Zhou Huan stepped out of the hotel, his mind instantly clearing. He glanced back at the female corpse he had let go of, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

This time, Zhou Huan rode in the police car driven by Xiao He directly to the scene of the incident. The scene was a construction site just about to begin work, surrounded by several tall signs bearing the name and phone number of Mr. Wang’s company. As soon as Zhou Huan saw the location, he laughed, "Xiao He, when did this happen?"

"Just now!"

Hearing this, Zhou Huan burst into loud laughter, "Mr. Wang was still arguing about leaving. Now look, he’ll have to come over soon enough. I’ll wait for him right here. When he arrives, I’ll start investigating."

"Master Zhou, Sister Wang, please have some tea first. We can discuss things once their boss arrives. In the meantime, we'll coordinate with the other departments on how to handle the situation here." The person who spoke was someone Zhou Huan had never seen before. This fellow was a four-eyed nerd, carrying a briefcase, sporting a haircut that would surely have gotten him executed during the anti-Japanese war—a collaborationist haircut—and his mouth was stained with tobacco.

"Where did this gentleman spring from? Looks like a salesman?" Zhou Huan asked him seriously.

Wang Xiaohe stepped forward and whispered to Zhou Huan, "He’s an archaeology expert sent by the state's archaeological team. His surname is..." Xiaohe thought for a long time, finally asking sheepishly, "Sir, may I ask your name?"

"No need for humility, my surname is Long, given name Sheng, one character!" The archaeologist grinned, displaying his large, slightly protruding front teeth, as he spoke to Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan scrutinized the man, muttering, "Long Sheng. It seems your father must have been a dragon to sire such a dragon son. But judging by your build, you truly resemble a dragon—all soft, every single bone."

"Hey, hey!" Zhou Huan's words were so direct that the expert, Long, became quite embarrassed.

In the distance, they saw a man step out of a car and stagger toward Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan laughed out loud, "How about that, Old Wang is here, isn't he? I told him to come with me and he refused. Now what? He has no choice but to come, right?"

Old Wang arrived, sweating profusely. Seeing Zhou Huan sitting comfortably in a chair, sipping hot tea, he managed a smile himself, "Really, I never expected something so miraculous to happen on my site. This must be an ancient tomb complex!"

"How do you know that?" Zhou Huan intentionally provoked Mr. Wang.

Mr. Wang frowned, "Isn't it obvious? So many archaeological experts are here. I can recognize at least a dozen archaeology guys, but this gentleman..." Mr. Wang’s gaze swept toward the collaborator-looking man from earlier, "...I’ve never seen before."

Zhou Huan immediately covered for the expert, "His surname is Long, given name Sheng. Simply put, he’s a born dragon relic." Old Wang chimed in with a laugh. Zhou Huan then turned back to Long Sheng, "Sorry about that, just joking. Don't mind me. Let's start work below!" Zhou Huan’s movements were incredibly fast; in an instant, he was standing before the female corpse, his eyes fixed intently on the body.

Mr. Wang descended into the pit and then asked, "How was this place discovered?"

"Boss, we found a stone sarcophagus while digging the foundation. We stopped immediately, but unexpectedly, when we opened it, inside was a perfectly preserved ancient female corpse, missing only her right hand. We searched the soil but couldn't find the hand, so we felt we should report it. That’s why all these archaeologists arrived, and Officer Wang also invited Master Zhou!" One of Old Wang’s subordinates explained to him.

Zhou Huan gave no reaction, still staring at the female corpse.

Mr. Wang then asked the assembled archaeologists, "Roughly what period does this female corpse belong to? Otherwise, I can assign men to guard this site twenty-four hours a day."

"This is a Han Dynasty female corpse. Why she ended up in our Northeast is unclear; that will require careful investigation. There is too little evidence, so we want to thoroughly examine the entire tomb complex here. It looks like a burial cluster, so we were just about to discuss whether you could postpone construction until we recover all the artifacts here."

Mr. Wang laughed heartily, "Why not? Use it. Just give me a call when you’re done, so we don't waste time later." Turning to his subordinates, he said, "Halt construction. We resume only after the archaeology is completely finished."

Zhou Huan stared at the female corpse for a full half an hour without uttering a word.

Wang Xiaohe nudged Zhou Huan from the side, "Hey, say something. How should we handle this corpse, or should we let the archaeologists take charge?"

"The body cannot be moved. It must be placed back into the stone coffin. This corpse is over a thousand years old. Once exposed to energy, such as moonlight, she might absorb Yin Qi. Over time, with enough absorption, she could undergo a drastic transformation, and then no one could control her!" Zhou Huan’s words were extremely grave, though his breath carried a strong scent of alcohol.

The archaeologists looked helpless, somewhat tense and embarrassed. One young man approached Zhou Huan, "Master Zhou, we... the stone chamber door shut by itself when we opened the coffin. We have no equipment, and the four of us really can't open this stone door?"

Zhou Huan shot the speaker a fierce look, "Why didn't you think about securing a fulcrum when you opened the coffin? What are you going to do now?" Then Zhou Huan conjured a talisman, waved his hand, and the charm flew to stick onto the sealing stone door of the chamber. Upon looking again, smoke began to rise from the stone door, and a wave of millennia-old dampness surged upward.

"Oh dear, this humidity, really!" Long Sheng tried to maintain his composure, but indeed, with his looks, calling him a collaborator was an overstatement. With that face, he was the first person Zhou Huan had ever seen whose ugliness made him want to punch him.

Zhou Huan grabbed Long Sheng, "You, go over there and lift the stone door for me. We need something to prop it up."

Long Sheng’s face turned green upon hearing this, "Master Zhou... I, how could I possibly lift this stone door? Don't joke with me!"

"Who's joking? If you don't lift it today, I’ll send a dozen ghosts and monsters to chase you. See what you do then!" Zhou Huan barked fiercely.

Long Sheng still dawdled, clearly unwilling to lift the stone door.

Zhou Huan seized Long Sheng by the neck with one hand and hauled him to the stone door, "Lift!"

Trembling, Long Sheng lightly placed his hands on the stone door and slowly pushed upward. The heavy stone door rumbled and began to rise slowly.

At this moment, everyone watching was stunned; this universally disliked-looking fellow could actually push open the stone door so effortlessly.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry and prop the door up with something before it gets difficult again," Zhou Huan appeared more professional than the archaeologists. The archaeologists rushed over with their equipment and securely fastened the stone door with their gear, then carefully lifted the Han Dynasty female corpse back into the sarcophagus.

Zhou Huan walked around the tomb chamber, which was vast. The walls were covered with Han Dynasty murals. Around the sarcophagus lay various pieces of Han pottery and debris; the craftsmanship was first-rate. Anyone possessing such skill today would surely be a master.

On the ceiling directly above the sarcophagus, some Arabic characters were carved—Persian script, as it was known at that time. Zhou Huan then called out, "Help! Whose eyesight is sharp? Draw these characters for me, and those patterns too. We'll find someone who knows Arabic to translate them later."

"Master Zhou, I know someone who does!" Someone pointed toward Long Sheng, "He’s Uyghur, and learned this stuff since childhood. Those patterns are probably common in his family."

Zhou Huan turned sharply to glare at Long Sheng, "You, come here, record this, draw it well, and translate it for me when we get back. I need to go back to sleep."

"Master Zhou, I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can't translate it for you!" Long Sheng put on airs this time, but he seemed serious.

Zhou Huan pondered for a moment, then roared again at Long Sheng, "Tell me, why won't you explain what this is all about?"

Long Sheng maintained a stern, serious expression, sweat gradually beading on his forehead.