I chose to stay for the money. The pawnshop hasn't had any big business for half a year. Usually, people only pawn things like cell phones or gold and silver jewelry.

I'm already in my twenties, I can't just drift through life like this forever.

But I didn't stay entirely for the money.

Before my grandfather passed away, his eyes were fixed on the door.

I knew he was waiting for my dad, but he didn't show up.

All I want now is to find that man and ask him in person why he gave birth to me but didn't raise me, why he didn't fulfill his responsibilities as a father, and why he has let down his own father!

I was just about to leave when I was trying to trick the Wei family father and son, to see if they really needed me in this matter.

After I sat down, I looked at Wei Xiao with a grin and said, "Uncle Wei, you just said that if I cooperate with you, you'll give me 20,000 yuan a day. Is that true?"

Wei Xiao looked at me confidently and said, "As long as you agree to cooperate, the 20,000 yuan for today is already in my hands."

Seeing how generous the Wei family was, I turned my gaze to Old Master Wei and said, "Grandpa Wei, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

“You look honest, but you’re actually full of tricks. However, having brains is never a bad thing when it comes to handling this matter.” Old Master Wei put down his teacup: “Speak freely.”

I voiced my doubts: "When you were testing me before, you were able to set up a series of interconnected formations, which means the Wei family has a feng shui master. Changwei Group is wealthy and powerful, and it wouldn't be difficult for them to hire a tomb raiding expert. Why did they choose a young junior like me with no experience?"

"I asked you to come here, of course I have a reason why I can't do without you."

Old Master Wei saw through my thoughts and frankly said, "To be honest, I hired three professional teams to open this tomb. Although these teams claimed to be professional, they did not achieve the desired results. The first group spent three months in the mountains and then gave up! The second group was a father and son who did not hire any tomb raiders and left without saying goodbye! The third group has been in the mountains for half a month now, and still no results."

I was somewhat speechless: "Old man, since even these professional tomb raiders can't find the tomb you're talking about, why do you believe I can do it?"

"To be precise, what I believe in is not you, but your Duan family's secret technique, the Mountain-Climbing Mirror!"

Grandpa Wei looked at me slyly: "Your grandfather didn't tell you about attending the Confucian Temple gathering because he didn't want you to have any further contact with the Four Gates. However, based on my understanding of him, he would never be willing to let the Duan family's craft of the Mountain-Climbing Mirror be lost, so he must have passed it on to you."

I was taken aback: "You even know about mountain-climbing mirrors?"

The Duan family's geomancy technique is called "Fan Shan Jing" (a geomantic method).

There's a saying in the Feng Shui world: "First-rate Feng Shui masters observe the stars, second-rate masters look at the watercourses, and third-rate masters carry a compass and wander all over the mountains."

There are many legends about the Mountain-Crossing Mirror. It is said that as long as you hold this mirror, you can see everything under the mountain through the mountain. In fact, these are all rumors. The so-called Mountain-Crossing Mirror actually refers to a compass.

Seeing my shocked expression, Old Master Wei laughed and said, "Observing the stars and constellations, eliminating negative influences and gathering positive energy, are indeed the ultimate skills of geomancy. But once you get underground, these so-called ultimate skills are worthless in front of the Duan family's Mountain-Turning Mirror. That's why I had to find you!"

After hearing what Grandpa Wei said, I understood what he meant.

Although tomb raiders could locate tombs by observing the stars and the surrounding atmosphere, once they entered the tomb, the stars disappeared and the terrain became invisible. To determine their location, they could only rely on a compass.

He took out a photo of my grandfather when he was young and mentioned the mountain-crossing mirror incident, which made me certain that he knew a lot about my family. So I nodded and said, "Grandpa, I'll take this job!"

Grandpa Wei looked at me calmly: "You little brat, I admire your courage, but I must remind you that tomb raiding is a matter of life and death! Once you agree to this, there's no turning back!"

"Old man, you went to all that trouble to bring me here, just so I could help you raid tombs? Now that you've already played the villain, let's not play the victim anymore. Otherwise, if I really back out at the last minute, where will you cry?"

I ignored their insincere words and changed the subject, saying, "Since ancient times, there have been only two possibilities for tomb raiding: first, to vent anger by digging up graves; second, to obtain the treasures buried with the dead. Your Changwei Group must have assets of at least several billion, so you certainly don't lack money. Could it be that you're seeking revenge?"

"You don't need to worry about this problem, just do as I say."

Old Master Wei avoided discussing the matter, saying, "Since you have decided to cooperate, I will have someone book a flight for you to Yangzhou early tomorrow morning. We can discuss the rest after you have acquired the tomb."

As we were talking, Monkey walked into the reception room, blinked at me, and said, "Young Master Duan, are you going to rob a tomb? You have to take me with you!"

"Don't worry, I will definitely take you with me."

I smiled, pointed at the monkey, and said to Wei Xiao, "Uncle Wei, if I'm going to rob a tomb this time, this friend has to come with me, and he'll have to get a salary of ten thousand yuan a day!"

The reason I brought the monkey is because I've never robbed a tomb before.

Tomb raiding is extremely profitable, but also exceptionally dangerous.

Those who do this job usually have to be fathers and sons or brothers, with one person going down into the tomb and the other guarding the entrance to prevent being tricked.

The monkey is my best friend, and I only feel safe when I have him by my side.

Wei Xiao glanced at the monkey, then shrugged at me: "Sorry, I can't agree to this condition. This time, we only want you, a descendant of the Duan family. You can't bring any unauthorized personnel."

When the monkey heard that it could earn 10,000 yuan a day by following me, it abandoned all its principles: "If you don't bring people, how about bringing pets? Actually, I don't mind being a pet!"

“He’s my assistant!” I made up a reason on the spot: “I’m not very skilled and I’m not familiar with the contents of the Judge’s Record. Over the years, I’ve always taken him with me when I work. We’re partners.”

Wei Xiao looked at me with surprise: "Work? You've been to tombs before?"

The monkey, as if on the same wavelength as me, chimed in, "Yeah, didn't you hear him call me monkey? Actually, my nickname is Earth Monkey. You can tell from my physique. I'm an expert at digging holes!"

Wei Xiao squinted at the monkey and asked, "What kinds of tombs have you opened?"

The monkey, unaware of such matters, blurted out, "Do you know about Tinker Bell's tomb...?"

Wei Xiao's face was practically contorted with confusion: "Doraemon?!"

"Ah, there was a not-so-famous local official from the Song Dynasty named Ding Dang; we robbed his tomb!"

I cursed the monkey in my heart for being an idiot, but I had to cover for him verbally: "My main job as an assistant is to help me go down into the tomb to retrieve goods. I don't know anything. I'm responsible for the important things."

Wei Xiao looked at the two of us with a skeptical expression: "Shenxing, we've already arranged helpers for you on this tomb raiding trip. You don't need to bring your own people..."

"Forget it, let him lead it. Shenxing knows very little about the Four Gates, and he's not sure he'll be able to deal with a group of strangers all of a sudden."

Grandpa Duan finally made the decision, stood up and looked at me: "Young man, I'm getting old and not in good spirits, so I won't stay here with you. We can talk when you come back!"