As She Lang’s words fell, the scene suddenly went quiet.
She Lang held his posture without moving, feeling somewhat uneasy.
In his conception, the other party was like a legend of the martial world.
Countless rumors about them circulated throughout the jianghu, with truth and falsehood hard to discern.
If Zhang Chen hadn’t personally said that he came from the same lineage, She Lang would never have dared to seek them out so recklessly.
But even so, he still wasn’t sure if the other party would intervene—Ji Ting agreeing to meet him was already a huge surprise.
While She Lang’s thoughts spun wildly, Ji Ting was listening to the detailed analysis through his earpiece.
“Judging from what he said, your identity within the novel framework might be an overpowered side character for the protagonist. If ‘the elder’ isn’t just an honorific but an objective fact, we initially suspect that the novel’s framework is related to immortality.”
“As for the ‘Four Great Families’ mentioned at the end, they’re probably the main powers within the novel’s setting.”
The voice paused, then the sound of pages flipping came through: “Based on other tomb-raiding novels on the market, this so-called ‘Four Great Families’ most likely refers to professional tomb raiders, namely the Mogi Sect, the Faqiu Sect, the Banshan Sect, and the Xieling Sect.
“Of course, other possibilities can’t be ruled out. It might refer to four segments of the tomb-raiding industry chain, involving tomb raiding, treasure appraisal, selling, and other related businesses.”
“You can appropriately adjust your previous lines to better fit the new character setting. If you’re unsure how to act it out, we can provide you with a few keywords…”
Hearing this, Ji Ting got the idea.
He put down his teacup and broke the tense atmosphere in the room: “In that case, I’ll send my men with you to fetch Zhang Chen back.”
She Lang breathed a sigh of relief, plopping down into his chair earnestly: “Rest assured, he got lost on my watch, so I’ll definitely help you find him.”
He drained his tea and shifted tone: “But just finding him isn’t enough; the root cause of the problem needs to be solved. I do know where he went, but that place is truly eerie. Few skilled people dare to go back.”
Ji Ting raised an eyebrow: “You mean Jimo Mountain in X Province?”
She Lang gave a thumbs up: “Your information really is sharp. Just a moment ago, and you already know everything clearly.”
Having flattered Ji Ting, he got straight to the point: “That kid Zhang Chen probably didn’t dare tell you about this. The bronze artifact thread was supposed to have ended, right? But a few days ago, Zhang Chen somehow got a tip saying there’s a huge tomb in Jimo Mountain, X Province, packed with treasures. The bronze artifacts supposedly come from there…”
“Coincidentally, I had a job to do too, so I gathered a group of experts to scout Jimo Mountain. We didn’t expect to meet a tough opponent,” She Lang gritted his teeth: “That place is really cursed. We circled Jimo Mountain for a long time without finding the exact location. In the middle of the night, Zhang Chen, half asleep, found the entrance…”
It would have been fine if they didn’t descend, but what happened afterward was even stranger.
First, someone in the group suddenly betrayed them.
Then they encountered monsters. In the chaos, everyone scattered.
She Lang and his comrade Zhou Shengsheng fell into the tomb passage, triggered traps, and after a frantic escape, were trapped in the burial pit.
They were stuck there for over ten days, nearly starving to death, when Zhang Chen suddenly appeared and confusedly led them out.
After that, they left the hospital, but a series of unexpected deaths followed.
“I retraced the events and found many things off. Our team were all experts, and we’ve worked together many times. There’s no way someone would kill for treasure before even finding any. Also, that burial pit was really suspicious…”
She Lang sighed deeply as he spoke.
“Zhang Chen must have sensed something wrong and went to Jimo Mountain alone to fix it.”
She Lang tilted his head, pulling open his collar to reveal large circular marks extending from his neck to his back: “Everyone who went down the tomb got these. Now, only Zhang Chen and I are still alive. To completely solve this, we have to return to the very beginning and unravel the mystery.”
She Lang showed no fear of death, nor much sadness for his fallen comrades.
He faced it all with an unusual ease and chose to confront it once again.
But judging by how they died, the “Four Great Families” probably aren’t thriving anytime soon.
While the earpiece continued summarizing the key points of the conversation, Ji Ting proceeded according to the script: “Then good luck to you…”
He pulled out his phone and gave a proper signal to the other side, continuing: “My men have arrived.”
The teahouse door was pushed open, and five men in black suits and sunglasses strode in, stunning everyone present—including Ji Ting.
Ji Ting had been busy studying the script and one-on-one acting coaching, unaware that the Tian Shu Squad would appear dressed like this… so unexpectedly.
How did these five walk into the hotel?
Didn’t anyone find their appearance suspicious along the way?
Before his expression could slip, Ji Ting lowered his head to drink tea, hiding the subtle shift in his emotions.
Luckily, She Lang wasn’t paying attention to him either—he was equally stunned by the Tian Shu Squad’s appearance.
She Lang stared at the five men in black for a while, then turned to Ji Ting: “Sir… are you doing military-style training now?”
Ji Ting cleared his throat, dodging the question: “They’re more than capable of handling this kind of small trouble.”
He turned to Li Yishu and instructed: “You’ll be going with him to Jimo Mountain in X Province.”
Li Yishu nodded silently.
The black suits and sunglasses perfectly concealed their expressions.
She Lang caught the hint in Ji Ting’s tone, stood up briskly, and cupped his fist to Ji Ting: “Rest assured, I guarantee to bring Zhang Chen back for you.”
When She Lang left with the Tian Shu Squad, Ji Ting vaguely heard him trying to make small talk with them: “Brother, where are you from? How old are you? I don’t think I’ve seen you before? Not to brag, but the She family has some reputation in this field…”
As soon as She Lang left, the constant chatter in the earpiece immediately ceased.
Moments later, the wall at the back of the teahouse slowly shifted, revealing an emergency-modified conference room.
The conference room was filled with people, and the projector was repeatedly playing a 360-degree no-dead-angle video of the conversation between She Lang and Ji Ting.
Caught off guard by seeing himself on the big screen, Ji Ting fell silent.
Though he was mentally prepared, witnessing a group studying him live was still overwhelming.
What’s more, these people were just a small part.
Soon, hundreds or even thousands would receive this video, conduct analyses across various fields, and eventually compile a detailed report.
The people in the conference room were used to this.
Although Ji Ting probably didn’t know them, their knowledge of him far exceeded his own.
As She Lang and the Tian Shu Squad transitioned, the video on the screen shifted from Ji Ting to the Tian Shu Squad.
Yet the crowd’s attention wasn’t on this.
On the other side of the screen, another live feed was playing.
The room’s door was open.
On the bed, faint imprints showed someone had lain there.
A chair was slightly tilted to one side.
The ashtray on the table held scattered cigarette butts—all traces of human life.
They didn’t rush into the room.
First, they piloted drones to survey, collecting enough information.
Then they switched to movable mechanical arms to inspect suspicious spots and took away everything they could—cigarette butts, bedsheets, combs, hotel slippers, anything with She Lang’s biological traces.
Seeing this, Ji Ting turned his head.
Just as expected, two unfamiliar faces behind him were carefully packing up She Lang’s used cups, teapot, and chair.
Ji Ting was silent for two seconds before turning back to watch the live feed.
After they had scavenged all scattered items and confirmed nothing was out of place, the mechanical arms withdrew.
They were replaced by fully armed researchers, dressed head to toe in protective suits.
They rushed into the room like kids in a candy store, wielding all sorts of instruments, doing as they pleased.
Ji Ting couldn’t bear to watch. He pressed his earpiece and asked, “No more scenes for me later? Should I head back?”
An unfamiliar voice interrupted: “Wait, Li Ting, come to this room first. See if there’s any special chemical reaction.”
The live feed showed the room’s interior, unable to capture the busy scene outside.
The hallway was crowded with people and equipment.
Ji Ting navigated through the crowd and stopped in front of the room’s isolation barrier.
He looked down at the large “Danger, Toxic” sign hanging on the barrier, glaringly obvious.
Just moments ago, Ji Ting had been chatting face-to-face with She Lang.
A person in a protective suit enthusiastically waved at Ji Ting from inside the room: “Ji Ting, over here!”
Before Ji Ting could respond, two young men dashed over and expertly fitted him with a full protective suit, wrapping him up tightly from head to toe before hurrying off to other tasks.
Ji Ting adjusted to the suit, crossed the barrier, and was instantly surrounded by a group of people.
They almost bombarded him with questions: “Do you feel anything unusual? Like oppression, fear, a sense of being watched?”
Ji Ting looked at them blankly.
Someone enthusiastically explained: “Based on the traces and changes in item positions inside the room, we’ve summarized the target’s general movements. Aside from normal biological activities, two points stand out.”
“First, the curtains inside were always tightly closed, day or night. We suspect he didn’t turn on any artificial light either, deliberately keeping himself in darkness.”
“Second…”
The speaker suddenly paused, glancing at the slightly tilted chair beside him.
“We suspect there was a second ‘person’ here, or at least a second living thing.”
A chill ran down Ji Ting’s spine.
He hadn’t felt anything unusual upon entering, but now, after hearing this, everything felt wrong.
Ji Ting: “A second living thing?”
“Look here, this chair…”
The person eagerly pulled Ji Ting to the chair: “Something stayed here for hours. It’s not humanoid… Of course, it’s possible the target contorted himself into a humanly impossible position on this chair and lost a hundred pounds of weight, leaving this mark.”
Ji Ting’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared at the ordinary chair, feeling goosebumps all over.
The other party, oblivious to Ji Ting’s feelings, eagerly pressed on: “Do you feel anything unusual when you look at it?”
Originally, Ji Ting felt nothing special, but after their words, a flood of strange sensations overwhelmed him.
Just as Ji Ting was about to reply, a hand tapped his shoulder.
A slightly puzzled voice whispered in his ear: “What are you spacing out at the door for?”
Ji Ting turned.
A person in a protective suit looked at him curiously.
The “Danger, Toxic” sign on the barrier still stood out.
Inside, people busied themselves by the instruments, completely ignoring him.
Everything seemed normal—except for him.
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