Chapter 2366: Chapter 2269: Ghostly Shadows Dancing

Huo Sining turned back to see Su Qingqing’s face full of tension and fear, and couldn’t help but laugh:

"You’re about to graduate as an archaeology major, how can you be so timid? You’re a black belt in Taekwondo; compared to others, your combat ability is much higher. We’re not afraid, so what are you afraid of?"

Hearing this, Su Qingqing pouted and murmured softly, "Being afraid of ghosts has nothing to do with Taekwondo skills; it’s completely psychological fear that you can’t control. Besides, in the middle of the night on this mountain, who knows what kind of monsters might be around. How can I not be scared?"

Huo Sining shot Su Qingqing a sidelong glance and laughed, "In this world, there are only cowards and those with guilty consciences, but there are no monsters like you’re saying. You’ve been watching too many random dramas and novels."

Su Qingqing laughed awkwardly, but her hands still clung tightly to Huo Sining’s arm, not daring to let go.

Huo Sining was a bit helpless and could only let Su Qingqing hold onto him.

After getting off the sightseeing bus, the group could only proceed up the mountain on foot. Several professors were quite elderly, and since it was nighttime, Huo Sining was truly worried there might be issues.

But Zhou Shitao, Shi Qingyun, and these professors didn’t seem to hesitate at all. After getting off the bus and equipping themselves with headlamps, protective clothing to prevent being scratched by brushwood, and boots, they went straight up the mountain.

Oil Rat led the way. His ability to navigate the forest was top-notch; he didn’t need any tools for guidance, and he headed straight into the woods.

The wind at night on Luofu Mountain was strong, with a half-moon hanging in the sky, but it was obscured by dense trees, so only a few shafts of moonlight filtered through. It wasn’t pitch-dark face to face, but visibility was very low.

In the dark mountains, there were only the sounds of mosquitoes and crickets, with occasionally a few night owls calling. When illuminated by the headlamps, a few startled birds took flight.

Oil Rat was focused and led the group into a steep peak, winding and twisting for a good half an hour before finally arriving at a mid-mountain level.

The forest was lush here, with dense brambles. At first glance, there didn’t seem to be anything special about this place.

However, Oil Rat, holding a Luoyang Shovel, approached a shrub and in a few strokes brushed away the weeds. Within minutes, an inconspicuous thieves’ hole appeared before them.

"This is the place. I dug in from here, dug about a hundred meters, and broke through a passage to enter the ancient tomb smoothly. I didn’t enter the main chamber; I only saw the cauldron inside the outer chamber, picked it up, and left."

Oil Rat said frankly to the professors.

Zhou Shitao had already expressed willingness to help him get through this matter and promised a studio assistant position. At this point, Oil Rat had no reason to lie; lying would not benefit him, especially if it was later discovered that he had hidden relics. He couldn’t clear himself then, so it was better to confess everything now.

Therefore, Zhou Shitao and the others didn’t doubt what Oil Rat was saying at this moment.

However, looking at the thieves’ hole in front of them, Zhou Shitao couldn’t help but frown.

This thieves’ hole didn’t look big, probably only accommodating one person crawling inside. But for a tomb that is seventeen hundred years old, it’s absolutely not a good thing.

The passage connects directly to the entrance of the tomb, and this thieves’ hole breached the stone wall of the passage, connecting the inside of the tomb directly to the outside. Air could enter through this hole, likely causing some of the relics inside the tomb that are difficult to preserve to weather, which is fatal.

Perhaps seeing Zhou Shitao’s concerns, Oil Rat knew this was important and quickly added:

"Our Southern Tomb Raiding sect has one advantage: we don’t destroy the original internal structure of tombs. So, when I entered the tomb and took the medicine cauldron out, I had already restored the breached passage wall."

"But during the time I was in the tomb, air must have entered. Plus, the soil and rock layers are not completely sealed. When I loosened the soil here, the protective layer around the tomb was disturbed; I can’t guarantee more air won’t enter."

Oil Rat felt a bit apprehensive, fearing Zhou Shitao would blame him for this and go back on the promise made on the train.

But Oil Rat was clearly overthinking it. Zhou Shitao’s biggest virtue was his generous and magnanimous spirit; once he made a promise to anyone, he would not suddenly change his mind or go back on it.

Although Zhou Shitao’s face wasn’t exactly pleasant after seeing this thieves’ hole, hearing that Oil Rat had sealed the entrance on his way out did ease his expression, preventing him from getting angry at Oil Rat on the spot.

Except for Xie Daoyuan, the other professors were relatively old. Crawling a hundred meters inside a passage was evidently a strenuous task, and even if Zhou Shitao wanted to go in, it was impossible.

Thus, the task naturally fell on Xie Daoyuan.

Of course, in addition to Xie Daoyuan, Huo Sining and Ding Liang also volunteered to go along.

In such a strange place, Su Qingqing felt inexplicably tense and frightened, especially as the mountain wind blew, rustling the tree branches, and the shadows of the trees loomed like ghostly figures swaying. Su Qingqing felt as if something spooky was following them, making her all tense and uneasy, constantly feeling safe only by staying close to Huo Sining. Unconsciously, she took a step forward to follow him.

Huo Sining felt both amused and exasperated and quickly stretched out his hand to stop Su Qingqing.

"No, young miss, you should wait outside."

Seriously, Su Qingqing this pampered young lady had never endured any hardship. Climbing trees to collect bird eggs or going into water to catch loaches were novel concepts to her. Taking her to crawl through this tunnel would be asking for trouble, wouldn’t it?

You must know this thieves’ hole is just wide enough for one person to crawl through. Crawling a hundred meters inside would absolutely be a test of physical and mental endurance. Having Su Qingqing, this young miss, tagging along would obviously slow them down, wouldn’t it?

If they let this young miss lead the way, Huo Sining feared she’d get stuck inside, unable to move forward or backward, blocking everyone else. That would be trouble.

But if they had her bring up the rear, Huo Sining worried something might happen to her, and he wouldn’t be able to look after her. No matter how they chose, it was a tricky situation. Thus, it would be better for her to wait outside, and they could check out the situation first.

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