"Awake... awake... Lord, spare me!"
The bald, fat man endured the intense pain, trembling as he pleaded with Ye Ling.
Under Ye Ling's torment, the bald, fat man should have fainted long ago. Yet, for some unknown reason, he could only feel the overwhelming pain, unable to even pass out!
The excruciating agony was pushing his sanity to the brink!
Hearing the bald, fat man's pleas, Ye Ling showed no trace of sympathy and asked, "I'll ask you one more time, where were those tombs relocated to?"
The bald, fat man said mournfully, "They... they weren't relocated. I was in the tomb raiding business. I discovered a large cluster of Ming Dynasty tombs hidden beneath this cemetery, so I used the excuse of building a school to start construction here."
"Most of the tombs above were ownerless and held little value. After we dug them out, we cremated and destroyed them all!"
"Destroyed?"
Upon hearing the bald, fat man's words, Yang Qi's expression changed drastically. He quickly rushed to the bald, fat man and asked sternly, "Was my friend Hu Feng's tomb also destroyed by you?"
"Who is Hu Feng? I don't know..."
The bald, fat man screamed, "All the tombs back then were cremated in batches... I didn't know you two had a friend there! Otherwise, even if I had the courage of a bear and the heart of a leopard, I wouldn't dare to touch the old friend of two great lords!"
He wanted to cry but couldn't. The tombs had been destroyed over a decade ago. No one had ever troubled him during these years, and he had long since quit tomb raiding, moving on to other professions.
But he never expected that after so long, someone would still find him!
Ye Ling frowned slightly, "You cremated all the tombs. How did you handle the burial artifacts within them?"
The bald, fat man dared not conceal anything and quickly told Ye Ling, "Before cremating the coffins, I had people open them and check. There were many valuable items inside, which were taken out and sold."
"All sold?" Ye Ling asked again.
The bald, fat man trembled and said, "A small portion wasn't sold. Some items looked valuable but had no market, so I kept them in my personal collection room."
Ye Ling pressed further, "Where is the collection room?"
The bald, fat man replied, "It's... it's in the basement of this office building. Because it's a school, it can serve as a cover. Storing contraband here means no one will investigate, and it can also use the students' yang energy to suppress the yin nature of those items."
Ye Ling released the bald, fat man, tossed his clothes to him, and simultaneously used his spiritual energy to temporarily heal the wound on his head. He instructed, "Take us there."
"Yes... yes..."
The bald, fat man quickly got up from the ground, put on his clothes, and miraculously felt no more pain in his head. His heart churned with immense shock, further realizing Ye Ling's terrifying power.
Was this truly a cultivator of the third or fourth rank?
After putting on his clothes, the bald, fat man quickly said to Ye Ling, "Lord, my name is Li He. You can call me Little Li."
"Alright, stop trying to get friendly. Hurry and lead the way," Ye Ling said impatiently, completely unfazed by Li He's attempt to curry favor.
Li He, rebuffed, could only offer a wry smile, not daring to try again. He immediately straightened his tie and pushed open the door to leave.
By now, people were gradually filling the office building. Many employees greeted Li He respectfully.
As Li He walked down the corridor, he subtly regained some of his confidence.
In this school, he was the uncrowned king, and no one could discipline him. He could do whatever he pleased.
Other employees saw Ye Ling and Yang Qi behind Li He. Although they were curious about the two unfamiliar faces, no one dared to ask any questions.
After a brief walk around outside, Li He's confidence had returned considerably. He said to Ye Ling, "Lord, actually, this afternoon, I've arranged for someone to come and view some goods. I have many good items. If you're interested, I can offer you a discount..."
"Lead the way," Ye Ling said indifferently, cutting off Li He's words.
Up to this point, Ye Ling had no good feelings towards Li He and no interest in the items he had acquired through tomb raiding.
If Li He's collection room did not contain Li Xiaomei's bracelet, Ye Ling wouldn't mind forcefully searching Li He's soul and then disposing of him.
After all, he was scum, and Ye Ling would have no psychological burden dealing with Li He.
Having his words interrupted by Ye Ling, Li He felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water. His recent pride vanished completely. He immediately tucked his tail between his legs and entered the principal's private elevator.
This elevator required Li He's fingerprint to operate and was the only entrance to the basement.
Many employees often speculated about what secrets Li He hid in the basement. However, most of them knew Li He had a strong background in shady dealings, so they could only gossip about it quietly, never daring to bring it up openly.
If they offended Li He, they might end up buried under the sports field, which would be incredibly bad luck.
In silence, Li He nervously led Ye Ling and Yang Qi to the underground collection room.
Li He's collection room was much larger than expected, over three hundred square meters. The walls were lined with various priceless cultural relics. However, whether it was because the items were unearthed from the ground or for some other reason, the collection room was significantly colder than the floors above.
As Ye Ling scanned the room, he could feel the resentment of malevolent spirits emanating from the objects.
"This is it..."
Li He no longer dared to boast in front of Ye Ling. After leading the way, he stood quietly to the side, fearing he might provoke Ye Ling.
This was a secret room, making it much easier to dispose of a body.
If Ye Ling were to make a move here, Li He would truly be beyond help, unable to call out to anyone.
Ye Ling ignored Li He and asked Yang Qi, "What exactly does Li Xiaomei's device look like?"
Yang Qi replied, "It's a silver bracelet with a chip inside."
"A bracelet..."
Ye Ling murmured, scanning the underground collection room with his divine sense. He retrieved all the bracelets.
However, most of the items displayed here were jade bangles and gold bracelets; there were no silver bracelets at all.
"Take a look, see if the device is among these," Ye Ling said, presenting the bracelets to Yang Qi for identification.
Yang Qi carefully examined each bangle, but in the end, he could only shake his head in disappointment.
"None?"
Upon seeing Yang Qi's response, Ye Ling murmured, then returned the bangles to their original positions. He looked at Li He and said indifferently, "In that case, you have no more use to me."
Seeing Ye Ling approaching him, infinite fear surged into Li He's eyes. He collapsed onto the ground, staring at Ye Ling in terror, and began to crawl backward, "L-Lord, spare... spare my life..."
Ye Ling slowly walked closer to Li He, dark demonic energy swirling around him and extending towards Li He's neck.
Li He's fear intensified. He watched helplessly as the demonic energy wrapped around his neck and exclaimed, "L-Lord... I know where the silver bracelet you're looking for is!!!"