Young Master Liu’s first instinct was that the person had knocked him out; his entire body felt like a feather floating in the air—no, floating on water.

Because his hazy consciousness registered a dampness all around him. Yes, he was floating on water. Gradually, he slowly forced his heavy eyelids open. What was happening? His mind felt crystal clear, as if nothing had happened moments before.

At this instant, he was lying on the surface of the water. The water emitted a faint, eerie green light, bathing the entire area in a greenish glow. There were no women, nor was there Mudman Zhang.

“Where is this? Why does this place feel so familiar?” Young Master Liu frowned deeply.

Thinking this, he exerted himself to stand up from the water. The water only reached his knees here. Young Master Liu didn't know where he was, so he could only slowly walk forward.

The further he walked, the more intense that feeling of déjà vu became. Suddenly, he turned a corner, looked ahead, and his heart skipped a beat. Yes, he finally remembered where this was.

How could it be here? What in the world was going on? How was I back again?

Before Young Master Liu was a stone gate, half-closed, half-open, clearly carved with the image of an Yinglong. Right, this was Zhang Jiao’s tomb.

Witnessing this scene, Young Master Liu could hardly comprehend it. This was beyond scientific explanation. Was he in the Northeast now, or in Xinjiang? Was this Zhang Jiao’s tomb, or the Golden Ancient City? Had he never left this place at all? Were all the preceding events merely a fleeting dream? Thinking this, Young Master Liu’s head ached to the point of near collapse.

At that moment, Young Master Liu’s feet began to move on their own, walking toward the stone gate. What was happening? He hadn't intended to move, so how could this be? The stone gate seemed to possess a magical pull, drawing Young Master Liu toward it involuntarily.

Passing through the stone gate, Young Master Liu’s feet stopped again on their own accord. None of this was controlled by his will. Upon arriving here, the nine stone pillars stood naturally, and the massive stone slab remained above them.

Suddenly, a figure appeared on the stone slab. Zhang Jiao? That was the first word that flashed in Young Master Liu’s mind, but upon closer inspection, it was certainly not Zhang Jiao.

Standing on the slab was a woman, with a stunning figure, dressed in an apricot-yellow Daoist robe. Her curves were vividly apparent beneath the fabric. She wore a tiger-shaped mask on her face and held a feather fan, standing alluringly upon the stone slab.

“Who are you?” Young Master Liu managed to squeeze out the three words in a murmur.

“You have finally arrived!” a voice emanated from the stone slab, a voice smooth yet beautiful, utterly captivating.

“I have finally arrived? What do you mean? Do you know me?”

“Young Master Liu!”

Slap, slap. Immediately, sharp pain radiated across his face, and his head throbbed intensely. For a long time, his eyes couldn't open fully. However, his eyeballs could still dart around. The surroundings were utterly silent!

“You’re awake, Young Master, you must have been possessed, damn it!” Fan DeBiao’s voice reached his ears.

Then the surroundings erupted into clamor. Only then could Young Master Liu strain his eyes open enough to see only blurry figures around him, Mudman Zhang among them.

“Are you alright?” Wang Feifei’s comforting voice sounded from above his head.

Young Master Liu rubbed his eyes and found himself lying on Wang Feifei’s lap. A gust of wind blew by, bringing a wave of delicate fragrance. Judging by the scene, Wang Feifei had likely been giving him CPR just now. The thought made him inwardly pleased.

So the scene just now was just a dream. Yet, everything felt so real. Young Master Liu was certain that falling into the pit was real. Thus, he forcefully propped himself upright and demanded an explanation, his eyes fixed intensely on Mudman Zhang, hoping he would provide the answer.

Mudman Zhang stared back just as intently, his expression unchanged, but he ignored Young Master Liu and turned to leave.

Seeing that no one answered, Fan DeBiao launched into a narrative for Young Master Liu. He recounted, “This morning, I was sleeping soundly when I suddenly heard a lot of noise around me, so much so that I dreamed of a beautiful woman I hadn't finished enjoying. Just as I was about to bury my head back down to continue the sequel, I heard someone shout that you were in trouble. If my brother is in trouble, how could I ignore it? I jumped up and ran toward the crowd, only to see Mudman Zhang carrying you on his back. He said he went out for a late-night pee, somehow fell into a pit, and then he kept hearing you mumbling in your sleep behind him—‘Zhang Jiao,’ ‘The Classic of Peace,’ and the like—and no matter what they did, they couldn't wake you. Finally, you even fell unconscious. He didn't know what to do, so he carried you back. Fortunately, Miss Wang was here and gave you a few rounds of artificial respiration, and then you woke up.”

After hearing Fan DeBiao’s account, Young Master Liu only understood half of it, but from his words, he grasped that he had been unconscious from the moment he fell in, and everything that followed was merely a dream. Thinking of this, Young Master Liu breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked around and asked, “Where are Wang Zhicai and the others? Why can’t I see them? And what about Uncle Diao?”

Wang Feifei took a sip of water and replied, “They went exploring early this morning. Master Diao went with them.”

Young Master Liu nodded upon hearing this, when suddenly Rat came running over in a flurry, calling for everyone to pack their gear because it was time to move out.

Huh? Uncle Diao and the others found the tomb of the Golden Queen already? That seemed too fast. Considering Master Diao’s experience and the equipment they had, finding a tomb shouldn't be difficult. Young Master Liu stood up, drank some water, organized his gear, and everyone followed Rat.

The houses in this city were densely packed, and most doors were made of poplar wood. No wonder this ancient city was buried by sand; these people clearly didn't care about environmental protection, cutting down trees recklessly.

Rat led them weaving through the alleys for quite a while before finally arriving in front of a dilapidated palace. He said this was the residence of the Golden Queen, and Uncle Diao, Wang Zhicai, and the others were inside.

The palace wasn't particularly luxurious, but it was quite exquisite; in terms of value, it was certainly extraordinary.

The main objective now was to locate the Golden Queen’s sarcophagus, so they didn't linger to study the palace. The group walked straight into the structure.

Inside the palace, they saw Uncle Diao, Wang Zhicai, Jackson, Lin Simiao, and Mudman Zhang, gathered around something. Young Master Liu thought, Could the Golden Queen’s sarcophagus be right here? Is it this easy to find? Is Uncle Diao even still suffering from amnesia for this?

Filled with various questions, Young Master Liu walked over. He stood beside Uncle Diao and looked, and what he saw was completely unexpected, though not entirely surprising.

On the ground lay four desiccated corpses, their faces horribly contorted. The word “tour” was visible on their clothes. These four people were also from the ‘Tour’ company, seemingly having entered here with the corpse they had seen outside.

Beside the bodies were many daily necessities, though they were too weathered to make out clearly.

“It seems the people from Tour searched here for some time, but why are their deaths in different places yet the manner of death is the same?” Young Master Liu voiced the question first.

“The corpse we found outside might have been one of the survivors from this group, perhaps driven mad by fear and ultimately unable to find their way out,” Uncle Diao offered his theory.

Wang Feifei and Jackson frowned deeply. It was quite unsettling for high-ranking members of their archaeological team to go on an expedition without their knowledge.

But what was Tour’s objective? That remained a mystery. Perhaps not even these people knew what they were searching for, just as the rest of them didn't. The answer, however, lay dormant in Uncle Diao’s subconscious, and everyone would soon discover it.