It was obvious the Persian merchant had wanted to make a trade just moments ago, but now, with the light of day, he had vanished again, leaving Zhou Huan truly bewildered. He looked at his beloved apprentice under the withered vines, who suddenly detached himself from them. Shi Bingyuan, previously entangled by the dry creepers, suddenly dropped down from the vines. Zhou Huan smiled with relief, "Bingyuan, thank goodness that foreign devil didn't get you. That night's illusion really tested us."

A trace of fatigue remained in Shi Bingyuan's eyes. He squatted on the ground, clutching his chest, breathing heavily. Once his breathing evened out, he felt all over his body, then turned back with a joyous laugh, "Master, I'm fine. The curse in this tomb chamber is truly malevolent. What do we do next?"

"Simple. You saw it just now; the phantom who emerged looked exactly like Long Sheng. He's likely the originator from his family. We'll start our investigation from there. As for finding Old Cripple Huang's bones, forget it. You heard it earlier; when the Japanese arsenal was blown up, I imagine his remains were blown to smithereens, likely unrecoverable. Since we can't investigate the dead, we'll investigate the living—we'll surely find a lead." After analyzing this, Zhou Huan suddenly remembered Mr. Wang's hasty departure earlier and wondered what had happened.

Zhou Huan dialed Mr. Wang's number. A female secretary answered, "Master Zhou, the General Manager is sleeping. If you have any matters, perhaps you should come see him in person."

"Oh, very well. Let him rest well; he is old after all!" Hanging up, Zhou Huan finally stepped out of the tomb chamber. He suddenly felt the sun outside, its warmth inducing drowsiness. When he looked back at the chamber, thick, rolling yin energy was slowly drifting out of it.

Dozens of meters away from the tomb entrance, three or four police officers were gathered, seemingly watching the chamber. Zhou Huan understood clearly; these fellows must have been terrified by the two painters who died yesterday, which explained the crowd.

Before Zhou Huan had walked fifty meters, he heard someone running breathlessly from outside the excavation site, shouting, "Brother Huan, Brother Huan, I found what you wanted!" The person running was Dongzi. His speed was top-notch. He rushed up to Zhou Huan and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his bag, handing it over.

"Brother, look at these books, are these what you wanted to see!" Dongzi spoke with unbridled excitement, still the simple-minded animal he was.

Seeing what was written on the paper, Zhou Huan immediately frowned in worry. He then helplessly passed the paper to Shi Bingyuan with a look of resignation, "Take a look, perhaps you'll find these interesting."

Shi Bingyuan held the paper with both hands and murmured, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms Picture Story, Customs and People of the Western Regions, Loving Allah..." As he read these titles, he swallowed hard, then respectfully handed the paper back to Dongzi with both hands, "Dongzi, these are all fine books, but I feel like a picture story book like Journey to the West is missing, specifically the preschool version, bracketed." After saying this, Shi Bingyuan smiled and walked away.

Dongzi took the paper back from Bingyuan, scratched his head, and then muttered to himself, "Is there something wrong with these books? Do they really mention Persia? I even checked the dictionary; the Western Regions back then was Persia. Where did I go wrong?" Confused, Dongzi trailed behind Zhou Huan and Shi Bingyuan as they walked away dejectedly.

Dragging his weary body toward his car, Zhou Huan got in and told Dongzi, "Dongzi, I'm begging you for a favor. Go buy some food for us two. I’m going to sleep in the car for a bit; I have things to do later."

"Oh, sure!" Dongzi replied honestly and turned to leave.

Then Zhou Huan called out to him again, "Wait, when you see Archaeologist Long Sheng later, come wake me up."

Zhou Huan and Shi Bingyuan had stayed in the tomb chamber all night. Even the best or most capable person couldn't withstand such an ordeal. Both fell into a deep sleep in the car, this rest comparable to the sleep of an infant.

It was high noon when Dongzi gently nudged Zhou Huan's shoulder, "Brother, Brother, wake up! Archaeologist Long Sheng has come looking for you personally. Get up quickly!"

Zhou Huan lazily opened his eyes, stretching his limbs. The food Dongzi had bought that morning was already on the car seat, now ice-cold. Long Sheng stood outside the car, holding that copy of the Quran, smiling at Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan hurriedly rolled down the window, "Long Sheng, please wait just a moment. Let me eat something first, and I'll be right out." Then Zhou Huan grabbed Shi Bingyuan, "Get up, time to eat and get to work!" The master and disciple began devouring the food voraciously, finishing everything Dongzi had bought in no time.

"Dongzi, you really know us best, knowing what to buy. Here’s what, go back and find Tian Xiong. You two go to the Andong Historical Archives and look up the past history of Andong. Remember, the Andong Historical Archives. You must memorize the history of Andong. I want the whole story when you return. Go now!" After dispatching Dongzi, Zhou Huan invited Long Sheng into the car.

Once inside, Long Sheng grinned widely, "Hehe, Master Zhou, I've examined this Quran. The combination of characters on the ceiling really isn't explained here. However, that Persian Exorcism book does contain similar characters. Translated by the exorcist's terms, it means: 'With the blessing of God, our blood, and the bones after death, we sacrifice to the curse in my heart. I demand my blood and the moon, and may all those I hate, those who harm me, and those who are against me be killed.'"

"That's the meaning?" Zhou Huan was skeptical. As a devout Muslim, one would normally expect thoughts of serenity and peace. Why would someone curse even after death, demanding blood and bone?

Long Sheng nodded, "Yes, that's what the book says. But I feel this sentence is the same as this one in the Quran." Long Sheng then flipped open the Quran, pointing to a sentence, "Master Zhou, look. This sentence translates to peace and happiness, wishing for perfect health. Look closely at the exorcist's words again—are they the same meaning? Moreover, the writing style is identical in both: interwoven phrases within an overall pattern."

"What? Where are these two sentences the same?" Zhou Huan clearly pointed out the differences.

Long Sheng smiled again, "Look, the writing of this phrase is the same, but the translated meaning differs in the different books. This means whoever wrote this curse must be a master. Do you have any further doubts?"

Hearing this, Zhou Huan seemed to grasp something. Indeed, that was the case. The style of writing appeared identical, but looking closely at the annotations in the two books revealed different script. Although Zhou Huan couldn't read Arabic, he could clearly tell the written characters were demonstrably different.

"Thank you so much, Long Sheng. You should go attend to your business first. Inform me immediately if you uncover anything new. I have a few things to sort out. Oh, and tell everyone not to enter the tomb chamber again. Give me three days; I'll settle things here, and then you can resume your archaeology." After speaking, Zhou Huan bid farewell to Long Sheng and drove toward Mr. Wang's company. Upon arrival, he saw Mr. Wang’s car parked at the entrance. He and Shi Bingyuan went up to the top-floor office.

Entering the office, Elder Wang was speaking with a doctor.

"Doctor Wang, we are essentially family. Can you help me with this matter? I want to have the deceased autopsied. I truly need to see how this young man died—he died in the middle of the night at the excavation site." Zhou Huan could hear Mr. Wang's voice perfectly clearly.

Zhou Huan also found Dr. Wang's voice very familiar; that hoarse sound belonged to only one person.

"Chairman Wang, this matter is easily arranged. As long as you sign this paper, I will arrange the surgery promptly; twenty minutes will wrap it up. You can observe as much as you like, or find someone knowledgeable to look. We need to know what happened, but my asking price is..."