Antiques from the Tang-Song Era fetched the highest prices, especially because the royal family favored and promoted them.
If this truly was a grand tomb from the Tang Dynasty, it would set them up for life.
But if Great Chu's Cultural Relics Protection Office caught even a whiff of it, they would have only two choices left: prison food or a bullet!
That was the grave-robbing trade: a profession where you carried your head on your belt. Its practitioners were vicious to the bone, too. They would even fight back when the police came after them. Either way, they were facing death!
Just then, faint screams came from deep inside the robbery tunnel. The two men aboveground stiffened and instinctively began hauling up the rope.
"Run! There's something down—"
The man had barely been pulled out of the tunnel when he managed half a warning. Blood poured from his mouth in great gushes; clearly, he would not survive.
Only then did the two men realize why he had been so light. Half his body was gone...
"This is bad. Run..."
This was no time to hesitate. They exchanged a glance, then turned and fled almost as one.
Through the heavy rain, they could make out a stream of black mist surging from the tunnel. It rose seven or eight zhang into the air, baring claws and fangs like a venomous dragon.
One of them looked back. The sight frightened him so badly that he stumbled and went tumbling down the mountainside. His flashlight flew from his hand and vanished.
As he rolled, he faintly heard another scream from somewhere far away...
At that moment, a gaunt old man appeared, racing through the mountains at an unbelievable speed. He carried a wooden staff with a small mirror hanging from it, and