Chapter 235: Young Master Gan

I watched the workers moving in and out with the explosives. Following my instructions, they stacked the charges in three rows. This first blast was essentially a test for everyone, as no one knew exactly how heavy or thick this Thousand-Jin Stone really was. Based on my intuition, it was nearly impossible for these three rows of explosives to blast through a solid Thousand-Jin Stone, but for the safety of those trapped inside, I decided to start with a small dose.

Once the explosives were all in place, we all retreated to the edge of the door. At Tan Qiu’s command, a massive boom echoed out. Another overwhelming wave of wind and sand surged from the stone portal, coating our heads in a layer of yellow grit. I shook my head to clear the sand and was the first to stride toward the center of the stone door with my flashlight. The beam cut through the dust lingering in the air; the Thousand-Jin Stone stood there completely unscathed, exactly as it had been when I first saw it.

“Increase the load!” I cursed under my breath and waved the workers over to keep moving explosives. “Double it!”

The workers immediately turned back to fetch more. Liu Wan walked to my side, looking worried. “Adding that much at once… are you sure it won’t collapse?”

I scanned the tomb passage and pulled out the Dragon Burial Scripture He Yu had given me from my pocket. “I once studied a bit of Qimen Dunjia under Qian Deli,” I replied. “I don’t know much, but it should be enough. Old Qian said there are eight gates in Qimen Dunjia: Open, Rest, Life, Injury, Limit, View, Death, and Fear. Among them, the Gate of Death is located in the center-southwest, the Kun Palace. If we use the North Star as a coordinate and cast a divination based on our current position and the time you entered the tomb, the hexagram is Earth-Fire Mingyi. It should have been an auspicious sign, signifying a flourishing household, but the moment you broke ground, the luck turned to malice. It has manifested as a sinister omen, a sign of lethal change.”

I tucked away my compass and watched as Tan Qiu prepared for the second detonation. “So, what’s inside is a Gate of Death. There will certainly be deaths and injuries. Right now, we’re snatching people from the hands of the King of Hell. The sooner we blast this stone open, the better the chance of survival for those inside.”

The words had barely left my mouth when another roar shook the air. This explosion was far more powerful than the last; even after the blast, the entire ground continued to tremble slightly. Without waiting for the dust to settle, everyone rushed forward to check. One look, and everyone’s heart sank. The Thousand-Jin Stone remained motionless. Several workers went up to inspect the structural support of the passage walls before running back to Liu Wan and me.

“We can’t blast anymore, Boss Yu,” one said. “Cracks have appeared in the ceiling. Another blast might bring the whole passage down.”

I stepped forward and touched the area where the explosives had detonated. After a moment of thought, I turned to the workers who were still stacking charges. “Blast it again. It’s about to break. Use the same amount as the first time.”

Seeing this, Tan Qiu took two steps forward and grabbed me roughly. “Kid! Didn’t you hear what he just said?! If you blast again, this passage might collapse, and we’ll all be buried here!”

I looked him in the eye and repeated myself firmly. “The internal structure of the stone has already been mostly shattered. If you’re scared, feel free to take your people and get out.”

Whenever it concerned Fourth Brother, I was always the first to charge ahead. At this moment, Tan Qiu’s intimidation meant nothing to me. I shook off his hand, knelt down, and began helping the Gan Clan workers set the explosives.

He Yu squeezed through from behind and knelt beside me. He had just gone to settle Chen Canghai and the others on horseback and had just rushed back. He took the fuse from my hand and began helping me tie the charges.

In the end, Tan Qiu didn’t withdraw his men. Once all the explosives were set, we retreated to the door. Everyone held their breath. The moment the explosives were detonated, a fierce heat wave surged out. Shattered rocks tumbled from the door. As I looked up, I saw workers emerging in twos and threes from the newly blasted hole.

“It’s open! It’s open!” someone shouted.

He Yu and I rushed forward to meet them. He went to help our family’s workers out, while I searched through the smoke and dust for Fourth Brother. A moment later, I spotted him. He was carrying Xiao Wu on his back, his clothes riddled with burnt holes.

My heart leaped with joy. I was about to run toward him when a terrifying creaking sound erupted from the ceiling above. My heart skipped a beat.

“Fourth Brother, watch out! The passage is collapsing!” I screamed, sprinting toward him.

Just as I spoke, a stone block the length of a forearm plummeted from the ceiling. Seeing it about to smash directly into Fourth Brother’s face, I instinctively drew the Horse-Head Blade from my waist and hurled it at the falling rock. The blade spun rapidly through the air, slicing the massive stone clean in half mid-flight. I lunged forward, tackling Fourth Brother and Xiao Wu against the wall, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.

Fourth Brother stumbled from my impact. Realizing it was me, he quickly hauled me up from the ground, and the two of us bolted for the exit. That blade was truly uncanny; after cutting the stone above us, I don’t know how it kept spinning, but as we ran out, it happened to arc right through the air in front of me. I caught it almost instantly, and a split second before the passage caved in, Fourth Brother and I dove onto the ground outside the stone door.

After this incident, the attitude of the various workers toward me improved significantly. Liu Wan settled me in Old Qian’s tent. I hadn’t sustained any major injuries; the team doctor disinfected the scrapes on my hands before moving on to tend to the other patients with burns.

According to Fourth Brother, shortly after the Thousand-Jin Stone descended, the female corpses in the tomb chamber began shaking out a constant red mist. It was likely a corrosive gas; anyone touched by it would be burned until not even bone fragments remained. It was fortunate that I had moved quickly, blasting repeatedly with heavy loads to punch a hole through the center of the stone in three tries. However, despite my quick reaction, the casualties were still heavy. To protect Fourth Brother, Xiao Wu had been inside the red mist for half a minute. By the time Fourth Brother carried him out, half of his body had been burned away. The emergency treatment lasted until dawn.

I waited for news in the tent. Finally, He Yu came in to change the dressing on Old Qian’s wound. When I saw the way his eyes avoided mine as he entered, I didn’t need to be told the answer. I understood instantly. For a long, long time, I couldn’t recover from the shock. I knew I was grieving, but I realized with a pang that I couldn’t even remember the last time I saw Xiao Wu—what he had said to me, or what I had said in return.

“Where is my Fourth Brother?” I asked He Yu.

He Yu tossed aside the blood-soaked bandages he had just changed. “Your Fourth Brother took some hits too, but Xiao Wu protected him well. Compared to the others, his injuries are considered light. However, he doesn’t seem to be in a good headspace. When I passed by the middle tent, I played the villain for your sake and eavesdropped for a bit. Tan Qiu and the others don’t plan on letting him participate in the upcoming operations.”

My grief hadn’t yet faded, but hearing this made me shudder. If Fourth Brother was removed from command while the Gan Clan’s men were still expected to follow the expedition, things would get ugly. Even if Liu Wan shared a special connection with Fourth Brother, she couldn’t show favoritism in a multi-party collaboration like this. Did this mean the Gan Clan’s men would be the ones forced to lead every charge and take the brunt of the danger?

I wiped the Horse-Head Blade clean with a cloth and sheathed it at my waist before standing up and heading out of the tent.

He Yu glanced at me but didn’t stop me. He simply turned back to continue changing the dressings for Old Qian and Kuba.

I circled around the Gan Clan’s tents and approached the Liu Family’s area. Several Liu Family men intercepted me, muttering a string of Cantonese I couldn’t understand. I cut straight to the point. “I have vital information to discuss with Boss Yu. Take me to her.”

The men hesitated upon hearing this, then quickly dispatched one of their own to the tent to report.

I only waited a moment before the man returned to lead the way. When we reached the main tent, I pulled back the flap and stepped inside.

Liu Wan was alone, sitting at a table drinking tea with her hair down. It looked as though she would have been resting by now if not for my sudden intrusion. When she saw me, she looked as if she were facing a particularly troublesome character, rubbing the bridge of her nose wearily. “If you’re here to act as a lobbyist hoping Chen Si can continue with the operation, you should go back. He’s in a deep slump and isn’t fit for decision-making. I’m not the only one calling the shots on this project.”

I walked over to her side, unhurriedly poured myself a cup of water from the kettle, and took a sip. “I’m not here to lobby for anyone,” I said. “I’m just here to make my stance clear.”

“Young Master Gan, what is that supposed to mean?” Liu Wan straightened her posture.

I smiled and countered with a question. “Did your meeting reach any conclusions? There are Forty-Eight False Tombs. You’ve cleared one. For the remaining forty-seven, do you plan to dig up this entire grassland, or do you intend to dig in for the long haul and spend the next six months to a year fumbling around out here?”