With his shout, everyone outside grew slightly frenzied. Ma Xiong, in particular, realizing Lu Zong was utterly trapped, was so terrified he dared not even draw a full breath, forced instead to listen in silence, completely in the dark about the nature of the problem.

But finally, Lu Zong managed to speak. “Why does it feel like I’ve been sealed inside a tomb? It’s so stuffy in here, I’m about to go mad. Can’t you guys figure out a way to get me out?”

Old Man Qian, hearing the word ‘tomb’ from outside, and linking it with Lu Zong’s previous statement about being entombed, experienced a flash of insight. His face immediately slackened, then grew stern. “This is bad. Lu Zong might not be able to get out. We’ve encountered a Tent Burial Tomb, a spectacle rarely seen in a thousand years.”

Ma Xiong urgently pressed, “What? What kind of tomb are you talking about? I can’t hear clearly—what burial, what tent tomb? What’s going on?”

Old Man Qian explained, “A tent burial tomb means that this so-called tent isn't a tent at all. It’s a chemical substance used in ancient times that reacts with the air. My ancestors mentioned that the soil used to construct these tents was very special—legend says it was accidentally refined by Taoist priests while they were preparing alchemical ammunition. So, they called it ‘Taoist Soil.’ This soil is highly reactive. The moment it touches air, a reaction begins. Perhaps because we kept lifting the curtain earlier, this tent has fully reacted with the air. Consequently, the tent has transformed into another substance—something much harder. It seems if Lu Zong is to get out, we might need some time. After all, encountering this particular kind of situation isn't something just anyone can handle.”

Everyone outside heard Old Man Qian’s words perfectly, and Lu Zong committed every syllable to memory. Hearing it only made him feel worse; he was actually being interred as a sacrifice for this corpse! It was supremely unjust. But then, remembering that Old Man Qian knew about this tomb, he must also know the solution. Panicked and desperate, he asked, “Old Man Qian, do you have a way to save me? Hurry up and dig me out of this grave!”

Old Man Qian calmly observed the already flustered group, then stated with composure, “Very well, since that’s the case, I’ll give it a try. We’ll start working tonight at midnight. Everyone cooperate with me. I guarantee we’ll save Lu Zong. For now, everyone stay put and rest; don’t move around.” With that, he led the way, crouching on the ground to rest. Lu Zong found a relatively clean stool to sit on, his eyes fixed on the corpse, thinking how utterly shameful it was to be buried alive for this dead body.

It was nearly midnight now; time was running short. Old Man Qian and his party had to enter the ancient tomb and rescue Lu Zong before dawn, or serious trouble might ensue. Ma Xiong and Ge Mei appeared very tense. Although they weren't tomb raiding experts, they weren't overly afraid of the act itself, since their professions were tangentially related to grave robbing. Despite knowing the inherent danger, they felt compelled to act, driven by a specific, boastful promise made at some past time which had led Lu Zong and Old Man Qian to wrongly accept their supposed expertise. In truth, while they did have some history with tomb raiding activities, it was always limited to lookout duty; neither had ever actually entered any ancient tomb.

Both of them had heard too many tales about the risks of grave robbing. Ge Mei once saw professors climb out of a tomb empty-handed, faces dark green, quickly shouting at people to pile the dirt back on, leaving in a hurry without taking anything, while making sure to instruct others never to disturb that tomb again. This was because certain tombs simply could not be touched. Ge Mei had heard classmates say that the reason for their hasty retreat might have been the awakening of the ‘Zongzi’—which is what they called zombies. These were corpses transformed into vengeful entities that attacked tomb robbers after sensing human presence, categorized alongside mummies and water-preserved corpses.

The existence of the ‘Zongzi’ was merely legend, and neither Ge Mei nor Ma Xiong had ever witnessed one. Of course, this might simply be because they had never entered a tomb, leaving them ignorant of the real reason the professors left empty-handed. However, one thing they both knew for certain was that any grave robbing operation had to be concluded before cockcrow; otherwise, it could trigger the awakening of the ‘Zongzi,’ an event from which no mortal could escape.

Therefore, Ge Mei felt their time was extremely tight, desperately so!

At this moment, Old Man Qian and Ma Xiong had lit torches around the area and begun clearing the weeds from the top of the ancient tomb. Only Ma Xiong was busy working above ground, while Old Man Qian held a blueprint, gesturing instructions with it. The drawing in his hand was clearly the floor plan of some structure, very likely this very tomb. Ma Xiong glanced at it, wondering privately how Old Man Qian possessed a blueprint for a tomb thousands of years old, but he asked no questions, quietly following the directions. Ge Mei, however, was clearly more nervous than the others; her whispered directions of "Here!" and "There!" were tinged with tremor. In fact, Ge Mei was a Hunan girl; in her hometown, grave robbing was rampant, with entire families often engaged in the trade.

Before long, following Old Man Qian’s instructions, Ma Xiong and Ge Mei cleared an open space of about ten square meters in the designated spot. This patch of earth looked no different from its surroundings; there was no visible trace of a burial mound. Based on past experience, large tombs usually featured significant earth mounds, but this ancient tomb did not. Li Yingdong knew this well, which made him immediately suspicious of the owner who had hired them.

However, the reward Ge Mei and Ma Xiong stood to gain from this operation was the living Lu Zong, not treasure from the tomb. Old Man Qian had made it clear that any artifacts found inside were merely a bonus; they absolutely would not take a single cent of whatever priceless treasures they might discover.

Of course, for Ge Mei and Ma Xiong, Lu Zong himself represented a substantial sum; whether the tomb contained treasure was now secondary. The crucial thing was extracting the living Lu Zong.

It was time to begin in earnest.

Ma Xiong first picked up his iron shovel, spat on his palms, and started digging the robbery tunnel. Following the markings on the blueprint, he chose a downward, slanting approach. If nothing went wrong, after digging down a few meters, they should hit a wall. Old Man Qian had repeatedly stressed that this tomb would not be difficult to breach, and the two believed him. The angle of the tunnel was not severe, barely wide enough for one person. Old Man Qian divided the labor into two shifts: he and Ma Xiong would dig, while Ge Mei used a pulley system with a basket above ground to haul out the earth. Due to the limited time, everyone worked with all their might, and the tunnel quickly reached a depth of several meters. Ma Xiong and Old Man Qian were both exhausted, but Ma Xiong refused to let Ge Mei enter the shaft, so they continued rotating shifts until, finally, they struck the outer wall of the tomb. Ma Xiong was down in the shaft when his shovel struck something with a loud clang. Old Man Qian heard it instantly and roared, “Stop!” Ma Xiong immediately froze his action upon hearing the command.

If the shovel had indeed hit a brick wall of the tomb, it meant the first major obstacle had appeared.

Old Man Qian called Ma Xiong up and climbed in himself to meticulously inspect the spot they had hit.

The shovel remained embedded in the dirt. Old Man Qian carefully pulled it out, then took a small trowel and began scraping away the hard earth beneath his feet. As expected, within moments, he uncovered the outline of several wall bricks. The tunnel position was ideal, having struck the vertical face of the wall at precisely the right angle. Old Man Qian took out the blueprint again, holding his lighting lamp overhead to study it closely.

The paper in his hand was indeed the floor plan of this tomb, given to him by someone he had encountered previously. Old Man Qian naturally wondered why that person knew about this tomb and possessed its layout. However, the person had refused to answer any questions about the source, forbidding any further inquiries, only demanding that Old Man Qian follow their instructions precisely. And among those instructions was the matter of this very wall—it was the first critical point because although the blueprint marked the presence of a wall, the exact structure of this barrier could have countless variations. Old Man Qian knew this implicitly. Although he had never formally entered an ancient tomb based on past experience, he had heard many legends regarding tomb walls. Any such structure, he knew, inevitably contained traps; the more important the tomb, the more intricate and dangerous the mechanisms. Among the more common hazards were hidden pockets of poison sand or toxic water, meaning that if a robber accidentally breached the wall, they would often never return. Therefore, one had to exercise extreme caution when encountering any wall in an ancient tomb.

Of course, some tomb walls were merely simple structures of brick and mortar.

Old Man Qian understood this, but it had to be verified before any further action.

Old Man Qian examined the blueprint carefully, then surveyed the area around the brick wall, estimating its position within the tomb structure. After a few minutes, he confirmed their location was correct: they were situated about two-thirds of the way down from the ceiling. If they dug further along the wall, they would reach the bottom of the tomb. However, this course of action was only contingent on the wall being free of traps. If there were no mechanisms, he would simply blast through the wall, saving them hours of labor.