Chapter 30: A Thief Never Leaves Empty-Handed

In truth, it was Blackie who took on the F-rank task of capturing the corpse ginseng monster. Even among F-rank tasks, this was considered one of the lowest. The corpse ginseng monster barely possessed any demonic power at all.

It was just hard to find.

Moreover, under normal circumstances, traces of it could only be discovered within ancient tombs.

Although everyone at the tavern taking on missions was a demon, centuries-old traditions still held sway—cemeteries were places of ill omen.

The unseen and the intangible always inspire more awe than things you can see and touch.

To put it bluntly...

Sure, I'm a demon, but I'm still a coward.

That’s why these thankless, profitless tasks are left for little monsters who can’t land better jobs.

Throughout history, those in the tomb-raiding profession—

How many grave robbers have ever wailed, “This is my dream; I want to become a legendary master tomb raider, famous for generations! I want to become the king of tomb raiders—man or woman!”

Nonsense. The real reason boils down to a single word: poverty.

Even warlords like Xiang Yu and Cao Cao, when poverty drove them to desperation, would stoop to such shameful deeds.

Thieves have always ranked at the bottom of society, and tomb robbers are the lowest of the low.

The last time Li Changluo and Blackie followed the mission clues to an ancient tomb, they made straight for the corpse ginseng monster, not sparing a glance at any burial goods.

Honestly...

They would’ve liked to take a look.

But the side chamber where the goods were kept held only a few broken coffins.

Were they supposed to haul those out as well?

“Li, last time we snuck a little electric scooter over. This time you rented a car—talk about overkill,” Blackie said.

“Overkill my foot. That’s using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, thank you very much...”

“But the tomb isn’t far from town. Isn’t driving a car here a bit conspicuous?” Blackie asked, puzzled.

“Maybe a little too conspicuous...” Li Changluo sighed and continued, “But I need to haul a coffin.”

“...”

“A thief never leaves empty-handed. We have to honor the rules of the craft,” Li Changluo said solemnly.

“Honestly, you have no shame,” Blackie replied.

The three of them gathered leaves to cover the car, then entered the tomb through the tunnel they’d used last time, the one dug by Fatty Wang.

But Fatty Wang was nowhere to be seen. They’d knocked him out last time, but that was days ago; it was normal not to see him now.

If they did see Fatty here, he’d probably be dead.

Just as they were about to head deeper inside, the ground trembled, and the tomb shuddered along with it.

It lasted only a moment before peace returned. Such minor tremors were common in Licheng.

“Qing, are you sure your Fatty brother didn’t go home? Did he really disappear?” Li Changluo asked, puzzled.

Fatty Wang had only fainted, not died. If he wasn’t dead, why hadn’t he gone home? Was he so enamored with the tomb that he wanted to live here?

“He meets me at the tavern every other day...” Qing’s eyes darkened.

“Did you call him?” Li Changluo pressed.

“Listen...” Qing took out her phone, dialed Fatty Wang’s number, and handed it to Li Changluo.

Li Changluo nearly dropped the phone in shock at what he heard.

Instead of the usual “unreachable” or “no answer,” a sharp, screeching voice came through, intermittently muttering—

“Have a son... give me a son...”

“Maybe we should check the hospital’s maternity ward. Maybe your Fatty brother is there, too embarrassed to come out?” Li Changluo joked.

But before he finished speaking...

The same eerie voice echoed through the pitch-black tomb, sometimes near, sometimes far, just like on the phone—

“Give me a son. Have a son...”

...

“My weapon’s in the car—I have to go get it,” Li Changluo said, suddenly feeling creeped out and wanting to leave.

“Aren’t you carrying it?” Blackie pointed at the fruit knife on his belt.

“My... my beads are in the car,” Li Changluo said, blinking at Blackie.

“Aren’t they right there?” Blackie pointed at the bulge in Li Changluo’s pocket.

“I really need to pee. I need to go out,” Li Changluo cried, clutching his crotch dramatically. “I’m about to wet myself!”

“Use this,” Blackie replied, pulling a... paper diaper from his bag.

Li Changluo was dumbfounded.

Are you a moron?

And why do you carry adult diapers around anyway?

Are you planning to wear them yourself?

“Li, didn’t you say a thief never leaves empty-handed? And there’s a saying—no tears until you see the coffin. We haven’t even found the coffin chamber yet, and besides, this concerns us too. We can’t let Qing die childless—we have to help her,” Blackie insisted.

Qing was grateful, though something about that statement seemed off.

“Once we find the coffin, I’ll be the first to stuff you in it and let you cry your heart out,” Li Changluo grumbled, but he relented. Since they were already here, they might as well look around.

After all...

You can’t just abandon your teammates.

There were still two of them, after all.

Last time, while hunting the corpse ginseng monster, Li Changluo and Blackie faced the threat of vanishing from this world. As the saying goes, those with nothing to lose fear nothing, and they had been fearless.

But this time, their lives were more comfortable—they didn’t have to risk everything for a quota; they were only here to help Qing find her friend.

If they failed, they could just leave. No need to push themselves.

The coffin didn’t matter.

Survival was what mattered.

The tomb passage reeked of earth and decay.

For this tomb to have a passage meant the owner had a distinguished identity.

Last time, Li Changluo hadn’t paid attention to any of this; he’d only cared about survival, racing forward heedless of everything else.

Even if a ghost appeared, he’d planned to beat it into calling him “father.”

His rage was off the charts—anyone who messed with him would get blown up...

But now, Li Changluo was hiding behind Blackie, who held the lantern at the front, with Qing bringing up the rear.

Ah, the disadvantage of not being a woman.

“Li, why do I feel like our bodies are moving forward on their own?” Blackie whispered.

The scariest thing in horror films isn’t the sudden apparition of a fanged, blue-faced ghost, but the painstakingly crafted ambience and environment that make you feel as if you’re truly there. Even if no ghosts appear, you’ll be scared enough to wet yourself.

That’s exactly how Li Changluo felt now. Hearing Blackie’s comment, he deliberately stopped walking.

But then something strange happened.

His feet were still, yet his body kept moving forward...

What the hell? Was he seeing ghosts? Was this one of those legendary maze illusions?

This was bad—what should he do? He’d forgotten to bring any talismans.

He wondered if ghosts ate hamsters.

Should he sacrifice his teammate?

Li Changluo hesitated, debating whether to offer up Blackie the hamster.

“Hurry up, you two! I’m getting tired of pushing!” Qing shouted from behind.

“Pushing?”

Li Changluo turned to look—

And saw that he and Blackie, two grown men, were being shoved forward by Qing from behind, just like a dung beetle rolling its prize.

Li Changluo felt his dignity had been trampled...

Unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable.

He drew a deep breath, ready to let loose a tirade at Qing.

But then he saw Qing’s cheeks flushed red, her eyes covered, and her finger pointing ahead.