Huang Ran had just finished speaking when Hao Wenming said to him, "That's it? Come on, you've got to tell us—what kind of Arcanobeast's Tomb of a Transcendent Beast is this? What could possibly be inside such a tomb that would make you travel all this way? You should explain that."
Huang Ran sighed and gave a bitter smile. "I was as blind as a bat back then, Director Hao. Do you remember that case when I was under your command? The one about the tomb raider who died mysteriously inside the grave? The official conclusion was sudden myocardial infarction. That very night, I summoned his Celestial Soul and interrogated it. I got a very interesting piece of information—the tomb raider was robbing the grave of Liu Chuxuan, one of the Seven Perfected of the Quanzhen Sect. But the raider hadn't even finished digging his tunnel when he triggered the Soul-Attracting Array left behind by Liu Chuxuan. It forcibly opened the raider's Heavenly Eye and drew the surrounding wandering souls and stray ghosts to the site. The raider couldn't bear the mental pressure and died of fright. Knowing it was Liu Chuxuan's tomb, I couldn't leave without taking a look. When I opened the burial chamber, besides Liu Chuxuan's travel journal, there was something unexpected."
Huang Ran suddenly paused, as if still shocked by what he saw back then. After a long silence with no word from him, both Old Qiu and Hao Wenming almost simultaneously asked, "What was it? Come on, tell us."
Only then did Huang Ran continue: "Alongside Liu Chuxuan's travel journal was a letter left by Ruan Liulang."
"Ruan Liulang? Which Ruan Liulang?" Gao Liang's astonishment showed clearly. His reaction somewhat comforted Huang Ran, who smiled before continuing, "How many Ruan Liulangs can there be? The one who was the greatest tomb raider during the Republic era. He had also entered Liu Chuxuan's tomb before. But after realizing whose tomb it was, he didn't disturb the burial goods and only took Liu Chuxuan's travel journal written on silk. According to his letter, he retraced the places Liu Chuxuan traveled back then, then returned the journal to the tomb chamber, adding his own observations alongside. One passage in his account mentions that Ruan Liulang also entered this Tomb of a Transcendent Beast. Although he only wrote a few simple sentences, it was quite shocking to me. According to his description, this tomb contains the corpse of an Arcanobeast capable of destroying heaven and earth. The creature's remains are suppressed by several ancient and famous weapons, but due to the limited characters in his account, he didn't specify the names of the magical weapons. Director Gao, I don't have to tell you that this kind of Arcanobeast has long been extinct, but even just its bones are priceless treasures in our eyes, let alone those weapons."
After Huang Ran finished, Gao Liang looked at him and said, "What about Ruan Liulang's observations? Surely you didn't come here without bringing them along?"
Huang Ran shrugged and spread his hands. "Actually, I didn't bring them. Ruan Liulang didn't write much about the Tomb, and it wasn't much help to me. I left them in the old building of the Religious Affairs Commission in Taiwan."
Hearing this, Gao Liang looked at him with a half-smile, "That's not like you. I remember when you handled cases before, you practically moved the archives onto the scene. Now that you have such precious materials, you'd hide them away?" As he spoke, his eyes scrutinized every place on Huang Ran's body where something could be concealed.
To prove that Ruan Liulang's observations were truly not on him, Huang Ran voluntarily took off his jacket for Gao Liang's inspection. After Hao Wenming unlocked his handcuffs, Huang Ran removed the thick clothing and pants that looked like they could hide something, allowing Hao Wenming to examine them. Unexpectedly, Gao Liang squinted his eyes and said, "It's just a piece of paper. Where can't you hide that? Why must it be in your coat?" While speaking, his gaze repeatedly flicked toward Huang Ran's underwear.
Huang Ran looked somewhat embarrassed and smiled bitterly at Gao Liang, "Director Gao, it's pretty cold here. You don't expect me to strip all the way, do you?"
"Who said you had to take off your clothes?" Gao Liang smiled warmly at Huang Ran. "I only want to see Ruan Liulang's observations. You just need to prove they're not on you."
Huang Ran was a bit helpless. "The only way to prove it's not on me might be for me to strip completely for your inspection." Gao Liang didn't answer, just smiled at him. Huang Ran sighed and slowly unbuttoned the clothes inside, taking them off one by one until he was left only with his underwear and undershirt. He threw the clothes to Gao Liang's feet. Gao Liang did not move, but Hao Wenming walked over with tacit understanding, picked up the clothes, and carefully examined them multiple times, finding no hidden silk scroll or paper.
After stripping down, Huang Ran looked somewhat bulky and ridiculous. Although he weighed over 200 jin (≈ 110 kg), in this cold environment, his thick fat didn't seem to provide much warmth. Within seconds, he was shivering and said to Gao Liang, "Director Gao… that's enough… I don't… have to take off my underwear and undershirt, right?"
Gao Liang watched Huang Ran strip off his clothes piece by piece. Hao Wenming almost wanted to tear open the clothes to check for hidden down feathers, and even carefully felt the lining, making sure there were no secret compartments. It seemed Director Gao did not believe Huang Ran would leave Ruan Liulang's observations in Taiwan, but the current situation disproved his suspicion. Gao Liang glanced at the man and woman beside Huang Ran, then quickly looked back at Huang Ran and said, "Nice undershirt you have there. Where did you buy it?"
Huang Ran gasped for breath, grimacing as he took off his undershirt, revealing his pale flesh. He tossed the undershirt to Gao Liang and shivered, saying, "Bought it in Taipei… If there's a chance, I'll bring you one next time. Want to see the brand on my underwear?"
"I'll leave you one," Gao Liang said after checking the undershirt once, then tossed it back. "Put your clothes back on. It's winter—no need to strip for no reason." Huang Ran had no mood to respond to Gao Liang's teasing. He shivered as he put on his clothes. Hao Wenming, to be fair, put the handcuffs back on him and said, "Not that I'm complaining, but this is for your own good. You have someone on both sides to lean on for warmth."
Having failed to find Ruan Liulang's observations, Gao Liang frowned and looked again at the wall emitting purple aura. After some thought, he turned to the nearby directors and said, "Tear down this wall and see what's behind it."
Sun Fatty and I found several shovels and crowbars used to dismantle wooden crates in the warehouse. The demolition work was not left to us; Director Gao assigned the various directors to take turns. Before starting, the leakage of the Arcanobeast's aura had to be suppressed. Since there were no proper tools against Arcanobeasts beforehand, only Director Hugo's holy water could help a little. After discussing with Gao Liang briefly, Hugo took out a small silver flask of holy water and poured it on the wall.
The moment the holy water splashed on the wall, it instantly turned into a cloud of white mist drifting in the air. It was like quenching a red-hot iron, but after the holy water's effect, the faint strands of leaking aura immediately vanished. Hugo's holy water seemed to have a similar effect to blood. The wall where it touched began to decay. Taking advantage of this, Hao Wenming and Lin Feng used shovels to chip off the cement outer layer, revealing layers of bricks beneath.
Hugo poured the remaining holy water onto the exposed brick wall. As before, the holy water turned into a white mist again. This time, Ouyang Pianzuo and Old Qiu used crowbars inserted between the bricks, prying them loose. After several tries, the stone wall behind was revealed, with a strange pattern painted on it.
The pattern on the wall was extremely abstract. After looking carefully for a long time, it was roughly recognizable as a wolf. At the supposed wolf's head position, there was an extremely narrow slit. Judging by the angle, the Arcanobeast's aura seen earlier should have been drifting out from there.
The stone wall was very hard. Even after Hugo poured holy water on it again, it was useless. Old Qiu struck it several times with a shovel, but not even a trace of a Daoist seal was left. Finally, Old Qiu bit his fingertip and flicked a few drops of fresh blood onto the wall. Without the leaking aura, the blood had no effect. The stone wall remained as hard as ever.
Old Qiu looked back at Gao Liang and said, "There should be a way in." Then his gaze shifted to Huang Ran, "You should know this, right?"
Huang Ran had recovered by now, and his trembling voice was no longer audible. He pointed at the slit above the wolf's head and said, "Ruan Liulang mentioned in his observations that he used an ancestral tomb-raiding tool to insert into that slit to enter the Tomb of a Transcendent Beast. But he didn't say what tool he used."
Qiu Bulao glared at Huang Ran and snapped, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"Huang Ran shrugged and gave a bitter smile. "My brain was frozen stiff just now—I didn't think of it in time."
As soon as he saw the wolf-like image appear on the stone wall, Gao Liang fell silent. He tilted his head and stared fixedly at the crevice above the image. When Qiu Bulao struck the wall with his shovel earlier, Director Gao's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but the words never came out.
When Huang Ran mentioned Ruan Liulang again, Gao Liang's eyelid twitched involuntarily. He turned to Huang Ran and said, "Ruan Liulang's family heirloom? Are you telling me he didn't name it in his records, or did you just forget? Want me to remind you?"Huang Ran didn't catch the implication in Gao Liang's tone. Tilting his head, he thought for a moment and then shook it. "Ruan Liulang didn't write much. His notes were in classical Chinese, meant to complement Liu Chuxuan's travelogue. They mostly described what he saw inside the Tomb of a Transcendent Beast. As for how it was opened, all he wrote was: 'Fortunately, my ancestral blade was with me; only upon cutting through the stone did I behold the tomb's form.' Then he moved on to what happened inside. Director Gao, since you know what this family heirloom is, why don't you tell us so we can have a look?"
Gao Liang gave Huang Ran a mocking smile and, out of nowhere, said, "Who told you?"Huang Ran blinked, confused. "Told me what? About the Tomb? That's what it says in Ruan Liulang's records."Gao Liang smiled, patted Huang Ran on the shoulder, and said, "You know exactly what I mean. Looks like you calculated everything except Yang Jun, that unknown variable. But a single misstep has ruined your whole game. Hao Wenming, unlock his cuffs."
The cuffs were removed, but Huang Ran still looked baffled. Before he could respond, Gao Liang had already pulled a short, black, glinting dagger from his coat pocket. He waved it before Huang Ran's eyes and said, "This is what you brought me here for, isn't it? Shame all your planning went to waste. You didn't expect things to end like this, did you?"Then, in a move I hadn't anticipated, Gao Liang flipped the dagger and handed it hilt-first to Huang Ran. "Isn't this what you wanted? Fine. I'll give it to you. Open the tomb."
Huang Ran stared at the dagger, his pupils shrinking. He didn't take it right away—he simply murmured, "This is… the Thousand-Cuts Blade? How is it in your hands?"Gao Liang gave him a sidelong glance. "You're calling it by name now—don't play dumb." He paused, locking eyes with Huang Ran. "The show's over. Here's your chance to open the tomb. Whether you do or don't is up to you. Honestly, I care more about you three than the tomb itself. It's not going anywhere. Worst case, I'll seal this place off as a military zone and bring Wu Rendi over to open it. That way we reduce the risk to a minimum—the Bureau's standard operating procedure."
Gao Liang's words clearly struck a chord. Huang Ran's trademark grin had vanished. He lowered his head and silently took the dagger from Gao Liang's hand. Then he looked up and asked, "Whatever's in the tomb, I don't want it. I'll find a way to return what I got from you too. Once the tomb is opened, will you let us go?"
That seemed to please Gao Liang. He chuckled and said, "Would you believe me if I said yes right now? Once this tomb business is wrapped up, you'll come back to the Bureau with me. As long as I get back what's mine, you're free to go wherever you want. If you want to stay with the Bureau, I'll welcome you with open arms."
It looked like Huang Ran had no other choice. He exhaled deeply, gritted his teeth, and said, "Deal. Once you get your stuff back, let us go!"Without waiting for Gao Liang's reply, he slashed his own thumb with the dagger and smeared the fresh blood across the wolf-like carving on the stone wall. Then, before the blood dried, he coated both sides of the blade with it. Reversing his grip, he inserted the blade into the upper crevice and pressed his ear to the stone wall, adjusting the blade's position with tiny, deliberate movements.
He repeated this process for a long time—clearly, it wasn't going to be finished anytime soon. Gao Liang and the Bureau officers stood silently watching.
Taking advantage of the lull, Sun Fatty sidled up to me and whispered in my ear, "Lazi, what's the story behind this Thousand-Cuts Blade of Gao Liang's? Wasn't Ruan Liulang's family heirloom the only thing that could open the Tomb of a Transcendent Beast?"
I had actually come across information on the blade Huang Ran was now holding in the Bureau archives. Still watching Huang Ran's every move, I replied to Sun Fatty, "It's not 'a thousand cuts'—it's the Thousand-Cuts Blade. That short dagger has another name—the Executioner's Flaying Dagger."Sun Fatty misheard me. "Watermelon blade? What watermelon blade?"
"It's flaying, not fruit! Lingchi—death by a thousand cuts—you've heard of that, right?" I turned to look at him and continued, "This dagger was used specifically for that kind of execution. Unlike the Ghost-Head Sabers used for decapitation, which can't be used to kill more than ninety-nine people—otherwise the resentment of the dead becomes overwhelming and needs special rituals to resolve—this one's different. The Thousand-Cuts Blade has only ever existed in a single instance across the Ming and Qing dynasties, over the span of five to six centuries. And it has claimed at least three to five thousand lives."
Before I could finish, Sun Fatty cut in, "But isn't that too much resentment? How could it still be used for that many people?"
I was used to his interruptions by now, so I went on, "It's not the same. Spirits killed by flaying harbor a hundred times more hatred than those simply beheaded. That's why the execution required a ferocious weapon to suppress them. After the Manchus took Shenyang and founded their dynasty, they copied Ming institutions like the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicature and Revision. They performed lingchi too, but per Shamanist advice, they used battlefield sabers for the executions. After taking Beijing, they spent months searching before finally discovering this blade in the home of an old executioner. From the Ming dynasty's founding to the late Qing reign of Emperor Guangxu, the last known victim was a master thief named Kang Xiao Ba. You do the math—how many died by this blade?"
Sun Fatty frowned. "Wait, didn't you say this blade was Ruan Liulang's family heirloom? That would mean it was passed down only one generation."
I hadn't seen Ruan Liulang's personal records in the archives myself, so I didn't know how to answer. At that moment, something changed over on Huang Ran's side...