Chapter 1 The Unexpectedly Large Courtyard

The courtyard was much larger than expected. Yu Chengmu and the others didn't immediately act upon entering. Zhou Qing supported Yu Chengmu, while another man named Zhang Junyu walked over and bent slightly, listening as Yu Chengmu whispered something in his ear.

After listening, Zhang Junyu nodded, then looked around and walked in another direction, sticking close to the wall.

Jiang Cheng noticed Zhang Junyu's strange gait—one foot light, one foot shallow—and couldn't help but take a few more glances. He didn't expect to look up and catch Yu Chengmu staring at him.

Soon after, Zhang Junyu found a wooden corridor submerged in weeds. They walked along the corridor, the wood creaking under their feet with the sound of decay. Weeds grew everywhere nearby, creating a scene of utter desolation.

But the artificial hill and various scenic arrangements in the distance told them of the former grandeur of this place.

Yu Chengmu stopped, looking towards the artificial hill.

"Are those villagers serious about setting up the mourning hall here?" Pang Xiaofeng glanced around with fear in his eyes, hugging himself and complaining.

Chen Hao frowned. "Say less useless things."

The man who led them hadn't told them where their rooms were. After they came in, they saw a light on the left side and detoured to find it. When they got closer, they saw several white lanterns and a large room resembling a wing.

The lanterns hung under the eaves, and the flames inside flickered with the wind, giving a sense of unreality.

"Look," Zhang Junyu, wearing a black vest, suddenly said.

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing. Not far from this wing, there were three other buildings with lanterns lit. Judging by their size, they should be about the same as this wing.

There were four wings in total, spaced apart from each other.

"It seems these are the rooms we'll be staying in tonight," Yu Chengmu said, slightly hunching his back, his voice sounding somewhat unreal in the wind. "We have four groups here. How about one room per group?"

"We have no problem with that," Chen Hao was the first to agree. The burly man seemed to be the leader of Pang Xiaofeng and Du Moyu's group. They had four people, the most of any group.

Jiang Cheng didn't want to share a room with others either. Otherwise, in addition to guarding against ghosts, he would also have to guard against people. So, he excitedly stated, "You don't have to worry about me. The doctors all praise my courage. I can fall asleep without a nurse哄, and I don't even need to turn on the lights!"

The fatty wanted to divert everyone's attention from Jiang Cheng, but he really couldn't.

Zhang Junyu glanced at him and said coldly, "Well, aren't you something."

As soon as he finished speaking, a discordant voice rang out, "Separate… isn't separating too dangerous?" Jia Jinliang looked at the three wings not far away and couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Why don't we just stay together? You can have the beds, and A Biao and I can sleep on the floor. We'll squeeze in, just make do. If something really… really happens at night, we can look after each other, right?"

It was clear that Jia Jinliang was badly frightened. His forehead was covered in sweat, reflecting the light under the lanterns.

"Mr. Jia, please do as you wish," Yu Chengmu said, before leading his two disciples into the wing in front of them.

Jia Jinliang hurriedly followed, but as soon as he reached the door, Zhang Junyu stopped him. Zhang Junyu stared at Jia Jinliang with a livid face, and Jia Jinliang didn't dare to move.

With a "bang," Zhang Qingyu closed the door.

Jia Jinliang stood in front of the door, hesitated for a moment, and then turned to Chen Hao with a smile. But Chen Hao just nodded politely and led his group to another wing that was relatively close.

Jiang Cheng shrugged and left with the fatty.

But after only a few steps, Jia Jinliang caught up with them. "Little Brother Jiang, Brother Wang," Jia Jinliang said with a very familiar smile, revealing a gold tooth at the corner of his mouth. "You two look so talented and capable. How about we sleep together tonight? Be each other's support."

"Inconvenient. I can't sleep with strangers around," Jiang Cheng dismissed Jia Jinliang with a few words, then dragged the fatty into a wing.

Jia Jinliang stood outside the door for a while and said a few more nice words. When he realized that Jiang Cheng had no intention of opening the door, he had no choice but to leave with A Biao, who hadn't said a word the whole time, and went to the last wing.

The fatty hid behind the door, watching Jia Jinliang and the other man walk away through the crack before he felt relieved.

The wing in front of them wasn't large, divided into an outer and inner room. The outer room they were currently in had a table in the center, several wooden chairs, and a landscape painting hanging on the wall. The decorations were also antique in style.

Indeed, as the man who led them had said, these rooms had been cleaned up and looked very clean. Jiang Cheng had already wandered around the room at this time and came out of the inner bedroom.

The fatty sat at the table, touched the teapot and found it was warm. He couldn't help but pour himself a cup of water, and then poured a cup for the doctor, but didn't drink it, using his hands to warm the teacup.

"I said, Doctor, what's gotten into you again? Listen to that self-introduction of yours. Is that something a normal person would say?" The fatty could understand showing weakness, but he couldn't understand showing madness.

Jiang Cheng also sat down, took the teacup the fatty handed him, looked at it, and took a sip. "This time is different from before," Jiang Cheng said in a low voice. "That old guy named Yu Chengmu is very strange."

The fatty thought of Yu Chengmu's old face, like dried tree bark, and felt uncomfortable. "I also think he's weird, but I can't put my finger on it. His two disciples are also quite strange."

"You remember that young man named Zhou Qing, right? The way he knocked on the door was very strange," the fatty recalled.

Jiang Cheng seemed suddenly interested when he heard this. "I didn't see him knock on the door; it was blocked. Show me how he did it."

"Oh, oh, sure, Doctor." The fatty stood up and gestured to Jiang Cheng while recalling, "He first knocked once at the top, then… then another knock here, and finally on the right, three knocks in total. But the door clearly wasn't locked, and there was no one inside. Who was he knocking for?"

Jiang Cheng held the cup, his brow furrowing slightly. After a moment, he spoke. "He was knocking for the ghosts."

The fatty's face instantly turned pale when he heard this. "Doctor, don't scare me in the middle of the night. We've been to places like this many times before. Where have we ever run into a ghost right away?"

Jiang Cheng looked towards the door and said in a low voice, "Zhou Qing's method of knocking on the door is very particular. The first knock at the top is to pay respects to the gods, lest he offend any passing deities inside. The second knock in the middle is to pay respects to the ghosts, who are the masters of the house. The third knock on the right is to pay respects to colleagues. After all, this door has already been opened, and a thief never leaves empty-handed. They hope to find treasures forgotten by their colleagues so they can pick up a bargain."

The fatty was stunned. "Doctor, they're thieves? No, no, you just said the second knock was to pay respects to the ghosts. What's the deal with the master of the house being a ghost?"

After a moment, the fatty seemed to understand, and his eyes widened. "They… they're tomb raiders?"

"Most likely," Jiang Cheng said bluntly. "They have a very strange smell on them. Also, observe their footsteps—one deep, one shallow. And they stick close to the wall when looking for the way. Zhang Qingyu, who led the way, even had to touch the wall with one hand. That's because the light in the tombs is dim, and they're afraid they won't be able to see the mechanisms, so they have to feel with their hands."

"But why are they so concerned about this house? Is it an occupational hazard?" The fatty had unconditional trust in Jiang Cheng's words, even if he didn't understand them.

Soon after, Jiang Cheng turned to look at him. His face was unclear in the candlelight, making the fatty a little nervous. "Because this place is a tomb," Jiang Cheng said in a deep voice.

"A tomb…" In the fatty's mind, tombs were all buried underground. This house was a bit dilapidated now, but judging from the furnishings, it must have been a wealthy family's residence in the past. How could it have become a tomb?

"Did you see the artificial hill when you came in?" Jiang Cheng asked.

The fatty nodded his chin. "I… I saw it."

"Then did you see any water?"

Upon hearing this, the fatty fell into thought. On the way, they did see a large artificial hill in the front yard. There seemed to be quite a few decorations and arrangements around it, but he didn't see any lakes or ponds.

"Water represents vitality. If there are mountains but no water, there is no vitality. As the saying goes, ‘Bound by water and stopped,’ because vitality stops when it encounters water." After a pause, Jiang Cheng continued, "There used to be water near that artificial hill, but after the master of this house died, it was filled in. That artificial hill also has a story to it. It's a headless mountain."

The fatty couldn't help but shrink his neck when he heard the words "headless."

"A headless mountain means that after the master of the house died, the remaining people smashed and knocked down the highest peak of the artificial hill. This also represents that the master of this house didn't die a natural death and had extreme resentment."

"This place has been transformed into a yin dwelling," Jiang Cheng said with some helplessness. (Yin dwelling: A place for the dead)

"Damn it, I knew these villagers had bad intentions!" The fatty recalled the time in Xiaoshijian Village, and the muscles on his face tightened, making him look very fierce.

After calming down, the fatty couldn't help but feel worried. "Doctor, since Yu Chengmu and the others are tomb raiders, they definitely know more about the business than we do. Those people aren't good people; we have to watch out for them." This mission had run smack into Yu Chengmu and his group's area of expertise. No wonder that old guy was so arrogant.

"By the way, Doctor," the fatty asked curiously, "how do you know so much about this field? Do you have friends who like to visit other people's ancestral graves?"

"I have a friend who likes to dabble in the arts. His girlfriend is very rich and invests in things all the time…" Jiang Cheng suddenly stopped talking halfway through.

The fatty immediately realized who the friend the doctor was talking about was.

Pi Ruan.

The doctor only had a handful of people he could call friends, and Pi Ruan was a very special one.

Sensing the doctor's emotional fluctuations, the fatty immediately changed the subject. "Doctor, we absolutely must not let them know that we've guessed they're tomb raiders, or they'll definitely mess with us."

Based on the doctor's analysis, Yu Chengmu and the other two were quite capable. These people might be involved in major cases. Who knew, these desperadoes might even have lives on their hands.

In this lawless world, they would have even fewer scruples.

Jiang Cheng cooperated with the fatty this time, pausing for a few seconds before continuing his analysis. "You're right; we have to be careful. Judging from their methods, they're a very professional group of tomb raiders."

"That Yu Chengmu is the 'appraiser' in this group, the one responsible for finding ancient tombs and identifying the treasures inside. His two disciples—the older one is called 'chagun' (probe stick), which is Zhang Qingyu. He's responsible for scouting the way and knows how to dig tunnels and eliminate mechanisms like trapdoors and quicksand in ancient tombs."

"The younger one is called 'bangqian' (sledgehammer), the most clever and agile, the main force in doing the work, and assists the 'chagun'."

Listening to Jiang Cheng's step-by-step analysis, the fatty felt that there were really differences between people. In front of the doctor, his brain circuits were even worse than those of a single-celled organism.

Huai Yi had once drunkenly put his arms around them and joked that if the three of them were tied together, they would have a total of 200 brain cells. He himself counted for 1, and the doctor had 199.

The fatty had laughed at the doctor at the time, but he didn't realize it until noon the next day.

But it had to be said that after the fatty went over Yu Chengmu, Zhang Junyu, and Zhou Qing's performances in his head, he knew that the doctor had hit at least eight or nine points. Yu Chengmu was clearly in the role of strategist, while Zhou Qing was a runner, only responsible for opening the door and then returning to Yu Chengmu's side to take care of him. The job of going in to find the way was left to Zhang Junyu.

After thinking about it, the fatty said cautiously, "Doctor, a professional tomb raiding gang must have more than just these three roles, right?"

"Of course, there should also be a 'zhiguo' (pot-setter), the one who brings these people together, responsible for providing equipment, investing funds, and distributing dividends to these people—the boss," Jiang Cheng said calmly.

The fatty's face changed when he heard the word "boss," clearly associating it with bad things.

Jiang Cheng saw the fatty's expression and nodded in affirmation. "That's right. We've all met this person. It's that Jia Jinliang. Just now, I observed Zhang Junyu's footsteps, and that old fox Yu Chengmu noticed. That Jia Jinliang followed us to find out what we knew. If they discover that we've seen through their identities, they won't let us go."

"Jia Jinliang, and… and A Biao, who's with him, are in cahoots with Yu Chengmu and the other two!" The fatty couldn't help but gasp. Out of a total of 11 people, this gang of desperadoes accounted for nearly half.

"Yes, that A Biao should be Jia Jinliang's bodyguard. He looks unremarkable and doesn't talk, but his eyes are very fierce. He probably has blood on his hands. Bosses in this business like to hire bodyguards from Southeast Asia. There's a lot of infighting in this business. They kill people and throw them directly into the ancient tomb, then fill in the tunnel. No one will know. No one may find out even after decades."

After listening to Jiang Cheng's analysis, the fatty felt a chill in his heart when he thought of Jia Jinliang's obsequious face. At the same time, he realized something: not long ago, Yu Chengmu and the other two and Jia Jinliang and A Biao had come from the same path, and the time between the two groups was very short.

Now it seemed that all five of them had come in together, but after seeing them from afar, they had split into two groups. Yu Chengmu and the other two were in the open, while Jia Jinliang and the other were in the dark, just like they used to be.