Volume Three: Tomb of the Fox Immortal - Chapter Thirty-Seven: Preparing to Depart

After Da Gou finished arranging the incense and offerings, he began to pay his respects to the Fox Immortal in the temple.

Once he was done, he stood up and asked us, "Masters, what are we going to do now?"

I checked the time on my phone. We had been out for half a day already. If we intended to enter the tomb today, we would definitely need the equipment from the van; without it, we wouldn’t even be able to dig a盜洞 (robber’s tunnel).

"We’re going back now," I said. "Da Gou, you’ll come with us tonight. We need to go back and get our gear first. Otherwise, if that Headless Ghost shows up, we won’t be able to handle it without our tools."

Da Gou agreed without hesitation. He didn't ask why we had to wait until night; he knew as well as we did that ghost-exorcism was impossible in broad daylight. We had to wait for darkness to encounter the entity.

What Da Gou didn't realize was that we didn't actually know where the Headless Ghost was hiding. However, as long as Da Gou was with us, we were certain we could track it down and eliminate it.

After we reached an agreement, the four of us began our slow descent back the way we came.

The journey down was much faster than the climb up, and in about an hour, we reached the village.

The old village chief hurried over to us, asking anxiously, "Masters, did you discover anything up on the mountain?"

I gave him a brief summary, which left the old man visibly shaken. After a long moment of stunned silence, he sighed, "No wonder everyone who goes up the mountain returns with a severe illness. So, our ancestors are still trapped in that graveyard."

Tears welled in his eyes as he looked at me. "Once you masters have dealt with the Headless Ghost and saved our ancestors of Goutou Village, we will surely reward you handsomely."

I was about to refuse, but Xu Tian interjected, "Chief, we are likely to face great danger. We don't know what lies beneath that formation, and we could lose our lives at any moment."

The village chief nodded solemnly. "The people of Goutou Village will remember this debt. When you return in triumph, we will certainly offer a generous reward."

Xu Tian glanced at me, and I understood his intent. If we didn't ask for anything, the chief would inevitably be suspicious of our motives. It was better to accept the offer of a reward now and return any excess once the mission was complete.

I nodded at Xu Tian. The chief then said, "Masters, I’ve had the courtyard you stayed in yesterday cleaned up. You can stay there tonight."

I waved him off. "That won't be necessary. We plan to set out to break the formation tonight. If all goes well, we’ll be back with Da Gou by tomorrow."

"Is there such a rush?" the chief asked.

I shook my head. "We have urgent matters—life-and-death ones—so every second counts." The chief nodded in understanding. "I will go prepare some food. Please wait here a moment, and I will have Er Gou come to invite you to dine." With that, he turned and left.

After he was gone, I told Da Gou, "When night falls, stay close to us at all times. Do you understand?"

Da Gou nodded. I turned to Li Kun and Xu Tian. "Let’s go get the gear. We’ll set out for Goutou Mountain after nine tonight."

They nodded. We didn't bring Da Gou along to retrieve the weapons; it was better he didn't see our arsenal until we were ready to leave. This would prevent him from slipping up during dinner, and once the mission was over, he would eventually forget all about us.

Li Kun, Xu Tian, and I headed straight for the van at the edge of the village. Since no one in the village dared to wander out at night, we weren't worried about being seen with our weapons.

We opened the van doors. Xu Tian pulled out three Type 87 automatic rifles and a large crate of ammunition. He pointed to a small wooden box in the corner. "Li, go open that."

Li Kun leaned into the van and retrieved the box. Inside were four packs of explosives in two different colors—two smaller red ones and two larger white ones, packed tightly.

Xu Tian pointed to the smaller red packs. "You should know what these are: concentrated timed explosives. These two packs are enough to collapse a tunnel, and if used together, they could easily level an entire tomb chamber."

We nodded. I remarked, "These concentrated timed explosives are top-tier—genuine American-made goods. Where did you get these, Xu? They can't have been cheap."

Xu Tian smiled mysteriously. "They were expensive, but compared to the rewards of this trip, it's just a drop in the bucket."

He was right. The explosives cost around ten thousand yuan, but the potential gains far outweighed that.

We loaded our magazines and stored them in our backpacks. To avoid attention, we also tucked the Type 87 rifles into our bags. Li Kun carried his trusty engineer's shovel—the same one that had saved his life before. Though it had been pierced, he’d had it repaired, and he now treated it like a sacred relic. He also finally got his hands on a triangular military bayonet, which I had handed over to him after I acquired my Soul-Severing Blade.

By now, we were fully armed. Xu Tian’s bag held his gear, a bayonet, and extra ammo. Li Kun had his bayonet and rifle, and with his "Blood Eye," he was a formidable force in both close and long-range combat.

As for me, I carried the Soul-Severing Blade—a weapon that could kill both man and ghost with a single strike, either by infecting them with corpse poison or draining their ghost qi until their spirit dissipated. I also carried my other artifact, the Soul-Suppressing Bell, which I knew could open the "Heavenly Eye," though I had yet to discover its full potential.

Once everything was packed, we returned to the courtyard. After we had eaten, I told Da Gou, "Just stay with us; don't go back. We leave tonight." He nodded and followed us inside.

When he saw the gear, shovels, and crowbars on the floor, he looked surprised but, being a clever lad of seventeen or eighteen, he knew better than to ask questions.

Xu Tian told him, "Get some sleep, Da Gou. We won't be back until tomorrow morning."

We all lay down on the kang and rested. We slept from 4:30 PM until after 8:00 PM. I woke up, rubbed my eyes, and checked the time. Seeing it was past eight, I sat up and roused the others.

Li Kun and Xu Tian looked at me, bleary-eyed. Seeing the darkness outside, Li Kun asked, "Old Liu, what time is it?"

"Past eight," I said. "Let's pack up and move out."

Da Gou woke up and sat up as well. We pulled our bags onto the heated brick bed and began our final preparations. We strapped on our magazine pouches and gear, then checked our rifles. I watched Xu Tian handle his weapon with practiced ease; it was clear he had plenty of experience with such things.