Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1036: Chapter 80: There Is No Path to Becoming an Immortal in This World (42)

Like a general’s daughter suddenly appointed to lead, Zhang Qingrui, looking dashing and battle-ready, donned equipment prepared by Mr. Aqi.

The outfit was primarily black and brown, with long boots that accentuated her straight legs. The leather jacket was far from the bulkiness of a down jacket, giving her a sleek and efficient appearance.

The descendants of The Li Family are required to descend into the tombs, a centuries-old family tradition of Zhang Li Lanfang’s family. Even though the old woman doted on her granddaughter, she had no intention of exempting her from this family rule.

But having Ms. Zhang participate in such a large-scale tomb-descending operation from the start seemed somewhat harsh for someone with no experience… However, recalling the old lady’s style, Aqi did not say much.

“Miss, once we’re inside tonight, no matter what happens, you must stay by my side,” Mr. Aqi said solemnly at this moment. “Remember, look, touch, and ask less… no matter how many doubts you have, keep them in your heart, and ask only once we’re out.”

Zhang Qingrui nodded seriously, then inserted a tactical dagger into the sheath under her vest, adding a touch of heroism to her demeanor.

At 6:30 in the evening, the group had arrived at the designated meeting point.

Mu Xianghua and the Suzuki Family father and son had not yet arrived, while the personnel arranged by the Song Family were due to arrive in fifteen minutes.

This time, the Song Family had mobilized a total of 150 people—initially, nearly 300 were brought from the village, but part of them were to ensure Song Tianyou’s safety for his return home.

While the bodyguards residing within the Song Family’s ancestral home numbered only a dozen or so, outside the Song Family Village, the number was far greater, otherwise Uncle Wu, who stayed in the village long-term, wouldn’t have immediate external support if needed—naturally, a vast support team backed this operation of the Song Family.

Mr. Aqi did not bring many people, at best, only thirty. However, these individuals carried the operational knowledge and techniques The Li Family had honed over hundreds of years, standing at the pinnacle of the industry.

Of course, in terms of the degree of illegal weaponry, naturally, the Song Family had the upper hand—after all, the Song Family operated in South America, a region rife with warlords, drug lords, and political chaos.

“Nervous?” Song Haoran looked at Luo Qiu and smiled, “I see you’re not saying much.”

Mr. Aqi was repeatedly instructing his lady over there, while Song Haoran, who came with the convoy, seemed inclined to do the same.

Of course, Luo Qiu was usually the quiet type… This kind of operation should be a first for him, right? Even if the records indicated that Luo Qiu had a police background, he shouldn’t be indifferent.

Song Haoran could only temporarily take Luo Qiu’s quietness as forced calmness.

Luo Qiu, however, shook his head, “No, I was just thinking about something.”

Song Haoran: “Oh?”

Luo Qiu said, “If I hadn’t come to the Song Family, perhaps your family wouldn’t have returned home at this time, and thus, there wouldn’t be this mission.”

Song Haoran shrugged, “Not necessarily. The old man has collaborated many times with this Li Family back home. They were negotiating this deal before they found you. As for seeking us… indeed, if Dad hadn’t planned to return, the old lady wouldn’t suddenly have thought of drawing some of our people. But honestly, even if it wasn’t us, the Li Family would still find other partners, or simply put more of their own people in. And none of this has anything to do with you. Therefore, even if we didn’t find you, this Zhang Li Family would probably still carry out this exploration. The key is only whether we are involved.”

Luo Qiu glanced at Song Haoran.

Song Haoran smiled wryly, “The causal chain is such mysticism. Isn’t there a saying, whether you’re there or not, the Earth still spins the same.”

Luo Qiu merely smiled without saying a word.

At this moment, the sound of a vehicle approached, and soon after, several buses parked by the mountain road, one by one burly men with large bags got off.

These were warriors trained in the Song Family’s South American village.

Seeing this group of men, emanating intimidation and seemingly stained with blood, ready and quickly assembling in formation, Mr. Aqi, watching from not far away, couldn’t help but exclaim, “No wonder the Song Family can stand firm in chaotic South America… money alone isn’t enough, what matters is having the strength to protect oneself.”

The family Zhang Qingrui belonged to wasn’t lacking, being the fusion of the Zhang Family and the ancient Li Family. But honestly, Zhang Li Lanfang would find it hard to assemble such a team domestically. Without a military background, who dares to amass private soldiers?

The Zhang Family is more reflected in aspects like money and government connections.

Just as Song Haoran was verifying the headcount, another batch of people approached.

The number wasn’t small, with seventy or eighty people, but compared to these iron-blooded mercenaries of the Song Family, they appeared much more lackadaisical—certainly, they too formed a decent lineup, but it lacked any tightness… like a ragtag army.

But considering these were members of the Suzuki-kai, and given Suzuki-kai’s nature as a social organization, they naturally couldn’t be compared to specially trained mercenaries.

But if Suzuki-kai’s seventy or eighty members formed up in their original place, perhaps they’d be quite formidable too… After all, each of them looked fierce, with unique appearances.

Mu Xianghua led the way, with the Suzuki Family father and son following behind.

At this point, everyone turned their attention to Mu Xianghua and his group.

Luo Qiu also took a look, especially at the Suzuki father and son, blinking: hmm, it’s indeed these two… In the afternoon, finding some strange things on Zhang Qingrui’s body felt somewhat familiar.

The last time he saw them should have been in the Yan Wuyue Fragment World?

How did these two pests manage to show up in front of him again…?

…

“Ms. Zhang, Mr. Aqi!”

Mu Xianghua, as the liaison and initiator of this tomb descent, naturally walked over with a smile to greet them—only, upon seeing the 150 ready-to-go people over there, he felt his heart skip a beat.

If a conflict really broke out, he didn’t think the guys from Suzuki-kai could contend with the 150 intimidating folks here… it’s simply like a private army!

What exactly is this Ms. Zhang thinking?

“Mr. Mu, right on time.”

The conversation was handled by Mr. Aqi, while Zhang Qingrui merely nodded at Mu Xianghua. Zhang Qingrui’s role in this expedition was mainly for experience and learning; she didn’t lead major matters or minor ones, only speaking up when appropriate as the Zhang Family’s representative.

Ms. Zhang deeply understood one thing: outsiders should not point fingers at insiders.

“The head of the Suzuki Family and the young head don’t seem well-rested?” Mr. Aqi glanced at Suzuki father and son behind Mu Xianghua and casually said, “Is it due to acclimatization?”

“Hehe, it’s nothing,” Mu Xianghua smiled and said.

Actually, he was puzzled himself. He had seen the father and son looking quite well at noon, but when it was time to set out in the afternoon, he saw Suzuki Haruxin walk out with a pale face, and Suzuki Yuuichi also didn’t look much better. What secretive things did they do in the room?

It felt like the father and son had spent a lot of energy.

A loving interaction between father and son?

“Since that’s the case, shall we start moving?” Mr. Aqi suggested at this moment.

Tomb exploration requires many preparations, especially for the first time, attention to detail is essential.

In a millennium-sealed tomb, there might be no air left, and when opening the tomb, ensuring air circulation and testing for toxic substances in the air is crucial.

It requires the use of many advanced technological instruments.

However, Mr. Aqi had already prepared the necessary tools — after all, it’s modern society, with technology advancing rapidly, unlike ancient times with candles and black donkey hooves.

Nevertheless, Mr. Aqi habitually spun his ancestral compass a few times, whether it worked or not, only he knew.

This cooperation, the map of the tomb was in Mu Xianghua’s hands, and he didn’t plan to reveal it until the official action. Earlier, he had sent a portion of the map to the Li Family for viewing, but it was only a small part and not complete.

Song Haoran promptly set up a temporary tent, and the group entered to study the complete map.

But the Suzuki father and son didn’t participate for some reason, sitting under a tree, surrounded by Suzuki-kai members as if guarding against something, only sending one senior Suzuki-kai member to accompany Mu Xianghua.

In the tent, the light cast shadows of the people, the Suzuki father and son quietly watched from a distance, pondering unknown thoughts.

“Yamata no Orochi, have you seen anything?”

“Strange, besides Ms. Zhang’s exceptional senses, the others don’t seem capable of extinguishing my soul power…”

“Even you can’t see it? I vaguely sense that man named Song Haoran has some secrets. For some reason, he always gives me a sense of danger.”

“I feel it too, but my intuition tells me it’s not him… Elder Brother Lian Zhen, it seems Mu Xianghua’s chosen partner for this venture is indeed troublesome. These 150 warriors are full of killing intent, seasoned fighters… devouring them would be quite nourishing!”

“Once this matter is over, I will choose a new body from these people.”

“Still, be cautious… behind Ms. Zhang, there seems to be an expert protecting her. Strangely, they haven’t tracked us down, which is confusing.”

“Are you hesitant? Didn’t you say your soul hiding ability is unparalleled? And with 70 to 80 people around you, you can completely conceal your presence?”

“That’s true…”

But it’s my soul power being extinguished! You’re just being dismissive… anyway, I have to keep up appearances even if taking risks.

With Yamata no Orochi’s temperament, knowing someone could effortlessly remove his soul power secretly wouldn’t act rashly.

But the Suihou Pearl hidden in this tomb is crucial for him, a chance to evolve into the Souliu Bloodline, he wouldn’t give it up easily… who knows if the others are also after the Suihou Pearl?

“Elder Brother Lian Zhen, rest assured, if any problem arises, you can immediately shift. The 70 to 80 people of the Suzuki-kai, I’ve marked them all for urgent transfer. Including Mu Xianghua… once inside, I’ll secretly compare with the Li and Song Family members too! With nearly 300 individuals, even if the hidden opponent were a god, I doubt they could distinguish us in an instant!”

“That’s good.”

…

Inside the tent.

Under the orange light, Zhang Qingrui slightly bent over examining the map provided by Mu Xianghua, her delicate and exquisite nose seemed to glow under the orange light.

She had been dealing with antiques for quite some time, proficient in identifying genuine artifacts. This map appeared ancient, using pre-Qin characters, and the missing corner matched perfectly with the small part sent earlier to the Li Family.

This tiny corner, about the size of a fingernail, was sent by Mu Xianghua for carbon dating to prove it was indeed from the Qin dynasty.

“It’s said that Emperor Shihuang once sent a sage named Xu Fu across the sea to seek an elixir of life… is this map really left by Xu Fu?” Song Haoran curiously asked.

Song Haoran, fond of adventure and mystical tales, naturally hadn’t missed this two-thousand-year old Hua Country story in his years of exploration.

Who knows… this map wasn’t exactly passed down from my ancestors, it came from the Takizawa Family!

Mu Xianghua cleared his throat, having been taught responses for such questions by the Takizawa Family earlier.

“According to my ancestors, Xu Fu indeed found the elixir and returned to Emperor Shihuang. The Emperor was delighted, granting many rewards, but it also invited jealousy. Subsequently, Emperor Shihuang for unknown reasons, massively constructed imperial tombs, with most supervised by Xu Fu.”

Mu Xianghua paused, recalling Takizawa Family’s narrative, then continued, “You know, ancient emperors disliked their tomb’s construction secrets to spread, so upon completion, they would kill the workers… this map was secretly left by Xu Fu, showing a passage to the tomb chamber…”

“Did he escape?” Song Haoran asked, his gaze fixed on Mu Xianghua.

Mu Xianghua shifted slightly, “I don’t know, the map was passed down by my ancestors, who seemed involved in the tomb construction, possibly part of Xu Fu’s team. Details remain unclear, after all, it was two thousand years ago.”

Right then, Mr. Aqi placed the compass on the map and suddenly said, “Alright, no problems detected, let’s prepare to open the tomb!”