Chapter 50: Old Grave Village

“Xiao Ma.”

Ma Yu, who was engrossed in searching for information on his computer, looked up, adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and replied calmly.

“What is it, Professor Guan?”

“Didn’t I introduce you to Professor Yang from the Mathematics Department’s daughter before? How’s it going?”

Ma Yu gave a wry smile.

“She’s not interested in me.”

“Is she not interested in you, or are you unwilling to pursue it yourself? You’re already thirty-five, it’s time you thought about settling down. Of all the unfilial acts, having no descendants is the worst.”

Guan Xingbang shook his head as if disappointed in Ma Yu, saying, “I’ll explain things to Professor Yang. We’ll go out to dinner together again. Miss Yang said she thinks well of you…”

“Professor Guan, there’s no need. I’m really not ready to think about marriage right now, and there are things I still can’t let go of…”

“Xiao Wei?”

At the mention of Xiao Wei’s name, Ma Yu’s face turned pale.

Professor Guan saw his reaction and knew he had guessed right. He sighed.

“You and Xiao Wei were both my students back then. I know you two were very close, planned to get married after graduation. But now Xiao Wei has been gone for more than ten years. You should let go of the past and look toward the future. People can’t live on memories alone…”

Ma Yu seemed to accept Professor Guan’s comfort.

He forced a smile, restoring his scholarly demeanor. “I understand, sir. After this archaeology course is over, I’ll explain things to Miss Yang.”

“That’s good.”

…

The minibus left the campus of Sichuan University and soon entered the highway.

Passing through Ziyang and Neijiang, they quickly spotted a roadside sign: “Welcome to Yibin.”

But the bus didn’t stop in Yibin city. Instead, it entered the national road, then the provincial road, then the county road, and finally the village-level road…

The scenery around them gradually changed from towering city buildings to dense forests and mountains.

Eventually, even the road disappeared. Old Zhou had to carefully drive the bus along twin ruts in the muddy track, the passengers tossed about endlessly by potholes and rocks.

But at last, they arrived safely at their destination.

A small village called Old Tomb Village.

The villagers had long received word that professors from Sichuan University would be coming. From afar, they spotted a middle-aged man in a blue shirt, looking every bit the cadre, waving at the arriving bus.

The bus stopped.

Everyone disembarked in an orderly fashion.

The man’s name was Sun Tian—potbellied, red-nosed, slightly balding. He was the director of the Old Tomb Village committee and the local liaison assigned to coordinate with Professor Guan’s team.

During the period of archaeological work, Sun Director would be responsible for their food, lodging, and daily needs.

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“Hello, Director Sun.”

“Professor Guan.”

Guan Xingbang was the first to shake Sun Tian’s hand. After a brief exchange, he went straight to the point.

“Have you found the workers I requested? I’d like to visit the excavation site as soon as possible today.”

Sun Tian nodded.

“The workers you asked for are all in place. They should be waiting at the site now.”

“Good, let’s head over.”

Archaeological excavation is a discipline that combines technical skill and physical labor. The professors and graduate students had the expertise, but the manual labor relied on others.

The excavation site wasn’t far from Old Tomb Village.

About two kilometers away, but the path was all mountain trails, clinging to the slopes.

On one side, a rock wall; on the other, a cliff.

Soon, under Director Sun’s guidance, they arrived at the site for this archaeological dig.

A dozen villagers and two small machines were already waiting.

Almost all were elderly folk—this was the reality of remote mountain areas, where most young laborers had left, only the older generation remained, some even older than Professor Guan.

Aside from them, there was only a patch of wasteland.

If not for the distant stone monument and several severely damaged stone statues, it would look no different from any barren hillside in Sichuan and Chongqing.

Only Guan Xingbang and Ma Yu showed expressions of wild joy when they saw the site, calling everyone to take out their portable instruments for surveying.

The professional work of the archaeological team unfolded, but Bai Xian, seeing nothing for herself to do, wandered over to the stone monument.

On it was carved the little poem she had seen in the photograph before.

Perhaps because it had been years since the photo was taken, the monument in reality looked much older, covered in moss and stone stains.

There seemed nothing special about it, except that as Bai Xian approached, her keen sense of smell caught a faint odor of damp mildew.

Such a fungus is rare on a sunlit slope.

Unfortunately, even after circling the site, she couldn’t locate the source of the smell.

So, she found a clean spot to sit, leaning against a stone statue as tall as two people, and took out a small yellow booklet from her “private stash” to read.

This little booklet had come from another world, where Bai Xian had shamelessly begged it from Fat Daoist Zhang Xuan.

It contained various Daoist techniques, compiled in Zhang Xuan’s own hand, along with many notes and methods.

Of course, the core techniques of each sect weren’t recorded, mostly common illusions and knowledge for practitioners.

The one Bai Xian was reading just now—

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Titled “The Precious Edict of the Great Compassionate Celestial Lord of Salvation,” it was a Daoist chant used to guide souls to rest.

Had Bai Xian learned this “Precious Edict” earlier, she wouldn’t have needed to dismantle the villa’s basement to find that severed head.

A single, magically empowered recitation of the “Precious Edict” could have sent the fat ghost into reincarnation.

Besides the handwritten booklet by Fat Daoist Zhang Xuan, Bai Xian had another supernatural ability rewarded by the “Green Book” upon completing a mission.

“Stasis Spell”

As the name suggests, it’s a technique to immobilize others.

It has two modes of casting.

One: writing “Stasis” in the palm and silently chanting the spell, the regular method.

Two: pointing into the air and shouting “Stasis!”—this also immobilizes the target.

But the first method consumes less magical energy and lasts longer.

The latter, while draining much more energy and only holding the target for a breath’s time, can be useful in a duel for surprise.

Moreover, the Stasis Spell depends greatly on the target.

If it’s a roadside worm or ant, Bai Xian could immobilize it for ten minutes or so.

But if it’s a human or even a demon, it depends on how much magical energy she has left.

While Bai Xian was studying her powers, the excavation on the other side was already in full swing.

With their equipment, the archaeological team quickly pinpointed the location of the tomb’s coffin and entrance, and Ma Yu marked the ground with lime powder.

The excavator followed the marks, digging a pit the size of a person in no time.

Then, manual digging was needed to avoid damaging any important artifacts.

Even with smooth progress, the first day would not yield significant results.

As dusk approached, everyone set up a cordon and returned to the village to rest.

Yet—

As the excavation advanced, Bai Xian felt acutely that something was watching her.

Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, she grabbed the stone statue and leapt atop it.

Standing on the statue, she could take in everything around her.

Distant mountains rose and fell, nearby streams flowed.

And the endless, dense forest…

A branch in the woods trembled slightly, startling a flock of sparrows that soared over Bai Xian’s head.