Chapter 18 - Dancing on the Grave

Chapter 18: Dancing on the Grave

Old Hu and Chen Yuze led Hu Yifei to a spot. Both men held out their compasses, gazing at the stars under the moonlight without saying a word, occasionally taking a few steps forward.

“Are you two counting stars? How many have you counted so far?” Hu Yifei grew annoyed when they ignored her, but the two men continued their silent star-counting.

“Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen!” Chen Yuze accidentally got caught up in the counting. Old Hu shot him a resentful look, now he’d been dragged into it too.

“Yifei, don’t mind those two idiots. They’re just talking nonsense,” Fatty said with a chuckle as he walked over. It was the first time he’d seen Old Hu get sidetracked like this, and he couldn’t help but feel a little gleeful. After all, Old Hu had always been the picture of maturity and composure during his military days. Seeing him embarrassed like this was a first.

Old Hu and Chen Yuze continued studying the stars. They had been onto something earlier, but Hu Yifei’s interruption ruined their momentum, forcing them to start over.

Yifei walked up to Fatty and snatched the uneaten skewer of roasted meat from his hand, then cast a disdainful glance at Chen Yuze and Old Hu. “Why bother searching? In such a huge area, the only raised ground is right under our feet. Of course the spot is here. You really think they’d bury it in a ditch?”

“Yifei’s got a point, but it’s better to check. Let’s just play it safe,” Fatty admitted. The mound beneath them was the only elevated patch of land around. Logically, this had to be the place.

Ignoring them, Chen Yuze and Old Hu meticulously examined their compasses, muttering under their breaths:

“Seek the dragon, divide the gold, observe the winding mountains;

Each pass a barrier, each gate a trial.

If eight perils guard the door,

The secrets of yin and yang shall be revealed.”

Hu Yifei and Fatty exchanged glances. “Did they learn the same stuff?”

“Looks like it,” Fatty nodded solemnly. Two amateurs teaming up might make things safer—unless they were both wrong.

The two men paced in circles, one moving clockwise, the other counterclockwise. When they finally met, they glanced up at Hu Yifei and Fatty, hesitating as if struggling to speak. After all, their pride was on the line.

“Well? Did you find it or not? Quit keeping us in suspense!” Fatty demanded, eyeing Old Hu and Chen Yuze nervously. Their different pacing directions worried him—if they disagreed, they’d have to dig two separate tunnels. With only five of them here, that would take half a month.

Chen Yuze sighed. “Well, I’ll be damned. You guys have insane luck. You’ve literally been roasting meat on top of the grave. You’re standing right on the spot—not even an inch off!”

That’s right. Hu Yifei and Fatty had guessed correctly. The raised mound beneath their feet was the exact location they were searching for—and they were standing directly above the main burial chamber. Chen Yuze and Old Hu could only laugh dryly at their absurd luck. What were the odds?

“Seriously?!” Fatty stared excitedly at the spot where Yifei stood. Old Hu gave her a strange look. After all their effort, she had accidentally stumbled upon it. The probability was ridiculously low—it felt like she’d come just to mock them. They had dismissed her earlier, and now she’d slapped them in the face with this.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s dig!” Fatty rolled up his sleeves eagerly, ready to start at their signal.

Chen Yuze hesitated. “Let’s wait until daylight. It’s pitch black now—if something goes wrong, we won’t even see it coming. The tomb isn’t going anywhere. Unless it’s alive and decides to run off—in which case, good for us! A moving tomb probably means it’s haunted, and we’d just be walking into its dinner table.”

Old Hu and Yifei nodded. Digging at night was too risky—none of them were experienced enough. It was better to wait for daylight. The tomb certainly wasn’t going to disappear.

Grudgingly, Fatty agreed. He couldn’t do it alone anyway.

The four returned to their campsite—only to realize something was wrong. Lingzi was missing. Panic set in, but the two dogs were still there, calmly lying on the ground. If something had happened, the dogs would’ve alerted them first.

They sat back down to eat a little more. Tomorrow would be physically demanding, and Chen Yuze and Yifei were completely won over by the wild boar meat—far tastier than anything in the city, free of additives and preservatives.

“Ah! Ghost!!”

Lingzi’s scream pierced the night. The four of them jumped to their feet instantly.

Chen Yuze and Hu Yifei drew their pistols and rushed toward the sound. Yifei tossed her rifle to Fatty, she wasn’t fond of firearms, preferring cold steel like the sword on her back. But she wasn’t stupid, right now, guns were more effective.

Within moments, they reached Lingzi. She was sitting on the ground, clutching her hunting rifle, her face pale with terror. She didn’t speak, only pointed the barrel shakily toward a ramshackle shed in the distance.

“What the hell—is that a person or a ghost?” Fatty muttered, squinting at the faint figures swaying inside the shed, their silhouettes flickering under the dim light of Lingzi’s lantern.

“Who cares? Shoot first, ask questions later!” Yifei aimed her gun at the figures.

Fatty blinked. Damn, this girl’s hardcore.

“Wait! Don’t be rash. Let me check first—cover me,” Old Hu said, sensing something off. The figures hadn’t made a single sound.

Following his lead, the group held their fire. Old Hu stepped forward cautiously, Chen Yuze right behind him, pistol raised and ready to shoot if the shadowy figures made any sudden moves.