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The Black-Faced Youth reached out and patted Xunuo, noticing that Xunuo did not respond.
He quickly turned to the Red-Faced Youth and said, "Old Three, you didn't go too hard on him and kill the kid, did you?"
Hearing this, the Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man hurried over and placed a hand on Xunuo's wrist. After a moment, he said, "It's nothing serious; he just fainted. Once he wakes up, he’ll be fine."
Only then did the Red-Faced Youth breathe a sigh of relief. He took some medicine for bruises and wrapped his right hand before lying down to rest nearby.
When Xunuo finally regained consciousness, it was already the next morning. The fire had gone out, and the three of them were still sitting around the fire pit, with Xunuo lying in the middle. He felt a splitting headache, as if nails were driven into his skull; even the slightest movement felt like needles piercing him. Struggling to sit up cross-legged, he realized that not only was running out of the question, but even standing was a challenge.
Xunuo glanced at the three men before him and pondered for a moment. He understood one thing: the reason he was still alive was not because they had shown mercy but because he still had some value to them.
This thought brought him a little comfort; at least he wouldn’t die just yet.
While he was deep in thought, the Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man spoke up: "Little brother, we could have ended your life for eavesdropping on our conversation. However, my brothers are not inherently murderous. We could use an extra hand in our business. If you agree to join us, you’ll be one of us. Otherwise..."
The Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man trailed off, elongating his last words while giving Xunuo a meaningful look without finishing his sentence.
Xunuo cursed inwardly: otherwise, it would be a dead end for him—like a ghost hanging from a tree.
But he had no choice but to say, "I’m just a rootless drifter; I’m grateful that you brothers don’t abandon me. I’m willing to follow."
The Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man nodded repeatedly and said, "Good! From now on, we’re family. With you joining us, we’ll go out in a few days and share some profits."
The two young men also came over affectionately to pat Xunuo on the back. The Red-Faced Youth said, "We didn’t know each other before this; my brother may have been a bit rough with you. Don’t hold any grudges against him. But don’t think my brother got away unscathed either."
He waved his hand, which was as rough as a sand pot, and said, "Now that we have a younger brother joining us, I no longer have to be the youngest."
He pointed with his left hand at the Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man and said, "This is our elder brother, known in the Jianghu as Soul Snatching Dart, Gongsun Sheng."
The Black-Faced Youth added, "Elder brother's reputation is not just for show; let me open your eyes to it, Fourth Brother."
He picked up a piece of charred wood from the ground, about an inch long, and tossed it into the air. The Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man flicked his wrist, and a three-inch-long dart shot out, piercing the piece of wood and pinning it to the beam with a loud thud.
Xunuo knew he should not entertain thoughts of escape at this moment. He could only say, "Elder Brother Gongsun has impressive skills; I admire you greatly."
Gongsun Sheng chuckled, stood up, leaped to retrieve the dart, and said nothing.
The Red-Faced Youth then pointed at the Black-Faced Youth and said, "This is our Second Brother Liu Jinqian; I am Zhang Zai Shan."
Xunuo hurriedly greeted them one by one and mentioned his alias Lu Zaisheng. After exchanging pleasantries filled with hidden agendas, there was an atmosphere of peace.
Finally, Soul Snatching Dart Gongsun Sheng decided that since both men were injured, they would rest for a day before setting off for a big business venture to celebrate the joining of the Lu brothers.
Xunuo understood that safety was only temporary and busied himself meditating to recover. After a day, most of his injuries had healed, but he dared not show it and maintained a feeble appearance.
Zhang Zai Shan paid no mind to Xunuo's serious injuries. He merely stated that his own hand was hurt and unable to carry anything. He then tied a large bundle onto Xunuo's back, causing Xunuo to grumble inwardly. With this burden, thoughts of escape were even more distant.
Gongsun Sheng led the way while Xunuo hesitated. Zhang Zai Shan pushed him behind Gongsun Sheng and followed Liu Jinqian from behind.
The four of them walked southwest under Gongsun Sheng's lead. After two days of travel, Xunuo noticed that the path was becoming increasingly narrow and difficult. Eventually, there was no road at all; they were simply making their way along a rugged Mountain Valley.
When asked what business they were in, both Zhang Liu and Xunuo smiled but did not answer.
Gongsun Sheng then said, "You'll know when we get there."
Five days later, they finally emerged from Mountain Valley, which turned out to be a gloomy place. The trees were sparse, with hardly any underbrush, revealing large patches of reddish-brown earth. This was in stark contrast to the lush vegetation within Mountain Valley.
The area was not very large, surrounded by towering mountains, seemingly marking the end of this Mountain Valley. A faint miasma hung in the air, and even the sunlight that filtered through was dim.
Gongsun Sheng raised his hand and swallowed a red pill before stepping forward. Just as Xunuo hesitated, he noticed that Zhang Liu also took a red pill.
Seeing Xunuo's hesitation, Zhang Zai Shan chuckled and said, "Brother Lu, don't overthink it. We are all heavily infused with Yin Qi. In this murky place, we need to take some pills to boost our Yang Qi. You, being of pure Yang constitution, don’t need it."
Xunuo wanted to ask more questions but was pushed forward by Liu Jinqian and could only grumble inwardly. Reluctantly, he followed Gongsun Sheng step by step. Fortunately, he sensed that there was nothing unusual within him.
After half a day's journey, they came upon a massive dirt mound surrounded by barren land. Upon reaching the mound, Gongsun Sheng led the way and unloaded the items he was carrying. Zhang and Liu also took off their packs and helped unload Xunuo's burden.
As Xunuo turned slightly on the mound, he discovered a man-made excavation hole about two feet in diameter and seemingly bottomless. As soon as he leaned in to take a look, a gust of cold wind rushed at him. At this point, Xunuo realized that they were indeed a group of tomb raiders.
He inwardly lamented: going down there would truly be a matter of life and death.
Seeing Xunuo's face turn pale, Gongsun Sheng approached slowly and said, "Brother Lu, now that we're at the site, I won't hide it from you any longer. What we do is tomb raiding for treasure. Since you've joined us, we are brothers now. This job is both to celebrate your joining us and to test your courage. If we succeed in this venture, you will truly be one of us; if not... well, I have no use for useless brothers."
Though his words carried a smile, Xunuo could sense an underlying threat in them.
Xunuo steadied his mind and said, "Since I have joined the group, I will do my best. I still need my brother to support me a bit."
Gongsun Sheng patted Xunuo on the back and replied, "Of course, once we descend, just follow my instructions."
Xunuo nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Zhang Liu and the others had already lowered a rope down the cave entrance.
Gongsun Sheng picked up some items from his pack, including an oil lamp and a torch. He lit the torch, grabbed the rope with one hand, and held the torch high as he slid down the cave entrance first.
After a moment, the rope shook slightly. Zhang Zai Shan gave Xunuo a push and said, "Fourth brother, it's your turn to go down."
Xunuo had no choice but to push off against the cave wall with his feet and slide down the rope. After sliding down for over ten zhang, his feet suddenly found no ground beneath him. Xunuo gripped the rope tightly to steady himself. When he looked again, he had emerged from the cave entrance into a burial chamber that was about ten zhang wide and seven or eight zhang high.
Gongsun Sheng had already inserted several torches into the walls of the chamber, allowing them to see clearly. Xunuo loosened his grip on the rope as he reached the ground.
Gongsun Sheng shook the rope vigorously, pulling it back up. After a while, they lowered some items from above before Zhang Liu and the others descended one by one.
At this point, Xunuo had taken a good look around the burial chamber.
The entire chamber was constructed of blue bricks. On one wall was a deep passageway, and across from it was a square hole about one foot wide, situated a zhang above the ground.
There were several angled holes in the walls for inserting torches, but no coffins or burial items were visible.
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