Looking at the corpse not far away, Gu Gang immediately gave an order: "Leave all useful flesh and blood behind."
"Understood, Master, rest assured."
The two brothers quickly began cutting up the flesh.
While of little great help to cultivation, this was still better than letting it go to waste.
Besides, eating this kind of meat, brimming with life force, could build up physical strength through exercise and should by no means be easily passed up.
"Gu Brother, thanks to you just now, or I really might have lost my life."
"We came here together, how could I let you run into danger?"
Gu Gang stroked Yingzi's hair and smiled to comfort her, making her face flush crimson all at once.
"Hey, Yingzi, why is your face so red? Are you running a fever?"
Hearing Wang Fatty's teasing voice, Yingzi became so flustered she hurriedly stomped her foot and ran off.
"Hey, why is this girl acting so shy?"
Watching the retreating figure, Wang Fatty was full of doubts, unable to understand why Yingzi had suddenly turned so shy.
"All right, Fatty, stop teasing. This place is fraught with unfathomable danger, we'd better be cautious."
Hu Bayi said with a stern face to remind everyone to stay on high alert, and suggested splitting into small groups to search the surroundings and ensure safety.
As for himself and Wang Fatty, they shouldn't separate and act alone to avoid any unexpected mishaps.
"Mm, I think so too."
Gu Gang watched Hu Bayi and Wang Fatty leave in other directions, a faint smile appearing on his face.
After giving instructions to Gu San, he walked off alone toward another spot to begin searching for traces of the Jin Dynasty general's tomb.
In his memories, the upper part of the Jin Dynasty general's tomb had once buried the remains of a squad of Japanese soldiers and grave robbers.
As long as these remains were found, one could follow the clues to locate the thief hole and thereby enter the Jin Dynasty general's tomb.
With this thought in mind, Gu Gang immediately began searching the surrounding area.
This stretch of Savage Valley was low-lying, forming a mountain basin terrain all around, with very dense vegetation and thickets of thorns woven among the towering woods.
A moment of carelessness would result in sharp thorns tearing the skin.
At the same time, according to his memories from his past life, steppe giant otters should have lived in this area.
Yet after circling around for a while, he still hadn't found any trace of them.
"Ah—!"
Suddenly, a sharp scream rang out not far away.
Gu Gang's brow furrowed tightly, his figure flashing swiftly as he vanished from the spot like a ghost.
When he reached the place from where the scream had just come, he happened to see Yingzi running toward him with a pale complexion.
"Yingzi, what happened?"
"Gu Brother!"
As soon as Yingzi saw Gu Gang, tears welled up in her eyes, and she threw herself fiercely into his arms, saying with a hint of panic: "Bones, there are many stark white bones over there."
Hearing the word "bones,"
Gu Gang's eyes suddenly lit up: Could these be the remains of the Japanese soldiers and grave robbers he had been searching for all this time?
"They're just some bones, nothing to be afraid of, and it's still broad daylight anyway. Take me to have a look."
Gu Gang patted Yingzi's head and smiled to comfort her.
"I... I wasn't scared, I was just startled for a moment."
Yingzi's face turned beet red all at once, and she muttered a soft defense before pulling back from Gu Gang's embrace and leading him forward several tens of meters.
Not far ahead of them stood a nearly collapsed, abandoned shed.
Beside the shed, numerous stark white skeletal remains lay scattered haphazardly.
The rotting, tattered clothes were precisely the style worn by the Japanese soldiers back then.
Nearby, there were also some residual skeletons of grave robbers.
Gu Gang's heart immediately understood that this was the crucial clue he had been searching for all along.
"Yingzi... Yingzi, are you alright?"
At that moment, Hu Bayi's voice came from not far away, followed by Hu Bayi and a panting Wang Fatty running over.
"Hu Brother, Fatty Brother, I'm fine, I was just startled by those bones a moment ago, thanks to Gu Brother rushing over."
Yingzi said with some embarrassment.
As a hunter who lived year-round in the deep mountains and old forests, she was actually scared by a pile of bones, which really felt a bit shameful.
"Bones?"
Hearing this, Hu Bayi and Wang Fatty were filled with doubt.
When they saw the remains of those Japanese soldiers, their gazes instantly filled with curiosity, and they walked up quickly to examine them closely.
Meanwhile, Gu Gang paid no attention to the two of them, instead turning his gaze to carefully observe the surrounding terrain, trying to figure out the exact spot where those grave robbers had dug their thief hole back then.
After all, the main burial chamber was getting closer and closer, and stepping into it meant the sign-in opportunity was right before his eyes.
How could he easily let pass such an opportunity?
...
"Heh, who would have thought this group of Japanese devils was actually trapped in Savage Valley for several years, and in the end chose to commit suicide because they couldn't bear the defeat?"
"Hmph, these bastards got what they deserved, they really should pay with their lives!"
Inside a notebook belonging to Hu Bayi, some of the experiences and encounters of the Japanese soldiers were recorded, provoking a wave of indignant rants from Wang Fatty.
"Take a good look, you two! There are also the skeletons of grave robbers on the ground! There must be an ancient tomb around here."
"Grave robbers? An ancient tomb?"
Wang Fatty's eyes lit up. After turning it over in his mind, he said in a low voice, "Old Hu, don't you think this tomb must be packed with antiques? If we quietly dug the stuff out and sold it, wouldn't we make a fortune?"
"Fatty, you must not think about tomb raiding; that sort of thing brings bad karma."
Hu Bayi said with a serious expression.
"What do you mean by bad karma? Fat me doesn't understand those empty concepts. Besides, if we don't do this, we're bound to starve to death when we go back. And Old Hu, don't you still want to sponsor the lives of your fallen comrade's family members? Without money, what are you going to use to help them? Furthermore, to be completely honest, those antiques are treasures forged from wealth plundered from the common people in the past. Taking them out and converting them into civilian use is also a manifestation of making a contribution to the people."
Wang Fatty stuck out his neck and argued plausibly with good reason.
This time coming to Ganggangyingzi, the two of them had truly spent all their money buying supplies to distribute to the local villagers.
Now the two of them were completely broke, without even the travel expenses for the return trip settled.
Returning empty-handed like this, how would Fatty be able to face people in the future? Not to mention that he was still thinking of the families of his fallen comrades—how was he supposed to continue supporting them?
Thinking of all this, even though his heart resisted the act of tomb raiding, he could only sigh helplessly.
"Fatty, don't be so impulsive yet. Whether there really is an ancient tomb here is still hard to say. Just in case there is... making a decision then won't be too late."
Hu Bayi looked at the emotionally agitated Wang Fatty and hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice.
Hearing this, a smile finally appeared on Wang Fatty's face.
He knew that given Hu Bayi's personality, this already meant agreement.
If they could find the ancient tomb, they would definitely go inside to explore.
Suddenly, an excited voice came from not far away—Gu Gang was squatting halfway on the ground, observing with a face full of joy a square pit hidden by grass.
This was a very complete thief hole, evidently dug by those grave robbers in the past before being interrupted by the war just as they were about to enter.
"Boss Gu, is this a thief hole?"
Hu Bayi walked up and asked, his tone somewhat solemn.
"Yes, and not only is it complete, but judging from the situation, they haven't yet gone down into the tomb."
Gu Gang replied with a calm expression.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry down!"
Wang Fatty could hardly wait any longer.
"What's the rush?"
Gu Gang glanced at him. "This hole has a risk of collapse; we need to shore up the structure. Besides, having been buried underground for a long time, it might lack oxygen or be filled with toxic miasma. It's best to air it out and wait until evening to act."
Wang Fatty looked doubtfully at Hu Bayi for an answer: "Old Hu, is that really a thing?"
"Just listen and stop talking."
Hu Bayi said with a trace of annoyance, and then turned to Gu Gang with a solemn expression: "Mr. Gu, let's stop beating around the bush. Your real goal in coming here is actually this ancient tomb, isn't it?"