Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

My heart skipped a beat.

A feeling of extreme unease suddenly welled up inside me.

That extreme unease made me anxious.

I glared at Han Bin, clenched my fist, and growled, "How did you manage to keep an eye on me?!"

"How could several grown people just disappear without a trace?"

Are you blind?

Han Bin slumped into a corner with his head hanging low, and whispered in protest, "I... I don't know how they disappeared."

His stubborn refusal to admit it only made me angrier.

I snapped, "Is 'I don't know' all you're going to say?"

"Do you even know how important Ma Dong and his team are?!"

An old saying goes: "Better to die a friend than to die myself."

To us, Ma Dong and his group are like fellow Daoists.

No matter if danger comes from outside or if Yang Gou Dan from next door comes out possessed by evil spirits, Ma Dong and his team will face the danger head-on first.

But now, the fellow practitioners who could face danger for us are gone.

And they don't even know why they disappeared.

Han Bin drooped even lower, as if he wanted to shrink his entire head into his chest.

His voice trembled as he tried to explain, "Well, actually..."

"I was a little distracted just now."

"I was so focused on listening to your questions that I didn't pay much attention to what was happening outside."

"When I came to my senses and looked outside, they were... gone..."

The more I listened, the angrier I became.

He angrily raised his fist, wanting to give Han Bin a good beating.

Just as I raised my fist, Uncle Zheng grabbed my arm.

He shook his head slightly and said softly, "Keep calm."

The words "stay calm" greatly dissipated the anger that had been rising in my heart.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed myself down.

But in his heart, he was still pondering the anger he had just felt.

I'm usually quite calm and collected, and I can be considered fairly unflappable in the face of adversity.

Even when angry, they can control their temper.

But why did I suddenly become so angry?

Or perhaps it was irrational rage.

wrong!

Before this, when I suspected that Han Bin had led me astray, I also couldn't control my emotions.

It seems that my emotions became somewhat out of control after entering this courtyard.

And Han Bin, his emotions also seemed somewhat abnormal.

Uncle Zheng, on the other hand, remained calm...

Thinking of this, I glanced at Uncle Zheng out of the corner of my eye.

Then, Zheng Erbo put his arm around Han Bin's shoulder.

She gently patted Han Bin's shoulder as if coaxing a child, and said in a soft voice, "Curiosity is human nature. It's not entirely your fault for not keeping an eye on what was happening outside."

"If anyone is to blame, it's my fault for not thinking things through."

"I shouldn't have let you keep an eye on things outside..."

Zheng Erbo's few words brought tears to Han Bin's eyes, making him feel like a wronged child finding a protective parent.

Han Bin said with a sob in his voice, "It was my fault, I shouldn't have been distracted."

"But I wasn't completely distracted; I would glance outside every minute or two."

“When I checked before, Ma Dong and the others were squatting outside, and there was nothing unusual about them.”

"Who knew that in just half a minute, they would disappear without a trace..."

Upon hearing this, my heart stirred.

If Han Bin wasn't lying, then the disappearance of Ma Dong and the others is rather strange.

They were several strong men; even if they encountered great danger, it was impossible for them to disappear without a trace without making a sound.

Unless, they left quietly on their own!

But why did they leave?

The strange events that just happened in the village must have terrified them.

Anyone with a modicum of sense would choose to wait until dawn in this relatively safe courtyard.

But they just disappeared without a trace!

Uncle Zheng also looked puzzled.

He muttered to himself, "I really didn't hear any noise outside."

"A few grown men should shout even if they encounter mountain spirits or monsters."

"It couldn't have just disappeared without a sound..."

Han Bin quickly nodded: "Yes, yes, if they really encounter danger, they will definitely shout loudly."

"So, they were not in danger."

"Instead, they left quietly without saying goodbye!"

"That's right!"

"It's not that I didn't keep an eye on them, it's that they were disloyal and ran away!"

"Ma Dong and his gang are bastards!"

"They ran away without a word, showing absolutely no sense of chivalry!"

Han Bin raised his head higher and higher as he spoke, trying his best to shift the blame onto Ma Dong and the others.

I glanced at him and shook my head in disgust.

There's no time to argue about right and wrong right now.

We need to figure out why Ma Dong and the others left so quietly.

Was the evacuation due to perceived danger outside, or was it lured away by something, or for some other reason?

However, after a little thought, I gave up.

Daydreaming is completely useless.

Only by going out and seeing the situation can we possibly find the answer.

At this moment, Uncle Zheng peeked out through the crack in the door.

He quickly looked away and shook his head, saying, "The crack in the door is too small; the field of vision is too limited."

"I think we should send someone to check the front gate."

Upon hearing this, Han Bin immediately shrank back.

He shook his head vigorously, saying, "I'm covered in injuries, I can barely walk."

"We certainly can't send an injured person like me out to check."

"Heh." I scoffed with a mocking expression.

Han Bin turned his face away, pretending not to hear the mocking laughter.

I walked to the door and said, "I'll go."

Uncle Zheng clicked his tongue and shook his head: "It might be very dangerous outside. You probably don't have enough experience."

"Let this experienced old man go."

In terms of experience, I am certainly no match for Uncle Zheng.

But going out to check the situation doesn't just rely on experience.

Physical fitness is also very important.

Uncle Zheng's old arms and legs might not be enough.

I pushed Uncle Zheng aside with my shoulder, then pulled the door open wide enough for me to squeeze through. I slid out through the crack like a fish.

bang.

I closed the door behind me and looked toward the courtyard gate.

The courtyard gate, which Ma Dong and his group had just closed tightly, was now wide open, resembling the gaping maw of a monster ready to devour people in the darkness.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and walked towards the courtyard gate.

One step, two steps, three steps...

When I reached the center of the courtyard, I turned to look at the door of the room next to ours, the room from which the strange laughter had just come from.

There seemed to be two seals on the door that I had never noticed before.

No, it's not a seal.

It should be a talisman drawn on yellow paper with cinnabar!

Yang Gou Dan, who was imprisoned there, may very well have been possessed by evil spirits!

But with the talisman on him, he shouldn't be able to get out...

As I pondered this, I withdrew my gaze and continued walking towards the courtyard gate.

Tread!

The courtyard was deathly silent, save for the sound of my footsteps.

The closer I got to the gate, the slower my steps became, and the more tense I felt.

I held my breath when I was just one step away from the gate.

I carefully stepped out and landed on the stone slab behind the threshold.

With his left hand lightly supporting the open courtyard gate, he slowly bent down, his head peeking out like a thief.

As the head peeks out, the field of vision gradually expands.

The situation on both sides outside the door came into view.

The tightly closed gates of several houses across the way, and the deserted roads on both sides, all seemed to tell of the village's peace and tranquility under the night sky.

"Phew!" I let out a long breath.

The imagined danger does not exist.

As I relaxed and stepped out of the courtyard, I felt a cold wind blowing overhead.

Look up.

But then I saw a bloody head with its skin peeled off, smashing straight down on me!