"Hey, dont worry about the stuff you left at home, its not worth missing. The goods here are just as good, probably over a thousand years old too. This place is all outsiders, only a few households, and its far from the emperors reach. We can lay low for a few years and then head back."

  "Ah, good!" Listening to his younger brothers description, Li Lao Da swung his hoe with even greater force.

  The sky was about to dawn, and on the mountain slope, two figures were moving stealthily up and down, with yellow earth and mud being dug up by an iron shovel from time to time.

  "Done!" Li Lao Da excitedly removed a few green bricks, and a black hole the size of a well cover appeared before his eyes.

  Li Lao Er tapped his pipe on the sole of his foot a few times, spat a wad of phlegm onto the yellow earth beside him, and rubbed his hands together as he said to his older brother: "Take advantage of it still being dark, those people wont be down for a while yet, hurry up and go take a look, grab whatever you can first."

  Li Lao Da tied a hemp rope around his waist, holding a kerosene lamp in his hand and a white cloth bag behind him to carry the ritual objects.

  The Li brothers were not picky about robbing tombs, they would even pry out the gold teeth from a dead persons mouth and take them away. The graves that these two brothers had been to were usually left in shambles, they wouldnt rest until they had destroyed everything. Especially the older brother, he was a fierce and cruel man, not only towards corpses but also towards his fellow villagers, people called him "Ghostly Fearsome". He had a thick beard and looked exactly like Zhang Fei, his gaze could scare children so much that their legs would tremble with fear.

  This pit was dug by Second Master as a sample, and its not the best one in this ancient tomb. From the rammed earth mixed with the soil that was dug up, its likely to be an ancient tomb of the Spring and Autumn or Warring States period. Old Master Li dug a vertical well over six meters deep, and according to their usual experience, they would need to dig another ventilation well. However, Second Master thought that since there were only a few mountain people around, the depth of over six meters would be enough, and if anything happened, they could just pull them out with one hand.

  In the early 20th century, China was a land of turmoil. On this land that had just barely recovered from a century of war and fire, what was not lacking were weapons. The Li brothers also had their own, two box cannons.

  Made in Germany, fifteen shots, this was still before the founding of the country when Li brothers took a Song Dynasty official kiln and exchanged it with a group of bandits. The probability of being blackmailed is extremely high in their line of work, even if they are biological brothers, they will have examples of brothers burying each other in front of wealth.

  Li Jias eldest son has been underground for ten minutes. According to their tacit understanding, the first batch of goods will be sent out after fifteen minutes. The second master took two puffs of his cigarette, and he couldnt help but feel proud: I escaped from Henan all the way to Zhejiang, and unexpectedly hit it big in this godforsaken place. From now on, Ive found a place to make a living for the rest of my life.

  It was later proven that the Second Master indeed had vision. In a joint archaeological action in the 1980s, statistics showed that there were nearly two hundred large tombs with earthen seals from this dynasty alone, not to mention those buried deep underground.

  Two minutes later, the rope shook again. The second master suddenly puffed out a mouthful of smoke, and the burning cigarette butt almost made his eyes bleed. Excitedly, the second master grabbed the rope and hung it around his waist, just as he was about to pull, the rope suddenly trembled violently, followed by a gunshot from underground!

  A loud thud, Second Masters heart skipped a beat, this is going to be trouble! He quickly tied the rope around his waist and then slung it over his shoulder. With a few swift pulls, he felt the rope loosen.

  As he turned back, the eldest of his family had already been pulled out of the ground. He saw that a cyan snake as thick as a water pipe was wrapped around his neck, and the snake was now opening its mouth to spit out scarlet threads towards the second master, making a "hissing" sound.

  The two men were only four or five meters apart, and Second Master saw that his brother was about to be strangled by the small snake, so he naturally reacted by trying to get rid of the snake. He picked up a stick from the ground and prepared to go over.

  It was too late to speak, and it happened quickly. Just as he bent down, the snake suddenly turned its head, opened its mouth, and prepared to bite towards Lao Das throat. This made Er Ye anxious.

  When people are in a hurry, they subconsciously think of the fastest way to solve it. Before Er Yes right hand had even touched the ground, it followed his body and moved towards his waist, and with a quick movement, he swiftly pulled out that box-shaped gun.

  Five meters, this distance is really close. Er Ye can clearly see the scales on the snakes body with the help of the starlight in the sky. In addition to being a grave robber, Er Ye also has good marksmanship. With this box cannon, he can shoot off a matchstick from thirty meters away.

  Turn around, draw gun, take aim, fire, open fire!

  A crisp gunshot rang out, and Second Master saw it clearly. The snakes mouth hadnt even had time to bite down when he preemptively opened fire. But just as he fired, his eyes suddenly flashed, and his hand also trembled. He seemed to have seen something...

  A burst of blood mist exploded, and Li Jias eldest son didnt even have time to hum before being shot in the head by his own younger brother. In the instant when Er Ye fired the gun, he finally understood: there was no green snake on his neck, just an old tree root wrapped around it!

  He personally beat his own brother to death, and the second master knew that he had made a mistake this time. He often walked by the river and couldnt help but get his shoes wet. Having accidentally killed someone, he would have to face the consequences wherever he went. The second master could only secretly throw his brothers body into the thiefs pit and refill the soil, cleaning up the scene in a hurry before rushing down the mountain.

  After coming down from the mountain, Er Ye tidied up and was about to run away. Perhaps he had been busy for a whole night, but he actually fell asleep on the bed and even had a dream.

  In his dream, he dreamed that his brothers eyeball was burst and he stood outside the house covered in blood, dragging a coffin board with one hand and holding a small green snake with the other.

  Seeing his brother come to find him, he thought it was to seek revenge and take his life. The second master immediately knelt down and explained to his brother that he did not intentionally want to harm him, but just now he was possessed by a demon and blinded by unclean things, which led to the mistaken killing of his brother.

  Lis eldest son said that he was not here to blame him, but to tell him that he had been haunted by an evil spirit. The evil spirit demanded that his family send three meat dishes and three vegetarian dishes, as well as gold and silver paper money, to the village entrance on the first and fifteenth of every month. If they didnt, it would cause trouble for them below. He came to ask his younger brother not to leave, otherwise the evil spirit would also haunt Lis second son.

  Second Master didnt believe it and didnt want to, but Eldest Brother said, "If you dont believe it, take a look at your own chest to see if theres an extra red thread. If that red thread grows into a circle, then itll be the end of your life."

  Second Master woke up from his dream, covered in sweat, and saw the large and small packages neatly arranged beside his bed. He remembered what his brother had said in his dream and hastily took off his outer garment to take a look at himself in the mirror.

  This photo was quite scary, and it almost frightened Li Jias second master to death. On his chest, there really was a pink thread, but the two ends were not yet connected. This thread had never existed before, which scared him out of his wits.

  Lis eldest brother was originally a fierce man, and unexpectedly after his death, he was bullied to such an extent. It can be imagined how ferocious that evil spirit is. Lis second brother looked at himself in the mirror, thinking about how he had shot his brother to death yesterday, and then thought of that dream. He understood in his heart that this time he could not escape meeting a troublesome master, and could only follow what was agreed upon in the dream.

  Fortunately, the third day was New Years Day. That night at midnight, Second Master brought dishes of meat and vegetables, as well as gold and silver ingots to the village entrance. He lit incense sticks, burned paper money, and kowtowed again. After returning home, that night his brother had another dream. In the dream, Old Li said that the person had already received everything and his days were slightly better. He told Second Masters brother not to forget to continue on the 15th.

  The second master woke up early the next morning and looked in the mirror, the red line on his chest had disappeared. However, after just one more day, a faint line reappeared, its color deepening every day, and the connection point getting closer and closer. After burning paper money, it would disappear, only to start again within fifteen days, repeating the cycle. He didnt dare to leave or stay, spending his days counting down the days on the calendar, afraid that he would forget on that particular day. On the first and fifteenth of every month, regardless of wind or rain, the second master would always appear under the village entrance archway. Later, the villagers also knew about this habit of his, but no one ever knew why he did it, to the point where many new immigrants thought the second master was the only native resident of Hong Village, thinking that he was offering incense to his ancestors.

  From then on, Li Er Ye never left Hongcun again. He didnt get married either and built two simple houses in the village. As for his grave-robbing skills, he also stopped using them. Instead, he often helped people with Feng Shui and choosing auspicious locations for their homes, actually accumulating some good karma for himself to atone for his past sins when he went down to the underworld.