They gazed in the direction where Fatty, Commander Ge Mei, and the others had gone, a scene shrouded in thick, hazy white mist, obscuring everything. A heavy fog had rolled in. But perhaps the fog wasn't a bad thing; at least it would make it harder for him to discover them. However, tracking them had also become significantly more difficult.

Fortunately, footprints remained on the ground, barely discernible, so they had no choice but to follow them.

Because their minds were still unclear, their speed had noticeably slowed. They wondered how far the three of them had gone, and the two of them began to feel discouraged.

Suddenly, Ma Xiong seemed to have spotted something and said to Lu Zong, "Lu Zong, this isn't good. I feel strange. Don't you find this path incredibly familiar?"

Lu Zong replied, "Yeah, I feel like we're heading toward the Corpse Fiend position. Are those three trying to go to the Corpse Fiend position? Maybe we should turn back to avoid feeding the Corpse Fiends."

Ma Xiong waved his hand. "No way. If they weren't absolutely certain, they wouldn't go near the Corpse Fiend position. We just need to follow slowly behind. To hell with it, the worst that could happen is—"

Lu Zong interrupted, "Dying isn't necessary. At worst, we have a falling out. I feel like since they managed to lead us here, they must have a reason. We still have some use to them. We won't die yet."

Ma Xiong chuckled. Right, they wouldn't die just yet. But if they were discovered now, they'd become prisoners, and they couldn't maintain this pretense of camaraderie. That fate would be worse than death.

Suddenly, Lu Zong stopped Ma Xiong mid-sentence and strained his ears, saying, "Listen closely, isn't that Fatty's voice?"

Ma Xiong snapped to attention and listened. Indeed, he heard Fatty's voice coming from not far away: "Commander, right here is fine. This pit is deep enough; the Queen should sense it."

The Commander replied, "Alright, I think that should suffice. Han Chong, bring over that piece of Queen Bone and bury it."

Soon after, the sound of shovels scraping earth echoed.

Ma Xiong and Lu Zong exchanged confused glances. "What's going on? What Queen Bone? Are they still in contact with the Queen?"

Seeing the same bewildered look on the other's face, neither pressed the matter further. The sound of shoveling continued from Fatty's direction. The Commander seemed to be muttering some kind of incantation, though neither could decipher the words. Then, silence returned.

After a while, Fatty's panting voice drifted over. "It's done, Boss. We can leave now. I'm worried those two will wake up and trace us."

The Commander said, "Right, let's go quickly. Han Chong, clean this up here, and let's move."

Hearing them prepare to return, Ma Xiong quickly grabbed Lu Zong and started running back the way they came. They had to get back quickly before the others did, lest they arouse suspicion.

Lu Zong also dashed after Ma Xiong. They had to reach their intended destination before the Commander returned, to avoid raising any doubts. The fog had mostly dissipated by now, and their location wasn't far off. They soon arrived at the spot where they had previously rested and slipped back into a deep sleep.

After some time, they heard the soft footsteps of the Commander, Fatty, and the others approaching cautiously, as if afraid to startle the two sleepers. The Commander spoke in a hushed tone, "Han Chong—no, Ge Mei, you go on and sleep. I'll wake you later."

Lu Zong figured there was no immediate danger, so he drifted back to sleep.

Sometime later, he heard Fatty's voice: "Damn it, Lu Zong, wake up! Wake up! We have to move out."

Lu Zong mumbled, rubbing his eyes, and asked, "What time is it? Why so early?"

Fatty cursed, "Wake up, wake up! Let's go!"

Only then did Lu Zong sluggishly sit up, rubbing his eyes and saying, "My head hurts so much."

Fatty quickly explained, "The Corpse Qi here is so heavy; it'd be strange if your head didn't hurt. Wake up!"

Lu Zong opened his eyes and saw Commander Ma Xiong and the others waiting for him. He managed an apologetic smile, stood up properly, and walked over.

Ma Xiong saw Lu Zong and said, "Let's go, let's go! Damn it, we've been waiting for you forever. Did you take a sleeping potion? Why are you waking up so late?"

Lu Zong’s heart skipped a beat. He noticed the muscles in the Commander’s face twitch noticeably when the word "sleeping potion" was mentioned. He couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. If the Commander discovered that he knew about their actions, would he have any chance of survival? He quickly smoothed things over: "Didn't Fatty tell you? The Corpse Qi here is so dense; it's a miracle anyone wouldn't pass out."

Ma Xiong also pretended to be unconcerned. "Never mind him, let's hurry up. Sleeping in a tomb isn't a good thing anyway."

With that, Fatty led the way, followed closely by Ma Xiong. Lu Zong walked ahead, accompanying Ge Mei, with the Commander bringing up the rear of the procession.

For Lu Zong now, he couldn't even distinguish whether the girl in his arm was Ge Mei or Han Chong. But who cared? She was female, regardless.

They proceeded forward for some distance without incident, encountering no danger whatsoever. This was odd for the group. They had always been told that every step inside a thousand-year-old tomb was fraught with peril, yet this stretch was entirely safe, which couldn't help but breed suspicion.

Ma Xiong remarked with awe, "Why is this path so safe? Not a hint of danger. It's as if they're welcoming a VIP. Look at the road beneath our feet—it’s all meticulously laid out, just like ancient welcoming floor tiles."

Ma Xiong lowered his head to look. A thick layer of dust covered the surface. He tried to blow off the top layer to see the floor, only to find they were actually intensely fired glazed bricks. Bricks of this quality were only ever used in the residences of the extremely wealthy because of their exorbitant cost, making such extravagance rare. Legend claimed that even in Liu Bang's tomb, only a small area of ten square meters was paved this way, marking the location where his resting place lay.

Ma Xiong muttered to himself, wondering how large an area of glass bricks Cao Cao’s tomb contained. He started walking to get a sense of the extent of the paving.

But they walked a great distance, with Lu Zong and the others trailing behind, covering a solid hundred meters, and it was still the same type of glass brick. Stepping on them, they would have slipped if not for the dust coating.

Fatty exclaimed in astonishment, "Holy cow! Fatty is striking it rich now! Look at these floor tiles—they haven't degraded a bit after all these years. If we took them out to sell, we'd get a fortune!"

Lu Zong nodded. "Indeed. Someone once excavated a mummy's tomb along the Silk Road and managed to steal a two-square-meter rug. It sold for a hundred dollars at auction. These things should fetch a good price if sold."

Fatty laughed heartily. "I never expected that mummy professor could be so pragmatic. Rare, truly rare. It seems there's still hope for these intellectual types! Ha ha!"

Lu Zong gave Fatty a look that clearly said, keep dreaming, as he was about to start prying at a tile. "It doesn't matter if we die. Legend says that when these floors were laid, they were often connected to numerous traps designed to prevent theft. The most famous involved digging a huge pit beneath the tiles, filled with corrosive substances like sulfuric acid. If someone dared to tamper with the floor, we would drop with it into the vat of acid, and we'd all turn into Blood Fiends."

Fatty’s excited mood instantly chilled. He shot Lu Zong a disgruntled look, pulled his hand back, and cursed, "Damn it, Lao Lu! Why didn't you say so sooner? You almost got Fatty killed! Falling into a vat of acid—that would be the end of everything!"

Ma Xiong burst out laughing. "Fatty, ignore him. Lu Zong is only half right. I suddenly remember my grandfather once told me about this exact situation."

Fatty looked at Ma Xiong curiously. "What, you know about these tiles too? What brand are they?"

Ma Xiong laughed heartily. "Lu Zong is only half correct. It's not just us touching the tiles that causes them to collapse. These tiles are actually extremely brittle; any significant jolt can cause them all to give way. We saw earlier that this floor is massive. If our movements are too vigorous, the floor could shatter, and we'd all plummet. There would be no chance to run, so we need to be extremely careful up here."

Fatty gently tapped the floor with his hand. Sure enough, a dull thud echoed from below, indicating the space beneath was hollow.

Fatty cursed again. "Damn it, it’s true! Let’s slowly retreat from here, it’s dangerous."

The Commander's face turned pale and ashen, and Ge Mei was so frightened she dared not even breathe deeply. Lu Zong felt a pang of sympathy and walked over, pulling Ge Mei close and comforting her. "It's alright, Han Chong, it’s alright."

It seemed Lu Zong genuinely believed Ge Mei was Han Chong. Fatty smiled helplessly. "No way, Lu Zong. Do you really think Ge Mei is Han Chong?"

Ge Mei also explained, "Oh, Professor Lu, I was just feeling dizzy earlier, that’s why I mistakenly thought I was Han Chong. I’m actually not Han Chong."

Lu Zong looked down at Ge Mei. "I don't care who you are, it's dangerous here; let's move quickly."

The Commander smiled resignedly and followed the others, walking slowly.

Suddenly, Ma Xiong, who was leading the group, spoke up. "Stop! Look, something's wrong, something's wrong. It looks like there are extra things on the ground."

The others quickly leaned in to see what the situation was, only to freeze, stunned into silence. The air seemed to solidify, and the silence was deathly. The horror etched on their faces clearly showed their current state of mind.

Ge Mei stammered, "Wh-what is going on? Is… is there someone else here? Is that black shadow still chasing us?"