Tomb raiding: Intercepting Yin Xinyue and building a family of immortals

Su Chen didn't rush to answer, but instead tapped the table lightly with his fingers.

Among the Nine Gates, the most powerful are the Zhang family and Er Yuehong's Hong family, both of whom have inherited skills and possess unique techniques.

The Zhang family, in particular, has Zhang Qishan bearing the Qiongqi tattoo and a group of tomb raiding experts trained since childhood.

Even with such a setup, they almost perished in the great tomb in western Hunan that they mentioned.

This tomb is probably no ordinary one!

Su Chen looked at Wu Jizong and the other man, and asked in a deep voice, "Brother Wu, Boss Xie..."

"I am deeply honored by your high regard. However... when it comes to tomb raiding, one must know oneself and one's enemy. If you two are unwilling to tell me the truth and explain the origin of this great tomb, please forgive me for not being able to agree."

Su Chen wasn't stupid either. If Er Yuehong and Zhang Qishan couldn't handle the large tomb, he might not be able to either.

Moreover, we don't even know what treasures or evil spirits are in the tomb. Only a fool would be fooled into going there just because someone tells him to.

Xie Yuanlong sighed helplessly and glanced at Wu Jizong.

The latter pondered for a moment, then said quietly, "To be honest, it's a bit difficult to talk about. This large tomb on Guanyin Mountain in western Hunan is related to an old incident from fifty years ago."

"Fifty years ago, back when it was still the Qing Dynasty, the old master of the Xie family bought a bronze Guanyin statue from a Miao village. The old master discovered that there was something special inside the bronze Guanyin statue, so he found the head of the Qi family, and the two of them worked together to decipher the mechanism of the statue and discovered a topographical map engraved on the inner wall."

"The two of them made a rubbing of the map and discovered that it was a map of an ancient tomb, with a bead with an eye engraved on it, called the Phoenix Gallbladder!"

Su Chen was taken aback, and then a question arose in his mind.

Phoenix Gallbladder, also known as Muchen Pearl, but shouldn't this thing be in the Insect Valley?

Despite his many questions, Su Chen remained calm and simply asked, "What is the origin of this Phoenix Gallbladder?"

According to the old master of the Qi family, the Phoenix Gallbladder was left behind by the Yellow Emperor after he became an immortal. If a mortal can find it, he can live forever.

At this point, Wu Jizong chuckled and shook his head: "Anyway, I don't believe it."

Xie Yuanlong didn't say whether he believed it or not, but continued the story following Wu Jizong's words.

"Back then, my grandfather gathered all the masters from the Qi, Huo, and Wu families and rushed to Guanyin Mountain. But who knew that they would never be heard from again after that trip."

"Then, about a year later, a missing thief was found on the streets of Changsha City. However, he had lost all his memories and remembered nothing. He didn't even know how he got back to Changsha or where the others had gone."

"This matter has been a thorn in the side of several of us for fifty years."

Su Chen asked, "Didn't you send anyone to look for them?"

Wu Jizong gave a wry smile and replied, "Of course we searched for it, but the bronze Guanyin statue disappeared along with the old master of the Xie family. Without a map to guide us, we sent out several groups of people, but we couldn't even find where the tomb entrance was."

At this point, Wu Jizong paused, his expression becoming serious.

“Originally, our families had almost put this matter aside, until a few years ago, a young man from the Zhang family from the north heard about it and said he wanted to raid the Guanyin Mountain Tomb. And after much effort, he actually found some clues about the Guanyin Mountain Tomb.”

"Last month, the young master of the Zhang family joined forces with the second master of the Hong family, leading more than two hundred people to western Hunan. In the end, they found only a suspected tomb, and the second master of the Hong family was seriously injured."

"Now that we've started, our families also want to find the remains of our ancestors so they can be laid to rest."

Jie Yuanlong nodded and looked at Su Chen.

"I heard from Old Wu that Brother Su has the ability to locate auspicious burial sites. If you can help us find the location of this large tomb and allow the Xie family to retrieve the remains of the old master, I am willing to offer 30,000 silver dollars. In addition, if any treasures are found in the tomb, Brother Su will also receive 20%."

Listening to Xie Yuanlong's words, it seems like a good deal.

No need to go into the tomb; just help find the dragon vein and locate the tomb, and you will receive 30,000 silver dollars and 20% of the treasures.

Su Chen pondered for a long time before nodding.

"It's just helping to locate the dragon vein and find the tomb location, which is no problem. However... my skills are not good enough, and I can't guarantee that I will definitely get anything."

“It’s alright! As long as Brother Su is willing to help, even if we don’t find the tomb, the Xie family will still offer five thousand silver dollars as a reward.”

Seeing Xie Yuanlong's solemn expression, Su Chen couldn't help but think to himself.

Indeed, you still need skills to be a tomb raider.

Technical talent is always in demand, regardless of the era.

The reason why the Tomb Raiders are so famous among all the schools of thought is because they are so good at finding auspicious burial sites!

Those like the Southern School of Tomb Raiders and the Unloading Ridge Bandits are all bandits; finding tombs relies entirely on one person.

In addition, this trip will allow you to encounter many characters from the Nine Gates, which is a good opportunity to speed up your progress bar.

After discussing the matter, the three agreed to meet up with the main force three days later and set off.

Then they started drinking and toasting each other.

It wasn't until sunset that Xie Yuanlong called over a waiter and asked him to drive Su Chen and his group back.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Sujia Village, Su Ling'er and Su Yitian, one on each side, helped Su Chen walk home.

However, once the assistant left, Su Chen, who had been drunk, immediately regained his senses.

He straightened up and took out the land deed to look at it.

Jie Yuanlong was a clever man; even though Su Chen refused, he still added those several hundred acres of mountain land to the deal. And the price was only four thousand silver dollars.

The remaining four thousand silver dollars were immediately returned to the money exchange, with the money prepared for redemption at the bank.

Xie Yuanlong was afraid that Su Chen would misunderstand, so he clarified that he had only charged the cost price.

All told, Sujia Village now has two hills and 750 mu of clan farmland!

Su Chen gazed at the crimson sunset on the horizon, surveyed the area within several miles of Su Family Village, and then revealed a satisfied expression.

From the family's precarious state to its current state of rebuilding, he has skillfully navigated various challenges and has finally managed to pull the family out of the mire.

Seeing Su Chen's appearance, Su Ling'er asked in surprise, "Brother Chen, you're not drunk?"

"Hey, I honed my drinking skills by drinking with the boss, this little bit won't get me drunk..."

Upon entering the village, Su Chen did not rush to rest, but instead went to find the old clan chief.

"Elder Chief, here are three hundred silver dollars!"

Su Xiaoquan stared blankly at the glittering silver dollars on the table.

"Xiao Chen, what's wrong with you...?"

"Elder Chief, I'm taking Xiaotian and the others to western Hunan in the next few days. I'm entrusting these three hundred silver dollars to you for safekeeping. The village can use them to buy grain, farm tools, or any other miscellaneous expenses."

Su Xiaoquan quickly replied, "That won't be enough; even a few dozen silver dollars would be too much."

"Please don't refuse yet, there's something else I need to say."

Su Chen smiled and shook his head, then said in a low voice, "Many members of our Su family got separated during the famine, and we still don't know where they are. I plan to take a portion of these three hundred silver dollars specifically to find those Su family members who got separated and lost."

"As long as there's news, even if it costs more money, we'll bring them back!"

The biggest reason for the sharp decline in the number of people during the escape was not starvation, but getting lost and separated from others.

Another group sold themselves into servitude to landlords and wealthy households, becoming tenant farmers and servants.

Previously, he lacked money and energy, but now that the family has largely stabilized, Su Chen naturally wants to take this matter seriously.

For a family to thrive and multiply, it must rely on its own members.

Those recruited are ultimately just unofficial members.

After hearing Su Chen's words, Su Xiaoquan suddenly froze on the spot.

After a long while, his eyes reddened, and he choked out, "Xiao Chen, you've got a heart. Don't worry, tomorrow I'll have Ren Zhao go around asking around. We can't let the Su family members suffer outside. We have to find everyone who's still alive."