao, Wang Feifei, and Jackson were to explore four different directions. Those who touched a solid wall were to retreat; those who found Populus euphratica bark were to alert everyone to gather there. Kramar, Wang Zhicai, and Lin Miaoke were to remain in place as a central marker to prevent errors upon return.

After hearing Wang Feifei’s orders, the four set off in their respective directions. The tomb chamber was small; after only a few seconds of walking, Young Master Liu encountered a hard wall. His luck, it seemed, was poor, and without much thought, he slowly retreated.

"Damn this so-called mechanism, making me play hide-and-seek," Fan De-biao suddenly muttered beside Young Master Liu, apparently having found nothing.

"What are you complaining about? If you hadn't said there was a discovery, none of us would have come in. Now, things haven't gone well, and we're engulfed in thick fog," Liu retorted to Fan De-biao.

"It seems Jackson found the right direction," Wang Feifei's voice came from behind Young Master Liu.

Wang Feifei was back, which meant Jackson must have found the exit in the direction to his right.

Fan De-biao, being impatient, immediately started walking toward Jackson's location. Liu quickly grabbed him, saying, "Don't rush. Jackson hasn't signaled yet. Anything can happen in a place like this."

After hearing Liu out, Fan De-biao made a 'tsk' sound and grumbled, "What is that kid Jackson doing? Why hasn't he responded after so long?"

Young Master Liu paused to consider. Everyone else had already made one trip back and forth. Given Jackson's excitable nature, if he had found an exit, he would have been ecstatic by now. Why hadn't he even sent a signal? Could something have happened to the boy?

With this thought, Young Master Liu asked Wang Feifei what her plan was.

Wang Feifei remained silent, but Young Master Liu could sense her tense and anxious mood; it was clear she was worried about Jackson too.

Liu and Fan De-biao conferred and decided to go check if Jackson was in trouble. They expected Wang Feifei to object, but instead, she urged them to go quickly and return fast.

Having shared past experiences on Bodhisattva Mountain, Liu and Fan De-biao weren't overly concerned by this minor issue. They joked as they moved cautiously toward Jackson's direction.

After only a few steps, a muffled sound reached them from ahead, like a person having their throat choked, accompanied by a constant, chattering noise. Liu and Fan De-biao instantly realized Jackson was in trouble, his throat seemingly constricted by something.