Chapter 1 A Gruesome Discovery

Seeing someone lying in the tunnel, I was startled at first. I instinctively swept my flashlight over them, but the person didn't react at all.

I examined them for a few more seconds and suddenly noticed a large, wet patch beneath their body. When the flashlight beam hit it, it reflected a dark red light!

It was blood!

This person was lying in a pool of blood!

I finally understood where the bloody smell in the tunnel was coming from.

"This person is definitely dead," I said softly.

I was about to go over and move the person.

Old Wei quickly reminded me, "Xiao Chen, be careful. The smell of blood is so strong; this person probably hasn't been dead for long. The killer might still be nearby!"

"Understood," I replied, nodding.

While Old Wei and I were talking, Hu Wazi strode forward, grabbed the person's arm, and flipped them over, so they were lying face up on the ground.

Only then did I see that it was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties. He was wearing typical hiking gear: a windbreaker and cargo pants. On his feet were a pair of boots. His eyes were wide open, and he had already breathed his last.

Looking closer, I saw that his fatal wounds were several crossbow bolts in his chest and abdomen. Some of the bolts were deeply embedded, others less so, but they had all likely hit the victim's vital organs, causing massive bleeding.

Seeing this, Hu Wazi couldn't help but purse his lips and say, "This guy died miserably. One, two, three, four, five… Good grief, five bolts in him! He's practically been turned into a hedgehog!"

Old Wei sighed and said, "Speak no ill of the dead, Hu Wazi. Show some respect."

Then he went over and touched the body, presumably to determine the time of death.

At that moment, Xiao Liang suddenly squatted down next to the deceased and carefully examined the crossbow bolts on his body, wearing a thoughtful expression.

Seeing this, I walked over and asked, "What's wrong, Xiao Liang? Did you find something?"

Xiao Liang pointed to the crossbow bolts and asked me in a low voice, "Chen Rongsheng, don't you think these bolts look familiar?"

I said, "What's familiar about them? Don't all crossbow bolts look the same? Is there some kind of difference?"

Xiao Liang couldn't help but shake her head and say, "Of course, there are differences. Because crossbows are banned in our country, most of the ones you see are privately made in illegal workshops. And since they're privately made, each workshop is bound to have its own characteristics. They won't be like mass-produced products that all look the same."

Xiao Liang's explanation made sense. I asked her, "So, these crossbow bolts look familiar to you? Have you seen something similar before?"

Xiao Liang nodded and said, "Not only have I seen something similar, but you've seen something similar too, Chen Rongsheng. Have you forgotten the crossbow bolts used by Boss Wang's gang in the Tuo River ancient Shu tomb?"

Hearing Xiao Liang say this, I suddenly remembered. Wasn't it almost exactly these types of crossbow bolts that the rat called 'Bamboo Pole' under Boss Wang had used?

It seemed that Xiao Liang was indeed more observant, actually remembering the style of these crossbow bolts. I had basically forgotten all about them. If Xiao Liang hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have remembered at all.

But thinking about it again, I felt that something wasn't right. I asked Xiao Liang, "Xiao Liang, are you saying that the murderer is someone from Boss Wang's gang? Since you recognize these as the crossbow bolts used by Boss Wang and his people, doesn't that mean that Boss Wang was the one who killed him? But Boss Wang was caught a long time ago. Not only him, but even his son, Little Boss Wang, was arrested. How could his people appear in Qu Shang Ancient City?"

Xiao Liang shook her head and said, "I can't figure that out either. You're right. Boss Wang's tomb-raiding gang has already been wiped out. The rats under him must have scattered like birds and beasts. Unless a new boss has taken over the rats who originally followed Boss Wang and formed a new tomb-raiding gang."

"That's possible," I agreed. "Anyway, it doesn't matter to these rats who they follow. Da Yong also said that good eyes are rare, but bosses are everywhere. If the old boss is caught, the rats can find a new boss to start a new operation; that's possible."

As the two of us were talking, Hu Wazi suddenly shouted from the front, "There's another dead person here!"

We hurried over and saw that indeed, not far ahead in the tunnel, there was another corpse lying on the ground. This dead person was also dressed like a tomb raider. He was lying face up, with two crossbow bolts in his chest and neck. He had also been shot to death from a distance with crossbow bolts.

Old Wei frowned and said in a deep voice, "Good heavens, what's going on here? Could it be that two gangs of tomb raiders had a falling out in the tomb passage?"

Xiao Liang searched the pockets of the two tomb raiders. She pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of one of the tomb raider's jackets. She looked at it carefully and said to us, "This person should be the tomb raider who was keeping watch in the tent at the beginning. He must have heard his companion's cries for help and came over from the tent. He didn't expect to be ambushed as soon as he entered the tunnel and was shot dead on the spot by crossbow bolts."

Old Wei nodded and said, "That should be the case."

Then he speculated, "I have a feeling that there might be more than just these corpses in this tunnel. There might be even more."

Xiao Liang said with a pale face, "If two gangs of tomb raiders really did meet in the tunnel, then there would definitely be more than just this little bit of death and injury."

Old Wei said that was right and led us to continue searching forward. Sure enough, after walking a few more steps, we saw two more corpses lying on the ground.

The way these two corpses died was a little different. One person was stabbed to death with a sharp weapon, with several external injuries on their torso. The other person seemed to have been killed by a blunt object hitting the back of their head during a struggle. Apart from a bloody mess on the back of their head, there were only some scratches from the struggle on their body.

In short, the scene was very tragic. It was clear that a large-scale clash had taken place between two gangs of tomb raiders in this tunnel.

After Old Wei saw this, he was very helpless and shook his head, saying, "Qu Shang Ancient City is really a treasure land. Tomb raiders are all gathering here. Last time, it was Big Hand and Liu Huangshu's gangs fighting in the forest. If we hadn't arrived in time, it would have probably resulted in deaths. This time, they directly fought in the tunnel, and four people died."

Hu Wazi was quite optimistic and said, "Being able to encounter dead people means we're on the right track. Going down this tunnel will surely lead to the Crystal Palace!"

I also nodded and said, "That's right. This must be the Immortals' Cave. But I'm afraid that other tomb raiders will get there first. Let's hurry down."

Old Wei nodded, temporarily ignoring the four corpses at the scene. He took the lead with a flashlight and led us to continue forward.

After walking along the tunnel for a while, the tunnel began to slope noticeably. It was starting to extend downwards again.

Taking advantage of the downward slope, I couldn't help but speed up my pace. After walking a few more steps, I hadn't seen the Crystal Palace yet, but I suddenly vaguely heard a whimpering sound.

I pricked up my ears and listened carefully, recognizing that it seemed to be the voice of a young woman.