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Chapter 684: Silver Filament
Chapter 684: Silver Filament
With a loud crash!
The heavy stone slab was lifted and fell to the side with a dull thud, shattering into pieces.
Inside the stone coffin, there was only a decayed skeleton.
However, there were plenty of burial goods.
"Hmm?"
Mai Long's eyes lit up as he picked up an ancient jade.
The jade was like lamb fat, with threads of blood running through it: "This is genuine Blood Jade, not some fake made by slaughtering dogs or goats and hiding it in their stomachs... It's worth at least a thousand taels of silver."
"Who would have thought that people in ancient times weren't poor at all."
Du Sha's face lit up with joy as he lifted a black, dirty object.
With a slight effort, he shook off the outer layer of grime, revealing a golden gleam inside.
"Wow... such a large piece of doghead gold?"
"Big Brother Two has good luck."
Gou San moved swiftly, lightly tapping the corpse's throat and abdomen, then shook his head: "No jade in the mouth, no organs in the stomach..."
"This is a custom of the Great Kang Dynasty, not of the Great Xia."
Mai Long shook his head, his eyes suddenly narrowing: "Alright... let's take one more look. If there's nothing valuable, we'll leave."
The three tomb raiders plundered all the valuables and left the tomb chamber.
...
After an unknown amount of time, a figure suddenly returned, and it was none other than One-Eyed Dog Mai Long!
He approached the stone coffin and suddenly pushed with both hands.
Bang!
The tomb owner's corpse was thrown against the wall, shattering into pieces.
Mai Long extended his fingers and began tapping the stone coffin inch by inch.
Bang!
Bang bang!
In the dull sounds, a slightly different noise emerged.
"Sure enough, there's treasure hidden in the coffin? There must be something good!"
Mai Long's remaining eye lit up.
He had noticed something earlier, and after leaving to fence the loot, he deliberately found an excuse to shake off his two sworn brothers to take this treasure for himself!
As for his sworn brothers?
What were they? For money, he would stab his own brother twice!
Years ago, when he accompanied his own brothers into a tomb, he had made a bold move, betraying them to get the secret manual and become a true martial artist.
Now, it was the same!
"Haha... I said, Big Brother One, your behavior was a bit off earlier. It turns out you were hiding treasure."
Suddenly, a laugh echoed, causing Mai Long to change expression and look toward the tomb entrance, where Du Sha walked in.
"Little Brother Two, you're joking. I just felt something was amiss here... so I came back to check."
Mai Long forced a smile.
"Heh heh..."
Du Sha approached, marveling: "This stone coffin is seamless. To set up a mechanism inside, those primitive people must have spent a great deal of effort. Whatever is hidden must be a rare treasure or a divine object."
As he spoke, a gust of wind brushed past his head!
It turned out that Mai Long had taken advantage of Du Sha's approach to observe, and he struck hard with both fists at Du Sha's head.
Bang!
But Du Sha seemed to be prepared, slipping like an eel to dodge the sneak attack.
"Mai Long, you're not righteous, so don't blame me for being unrighteous."
Du Sha sneered, his arms bulging with veins, shimmering with a silver hue like two giant pythons, striking swiftly.
Bang bang!
After a few exchanges, he landed a powerful blow, striking Mai Long's chest hard.
Crack!
A sharp sound rang out, and Mai Long flew backward like a broken sack, hitting the wall and spitting out blood: "Eighth Rank... I didn't expect... you to have advanced to the Silver Filament Realm?"
"Heh heh, in the world, who doesn't have a hidden ace?"
Du Sha knew that Mai Long had taken a heavy blow, his internal organs shattered, and he was clearly dying.
He didn't finish him off, but instead approached the stone coffin, pressing his finger.
Crack!
A section of the stone wall broke, revealing a hidden compartment.
Inside the compartment was a stone tablet, about the size of an infant's fist, with faint markings that resembled a totem or a yin-yang symbol...
"A stone tablet?"
Du Sha was surprised, picking up the stone tablet and approaching Mai Long: "Is this what you were looking for?"
Mai Long's remaining eye widened, his chest heaving like a bellows, his face showing a mix of mockery and bitterness: "Ha... ha... we two are truly the biggest fools... fighting each other without even seeing the treasure..."
Hearing this, Du Sha's face also showed some embarrassment: "This seems to be an ancient token, like a tiger talisman. In ancient times, it might have commanded an army, but now it's worthless... Big Brother One, you really miscalculated."
Mai Long, enraged, spat out a mouthful of blood and slumped over, clearly dead from anger.
"Sigh... even if this hadn't happened, I still would have wanted to kill you and take your loot."
Du Sha suddenly bent down, taking Mai Long's belt and finding several silver notes inside: "Heh heh... sure enough, they were here. Silver notes from Bao Yuan Bank, tsk tsk, two thousand taels..."
These silver notes were quite peculiar, seemingly made of silver, foldable, and emitting a faint silver glow.
"Big Brother One's wealth is all here."
"Hmm, who's there?"
Just as Du Sha was about to put the silver notes away, his expression changed, looking toward the tomb entrance.
A figure entered the room, and it was none other than One-Eyed Dog Gou San: "Du Sha... You actually killed our brother, betraying the oath we made back then. Are you prepared to die for your treachery?"
"Hmph... So it seems we were all harboring our own schemes."
Du Sha gave a self-deprecating laugh: "You've been eyeing me, hoping to be the one to take the prize, haven't you? But it's a pity, among the three of us, my martial skills are the strongest!"
"I know, you've been hiding your true strength, using me as a shield."
As Gou San finished speaking, his figure blurred and vanished in an instant.
"What? So fast!"
Du Sha was taken aback, his arms guarding his chest. Suddenly, a palm struck him!
It was Gou San's palm!
On the palm, a faint glow shimmered in the darkness, making it look as if it were made of gold.
Bang!
The golden palm struck Du Sha's arm with immense force, breaking it instantly. The momentum continued, striking Du Sha's chest.
Du Sha's chest caved in, and his body slammed into the wall, sliding down to the ground beside Mai Long's corpse: "...Seventh Rank... Golden Filament? I lost... but not unjustly..."
In today's world, the prevailing martial path is divided into nine ranks. The first three are the Bronze Gate Realm, Silver Filament Realm, and Golden Filament Realm... collectively known as the 'Lower Three Ranks.' These are the foundational stages, requiring the consumption of gold-mercury pills for cultivation.
These pills require large amounts of gold and mercury during their refinement, and if an ordinary person were to consume them, their intestines might be severely damaged. However, martial artists who have reached the Bronze Gate Realm can barely manage to use their physical strength to contain and refine the pills.
"Alas, Brother Two, I didn't want to... But I still want to make progress in martial arts. Next year, my son will also try to join a sect. It's an endless pit of expenses."
Gou San sighed: "To practice martial arts, one must work hard and prepare mountains of gold and seas of silver... As they say, 'The gate to martial arts faces south, the poor should not enter'... My two sons are gold-guzzling beasts, it's a matter of life and death. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been forced to do this heinous deed..."
He bent down and took out all the 3,500 silver notes from Du Sha's body.
Even though Du Sha had hidden them, sewing them into the seams of his clothes and under his shoe insoles, Gou San had clearly observed for a long time and planned this meticulously.
"You... Haha... This is the way of the martial world!"
Du Sha laughed bitterly: "In my youth, I thought the martial world was about fine clothes, gallant horses, and helping others with a sword... But later, I realized it's about blood, stench, and devouring people!"
"Even so, no one can stop a young man's dream of the martial world, right?"
Gou San stood up, thought for a moment, and took a stone tablet. He went to the entrance of the tunnel: "Brother Two, you swore to stay with Brother One through life and death... I'm fulfilling your wish."
Smack!
He casually waved his palm, and a large amount of earth and stones fell, quickly burying the entrance.
...
Gou San left the ancient tomb and returned to an inn in a town at the foot of the mountain.
After collecting his luggage, he immediately left, traveling cautiously.
Finally, after more than half a month, he arrived at a village in the Jiangnan region.
By this time, Gou San had removed his face mask, revealing a face that looked to be around twenty years old, with narrow eyes that carried a hint of cruelty.
"Xun Lao Liu, you're back?"
A few farmers greeted him: "You should be careful when you go out alone on business. Things have been a bit unstable lately..."
"Thank you, Uncle Liu, I know."
Xun Lao Liu smiled innocently and approached a farmhouse.
Inside the fence, an old hen was leading a group of yellow chicks to forage.
Not far away, a boy who looked to be about eleven or twelve was playing with a bamboo horse.
Seeing Xun Lao Liu, the boy's eyes lit up: "Father... Mother, Mother... Father is back."
"Little Tiger!"
Xun Lao Liu had taken a bath beforehand and now lifted the boy, rubbing his cheek against the boy's face with his stubble, then looked at a woman in a cotton dress who had come out: "Lady..."
"Master, you're finally back..." The woman's eyes reddened.
"Not only am I back, but I've finally earned a good sum. I've saved up 500 silver taels, enough to send Little Tiger to the Five Beasts Sect. If he has the potential, he'll be accepted and will surely rise to prominence in the future!"
Xun Lao Liu said earnestly.
"Five hundred taels?"
The woman couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Where did you get so much silver?"
"I've been saving a bit here and there, and I borrowed some from a friend. It's enough, it's enough!" Xun Lao Liu patted his chest.
"Good, so you've been hiding your savings?"
The woman's attention was indeed diverted: "And you have a good friend who lent you money. You should thank them properly... It's not easy for them to lend you money."
"Of course..."
Xun Lao Liu said: "My two brothers are willing to do anything for me..."
...
"Indeed, good brothers."
Inside the True Martial Talisman.
Fang Xing watched the scene of the family reunion and muttered.
Although he felt that Xun Lao Liu was a capable person, he didn't plan to bring him into the True Martial Talisman.
Instead, he intended to wait and observe this era for a while...
(End of Chapter)
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