Ma Xionglu stared intently at Elder Qian, who was trying so hard, and then his thoughts drifted to the damned Lu Zong, wondering where that bastard was hiding. That guy deserved to be cursed; if he had just stayed put, I wouldn't have had to search for him with such difficulty. But where could Lu Zong have possibly hidden? That burial tomb was only so large, visible in a single sweeping glance, yet why couldn't he pinpoint Lu Zong's location?

He stopped dwelling on it, realizing the more he thought, the more confused and dejected he became. It was better not to think at all, but rather to place all his hope in Elder Qian. Seeing the elder's resolute expression, he believed Qian was certainly capable of rescuing Lu Zong.

In a moment, he noticed Elder Qian’s expression suddenly turn grave. He keenly focused on every movement the elder made. He watched as the mist encircling the dried corpse now completely obscured it. Under Elder Qian’s chanting, as if unable to bear the solitude, the mist desperately burrowed into the seams of the mummy’s clothing. An unbelievable sight began to unfold: once the mist penetrated, the corpse’s shriveled skin suddenly grew supple and plump. Before long, the body actually began to swell, and the skin became a thousand times better than before. If one hadn't known better, they would have sworn the person had only just died. Ma Xiong gasped, his mouth agape, utterly unwilling to accept the reality before him. Yet, he couldn't deny it; he had witnessed it firsthand, paying meticulous attention, so it couldn't be some hallucination.

He felt his brain simply couldn't process the current situation. He had to shake his head and rack his brain, but ultimately came up with nothing. He could only watch silently, observing Elder Qian’s intentions.

Elder Qian, seeing the dried corpse transformed into the semblance of a recently deceased person, allowed a satisfied smile to touch his lips. He looked once more at the mummy, carefully examining its face. Suddenly, Ma Xiong seemed to recall something, quickly turning his gaze toward the corpse’s face. He remembered that the face had previously morphed into Lu Zong’s likeness. Now, its features should have shrunk back to a normal human size. He wondered if it still resembled Lu Zong.

Perhaps Elder Qian was thinking the same thing. After completing all necessary procedures, he gently turned Lu Zong’s downward-facing body over again, scrutinizing his face intently. Then, he smiled.

Ma Xiong’s gaze finally locked onto Lu Zong’s face. He saw a living, breathing Lu Zong appearing right before him. The former mummy was now the living Lu Zong, his good friend. Ma Xiong wrestled internally; he could not reconcile the fact that his best friend had emerged from a dried corpse. He cursed silently, certain that Elder Qian was playing some trick, vowing revenge once this was over.

He shifted his eyes away from the small opening and settled on Ge Mei’s face. Seeing Ge Mei looking melancholic, seemingly lost in thought, he quickly asked, “Ge Mei, what are you thinking about so intently? Come look quickly! Do you know what I just saw?”

Ge Mei remained completely unaffected by Ma Xiong’s words, still staring blankly into space. Ma Xiong felt a wave of confusion at Ge Mei’s lack of curiosity. What could possibly be more important than Lu Zong right now? He walked over to Ge Mei, closely observing her perfect figure, and asked, “Hey, Young Miss, what’s on your mind? Isn't the safety of our friend paramount right now?”

But Ge Mei still ignored him, remaining lost in her reverie.

Ma Xiong finally grew angry and burst out, “What the hell are you thinking about? Come look! Our companion, Lu Zong, has vanished! And you aren't worried at all?”

Ge Mei gave Ma Xiong a strangely confident look, said nothing, merely lowered her head, considered for a moment, and then replied, “No need to worry. Elder Qian will find a way to get him back for you. Getting worked up won't help. Let’s wait here quietly. Elder Qian will surely rescue Lu Zong soon.” It was clear, even to a fool like Ma Xiong, that she was brushing him off. He roared again, “You’re not concerned! Think about who caused Lu Zong to end up like this! We saved your life, and this is how you repay us? Do you even know Lu Zong’s condition? He’s turned into a dried corpse! Elder Qian used sorcery, dark magic, to transform a mummy into Lu Zong’s appearance. Do you know that?”

Ge Mei answered with total lack of surprise, “I know. How could I not?”

Ma Xiong trembled, stammering out, “You know? How do you know? Impossible! How could you possibly know?” He muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with suspicion. He felt that Ge Mei was more than just a trapped girl; she possessed Han Chong’s body, and it wasn't entirely due to the curse—though it was certainly related.

Ge Mei looked at the utterly astonished Ma Xiong and explained with a smile, “I was just teasing you, and you started it! Now, tell me, what exactly happened to Lu Zong?”

Ma Xiong glared at the mercurial woman before him, feeling both amused and irritated. At a time like this, she was still joking—she must be crazy. However, since Lu Zong’s safety was at stake, he could only tell her the truth. He said, “I just saw Elder Qian use that mummy to create a likeness of Lu Zong. I suspect he plans to substitute the corpse for the real Lu Zong. I can’t allow that! I can’t let my friend become some grotesque half-human thing. Ge Mei, do you have any ideas?”

Ge Mei pondered for a moment. “Perhaps. Let me see what’s going on.” She then leaned her head toward the front of the tent, but the instant her eyes met the small opening, she exclaimed in surprise, “What? Why can’t I see anything?”

Ma Xiong scoffed, “Impossible,” and quickly pressed his eye to the opening. Sure enough, he could see nothing now. Inside was nothing but a vast expanse of blackness—he couldn't see a thing. He reached out and tapped the small hole, thinking the opening itself might be unstable. The most direct, straightforward way to fix such a problem, in his experience with home appliances, was to give it a good thump. He brought his eye back to the opening, filled with renewed hope, but again, he found nothing amiss. His head began to ache; he didn’t know what to do next, uncertain if Elder Qian would truly graft Lu Zong’s soul onto the corpse and present the mummy as a final answer to him. He cast a worried glance at the hole, then squatted on the ground. Ge Mei was right; anxiety served no purpose now. It was better to wait quietly for the situation to unfold, as things would eventually sort themselves out.

Before anything could sort itself out, however, he heard a coarse laugh echoing from the tunnel. He whipped his head around and saw Elder Qian walking toward him, a smile fixed on his face, holding Lu Zong by the arm. The smile radiating from the elder could kill a man. He looked at Lu Zong, who was also smiling, and was utterly stunned. Could Elder Qian really bring the dead back to life?

He approached Lu Zong, who suddenly embraced him enthusiastically, saying, “Ma Xiong, you son of a bitch, I missed you! Why the hell didn’t you go with Elder Qian to save me?”

Seeing the vividly alive Lu Zong, he could scarcely believe his eyes, unable to fathom what was happening—was this the real Lu Zong or not? Still, proper etiquette demanded a response, so he leaned in and hugged the man.

But in that embrace, he instantly felt something was wrong. In the past, no matter how long they had been separated, even if they hadn’t met for ten years, the greeting would amount to a friendly punch on the shoulder. But now, Lu Zong had hugged him. He had to doubt Lu Zong’s identity again.

He turned to look at Elder Qian, who was watching them both with that unwavering smile. Noticing Ma Xiong staring, the elder quickly smoothed things over, saying, “Look how excited you two are just meeting after a few days apart! I think we should leave quickly; there’s no sense wasting time here.”

Lu Zong quickly chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, let’s listen to Elder Qian and go quickly. I have a strange feeling about this place; it’s dangerous. Let’s go, let’s go.” He stepped forward, grabbed Ma Xiong’s arm, and tried to pull him ahead.

This solidified Ma Xiong’s conviction completely. He turned back to fix Elder Qian with a menacing glare, his tone noticeably sharp and angry. He stared into the still-smiling face of the elder and demanded, “Elder Qian, we trusted you completely, and you betray me! Tell me, where is the real Lu Zong?”

Elder Qian glanced at Ma Xiong, then fearfully looked behind him at Lu Zong, pointing and saying, “He is Lu Zong. What? You don’t recognize him?”

Ma Xiong replied, “Now, tell me honestly, where did the real Lu Zong go?”

At that moment, the Lu Zong behind him stepped forward and pointed at himself, saying, “Ma Xiong, what’s wrong with you? I am Lu Zong! Have you forgotten me after just a few days? Really, look at me! I am Lu Zong.”

Ma Xiong turned back to look at the one claiming to be Lu Zong and answered in a stiff voice, “No, you are not. You are not Lu Zong at all; you are nothing but a dried corpse.”