After Li Quan finished speaking, he looked at the Blue High-Ranking Official. He was somewhat puzzled as to why the conversation had turned to Li Xinyuan.
"Nothing more to say?" the Blue executive said coldly. "If you have nothing to add, then this conversation is over."
Li Quan panicked again and quickly said, "What do you want to ask? Just a heads-up, I really don't know what you want to ask. I've already said everything I should say."
Seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it, the senior official from Lan said, "Li Xinyuan's gang of seven people all died the day before yesterday. Have you heard about that?"
"They're all dead?" Li Quan's mouth dropped open in utter astonishment!
This wasn't an act. If someone could convincingly portray this in a split second, they wouldn't need to be a tomb raider; they could just go straight to acting and win the Best Actor award.
After a moment of stunned silence, Li Quan asked again, "How did they die?"
"We are still investigating this. Of course, the higher-ups at Lan will not disclose the cause of their deaths. If Li Quan and the others know the truth themselves, that's another matter, but I suspect they are all unaware of it."
"Have you said anything more about Li Xinyuan's matter?" the senior executive asked again.
At this point, Li Quan finally understood that Lan Gao and his group only wanted to learn about Li Xinyuan from him. He immediately regretted saying so much; he had given himself a hard time, and if his third uncle, Li Jinlong, found out, his future source of income would be cut off.
But he still had to answer the question asked by the person in front of him carefully, otherwise he would not get the short end of the stick.
"Although Li Xinyuan is from the same clan as us, we've never had any dealings with each other from our ancestors to the present day. In matters of the underworld, basically, if we get involved, they withdraw, and if they get involved, we withdraw; we've never even crossed paths."
Li Quan thought carefully about his answer, but would it satisfy the black-faced tiger in front of him? Probably not!
"The higher-ups were naturally dissatisfied," Hmph. Then he said, "The ancient city of Shixianggou in Yanshi. Do you know this legend?"
Upon hearing Lan Gao's words, Li Quan's expression suddenly changed drastically. He jumped up from his chair in an instant, stammering, "You, how did you know?"
"Never mind how I know. I'm just asking you. Do you know? How much do you know? Tell me what you know," Xiao Fu said, his voice trembling. "But you were rewarded in the end."
Li Quan's expression shifted rapidly, turning pale and then flushed, before he slowly sat down again. After a long silence, he sighed deeply and said, "Since you all know the secret of the ancient city of Shixianggou in Yanshi, then I have nothing to hide. I'll tell you." He sighed again and began to speak slowly: "This secret is known only to the most core direct descendants of my Li family. Only one person in each generation possesses that diagram. As time goes by, fewer and fewer people know it. I heard it from my father. Three thousand six hundred years ago, one of our ancestors was a highly skilled craftsman, especially adept at tomb feng shui. At that time, Prince Tang of Shang conscripted thousands of skilled craftsmen from across the country to Shixianggou in Yanshi, which is today's Luoyang, to build an imaginary, enormous tomb. Our Li family ancestor was a leading figure among the craftsmen of that time, and naturally, he was also conscripted. But before going, fearing something might happen, our ancestor left a diagram of the tomb's mechanisms for his two sons..."
"At that time, King Zitang dispatched a large army to guard Luoyang, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving. Our ancestors and a group of craftsmen completed the project a year later, but none of the craftsmen returned afterward. The residents of the ancient city of Shixianggou in Yanshi, along with my ancestors and the craftsmen, all vanished inexplicably, without a single trace. Many descendants of the craftsmen left behind a single piece of information: that King Zitang built a huge and hidden ancient tomb for his successive royal families, filled with countless treasures..." The treasures, of course, also came with countless deadly traps and mechanisms. Our ancestors took the craft blueprint and left for distant lands. Decades later, after King Zitang's death, they returned to search for the ancient city's treasures. However, the blueprint they possessed was merely a diagram of the tomb's construction, not a map of the tomb's location. Therefore, despite countless efforts and resources, they could not find the treasure's hiding place. The legend wasn't limited to our Li family; it was widely circulated among the descendants of the thousands of craftsmen of that time. Many others came searching for this treasure, but ultimately, none found it.
The Blue High-Ranking officials' expressions remained unchanged, but Zhou Xuan listened as if it were a fairy tale. Was it a real treasure? Or an extraterrestrial stone? Was it a legend or true history?
However, it seems that the will passed down from Li Quan's ancestors is somewhat different from the secrets told by the Lan officials, but one thing is consistent: the "Yanshi Corpse Village Ancient City" should indeed have existed.
The senior executive pondered for a moment before asking, "Have you found any clues?"
Li Quan shook his head and said, "Our ancestors and descendants have all been trying to find this treasure. If we really find it, it will be a fortune that can rival that of a country. Who wouldn't want to find it? Once we find it, we won't have to make money by robbing tombs here and there like we do now."
"Then let me tell you something." The high-ranking official from the Blue Clan stared intently at Li Quan, his gaze sharp. "Li Xinyuan and his group have already found the secret location of that ancient city and brought out some items."
Li Quan was taken aback again. He said, "Really? Then their deaths are most likely due to underworld figures coveting the treasure. It's not uncommon for people to die for wealth, just as birds die for food. After all, this treasure is enormous. I think it's greater than the wealth in the tombs of any emperor or tycoon throughout history. Because this is a city; how much wealth must a city have?"
After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "However, I still find it hard to believe. All we have left behind is a craft diagram. Li Xinyuan's branch of the family may also have this diagram, but as for the location of the treasure, they know just as much as we do. It's hard to imagine that they would find it before us."
The senior executive stared intently into Li Quan's eyes. He was extremely experienced in discerning whether someone was lying or had ulterior motives. His eyes were like an advanced lie detector.
Within seconds, the Blue executives realized that Li Quan wasn't lying. He genuinely didn't know, and even if he did, that was about all he knew.
After a moment of contemplation, the senior official Lan said, "Li Quan, I have a suggestion. Go back and discuss it with your third uncle and the others. The idea is that you join forces with us to find the treasure's location, and my reward for you is to erase your past. In addition, I will allow you to take a portion of the treasure from the treasure."
Li Quan was stunned. He didn't know if what the higher-up Lan said was true or false. Were they real conditions? Or was it a trap?
The Blue executive said calmly, "Your doubts are useless. I'm telling you, you only have two choices. One is to cooperate with me and live a lawless and carefree life; the other is to wait to be shot in prison."
After Lan Gao finished speaking, he stood up and beckoned Zhou Xuan and Li Yong. Fang Jianjun prepared to leave.
Li Quan was somewhat flustered. He wanted to speak up but didn't know whether he should or shouldn't.
The senior executive turned to him and said, "You don't need to answer now. Go back and discuss it with them. I'll come back in three hours to ask about the results!"
Volume 1, Chapter 92: Searching for the Tomb Raiders
Longpo Yuan came and took Li Quan away! Afterwards, Zhou Fucai, puzzled, asked the higher-ups, "Li Quan is clearly on the verge of collapse, why not just talk to him directly instead of waiting another three hours?"
Lan Gao smiled and said calmly, "Of course I know. Li Quan is nothing to worry about, but his third uncle, Li Jinlong, is a real character. Li Jinlong has profound skills and techniques in tomb raiding mechanisms, which is what we need. However, Li Jinlong is not as easy to talk to as Li Quan. Let Li Quan send them a message first, give them a few hours to think it over, and let them have a process of acceptance. I estimate there won't be any problems. But rather than sending them here now to argue, it's better to put some pressure on them and let them take the initiative to accept it. It's a completely different matter from negotiating with us to get them to accept it. It's much better to keep the initiative in our own hands."
Zhou Xuan suddenly realized, and couldn't help but admire the deep scheming of the Blue executives. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "If they agree, will you still keep your word?" At this point, he seemed to realize that he shouldn't have asked the question at all, so he swallowed the rest of his words.
Although he didn't say it aloud, the Blue executives clearly understood Zhou Xuan's meaning, and said calmly, "I understand what you mean. I will certainly abide by the conditions they proposed, but there are limitations."
Looking at Zhou Xuan, the senior executive of the Blue Bureau smiled and said, "To give you an example, it's like a thief who gets caught, serves five or six years in prison, and then gets released. He has no other skills, can't find a job, and has no relatives willing to help him. So he can only go back to being a thief. Or he might simply find other jobs too hard and tiring, and don't earn much money, and he can't change his habit of enjoying life. In that case, his fate will still be in prison. That's what I mean."
Zhou Xuan sighed. He understood this principle. Unlike him, these people didn't have the old man's background. The conditions that the Blue executives offered them were basically dispensable. Although it was disheartening, it was also a fact.
If Li Quan and his gang could quit this line of work and live normal lives, they might be able to escape this fate. But it's their path, and who knows what might happen?
"But at least for now, I will keep my promise regarding the deal. I've also basically set their compensation. Since they're not part of any official organization and can't possibly be, if they survive the mission and return safely, I can allow them to take a portion of the treasure's wealth as compensation, which will also serve as their source of income. This includes you, Xiao Zhou; you can also take a certain number of antiques and artifacts. Of course, your situation will be different from Li Quan's and the others, and the nature of your actions will be different as well."
With a sigh, Zhou Xuan shook his head slightly. He decided to just let things take their course. It wasn't his place to worry about other people's problems. Maybe there wouldn't be any danger this time. It was just an ancient tomb. Whether they could even find it was another question. He figured it wouldn't be as dangerous as the trip to the sinkhole and underground river in America.
Director Wu then brought over a young woman in her early twenties and introduced her to them.
The girl's name is Ling Hui, she is 21 years old, and she graduated from police academy. She was assigned to work in logistics at a subordinate county branch.
With a round face, handsome eyebrows and eyes, and a short stature of about 1.65 meters, he looked very capable. After Director Wu called him into the office, he gave Lan Gaozhang and Zhou Xuan a standard military salute and said, "Good morning!"
Beforehand, Director Wu had given her instructions. These people were all high-ranking officials from Beijing. Her responsibility was to cooperate with them. Since she was a local, it would be much easier to deal with locals. She didn't need to worry about anything else. She should just do whatever the higher-ups asked her to do, and report to them if needed. The bureau would then assign tasks to them. Of course, in addition to cooperating, this was a major top-secret mission, and she also had to keep everything a secret.
Ling Hui was incredibly excited when she received the mission notification. She graduated from school with the third highest overall score, which is no small feat for a girl, especially considering that over 85% of the students in the police academy are physically strong boys.
Moreover, when Ling Hui was interning, she worked as a community police assistant at a local police station. For several months, she dealt with old men and women, adults and children, and their gossip. It was very different from the exciting scenes she had imagined. Even the anti-pickpocketing team couldn't let her in.
After graduation, she was assigned to the county bureau to work in logistics, which made her even more depressed. But for some reason, Director Wu actually picked her out from the vast sea of people to participate in this secret mission. The excitement in her heart was indescribable.