When the monkey heard me say that there were people up there, it was overjoyed: "There are people up there, doesn't that mean we're saved?"

I countered, "Everyone's in a competitive relationship, so why do you think they'd save you?"

"Is that even a question? There are only three groups of people who came to this tomb today: us, Duan Jinyan, and Wei Shengnan. If the person in charge is Duan Jinyan, he can't just stand by and watch his own son die! Even if it's Wei Shengnan and the others, we've been through thick and thin together. If we really asked, they wouldn't just stand by and watch us die!"

The monkey paused for a moment: "Being rescued by others is much more likely to succeed than swimming out of the underground river ourselves."

As the monkey spoke, the sounds above had changed from rustling and rubbing to a series of thumping and knocking noises. I thought for a moment, then led the two of them toward the pile of stones in the corner of the room: "Wait a little longer, let's see what the people up there are up to!"

After the three of us hid, Song Laosan turned off his flashlight, and we could still hear knocking sounds coming from above.

"Thump!"

The last tapping stopped above our heads, and the space suddenly became quiet.

Seeing that the sound had stopped, the monkey lowered his voice and said, "Could these people have left? Maybe we should fire a shot to attract their attention!"

"The people up there definitely won't leave. They must be looking for something. And the stone slab blocking the exit is hollow underneath, and the sound is different from the rest of the ground. So these people must be checking the area for any mechanisms, preparing to open it!"

I guessed what those people were up to, took a deep breath, and said, "Keep quiet, let's confirm their identities first, and then make a decision on the next step."

After the three fell silent, about fifteen minutes passed before a muffled thud came from above. A flashlight beam shone down, followed by a voice with a Tianjin accent: "Look at this! I told you, if you give me a chance, I can definitely do you a miracle and get you out of this hellhole!"

Then another male voice rang out: "Stop talking nonsense! We've only just found a hole; whether we can get out is still uncertain!"

"Well, finding a way is better than having no way at all! Look at this exit, it's obviously man-made and so well hidden, it must be an exit!"

The Tianjin youth retorted unhappily, "Let's not talk about anything else, have you found another path with me? What? This is a whole different profession!"

Another deep voice came from below: "Stop bragging, what should we do next?"

"Is that even a question? Of course we should go down and take a look! What other way is there?"

The Tianjin youth shone his flashlight into the space where we were hiding: "There's a rope ladder in that military green backpack. Open it, swing it down, then lay two threaded steel bars across the entrance and hook them onto the ladder!"

He said in a deep voice, "The situation down there is unclear. If we trigger that kind of mechanism again, it will be troublesome... You should go down!"

"Hey! What kind of talk is that? I'm a feng shui master, not Super Mario. What would I be doing going down into a cave?"

The Tianjin youth immediately retorted, "Isn't this what you make your money from? Why don't you go down and take a look!"

The other person retorted, "Nonsense! If it weren't for your half-baked master choosing the wrong path, would we have lost two of our men? Since you chose this path, you should be the one to get off!"

"You said it yourself, it was my master who made the mistake, not me. Why are you yelling at me? Besides, wasn't my master also hit by the falling rocks?"

The Tianjin youth raised his voice: "Although I'm just an apprentice, I'm the only one in this team who understands feng shui. If you send me down, and I encounter danger, who will lead you out? By faith?"

At the critical moment, a woman's voice rang out: "Enough! Stop arguing! Let's all go down together. That way, if we encounter any danger, we can help each other!"

The deep voice grew tense: "Young Miss, it might not be appropriate for you to go down there. This place is far too eerie. What if there's some danger down there...?"

The girl replied, "As you can see, there's no road here at all. This passage is the only exit, and we have no other choice."

After the group finished discussing the plan, a metallic clanging sound and conversations about installing communication equipment soon came from above.

At this point, I was hiding below, completely bewildered.

Because I realized that I didn't recognize the group of people mentioned above.

Although I haven't seen these people in person, I'm certain they are not people I know.

The woman's voice was extremely gentle and completely unfamiliar; it was definitely not Wei Shengnan.

The young man with the Tianjin accent just said that his master triggered a mechanism, causing casualties. When we first entered the Zewang Tomb, Duan Jinyan's men were also trapped below after triggering a rockfall.

Could they be Duan Jinyan's gang?

And that woman called "Miss," could she be the seller of the jade seal, or perhaps the foreign woman who, as Old Master Wei mentioned, seduced Duan Jinyan into betraying his family, and who speaks excellent Chinese?

Thinking about this, my body was already trembling with excitement.

If the people above are indeed Duan Jinyan's group, then I have achieved my goal of coming to the Zewang Tomb.

The young man said that his master had died, and he had become the only one in the team who understood feng shui. This was inconsistent with Duan Jinyan's team. Since he could be called a genius that the Ghost Eye Divine Severance lineage had only seen once in several generations, his feng shui skills were probably beyond even Qu Ruilin's reach.

Unless, he also perished in the previous organization, and this young man with the Tianjin accent was his apprentice.

If that's really the case...

I dared not think any further.

Just as I was filled with worry, several beams of flashlight shone down from above at the same time, and then a rope ladder was slowly lowered down.

Song Laosan, who was next to me, caught a glimpse of a figure preparing to get down from above and gently pulled back the bolt of his gun.

I caught a glimpse of Song Laosan's movements out of the corner of my eye, grabbed his wrist, and shook my head at him.

Song Laosan, who usually behaves quite mildly, suddenly changed his behavior, shoved my arm away, and loaded the bullet.

His actions made me furrow my brow.

He's a smart man, so I believe he had already guessed that the people above him were Duan Jinyan's gang.

However, he had been by my side all along to help me find Duan Jinyan, but now that he realized the identities of those people, he immediately loaded a bullet.

There's only one motive I can think of: he wants to kill Duan Jinyan.

An even more terrifying thought surfaced in my mind.

Could it be that from beginning to end, Song Laosan was on the side of the other two sects, and the reason he stayed by my side was to be a hidden pawn used to assassinate Duan Jinyan?

I have sacrificed so much for this day, and at this moment, I am even closer to the truth.

If I fall out with Song Laosan, the commotion will surely deter the higher-ups from coming down, and we will completely miss our chance to escape.

After weighing the options, I acquiesced to Song Laosan's actions, prepared to risk my life the moment he raised his hand, determined not to let the shot hit Duan Jinyan.