Ella said indifferently, "You already have your own life now, so there's no need to dwell on the past. After all, you and I are no longer in the same circle."
Ella saw it very clearly. Although He Yining hadn't explained his identity, she had met too many people and could tell at a glance that he was extraordinary and noble. A man like that likely came from a prominent and prestigious family. Such a family probably wouldn't accept a daughter-in-law with a stain on her record, would they? As an aunt, she couldn't give her anything, but she could at least do what she could.
Shen Qi looked at her sadly. "Auntie, are you blaming me for not taking good care of Dad?"
Ella looked at Shen Qi speechlessly, not knowing what to say. She had never married her whole life and had no children, so she didn't know how to communicate with the younger generation. Her whole life had been spent dealing with archaeology. Those dead bones wouldn't cry.
But He Yining understood Ella's meaning and said with a slight smile, "Auntie, you're overthinking it. The He family doesn't have such rules."
"The He family?" Ella's gaze immediately fell on He Yining.
"Yes, my name is He Yining." He Yining's phoenix eyes met Ella's directly.
"So it's you!" Ella was visibly startled. "I never expected you to be with my niece."
He Yining nodded slightly. "Auntie, please rest assured. I will treat Xiao Qi well."
Ella smiled wryly. "That's good. But you should leave soon. This place will be in chaos before long. People have already dug several grave-robbing tunnels to fight over what's underground. Digging so recklessly is bound to cause problems sooner or later. I'm afraid it's already unstable down there. Who knows what might happen?"
Shen Qi looked at her worriedly. "What about you?"
"This is my job," Ella explained. "Besides, it's my wish. I want to restore that once-glorious dynasty and revive its culture. I can't leave."
"But..." Shen Qi wanted to persuade her further.
Just then, someone outside called out, "Ella, I heard you have distinguished guests?"
Hearing that voice, Ella's expression changed instantly, and she quickly put her mask back on.
Shen Qi and He Yining then realized that when they first came in, she was wearing the mask not to guard against them, but to guard against those outsiders!
The tent flap was soon lifted, and a tall Caucasian man entered.
The man's scrutinizing gaze swept over everyone in the room before quickly settling on He Yining. He was clearly surprised too. "Mr. He?"
He Yining nodded slightly. "May I ask your name?"
The other man chuckled softly. "Although Mr. He doesn't know me, I've admired you for a long time. Do you know Miss Ella?"
Before He Yining could answer, Ella quickly replied, "Not well. We've met once before."
Shen Qi was slightly surprised but quickly caught on. Her aunt had been keeping her mystery and secrets in front of these people for her own reasons. So Shen Qi immediately explained, "I once received help from Ms. Ella. I heard she was here too, so I came to say hello."
Ella was satisfied with Shen Qi's quick response. A very clever girl.
"Oh, I see. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tom, an American, professional explorer and collector." The white man nodded at He Yining. "I've long admired Mr. He. I never expected to meet you here. Are you interested in what's here too?"
"Not at all." He Yining replied lazily. "I have no particular obsession with antiques."
"What an honor. I thought I might miss out on the treasures this time!" Tom seemed genuinely relieved to hear that.
But then Tom added, "Still, I'd like to invite Mr. He to join our treasure hunt. Originally, we had little chance or hope, but with your participation, our odds would greatly increase."
He Yining flatly refused. "Sorry, I have no interest in grave robbing."
As the president of a corporation, how could he be interested in such things? If he wanted something, he'd just buy it with money! Plenty of people would do the work for him!
Tom looked regretful. "That's a shame. It's actually quite an exciting adventure."
Shen Qi sized up the situation and said, "Ms. Ella, we've taken up too much of your time today. We're very sorry. We'll take our leave now."
Ella also stood up. "Alright, I'll see you out."
He Yining and Shen Qi nodded to Tom as well and left together.
They quickly reached the edge of the camp. Ella said quietly, "Tom is a fanatical explorer. You'd better keep your distance from him. It's really unsafe here. Leave quickly."
"Auntie..." Shen Qi's eyes reddened. "Can you give me a way to contact you? Even if you only check it when you have time."
Ella thought for a moment and gave Shen Qi a personal email address.
He Yining quickly led the others away from the camp.
Shen Wu asked He Yining, "Do you also feel something's off?"
"More than just off." He Yining looked up at the sky. "It looks like something's about to happen here. Let's go meet up with Feng Manlun first."
They soon returned to their own camp. As soon as they arrived, they saw Feng Manlun hurrying back from outside. It seemed he had gathered enough information too.
"It looks like we can't stay here long." That was Feng Manlun's first sentence.
"What did you find out?" He Yining asked directly.
"Right now, some people are ignoring the rules of grave robbing and digging tunnels where they shouldn't. It seems people have died, but the exact number is unknown." Feng Manlun replied. "I was thinking of joining in the fun, but now it seems life is more important."
Shen Qi asked in confusion, "Is it that serious?"
Feng Manlun nodded. "This operation is codenamed 'Treasure Hunt.' Apparently, someone took a Shang-Zhou period bronze vessel from one of the tombs here and sold it for a huge sum outside. Then countless people swarmed in, hoping to get a piece of the pie. But the truth is, that Shang-Zhou bronze did come from here, but it's definitely not from the Shang-Zhou period. Based on the calendar, it's from the mysterious dynasty, around the Spring and Autumn period, before the Common Era."
"The scariest part isn't that. Someone found mechanical devices in the tomb that absolutely shouldn't belong to that civilization." Feng Manlun lowered his voice. "Clearly, someone entered the tomb later, but before it was looted, it was a complete, flawless burial site. The person who brought in that civilization has disappeared."
Hearing this, Shen Qi felt a chill run down her spine. No wonder her aunt insisted she leave. But if her aunt stayed, wouldn't she be in danger too?
"This tomb reeks of something sinister. It's better for us to just watch from afar," Feng Manlun concluded.
He Yining glanced at Shen Qi. "Do you want to go?"
Shen Qi shook her head. "I'm not a grave robber. Why would I join in? Just because I've read a few tomb-raiding novels doesn't make me an expert, right? Third Uncle Nan wrote *The Grave Robbers' Chronicles*, but he didn't actually rob graves! Since it's dangerous here, we'd better stay away."
The others nodded in agreement.
Feng Manlun pondered for a moment. "Actually, if we want to watch, it's not impossible. The spot where we swept the graves this morning is a great observation point. It's about a thousand meters from the ancient tomb, and from the high ground with binoculars, we should be fine."
Feng Manlun's suggestion tempted everyone. It was hard not to be curious. Reading novels was one thing; watching in person was another.
Seeing the conflicted look on Shen Qi's face, He Yining said, "Alright, let's go up the mountain and watch the show. By the way, when do they plan to set out?"
"I heard they've already performed the rituals. They'll set out at noon tomorrow," Feng Manlun explained.
Everyone fell silent. This was indeed a strange and novel hobby—watching others rob graves. Probably only they would do something like this.
That night, they kept their distance from those people, making their stance clear: they would only watch, not participate. The other grave robbers ignored them, busy with their own preparations.
Shen Qi couldn't help but say, "When I die, I'm definitely not having so many burial items. That's just asking for someone to dig up my grave. Mmmph..." The rest was cut off as He Yining covered her mouth.
He Yining's face darkened. "Don't say that."
Shen Qi pried his hand away. "Just joking."
"Not even as a joke!" He Yining's face was as black as an iron pot.
Normally, they'd laugh it off. But here, there was something eerie about the place. He Yining felt that things weren't quite right.
Seeing how serious He Yining was, Shen Qi dropped the subject.
That night, no one spoke much. For safety, they didn't camp outside but all returned to sleep in the vehicles. The cars were comfortable enough, with everything they needed.
After showering and getting into bed, Shen Qi couldn't help asking, "Do you think Auntie will be okay?"
"She's an archaeologist. She probably won't be on the front lines." He Yining comforted her. "Besides, she already knows something's off. She's not stupid enough to rush in first. Also, you saw today that she's wary of Tom and the others. That means she can take care of herself."
Shen Qi felt a little reassured.
She looked out the window. Many people were still awake at this hour, partying and celebrating.