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Chapter 647 Stone Coffin
Zhu Yu was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't realize his expression had subtly become quite serious.

Lu Qing noticed this and subtly touched Zhu Yu's arm, silently asking her with her eyes if there was anything amiss.

Zhu Yu shook her head slightly.

Actually, she had just thought of something else—if after Lu Qing's family had their accident, the Brahma Land had already begun preparing all sorts of insidious medicinal herbs and exotic flowers and plants, and quickly set about tampering with the spices, then did that mean that while those people were plotting to eliminate Lu Qing's family, they were also making other preparations at the same time…

While the Jin Kingdom was completely unaware, and even before Emperor Jin had firmly established himself on the throne, some people had already begun plotting to "turn the world upside down".

However, this is not something to be discussed in a hurry, especially with an outsider like Mu Hong present, making it even more inappropriate to talk about these things.

Mu Hong didn't see the exchange of glances between the two. He had also been filled with fear and trepidation today, and only now that he was certain that the other party had no intention of harming him did he begin to relax a little.

"Is there any easily identifiable feature on that person's body? For example, scars, birthmarks, or tattoos?" Lu Qing asked Mu Hong casually.

This time, Mu Hong didn't need to recall it again. After thinking for a moment, he said, "That person always had a cloth wrapped around his neck, regardless of the season. Even when the room was stuffy and hot, he never took off the cloth around his neck."

Back then, I kept guessing whether he had something on his neck that he didn't want people to see, or whether he had been a bandit before and had scars or tattoos on his neck, but he covered them up so no one could see them.

I remember this very well; it came to mind as soon as you mentioned it.

As he spoke, he scrutinized Lu Qing and Zhu Yu, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Is that person the enemy you're looking for? Could you... could you help me avenge the grudges of our Mu Family Village as well?"
"If you gentlemen can help the people of Mu Family Village avenge their grievances, I wouldn't even blink an eye if you wanted to tear me apart right now!"

"What use would we have for your skin and tendons?" Lu Qing smiled and shook his head. "I'd like to know if the sleeping potion you used before was something your family made yourself, or something you got from someone else?"

"Actually... that sleeping potion was something that evil person forced my father to concoct. My father was worried that this kind of thing would be used for bad things in the future, so when he was making the antidote, he secretly told me the recipe, thinking that if I could be rescued one day, I could at least find a way to help others."

"If I can get you what you need, can you make any more?"

“Yes!” Mu Hong nodded without hesitation. “Over the years, I’ve been hiding here all by myself. There’s no one to talk to and nothing I can do, so I’ve been recalling all the spice recipes I can remember over and over again in my mind. I don’t even know how many times I’ve gone through them. Those things are already etched into my brain.”

“I can avenge you, and I can also make it more comfortable for you to hide here, so you don’t have to go hungry. In exchange, I will find a way to get you the raw materials, and you will help me prepare what I need,” Lu Qing said to him.

Mu Hong thought for a moment, nodded, and said with a wry smile, "I hope that what you want me to produce isn't for the purpose of harming people, but it won't make much of a difference what I say now. It's easier for you to strangle me than to strangle a dog, and I have no room to negotiate with you."

"Don't worry about that, we won't use what you've given us to do anything immoral." Lu Qing patiently gave Mu Hong a guarantee, then added, "Before that, you'd better return the luggage you hid from us." Hearing this, an unnatural blush appeared on Mu Hong's originally pale face. He lowered his head awkwardly and said sheepishly, "I'm sorry, gentlemen, I... I had no choice."

I haven't encountered anyone for a long time since then. In the past, the few people I occasionally scared away were usually hunters from the neighborhood. It was considered good if I could find one or two wild rabbits that they had left behind.

I can at least pick some wild fruit nearby for food, and occasionally catch a pheasant or something, but... there's nowhere I can get clothes...

So when I saw clothes in your luggage that day, I... I kept them for you.

"Then, I'll take you to get it right away!"

Lu Qing nodded. This time, he arranged for the talismans to stay upstairs to guard the area, so that they wouldn't be unaware of any unexpected events happening outside. Then, he had Mu Hong lead the way, and the two of them went downstairs with the talismans to retrieve the items.

Fu Lu was naturally very happy to be able to go down and take a look, but for his body shape, having to hunch over and bend over the whole way was really quite uncomfortable.

Having finally reached the lower tomb chamber, Mu Hong was no longer nervous or afraid, and felt much more at ease. He took the initiative to say to them, "You don't need to be afraid, there are no more skeletons down there."

When I first discovered this place, the tomb had already been completely looted; there wasn't even a trace of bone left. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to hide here for so long.

This was the first time Fu Lu had come down here. He took out a tinderbox and roughly saw the situation below. Looking at the stone coffin that had been pulled open, he guessed that Mu Hong had been hiding inside. This surprised him greatly.

"The things are all inside the coffin. I'll take them out for you right now." Mu Hong grinned awkwardly at the three of them, then nimbly climbed onto the stone coffin and crawled inside.

It must have been a skill honed over many years. Despite his thin appearance, he was incredibly fast and agile, managing to rummage through everything in no time.

Before the four of them returned to the surface, Lu Qing carefully examined the underground tomb chamber again. Mu Hong thought he was afraid that he might have hidden something else, so he followed behind with a wronged look on his face, shaking his white beard and saying, "No, everything you have is here. I took it all out. I didn't even hide a single thread."

Lu Qing didn't explain anything to him, she just nodded silently, and the four of them left the dimly lit underground tomb and returned to the small wooden building above.

Once they were up there, Fu Lu didn't stand on ceremony with Mu Hong. Without saying a word, he started checking their belongings and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that everything was there.

(End of this chapter)