Uncle Diao insisted that tour was plotting something, and Young Master Liu, thinking he’d recalled something important, questioned him, only to be told it was merely a hunch.

A massive bead of sweat broke out...

Wang Feifei strongly refuted Uncle Diao’s claim, stating that in the two years he’d been at tour, the company had always conducted itself with utmost integrity; sending people into the desert like this was hardly a major conspiracy.

Young Master Liu mulled it over; she had a point. What conspiracy could tour possibly have? Money? That motive seemed weak. Young Master Liu recalled Wang Feifei mentioning that tour’s BOSS had so much wealth he didn't know where to spend it, making it unlikely they’d bother sending people on such a wild goose chase here just for paltry funds. In this age, few things besides money could drive people to madness.

From past experience, it was clear these bastards were after what Uncle Diao and his group had discovered. It was their right, if they enjoyed dying out here—no need to sensationalize it with talk of conspiracies. Young Master Liu felt Uncle Diao was being overly dramatic.

However, seeing how much tour valued the object, it must be extraordinary. Perhaps the secret he sought was connected to it as well.

Young Master Liu suggested to Uncle Diao, “Instead of fussing over these corpses, why don’t you send someone to properly search for the Golden Queen’s sarcophagus, and you can try hard to recall exactly what you found back then?”

Uncle Diao replied, “To find the Golden Queen’s sarcophagus, we must find the answer on these bodies.” With that, he squatted down to examine them.

Only these four corpses remained here; there wasn't even a shred of paper, let alone notes. Why the haste? What did they encounter back then? Did the danger they faced still persist? The more he thought, the more unsettled Young Master Liu became.

“There are words here,” Lin Simiao exclaimed excitedly from nearby.

Uncle Diao immediately lunged over, followed closely by Young Master Liu. They saw Lin Simiao using a small brush to clear an area on the ground. Engraved on that section were French characters, appearing to form a single word.

Uncle Diao frowned after glancing at it, touched the French script, and suddenly snatched the brush from Lin Simiao’s hand, frantically sweeping the ground. In moments, a large area was uncovered.

Young Master Liu found it strange. The entire cleared area was covered with the same French word as before. Young Master Liu asked, “Why would these Frenchmen carve so many words? What does this word mean?”

Seeing the word, cold sweat streamed down Uncle Diao’s face. Unsure why he was so nervous, Uncle Diao’s expression suddenly turned grave as he stated, “This means ‘cave’ or ‘hole.’ I carved these words; I recognize my own handwriting.”

Hearing this, Young Master Liu felt a mix of shock and delight. Since Uncle Diao carved them, what did ‘cave’ signify? Was it their discovery? But then again, what did ‘cave’ mean? Perhaps even Uncle Diao himself didn't fully grasp its significance.

As Young Master Liu pondered this, he noticed a figure flash past him. Turning, he saw Mudman Zhang already sprinting a hundred meters away.

Mudman Zhang covered the distance in an instant, disappearing from sight within seconds. Before Young Master Liu could fully react, he felt a powerful gust of wind beside him, followed by a massive dark shadow shooting out from the palace gate. Fan Debiao’s speed was neck and neck with Mudman Zhang’s, and soon he too vanished from view.

Everyone present exchanged bewildered glances and shrugged, clearly not understanding the sudden outburst. Young Master Liu was stunned by the actions of Mudman Zhang and Fan Debiao. Wang Feifei asked Young Master Liu what was happening, and he waved her off, saying he didn't know—maybe they urgently needed the restroom. She retorted that Young Master Liu was crazy.

Through their recent banter, Young Master Liu felt the distance between him and Wang Feifei had shrunk; they could finally joke with each other.

Returning to the matter at hand, frankly, seeing Mudman Zhang and Fan Debiao bolt off so fast, Young Master Liu actually suspected they needed to relieve themselves urgently. He decided to ignore it for the moment and knelt down to study the words on the ground with Uncle Diao.

Uncle Diao stared blankly at the words, perhaps trying to recall why he would have left such script behind. Doubts also flooded Young Master Liu’s mind: were these words left before or after Uncle Diao found the secret? And what did "cave" represent?

Truthfully, relying solely on the word "cave" to describe his findings left too much scope for interpretation. Was it in the cave? Or outside the cave? Or perhaps a cave next to another cave? Everything felt too abrupt.

Uncle Diao’s brow furrowed deeply, and sweat trickled down his forehead like peas. He likely couldn't remember. It seemed Uncle Diao’s amnesia was far more severe than Young Master Liu had imagined.

Despite this, Young Master Liu still foolishly asked Uncle Diao, “Uncle Diao, do you remember these words at all?”

Uncle Diao wiped the sweat from his brow and shook his head, saying he didn’t know. As soon as he spoke, the surrounding crowd erupted. It seemed they were displeased with Uncle Diao. Uncle Diao was right; these people weren't here for him at all, but for the benefits he’d promised them.

Old Wu, seeing everyone’s fervent insistence, quickly stepped into the crowd to calm them down. Young Master Liu felt his head about to explode from the noise, but Uncle Diao remained unmoved, his eyes locked on the script below. After a long while, Old Wu managed to quiet the agitated group using various justifications.

Young Master Liu didn't know French and allowed his mind to drift while looking at the words, but Wang Feifei and Jackson just shook their heads in confusion.

Young Master Liu stared intently at the script, considering numerous possibilities. Perhaps it didn’t simply mean "cave"; maybe it alluded to a snake? Or tree roots?

“Damn it, I know what those caves mean!” Young Master Liu was deep in thought when Fan Debiao’s booming voice echoed from outside the palace entrance.

Young Master Liu looked out. Fan Debiao was frantically running back towards them. Young Master Liu thought, You know what the cave means? You went to pee and had an epiphany.

Fan Debiao rushed inside, babbling incomprehensibly. Wang Feifei quickly urged him to stop, catch his breath, and organize his thoughts before speaking.

Fan Debiao was gasping for air, sputtering out the water he’d just drunk. It was evident he was in a state of extreme excitement and tension. After over a minute, Fan Debiao calmed down and announced, “I know what Master Diao’s carved caves mean.”

Everyone looked puzzled. Uncle Diao was momentarily stunned. Young Master Liu quickly pressed Fan Debiao, “Stop beating around the bush, damn it, hurry up and tell us what you found.”

Fan Debiao wiped his face and explained, “When I saw Mudman Zhang run out, I thought he’d gone to find artifacts, so I immediately followed him. Unexpectedly, that kid led me to a clearing. I thought, ‘What’s so great about this?’ But when I walked closer, the entire clearing was full of caves—goddammit, caves! I immediately connected it to the clue Master Diao left behind. Without much further observation, prioritizing everyone’s interests, I bolted back here to notify you all.”