No one replied to Geng Wei; he probably hadn't witnessed the terror of the Black Scorpion we had encountered, hence his suggestion. Yanzi was greatly disappointed. "Something like this is supposed to be treasure? Don't rush, there must be more somewhere else. Zhaxi certainly wouldn't lie to me. Let's go look elsewhere. Come on..."

Old Li glared at the self-assured Yanzi, whose mind was set on treasure, then turned to me to ask what we should do.

Tang Minghao leaned in. "What should we do? Take it back for study. If they say a world-shattering secret is hidden here, even if this is just a pile of crap, we have to take it back."

Though his words were a bit coarse, they were true. At this stage, whatever was hidden beneath such a precious golden lid had to be of immense value, no matter what.

Xu Zhiwu muttered again that it was likely just an herb, adding that Zhuomayangjin had never mentioned such things to him. Hearing the name Zhuomayangjin sent a jolt through me again. Didn't Xu Zhiwu stubbornly follow us to Yunnan himself? How did it suddenly involve whether Zhuomayangjin had disclosed something? It seemed the facts conclusively proved this was a trap and a conspiracy. But there was no time to argue with him now; first, we had to figure out this Crystal Black Scorpion.

The little Japanese said it was a precious medicine with miraculous effects. But no one believed their claims, at least not me or Old Li. If it were merely a simple medicinal ingredient, why would they bring weapons like flamethrowers?

So, when Xu Zhiwu said that, I remained silent. Old Li said nothing either. We all stared at the Crystal Black Scorpion in the small pit, temporarily unable to devise a good way to handle it.

The sight of the Black Scorpion that had once invaded the bodies of the faceless Wang Weicheng and Section Chief Wang—that horrific scene still sent shivers down the spine. Even without Tang Minghao reminding us not to touch it, Old Li and I were keeping a wide berth.

After a long pause, Tang Minghao said, "I shouldn't be afraid of this thing. I'll try to see if I can pick it up."

Old Li and I quickly stopped him, spending a long time explaining how terrifying this scorpion was and its great connection to the faceless demon. But Tang Minghao wouldn't listen. He rummaged through the room and found a piece of cloth, wrapped his hand, and slowly gripped the Crystal Black Scorpion's two pincers. To our surprise, the scorpion remained docile, letting him hold it without moving.

However, the Crystal Black Scorpion seemed quite heavy, or perhaps something else was underneath it. Tang Minghao struggled a bit while carefully lifting it, fearful of accidentally wrenching off an arm or a leg.

As he slowly raised the Crystal Black Scorpion, a dark, oily object indeed appeared beneath its belly, clinging tightly to the scorpion’s underside, unmoving.

That black thing looked exactly like... exactly like "Doctor Ciren." I instantly understood: was the Crystal Black Scorpion protecting a "person" similar to "Doctor Ciren"? Or was this being Doctor Ciren himself? Didn't Tang Minghao say that group in white robes had snatched "Doctor Ciren" away?

No way? Old Li and I exchanged glances. This was like a persistent haunting, forcing us into a corner!

Although Tang Minghao appeared slightly surprised, he spoke with an air of inevitability. "So, this is the world-shattering secret? Close enough." With that, he slowly raised his hand, lifting the Crystal Black Scorpion along with the "person" stuck to it, bringing them close to his face. He muttered to himself, "I wonder what kind of person you are. What a shame about this scorpion; it's so crystal clear. If I forcibly pull you off, it might just rupture its guts."

Neither the Crystal Black Scorpion nor the "person" stirred, as if in deep meditation. Unlike "Doctor Ciren," who constantly schemed and caused trouble at every opportunity. But this didn't lower my guard. Old Master Jin Yong once put it through Yin Susu’s mouth: the more beautiful a woman, the less trustworthy she is. This crystal-like Black Scorpion was also a beautiful object, and therefore, equally untrustworthy.

"What are you planning to do?" I had no mind to ponder why Tang Minghao had suddenly become so smart and bold, acquiring so much strange knowledge and ideas. The most important thing was to get out, get out! Of course, if we could get out and find treasure, bringing back gold and silver would be even better.

Tang Minghao gave a sarcastic, faint smile. "In the end, once a person is dead, they are dead. Who truly achieves immortality? Why bother tormenting yourself like this." It was a completely disconnected statement.

I grew impatient with him and turned to ask Yanzi, "Didn't you say Zhaxi said the exit was nearby?"

Yanzi glanced at Old Li, saw his expression was normal, hesitated, and stammered, "He did say that, but he said we had to see the treasure to find the exit... But here... there’s nothing valuable here..."

I thought to myself, the throne alone, and this golden lid, should be worth a fortune. How could she say there was no treasure? I spoke up. Old Li seconded me, saying we should take what we found and not be greedy. Only then did Yanzi reluctantly agree. "He said the exit is in a side room. As for exactly where, I don't know. Zhaxi didn't say, so he probably didn't know either." Saying this, she showed a rare look of timidity, pleading, "When you go back, you must explain these circumstances to Zhaxi, tell him I did my best to lead you to the treasure and didn't slack off at all. Okay?" At that moment, she looked like a pitiful, helpless little girl afraid of adult reprimand.

I nodded in agreement. Old Li also said he wouldn't speak ill of her. Only then did she relax a little. After thinking, she ran over and tried to help Geng Wei up.

Geng Wei waved his hands in panic upon seeing her. He said all his limb joints were damaged and that the men would have to do it; she was too weak to help.

Yanzi returned defeated and stood next to Old Li, muttering softly, "It's really troublesome helping you Han people... But then again... I can't help much."

Old Li said softly, "I know your intentions are good." Surprisingly gentle—in all the time I had worked with him, I had never heard him speak with such tenderness. It seemed some wonderfully strange things were about to happen.

Tang Minghao, having secured the Crystal Black Scorpion and the person attached to it—just as he had dealt with "Doctor Ciren" earlier—tied it to his wrist with a rope, dangling precariously. Then he told us to take off the golden lid, saying we shouldn't waste it. Of course, we wouldn't let such gold lie underground neglected even without his instruction. So, Old Li and I lifted the heavy, solid, gleaming golden lid without much effort. It weighed about three or four kilograms; converting it to cash would net a decent sum.

This revived everyone's spirits. If the lid to a mere small hole was made of pure gold, there must truly be treasure here, and everyone agreed to search further. I was no exception. I looked around, but found nothing besides some scattered wine cups and tea sets. I felt quite disappointed.

But it wasn't entirely bad. The quality and craftsmanship of these cups and saucers were superior, and being old artifacts from the Guge people centuries ago, they should still fetch a good price. After tallying this up, we stopped. Old Li and I took turns carrying Geng Wei, heading out to the adjacent side room to look for the exit back.

There were other houses in this small village. I had wanted to check if they held anything else, but Tang Minghao vehemently forbade us from going, to the point of threatening a confrontation. So we had to follow his lead and check the condition of two or three small side rooms to see if there was an exit.

The first two rooms on the left were decorated like ordinary Tibetan homes. Xu Zhiwu claimed some utensils were of Han manufacture, but I couldn't tell. Yanzi vehemently urged us not to take these things, saying it would be disrespectful to their ancestors. Tang Minghao, however, sternly warned us that these items were traps, and anyone who valued their life shouldn't touch them.

Since we all valued our lives, we dared not make any rash moves.

We went to the room on the right. As soon as I stepped inside, my heart lurched. The room was abnormally dry, unlike all the previous areas which carried a thick, unresolvable scent of water and other strange odors. Here, there was only the smell of dry air. Geng Wei, being carried by Old Li, immediately exclaimed upon entering, "This must be dry land! Otherwise, why would the air be so dry?"

He was much more professional than us. Inevitably, everyone grew excited. It seemed the hard times were finally over. Being able to go back, to see blue skies and white clouds again, to breathe fresh air without worrying about life-threatening oddities or monsters suddenly appearing—how wonderful that would be!

The exit, which I had expected to be found through a winding and perilous path, was discovered so plainly, making me slightly disbelieving. I anxiously feared something might still happen suddenly.

After a brief moment of joy, everyone became even more cautious. It was my turn to carry Geng Wei. He clung to my back, saying he had a way to find the correct exit. Then he kept sniffing around, using the humidity of the air to differentiate.

I believed he had this ability, because soon, under his guidance, we found a set of stone steps behind this small side room, sloping upward. They were rough and dry, carrying a chilling cold. Since all of this was deep underwater, isolated from sunlight and air, such cold was not surprising.

The steps were flanked by uneven stone walls, but unlike the previous two times, there were no human skull lamps or moss here, bringing an intrinsic sense of relief—this was the hope of life.

Tang Minghao also spoke with certainty, saying this was the exit because he remembered someone telling him on the way in that if they truly wanted to leave, they could go out through the Great Chieftain's house, and this must be the Great Chieftain's house.

I sensed something fishy in his words and was about to ask him who told him, but he immediately called my name instead, asking if I wanted him to carry Uncle Geng for a while. It was entirely in Tang Minghao's tone. But I couldn't worry about that now; let's get out first. We could investigate these matters slowly once we were back.

However, as we slowly ascended the stone steps, a faint, though not very obvious, smell of water began to return.