After this incident, I and Mr. Liao could be considered to have made acquaintance.

The old man also had a good impression of me, and he took the initiative to come over with a smile and said, "You young man dare to think and dare to speak, that's very rare! When we go down into tombs, dangers lurk everywhere. When we encounter abnormal and strange things, we should use our brains more and communicate more, so that we can get out alive."

I quickly responded politely, "Mr. Liao, you flatter me."

While replying, I took the opportunity to size him up, only to see that his attire was different from the other haozis (tomb robbers).

He wasn't wearing a headlamp, nor did he carry the same backpack as us. He had two rough hemp ropes tied around his body, and the ropes were hung with bells. He carried two strange bamboo poles on his back, and a sack was tied around his waist, bulging, and I didn't know what was in it.

I said, half flattering and half probing, "Mr. Liao, at first glance, you look like a top-notch master. Your getup is different from ordinary tomb raiders."

But Mr. Liao smiled upon hearing this, and shook his head, "You're wrong about that. I'm not any kind of master, and I'm not in the same profession as these people."

His words surprised me. Could it be that this old gentleman wasn't a tomb raider?

At this moment, Sister Hong beside me smiled and introduced me, "Rongsheng, you don't know, although Mr. Liao also goes down with us, he's not in the same profession. The old man is from Xiangxi and is a famous corpse driver. Rongsheng, do you know what a corpse driver is?"

I nodded and said I knew.

Xiangxi corpse driver, that's a resounding name in the Jianghu (martial world).

Although I haven't been in contact with this kind of craftsman in my daily life, I often come across stories and legends about them when watching movies and TV series.

According to legend, the profession of corpse driving originated in ancient times. Thousands of years ago, Chi You led his troops to conquer the world, and many soldiers died in battle. Chi You was affectionate and righteous, and could not bear to see his brothers die in a foreign land, so he ordered his wizard to use witchcraft to turn these dead soldiers into zombies, following Chi You back to their hometown.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, folk sorcerers in the ancient Chenzhou area learned ancient witchcraft and specialized in corpse driving, becoming the earliest corpse drivers. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the corpse driving profession became even more prosperous, especially in the four counties of Yuanling, Luxi, Chenxi, and Xupu in Xiangxi. Folk people often witnessed corpse drivers driving large numbers of walking corpses, returning from other places in the middle of the night.

At first, I learned about corpse driving by watching movies. I always thought that the ancient corpse drivers could really turn the dead into zombies, stick talismans on them, and make them hop along with their arms outstretched.

Later, I met a colleague from Xiangxi. I happened to talk about the anecdotes of corpse driving in Xiangxi, and he said that corpse drivers are not so magical. What kind of talismans and spells make the corpses walk by themselves are all nonsense!

They just use bamboo poles to prop up the corpses, tie them firmly with hemp ropes, and two corpse drivers carry the corpses in the middle, one in front and one behind. During the carrying process, the corpses shake with each step, and from a distance, it looks like they are walking by themselves, hopping and jumping.

As for the plots in those movies, they are completely artistic processing by later generations.

I still believe what he said, because he said that his classmate's grandfather was a corpse driver. He also told me that not anyone can do this job. Corpse drivers must have long arms and legs, a straight body, and the most important thing is that they must be ugly.

As for why they must be ugly, my colleague couldn't say. He only knew this rule, but didn't know the origin of the rule.

Now seeing Mr. Liao's appearance, I recalled my colleague's words, and couldn't help but sigh that he was right—at least Mr. Liao was indeed ugly.

Back to the topic.

Sister Hong told me that Mr. Liao had a great background. The Liao family is one of the three major corpse driving families in Xiangxi. The ancestors of the Liao family began driving corpses during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. By the time of Mr. Liao, it was already the forty-third generation.

When I heard this, my first reaction was that the Liao family was unlucky enough. For forty-three generations, every generation was a corpse driver, which meant that every generation of their descendants was ugly enough, otherwise they wouldn't be able to inherit this family business.

But then I thought about it, the power of genetic inheritance is strong. If they have been corpse drivers for generations, then this becomes possible.

Talking about this, I had a doubt in my heart.

Since Mr. Liao is a corpse driver, then why doesn't he go outside to drive corpses, and instead follows Manager Wang and the others down into the tomb?

Could it be that Manager Wang is like Chi You, an affectionate and righteous person who can't bear to see his brothers die tragically in the tomb, so he brought Mr. Liao down to take all the brothers who died in the tomb out?

But that's not right!

Little Shuai, who died tragically outside the tomb chamber wall, and Tugou (Dog), who was sealed off with a knife in the tomb passage, were all Manager Wang's confidants, and they were all thrown on the ground alone. Manager Wang had no intention of transporting them away!

Unable to restrain the curiosity in my heart, I couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Liao, I'm sorry to ask you a question. As a corpse driver, what are you doing down in the tomb? Could it be that there are corpses in this ancient tomb that need you to drive out?"

Hearing this question, Mr. Liao didn't answer, but looked at Manager Wang not far away, as if asking for his opinion.

Manager Wang immediately turned his head and glared at me, and reprimanded me very unceremoniously, "Don't ask about things you shouldn't! Do you know what curiosity killed the cat? A newcomer, asking this and that, doesn't have any manners! Little Hong, keep an eye on your people! Teach him the rules!"

Sister Hong nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, Zhiguo (nickname for Manager Wang), don't worry, I'll talk to him properly!"

After speaking, she dragged me aside and said in a low voice, "Rongsheng, you child, what are you asking about! The less you know about Manager Wang and Mr. Liao, the better. We are just doing hard work, just listen to the arrangements of the superiors and do things. You can know what you are allowed to know, and don't ask what you are not allowed to know, understand?"

I didn't want to cause more trouble, and I didn't want to cause trouble for Sister Hong, so I nodded and said, "Understood, Sister Hong, I will say less of this kind of talk in the future, and I will also ask less about their affairs."

"Good, that's right." Sister Hong smiled at me, reached out and pinched my face.

At this time, Manager Wang said loudly: "Everyone quickly filters through the burial pit, take away all the valuable things in this tomb chamber, look carefully inside the stone coffin, don't leave anything behind! After sweeping this one, let's continue moving forward. The authorities may be on their way, so everyone be quick!"

"Understood!"

The haozis (tomb robbers) under his command responded in unison, and even Sister Hong shouted along. After shouting, they scattered and poured into the tomb chamber, and began to overturn the funerary objects in one stone coffin after another.

While this group of haozis (tomb robbers) were busy, Uncle Mei and I quietly got together.

Uncle Mei had been thinking about the bronze dagger that killed Tugou (Dog), because that was clearly the murder weapon that killed Aunt Mei.

He lowered his voice and said to me, "Rongsheng, why do I feel that the murderer who killed your aunt is that Baiyi Xianggu (White-Clad Fairy)! Maybe we were all wrong, the murderer is not Manager Wang's man."

I also nodded and said, "Indeed, judging from the murder weapon, the murderer who killed Aunt Mei and the murderer who killed Tugou (Dog) are likely to be the same person. And judging from Manager Wang's reaction, he doesn't seem to have ever seen that bronze dagger. We may have wronged him, and the murderer who killed Aunt Mei is not his man."

"That makes sense." Uncle Mei nodded slowly, stroking his chin, and then became excited again, and said excitedly: "Anyway, we didn't waste this trip! Next, we must find a way to find that Baiyi Xianggu (White-Clad Fairy). If we find her, the case of your aunt's murder and An'an's whereabouts will all be settled!"