435
Upon hearing this, another person walked over and said in a muffled voice, "Boss, why don't we just take them out? We're almost at the bottom anyway, so let's grab the stuff and leave."
After weighing the pros and cons, Boss Lu shook his head and said, "We can't act rashly. If we kill those people, it will definitely attract the attention of the villagers. This ancient tomb is very special. We only have one way out. If they block the way out, we will all be inside."
"Then what should we do?" Hu Sanchuan asked. "We've gone through so much trouble, if we can't get anything out of this, wouldn't it be a wasted trip?"
"How could we come all this way for nothing?" Boss Lu sneered. "Zhao Si, get some more sleeping pills. Let's drug those people again today before we go down. One night is enough time for us to carry out our plan."
"But boss, those guys seem to have noticed something's wrong?" Hu Sanchuan asked. "Should we use another sleeping potion?"
Upon hearing this, Boss Lu shook his head and smiled, saying, "So what if they find out? There are at most two hunting rifles in the village, and we seven brothers have seven guns. What are we afraid of?"
“Boss, what I mean is that if they discover something and report it to the county, won’t we get into trouble?” Hu Sanchuan said. “When I went out today, I saw Secretary Qi riding his bicycle towards the county town. It’s probably because of this matter.”
"Hehe, don't worry, those officials won't be that quick," Old Master Lu said. "They won't send anyone over in less than three to five days."
"Really?" Hu Sanchuan exclaimed in surprise. "If that's the case, that's wonderful. We won't lose anyone, and we'll still get the stuff. When those damn archaeologists come, we'll just leave them with an empty tomb."
"Haha, let them work for nothing." Everyone laughed heartily.
"Alright, eat something and get some rest. We'll get to work when it gets dark," said Boss Lu. They worked at night and needed to rest well during the day.
He Tiantian was very worried after being kicked off the building by He Jingyu.
"Gurgle gurgle mi...gurgle gurgle mi..." He Tiantian muttered to herself as she descended the mountain, hoping the Snake King would reply to her.
But when she got home, He Tiantian still couldn't contact the Snake King.
He Tiantian was absent-minded no matter what she did.
Meanwhile, the Snake King lay on the golden jade suit, absorbing energy, and his body continued to grow larger. The original golden color gradually turned red, and the color became deeper and deeper.
As the Snake King continued to absorb spiritual energy, the jade pieces on the man's golden jade suit snapped repeatedly.
Fragments turned into powder.
The Serpent King hovered in the air, and the two jade pieces shattered in increasingly shorter and more frequent intervals.
In an instant, the entire tomb chamber was filled with powder from the shattered jade, spreading everywhere as if shrouded in a thick fog.
"Crack..." After the final loud bang, the sound of jade shattering stopped.
An even stronger surge of spiritual energy entered the Snake King's body, causing it to swell violently, its bright red skin to crack and ooze drops of blood.
The blood was scattered on the powder inside the tomb, forming a blood mist.
The Snake King kept his eyes closed, and the jade pendant on his chest emitted a pure white light.
It is unknown how much time passed, but the blood essence in the air gradually returned to the Snake King's body until it absorbed the last trace of blood essence.
The snake king crawled out of the tomb, and it was already pitch black outside.
The Snake King did not return to He Tiantian's barrier, but instead went to the cave to cultivate, suppressing the surging spiritual power within his body.
The moment the snake king burrowed into the pool, the water was already bubbling and boiling, and wisps of steam rose from the surface.
He Tiantian was worried at home, so she went to Secretary Qi's house that evening to ask what was going on.
"Secretary Qi, what did the county say?" He Tiantian asked, feeling uneasy as if something was about to happen.
Not long after Secretary Qi returned home, he sighed and said, "I spoke with County Chief Niu, and he said he'd report to the leaders of Huai City tomorrow, but I don't know when we'll get a reply. Tonight I'll send a few more people to keep an eye on Taoyuan, just in case any tomb raiders come."
"Oh! I see!" He Tiantian felt disappointed. Reporting it up and down the chain of command was a complicated process, and she didn't know when someone would be sent over!
"Yes, as you know, the leaders have meetings and inspections of the river works recently, so they don't have the time to deal with these things," Secretary Qi said. "Besides, this place has never had any great figures in history, and many people don't believe there are any tombs here that need to be excavated."
Even a native like Secretary Qi didn't believe it, let alone those knowledgeable leaders.
Secretary Qi's trip was a complete waste of time.
"That makes sense." He Tiantian nodded, then left Secretary Qi's house and went straight home.
It was already dark outside, and He Tiantian was very worried because her father had not yet returned.
He Tiantian returned to the house and began calling for the Snake King.
“Gurgle gurgle meow…” He Tiantian called out to the Snake King again. Just then, a bright light flashed across the distant horizon.
The light was white, but mixed with red, and as it approached from afar, it gave people a chilling feeling.
About seven or eight seconds later, the light moved toward the back of the mountain.
A loud "crack" was heard, and the red light behind caught up with the white light, producing a deafening noise.
He Tiantian could even feel the ground trembling and the furniture in the room shaking.
He Tiantian quickly went inside to find Grandma Qi, saying, "Mom, Grandma, come out quickly, it looks like an earthquake..."
Wang Shuping quickly came out of the kitchen, and He Tiantian also helped Grandma Qi out.
"Oh dear, what's going on?" Grandma Qi frowned. "It's winter already, how can there be such loud thunder?"
"Yes, it's really strange." Wang Shuping frowned. "Godmother, look..."
Wang Shuping pointed into the distance, where two more streaks of lightning, one white and one red, approached from afar. Clearly, the red one was faster and caught up with the white one at the back of the mountain, colliding with it and making a louder sound than before.
He Tiantian immediately understood that the Snake King was undergoing a tribulation!
It's not an earthquake!
He Tiantian picked up two umbrellas and said, "Grandma, Mom, I'm going to give Dad an umbrella!"
"Sweetie, don't go out..." Wang Shuping called from behind. It didn't matter that her husband caught a cold from the rain, but her daughter couldn't go out so late at night!
"It's okay, Mom, I can run really fast." He Tiantian said, and then ran off.
Wang Shuping was cooking and needed someone to stay with her, so she was anxiously stamping her feet.
At this moment, Secretary Qi led two villagers across.
(To be continued.)
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