I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

After the stone gate opened, no one went in immediately.

It was too quiet behind the door.

It wasn't just ordinary stillness.

Even if an ordinary tomb has been sealed for a long time, dust and moisture will accumulate and seep out from the stones.

But there was nothing behind that door.

There is no wind.

It has no taste.

Darkness, like a thick cloth, blocks everyone's view. Whoever reaches out first may be swept away.

Master Lai has already taken half a step forward.

Lin Ye stopped short after saying, "The door is open, but that doesn't mean we're welcome inside."

He turned to look at the woods.

His eyes were both bright and cold.

"You heard it again?"

Lin Ye looked at the darkness behind the door.

"I didn't hear any welcoming remarks."

Master Lai stared at him for a second, then didn't press him any further.

It's not that he suddenly became easier to talk to.

Throughout the journey, every time Lin Ye made a sarcastic remark, he would usually follow up with something truly dangerous.

Xing Shanhe raised his hand.

"Scouting first."

One of the tomb raiders lit a cold light stick and threw it through the crack in the door.

The cold light stick rolled a long way on the stone ground.

pat.

Stop.

I didn't fall into the pit.

It wasn't swallowed by the wall.

There was no black water coming out.

A small patch of cold light spread out, illuminating the smooth, black stone ground.

Xing Shanhe is very stable.

He then had a small probe vehicle sent in.

The screen started flashing as soon as the car crossed the threshold.

The scene alternates between rocky ground and snowflakes.

The tomb raider in charge of the equipment gritted his teeth and adjusted it a few times, his face looking very grim.

"The signal is unstable."

Xing Shanhe asked, "How much can we see?"

"The space is huge." The man stared at the screen. "There's something like a platform in the center. The rest of the space seems empty."

"gas?"

"I just took a sample, and it's normal."

That sounds like utter nonsense now.

Xing Shanhe simply nodded.

"rope."

The remaining people fastened the main rope again.

The light is fixed at the doorway, and the light shines obliquely from behind, ensuring that the shadows fall behind.

Xing Shanhe glanced at the ground beneath everyone's feet.

Running around without a shadow.

No one is talking nonsense.

The broken eyebrow was left in a safe position three meters outside the door, secured with double buckles, neither against the wall nor the door.

His eyes were still unfocused, and he occasionally uttered the phrase "etiquette must not be neglected," his voice so soft it was almost like a leaky vent.

Xing Shanhe didn't let him go any further.

Zhao He is gone.

Old Fang is gone.

Luo Xiaohu is gone.

His eyebrow was broken and he was half-useless.

There aren't many people left who can continue.

Xing Shanhe lowered his voice: "Once you're inside, don't touch the walls, don't touch the tables, don't touch anything. If you see anything, tell me first."

No one objected.

Even if gold bricks were lying on the ground now, no one would dare to bend down and pick them up.

The line was rearranged.

Ahead of them were Xing Shanhe and a thin captain.

The forest is in the middle.

Xiaoman stayed half a step close to Lin Ye. Her right wrist had just been twisted by Master Lai, so her movements were a little slower than usual.

She acted as if nothing had happened.

But Lin Ye noticed that her fingertips would occasionally twitch slightly.

Master Lai walked on the other side, still holding that thermos cup.

Su Tinglan, Chen Jin, and Bai Yuan were behind.

Several people stepped across the threshold.

The moment his foot touched the ground, Lin Ye heard a sound in his ear.

It's not a drum.

It wasn't a human voice either.

Like in a faraway place, someone threw an old copper coin into a dry well.

Ding.

Then, the lingering sound slowly rose to the surface.

"Entering the room."

"The fire has gone cold."

"Kui has not lost it."

Lin Ye paused for a moment.

Xiaoman immediately looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Ye said in a low voice, "This is the right place."

Master Lai also stopped.

Explain yourself.

Lin Ye looked at the darkness ahead.

"They've been putting on airs down here, but they've stopped doing it here."

Master Lai remained silent.

He closed his eyes.

The next second, blood started seeping from his nose again.

Blood slid down the philtrum.

He didn't wipe it.

He gripped the thermos tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white.

Lin Ye felt a chill run down his spine.

Even when the old man was excited before, he had never acted like this.

Master Lai slowly opened his eyes, his voice low and hoarse.

"This is it."

Xing Shanhe looked at him.

"Where is it?"

Master Lai glanced around the main hall.

"They're everywhere."

The skinny captain couldn't help but look up.

"Everywhere?"

Master Lai ignored him and kept staring at the stone platform in the center.

"It's been soaked for too long, it can't be separated anymore."

Lin Ye understood.

Xuan Gui, or rather, that true spiritual artifact, has been here for far too long.

So long that the entire main chapel, all the stones, all the dust, even the debris in the cracks of the walls, were imbued with that aura.

Master Lai was able to pinpoint the location.

But he couldn't tell which one was the core one.

That's why he kept a close eye on Lin Ye the whole way.

The main chapel was larger than they had imagined.

The cold light stick at the entrance doesn't illuminate the entire area.

After several lights were fixed in place, the entire space was slowly revealed.

There is no Kingsoft.

There was no jade coffin.

There weren't even any decent burial goods.

The place was so empty it made me feel uneasy.

In the center is a black stone platform.

The stone platform was not high, and it was square. Several items were placed on it.

A piece of black pottery.

A broken piece of jade disc.

Several pieces of jade that had been burned and cracked.

There are also two long, narrow fragments, somewhat resembling jade tablets, but both are badly broken.

There was a ring of charred wood ash around the stone platform, mixed with bone fragments and small stone chips.

The walls are very clean.

It's not that there are no engravings, but rather that they are very few.

Only a few lines, like ripples on water, slowly converge from the four walls toward the stone platform.

Everything here needs no further explanation.

The skinny captain stared at it for a long time before finally managing to utter a sentence:

"This is all there is down in such a dangerous place?"

Xing Shanhe gave him a cold glance.

"Not enough? Then risk your life to make one!"

The skinny captain immediately shut up.

Lin Ye glanced at him.

If Luo Xiaohu were still alive, he would probably say something similar.

Then Xing Shanhe kicked him.

Thinking of this, Lin Ye felt a tightness in his chest.

He quickly looked away.

Don't overthink it.

Su Tinglan stood three steps away from the stone platform, not approaching.

She shone a lamp on the object on the stone platform from the side, and after looking at it for a while, her brows furrowed more and more.

"This is not a group to be buried alive with you."

Xing Shanhe asked, "How so?"

"There are too few items, and the arrangement is incorrect," Su Tinglan said. "It looks more like a set of offerings deliberately left behind after a sacrificial ceremony."

Lin Ye added, "Is it for future generations to see?"

Su Tinglan glanced at him.

"That's one way to understand it."

"That just means continuing to fish."

Su Tinglan did not refute.

"almost."

Master Lai stood next to Lin Ye, speaking very softly.

"Don't wait for me to ask this time."

Lin Ye turned his head to look at him.

"You guys require real-time commentary when you go into tombs?"

Master Lai looked at him, his eyes showing no emotion.

"Lin Ye, I've already proven that I have a way to make you tell the truth."

Xiaoman took half a step forward.

Master Lai didn't even look at her.

"Even ten of them couldn't stop me."

Upon hearing this, Xiaoman's fingers tightened slightly.

The smile on Lin Ye's face faded.

"Don't rush to touch the things on the stone platform."

Xing Shanhe immediately raised his hand.

The skinny captain, who was already preparing to set up the clamps, immediately stopped upon hearing this.

Xing Shanhe looked at the forest.

"reason."

Lin Ye stared at the stone platform.

The lingering sound returned to his ears.

"Looking at the black weapon."

"Take the jade in your hand."

"I don't recognize the jade tablet."

These sentences are almost identical to those in front of the door.

This is not a reminder.

It's more like an old rule being repeated.

Lin Ye let out a breath.

"The more conspicuous it is, the more it resembles a pit."

Master Lai narrowed his eyes.

"Anything else?"

"And I don't want to see you all get dealt with by doors, walls, drums, and shadows again," Lin Ye said. "If you really want to keep sending them, don't do it in such an unoriginal way."

The skinny captain's lips twitched, but he didn't dare to laugh.

Xing Shanhe did not laugh.

He nodded.

"Leave the stone platform as is for now. Take photos and number it first."

Several tomb raiders who were still able to move began to work.

They moved more slowly than before.

Take pictures.

mark.

Record the location.

With each step closer, look at your feet first, then at your shadow.

No one spoke.

The only sounds in the main chapel were the soft clicks of cameras and the scratching of pens on paper.

Lin Ye stood still, trying not to look around.

But the more this happens, the clearer my ears become.

There were dead people chatting in the main chapel.

It's just that the sounds here are too old.

So old it doesn't sound like a human being speaking.

It's more like a ritual that has been repeated for many years, with only a few words left, slowly turning in the cracks of the stone.

present.

fire.

圭。

尘。

Lin Ye's gaze swept over the stone platform, over the wood dust, and over the corner of the wall.

Just as the light swept across the left corner, all the sounds around him suddenly went silent.

It doesn't get smaller.

It's gone.

At that moment, the main chapel was eerily quiet.

Lin Ye's heart tightened, and he looked over almost instinctively.

There was a small pile of things in the left corner.

gravel.

Mud clods.

Blackish-gray.

Stone skin.

There were also some small fragments that looked like jade scraps.

To put it nicely, it's a remnant.

To put it bluntly, it's just waste.

It was probably just something that was casually piled up there when they were cleaning the sacrificial site, repairing the stone walls, or sealing something up, and nobody paid much attention to it.

When the light fell on it, there was no luster at all.

It lacks the color of jade.

There is no such thing as precious aura.

There was nothing there.

But it was that pile of things that made Lin Ye's ears go blank for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, the lingering sound rang in his eardrums.

"True Gui is in the dust."

"Jade is nowhere to be seen in the dust."

"He who sees jade does not recognize a jade tablet."

Lin Ye's back tensed up instantly.

He forced himself not to stare.

He glanced at it only once before turning his gaze back to the stone platform.

Master Lai is looking at him.

His eyes were like hooks.

"What did you see?"

Lin Ye cursed inwardly.

This old man is like a radar.

He didn't show it on his face, but pointed to the stone platform.

"These things don't look like good things to me."

Master Lai said calmly, "I'm asking what you just saw."

"It's a stone platform," Lin Ye said. "I'm not blind to put such a big thing in the middle."

Master Lai did not respond.

He glanced to the left corner.

Lin Ye's heart sank.

It’s over.

Although he moved it very quickly, Master Lai still noticed.

Su Tinglan then spoke up, seemingly taking over the conversation unintentionally.

"That pile in the corner also needs to be recorded."

Xing Shanhe looked at her.

Su Tinglan said, "This is the main ceremonial chamber; all the relics here may have meaning."

Lin Ye glanced at her.

Su Tinglan did not look at him.

She seemed to be making a professional judgment.

But this statement came at just the right time.

When she arrived in Linye, she realized that something had been wrong with her earlier.

Xing Shanhe was always cautious.

After listening, he immediately gave the order.

"Everything in the main room, regardless of its value, was photographed, numbered, and sealed in boxes."

The skinny captain looked at the pile of dusty things in the corner.

"You'll include gravel and mud too?"

Xing Shanhe said coldly, "Take them all away."

The skinny captain fell silent.

Numbering begins.

Box No. 1, the central stone platform containing ritual vessels.

Black pottery, broken jade disc, cracked jade pieces, and suspected fragments of a gui-shaped artifact.

All are separated by soft padding and sealed with a separate layer.

Box number two contained broken bones, wood ash, pottery shards, and fragments of jade along the wall.

Box number three, on the left corner, is a pile of rubble, mud, stone slabs, and an inconspicuous ash.

Lin Ye watched them pack things into box number three.

The long clamps picked up the gravel one by one.

The small brush gathers the dust into a small bag.

The soft shovel lifts up the clod of mud.

The movements were very careful.

But his chest felt heavier and heavier.

Because every time something was put into box number three, his ears would become a little quieter.

It wasn't a relaxed stillness.

It was the lingering sound in the entire main hall, as if it were being gradually absorbed by something.

Xiaoman stood beside him and lowered her voice: "Is there a problem with box number three?"

Lin Ye didn't look at her.

"Don't stare."

Xiaoman immediately looked away.

"clear."

Master Lai, however, had already set his sights on box number three.

A little more blood flowed from his nose.

This time he raised his hand and wiped it.

After wiping, he smiled.

It's very light.

When Lin Ye saw that smile, he knew he was in trouble.

The old man sensed it.

He may not know exactly which piece of gravel or which lump of mud it was.

But he sensed that box number three was different.

The skinny captain gathered the last handful of ash into a small bag and put it into the box.

"Team Leader Xing, container number three is complete."

Xing Shanhe glanced at it.

"seal up."

The moment the lid closed, the voice in Lin Ye's ear suddenly deepened.

It didn't disappear.

The faint, lingering sounds that originally filled the entire main chapel were forcefully pressed into a narrow box.

His ears stung, his vision went black, and he almost lost his balance.

Xiaoman grabbed his elbow.

"Feed".

Lin Ye calmed down a bit and said in a low voice, "It's okay."

Xiaoman looked at his face.

"It doesn't seem like nothing's wrong."

Lin Ye was too tired to talk, so he just looked up at box number three.

The box snapped shut with a click.

The old voice uttered its last words in his ear.

"Kei enters the box."

Master Lai was also looking at box number three.

His eyes were frighteningly bright.

"There."

Lin Ye suddenly looked at him.

Master Lai also looked at him.

Their gazes met through the cold white light.

Master Lai smiled slowly.

"Found it."

Lin Ye's heart sank.

He wasn't referring to the black pottery on the stone platform.

It is not a broken jade disc.

It was that box of dust that no one wanted to give a second glance to.

At the same time, outside Qingshan Cemetery.

At the edge of the second phase expansion construction site, the construction workers on night duty were just about to change shifts when they discovered that there was only static on their walkie-talkies.

"Feed? Old Wang?"

No one replied.

He cursed and was about to walk towards the equipment vehicle when the distant lights suddenly went out.

The entire edge of the back mountain went dark for a second.

When the lights came on again, there were already several people standing at the entrance of the construction site.

Dark coat.

Black gloves.

There were no sirens.

There was no shouting.

The leader showed his identification and spoke in a low voice.

National Cultural Relics Safety Emergency Protection Center.

"Everyone, squat down where you are."

"Put your cell phone, walkie-talkie, and car keys on the ground."

The construction worker was stunned for a moment.

Just as someone was about to run away, someone behind him immediately pinned him to the ground.

The action is fast.

It was also very quiet.

The truck driver was taken out of the cab.

The equipment vehicle was sealed off.

The two lookouts outside the fence didn't even have time to make a call before their phone screens went black.

Someone tried to shout, but a hand pressed down on the back of their neck.

"Don't shout."

"Cooperate, and you'll suffer less."

Inside a makeshift shed outside the old drainage ditch, several people responsible for guarding the equipment were restrained on the ground.

The surveillance hard drive was removed.

The construction record book was placed into an evidence bag.

The shipping container list, vehicle routes, and personnel registration forms were all photographed and sealed.

A young team member walked up to the leader and lowered his voice.

"External control complete."

"Export restrictions have been lifted."

"All the transport vehicles have been seized."

The leader looked into the darkness inside the fence.

That's the entrance to the old drainage ditch.

It was also the place where Master Lai, Lin Ye, and Su Tinglan went down.

A young team member asked, "Should we go in?"

The leader remained silent for a few seconds.

"No entry."

The young player was taken aback.

"But they may have already found it."

"Therefore, we must not enter recklessly."

The leader's voice was very steady.

He looked up at the entrance, which was illuminated by the lights and appeared white.

"Hold the line outside."

"Wait until they bring their things out."

A voice came through the headset:

"All groups, take your positions."

"The vehicle lane has been cut."

"All personnel on the perimeter are under control."

The leader nodded.

"Notify all groups."

"Once they come out, we'll wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

The night wind inside the construction site was cold.

The old drainage ditch opening was so black it looked like an open mouth.

Deep beneath the tomb, the lock on box number three had just clicked shut.