The Fatty, however, didn't notice the passage gradually narrowing. Thinking Ma Xiong was praising him, he replied dismissively, "Nothing, nothing, it's what I should... Oh blast it, why didn't you say so sooner?"

From Lu Zong's perspective, the Fatty's belly was already wedged between the shrinking walls of the passage, making him appear fused with the tunnel’s surface.

The Fatty scrambled up, took a deep breath, and tiptoed over to the fresh grave-robber's tunnel they had dug. He turned to the three others and said, "Brothers, sorry, I’m going to duck in here for a bit. I’ll follow you out once you find the exit."

With that, he smeared the mashed garlic water onto his back and squeezed into the freshly dug hole, leaning against the opening, cooped up inside.

The three outside were spinning in frantic circles. At this rate, Ma Xiong would be the next one stuck. Ma Xiong, sweating profusely, glanced around, then at the Fatty, and said hesitantly, "The best way now is to crawl into that tunnel. Staying alive is the priority. We don't have time for emergency digging, and besides, we wouldn't have room to swing our fists, which is inconvenient. Maybe we should just crawl in there. We might not even lose to whatever is inside."

Lu Zong watched the closing walls of the passage and finally nodded, telling the Fatty, "Fatty, hurry and squeeze in! Damn it, let's go for broke! Who's afraid of whom? Today, we'll see who's tougher."

Saying this, he bent down and forcefully shoved the Fatty further inside, then the three followed, wriggling in.

However, the hole they had broken through on the outside was only slightly breached; the inner part had collapsed inward automatically and wasn't very wide. Thus, the Fatty inside still had to dig it out himself before they could all gradually squeeze in.

But the speed at which the Fatty dug the tunnel absolutely could not keep up with the speed at which the passage was closing. Soon, the group was squeezed into a space barely four or five meters long. If the Fatty had been a little thinner, this space would have been sufficient for them. But who knew the Fatty was so rotund? They didn't even have room to stretch their limbs, and on top of that, the Fatty still needed space to dig ahead, making the squeeze even tighter. The Fatty, digging from the inside, grumbled under his breath, "Can't you guys be a bit more considerate? I'm about to be squeezed into a skinny man!"

This remark drew a burst of laughter from the others. The resulting dust filled their lungs, forcing them to quickly shut their mouths and fall silent.

Finally, the Fatty managed to expand the tunnel another two meters inward, allowing them a little room to stretch their limbs. They continued to widen the tunnel in all directions, increasing the available space.

Lu Zong said, "We clearly saw light shining out from the hole from the outside just now, but why can't we see it anymore?"

This statement caused an uproar. The Fatty exclaimed, "Yeah, I distinctly saw a bright light shining out from inside too, but why is it gone now?"

Ma Xiong surveyed their surroundings, then said wistfully, "Damn, I thought we ran into some treasure, gold or jewels or something. Turns out there's nothing. What a disappointment."

Speaking of jewels, the Fatty’s spirits immediately lifted. "Ma Xiong, did I accidentally bury some jewels when I was digging the dirt? Let's check quickly." He then dropped to his knees and sifted through the soil beneath his feet, hoping to see the gleaming gold.

Lu Zong forced a wry smile. "Ganda, let's just take a break. Whatever comes out, we’ll share it. Damn, I’m exhausted."

Ma Xiong looked up at Lu Zong and immediately realized Lu Zong was mocking them. He hastily flushed red, stood up, brushed the dirt off himself, and pretended to be unconcerned. "I was just feeling sorry for the country. If such an important cultural relic is lost here, think of the loss to the nation."

The Fatty also dusted off his hands and stood up, his crestfallen expression confirming that they had found nothing.

Disappointed, the Fatty walked toward the end of the tunnel entrance, preparing to resume digging. But as he passed in front of Lu Zong, he clearly saw something shimmer on the Fatty's leg. He quickly stopped the Fatty and asked, "Fatty, what's on your leg?"

The Fatty hurriedly looked down and indeed found something sparkling on his knee. Lu Zong stepped forward, scraped off some powder from the pant leg, and cupped it in his hand. The crystalline powder glittered under the light of the burning stick.

Suddenly, Lu Zong set the powder down and walked back to the spot where the Fatty had been digging for treasure. He squatted down, carefully searched the area where the Fatty's knee had been resting, and began to dig downwards.

After digging for a short while, his Luoyang shovel struck something hard. Ma Xiong eagerly asked, "Lu Zong, what did you hit?"

Lu Zong looked at Ma Xiong with a dazed expression, then at the Fatty, and told Ganda, "Crystal."

"Crystal!" the others exclaimed in disbelief, crowding around to see what it was.

Lu Zong quickly cleared the sand and dirt off the hard object. Then, something flashed in his eyes. He saw that the ground was densely covered with fist-sized crystals.

He stared at the crystals in surprise but didn't stop to collect them. He dug further and, just as he suspected, saw more crystals covering the area like cobblestones.

Then he heard the gasps from the Fatty and Ma Xiong: "Come look! I have a ton of gems here too! We're rich!"

Lu Zong glanced toward their direction and indeed saw large and small clusters of crystals lying quietly beneath the sand and gravel.

He carefully observed the crystals. They were irregularly shaped with jagged edges, clearly untouched by human carving. They were obviously pure, natural crystals that no one had ever mined. Most were the size of a fist, scattered haphazardly under the mud and sand.

Meanwhile, Ganda, who had been quietly digging nearby, suddenly cried out, "Come look at this! This one… this one is… so huge…"

Lu Zong and the other two hurried over to Ganda. There, a crystal outline spanning two to three meters long and four meters wide was clearly visible before them. They hurriedly cleared the soil away and discovered that it resembled the shape of a large ear.

This large ear... how...? Large ear... Time Tunnel... Oh! No, natural... Lu Zong muttered to himself, leaving the others confused.

Suddenly, Lu Zong clutched his head and squatted down, appearing to be in great pain, as if something was tormenting his mind. Everyone watched Lu Zong in bewilderment.

Then, as if remembering something, Lu Zong stood up and walked straight toward the crystal formation. He hunched over, pressed himself against the crystal, and reached into his pocket as if fumbling for something.

The others exchanged bewildered glances, unsure what Lu Zong was doing.