Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1044: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (52)

In the dim light, 'Suzuki Chun Xin' suddenly felt a firm pat on his shoulder.

His reaction was overly intense—he spun around abruptly, his gaze sweeping like a venomous snake.

The elder from the Li Family who had patted him flinched, heart skipping a beat. For a moment, he thought those weren't human eyes he was staring into.

“What are you doing?” 'Suzuki Chun Xin' asked, his voice low and tinged with suppressed anger.

The elder frowned. “You must be the Suzuki Young Master? I just saw you both standing still and wanted to ask if something was wrong.”

'Suzuki Chun Xin' shook his head casually. “It's just suddenly going dark after coming down—it’s a little disorienting.”

Watching this, 'Suzuki Yuichi'—or rather, Ren Zhen—clearly understood that Ba Qi's reaction stemmed from fear.

Now both he and Ba Qi were existing as souls, attached to the bodies of the Suzuki father and son. These attachments could normally be switched at will, providing flexibility and safety.

But the moment they entered the tomb, their souls were instantly bound to the Suzuki father and son's bodies—essentially turning them into sitting targets.

What was more terrifying was that this unknown "other" had not only sealed their souls undetected, but had also quietly erased the hundreds of marks Ba Qi had left behind.“Could the guardian here actually be in the Dao Fruit Realm?” 'Suzuki Chun Xin' murmured, scanning their surroundings nervously.

“To my knowledge, ever since the Immortal Path was severed, there hasn’t been a Dao Fruit Realm or equivalent-level demon god in the Divine Land for over two thousand years,” 'Suzuki Yuichi' said, frowning. “If there is one, it must’ve lived since before the Path was severed…”

'Suzuki Chun Xin' gave a bitter smile. All his prior speculations about the human girl’s mysterious guardian now seemed laughable—the entity clearly didn’t even bother to act.

But…

Was this a warning? Or something else?

To seal their souls and erase the marks, yet not restrict their movements or expose them—this ambiguous attitude made Ba Qi deeply uneasy.

It even considered abandoning the mission and the Suihou Pearl, which was vital to it—better to preserve its life first. As the saying goes: “Where there’s life, there’s hope.”

However, that thought didn’t last long. What made Ba Qi and Ren Zhen’s expressions change again was that—despite their souls being bound to the Suzuki father and son—they suddenly felt their power growing exponentially.

No—it wasn’t just growing. Ever since leaving the Voidless Moon World, they had been at their weakest, but now, their strength was returning rapidly.

In what may have been just a few seconds—or even one breath—they had recovered most of their original power!

Yet, they still couldn’t detach from the Suzuki bodies.

As they reeled from this, a voice echoed in their minds.

Ethereal, unreal, a voice one could not recall once heard, but its message etched deep in their hearts:

“Hmm… that should be enough. Your recovery will stop here, and it's only temporary. For this tomb expedition, I’ll trouble you two to ensure the others’ safety. If they return alive, I will reduce your restored power by 70%—the remaining 30% will be your reward. Do you agree? Nod if you accept.”

Ba Qi and Ren Zhen exchanged glances. What they saw in each other’s eyes wasn’t just surprise—but fear.

Their power had indeed returned. That overwhelming force coursing through their forms was real—and exhilarating.

But that made it even more terrifying.

There was no physical contact, no signs of any external power… yet their strength had been restored, as if summoned from nothing.

It was like creation from void—something even true immortals likely couldn’t achieve.

Ba Qi understood. Having once stolen a portion of the Fragment World’s authority in the Voidless Moon World, even it couldn’t do this there—much less in the Main World.

Ren Zhen said nothing, but his eyes were icy. He hated the feeling of being manipulated—it reminded him of countless years living under the fate of the Greedy Wolf star.

“What do we do?” 'Suzuki Chun Xin' asked softly.

'Suzuki Yuichi' slowly closed his eyes and nodded. Seeing this, 'Suzuki Chun Xin' frowned, but still nodded as well.

The mysterious voice was gone—no trace remained—but their power hadn’t faded.

And trying to betray this force? Ridiculous. If this being could restore their power from nothing, destroying them would be even easier.

Trying to fight back?

Impossible.

As for the Suzuki clan’s original plan to ambush and rob Song Family’s equipment?

Forget it… not in the face of such a godlike power.

'Suzuki Chun Xin' sighed and decisively walked toward Mr. Ah Qi.

…

A while later, Mr. Ah Qi returned to Zhang Qianrui, looking perplexed.

Song Haoran and Luo Qiu had also descended from the ladder. Zhang Qianrui didn’t hide anything from the Song Family and asked directly, “Uncle Ah Qi, what did that Suzuki Young Master say to you?”

Mr. Ah Qi’s expression remained odd. Glancing at the group, he hesitated, then said, “He said, if we run into danger, we can let their people go first. They’ll do their best to keep us safe. Even… if it comes to it, they’ll make sure our corpses are returned safely.”

“What?” Zhang Qianrui’s lips twitched—she thought she’d misheard.

Mr. Ah Qi shook his head. “I thought I misheard too. But he really repeated it several times. I honestly don’t know what kind of game he’s playing…”

Zhang Qianrui glanced at Song Haoran—he was the lead for the Song Family in this joint operation, and his opinion carried weight.

“Let’s see how far they want to go with this,” Song Haoran said with a curious smile. “Even if it means piling up corpses to keep us safe… I’m genuinely interested to see what kind of ‘pile’ they mean.”

“This…” Zhang Qianrui was about to say something. The topic of stacking corpses felt a bit distant and surreal to her, but Mr. Ah Qi gave her a subtle look.

Mr. Ah Qi said, “Miss, let’s wait and see. Though there are many people from the Suzuki Association, most seem like a mixed bunch from all walks of life. Their equipment is nowhere near as good as ours. Even if they want to stir up trouble, it’ll depend on whether their fists are big enough.”

Zhang Qianrui could only nod in agreement.

Afterward, under the orders of the Suzuki father and son, a portion of their men were assigned to the scouting team in front, while the key figures stayed behind to await reports. Only if something was discovered and confirmed to be safe would Zhang Qianrui, Song Haoran, and the Suzukis be called forward.

There was no helping it. While Song Haoran had hoped to enjoy the thrill of exploring an ancient tomb and facing the unknown, Mr. Ah Qi’s real aim seemed more about giving Zhang Qianrui a one-time experience—more symbolic than practical.

“Speaking of which, there's something I’ve been curious about, Mr. Mu Xianghua,” Song Haoran suddenly said with a smile as he looked over.

At this point, the scouting team hadn't returned, but everything was quiet—at least the front seemed safe for now.

“Heh, go ahead, Mr. Song,” Mu Xianghua replied. After seeing the strength of the Song Family's team, he'd long started addressing Song Haoran with more respect.

“You said the map was passed down from your ancestors…” Song Haoran smiled. “Over all these years, none of your ancestors ever thought to investigate this tomb? Judging by the surroundings, it looks like it’s being opened for the first time.”

As soon as he said that, Mr. Ah Qi narrowed his eyes slightly. This question had been on the Old Madam’s mind back when Mu Xianghua first approached Zhang Lilanfang, but for some reason, she never brought it up during the negotiations.

One thing was certain—the carbon dating on the map sample Mu Xianghua had provided confirmed its age. The map had come from the Takizawa family and was passed into Mu Xianghua’s hands. Faced with Song Haoran’s sudden question, Mu Xianghua was stunned and didn’t know how to answer.

“About that…”

“Heh.” Song Haoran chuckled casually, “No need to be nervous, Mr. Mu. I’m just asking out of curiosity, not digging into your family’s secrets. You don’t have to answer.”

Mu Xianghua could only respond with an awkward nod.

Song Haoran patted his shoulder and casually wandered off, examining the stone walls of the escape tunnel as if sightseeing.

Mu Xianghua wiped cold sweat from his forehead. When Song Haoran questioned him just now, it felt like he was being stared at by a lion.

He gloomily walked back toward the Suzuki father and son, only to find they had been acting oddly for a while—one walking in front, the other behind, blending in with the group.

Just then, someone ran back from the scouting party and reported discovering a fairly large burial chamber up ahead, with something inside worth seeing.

Anything considered worth seeing in an ancient tomb was likely of considerable value. And for veterans from tomb-raiding families like the Lis, for them to say something was worth seeing meant it was no ordinary artifact.

Soon, everyone followed one of the veteran guides to the location. Meanwhile, members from the three main families stayed in the rear to guard the route. The vanguard continued moving ahead, which helped keep the exploration efficient.

What had astonished the veteran from the Li family turned out to be something world-famous: Terracotta Warriors!

Lined up in rows, lifelike Terracotta Warriors stood in the pit within the chamber—numbering in the thousands!

“My god! Chinese Purple, Chinese Blue!”

As high-powered lights shone into the chamber and illuminated the Terracotta Warriors sealed for two thousand years, Zhang Qianrui gasped with emotion, lightly covering her lips with her hand.

“Chinese Purple… Chinese Blue?” Song Haoran blinked, clearly puzzled.

“That refers to a type of painting technique used during the Qin Dynasty,” Luo Qiu answered.

He naturally walked to the edge of the pit, crouched down, and reached out to touch one of the Terracotta Warriors. He casually said, “In 1979, archaeologists opened a Qin-era tomb in Lintong. When they entered, all kinds of vibrant colors appeared—vermilion, purple-red, lavender, light blue, black, white… A whole army of Terracotta Warriors with vivid expressions. But the colors only lasted for a short time. Once exposed to air, they quickly dehydrated, curled up, and peeled off. That’s how the drab Terracotta figures we now recognize came to be.”

He stood up, as if something was on his fingers. Rubbing them lightly, he added, “To this day, we still don’t know exactly what materials those vanished pigments were made from. We simply call them ‘Chinese Purple’ and ‘Chinese Blue.’”

“Heh…” Song Haoran listened with interest and then suddenly remembered something. “Hey, aren’t you a paleontology student? You seem to know a lot about historical artifacts too.”

Luo Qiu smiled casually and glanced at Zhang Qianrui. “I borrowed a few books from your place before. Just repeating what I learned.”

Zhang Qianrui was momentarily stunned. That had been quite a while ago.

“I remember you once said you had an interest in antiques,” she said with a smile, suddenly recalling the first time Luo Qiu came to her antique store.

Life really is strange… back then, none of them could’ve imagined they’d one day be excavating an imperial tomb together like this.

“Hmm… it really is peeling off.” Song Haoran frowned.

The colorful layers on the Terracotta Warriors were flaking and peeling—just as Luo Qiu described. But what was different this time was it wasn’t caused by oxidation!

The paint was peeling off because…

The Terracotta Warriors were moving.

They were coming to life.

(End of Chapter)