Old Man Zhang completely ignored the way everyone was staring at him and walked straight toward the group. Before Young Master Liu could even ask him anything, Old Man Zhang slowly lifted his snow-white head and stated in a detached tone, "Yes, I have been here before!"

Old Man Zhang had uttered something that was strictly taboo. Normally, this would have caused an uproar, but now, there was an uncanny silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. However, everyone looked at him with a changed expression, yet Old Man Zhang seemed utterly unconcerned. His eyes were fixed solely on Young Master Liu’s, as if trying to bore straight into his heart, making Liu feel intensely uncomfortable.

But at this moment, Young Master Liu confirmed his initial suspicion. No wonder he seemed so familiar with the layout—Old Man Zhang had indeed been here before. But when? A year ago, with that group from the tour expedition team?

Thinking this, Young Master Liu walked up to Old Man Zhang and asked him, "You've been in here? When?"

Old Man Zhang didn't answer Young Master Liu immediately. Instead, he found a step and sat down, saying, "Last night!"

"Last night?!"

"Yes."

Old Man Zhang adjusted his hair and continued, "This place, and the mechanisms too, I discovered accidentally last night. Just as I was figuring out how to get in, I heard you rambling behind me. I thought something serious might happen, so I got you back outside first."

After hearing Old Man Zhang's explanation, Young Master Liu finally pieced the whole sequence of events together. What he understood was this: his initial assessment had been a misunderstanding; Old Man Zhang had only just discovered this location as well, so it had nothing to do with the tour company. He remembered Uncle Diao mentioning that the inscriptions on the stone slab were left by him, which is why he thought of this place, found the mechanism, entered the tomb of the Golden Queen, and retrieved what Uncle Diao had discovered back then. Perhaps they encountered some rare animal, or the Golden Queen’s corpse had reanimated and attacked Old Man Zhang. As a master tomb raider, Old Man Zhang naturally had a way to deal with things inside ancient tombs. He subdued that creature and then came out to rejoin the group.

With this realization, Young Master Liu demanded the item from Old Man Zhang, completely disregarding how many people were watching or how significant this secret might be. His mind was clouded by adrenaline; he only cared about knowing everything, absolutely everything.

Seeing Young Master Liu’s agitated state, Uncle Diao quickly called Wang Feifei over to calm him down. After some earnest lecturing from Wang Feifei, Young Master Liu realized he had indeed lost his composure. Still, he didn't stop pressing Old Man Zhang for answers, as the secret of the Golden Queen was profoundly important to him.

Old Man Zhang patted his backpack and stated, "I didn't find or see the Golden Queen's sarcophagus. Everything in there was my personal gear."

Young Master Liu could tell Old Man Zhang wasn't lying by his tone. If he were lying, his acting deserved a Best Actor award at the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Festival. However, upon reflection, the logic held up. If Old Man Zhang had truly come for Uncle Diao’s findings, he wouldn't have needed to return to meet them after securing the items. Even if there were no other exits, as a tomb raiding expert, he could have easily dug an escape tunnel.

Fan Debiao heard that Old Man Zhang hadn't found the Golden Queen's sarcophagus and, seeing a look of disbelief on his face, walked over and sat next to him. "Brother," he said, "you claim you didn't find the Golden Queen's coffin, yet look at the state you're in. Was all that effort for nothing?"

Old Man Zhang completely ignored Fan Debiao and replied, "There were no zongzi inside, only a few strange birds that attacked on sight. It took everything I had to get away from them."

Hearing this, the others wondered what kind of bird could have left him looking like this. But since he solved the problem, why didn't he proceed to the Golden Queen, instead returning to them? So, they asked him for an explanation.

Old Man Zhang’s expression grew solemn. "The path ahead cannot be traversed by one person alone."

Hearing this, Young Master Liu was utterly baffled. What did "one person cannot go down" mean? Did it require a couple? What if no one here was a couple?

He urged Old Man Zhang to be clearer. Before Old Man Zhang could speak, Fan Debiao bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Brother, why all the nonsense? Our whole group can just fight our way in! No matter how many people it takes, we have numbers and excellent gear. Why be scared?"

Fan Debiao’s suggestion made sense. Instead of asking vague questions, they should just enter and forge a path.

Young Master Liu stopped questioning. Uncle Diao immediately urged people to enter. The group had momentarily lost interest in the minor artifacts; all their focus was now fixed on the ultimate treasure. They quickly gathered their things and headed toward the back of the tomb wall.

The instant the last person stepped inside, there was a loud BOOM as the wall behind them slammed shut. Fortunately, everyone had their flashlights on; otherwise, such a startling noise in the dark might have caused a panic about a complete collapse.

As soon as the wall dropped, Fan Debiao’s voice rang out, "Damn it, this wall has an automatic sensor! It closes the moment someone enters. We’re trapped!"

Fan Debiao’s announcement, instead of clarifying things, set off an uproar among the crowd—a scene worthy of a major celebrity concert. Young Master Liu cursed internally, Damn it, with this level of discipline, how can they claim to be tomb raiders? What kind of people did Old Wu recruit?

Seeing this repeated behavior, Old Wu looked visibly embarrassed. He frantically tried to calm everyone down, even launching into a lecture on tomb-raiding psychology, much to Fan Debiao’s amusement on the side.

"No need to panic. This happened to me too when I first came in. There’s a way to open it," Old Man Zhang said in a completely nonchalant tone.

Hearing this, the others stopped arguing. It seemed Old Man Zhang held significant sway over the psychological reactions of this group here.

After speaking, Old Man Zhang walked straight ahead without another word. Young Master Liu, holding his flashlight steady, followed, and the rest of the group trailed behind.

The situation inside was unexpected. The surroundings were pure, bare rock, smooth surfaces that must have taken tens of thousands of years to form. It was truly an underground world, an astonishing sight beneath the rolling yellow sands.

As they walked, they swept their flashlights around, sensing the vastness of the space. Very little light reflected back from the beams.

After walking for a while, Old Man Zhang stopped. It seemed they had reached their destination. Young Master Liu immediately stopped observing his surroundings and shone his flashlight directly ahead, only to see an impenetrable expanse of blackness, unable to discern a single outline.

At this point, the others shone their lights forward, but the area remained a solid mass of dark shadow, revealing only a vague silhouette. They could make out that a wall stood before them, different from the surrounding rock faces; its outline suggested it was artificially constructed.

Seeing the hazy view, Fan Debiao and Jackson each grabbed a flare gun and ran to the front. They fired several shots in rapid succession. A blinding light instantly shot into their eyes, causing sharp pain. Young Master Liu internally berated them: Damn it, these two are completely brainless! Firing so many at once—just because there’s something there doesn't mean you shouldn't conserve!

After a moment, they extinguished one flare, allowing them to barely open their eyes. But their vision was still washed out white. It seemed this sudden burst would definitely cause myopia.

After a long interval, their pupils finally returned to normal, and the scene before them became crystal clear: they were standing at the edge of a deep chasm. Fan Debiao and Jackson were right at the edge, and as their vision cleared, they both cried out "Whoa!" and quickly leaped back.

The cliff was incredibly deep. Jackson fired two illumination rounds down, but both only illuminated solid blackness. The sight was bone-chilling. What lay before them matched what Young Master Liu had envisioned: a massive, man-made wall. On this wall were three mysterious gates (xuanmen). The wall was covered in carvings that Young Master Liu didn't recognize, and they, in turn, seemed oblivious to him.

It appeared that passing through those xuanmen would bring them close to the Golden Queen's spirit palace. But the immediate problem was the chasm separating them from that wall—a significant distance, though the exact width was impossible to estimate. Originally, there should have been three wooden trestle bridges leading from their position to the three gates, but now only remnants clung to either end. The way things looked, they had been destroyed by explosives. Who could be so cruel? Could it have been Uncle Diao who blew them up twelve years ago? Did he not want the secrets inside to ever be discovered? The secret truly must be extraordinary.

Young Master Liu instinctively moved to question Uncle Diao about the damage, but he immediately remembered Uncle Diao had amnesia. Perhaps he knew less than Liu did now; at least Liu knew this whole affair was connected to Zhang Jiao.