Old Man Qian slowly cradled his head with both hands, supporting a chunk of brick overhead. The brick seemed remarkably solid, jammed tight between the fissures, refusing to budge. A look of triumphant joy spread across Old Man Qian's face, and Ma Xiong felt a thrill of excitement in his own chest. Finally, he might see his companion. It was natural to feel a surge of happiness.

His gaze followed Old Man Qian upward, but once the elder was up, Ma Xiong would see only absolute blackness, as the tomb had been pitch-dark to begin with. He silently pleaded with Old Man Qian in his mind to light a candle, or he wouldn't see a thing, and worry would consume him.

Old Man Qian did not disappoint. He lit a candle. With that, Ma Xiong’s anxiety eased. Even the smallest point of light in profound darkness can offer people the hope and courage needed to survive. His eyes swept the circumference of the tomb, hoping to find any trace of Lu Zong. But there was no sign of Lu Zong anywhere. The furnishings inside the chamber were basically unchanged, and the desiccated corpse still lay motionless on the ground—its shrunken body a stark warning of the danger here. Its face was still pointed downward. Looking at the corpse bearing his own features, Zhi Xiong felt a bizarre mix of amusement and irritation. Who the hell hated him enough to do this? Ah, Lu Zong, Lu Zong, I’ll get you back for this when I have the chance.

But why was Lu Zong not here? Ma Xiong’s mind swam with confusion. Lu Zong had been trapped here just yesterday, and the only exit had been sealed off. Lu Zong couldn't have left. So why was there no sign of him?

Could it be that Lu Zong had been eaten by some beast or monster? No, that couldn't be right; there should be bones left behind, and signs of a struggle. Yet, the scene remained orderly, without any evidence of a fight. This only deepened Ma Xiong’s curiosity. His gaze locked onto Old Man Qian, intent on discovering what the elder was truly up to.

Old Man Qian calmly surveyed his surroundings first. It seemed to match his expectations exactly. He nodded slightly, the smile never leaving the corner of his mouth. Ma Xiong found this interesting. The old man appeared to know this place intimately, which explained his composure. Old Man Qian continued his inspection of the area, and the smile gradually faded from his face, though he showed no panic—likely just a touch of disappointment at not finding Lu Zong.

However, he quickly recovered. He made a circuit of the chamber, then knelt again. From his pocket, he pulled out a talisman resembling yellowed paper, waved it before him a couple of times, and then set it alight. He tossed the burning talisman into the air and began muttering to himself. Ma Xiong could only see his lips moving, unable to decipher a single word. He found this method jarring; perhaps this was what it felt like to be deaf—to know that words were being spoken, but never grasping their meaning.

The burning talisman drifted in the air for quite a while before finally moving slowly in one direction. Seeing that the talisman had set its course, Old Man Qian hurriedly knelt down, bowed deeply once, and then remained kneeling, facing the direction the talisman was traveling.

Ma Xiong was even more astonished. He could not have imagined the renowned Old Man Qian kneeling like this, bowing to empty air. He immediately sensed the profound mystery of this tomb and a nascent feeling of reverence began to bloom in his heart. After an indeterminate time, the yellow talisman drifted slowly down and settled upon the desiccated corpse, finally extinguishing itself. A wave of joy washed over Old Man Qian’s face. Thrilled, he grabbed the rope—the same one that had guided the sound yesterday—and flipped the corpse over.

At this sight, Ma Xiong nearly choked. What he saw was not the corpse that so closely resembled him. He stared intently at the dried body and was shocked to realize that the face belonged to Lu Zong.

Suddenly, his brain seemed unable to process the complex, intertwined reality. He rubbed his head, unable to make sense of it. Could Lu Zong have turned into a mummy? That was impossible; he had only been away for two days. How could Lu Zong have desiccated so fast? Was it a case of a thousand years passing inside the cave for every day outside? No, this wasn't the heavens.

But if this was Lu Zong’s mummy, where had his own doppelgänger corpse gone? Had Lu Zong’s mummy eaten it? No, that was absurd. The more he thought, the less sense it made. Feeling overwhelmed by the influx of information, he quickly redirected his focus back to Old Man Qian.

Old Man Qian had now set the rope on fire. It ignited with a roar, as if drenched in gasoline, and thick smoke rapidly filled the entire burial chamber. He could no longer see Old Man Qian or the corpse, and a sudden anxiety gripped him.

He pulled his eyes away from the small opening, seeking relief for his strained vision. He rubbed them hard and suddenly noticed Ge Mei staring fixedly at him. Intrigued, he asked, “Ge Mei, what are you looking at? Never seen such a handsome guy before?”

Ge Mei answered without hesitation, “I’ve seen plenty of handsome guys, but never one so ugly.” Ma Xiong wilted like a lettuce left out in the frost. However, the life-or-death situation of Lu Zong was paramount. He couldn't afford to dwell on Ge Mei’s cutting remarks or insults, so he pressed his eyes back to the small opening to peer inside.

This time, he saw the dense smoke swirling around Old Man Qian for a few rotations before suddenly coalescing into the shape of a person, winding around the elder’s body. Old Man Qian sat utterly still, pointing a finger at the corpse. Then, his lips curled, and judging by the movement, Zhi Xiong guessed that Old Man Qian was saying “Go.”

The humanoid smoke obediently drifted toward the corpse. A very strange thought suddenly struck Ma Xiong, though he wasn't entirely sure of it. The thought startled him, and he quickly tried to reassure himself, saying, “Until the very end, no one knows what’s truly happening, so let’s not rush.” With that, he instinctively patted the area over his heart, trying to calm his racing pulse.

Ge Mei saw the gesture and let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “I never thought a grown man could be so terrified by his own thoughts. That’s truly something to behold.” Ma Xiong quickly retorted, “I’m just emotionally rich! I care about my friend, what’s wrong with that? I care too much about my friends, that’s why I made that involuntary gesture. It’s because I’m naturally a loyal person, unlike some people who are just born heartless.”

When the words "heartless" were spoken, Ge Mei seemed deeply provoked. He shot upright and lunged toward Ma Xiong, grabbing him by the collar and snarling viciously, “What the hell did you just say? Say it again, I dare you!”

Ma Xiong was utterly unprepared for such a fierce reaction from Ge Mei. He had no defensive measures in place, but he felt that Ge Mei’s strength was astonishingly immense—it didn’t feel like a girl’s strength at all, more like that of a man. Before he could figure out what had happened, he started trembling slightly.

Seeing Ge Mei’s fierce expression, he hastened to explain, “Ge Mei, let go of me! I was just joking, why are you taking it so seriously?”

Ge Mei’s expression finally softened. Realizing his own outburst, he released Ma Xiong, though a look of fright and apprehension lingered on his face. Ma Xiong rubbed his neck, gasping for breath on the floor for a long time before gradually recovering. He coughed twice, then looked at Ge Mei. “Ge Mei, what on earth possessed you? You nearly scared me to death just now. Don’t tell me you’re possessed too? I just said a—” Here, he learned his lesson and stopped himself from uttering the offending words, afraid that saying them again might bring further misfortune.

Ge Mei looked at the still highly shaken Ma Xiong and realized he had indeed overreacted. “Oh, I’m sorry. I got a little impulsive just now. I just remembered something from the past that made me sad. Don’t read too much into it. I was wrong just now. I apologize.”

Ma Xiong looked at Ge Mei, who was still caught in a state of extreme fear. A question arose in his mind: What did he mean? Ma Xiong had only called him loyal and then called him heartless. Why the violent reaction to the latter? Was he angry because Ma Xiong called him loyal? No, he only got angry when Ma Xiong called him heartless.

Thinking back, and recalling Old Man Qian constantly touching his chest, and the thief who tampered with Old Man Qian’s chest that night—could it be that Ge Mei was literally heartless? Was what was stolen from Old Man Qian that night his heart and lungs?

The thought that sprang to his mind seemed even more absurd. If one were heartless, how could they survive? Could they even be human? He shook his head with a small laugh, then looked at Ge Mei, concluding that Ge Mei must have betrayed someone in the past, which is why he reacted so strongly to being called heartless—one couldn't take the words at face value. With this thought, he felt a sense of quiet pride in his deduction.

He turned his concern back to Lu Zong and quickly peered into the small opening again, watching intently. He saw the dense smoke now slowly advancing toward the corpse, closing the distance rapidly until it completely enveloped the desiccated body. Ma Xiong couldn't see what was happening inside, only a vague layer of mist surrounding the corpse, and the beads of sweat forming profusely on Old Man Qian’s face. It was clear Old Man Qian was struggling intensely now.