This time, Sun Fatty waited until I finished speaking before he finally said, "Lazi, you must be joking. I don't know about other things, but when it comes to lockpicking, I'm an expert. Even the most advanced master keys today can't claim to open every lock. And you're telling me that rusty wire can do that? Honestly, Huang Ran setting up such a big trap this time—he must have lost his mind."
Hao Wenming snorted as he looked at Sun Fatty and said, "You're like a toad at the bottom of a well. There's a lot you don't know. You're not Jesus' dad to know everything. I've seen Long Xu open locks myself. Except for the electronic locks nowadays, I haven't seen any lock that it couldn't open."
I suddenly realized something was off in Hao Wenming's words. "Boss Hao, you said you've seen Long Xu? Isn't Long Xu supposed to be inside this Tomb of the Transcendent Beast? Where did you see it then?"
"Did I say it was the Long Xu here?" Hao Wenming's eyes looked at me with no more conviction than when he looked at Sun Fatty. He continued, "There are three Long Xu in total: one here, one hasn't been seen for hundreds of years, and one is at the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. Now do you understand why I can see Long Xu picking locks?"
I forced out a few awkward laughs to ease the tension. Since I asked, I might as well ask fully, "Boss Hao, who has the Long Xu at the Bureau? It's not Director Gao personally holding it, is it?"
Hao Wenming glanced at me, his face returning to that conflicted expression from before. He said nothing, as if he hadn't heard me, then quickened his pace and soon left me behind. This left me baffled, not understanding which words offended him.
After Hao Wenming walked some distance away, Po Jun caught up from behind. He came to stand beside Sun Fatty and me, smiling ambiguously, "It's in Wu Rendi's hands." He looked at Hao Wenming's retreating back and added, "The Long Xu was originally entrusted to Boss Hao for safekeeping. It was supposed to be a secret, but somehow Wu Rendi found out and came to borrow it. That borrowing has lasted five years now. Lazi, Great Sage, you two should know what it means to borrow without returning…"
Only then did I understand why Director Hao's reaction to hearing 'Long Xu' was so complicated. But one thing still confused me—why do Huang Ran and those three want the Long Xu so badly? What lock are they trying to open that they risk their lives to find the key?
We continued walking for over twenty minutes. After turning a corner, Meng Qiqi and Zhang Zhiyan, who were leading, suddenly stopped and quietly backed away. "We're here. The Tomb of the Transcendent Beast is just ahead," Meng Qiqi pointed toward the bend, speaking in a barely audible whisper. Ever since learning that Yin Bai was inside the tomb, she and Zhang Zhiyan had become especially cautious.
The Tomb we had heard about all along was now right before us. Following behind Hao Wenming and Huang Ran, we turned the bend and were met with an immense cavern. The cave's size was unbelievable—at our vantage point, the far end was nowhere in sight, veiled in thick mist that blanketed everything in a pale white haze.
Within the mist floated a foul mix of sulfurous and putrid gases. Fortunately, having traveled the passage, we had grown accustomed to the stench, and it no longer bothered us. The path inside the tomb was uneven; besides towering stalactites and stalagmites lining the walls, the ground was fragmented into countless sections by strange rocks.
Seeing the Tomb, Meng Qiqi and Zhang Zhiyan refused to lead further. This time Huang Ran didn't insist. Instead, he pulled Hao Wenming aside and, by some means, convinced him. The two cautiously stepped into the tomb, testing the way ahead. After they had advanced some thirty or forty meters without incident, Hao Wenming signaled us to follow. I and the others then imitated them and entered the tomb, moving toward the two.
Just as I stepped into the tomb, Sun Fatty suddenly let out a startled shout. His outburst startled everyone. From the pocket of his jacket, a small black shadow darted out and ran ahead into the tomb faster than him. It was Sun Fatty's rat, a plump rodent that moved at a speed surprisingly disproportional to its size. After running more than thirty meters, it finally stopped and looked back, squeaking loudly at Sun Fatty.
Sun Fatty's small eyes widened. He held the black cat tightly and quickened his pace, almost reaching the rat's position when Huang Ran came over and stopped him, saying, "Little Fatty, what do you want to do? Don't run wild inside the tomb—be careful not to attract Yin Bai."
This brief delay seemed to annoy the rat, which stopped paying attention to Sun Fatty. It turned and ran deeper into the tomb, vanishing quickly into the mist.
This wasn't the first time the rat had left Sun Fatty. Based on past experience, the rat must have found something valuable again. Sun Fatty didn't worry too much; he called quietly after the rat's retreating back, "That's enough, just grab the valuable stuff…"
Though his voice was low, it startled Meng Qiqi, who had already come up beside him. The young lady quickly covered Sun Fatty's mouth and glanced around. Seeing nothing unusual, she whispered to him, "Fatty, you're asking for Yin Bai to be summoned."
Sun Fatty pulled away from Meng Qiqi somewhat unhappily and, holding the black cat in front of his chest, said bluntly, "Qiqi, you're braver than a rat. Didn't Ruan Liulang come here before, walk around safely, and leave unscathed? He was alone and nothing happened. What are we so afraid of with so many of us?"
Meng Qiqi glanced at the black cat but still couldn't shake her unease. She stepped back a bit and, keeping some distance from Sun Fatty, said, "When Ruan Liulang came here, he used a special异术 (arcane technique) to avoid Yin Bai. To be precise, he never actually faced Yin Bai head-on."
"Arcane technique?" Sun Fatty's eyes flicked, and he turned to Huang Ran. "Old Huang, since you know all this, don't you have a plan?"
Huang Ran glanced at Hao Wenming, then at Meng Qiqi, now the holder of Ruan Liulang's experiences. After pausing, he spoke again to Sun Fatty, "Before entering the tomb, Ruan Liulang plundered eleven ancient tombs in succession. He accumulated all the dead qi from those tombs within his body. The dead qi overwhelmed the living qi, so long as he avoided direct contact with Yin Bai, Yin Bai couldn't detect him. Little Fatty, do I need to say more?"
Before Sun Fatty could reply, Hao Wenming cut in, "Stop wasting time here. Let's find a path forward. Huang Ran, I'm not saying we won't care about the Long Xu, whether you can get it depends on your skills. But don't drag us into this."
After Hao Wenming finished, Huang Ran smiled and said, "Deal."
After settling the terms, we gathered together and continued forward. This cavern was unbelievably vast, as if the entire Tianshan Mountains had been hollowed out. Almost every now and then along the way, there were piles of unknown animal remains on the ground. Some of these bones were enormous, comparable in size to elephants, while others were quite tiny, about the size of a rat. The name "Tomb of a Transcendent Beast" was quite literal—these skeletons once belonged to some kind of arcanobeasts, though nobody knew exactly what kinds.
In Ruan Liulang's accounts, the internal map of the Tomb of the Transcendent Beast was sketchy at best—just a few vague lines, a far cry from the detailed descriptions before entering. Huang Ran was looking for the Dragon Whisker, and Hao Wenming was trying to find a way out, but basically, they had to rely on luck wandering through this place.
After wandering around a bit, we discovered two natural paths divided by clusters of strange rocks.
The two routes appeared simultaneously, and Huang Ran and Hao Wenming both frowned almost at the same time. Hao Wenming first said to Huang Ran, "The accounts don't mention this section. That's good — two paths, so we can split into two teams. Huang, you choose which path first."
Huang Ran looked at the two routes, remained silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Director Hao, nobody knows what's beyond those paths. If we split up, and one team gets unlucky and encounters Yin Bai, we might be wiped out completely. I think it's better to mix the teams a bit. At least then, if we're unlucky, one team can still get out alive. Our Religious Affairs Commission and your Bureau of Paranormal Investigation shouldn't be wiped out entirely."
Hao Wenming hesitated but agreed with Huang Ran's suggestion. The two teams swapped one person each. No one volunteered to switch teams, so the decision was left to Hao and Huang. When Huang chose, he immediately passed on Sun Fatty, then looked between me and Po Jun, hesitated for a while, and finally took Po Jun. Hao Wenming was more straightforward, telling Meng Qiqi, "Little girl, you come with us."
After the switch, Huang said to Hao, "Director Hao, you choose which path to take first."
Without hesitation, Hao Wenming turned to Sun Fatty and said, "Sun Dasheng, you pick!"
Sun Fatty stared at the two paths, hesitated for a long time, and still didn't answer Hao Wenming. Normally, making choices was his forte—especially simple two-option decisions like this—but now his indecision was something I'd never seen before, confusing not only Hao but even me.
Seeing Sun Fatty so troubled, Hao finally asked, "Dasheng, you alright?"
As soon as Hao finished speaking, Sun Fatty stomped his foot and pointed to the left path. "This one! We take this path!"
The answer was given, but Hao Wenming looked hesitant. He said, "Dasheng, you sure about this?"
Sun Fatty replied, "Director Hao, I'm usually not reliable for much else, but when it comes to luck, have I ever messed up? Trust me, boy-left-girl-right, can't go wrong." Hao Wenming had no better choice, nodded, glanced at Po Jun already standing beside Huang Ran, then told Huang, "We'll take this path. If you're not confident about the other, we can still stick together."
Huang Ran was silent for a while but shook his head. "If we all take the same path, the chance of total wipeout is too high. Fine, you go left, I'll take the right. At least half of us will get out alive." Hao didn't insist. After a glance at Po Jun, he turned and led us into the left path.
This route was fairly smooth except for some slippery spots, but all around us, stalactites and stalagmites hung from the cave ceiling, some just a dozen centimeters above the ground, making it look like they were about to connect. The walk was quiet; none of us felt like talking. Hao Wenming led, with Meng Qiqi following right behind him.
After walking for a while, I noticed Sun Fatty acting odd, glancing around nervously and seeming distracted. At first, I thought he was worried about the Rat of Fortune, afraid the big rat might get lost in the tomb. But later, I heard him muttering behind me, "The more we walk, the more uneasy I feel. Should've taken the right path…"
His words startled me, so I pulled him aside. After putting some distance between us and Hao and Meng, I lowered my voice and asked, "Dasheng, are you sure about the path you chose? If not, say so now — we can still turn back."
Sun Fatty forced a dry laugh. "It's not that I'm unsure, Lazi. Honestly, these two paths are hard to choose between. At first, I wanted to pick the right one—I felt it would be safer. But this path seems to be pulling me in, like an invisible hand grabbing me and dragging me forward. Don't worry, I don't feel anything too dangerous here. At worst, we'll get a scare but come out fine."
His words made me stare blankly. "Dasheng, you're pushing it. This isn't the time to seek thrills. We might all end up dead here if you're wrong."
Before he could explain further, Hao Wenming, who was leading, suddenly exclaimed "Huh?" Then a small black figure darted behind him straight toward Sun Fatty.
It was Sun Fatty's Rat of Fortune — but this time it returned empty-pawed, drenched in water, its fur plastered flat. Seeing Sun Fatty, it ran to his feet and then scrambled up the pant leg into his jacket pocket, trembling inside.
What did the rat find to scare it so badly? It seemed unlikely to be Yin Bai — if that had happened, the rat wouldn't have made it back. But one thing puzzled me: earlier, the rat ran in the exact opposite direction of our current path. How did it end up ahead of us?
Sun Fatty reached into his pocket and pulled out the rat. "What happened? Did you fall in water?" While talking, he wiped the rat's wet fur with his sleeve. Then he noticed the rat's mouth was bulging, as if it was holding something. Sun Fatty's eyes lit up, and he held out his hand near the rat's mouth. The rat cooperated and spat the object onto Sun Fatty's palm.
Sun Fatty looked disappointed. The object was a clump of white fur from some unknown animal. Unable to identify it and disgusted, he wanted to throw it away, but Hao Wenming stopped him and took the fur for inspection.
We got up again and continued deeper inside. After a while, the cave opened up, the stalactites above thinning out. Ahead of us was a small pool of water, steaming slightly. It looked like a hot spring—but judging from its appearance, it was definitely not the same one we'd encountered before, the Ying Spring.