Twin female zombies come to the door: My lord, please have mercy!

The door to the tea room was pushed open, revealing an extremely dimly lit interior.

The curtains on all sides were drawn tightly, with only a few soft, cool-toned spotlights shining down above the glass display cases in the center.

A young man stood next to the glass display case.

The man was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a slender and upright figure.

He was wearing a retro tweed three-piece suit and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

Her short hair was neatly styled, and she exuded a strong scholarly air about her.

He held a yellowed leather notebook in his left hand and a high-powered magnifying glass in his right, his head bowed as he intently studied a piece of rusted ironware in the display case.

Hearing the door open, the young man stopped what he was doing and turned around.

His face was handsome and gentle, with soft features and no aggressiveness.

Lin Ye's gaze fell on his hands.

The man's fingers were long and pale, with a layer of extremely difficult-to-wash grayish-black powder remaining in the crevices of his nails.

The powder emitted a unique smell.

The deep cemetery soil, buried underground for many years, smells of decaying wood and aged lime.

A high-ranking tomb raider disguised as a scholar.

"Mr. Bai, this is Master Lin whom I mentioned to you."

Song Zhenguo then introduced the situation.

"Master Lin, this is Bai Yu. He is a top archaeological consultant in China and also serves as an antique appraiser for several major auction houses. He has extensive knowledge of the tomb structures of the pre-Qin period."

Bai Yu put the magnifying glass into his vest pocket and politely closed his notebook.

He stepped forward, extended his right hand to Lin Ye, and wore a warm smile.

"Mr. Lin, I have long admired your name. Master Song highly praised your feng shui expertise. Meeting you today, I find you to be a man of great stature and extraordinary character."

His voice was gentle and soothing, and his speech was unhurried and calm, giving him an approachable and likable quality.

Lin Ye reached out and briefly shook hands with him.

The moment he touched her, Lin Ye felt that the other person's palm was cold and dry, without any calluses or fluctuations of true energy from a martial arts practitioner.

Bai Yu's internal meridians were empty and his qi and blood were weak, making him truly an ordinary person without any cultivation.

"Mr. Bai, you're too kind."

Lin Ye withdrew his hand, his gaze passing over him and landing on the glass display case in the center.

"I heard from Old Song that there's a tricky item that needs to be examined."

Bai Yu nodded, turned around and walked to the largest glass display case.

Inside the display case, a square, rusty iron box sat quietly.

The surface of the tin box was covered with large patches of peeling dark red oxide layer, and some dried black substance remained at the corners.

The metal box had no keyhole, and its eight corners were tightly sealed with large iron rivets.

"This object was unearthed three days ago."

Bai Yu pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, lowered his voice, and revealed a rigorous academic attitude.

"Judging from the density of the soil layer attached to the bottom, it has been soaked in underground water veins for at least 1,200 years. The rivet forging process on the surface of the iron box is very special. All the rivets are driven inward with a dead knot."

Bai Yu's fingers slid slowly along the edge of the metal box through the glass.

"When ancient craftsmen made boxes for storing gold and silver, the rivets were always turned outwards to prevent thieves from stealing them."

"This inward forging method, from the perspective of architectural mechanics, only illustrates one point: the original design purpose of this thing was not to amass wealth; it was a purely sealing container. It was not meant to prevent outsiders from entering, but to prevent the things inside from leaving."

This meticulous logical reasoning caused a strange glint to flash in Lin Ye's eyes.

This person has no cultivation, yet he can accurately deduce the nature of evil things simply by relying on his knowledge of history and structural science.

This level of observation and intelligence far surpasses that of those charlatans who just wander around aimlessly with a compass.

Lin Ye slowly walked towards the display case.

He didn't activate his aura-gazing technique, but relied solely on his visual intuition to stare at the rusty iron box.

The temperature in the tea room dropped without anyone noticing.

The air coming out of the central air conditioning vent, which was originally weak, now carried a damp, fishy smell.

A large green plant in the corner silently curled and withered at the edges of its leaves.

A very faint muffled sound suddenly rang out in the silent room.

"Tick-tock".

A drop of murky water seeped from a crack in the ceiling, landing on the Persian carpet and leaving a dark stain.

Song Zhenguo shivered and subconsciously pulled his Tang suit jacket tighter.

Ah Biao placed his hand on the baton at his waist and looked around warily.

Bai Yu's face turned slightly pale.

He instinctively gripped the leather-bound notebook in his hand, his eyes fixed on the metal box, without the slightest sign of backing down or running away.

He was afraid, but he longed even more to uncover the truth.

Froststar stopped chewing the candy in her mouth.

The little girl loosened the hem of Lin Ye's clothes, took two steps with her bare legs, and stopped on the right side of the display case.

She raised her small face, her heterochromatic eyes staring intently at the leaky corner of the ceiling, her pink nostrils twitching rapidly.

"It smells like dead fish," she muttered under her breath.

Ayougu secretly released the Gu worms.

Lin Ye's gaze shifted from the metal box to the glass surface of the display case.

The bulletproof glass reflected Bai Yu's image as he stood in front of it, illuminated by the overhead lights.

Lin Ye narrowed his eyes, a cold glint appearing deep within his pupils.

In the reflection of the glass, Bai Yu was looking down, writing something in his notebook.

In real life, Bai Yu just raised his right hand and used his index finger to push up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.

A second passed.

The "Bai Yu" in the glass reflection still has his right hand on the notebook.

It wasn't until the second second that the arm in the reflection stiffly rose, mechanically completing the motion of pushing up glasses.

The reflection's movement is a full beat slower than reality!

The air in the tea room was completely frozen.

The fishy smell was extremely strong.

A layer of white condensation quickly formed on the bulletproof glass inside the display case.

Behind that layer of moisture, a skeletal handprint covered in black lividity was slowly taking shape.

The palm print pressed outwards, accompanied by a tooth-grinding scraping sound like glass.

Song Zhenguo finally noticed the strange reflection. The old man was so frightened that he backed away and fell down on the single sofa in the tea room, panting heavily.

Bai Yu also noticed the abnormal temperature. He looked up and met his reflection in the glass, which showed a delayed reflection of himself.

His pupils contracted, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and his legs stiffened on the spot.

As an ordinary person with no fighting ability, his body instinctively malfunctioned in the face of this supernatural and terrifying phenomenon.

Lin Ye didn't say anything to remind him. He took long strides and calmly crossed half a meter, directly blocking Bai Yu and the display case.

Lin Ye raised his right hand, his broad palm flat against the cold glass surface, just covering the black handprint that was forming.

The primordial true energy of the Pure Yang Dao Body flowed quietly in his palm.

There was no explosive flame, no deafening thunder.

The intense and masculine energy silently crushed through the small space.

"Sizzle!"

White smoke billowed up.

The black handprint on the inside of the glass melted away instantly, like snowflakes being branded with a hot iron.

The condensation on the glass dissipated quickly, the temperature in the tea room warmed up again, and the nauseating fishy smell disappeared completely.

The reflection has returned to normal.

Lin Ye withdrew his hand, put it in his pocket, and turned to look at Bai Yu, who was still in shock.

"Mr. Bai's deduction is absolutely correct."

Lin Ye's calm tone broke the deathly silence in the room.

"This iron box is a sealed container. The contents inside have been submerged in water for thousands of years, accumulating an extremely malevolent water vengeance."

"Old Song, this thing is exuding malevolent energy. Don't take it out for exhibition tonight. Wrap it in red cloth, throw it into the underground vault, and lock it up."

Bai Yu pushed up his slipped glasses and took out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

He opened his notebook and quickly jotted down a few lines of text on the page with his slightly trembling pen.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Lin. I have learned a lot."

Bai Yu let out a long breath, and his gaze towards Lin Ye held a newfound respect.

"The ancients used the oxidation of iron to construct a sealing magnetic field. This method of combining corrosion prevention and confinement is truly amazing. The boundary between metaphysics and archaeology is far more blurred than I imagined."

He didn't ask what the handprint was, nor did he make a fuss about what kind of magic Lin Ye had used.

He used his knowledge system to try to digest this scene that defied common sense.

This calm, restrained, and measured personality made Lin Ye think highly of him.

"Everyone has their own area of ​​expertise."

Lin Ye nodded.

"I admire Mr. Bai's knowledge of underground structures as well. If I encounter any tricky ancient tomb artifacts in the future, I will have to rely on Mr. Bai's expertise."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Seeing that the evil spirit had been easily suppressed, Song Zhenguo breathed a long sigh of relief and quickly instructed A Biao to find a red cloth and wrap the iron box tightly.

"Master Lin, Mr. Bai, the banquet is about to begin. Please proceed to the main hall."

The group pushed open the heavy soundproof door of the tea room and stepped back into the bustling banquet hall.

On the stage in the lobby, the lights were dazzling, and a symphony orchestra was playing a soothing welcoming waltz.

Well-dressed men and women, holding champagne glasses, strolled and chatted throughout the luxurious venue.

Just a door away, it felt like two completely different worlds.

Lin Ye declined Song Zhenguo's suggestion to invite him to the main table, and led the group to a panoramic floor-to-ceiling window at the edge of the banquet hall.

The night outside the window was deep.

Before anyone knew it, a light autumn rain began to fall again over Jiangzhou.

Raindrops hit the massive glass curtain wall, converging into winding lines of water that cascaded down into the neon-lit steel forest below.

Leng Yue stood quietly beside Lin Ye.

The noise of the banquet hall was automatically filtered out by her aura that kept strangers at bay.

She turned her head slightly, her deep red eyes looking at the two figures reflected side by side in the glass.

"The powerful and famous in this mortal world indulge in such sensual pleasures every day, unaware of the perilous abyss beneath their feet."

She spoke softly, her tone devoid of any disdain, simply stating a cold, hard fact.

Lin Ye picked up a glass of champagne from a passing waiter's tray and gently swirled the pale golden liquid in the stemmed glass.

"That's just how the world is. Some people have to carry heavy burdens in the abyss so that they can enjoy the glitz and glamour under the lights. We're paid to do our job and protect our little corner of this old city. That's enough."

He tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass, then casually placed the empty glass on the windowsill beside him.

Outside the glass window, the night rain fell thickly, blurring the outline of the entire city.