Chapter Fifty-Four: "He Must Die"

In truth, the tomb was no longer as dark as it had been. Fatty and I quickly made out that the man was wearing the uniform of the archaeological team, his entire body stained with grime.

"This bamboo slip is..." Behind us, the young woman’s voice rang out, trembling with excitement. She seemed to have discovered something truly astonishing. A moment later, she murmured to herself, "Yuan Long has been here too?"

Hearing my father’s name, I could not help but turn my head back.

Almost at the same moment, the man who had suddenly appeared in the tomb chamber began running toward us at a rapid pace.

Fatty had already drawn his gun, and I clumsily scrambled to prepare myself for whatever was coming.

However, when the man finally came fully into view, both Fatty and I froze in our tracks.

Only then did we realize that the stains on his clothes were not dirt, but blood that had yet to dry. On his left shoulder was a wound, and blood was still seeping out from it.

I frowned, observing it for a moment, and concluded that it looked like a gunshot wound.

And this man, weary and riddled with a bullet wound, was none other than... Peanut.

Seeing him so suddenly left Fatty and me speechless. Peanut did not seem to have any intention of speaking to us. He stood against the brick wall beside me, his eyes fixed intently on the scene in the tomb chamber opposite. Then, as if he had lost his mind, he reached out and began tearing at the bricks in the wall.

Peanut’s strength could only be described as terrifying; that brick wall, which was already infinitely translucent, stood no chance against his assault.

However, I quickly noticed that his left arm hung limp at his side, swaying in a way that clearly indicated it was broken.

Even so, Peanut relied on his right hand to swiftly rip the bricks from the wall.

"Damn it, Brother, what are you..." Fatty started to say something, but Peanut’s motions were so frantic that he inadvertently sent a brick flying toward Fatty.

Fatty dodged, avoiding the brick, but his question was left hanging.

I looked back and saw Yang Lang stuffing the object that looked like a bamboo slip into his bag.

"Stop!" At the sight, Peanut let out a chilling, guttural roar.

He then moved his right hand even faster. In less than half a minute, he had torn a large hole in the brick wall. Yet, the young woman with Yang Lang’s figure remained completely oblivious to all of this, still talking to the air as if Professor Chen were standing there.

But we could no longer hear her voice. The light before my eyes began to dim.

Everything seemed to be drifting away. As Peanut reached forward, the entire scene behind the brick wall vanished.

I began to feel a sense of disorientation. Although our flashlights were still on, my vision was plunged into total darkness. It took a long time before I could see that Peanut’s right hand was pressed firmly against the layer of soil behind the brick wall.

At this moment, I was more concerned about the bleeding gunshot wound on his shoulder.

"Peanut, are you alright? Who shot you?" I asked.

Peanut did not answer me; he simply stared blankly at the soil in front of him.

Fatty walked up behind me and pulled me away.

"Don't ask him yet. Looking at him, he must have been through a lot up there," Fatty whispered. "By the way, is that bamboo slip Yang Lang picked up the same thing your father and uncle dug up?"

I felt that was indeed possible. Even now, the memory of the expression on Peanut’s face when he realized that bamboo slip was in my father’s possession sent a shiver down my spine.

Fatty continued, "Then why would your dad hide the slip here?"

"Maybe he thought it was well-hidden. The information in the slip must be crucial. Honestly, if it weren't for what happened this time, I doubt anyone would have found this godforsaken place in a thousand years." I felt this kind of eccentric behavior fit my father’s style perfectly. "Hey, are you asking this because you’ve thought of something?"

I had already laid everything out for Fatty, partly to vent, and partly to make use of his brain.

Fatty blinked. "It’s not that I’ve thought of something specific, but I keep feeling like this whole thing is so familiar."

"Familiar?"

Fatty was still pondering, as if he couldn't quite find the words. After a moment, he spoke again: "The fact that your dad hid the slip in that coffin—it feels like the same tactic he used when he lured you to the Tomb of the Yelang King."

A thought flashed through my mind, but it was too hazy to grasp, so I urged him, "Can you be more specific?"

Fatty squatted down and picked up a few wood splinters, placing one on the ground.

"If we consolidate all the information you’ve gathered, the thing you Yuan family members are looking for is the 'Four Directions Mountain and River Map'." Fatty tapped the splinter. "It’s certain that these things have a direct connection to you, so your father lured you to the Tomb of the Yelang King—that’s easy enough to understand, right?"

I nodded.

"Good." Fatty placed another splinter down. "Your father’s goal is to collect the full Four Directions Mountain and River Map, while the young woman and Professor Chen aim to reach the Three-Day Knot Treasury, likely to use the Da Luo Feng Shui for some purpose. If what we just saw was a true event from the past, then the path your father took is different from theirs; it’s just a race to see who is faster."

Fatty held up another splinter. "This piece represents the bamboo slip. It contained records of the Tomb of the Yelang King, meaning it belongs to the same system as the Four Directions Mountain and River Map. And the Snow Crane Feather is the key to the Three-Day Knot Treasury, which means this place we are in is part of the Da Luo Feng Shui system."

Hearing Fatty’s analysis, I suddenly saw the crux of the problem.

Fatty continued, "Putting something from the Four Directions Mountain and River Map system into a location belonging to the Da Luo Feng Shui system is like hiding your side’s core intelligence under the desk at enemy headquarters. Sure, nobody would expect you to do that, but didn't your father consider that if the headquarters office had a cleaning day, there’s no guarantee the janitor wouldn't find the documents?"

Hearing this, I understood the sense of familiarity Fatty was talking about. I thought to myself: *Father, oh Father, what exactly are you plotting?*

Why did it feel familiar? Because this was the same tactic as luring me to the Tomb of the Yelang King. The bamboo slip was just like the phone recording he had left for me back then.

He... was baiting Professor Chen and the young woman into doing something.

"A dog will jump over a wall when cornered."

Suddenly, Peanut’s voice broke the silence.

We turned to see him sitting at the foot of the wall he had torn apart, a faint, bleak smile on his face, his eyes staring into the distance.

Seeing Peanut speak, Fatty asked, half-serious and half-joking, "How about it, Brother? Is my analysis close to what you know?"

Peanut smiled at Fatty. "Close? It’s hit the nail right on the head."

*Heh,* I thought, *could we have actually guessed right this time?* But looking at Peanut’s expression, I began to doubt whether he was being serious or just teasing Fatty.

Fatty didn't care. He winked at me. "How about it? Do you want to consider working for Fatty here?"

I was speechless for a moment before turning back to Peanut. "What happened to you all up there?"

Peanut glanced at the wound on his shoulder and laughed. "Having seen what you just saw, there's no need to ask anything else. This is my own business."

"I..." It seemed I was destined to be rebuffed by Peanut no matter what. *Fine, I’m already committed to following you anyway, so you can tell me or not as you please.* "Since that’s the case, let’s get out of here quickly."

As soon as I finished speaking, Fatty jumped to his feet. "Exactly. With the three of us here, there’s no problem dragging that gold box out."

"Can you think about something else for once?"

After I said that, Peanut shook his head. "There are indeed three people who need to leave, but I’m not one of them. Zhuge Xuan is lying outside; you should take her and go quickly."

"What? That girl is there too?" In my haste earlier, I had forgotten everything. Now that Zhuge Xuan was mentioned, I felt a sudden, inexplicable pang of concern, and I immediately wanted to go out and see how she was.

"Professor Chen isn't dead yet, is he?" Fatty blurted out without thinking.

"I said, these matters have nothing to do with you." After saying this, Peanut stood up and walked outside.

This was exactly what I wanted, so Fatty and I hurried to follow him.

Once outside, we saw that the meat Fatty had cooked had been eaten. Zhuge Xuan was lying next to the smokeless stove, covered by a blood-stained blanket.

I walked over, hesitant to pull back the blanket to see if she was injured.

"Don't worry, I just knocked her out," Peanut said.

"What? You knocked her out? Why..." I spun around, a strange surge of anger rising in my heart. But then, realizing Peanut wasn't the type to act recklessly, I softened my expression. "Why did you knock her out?"

Peanut smiled. "A nephew trying to kill his own uncle—some things are better left unseen by a young girl."

Fatty and I were both shocked. "You... you killed Professor Chen?"

I had seen the near-murderous rage Peanut had shown toward the Professor earlier, but after all, that was his uncle. Even if their goals conflicted, I hadn't expected him to go that far.

I couldn't believe Peanut was cold-blooded to that degree.

Fatty muttered with a bitter laugh, "Well, so much for the service fee."

Peanut sat cross-legged on the other side of the smokeless stove. He took a pack of cigarettes soaked in blood from his pocket, held them over the flame for a moment, and lit one.

I watched every move he made, waiting for him to continue.

When he had smoked halfway through the cigarette, Peanut said slowly and calmly...

"He had to die."