After the chaotic attack by the black-haired zombie, everyone’s gaze towards Xu Yintang and Shi Yuebai completely changed.
Boss Zhao murmured in his heart. The intermediary who introduced them had clearly mentioned two somewhat capable greenhorns. How did one of them suddenly become capable of tearing apart a black-haired zombie?
Although engaging in dangerous activities like tomb raiding was indeed safer with stronger helpers, both of them were contracted for a fixed commission. Even if they stole a huge treasure unrelated to them, it was difficult to guarantee that they wouldn’t succumb to the temptation and resort to killing and robbery in the end.
Boss Zhao had been in this business for decades and had seen such situations before. He looked at Shi Yuebai, then at Xu Yintang, feeling that these two people exuded an indescribable sinister aura. However, since everyone was already in the car, he couldn’t just kick them out. He felt uneasy and unsure.
Third Thief also recognized Shi Yuebai as someone with genuine skills. The series of actions just now, opening the car door, leaning out, and retracting back, demonstrated a level of martial arts that couldn’t be achieved without at least a decade of hard training. He swallowed his saliva, holding back the sarcasm he almost uttered. His eyes couldn’t help but focus on Shi Yuebai’s hands.
Shi Yuebai was leisurely wiping off the stains on his hands with the handkerchief. His hands were powerful, with long and slender fingers, distinct bone contours, and a thin callus on the knuckles. At a glance, it was impossible to tell what kind of weapon he was skilled at using. The shiny black-red fluid between his fingers caught Third Thief’s attention.
Third Thief didn’t dare to underestimate him anymore. He glanced at Boss Zhao, who looked uneasy, and knew that when it was his turn to act, he had to put on a smiling face and compliment Shi Yuebai’s skills. He also took the opportunity to mention some rules about tomb raiding that had been passed down through generations—a compilation of life-saving experiences.
Boss Zhao snapped out of his thoughts, wiped his sweat, and said some flattering words while praising Shi Yuebai. Of course, he didn’t forget to include Xu Yintang, who was by Shi Yuebai’s side.
Young people were always eager to show off their strength. Just by observing the calm and natural way these two interacted, it was evident that Xu Yintang was no slouch either.
Boss Zhao was cautious, but he couldn’t afford to offend them too early.
Shi Yuebai, still focused on cleaning the stains from his hands, responded casually to the compliments from Boss Zhao and the others. The black cat sitting on his shoulder seemed to be enjoying the attention, letting out a couple of satisfied meows as if it was being praised.
Xu Yintang spoke up, “Boss Zhao, since we’ve come to this point, there’s no need for you to hide the details of this deal anymore, right?”
He still wore a smiling face, spoke at a moderate pace, and maintained a gentle tone. Despite Third Thief silently criticizing him and Shi Yuebai as two pretty boys, Shi Yuebai appeared much more rugged and tough. The muscles on his arms, revealed by the short-sleeved t-shirt, were well-defined, and his sun-kissed skin was far from the stereotype of a delicate pretty boy.
If appearances were considered, Shi Yuebai was indeed exceptionally handsome. However, the air of fierceness between his brows and eyes resembled a wild creature from the mountains, emitting a cold, eerie, and untamed aura.
In comparison, Xu Yintang had a more distinctive appearance. With a pleasant and warm smile, the atmosphere in the car quickly warmed up from its previous icy state. Boss Zhao’s pale face regained some color, and he took a deep breath, saying, “Alright, let me tell you all in detail.”
“Have you all heard of Li Quan?”
He just started, and Shi Yuebai seamlessly continued, “The ‘Yin Fu Jing’?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
A glint flashed in Boss Zhao’s eyes, nodding, “Not exactly, but close enough.”
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Boss Zhao mysteriously took out an old and tattered piece of silk, “In ‘Tai Ping Guang Ji,’ it is said that Li Quan later entered a famous mountain for Taoist practice, and we don’t know why. Whether he achieved immortality or not, we’re not sure, but he marked all the places he arranged for himself to ascend to immortality on this.”
He happened to obtain this piece of silk by chance, which recorded the detailed location of Li Quan’s immortal ascension tomb. Several decades ago, a group of tomb raiders followed this map to that tomb, but almost the entire team perished inside. Only one person managed to escape, blinded and with a half-crazy and half-silly appearance. He died a few years later.
However, even from the words passed down by the descendant of that tomb raider, one could outline the immense scale of that burial site. It was filled with countless precious treasures, and he mentioned seeing a jade box inside the tomb, radiating light as if suspended in mid-air, giving off a mysterious and divine feeling.
Boss Zhao exclaimed excitedly, “According to records, Li Quan obtained the ‘Huangdi Yin Fu Jing,’ and it was said to be housed in a jade box.”
Third Thief was also intrigued by his description. Don’t get it wrong; this group of people had no interest in cultivating, but a scroll with a known origin could fetch a sky-high price. Coupled with Boss Zhao’s description of the tomb being paved with white jade, walls built with gold, and a mountain of rare and exotic treasures, it made Third Thief itch with anticipation.
He had a share in this tomb raid, and completing this job would set him up for the rest of his life.
Boss Zhao enthusiastically described the lucrative prospects of Li Quan’s immortal ascension tomb, then went on to talk about the dangers of this tomb.
Perhaps Li Quan had indeed cultivated some extraordinary abilities. Not only were there traps and dangers inside the tomb, but the surrounding mountains and forests were also shrouded in eerie atmospheres. Thick fog covered the area from morning to night, making it difficult to see things just a few steps away. The winding paths, jagged rocks, and the likelihood of getting lost further added to the peril.
The wild beasts in the forest were grotesque and abominable, resembling monsters. They were not only cunning and fierce but also had a strong attacking nature. Even a rabbit could bite off a chunk of flesh from a person. The eyes of that tomb raider who managed to escape were pecked blind by sparrows in the woods, and one of his legs was gnawed to the bone.
Moreover, the blood of those tomb raiders excited the buried terracotta warriors and animated corpses. Just by encountering black-haired zombie on the road, it was evident that there were plenty of zombies crawling out of the tomb, wandering in the forest, ready to kill anyone with ill intentions towards Li Quan’s burial site.
As Boss Zhao spoke, he felt his whole body shiver. He couldn’t help but dryly laugh, looking at Xu Yintang and Shi Yuebai, hoping to get a reassuring word from them.
He was worried that ordinary scholars wouldn’t be able to handle these unheard-of monsters, which is why he sought the help of these two “professionals.” The intermediary had promised that they were quite capable of dealing with these demonic creatures, but being young, they lacked the extensive experience of seasoned experts who were, unfortunately, too expensive for Boss Zhao to afford.
Boss Zhao anxiously watched, but unfortunately, neither Xu Yintang nor Shi Yuebai received the signals he tried to convey.
As a full-time mom raising three children, after listening to Boss Zhao’s story, Xu Yintang’s focus shifted to whether those mutated beasts were edible and whether the zombies inside the tomb were tasty.
The young black-haired zombie had indicated that they smelled delicious, and after Shi Yuebai threw them aside earlier, Xu Sanhua had sneaked back and taken a few bites. However, perhaps due to the absence of the head, the corpse quickly lost its malevolent aura, and Xu Sanhua’s pet butterfly refused to eat more, repelled by the scent of decay.
From a black-haired zombie, it turned into an ordinary rotting corpse.
This indicated that freshly turned black-haired zombie were best for consumption. Xu Yintang glanced at Shi Yuebai, thinking that when the opportunity arose, he would discuss with his teammates not to rush to deal with black-haired zombie, leaving some for the kids as food reserves.
He wondered if zombies, being undead, could be directly stored in the system’s backpack. If that were possible, he could stash a few for the cubs as emergency rations.
Shi Yuebai, a lone wolf, didn’t have to worry about children’s meals. Casey Cat had excellent self-management skills, and he didn’t need to feed her. He just finished wiping his hands with the dirty handkerchief, wondering how to deal with it. He can’t give it back as it is, and throwing it out of the window wasn’t a good idea either; Casey Cat would sit by his bed and recite laws and regulations for half an hour at midnight.
No littering, makes the world more beautiful.
During Shi Yuebai’s moment of distraction, a tentacle suddenly reached out from the side and rested on his leg. The tentacle was bright red, slimy, and had a menacing mouthpart covered in pustule-like meat lumps, looking terrifying at first glance. Casey Caty’s tail exploded into a big tuft in response.
Shi Yuebai looked at the tentacle on his leg with an unchanged expression, and the oddly-shaped tip of the tentacle twisted and turned, expressing some mysterious meaning. He handed the dirty handkerchief over, “This?”
The tip of the tentacle moved flexibly up and down, as if nodding, and another tentacle reached over, taking away the dirty handkerchief from his hand. It politely wrapped around his fingers and shook twice, seeming to express gratitude.
Shi Yuebai watched as the tentacle retracted into Xu Yintang’s pocket. After a moment of silence, he commented, “Your pet… is quite unique.”
Xu Yintang also noticed the conspicuous tentacle near his pocket following his gaze. He sighed and apologized, “Sorry, he is a bit mischievous…”
Feeling a bit wronged by being called mischievous, Little Darling moved its tentacle in Xu Yintang’s pocket, then spat out a clean handkerchief. Using the tip of its tentacle, it rolled up the handkerchief and offered it to Boss Zhao.
‘Handkerchief, dirty…’
‘Little Darling, helping Mommy…’
‘Not mischievous…’
Little Darling waved the handkerchief under Boss Zhao’s eyelids, urging him to quickly take it away.
Boss Zhao stared with both eyes fixed on the tentacle that emerged from Xu Yintang’s pocket. Terrified, his face, which had just regained some color, turned as pale as a dead person. He emitted a wheezing “hehe” sound, unable to catch his breath in his panic.
Except for the driver at the front, who was trembling and dare not look back, everyone else in the car was frightened by the sudden appearance of the menacing tentacle. Third Thief shivered, his face alternating between green and white. He seemed eager to jump out of the car and escape immediately. Ah Wei, who had been accidentally touched by the tentacle, was even more terrified, with beads of sweat the size of peas on his forehead.
Shi Yuebai, upon seeing the tentacle with an arm’s thickness extending out, had a slight change in his expression. Casey Cat, perched on his shoulder, let out a low growl in a threatening manner, staring fixedly at Xu Yintang’s pocket, which had exploded into a big black tuft.
Only Xu Yintang remained oblivious—after being blindly praised by his teammates in the previous dungeon, he had no idea how his child had grown. Seeing Little Darling’s tentacle extending out, he felt that the colors were even more vibrant, translucent, and beautiful than before. If the back seat weren’t so cramped that turning around was difficult, he would have considered taking out Little Darling’s branded cushion to continue business.
After lying in bed for a few days, he developed a strong dependence on the Little Darling-branded cushion. The cushion formed by the entwining tentacles was soft enough to sink the entire person into it when lying down, providing just the right amount of support. It would even adjust its shape according to your posture, providing a thoughtful shoulder massage and leg rub. It was so comfortable that summoning the willpower to sit up from it required some effort.
However, rubbing it on the knees wouldn’t be bad either. Xu Yintang touched Little Darling’s tentacle, softly comforting the cub that felt wronged after being wrongly accused by its mom. If one ignored that he was comforting a bundle of tentacles curled into a more twisted and terrifying shape, his gentle tone and smiling expression almost touched Shi Yuebai’s childhood memories.
Well, almost.
But the presence of that bundle of tentacles was too strong. It was so strong that the danger radar in Shi Yuebai’s mind was buzzing loudly, prompting him to classify Xu Yintang into the category of people with unpredictable factors in the brain—the same category as the neighboring cat team members, also known as the “avoid at all costs” group.
It’s not that he couldn’t beat them, but he could never understand the brain circuits of these people. Every time, they could open up the most abnormal routes in the most normal dungeons, causing him more serious mental damage than facing evil gods.
Shi Yuebai hugged the fluffy Casey Cat and cautiously created some distance from Xu Yintang.
The car suddenly shook, squeaking to a stop. The driver stared at the front stammering, “W-we have arrived…”
The road had reached its end, and the sky was rapidly turning dark. The car’s headlights illuminated a winding and narrow mountain path ahead, curving upward into the obscured darkness covered by thick fog.
According to the original plan, they were supposed to camp in a relatively safe small forest at the foot of the mountain overnight and start climbing early the next day, searching for the secret entrance created by the tomb raiders of the past.
Boss Zhao laughed more hideously than if he were crying, “I only prepared one tent… C… can you two squeeze a bit?”
He really dared not stay in the same space as Xu Yintang. Just looking at the tentacles on Xu Yintang’s knees made his head spin. So, he would rather spend the night in the car with the driver, Ah Wei, and Third Thief, leaving the tent intended for himself to be shared by Shi Yuebai and Xu Yintang.
Author’s Note –
Mother Xu Yingtang ruthlessly strikes down teammates.
Blueon missed the truth and couldn’t help but light up the wax.
Little darling is so well behaved!
Little darling is the best big brother, so of course he must always set a good example
How soon until blueon is praising his adopted son lol
Little Darling is the Best Boy, no doubts allowed
Thank you for the chapter💚💚💚
Don’t throw dirty water on Little Darling Xu Yingtang, he’s a good boy!! 😤
Aww, Little Darling is so sweet!
Thank you for the chapter
Little Darling is such a good child (╥﹏╥) Now if only Shi Yuebai could follow the instinct of familiarity lol thank you for the chapter!
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
The face slap is gonna be strong for our ML 🕯️
Thank you for the chapter 💙
And they are now sharing a tent! Good job Boss Zhao!
Real romantic trops are here, ahahah
Thank you for your translation 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
tsk tsk, ml doesn’t have eyes and doesn’t realize Little Darling’s cuteness !
Haha. The sharing one bed trope but instead of a bed it’s a tent.