Chapter 236: The Threatened Five Masters

Liu Wan clearly didn’t understand why I was speaking with such sarcasm and mockery. Fourth Brother’s relationship with her was extraordinary, but that didn’t mean I had to follow their decisions blindly. I understood the situation here better than anyone. When everyone had been trapped behind the Thousand-Jin Stone, only a few people outside had seemed genuinely anxious. From that, I deduced that most of them were merely maintaining a facade of cooperation while harboring their own agendas. No one could predict what schemes they were running, and I absolutely would not allow my family’s men to continue following a team so full of duplicity.

“I’ve never done anything to offend you, so there’s no need for these barbed remarks. Besides, who told you there are Forty-Eight False Tombs here?” Liu Wan turned around to face me directly.

I leaned back against the table, offering no immediate answer to her question. “You arrived early. Judging by the state of the camp, you’ve been here for more than three days. Why exactly do you want to enter the Tomb of King Gune?”

Liu Wan answered without hesitation. “For the archaeological project, of course. Tian Yuqing went missing here. We need to find any clues he might have left behind and give the Tian Family an explanation.”

“Is that so?” I looked at her with a smile, then glanced around the tent. Seeing we were alone, I leaned down and whispered, “It’s just the two of us. There’s no need to use these high-sounding words to fool me, is there?”

Liu Wan’s eyes flickered. “How much information do you actually have?” she asked quietly.

I still didn’t answer. Instead, I hopped off the table, drew the Horse-Head Blade from my waist, and set it down. “Boss Yu, stop treating me like a child. Take a look at this first.”

Zhurige had already given me plenty of information. Combined with what Tian Xiaoqi and Lu Ayao had told me, I could more or less piece together why this group was searching for the Tomb of King Gune. There were many potential reasons, but by speaking up, I was making it clear that despite my deductions, I wouldn’t reveal everything so easily just yet.

Liu Wan glanced at me, her expression becoming incredibly complex. She set down her cup and leaned in to examine the Horse-Head Blade. A single look seemed enough for her to reach a conclusion. She looked up at me, visibly shocked. “A silver-inlaid blade of the Central Plains bandits… where did you get this? Is the Linhu Tomb that Chief Chief Ye is looking for actually the legendary Tomb of King Gune?”

I sheathed the blade back at my waist and returned to the first topic. “Legend says the Tomb of King Gune can only be entered when the time, the place, and the people are all in alignment. You don’t have the Burial Bone Testament, nor do you have anyone who can read it. Relying solely on a Nine-Ring Jade Casket won’t break the Feng Shui layout or clear the Forty-Eight False Tombs. Unless, of course, you plan to dig up every inch of this grassland for hundreds of kilometers. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

My point was to tell them not to waste their effort. If even my great-grandfather had been helpless against this Feng Shui layout, this group of half-baked amateurs from the Five Masters would only meet their end if they managed to get inside. It would be better to pack up and go home while the casualties were still low, rather than waiting until they failed miserably and ended up in a humiliating position.

Liu Wan shook her head at me, but her gaze wasn’t fixed on me. Instead, she scanned the surrounding tents. I immediately sensed something was wrong.

Whether it was Tan Qiu, Liu Wan, or Tian Yuqing, they were all experts in the secret arts of tomb-locating. Feng Shui was second nature to them. Setting aside the Forty-Eight False Tombs, the layout of this Dragon-Trapping Marsh was so obvious that it had caused the downfall of the prominent Ye family. There was a reason the Tomb of King Gune had remained unlooted for so many years. They shouldn’t have been so stubborn as to keep throwing themselves against such a brick wall.

Recalling Liu Wan’s look just now, Fourth Brother had hinted to me long ago that the people in this team were no longer pure. At the time, I thought it was just one person’s problem. But now, thinking of the Houtu Blood Lu Ayao had mentioned and the lingering doubts I held, an answer was beginning to form in my mind.

“We must have the Tomb of King Gune. The value of the items inside is immeasurable. It’s worth it no matter how many people we lose. Even if we have to flip the earth shovel by shovel, we will find the real tomb,” Liu Wan said, taking a deep breath. “Why don’t you just tell me? Why did you come to see me?”

Realizing they weren’t here of their own free will destroyed my original plan. It seemed going home was out of the question. I had to change my strategy.

“Help me gain leadership of the team,” I said bluntly.

Liu Wan smiled. “You are the Young Master of the Gan Clan, the legitimate heir. You are perfectly entitled to join our meetings. There’s no need to come here to convince me to help you become a leader.”

I threw up my hands in frustration. “My dear sister-in-law, why do I feel like you’re being more naive than I am?”

Liu Wan was caught off guard by the sudden change in address.

“What use is a hollow title? Will any of you actually listen to my suggestions when the time comes? You all just see me as the Gan Clan’s mascot. You’ll prop me up at the table during meetings and then ignore me while you discuss everything amongst yourselves. Especially those professors, not to mention the team already has Han Zhuo, who understands mechanical traps. Do you really think they’ll treat my words the way they treated Fourth Brother’s?”

Liu Wan fell silent for a moment. She looked at the Horse-Head Blade at my waist. “If you hadn’t shown me that blade, I might not have agreed to speak for you. But now, I’ve changed my mind.”

She stood up, walked over to me, and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll notify you before the next meeting. Bring the blade with you. I can guarantee that even if I don’t speak up, Tan the Thug and the others won’t dare to make things difficult for you.”

I frowned, skeptical of her words. This blade certainly held a formidable reputation in the underworld years ago, but how many years had passed? The old underworld was gone. Would anyone really give a young brat like me face just because of a knife?

With the conversation reaching this point, it was clearly time to leave; even the most oblivious person would have known to make an exit. However, a sudden flash of inspiration struck me, and the puzzles piled up in my mind suddenly seemed to have a glimmer of an answer. My movement to turn away came to a dead stop, and I instinctively spun back to grab Liu Wan.

“What is it?”

I lowered my voice and asked her, “Is Tian Xiao here too? Or rather, have you all hidden him away?”

For a fleeting moment, the look Liu Wan gave me held a rare, murderous intent. I wasn’t intimidated by her aura in the slightest, meeting her stare with an equally firm gaze.

She gave me a shove, her expression dead serious. “It’s getting late. You haven’t been sleeping well, Young Master Gan. You’d better get some rest.”