Chapter 686: Gold Thread, Silver Network (Bonus Chapter—Request Subscription)

Clang!

The thick stone slab was ripped open and fell heavily to one side, shattering into fragments.

Inside the stone coffin lay only a decayed remnant of a corpse.

Aside from that, the burial goods were plentiful.

“Huh?”

Mai Long’s eyes lit up as he picked up an ancient jade.

The jade resembled lamb’s fat, yet threaded through its core were fine crimson veins: “This is real ‘blood jade’—not some fake made by burying dog or goat meat in the belly… Worth at least a thousand taels of silver.”

“Who’d have thought people in ancient times weren’t poor either.”

Du Sha beamed with joy, holding up a dark, sooty object.

With a slight exertion, he shattered the outer layer of grime, revealing a golden glow within.

“Whoa… this much dog-head gold?”

“Second brother’s luck is good.”

Gou San moved like the wind, lightly tapping the corpse’s throat and abdomen, then shook his head: “No jade in mouth, no organs stored…”

“That’s a Da Kang custom—Da Xia never had it.”

Mai Long shook his head, his gaze suddenly sharpening: “Enough… if there’s nothing else valuable, let’s go.”

The three grave robbers looted every valuable item and left the tomb chamber.

…

After an unknown length of time, a figure suddenly returned—Mai Long, the one-eyed dog!

He approached the stone coffin and suddenly unleashed both palms.

Boom!

The tomb owner’s corpse was flung straight through the air, slamming into the wall and shattering into pieces.

Mai Long extended a finger and tapped the coffin inch by inch.

Boom!

Boom boom!

Amid the muffled sounds, a slightly different tone emerged.

“Of course—treasure hidden inside the coffin? There must be something valuable!”

Mai Long’s lone eye gleamed.

He had noticed something odd earlier; after selling the stolen goods, he deliberately made excuses to ditch his two sworn brothers just to claim this fortune for himself!

As for sworn brothers?

What did that even mean? For money, he’d stab his own brother twice!

Years ago, when he went into a tomb with his family brothers, he made up his mind, secretly betrayed his own kin, and seized the secret manual to become a true martial artist.

Now, it’s the same!

“Hah… I knew something was off about you, boss. You’ve been hiding treasure all along.”

At that moment, a laugh suddenly rang out. Mai Long’s expression changed—he turned toward the tomb entrance and saw Du Sha walking in.

“Second brother, you’re joking. I just remembered something strange here—came back to check.”

Mai Long forced a thin smile.

“Hehe…”

Du Sha stepped forward, marveling: “This stone coffin is seamless. To build a trap inside, those primitives must’ve spent ages. Whatever’s hidden here must be a rare treasure—or a divine artifact.”

The moment he finished speaking, a gust of wind struck the back of his head!

Mai Long had seized the chance while Du Sha leaned close to examine, and smashed both fists into Du Sha’s occiput.

Boom!

But Du Sha had clearly anticipated it—he slid his foot aside, his body slipping like an eel, evading the ambush.

“Mai Long, since you’re unrighteous, don’t blame me for being unloyal.”

Du Sha sneered, his forearms bulging with thick veins, threaded with silver filaments—like two giant serpents—lashing out instantly.

Boom boom!

After a few exchanges, he delivered a heavy strike, slamming it into Mai Long’s chest.

Crack!

A piercing sound rang out. Mai Long flew backward like a torn sack, crashing into the wall, blood frothing from his mouth: “Eighth rank… didn’t expect… you’ve ascended to ‘Silver Network’?”

“Hehe. In this world, who doesn’t keep a hidden card?”

Du Sha knew Mai Long’s internal organs were shattered from his strike—he wouldn’t survive.

He didn’t bother finishing him off, just walked to the coffin and pressed a finger against it.

Click!

A section of stone wall shattered, revealing a hidden compartment.

Inside lay a stone tablet, about the size of an infant’s fist, its surface etched with faint patterns—resembling a totem, or perhaps a yin-yang fish…

“A stone fragment?”

Du Sha was startled. He picked it up and brought it to Mai Long: “This… is what you were looking for?”

Mai Long’s lone eye widened. His chest heaved like a bellows, his face twisted into mockery and bitter laughter: “Hah… ha… we’re the biggest fools in heaven and earth… didn’t even see the treasure before killing each other…”

Hearing this, Du Sha’s face flushed with embarrassment: “This looks like an ancient token or tiger tally—back then, it might have commanded armies. Now? Worthless… Boss, you misread it.”

Mai Long, enraged and heartbroken, spat a mouthful of blood, his head lolling to the side—he had been literally enraged to death.

“Sigh… even without this, I planned to kill you and take your share.”

Du Sha suddenly bent down, unfastening Mai Long’s belt and pulling out several silver notes: “Hehe… Guorancangzaizheli . Baoyuan Bank notes—hmm, two thousand taels…”

The silver notes were strange—seemed forged from silver itself. They could be folded freely and emitted faint silver radiance. “All of Boss’s wealth must be here.”

“Hmm? Who’s there?”

As Du Sha was about to put away the notes, his expression changed—he turned toward the tunnel entrance.

A man walked in—it was Gou San, the howling dog: “Du Sha… you killed the elder, broke our sworn oath—do you intend to die by your own vow?”

“Heh… so all three of us were hiding ulterior motives.”

Du Sha gave a self-deprecating laugh: “You’ve been watching me, waiting to be the yellow bird for a long time, haven’t you? Too bad—in our trio, I’m the strongest!”

“I know. You’ve been hiding your true strength, using me as a shield.”

Gou San spoke, then his body blurred—vanished in an instant.

“What? So fast!”

Du Sha’s heart leapt—he braced both arms before his chest, then suddenly saw a palm!

It was Gou San’s palm!

On it, faint golden light shimmered—glowing like molten gold in the darkness.

Boom!

The golden palm struck Du Sha’s arms with crushing force, snapping them instantly, then kept going, slamming into his chest.

!

Du Sha’s chest caved inward. His body flew like a torn sack, crashing hard against the wall and slowly sliding down—landing right beside Mai Long’s corpse: “Seventh rank… Golden Thread? I didn’t lose unfairly…”

The prevailing martial path today is the Nine Ranks: the first three are Copper Gate, Silver Network, and Golden Thread—collectively called the ‘Lower Three Ranks,’ foundational stages requiring ingestion of gold-mercury pills.

These pills require massive amounts of gold and mercury to brew. Ordinary people who swallow them would burn their intestines to ash; only those who’ve reached the Eighth Rank Copper Gate can barely withstand and metabolize them.

“Sigh, second brother… I didn’t want to do this… but I still want to advance in martial arts. Next year, my son will try to join a sect. It’s all bottomless pits.”

Gou San sighed: “To train in martial arts, you need hard work—and mountains of gold and silver. As the saying goes: ‘The martial path opens southward—poor men, don’t come.’ My two gold-devouring brats are killing me. That’s why I was forced into this childless trade…”

He bent down and retrieved all three thousand five hundred taels of silver notes from Du Sha’s body.

Even though Du Sha had hidden them—sewn into clothing seams, tucked under shoe insoles—he couldn’t conceal them. Gou San had clearly observed for a long time, meticulously planned.

“You… ha ha… this is the martial world!”

Du Sha laughed wildly: “When I was young, I thought the martial world meant fine clothes, swift horses, drawing swords to help others… but later I learned—it’s blood, stench, and cannibalism!”

“Yet even so, no one can stop a youth’s dream of the martial world, can they?”

Gou San stood up, thought for a moment, took the stone tablet, and walked to the tunnel entrance: “Second brother, you swore to stand with the elder, alive or dead. I’m just fulfilling your vow.”

Pah!

He casually swung a palm—earth and stone tumbled down, burying the entrance.

…

Gou San left the ancient tomb and returned to an inn in a town at the mountain’s base.

After retrieving his luggage, he immediately departed, traveling cautiously.

Finally, over half a month later, he arrived at a Jiangnan water village.

But now, Gou San had removed his human-skin mask, revealing a face that looked around twenty—narrow eyes, edged with sharpness.

“Xun Liusan, you’re back?”

Nearby farmers greeted him: “Going solo on business is risky—things have been unsettled lately…”

“Thank you, Uncle Liu. I know.”

Xun Liusan smiled innocently and approached a farmhouse.

Inside the fence, an old hen led a clutch of yellow chicks foraging.

Nearby, a boy of about eleven or twelve played with a bamboo horse.

Seeing Xun Laoliu, his eyes lit up: “Dad… Mom, Mom… Dad’s back.”

“Little Tiger!”

Xun Laoliu had bathed specially beforehand; now he picked up the boy and rubbed his stubble against the child’s cheek, then turned to a woman in a cloth dress who stepped out: “Madam…”

“Husband, you’re finally back…” The woman’s eyes welled up.

“Not only am I back, but this time I’ve made a fortune—I’ve saved up five hundred taels of silver, enough to send Little Tiger to the Five Animals Gate. If he has the talent, he’ll surely be accepted, and one day he’ll rise to greatness!”

Xun Laoliu said seriously.

“Five hundred taels?”

The woman blurted in surprise: “Where did you get so much silver?”

“I’ve been saving a little on the side all along, and this time I borrowed a bit more—it’s more than enough, more than enough!” Xun Laoliu patted his chest.

“So you’ve been hiding savings?”

The woman’s attention was instantly diverted: “And your friends who lent you money—you must thank them properly… They lent you silver, and that’s no small thing.”

“Of course…”

Xun Laoliu said: “My two brothers would die for me…”

…

“True brothers indeed.”

Inside the True Martial Talisman.

Fang Xing watched the family reunion outside and muttered a comment.

Though he felt Xun Laoliu was a man of substance, he still had no intention of bringing him into the True Martial Talisman.

Instead, he planned to wait a while and observe this era more carefully…

(End of Chapter)