After the meeting with Mu Rong Lao, I helped my wife clean up the broken pieces in the store and put everything back to order. Despite feeling a little pained at the sight of my wrecked antiques, I had to admit that getting eight million yuan for all of them was a pretty good deal.
"I'll be leaving tomorrow for the mission grandfather assigned me," I told her after we cleaned up the shop. Despite leaving it open, no customers came. Then again, we made eight million yuan in one day, so I couldn't care less if no customers showed up for a whole year. Besides, the antiques were just a cover anyway.
"So soon?" Mu Rong Shu frowned and pondered for a moment. "I want to come along too."
"Okay, we'll temporarily close the store then." I had discussed this with grandfather-in-law because I was the type who told my wife everything and so foresaw this possibility. "He says you can pick a couple of relics for yourself as long as you give him everything else. And let him know what you chose."
"I can live with that." Mu Rong Shu was aware of how things worked. Even though we were the ones risking our lives in the tomb – which was undoubtedly filled with traps and demons, and even other explorers who would be hostile to others so that they could monopolize the treasures they found within its crypts – we were being paid handsomely for this. Mu Rong Lao was a generous employer, and he favored his family. So we could expect a big bonus if we pulled this off.
Of course, we had to succeed and bring back something to show for, otherwise we shouldn't be thinking about the bonus.
"Let's close the shop early and prepare for tomorrow," I suggested. Mu Rong Shu nodded and smiled.
"Yeah. I'll need to check my weapons."
The next day, the both of us dropped off at the Huai Zhu area, having taken a flight. We then rented a land rover and drove toward the edge of the province. The tomb was rumored to be inside the forest, at the foot of one of the mountains.
The breathtaking scenery never failed to strike awe into me. I admired the vast, verdant sprawl of trees and plants that dotted the landscape, giving the mountain a vibrant hue of green and blue. With Mu Rong Shu by my side, we proceeded into the forest, trekking through a worn trail and making our way toward the mountain.
"What do you plan to do against cousin Qiu?" Mu Rong Shu asked. "I'm confident that you can win against him, but there will be stronger cousins taking part in the tournament. Mu Rong Lin, for example, appears to be the favorite for champion. His brothers, Mu Rong Feng and Mu Rong Shan, are also very powerful in their own right. They are actually grandfather's favorites. The family has invested a lot of resources into nurturing them."
"Compared to them, Mu Rong Qiu is just a small fry," I said. Mu Rong Shu nodded.
"Exactly. But do you have any countermeasures against the elite of the Mu Rong family?"
"I guess. But I prefer to keep a low profile. I'm not aiming to be champion."
Mu Rong Shu sulked at that. "No! You're my husband! I want you to try to be champion! I want to be able to brag about you to all my relatives. You are someone I am proud of, and I'm sick and tired of hearing everyone insult you!"
"Sorry." I stroked her hair and hugged her to my chest. "For my wife's sake and reputation, I will do my best."
"That's right! Don't forget, you are the man who defeated me in combat. I won't allow you to lose to anybody!"
"Speaking of which, aren't you participating in the tournament as well?" I asked, shifting my glasses and ducking under an overhanging branch from a gnarled tree. Mu Rong Shu nodded.
"Yeah. Let us meet in the finals and have a rematch!" She squeezed my arm playfully. "I haven't been idle for the past three years. I will show you how much stronger I have become! I'm confident that the result this time will be different if we fight again!"
"I look forward to it." I hugged her slightly and then glanced to the side. "For now, it's time we fight against these guys first."
Even before spotting them, I could hear the shadow wolves loping through the woods, their fangs dripping with drool. Their fur stood up, resembling spikes, and an ominous wisp of qi permeated their physiques.
"Demons," Mu Rong Shu hissed, dropping into a combat stance.
"Shadow wolves," I confirmed, studying the feral creatures. My wife and I stood back to back and faced the ring of demons, who had surrounded us completely.
Then they pounced.
Mu Rong Shu moved first. She darted toward the wolves, her hands lashing out and striking at vital points with swift, precise movements. Unusually for an assassin, Mu Rong Shu fought with barehanded techniques. She used a variant of Eight Trigrams palm, the glowing formation of the bagua flaring to life under her feet as she circled about the wolves and crushed their throats, chests and skulls with her bare hands and kicks.
As for me, I was a summoner, so I summoned.
A third of a ghostly form materialized next to me, a full arm with a spear that was connected to a disembodied chest and part of the body. The left arm was almost fully formed as well, but it lacked the gleaming armor that the right arm was clad in. a golden breastplate protected the chest and body, and part of a red cape fluttered, but where the neck would be…it was missing.
The war spirit didn't have legs, but that was fine. It didn't need legs anyway. Or I should say he. I intended to keep the identity of my war spirit a secret for now, but suffice to say, I knew who he was.
The gigantic spear streaked forward, puncturing the body of a shadow wolf in mid-lunge. It whined and went into spasms before my spirit yanked his spear out and slashed another three. Blood sprayed the clearing, turning grass red. Twirling the spear about, my war spirit pressed on the attack, thrusting and scything through the pack.
I was far from idle, not wanting to leave the fighting to my war spirit alone. While my summoned spirit covered part of my flank, I retreated to where Mu Rong Shu was and fought back-to-back with her. Where my wife attacked, her hands and feet striking accurately at critical spots of the shadow wolves, I defended. Whatever shadow wolf that tried to pounce on her from behind, I intercepted it. Using Tai qi, I spun them about and sent them flying back.
Soft countered hard. I determinedly stood my ground and manhandled the shadow wolves, causing them to crash against each other. A yin-yang symbol blinked to life behind me, faint yet visible. Flicking my wrist, I caught a shadow wolf by the throat as its outstretched claws tried to rake through me, spun it around and sent it tumbling to the ground.
Hooking my foot under its body, I kicked it upward and sent it flying to its brethren.
The surviving wolves regrouped and circled me and Mu Rong Shu. She adjusted her stance and struck another shadow wolf before it could bite her, snapping its neck. Then she kicked a second shadow wolf that tried to lunge at her from the side. A third pounced on her from above, but I caught it by the tail, swung it about, and then hurled it against a tree with bone crunching force.
The rest snarled and charged, but before they could reach within a couple of meters in front of me, they fell, suddenly bisected.
My war spirit had returned.
He was a whirling tempest of blades, his spear spinning around like a tornado and scything down the shadow wolves with impunity. The remnants of the pack howled and scattered, trying to escape, but my war spirit chased them down, his spear vengefully penetrating their behinds and…well, I'll spare you the graphic details.
"Are you all right?" I asked, checking on my wife. She nodded, wiping the blood from her gloves and dress, and grimaced.
"I would like to change my clothes…but I guess this is neither the appropriate time nor place to do so."
"We'll buy you a new dress when we return to Huai Zhu Town," I assured her. She giggled and continued cleaning her face from the shadow wolves' blood.
"Thank you. I'll be asking you to pamper me then."
"Any wounds?"
"No. What about you?" Mu Rong Shu then eyed my war spirit, who promptly disappeared after I dismissed him. She then studied me and I raised both of my hands in mock surrender, allowing her to scrutinize me. My wife rolled her eyes and sighed. "Stupid question. Of course you're not hurt. But I just want to make sure."
"It's all right. I understand. I feel the same way."
"Heh." Mu Rong Shu tittered for a moment, and then returned to the trail. "If the shadow wolves are here, then it must mean the tomb is nearby."
She had a point. Shadow wolves tended to congregate near tombs. I hastened my pace.
The both of us managed to reach the foot of the mountain after a few hours of walking. By now, the sky had darkened and the shadows were lengthening to engulf the forest. Fortunately, we found the entrance of the tomb.
Switching on a flashlight, I then summoned my war spirit and check out the entrance in advance. In case there were any traps or anything. I didn't want to be caught off guard and blunder into one when seeking shelter.
That said, it was more dangerous to camp out in the woods where all manners of demons and spirit beasts lurked. Not just shadow wolves, but deadly creatures of high spiritual cultivation also dwelled in the depths of the forest. Even a veteran warrior would be hard-pressed to survive. Mu Rong Shu had attained mid-level warrior after three years of training, and she hadn't gotten that far without being cautious.
"Clear," I reported after my war spirit returned, his hands doing some sort of sign language that I didn't understand. Not that I needed to. I was linked to my summoned spirit through some sort of spiritual telepathy so I knew what he wanted to tell me. I smiled at my wife. "There are no signs of anybody having entered. Seems like we are the first. Let's set up camp near the entrance. We will explore its interior tomorrow morning, at first light."
"Why, though?" Mu Rong Shu was genuinely curious. "It makes no difference whether we explore the tomb during the daytime or night, since the tomb is completely enclosed. It's not as if we need sunlight to see what's inside. We'll still be needing these flashlights to illuminate the interior."
"Force of habit," I replied sheepishly. "Also, we spent an entire day trekking through the forest. Aren't you exhausted? I know I am. We should rest for the night so that we can recover our strength. I don't want to face whatever traps or dangers the tomb has hidden for us in a weary state."
"Fair enough." Being an assassin, Mu Rong Shu was more used to moving around in night. However, she hadn't been an assassin for a long time now. Not since she was defeated by me and married me three years ago.
The both of us went into the entrance and set up camp, which just meant we pulled out our sleeping bags and rolled them out. We picked a spot that wasn't exposed to the open, which meant spirit beasts or people wouldn't see us straightaway if they arrived and peered into the tomb.
After a whole day of trekking and an intense battle, we were inevitably tired. I didn't know about my wife, but I immediately fell asleep the moment I squeezed into my sleeping bag. I couldn't remember what I dreamed about, but it might have something to do with being trapped inside a dark tomb and being surrounded by ghosts…