Chapter 6

Chapter 6

What had fallen to the ground was, shockingly, a Black Donkey Hoof.

The flesh on the hoof had already been gnawed away by rats, leaving only a bare bone and a smooth, black hoof pad.

A flicker of confusion crossed my mind.

A Black Donkey Hoof could suppress zombies and was an essential tool for any tomb raider. It wouldn’t be strange to see one in any ancient Chinese tomb, but why would such a thing appear here, in an underground castle in England, thousands of miles away?

A suspicion flashed through my mind. I reached out and felt the corpse’s neck; sure enough, I found a Talisman of the Golden Touch.

“Impressive. Someone actually came all the way to England to rob a grave!”

Lu Lingzhu circled the corpse, clicking her tongue in wonder.

“Where did he come from? Is there a robber’s hole up there?”

It was night, and there were no stars. Everything above us was pitch black. Even if there was a hole, we wouldn’t be able to see it.

However, this castle should be located directly beneath the neighboring winery. That winery was built on a small hill, meaning the ground level was much higher. If someone had dug a hole from that side, they could have broken through in just a few meters.

“During that specific era in the past, many people with these kinds of skills went abroad. I guess this tomb raider heard there was an ancient tomb down here somewhere. He even stuck to tradition while overseas-truly a dedicated Tomb Raider Captain.”

Back in the day, to make up for a lack of military funds, Cao Cao specifically established official positions like the Grave Robbing General and the Tomb Raider Captain to raid tombs for wealth and supplement the army’s pay. Later, a faction of tomb raiders began calling themselves Tomb Raider Captains.

They carried Black Donkey Hoofs with them and wore Talismans of the Golden Touch made from pangolin claws around their necks to ward off evil. Genuine Talismans of the Golden Touch were extremely rare.

I dropped the Black Donkey Hoof, slipped the Talisman of the Golden Touch into my pocket, and turned toward the castle.

“Alright, let’s find the entrance first.”

“Qiao Moyu, be careful.”

Jiang Haoyan crouched down, picking up the Black Donkey Hoof. He held it up to the light, his expression grim.

“There’s a massive bite mark on this.”

Lu Lingzhu leaned over to look as well.

“A bite mark this big… those don’t look like human teeth.”

“We’ll know once we’re inside.”

I acted nonchalant, but I was on high alert. The Talisman of the Golden Touch felt warm and smooth to the touch-a clear sign it was the real deal. These days, anyone who could get their hands on a genuine one had real skill, yet such a person had died silently underground. Whatever was inside was likely far more terrifying than we anticipated.

We circled the castle, but to our surprise, we couldn’t find an entrance. There was only a hole about half the height of a person in the city wall, with rubble scattered all around it. It had likely been blasted open by the tomb raider.

“Strange. Was this castle built without an entrance?”

It didn’t make sense. Even a tomb usually had a main gate. Especially since, according to Song Feifei, foreign tombs also served as churches where living relatives would come to pay their respects.

Yet this castle was like a sealed iron cylinder, surrounded by smooth walls without a single window.

It didn’t look like the traditional church-tomb Song Feifei had described. It looked more like a cage, designed to prevent something from escaping.

Lu Lingzhu walked to the hole, tossed a few cloves of garlic inside, and then bent down to crawl in.

She took the lead while I brought up the rear. The four of us crawled into the hole one after another. The castle walls were very thick and double-layered, with the space between them filled with sand and gravel.

The sand had spilled everywhere. I was on my hands and knees, crawling forward, and the grit was incredibly painful. After a few steps, I couldn’t help but rub my hands and knees.

Just as I stopped, I suddenly felt someone bump into me from behind.

My heart hammered against my ribs, and my scalp went numb.

Lu Lingzhu and the other two were all in front of me. Who was behind me?

Before I could think, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I let out a loud shout, put all my strength into it, and delivered a fierce kick backward.

My foot connected solidly with something warm and fleshy. I saw a dark shadow fly backward.

“Holy crap, Qiao Moyu! Why are you screaming? You scared the life out of me!”

Lu Lingzhu had already crawled out of the hole and was standing inside the castle. She reached out to pull Song Feifei and Jiang Haoyan up, and the three of them crowded around the hole to look at me. Three beams of light made me squint. I glanced behind me-it was pitch black, and there was nothing there.

I quickened my pace, scrambled out of the hole, and then stood up, pointing my backside at Lu Lingzhu.

“Check me out!”

“Oh my god, did you poop yourself? You’re disgusting!”

“I’ll poop on your head!”

I was so annoyed that I tried to rub my backside against her. Lu Lingzhu spat in mock disgust and shoved me away.