Lu Zong’s eyes were wider than grapes as he stared at the quiet, honest-looking girl before him, pressing again, “Please repeat what you just said; I don’t think I clearly heard what you said.”

Han Chong looked slightly embarrassed. “Oh, sorry, it’s just a bit of urine in here. Did we scare you? Haha, my apologies.” Lu Zong immediately became agitated. “Who told you to collect urine in an antique jar? Do you have any idea what an insult this is to Chinese culture, especially such an ancient vessel? Normally, I would have you arrested immediately, but apart from that, do you know how easily this could be misunderstood?”

Han Chong was quite surprised, as he couldn't fully grasp the stout man's words. He quickly asked, “Misunderstood? How could it be misunderstood? Could you please explain clearly? I really don’t know what the misunderstanding could be.”

Lu Zong angrily pointed at the jar. “Do you two constantly mistake this thing for a chamber pot? That’s absolutely outrageous!” Ma Xiong saw Lu Zong constantly muttering curses and felt he was being completely unreasonable, so he tried to placate him. “Forget it, forget it. Don't put on your scientist airs here. It’s just an object; there’s no need to get angry over a broken pot. It’s just an antique; surely it won't ruin Chinese civilization? I refuse to believe that five thousand years of Chinese civilization can be extinguished by that fellow’s single stream of urine. Oh, right, there’s some urine inside, isn't there? I’ll just dump it out for you, alright?” Saying this, he reached out with both hands, intending to take the chamber pot from Lu Zong’s grip. But Lu Zong looked extremely reluctant, hiding the antique vessel behind his back. “Forget it, forget it, I’ve already poured it out.”

Ma Xiong stared at Lu Zong with disbelief. “What? You already poured it out? I didn't see you pour anything out, and you haven’t even stepped outside the tent. What exactly do you mean?” Lu Zong shouted hysterically, “I said it’s poured out, so it’s poured out! Stop nagging me here. Don’t say another word!”

But at this point, Han Chong was genuinely angry. It was their own jar, so why was this man making such a huge fuss? He immediately shot back, “What is wrong with you? I’m using my family’s jar to hold my own things. What business is it of yours? If you’re not satisfied, you can sue me in court! Why are you putting on such an arrogant display?”

Lu Zong’s anger flared up instantly. He looked at Han Chong’s pouting mouth and roared, “What? You still don’t admit you’re wrong? Are you really not afraid of being misunderstood?”

Han Chong became even more bewildered and asked again, “You keep mentioning misunderstanding, misunderstanding—how exactly could it be misunderstood? I really don’t believe it.”

Lu Zong cursed furiously, “Damn it, I just poured that out for you!”

Han Chong bristled upon hearing that. “So you poured it out! What’s so great about that?”

Lu Zong replied without thinking, “Yes, the matter itself wasn't that serious, but you need to consider where I poured it!” Lu Zong looked resentfully at Han Chong, whose face was screwed up in a servile expression. Ma Xiong, meanwhile, was merely perplexed. He glanced at Lu Zong, connecting his words about misunderstanding with the empty jar in his hands, his inexplicable explosion of rage, and the fact that he claimed to have poured it out without ever leaving the tent—it seemed he was beginning to understand. Driven by his doubts, he quickly asked, “Lu Zong, are you trying to say you poured that urine into your own mouth?”

Lu Zong immediately began to cry hysterically. He looked at Ma Xiong, who was barely suppressing a smile, and nodded, speaking in a desolate tone: “Damn it, I thought it was some ancient wine! Didn't they excavate some ancient wines back at Cao Cao’s tomb? I thought I had found some of those relics.”

Ma Xiong could hold back no longer and burst out laughing. Han Chong also seemed unable to contain himself, bending over and trying hard to stifle his amusement. But being a girl, her self-control was particularly weak, and her laughter suddenly erupted. It made sense why Lu Zong had been emphasizing his mistake so much; he had misunderstood.

Lu Zong flared up again. “Stop laughing, both of you! If you laugh again, I’ll get truly angry! Damn it, whoever laughs, I’ll fight them to the death!” Having said this, he swept his intensely angry gaze over Ma Xiong and Han Chong. Both immediately stopped laughing and tried desperately to maintain composure.

Seeing that they had stopped laughing, Lu Zong slowly began to speak, attempting to change the subject. “Looking at the patterns on this jar, they seem to be from several thousand years ago, roughly estimated, perhaps from before Cao Cao’s era. If I’m not mistaken…”

At this point, Han Chong suddenly let out another earth-shattering peal of laughter. Gasping for breath, she said to Lu Zong, “Lu Zong, just kill me now! I really can’t hold it in! Hahahaha, hurry up, haha, just kill me.”

Provoked by Han Chong, Ma Xiong finally lost control too and roared with laughter. Instantly, the tent was filled with a wave of raucous, piercing laughter—except for Lu Zong, who stood sullenly, looking down at the two people laughing hysterically, secretly cursing them both. “I curse these two to a lifetime of buying instant noodles without seasoning. Amen.”

Perhaps only when the two had finally laughed themselves out—their bodies trembling, stomachs aching, their facial muscles refusing to contract—did Lu Zong look at them and ask in a low voice, “Well, have you laughed enough? If not, laugh a little longer.” Ma Xiong shot Lu Zong a very serious look and replied, “Alright, then you should drink a little more.”

Hearing this, Han Chong suddenly burst into laughter again, slapping Ma Xiong’s shoulder. “Hahaha, Ma Xiong, you’re too funny! Hahaha, drink a little more! Haha, this time it should be yours to drink!”

Seeing Han Chong enjoying herself so thoroughly, Ma Xiong felt a tickle too, but his self-control was quite strong. If he laughed now, it might delay their mission, so he didn't laugh. Instead, he stopped Han Chong. “Alright, alright, let’s stop laughing now. This is a dangerous time; we don't even know where we are right now. After all this fuss, it turns out you, Han Chong, were also tricked and sold here. You aren't the master of this place either. However, you arrived earlier than us, so you’re somewhat familiar with things here. You can be our guide. Oh, and Lu Zong, continue your story.”

Lu Zong cleared his throat. A foul odor immediately assaulted his nose, making him feel dizzy, but he forced himself to remain composed, terrified that the others’ laughter would erupt again like a tidal wave. He asked, “Where did I leave off?”

Ma Xiong said, “You were just saying, if I’m not mistaken…”

Lu Zong nodded. “If I’m not mistaken, this object was likely stolen from somewhere else through tomb raiding.” Han Chong looked at the jar in Lu Zong’s hand with surprise. “What? You mean this jar was also stolen during a tomb raid involving Cao Cao? Does that mean Cao Cao was a tomb robber too?”

Lu Zong rolled his eyes at the college student before him and said coldly, “It’s a good thing you’re a university student and don’t even understand this basic knowledge. Cao Cao is the founding father of tomb robbing! Many grave robbers worship him. You don’t even know that?”

Ma Xiong explained, “Maybe it’s because their advisor feared that archaeology experts would become tomb raiders, so they weren’t taught too much about grave robbing. Don’t blame him; university students nowadays are all like that. They know plenty of book knowledge, but when it comes to practical application, it’s a huge headache.”

Lu Zong felt too awkward to continue and instead said, “Yes, fine, even so, doesn't he know anything about history? Archaeology isn't just one discipline; grave robbing is also a major field of study. I think tomb robbing should be included in university syllabi so that learning can be both academic and practical.”

Ma Xiong also criticized the education system frankly alongside Lu Zong. “Lu Zong, you are absolutely right. Although we don't share many common hobbies, on this point, I stand on the same ground as you. China’s education today is utterly a failure. Never mind that; there are so many pieces of knowledge that should be in the textbooks, but they only include the most common, superficial things. Teaching those is worse than not teaching anything at all! You know China has been an ancient civilization for ages, and you know how much importance is placed on culture and how highly art is achieved. But tell me, China’s figure art is already bordering on the extreme today, so why isn’t it included in the curriculum? Every day I watch, and it’s just the same familiar figures swirling around. I wish more Chinese artists would contribute to the cause of Chinese figure art.”

Lu Zong glared at Ma Xiong and cursed, “Damn it, stop talking nonsense! How can you let college students learn about that stuff? What if this field of Chinese figure art explodes, just like book writing, and the Chinese literary and artistic circles decline just like Chinese literature? How will we ever win a Nobel Prize in Literature then?”

Han Chong flared up and roared, “What are you two talking about? Get back to the main topic, or I swear I’ll explode! Hurry up! What the hell are you doing?”

Seeing Han Chong’s furious expression, Lu Zong and Ma Xiong exchanged glances. They had been arguing too fiercely and completely forgot the presence of the girl beside them. However, the topic they were debating was the only one that genuinely interested them both, so they had gotten too engrossed in the discussion. But after Han Chong’s recent shout, they both snapped back to reality and stopped talking.

Lu Zong continued, “Actually, the likely age of this jar is hundreds, maybe even a thousand years before Cao Cao. But look at Cao Cao’s tomb now—if it wasn't dug out by tomb raiders, what else could it be?”