The two met eyes, and Li Chonglou did not make another move.
He had been beyond self-control in his anger just moments ago, but that was the behavior of the weak.
Fighting such a beast would only dirty his hands.
Only six people remained from those who had descended.
Four on his side, and of Liu Zhibo's group, only Zhu Mingzhe’s expression remained one of utter horror.
Once he recovered, he directly roared at Liu Zhibo, “You said you wanted to lead us to make money, why do you want our lives!”
“Idiot, you dare to trust this kind of person, you deserve it,” Lan Ying had already calmed down, her expression filled with disdain.
After speaking, she said with despair, “We’re going to die, we can’t get out anyway.”
The entire tomb was built within the mountain, made entirely of rock as hard as iron.
Liu Zhibo had spent countless manpower and time to dig this hole, and now that it had collapsed, even a god could not save them.
This place was also very remote; even if a rescue team somehow received the news.
They would have all starved to death inside by then.
“Liu Zhibo, what exactly are you after?” Su Yinchuan’s voice was filled with hatred.
This person was so vicious and evil that he couldn't be judged by common sense.
His actions were no different from those of a madman.
“What am I after?” Liu Zhibo sneered.
Before he could finish, Xu Lie tightened his arms, constricting him until his face turned purple, unable to make any sound, and almost suffocating.
Xu Lie had no desire to see such a person live.
Killing him was the most direct solution.
As for how they would get out after he died, that was a matter for later.
“Brother Xu, let him go,” Li Chonglou’s eyes were filled with cold light.
Xu Lie released his arm as ordered.
Since Li Chonglou had not ordered his execution, he would let him live a little longer.
“Cough… cough…” Liu Zhibo clutched his throat and knelt on the ground, his eyes bloodshot, breathing heavily.
In Xu Lie’s hands, he was as weak as a chicken.
But even so, he still looked up with a sinister grin, and after catching his breath, he glared at Su Yinchuan and roared, “You people were born lucky, with money and good fortune.”
“Do you know how we ordinary people have lived?”
“From childhood, our families placed high hopes on us, wishing we’d become dragons and phoenixes. If we were even slightly not outstanding, we’d be scolded and humiliated.”
“Our own parents abused us daily, forcing us to do things we disliked, all under the guise of loving us.”
“After entering society, we have to curry favor with our superiors, flatter them, and grovel before important people like you!”
“We have to compare houses when buying them, and compare cars when buying them. Why is it so easy for you to make money, while for us it’s like cutting flesh?”
“Why?”
These words struck everyone’s hearts like heavy drums, and everyone fell silent.
As an archaeological expert from Xihai, Liu Zhibo was undoubtedly a leading figure in the entire industry, attracting much attention.
But his inferiority complex was deeply rooted in his bones.
He regarded money as the most important thing, completely ignoring his own spiritual pursuits.
For money, he resigned from public office, used his position for personal gain, and even resorted to murder.
And he attributed all of this to his childhood experiences and the realities of society.
“Your heart is empty, your desires are like an unfillable沟壑, never satisfied, constantly comparing yourself to others, yet blaming this pain on others,” Li Chonglou sneered, “Then using this as an excuse to engage in crooked ways, murder, and arson, it’s truly laughable!”
“If you only made things difficult for yourself, I wouldn’t bother with you.”
“But you shouldn’t have killed my master.”
Li Chonglou actually felt some sympathy for Liu Zhibo’s words.
In his past life, as the son-in-law of the Jiang family, he had suffered greatly and endured many scornful glances; had he not also harbored resentment?
But after meeting his master, he became his spiritual mentor, helping him overcome this inner demon.
He realized then that all humiliation stemmed from one’s own heart.
How could one be happy by living in the eyes of others?
A person must have a sense of self.
But these words were not enough to be spoken to a beast like Liu Zhibo.
“Lin Zhendong, hahaha… he’s an utter fool,” Liu Zhibo said with disdain, “He had great skill, but pretended to be aloof.”
“He spent his days dreaming of bringing people back from the dead. If it weren’t for him, I really wouldn’t have known how to extort money from Su Yinchuan.”
“For this, I must thank him.”
“I never thought that the dignified richest man would be so frenzied upon hearing the words ‘bringing back from the dead’.”
“He didn’t even care about his life and insisted on coming in person. Tell me, if I don’t swindle him, who should I swindle?”
What he had told Su Yinchuan was actually fabricated, mere fragments he had overheard from Lin Zhendong.
But it was enough for him to package it and sell it to Su Yinchuan for a high price.
Whether it could be found was not his concern.
He never expected Su Yinchuan to not only believe it but also insist on coming in person, which showed him a business opportunity.
In other words, if the tomb of the Qiang King had not been robbed, he could have simply claimed he saw the news in historical records and no one could blame him for not finding it.
He didn’t expect that the tomb of the Qiang King being robbed would prevent him from even stealing the cultural relics, turning his large investment into nothing.
This forced him to take a desperate risk and extort Su Yinchuan.
Since things had come to this point, no one was going to get out alive, so there was no harm in confessing.
Su Yinchuan’s body trembled with rage upon hearing this, “You actually deceived me!”
Li Chonglou, however, finally understood the reason behind it all.
It turned out that the treasure that could bring people back from the dead that Su Yinchuan was looking for was Shi Boqiong, but Liu Zhibo did not know the original story, which was why they did not recognize Shi Boqiong’s appearance and even misunderstood its function.
Instead, his own trip had yielded astonishing results.
However, even knowing about Shi Boqiong was of no avail.
They were sealed in the cave and could not get out.
When he came, he had divined countless tribulations but had not anticipated dying of starvation and being trapped to death in the tomb.
It was truly ironic.
“Chonglou, there’s no point in talking nonsense with this kind of person, let me kill him,” Xu Lie could no longer contain himself.
Li Chonglou shook his head, “Killing him now will accomplish nothing.”
“Instead of letting him die so easily, why not let him endure hunger and torment with us?”
“I want him to watch himself struggle at the brink of despair with his own eyes!”
These words caused Liu Zhibo’s sinister grin to freeze instantly.
Even Lan Ying’s scalp tingled, and she let out a cold gasp.
She had always thought Li Chonglou was a weakling, but she never expected him to be so cruel.
Of course, cruelty to enemies was kindness to friends; she could distinguish that.
“Little Xu, Little Li is right. It’s better to save our strength to find a way out,” Su Yinchuan sighed and advised.
Xu Lie gestured a fist bump towards Liu Zhibo and then pointed at Zhu Mingzhe, “You, come with me to find a way out.”
Zhu Mingzhe had witnessed Xu Lie’s methods and knew resistance was futile, so he could only follow his command.
Li Chonglou and the others also began searching the flat ground.
“Since tomb robbers have been here, it means there must be a tomb-robbing tunnel. If we find it, we might be able to get out,” Li Chonglou said after calming down.
Su Yinchuan and Lan Ying’s eyes lit up, “Right.”
“Stop dreaming, that tomb-robbing tunnel was sealed long ago. Otherwise, why would I have spent so much to blast through the mountain?” Liu Zhibo sat on the ground, pouring cold water.
The last sliver of hope for survival was extinguished.
Everyone’s heart sank.
A short while later, Xu Lie returned and shook his head, indicating helplessness.
Now Lan Ying and Su Yinchuan were completely despairing.
The phone had no signal, the path was completely sealed, and apart from spring water, there was no food in the tomb.
After one day.
Except for Xu Lie, everyone’s stomach was rumbling with hunger.
After two days, they felt dizzy and their vision began to blur.
Fortunately, there was still water, otherwise, all of them would have died within three days.
But drinking only water, and hard water at that, made their stomachs even more unbearable. Lan Ying, the only girl, clutched her stomach in pain, her face sallow and covered in cold sweat.
“Are you alright?” Li Chonglou asked when he saw her.
“We’re all going to die, what do you think?” Lan Ying forced a weak smile.
These past two days, she had come to admire this man more and more. He looked frail, but only he and the big guy remained silent, never complaining about hardship.
They had been constantly looking for a solution.
Their willpower was so strong that the men she had known before could not compare.
Only now did she realize the true meaning of the saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
She regretted looking down on Li Chonglou at one point.
Unfortunately, their time was running out.
Even admiration was of no use.
“Why give up before the end? Hang in there.” Li Chonglou knew that no amount of comfort would be useful at this moment, but confidence was even more important in desperate situations.
Someone had to remain calm in the face of crisis.
To save battery power, everyone had turned off the lights. The entire cave was pitch black, and one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face.
In the darkness, the sense of panic in people’s hearts would be amplified.
On the second day, they could clearly feel their spirits beginning to depress.
“I’m so hungry I can’t stand it…” The first to break was Zhu Mingzhe, who cried out wildly, his eyes glowing green in the darkness.
He stared fixedly at Lan Ying, his eyes filled with lust and greed.
That lust was not sexual desire, but hunger.
At this moment, in his eyes, Lan Ying was a plump meal.
“I have a suggestion. She’s the only woman here; perhaps if we eat her, we can live a little longer,” the next second, Zhu Mingzhe said something unbelievable.
In an instant, Su Yinchuan’s anger overflowed.
Before he could get up and curse.
Xu Lie had already leaped forward and stomped down on Zhu Mingzhe’s head with a thud.
Crack!
Even though he hadn’t eaten for nearly three days, Xu Lie had cultivated the qi gong from the sheepskin scroll, and combined with his strong physique, his strength was far beyond that of someone like Zhu Mingzhe.
With one stomp, his head exploded.
White and red splattered everywhere, like a shattered watermelon, on the spot.
“Ugh…” Lan Ying had never seen such a scene; she gagged and quickly closed her eyes.
She had seen dead people, but a death this tragic was truly disgusting.
Even the hypocritical Liu Zhibo’s eyelids twitched at the sight.
He thought he was composed, but seeing Xu Lie like this, he realized his own life was less valuable than a chicken in Xu Lie’s hands.
“Keeping him alive will only corrupt hearts. Someone who wants to eat their own kind is worse than a beast,” Xu Lie cursed hatefully.
Then he bent down, picked up Zhu Mingzhe’s corpse, walked to the second passage, and directly threw him into the abyss.
As he threw him, Xu Lie’s eyes flashed with sharp light.
He immediately returned to the cave and shouted, “Chonglou, that cliff isn’t deep; there’s a pool of water at the bottom.”
Li Chonglou’s eyes brightened at this, “Let’s go and see!”