Though surrounded by such a trove of gold and jewels, most lost their composure, yet only Lu Zong maintained a shred of clarity, cautioning them, "Everyone, stop gawking. This isn't the time to admire these treasures."

His voice felt jarringly out of place in the quiet, eerie atmosphere. Awakened from their reverie, the others turned to Lu Zong with irritation, perhaps feeling he had driven away that fleeting sense of wonder. Ma Xiong cursed, "Damn it, this isn't the moment to act high and mighty. What's the harm in looking?"

Lu Zong’s expression tightened as he quickly tried to explain, "No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, we shouldn't just stand here dumbfounded. Hurry up and take this stuff; what good is just staring at it?"

The others slapped their foreheads. "Right, right. How could we miss such a simple point? Our brains must have turned into the very zombies we're scared of." With that, Ma Xiong stepped forward first, throwing his arms around a large ingot, attempting to stuff it into his robes. But in that instant, he felt a powerful force shoving him from behind, as if someone was pushing him bodily against the stone wall. He instantly released the ingot, realizing that uncanny force must have originated from the treasure itself. It seemed getting the wealth out of this tomb was going to take some real effort.

He quickly turned back to Lu Zong and the others, only to find them staring at him curiously, still not grasping what had happened. Then, he saw the doorway behind Lu Zong slowly swinging shut. Ma Xiong froze, not understanding the situation, when suddenly he noticed Ge Mei beginning to fade, becoming indistinct. Ma Xiong’s heart clenched, sensing something bizarre was about to occur. Yet, he couldn't just watch Ge Mei vanish into thin air before him. Disregarding his own safety, he thrust out both hands and grabbed Ge Mei firmly. Ge Mei suddenly opened his eyes as if startled awake, looking around in confusion, then his features tightened; clearly, he too was unaware of their predicament. At that moment, Ma Xiong felt his own arm growing slowly hot, but he didn't care; he pulled Ge Mei with all the strength he possessed. Strangely, the opposing force didn't feel as strong as he expected, and after just two or three desperate tugs, Ma Xiong easily yanked Ge Mei clear.

Ge Mei bent over, panting heavily, sucking in huge gulps of air. Lu Zong had no idea what had transpired, but seeing the look on Ge Mei’s face, he already anticipated something terrible. He hurried forward, trying to examine the situation, but found nothing conclusive, eventually turning to Ma Xiong. "Ma Xiong, what just happened? It felt like you two suddenly had a seizure."

Ma Xiong only kept gasping for breath, offering no reply, his gaze fixed blankly on Ge Mei, who remained silent, head bowed. Lu Zong stood there foolishly. "What in the world was that, Ma Xiong? I saw you grab the ingot, and then you seemed to realize something, hastily dropping the jewelry. Then you turned back to us two looking frantic, almost like you transformed into someone else, grabbing Ge Mei’s hand as if fighting something for him. What happened between you two? It wasn't anything illicit, was it?"

Ma Xiong shot Lu Zong a sharp look, cursing under his breath, "Damn it, at a time like this, you can still crack jokes. Do you have any idea? I suddenly felt someone pushing me from behind. I thought it was someone, so I spun around, but to my astonishment, I saw Ge Mei slowly blurring out. At the same time, the stone door behind Ge Mei was closing. In a panic, I reached out and grabbed him, but it was like Ge Mei was being pulled by something unseen, forcing me to hold on tight."