Unfurling the ancient scroll, the assembled company was utterly dumbfounded, for nearly every major tomb across China was marked upon it with a distinctive glyph. One stark, crimson 'X' was nailed squarely onto the region of Guge in Tibet—the very place that had caused Big Toad unending regret.

The ancient Guge Kingdom in Tibet was established around the tenth century AD by Jigdemagon, the great-grandson of Langdarma, the last emperor of the Tibetan Empire. After the dynasty’s collapse, he fled with his loyal retainers to the Ngari region to found his kingdom.

From the mid-tenth century to the early seventeenth century, the Guge Kingdom dominated Western Tibet, vigorously promoting Buddhism and defending against foreign aggression, thereby playing a crucial role on Tibet's historical stage following the collapse of the Tibetan Empire. The history of the Guge Dynasty, which boasted seven centuries of brilliant civilization, remains a mystery to this day. Legend holds that in 1630, the neighboring people of Ladakh, who shared the same ancestral roots as Guge, launched an invasion, leading to the kingdom's demise. Along with it vanished countless precious treasures and numerous long-forgotten secrets of antiquity.

According to Fan Debiao’s later recollection, Big Toad had solemnly told him before his death that the location marked by the large red 'X' was indeed this abandoned, mysterious kingdom of Guge. Their group of six Tomb Raiders—Mojin Xiaowei—had once risked starvation, dehydration, and being buried by sandstorms to penetrate that ancient city. Alas, they failed at the final hurdle; five of the six died, and the one who returned home was so traumatized he became mentally unstable. Countless renowned tomb experts had sought out this senior figure, Old Man Jia, but either couldn't find him—like searching for a needle in the ocean—or, if they did, they returned disheartened. This was because Old Man Jia had long since gone mad, having forgotten everything.

Having no other recourse, Big Toad had merely made a rough mark on the human skin map, remembering only that such an ancient city existed. Tragically, Big Toad also died, and the raiding party lost an indispensable core member. If only Old Man Jia, who had once actually been to Guge, could lead them, they could avoid so many detours and prevent so much sacrifice across the vast, desolate plateau.

Furthermore, Mojin Xiaowei typically operate alone, the complete opposite of the Mountain Movers and Ridge Splitters sects. After returning, Old Man Jia had remained in seclusion; finding him was akin to seeking a needle in a haystack. But even if found, what good would it do? He was already insane.

Nevertheless, Fan Debiao refused to give up. He argued that when Big Toad met him in previous years, he must have discussed something important, otherwise, he wouldn't have casually drawn such a large red 'X' on the skin map; there had to be a reason. But whether they had actually talked then, or what specific details they discussed, were now completely buried with Big Toad’s death.

“No, we must find this Old Man Jia. We have to pry something out of his mouth, or else not only will President Wang be in mortal danger, but we won't fare any better!” Fan Debiao said, looking at the others.

“But Fatty, this place is massive. Where are we supposed to start looking? We can’t exactly knock on every door in the village, can we?” Liu Dashao’s face was etched with a bitter smile.

“Finding him won't be hard. When the Boss was alive, he once listed the top tomb experts in the world for me and mentioned him. Luckily, I was observant enough to ask for his address; otherwise, we’d be expending even greater effort.”

Fan Debiao finished, narrowing his eyes: “If this Old Man Jia wasn't insane, in the ranking of the tomb raiding world, he’d be in the top three, if not number one!”

“If we could just cure his madness, that would be best. Even if he won't accompany us, compiling a clear route for us would be an excellent outcome!” Cai Qingchong echoed the sentiment.

A person driven to insanity by fright must have endured an unimaginably intense shock. What exactly Old Man Jia and his five companions witnessed that night remains unknown to everyone.

“I have an idea, I wonder if it will work?” Liu Dashao spoke up when everyone felt helpless, providing a solution to their urgent problem.

After speaking, he whispered a few words into everyone’s ears, mysterious and conspiratorial, causing them all to nod repeatedly.

Then, the group conferred for a while, settled on a plan, and while the others prepared at home, Liu Dashao and Fan Debiao headed straight for Old Man Jia’s house.

Old Man Jia’s home was in the Qinling Mountains. Ancient tombs were everywhere in the Qinling area; sometimes villagers digging in the fields would unearth antiques—it was almost like the oil of Saudi Arabia; dig a little, and oil pops out. Thus, Old Man Jia grew up in this environment, dealing with ancient tombs from childhood, later joining the Mojin sect.

When they located Old Man Jia’s house, the villagers referred to him only as “Mad Jia.” If asked about Mad Jia, the locals would just say it had been a long time—they couldn't recall exactly when—but he had supposedly gone out to earn big money, suffered some kind of shock, and returned completely insane.

It was fortunate that he went mad after returning; otherwise, his family wouldn’t even know he had died outside.

Liu Dashao and Fan Debiao exchanged a look, their excitement palpable; based on this, “Mad Jia” was almost certainly Old Man Jia.

Winding through the village, they finally found him on the eastern edge. They saw an old woman sitting on the steps feeding an old man. The old man had disheveled hair and vacant eyes, sitting slumped on the steps.

“Good boy, open your mouth!” the old woman cajoled, as if feeding a child. Mad Jia wouldn’t open his mouth, his gaze staring blankly at something else.

“Are you afraid it’s too hot? Here, let me blow on it so it cools down!” The old woman patiently blew on the spoon a few times. “Open your mouth! If you don't open it, how can you eat? You don't even know when you’re hungry—you’re just deliberately making people worry!”

Seeing this sight, both Liu Dashao and Fan Debiao felt immense pity. To think that a once formidable, dashing master thief had been reduced to such a state was heartbreaking. It seemed the rumors outside were true; Old Man Jia was insane, and deeply so.

Their hearts sank considerably at this moment, suddenly feeling that this trip had been ill-advised, and even if they had come, it was doubtful they could glean any useful information. However, Liu Dashao suddenly chuckled, saying they hadn’t deployed their secret weapon yet—how could they declare his condition incurable?

The old woman’s face darkened when she saw the two newcomers. “You’ve come looking for our Old Jia, haven’t you? It’s useless. He’s like this now. He quit your line of work a long time ago. You should leave before it gets late; if you stay too long, you might not make it out of these mountains—watch out for wild beasts!”

The two realized that others from the tomb raiding world must have sought him out, hoping to extract useful information about that ancient city from Old Man Jia. It seemed they must all have left empty-handed, because Old Man Jia now needed to be fed just to eat, let alone recall secrets like the Ancient City of Jingjue.

“We do have business here, but we have come this time to treat Old Man Jia’s illness,” Liu Dashao quickly explained to the old woman.

“You understand medicine?” The old woman seemed skeptical of the pair.

“Daoism and medicine share the same origin. My master is a Celestial Master from Longhu Mountain. While I am not a full-time physician, I have certainly learned a few tricks from my master. Upon hearing that Old Man Jia had gone mad, as a junior, I truly cannot bear to see a Mojin Xiaowei… ah, I mean, a normal person driven to such a state. Even if we are not from the same school, I would save him. Since ancient times, saving people and aiding the world has been the inescapable duty of us Daoists!” After Liu Dashao’s eloquent explanation, he finally dispelled the old woman’s reservations.

However, with the old woman standing nearby, the two felt constrained in their actions. They had to tell her, “This matter requires privacy; if others are present, the process won’t be effective!”

The old woman looked at them suspiciously, unsure what trick they planned to pull, but for the sake of curing her husband, stepping aside temporarily was no great matter.

She nodded and said, “Since you’ve come, you’re guests. Don’t leave at noon; I don't have much to offer you, but please stay and eat something—I’ll go make a meal!”

Once the old woman had retreated, Fan Debiao pulled out a small, gleaming gold knife from his waist and flashed it before Mad Jia’s eyes. Suddenly, a flicker of intelligence returned to the madman’s pupils; they darted a few times, and he reached out to snatch the knife.

Fan Debiao didn't dodge; he simply let the old man take it.