The mouth of the cave was small, but once inside the tunnel, the space opened up considerably. Within the tunnel, Wang Guan only needed to slightly duck his head and bend his back to walk upright. But after only a few steps, he heard a snap, as if he had stepped on something. Using the sunlight streaming in from the entrance, Wang Guan looked down to see a skull, its eye sockets empty and black, grinning at him with bared teeth, startling him with an immediate feeling of his soul scattering.

For an instant, Wang Guan felt his heart almost stop beating, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his back became completely soaked.

After a long while, Wang Guan slowly regained his senses, stiffly backed up two steps, and sharply slapped his chest, gasping for air. One had to realize that seeing something up close was a completely different experience from sensing it from the outside with his special ability.

"Hoo… hoo…"

Exhaling deeply, Wang Guan felt that venturing into such places was not for ordinary people. Not to mention grave robbing—if one's courage wasn't large enough, if their mental fortitude wasn't strong enough, they would likely be scared to death.

Leaning against the cave entrance, bathed in the sunlight, Wang Guan calmed down after a while and activated his special ability, focusing his gaze on the few skeletons. In that instant, the state of those remains became crystal clear and utterly understandable to him.

These bodies had mostly decayed, scattered throughout the tunnel. However, one could vaguely count about seven or eight people. Moreover, judging by their clothing, two or three appeared to be commoners, while the rest seemed to be soldiers or similar personnel.

This was because Wang Guan observed that three or four skeletons were still adorned with swords and blades, their uniforms nearly identical, certainly not those of ordinary folk. As for the two or three commoners, they might have been guides who, after leading the soldiers here, were silenced.

Furthermore, Wang Guan discovered some scattered silver pieces and copper coins emitting a faint yellow glow beneath the clothing of these skeletons.

Seeing this, Wang Guan mustered his courage, used his small trowel to gently lift the clothing of one skeleton, and carefully retrieved a few copper coins to examine them closely. Upon looking, Wang Guan felt a mixture of surprise and joy. Even though the coins were somewhat oxidized and rusted, the inscriptions upon them were still discernible.

“West King Rewarded Merit.”

Seeing these characters, Wang Guan was certain that this tunnel concealed treasure, if not Zhang Xianzhong’s hoard itself, then something closely related to him.

At the same time, staring into the dark, winding tunnel of unknown length ahead, Wang Guan gritted his teeth and pulled out his flashlight to illuminate the path. Then, carefully avoiding the scattered remains, he slowly moved deeper inside.

Shuffling slowly, half an hour later, Wang Guan found that the end of the tunnel opened into a spacious cavern.

This cavern was only a short ten-meter distance from the entrance. Yet, every step along this stretch had been nerve-wracking for Wang Guan. Especially above, dust and tiny spiderwebs occasionally fell, making him jump at shadows and imagine threats in every rustle of grass.

Wang Guan cautiously entered the cavern and found several more skeletons here. However, among these remains, one was conspicuously prominent.

Under the beam of his flashlight, Wang Guan vaguely saw that this skeleton was clad in armor, seated alone in the very center of the cavern, while the other remains lay scattered beneath him in postures of supplication.

Seeing this arrangement, Wang Guan felt his heart pounding violently. Perhaps the skeleton in the armor was Zhang Xianzhong himself.

Yet, amidst his excitement, Wang Guan also felt a pang of disappointment. Because in the spacious cavern, aside from these few skeletons, there was nothing else. Most importantly, there was no mountain-high pile of gold and silver he had envisioned.

Wang Guan was perplexed. Zhang Xianzhong was, after all, the great King of the West, even the Emperor of the Great Western Dynasty. Even if he died amidst the chaos of war, his burial site shouldn't be this desolate, should it? Even without mountains of gold and jewels, there should have been some decent burial accompaniments.

Wang Guan scratched his head, examining the scene for a moment longer, and the more he looked, the more something felt wrong. The style of the armor on the skeleton did not seem to belong to an overwhelmingly powerful figure, but rather to a general or high-ranking officer.

“Perhaps this person isn’t Zhang Xianzhong, but one of his trusted generals.”

Wang Guan mused thoughtfully, stepping closer to the armored skeleton, preparing to reach in and search for anything within the armor that might prove the identity.

However, at that very instant, Wang Guan felt like his foot had stepped onto something soft and yielding, immediately followed by a sharp, biting sensation on his calf, as if something animal had struck him.

Wang Guan quickly retreated, shining his flashlight over. He saw a small, pitch-black snake, which vanished into the depths of the cavern in a flash, its tail wriggling away.

“Venomous snake, bad…”

Seeing this, a chill ran down Wang Guan's spine. He immediately felt a searing pain at the wound on his calf. Before he could fully react, his left leg went completely numb.

“I’m really finished this time.”

Wang Guan came back to his senses and thought about rolling up his pant leg, cutting the wound open to suck out the poison and draw blood. He hadn't anticipated that the snake's venom would be so potent; within moments, it rushed upward, making his head swim, and he slumped to the ground. Soon, Wang Guan felt his body succumb to paralysis; not just his legs and feet, but his hands and entire body became immobile.

This situation was the most fatal, leaving no opportunity for self-rescue.

Surprisingly, at this moment, Wang Guan felt little panic. Perhaps the event was so sudden that it stalled his thought process, leaving no time for fear.

However, once still, Wang Guan clearly heard the violent beating of his own heart, realizing the shadow of death was approaching. He tried to struggle, but found his body extremely weak, lacking even the strength to shout.

Powerless, he could only wait for death.

“Right, the ability…”

Yet, at this critical juncture of life and death, a fierce will to survive made Wang Guan recall his last straw. With a touch of desperation, he concentrated all his mental focus and activated his special ability.

In that instant, Wang Guan saw brilliant purple-gold light shimmering before his eyes, followed by waves of spiritual energy surging into his body. The cool current temporarily suppressed the snake’s venom.

“It actually works!” Wang Guan was both shocked and delighted, quickly urging the current to circulate within his body. His bitten left leg received particular attention.

The cool current flowed and washed over him like a gentle stream. Soon, Wang Guan felt sensation returning to his body, and his previously numb left leg began to throb with intense pain.

Pain, at this moment, was far better than utter numbness.

If it hurt, it meant there was hope; the worst was no sensation at all—that truly meant he was done for.

Ten minutes later, Wang Guan felt his spirit somewhat depleted and deactivated his special ability. Although his body was still weak, he managed to struggle and sit up successfully.

Wang Guan quickly pulled up his trouser leg, shone the flashlight, and saw that his calf was already red and swollen, especially the site of the bite, which had turned completely black, looking hideous and terrifying.

Composing himself, Wang Guan hastily opened his backpack, taking out a roll of bandage, scissors, and ointment. After all, having crossed mountains and rivers, he had anticipated bumps and minor injuries, so he had prepared healing supplies.

Recalling basic first-aid knowledge, Wang Guan first tied a tourniquet around his thigh, then used the scissors to cut open the wound and let out the black, poisoned blood. After a while, he loosened the bandage to prevent circulation cutoff and necrosis of the entire leg. He repeated this process until the blood flowing out turned somewhat bright red. Only then did he apply the ointment and bandage the wound.

After this self-rescue, Wang Guan was exhausted, drenched in sweat, and panting heavily.

“I didn't get the mutton, but I got smeared with grime first,” Wang Guan nearly cried, lamenting, “I almost verified the ancient saying: men die for wealth, birds die for food.”

Having finally regained some strength, Wang Guan had no desire to remain in the cavern. He scrambled to his feet, ready to leave this place that had nearly cost him his life.

Of course, nearly losing his life required some form of compensation.

Before leaving, Wang Guan tapped around with his small trowel to scare away any potential snakes, insects, or ants, then rummaged through the remains, stuffing all the items he had seen emitting a spiritual glow into his backpack.

Among these items, however, was a rectangular iron box. It was heavy and seemed to be locked, impossible to open immediately. After a moment of hesitation, Wang Guan simply used a bandage to secure the iron box to his back, picked up his backpack, and stumbled out.

As for the armor on the central skeleton and the swords on the adjacent remains, and other miscellaneous items—Wang Guan lacked the strength and the inclination to gather them, leaving them right where they were.

Finally squeezing out of the cave entrance, the warm sunlight washing over him gave Wang Guan the feeling of having been imprisoned for decades and finally seeing the light of day.

He sat on the ground to rest briefly, still catching his breath, before standing up again and laboriously swinging his shovel to rebury the entrance, adding some camouflage to the surface. At the very least, unless someone actively disturbed it, the surface showed no abnormal signs.

Wang Guan felt that if he could verify the identity of the armored skeleton, he might return someday. Furthermore, having taken things belonging to the deceased, it felt improper to leave the bodies exposed to the wilderness.

After scattering some dust to conceal his footprints, Wang Guan felt satisfied, picked up his meager haul, and began walking away with heavy steps. However, he deliberately avoided the nearby mountain villages. After all, his current appearance screamed 'tomb robber,' and being spotted by villagers would be hard to explain. He instead took a wide detour toward the county seat.

Walking, stopping, and starting again, a journey that should have taken two hours instead consumed four or five, and it wasn't until the sun was setting that he reached the roadside near the base of Phoenix Mountain.

Arriving here, Wang Guan could walk no further. Dripping with sweat, he squatted by the road, waiting for a vehicle to pass. All he wanted was a lift to get back to the county seat quickly.

Yet, separated by only one mountain range, compared to the simple and warm villagers, the demeanor of city dwellers seemed much colder. Wang Guan waved his hand on the roadside for a long time; over a dozen cars passed, but not a single one stopped.

...................... Thanks to book friend "Xiao Xiao Shao Wu" for the donation. Two updates totaling six thousand characters; please bookmark, recommend, and support. C