Li Yang hadn't expected the fog in the mountains to suddenly become so dense. He was entirely relying on the scent of blood ahead to find the bodies of those people.
The reason he was so eager to find the bodies was to confirm who the deceased were: Zhao Long and Zhao Hu, or that other group of foreigners.
"Everyone stay close. Those behind, hold onto the clothes of those in front tightly, don't let go," Murong Xue, keeping pace with Li Yang, commanded as she looked back.
Before long, they had trudged forward another few hundred meters.
Finally, they heard the sound of footsteps ahead, along with several people chatting about the night's fog.
"Who's there?"
As they were talking, they also heard Li Yang and the others approaching from behind. Everyone instantly became alert, drawing their firearms and aiming them in the direction of the sound.
"No need to be alarmed, it's me."
Murong Xue spoke first. She stepped forward and saw the faint figures of her companions from the security forces emerging from the fog, feeling a sense of relief.
Her companions also relaxed at this moment. The deputy captain ordered his subordinates to lower their firearms and stepped forward himself to report, "Captain, we thought you wouldn't be coming. Seeing how thick the fog was, we didn't dare to act rashly. We were planning to rest for the night and head back first thing tomorrow morning."
"What's the situation here? Where are those bodies?" Murong Xue, more concerned about the case, asked sternly.
"The bodies are up ahead. I've assigned people to guard them."
As the deputy captain spoke, he personally led Murong Xue towards the bodies.
Upon reaching them, Murong Xue smelled a strong scent of blood. She crouched down for a look and saw that the bodies were covered in bloody wounds, with the injured areas beginning to fester.
Furthermore, she noticed that these individuals were not Chinese. They were all tall and burly, with blond hair and blue eyes, and carried numerous detectors and shovels.
In their final moments, their expressions were contorted with terror, as if they had encountered something they shouldn't have.
Li Yang felt a wave of relief the moment he saw them.
Fortunately, it wasn't Zhao Long and Zhao Hu who had died. The fact that these people had perished here seemed to be connected to Zhao Long and Zhao Hu.
What puzzled Li Yang was that there were no traces of Zhao Long and Zhao Hu found anywhere nearby, not even footprints on the ground other than those of the deceased.
Could Zhao Long and Zhao Hu have been so vigilant that they knew security forces would be called, and thus had meticulously cleared away all evidence beforehand?
"Li Yang, who do you think these people are?" Murong Xue asked curiously, after examining them.
"No need to guess, these scoundrels were here to dig up graves. If you search the vicinity, you'll surely find opened entrances. These instruments they carry are used to detect soil depth, air quality, and so on," Li Yang replied calmly.
"Oh? You're so familiar with these tools? Could it be that you... have done this before?" Murong Xue asked, somewhat surprised.
After all, Li Yang usually dealt with antiques. If he was in the antique business, it was not uncommon to engage in unscrupulous activities for higher profits.
Li Yang looked at her with surprise and quickly said, "Please don't misunderstand me. I'm just guessing. I swear, I've never done anything like this. The reason I know about these things is all from what I've heard others say."
"Heard from others? Are you sure?"
Murong Xue looked at him with doubt. After a moment, she said, "Alright, I'll believe you for now. But you have to help me find the cause of their deaths. What happened to them to sustain such severe injuries?"
"Judging by their wounds, they weren't attacked by wild beasts, but by hidden weapons. I estimate this is an ancient tomb, and there might be some hidden mechanisms or traps inside. These people clearly didn't understand Chinese tomb structures."
"So they accidentally entered a trap room, triggered a mechanism, and sustained severe injuries. Although they managed to escape, the poison on the mechanism still killed them," Li Yang explained seriously.
This was all Li Yang's wild speculation, as the wounds were indeed peculiar. But if it were truly beasts, there would likely be other living creatures around, and these people wouldn't have been left with mostly intact bodies.
The only explanation was that Zhao Long and Zhao Hu had used special means, and they had all been killed.
It was also possible that they had entered the tomb first, set up mechanisms inside, and deliberately lured these people in, causing them to trigger the traps and fall into danger.
"I see. Someone, check their bodies for blunt force trauma. If they were hit by hidden weapons, there must be remnants of them inside their bodies." Murong Xue found Li Yang's words plausible, and his serious analysis made the situation highly likely to be as he described.
Her subordinates quickly came over to examine the bodies and used their portable hooks to pick away the festering flesh around the wounds.
Immediately, a strange odor filled the air, making everyone feel nauseous. They instinctively covered their noses.
"Ah, no, there's something in here."
Just a few minutes into the examination, a scream suddenly rang out, and everyone turned to look at the subordinate.
He stood up in terror and returned to Murong Xue's side, sweating profusely, and said, "Captain, there are several strange white worms inside the festering flesh of this corpse. This should be the fatal source."
"What? White worms? Can you identify them?" Murong Xue asked seriously, pinching her nose.
"I don't recognize them. I've never seen such worms. They look like maggots, but they have legs and sharp teeth. They are currently devouring the festering flesh of the corpses," the subordinate replied timidly.
"That strange?"
Murong Xue glanced back at the bodies, then turned to Li Yang and said, "It seems you guessed wrong. It wasn't hidden weapons that caused these injuries, but poison from worms."
"Not necessarily!"
Li Yang shook his head decisively and stepped forward to examine the bodies. When he pried open the festering flesh, he indeed found several worms crawling inside.
However, he was not afraid and personally dug out the worms.
The moment the worms were dropped onto the ground, they struggled violently and, in a short while, turned into a puff of white smoke, vanishing into nothingness.
What remained at the scene was a tiny silver needle.
At this moment, Li Yang was greatly astonished. This was actually the Soul-Fixing Needle from the Mojin lineage.
This cruel technique was supposed to be long lost, so how could it appear here?
Could it be that Zhao Long and Zhao Hu also knew how to use this insidious needle technique? If so, the murders they were accused of might not be their only crimes.
Was their sense of justice and kindness all an act?
"Li Yang, what did you find? Strange, where did that worm go?" Murong Xue, seeing Li Yang fiddling with something alone, walked over curiously and asked.
"I did misjudge. This is a very sinister technique, the Soul-Fixing Art. The wounds on these people are similar, indicating they were all victims of the same technique," Li Yang said seriously.
"Soul-Fixing Art? What kind of ghostly technique is that? According to you, were these people all murdered?"