Ethan Smith put on Uncle Samuel's human-skin mask and, as Uncle Samuel, reorganized Uncle Samuel's businesses in Changsha, bringing all of Uncle Samuel's underlings under control. Ethan Smith, Peter Clark, Lily Clark, and the others split into three groups, setting out from Hangzhou, Changsha, and Beijing toward Guangxi. In the village of Bānài in Guangxi, Ethan Smith, disguised as Uncle Samuel, encountered Edward Green's team again and saw a ghostly figure with a collapsed, melted shoulder. They discovered that this ghostly figure was a member of the archaeological team from The Bolton Mansion thirty years ago, named William Bolton! Is the ghostly figure the key to unlocking all these secrets? Driven by the ghostly figure, they finally delved into the vast and mysterious mountains' greatest secret—within the mountains lived a group of cannibalistic Miluotu, and the passage to the ancient tower's secret realm was fraught with peril and treachery under their obstruction! Ethan Smith and Fatty finally entered The Bolton Mansion. Can they rescue the Silent Bottle? What new discoveries will they make about the archaeological team from thirty years ago?

Author Introduction

Samuel Brooks, real name Louis Carter, from Zhejiang, currently residing in Hangzhou. The protagonist of the novel is precisely because his tomb-robbing grandfather married into a family in Hangzhou back then, and opened a small antique shop in Hangzhou, guarding the Warring States silk manuscripts that the Changsha grave robbers risked their lives to snatch from unknown monsters in ancient tombs. Is there some connection between the protagonist and the author in the novel...

　　Season One, Volume One: The Seven-Star Lu King

　　Chapter One: The Blood Corpse

　　50 years ago, Biaoziling, Changsha.

　　Four grave robbers were squatting on a mound, all silent, staring intently at the Luoyang shovel on the ground.

　　The head of the shovel was covered in old earth freshly brought up from underground. Strangely, this clump of earth was continuously oozing bright red liquid, as if it had just been dipped in blood.

　　"This is big trouble now." Old Patrick tapped his pipe on the ground and continued, "There's a blood corpse down there. If we're not careful, all of us might end up down there for good."

　　"Are we going down or not? Just say the word, don't beat around the bush!" said the one-eyed young man. "You say your legs aren't good, old man, so you don't have to go down. My brother and I will go. Whatever's down there, we'll just give it a burst of gunfire."

　　Old Patrick wasn't angry but laughed, turning to the big-bearded man beside him: "Your two boys are wild as hell, you never know when they'll get themselves killed. You need to teach them more. In this business, having a gun doesn't mean you can just swagger into the Western Paradise."

　　The big-bearded man glared at the young man: "You brat, how can you talk to your grandpa like that? When I was digging dirt, you were still shitting in your mother's belly."

　　"What did I say... I was wrong, didn't the ancestors say, the blood corpse is a good thing, there must be a lot of treasure down there. If we're not going down, let's just go home and make a pot of soup."

　　"You dare talk back!" The big-bearded man raised his hand to hit him, but Old Patrick blocked it with his pipe.

　　"Don't hit him. Weren't you the same when you were a kid? Like father, like son!"

　　The one-eyed young man, seeing his father being scolded, lowered his head and snickered. Old Patrick coughed and knocked the one-eyed boy on the head: "What are you laughing at? Blood corpses are no joke. Last time your second uncle dug one up in Luoyang, and now he's still crazy, no one knows what got into him. I'll go down first, you follow me. Second boy, you bring a dirt ferret and cover the rear. Third boy, you stay up here. If all four of us go down, we won't be able to retreat if something happens. You hold the ferret's tail, and when we shout, you pull the stuff up."

　　The youngest boy protested, "I don't agree, you're playing favorites. I'll tell Mom!"

　　Old Patrick laughed loudly: "Look at you, third boy is still a scaredy-cat. Don't fuss, I'll let you touch a gold knife later."

　　"I don't want you to let me, I can do it myself."

　　The one-eyed second brother got angry and grabbed the third boy's ear: "You little brat, looking for trouble with me? Trying to steal my luck?"

　　The youngest, apparently used to being beaten, saw his second brother was really mad and didn't dare make a sound, just looked at his father for help, but his father was already packing up the gear. His second brother was now triumphant: "See, no one is helping you this time. If you shout again, I'll twist your ear off!"

　　Old Patrick patted the second brother's shoulder and shouted, "Boys, grab your gear!" With that, he was already swinging his whirlwind shovel.

　　Half an hour later, the tomb tunnel was so deep you couldn't see the bottom. Except for the second brother coming up for air now and then, you couldn't even hear any sound from inside. The third boy, getting impatient, shouted into the tunnel, "Grandpa, have you broken through yet?"

　　After several seconds, a muffled voice came from inside: "Don't... know. You... stay up there, hold the... rope tight!"

　　It was his second brother's voice, then he heard Old Patrick cough: "Quiet... listen! There's something moving!"

　　Then, dead silence.

　　The third boy knew something must have happened below and was too scared to speak. Suddenly, he heard a chilling croaking sound, like a frog, coming from the tunnel.

　　Then his second brother shouted from below, "Third boy, pull!"