Seeing Ge Mei's furious expression, Ma Xiong found her surprisingly beautiful at that moment. Distracted, he stared a moment too long, only to earn a sharp tirade from her: "What the hell are you looking at? Is there something on my face that warrants such lingering admiration? Whatever I have, you have too. What's so worth seeing? Hurry up and look into this little hole! Look closely. Can't you really see Lu Zong? Damn it, I’m starting to think there’s something wrong with your eyes!"

With that, he fixed Ge Mei with a murderous glare, his patience clearly wearing thin. Seeing Ge Mei so angry, Ma Xiong felt a strange sense of accomplishment, yet also a prickle of guilt. After all, this person was a complete stranger who was helping him, yet he was being ungrateful. It was certainly improper conduct. With no other choice, he obediently leaned his eyes back toward the opening of the hole. This time, however, he looked with genuine focus. He reasoned that since the inside of the tomb was pitch black earlier, he must have simply rushed his first inspection. If there truly was nothing inside, Ge Mei wouldn't be so insistent.

But this time, he was genuinely stunned. Inside was not darkness; quite the opposite of the previous two glances, it was brightly lit, as if illuminated by a one-hundred-watt bulb. He peered in, confused, a deep knot of suspicion forming in his mind. No wonder Ge Mei had insisted he look; there was clearly something significant hidden within.

Yet, what they saw was not Lu Zong, but Elder Qian. Elder Qian had not yet entered the tomb; he was still advancing down the narrow passageway. He walked unhurriedly, proceeding straight ahead without even glancing at his surroundings, as if walking on familiar ground. Ma Xiong watched him, perplexed by what Elder Qian was doing. Even someone as capable as himself should tread carefully in a tomb riddled with dangerous and precise mechanisms, yet Elder Qian seemed intimately acquainted with the area, effortlessly evading trap after trap. Ma Xiong was astonished, though this shock was soon overshadowed by a wave of relief. If Elder Qian had been here before, he must know the tomb’s mechanisms well, which meant he could rescue Lu Zong. A surge of joy washed over him.

In a flash, Elder Qian reached a thick wall. He tapped it, and an echoing, hollow sound resonated back. Ma Xiong rejoiced inwardly—it seemed Elder Qian had finally found the entrance to that tomb.

However, Elder Qian made no hasty move to enter. Instead, he sat down right in front of the burial chamber to meditate. Watching his calm composure, Ma Xiong almost felt the urge to rush forward and slap him across the face.

After sitting in silence for a while, he finally rose, surveyed his surroundings, and deliberately tapped the wall again. This time, the wall actually opened. A pair of shadowy, dark hands reached out from within, seized Elder Qian’s arm, and violently yanked him inside.

The view immediately plunged back into darkness; nothing could be seen, and Elder Qian had vanished. Yet, Ma Xiong was already deeply disturbed. He couldn't fathom why Elder Qian had bothered knocking. Soon, however, he realized something was terribly wrong—Elder Qian was definitely up to something. The location Elder Qian had just entered could not possibly be the tomb where Lu Zong was interred. Lu Zong's tomb was supposed to be surrounded by open space, accessible only from below. But Elder Qian had opened a door from the side. Therefore, the place he entered was not Lu Zong’s tomb at all. So where on earth had he gone?

He pulled his eyes back, looking at Ge Mei with suspicion, blinking not once. Perhaps Ge Mei was still angry. Noticing Ma Xiong staring at him again, he immediately cursed, "Damn it, what’s gotten into you today? Feeling bold, are we? Don't worry, if you show me even the slightest disrespect, I’ll beat you senseless."

Hearing this, Ma Xiong could only laugh inwardly at the absurdity of it. He figured he had never met such a temperamental girl. But her current demeanor was quite endearing, especially those puffed-out little lips—looking at them made him want to take a bite.

Still, he quickly shifted his gaze, moving it away from her face toward her chest. The slight rise and fall of her cleavage was enough to stir his primal instincts. Seeing Ma Xiong revert to leering, Ge Mei quickly changed the subject, fearing he might do something reckless: "No, no, stop that! Go back and look! See what Elder Qian is doing!"

The mention of Lu Zong’s safety instantly dissolved all of Ma Xiong’s lust. He explained seriously, "I saw Elder Qian enter a doorway, and then everything went pitch black. I don't know where he went. Oh, and I also saw a pair of dark claws grab Elder Qian and pull him in. Do you know what that was?"

Ge Mei considered this carefully, then shook her head. "I don't know. It must be some hidden chamber or mechanism below. He must have walked into an ambush and been captured."

Ma Xiong quickly countered, "That’s not right. Elder Qian seemed completely familiar with the place, like he’d been there before. He even tapped on the wall of that secret room, waited on the ground for a moment, and those dark claws didn't seem violent—they looked almost friendly. I wonder what they dragged him in there for?"

Ge Mei also frowned, deep in thought. But Ma Xiong’s logic seemed sound; Elder Qian must have an agenda. If he had been here before, why had they encountered him earlier? If this was Elder Qian’s second visit, then based on her own previous experience, she could have easily entered alone. Why bring them, these burdensome extras? The only explanation was that they still served a purpose for him. She decided she would press him for answers once Elder Qian returned.

With this resolution, she glanced at Ma Xiong, who had already pressed his eyes back against the little hole, watching intently. After a short while, he saw Elder Qian emerging from the interior. This time, Elder Qian looked much better; his face was no longer that frighteningly pale, bloodless white. Seeing Elder Qian emerge safely, Ma Xiong felt relieved, but simultaneously, he found himself glancing down at Ge Mei's chest again, as if something there was particularly noteworthy. This action piqued her curiosity just as much; she couldn't understand why Elder Qian kept looking at her chest—what was so captivating about her possessions?

Moreover, she noticed that Elder Qian maintained a subtle, enigmatic smile throughout. She couldn't grasp the reason for his amusement, but she observed his eyes were narrowed and his mouth curved slightly upwards. That smile felt hauntingly familiar. In that moment, she felt that Lu Zong and she were the biggest fools—mere pawns in the hands of others. It was a feeling she had encountered more than once before.

She felt a pang of sadness, sensing a pervasive feeling of being monitored—the cardinal sin for a trained operative. This was not the first time she had been targeted.

She looked over at Ge Mei. Ge Mei’s gaze was also fixed intently on the tomb wall, not on the opening. Following Ge Mei’s line of sight, Ma Xiong saw nothing unusual on the stone—just the same as the rest of the surface. However, he noticed Ge Mei’s expression slowly changing, as if sensing something intangible.

Ma Xiong grew perplexed. Could Ge Mei actually see something inside that was causing her expression to shift so fluidly? He quickly pressed his own eye back against the opening, peering in closely.

Suddenly, something seemed to dawn on Ma Xiong, and he hastily repositioned his eye at the small hole, looking inside. After an indeterminate time, he finally watched the darkness recede, replaced once more by brilliant light. Excitedly, he observed Elder Qian’s progress. Elder Qian had stopped at the very end of the passageway, facing a thick wall, with the return path behind him. Ma Xiong glanced back nervously, pondering, What has Elder Qian encountered? Why is he hesitating? Why hasn't he broken through that thick wall? If he's been here before, he must know the mechanism, which should make entry easy.

But Elder Qian remained motionless. He turned his head slightly and opened his mouth, seemingly speaking, yet Ma Xiong couldn't see anyone. He didn't know who Elder Qian was addressing, but based on his own deductions, he could hazard a guess: the unseen entity before Elder Qian must be connected to whatever was tethered inside the hole, and quite possibly that entity was the spectral thing itself.

His curiosity intensifying, Ma Xiong strained to see more clearly. Then, Elder Qian's next action became even more inexplicable: he suddenly knelt on the ground and bowed his head twice. To Ma Xiong and Ge Mei, this was baffling. Elder Qian was a figure of immense mystery and power. For such a formidable person to kneel to someone unseen suggested the invisible entity was terrifyingly powerful.

After several bows, Elder Qian rose, raised both hands above his head, and tapped them together. A look of victorious joy washed over his face. Then, pressing both hands against the tomb ceiling directly above his head, he pulled down sharply. A section of the stone wall fell away. Elder Qian immediately grabbed the loose stone segment and climbed up through the newly opened gap.

This time, it must be right, Ma Xiong muttered to himself. It seems Elder Qian has found the correct location. He breathed a profound sigh of relief in his heart.