With a crisp crack, the blade finally locked into place—Huang Ran had aligned it. Gripping the dagger, he suddenly yanked downward, dragging it along the stone wall until it reached what resembled the mouth of a wolf. At that very moment, the entire stone wall began to tremble. Loose bricks and chunks of cement rained down, and from the center of the wolf's mouth, a hairline crack began to spread. The crack widened steadily, revealing a pitch-black void within. Within about a minute, the fissure had fully opened, forming a passage wide enough for two people to walk through side by side.
The opening of the Tomb of the Transcendent Beast startled Ruan Liang, who came rushing over in a panic. When he saw the sudden appearance of the tunnel, he froze on the spot. "What happened? Why is there a tunnel here?"
Gao Liang frowned at the sight of him, but it was Sun Fatty who reacted the fastest. He stepped up and threw an arm around Ruan Liang's shoulders, whispering in his ear, "Keep your voice down. Those three drug traffickers confessed this was where the drugs were stashed. They framed your squadmates just to get to the drugs inside."
Ruan Liang wasn't stupid—he had probably already suspected there was something off about us. But Sun Fatty's explanation was rather implausible. This place was technically a military facility; hiding drugs here seemed a bit far-fetched. Still, we had the numbers, and earlier we had fought alongside him against the wolves. He couldn't confront us directly, so he seized on Sun Fatty's excuse to step back from the conflict.
Ruan Liang glanced into the tunnel, then turned back to Sun Fatty and said, "This is a military site—try not to damage the structure." Sun Fatty patted him on the shoulder with a grin. "Don't worry. We'll be gentle. You've got more important things to deal with—go check on your squad. They should be waking up soon."
After Ruan Liang left, Huang Ran stepped back from the entrance of the tunnel. Gao Liang looked at him, crooked a finger, and said, "Aren't you forgetting something? If you use someone else's stuff, remember to return it."
Without a word, Huang Ran lowered his head and handed the dagger back to Gao Liang, then silently withdrew to Zhang Zhiyan and Meng Qiqi's side.
As Gao Liang put the Thousand-Cuts Blade away, Ouyang Pianzuo had already reached the tunnel entrance. He fished out a thick stack of talismans from his pocket, selected seven or eight of them, then pulled out another handful from a second pocket. After finding five or six more of the same type, he gathered a total of over ten talismans.
Ouyang picked one and flicked it toward the tunnel. The talisman flew in a perfect line and disappeared into the passage. His technique was identical to Gao Liang's, though a bit slower.
After sending in the first talisman, he threw in the second and third in succession. Everything went smoothly—until the seventh. Just as the seventh talisman entered the tunnel, it burst into flames. The fire consumed it almost instantly, and the ashes floated back out from the tunnel mouth.
Ouyang didn't look surprised. He pocketed the remaining talismans and began chanting an arcane incantation under his breath. At the final syllable, the five talismans already inside the tunnel ignited simultaneously and disintegrated into ash.
Returning to Gao Liang's side, Director Ouyang said, "There's a barrier—only six people can enter."
Gao Liang glanced at Huang Ran with a half-smile. "Didn't Ruan Liulang's account mention a limit of six? Or did you forget again?"
Expressionless, Huang Ran replied, "He went in alone. Even if he noticed the barrier, it wouldn't have mattered to him."
"This time your logic almost makes sense," Gao Liang said, then began counting aloud. "Six tickets... Yang Jun, Qiu Bulao, Lin Feng, Hugo, hmm, Ouyang Pianzuo, and myself—that makes six..." Before he could finish, Huang Ran cut in:
"What about me? Director Gao, did you forget me? I'm the only one who knows what's written in Ruan Liulang's journal. I should be going in too, right? Besides, didn't you just promise I could enter?"
Smiling, Gao Liang shook his head. "I didn't know there was a six-person limit before. We're short on slots. And you said yourself—only you know what Ruan Liulang's journal says. But if it's only coming from your mouth and I don't have the original, how do I know you're not lying? Don't take that journal too seriously. Ruan Liulang only had a vague idea of the tomb's location. If he could get out alive, the six of us can manage too. Besides, I said I'd give you a chance to open the tomb. I never said you'd get to go in after it was open. Tell you what, I'll take a few extra photos for you down there."
Huang Ran pleaded several more times, but Gao Liang wouldn't budge. As Gao Liang and his team prepared to enter the tunnel, Huang Ran finally fell silent, his face twisted in resentment as he watched them disappear into the Tomb of the Transcendent Beast.
Before entering, Gao Liang reminded Hao Wenming and the rest of us to keep a close eye on Huang Ran. Yang Jun hesitated, then handed his black cat to Sun Fatty. "Watch it for me. If anything happens... let it meow."
He gestured, and the black cat leapt onto Sun Fatty's shoulder, stared at him face-to-face, then bared its teeth and let out a sharp cry: "Nyeh..."
To this day, I don't understand why animals are always so fond of Sun Fatty. Back when we were trapped at the outpost by the wolves, I even considered tossing him out there—maybe, just maybe, his personal charm would've dispersed the pack.
After Gao Liang and the others entered the tomb, they re-shackled Huang Ran and his companions. The rest of us stayed behind to guard them. I don't know if it was just my imagination, but the moment Gao Liang disappeared into the Tomb of the Transcendent Beast, something about Huang Ran changed. His tense posture seemed to loosen, and his signature smile slowly returned to his face.
With Gao Liang and the others gone, things got awkwardly quiet. Sun Fatty—usually the best at lightening the mood—was busy wrestling with the black cat. Eventually, the only woman present spoke up.
"So your Director Gao went in... What now? Is it time to play cards? Anyone bring a deck?"
"Cards? Why not mahjong? We could probably get two full tables going." Sun Fatty cautiously cradled the black cat and looked up at Meng Qiqi. "Miss Meng, prisoners should act like prisoners. Honestly now—do you think this is proper prisoner behavior?"
"Prisoners… heh." Huang Ran suddenly chuckled for no reason. Hao Wenming shot him a cold glance. When Huang's laughter finally died down, Hao sneered, "Funny, is it? What, you gone mad because you couldn't get into the tomb?"
"The tomb… hahahaha." Huang Ran laughed like he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. He doubled over, shaking all over, then squatted on the ground, slapping his thigh and howling with laughter.
The Huang Ran before me now seemed like a completely different person—gone was the submissive demeanor he had shown under Gao Liang's thumb. Something felt off. Po Jun and I raised our assault rifles simultaneously, one on each side, pointing them squarely at Huang Ran. I aimed straight at the center of his brow and said coldly, "Had a good laugh? Want a little thrill to go with it? I could blow your brains out for your friends to watch—how about that for entertainment?"
Huang Ran finally stood up. He reined in his laughter slightly but still waved at me with that same shameless grin. "Just a few laughs. No need for a headshot, is there? I just really couldn't help myself—it was too funny… haha." As he spoke, he covered his mouth and chuckled a few more times.
Suddenly, I had a gut feeling—if I didn't shoot him right now, something terrible was about to happen. But instinct was one thing, pulling the trigger over a few laughs was another. No matter how off he seemed, I couldn't justify killing him for that alone.
"Stop laughing!" Hao Wenming suddenly roared. His expression had changed completely—he looked like he'd figured something out. Staring at Huang Ran, he shouted, "This was your setup all along! There's something wrong with the tomb! What did you do to Director Gao and the others?"
Huang Ran's smirk faded. He turned his head to glance at Hao Wenming, then replied, "Who said there was anything wrong with the tomb? There's absolutely nothing wrong with the Tomb of the Transcendent Beast." His voice grew cold and emotionless as his gaze shifted toward the tunnel. "But… who said that was the Tomb of the Transcendent Beast?"
The moment those words left his mouth, Hao Wenming's pupils contracted sharply. He suddenly shouted to me and Po Jun: "Open fire!"
"Open fire?" Huang Ran sneered and calmly said, "Too late…"
And he was right. Po Jun and I were frozen in place. We still held our shooting posture, fingers on the triggers, barrels trained on Huang Ran—but we couldn't move. Except for a few sluggish eye movements, it was as if we'd turned to stone.
Hao Wenming had handed his rifle to Gao Liang earlier. Now, he reached for the pistol holstered at his waist. His fingers gripped the handle, and just as he was about to draw, Huang Ran suddenly stepped forward and stomped hard on Hao Wenming's shadow. Hao's motion stopped halfway—he froze, still as a wax statue.
"Heh…" Huang Ran chuckled again, like he'd remembered something hilarious. Looking at the motionless Hao Wenming, he said, "You searched my clothes and pants thoroughly—but why didn't you check the soles of my shoes? Who says you can't draw sigils and cast spells on the bottom of a shoe?"
Hearing that, I strained to move my eyes downward—and sure enough, one of Zhang Zhiyan's feet was planted on my shadow, while one of Meng Qiqi's feet was on Po Jun's. Somehow, all three of their handcuffs had been opened and now lay discarded on the ground.
At that moment, Sun Fatty suddenly spoke: "Seriously, did you guys just forget I was here? You know, this is really hurting my self-esteem." As he spoke, he lifted the black cat by the scruff of its neck and held it aloft, its face pointing directly at the six of us.
The cat didn't resist—it allowed itself to be held that way, those pitch-black eyes locked on Huang Ran. It looked ready to unleash a soul-rending screech at Sun Fatty's signal.
"If I were you, I wouldn't let that Nyeh cry out again," Huang Ran turned to Sun Fatty and said with a smile. "You've experienced that cry firsthand—you know it doesn't distinguish friend from foe. Back when I collapsed, you couldn't even stand up, remember? If none of us can move, we'll all freeze to death before dawn. Don't count on Gao Fatty and the others to come rescue you. Trust me, their situation isn't much better than yours."
His words hit Sun Fatty right where it hurt. The black cat was indeed an ace in the hole—but under these circumstances, its deterrent effect far outweighed its actual utility. Its screech was like an atom bomb dropped in a chaotic battlefield—pure mutual destruction. A desperate last resort.
Sun Fatty and Huang Ran locked eyes in a tense standoff. In the end, it was Sun Fatty who relented. He cradled the cat back into his arms and slowly backed away several steps, pulling his shadow out from the range of Huang Ran and the others. But he still kept one hand pressed firmly against the cat's back, making it clear that he could launch it toward them at any moment.
With the threat of the black cat temporarily removed, Zhang Zhiyan and Meng Qiqi each stepped off our shadows and approached Po Jun and me. They removed our weapons and gear before finally lifting their feet away. The instant they did, we regained control of our bodies.
Seeing us able to move again, Sun Fatty shouted, "Lazi! Jun! Over here—now!"
Po Jun and I immediately moved to stand by Sun Fatty's side. Meanwhile, Huang Ran had finished disarming Hao Wenming and rummaged through every last item on his person. Only after several rounds of inspection did he finally lift his foot from Hao's shadow.
Having regained control of the situation, Huang Ran turned and gave Zhang Zhiyan a look, then pointed to a dark corner in the distance. "There's one more," he said. Zhang Zhiyan nodded and walked off in the direction Huang indicated.
Hao Wenming remained standing motionless. He stared at Huang Ran for a long moment, then suddenly clapped his hands twice and said, "I'll give it to you—this trap was brilliantly set. You used to work under me, but I never realized you had it in you. I always believed Gao Liang was too sharp to ever fall into someone else's trap. Can't believe it was you who finally got him."
Huang Ran shook his head, seeming slightly dissatisfied with the outcome. "There was still a flaw. I hadn't counted on that white-haired guy and that Nyeh making it this far with you. That wasn't in the script. But the ending turned out close enough. Honestly, getting Gao Liang to step into a trap wasn't easy. He tested me a dozen times at least—twice, maybe three times, I thought he'd seen through me and almost confessed everything. Good thing I held out."
Hao Wenming sneered. "You've really got the patience. Just to trap Gao Liang, you went so far as to build a fake Tomb of the Transcendent Beast. Not that I'm saying Gao Liang and the others are easy to deal with, but with those wolves outside, you really didn't need to go through all this."
Huang Ran laughed again. Just as he was about to respond, Zhang Zhiyan returned—dragging Ruan Liang with him. All eyes turned to the two of them. Zhang was holding Ruan Liang's assault rifle. The confusion on Ruan Liang's face was evident. As he approached us, he asked, "What happened? Just now I suddenly couldn't move at all. And where did everyone go? Where's Director Gao?"
Sun Fatty, still holding the black cat, said nonchalantly, "What's the big deal? Never seen drug dealers turn the tables on narcotics officers before? Happens all the time. Director Gao's gone… and don't look at me like that—he's not dead. He took the others into the passage."
Huang Ran ignored Sun Fatty's nonsense and continued speaking to Hao Wenming. "Director Hao, I'll be honest. I've been setting this trap for a year. But not just for Gao Liang and Qiu Bulao. Those guys weren't worth this much effort."
He suddenly chuckled again, covering his mouth like he'd just remembered something funny. "You really think I faked this Tomb of the Transcendent Beast myself? That's flattering. If I had that kind of power, the Bureau would've been wiped off the map already."
Hao Wenming's face stiffened. "You didn't set this place up? This is really… the Tomb of the Transcendent Beast?"
Huang Ran gave a faint smile. "Let's say… half of it is."
"Half?" Hao Wenming frowned. "Explain. What do you mean by 'half'?"
Before Huang Ran could answer, Meng Qiqi jumped in. "What's with all the questions? You still think you're in a position to interrogate anyone?"
She was about to go on when Huang Ran waved her off. "It's alright. Director Hao used to be my superior—I owe him that much."
After sending Meng Qiqi away, Huang Ran continued, "Most of what I told Gao Liang was true. I did find Ruan Liulang's account inside Liu Chuxuan's tomb. But I… withheld a few details—particularly about how to enter the tomb."