Chapter 11: The Investigation Order!
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“Sir, here is your tea and fruit platter.”
“There’s a private room nearby.”
After placing the fruit platter down, the female attendant gently reminded him once more, then fixed her gaze steadily on Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan nodded. “Yes, got it.”
Seeing no movement from Zhang Xuan, she lowered her voice and said, “Forty minutes for 399 yuan, I guarantee you’ll be served comfortably.”
“As long as you don’t say stop, I won’t stop, alright?”
Zhang Xuan stared at her for a few seconds, then slowly picked up a slice of apple and popped it into his mouth. “You’re too ugly.”
The attendant’s expression darkened. Holding her small box, she twisted her waist and stomped off toward the other customers inside, clearly annoyed.
This was a foot massage parlor beneath the residential complex—he liked to come here to relax when he had time.
Though he harbored countless thoughts within, he was not a reckless man. On the contrary, beneath his seemingly wild exterior lay a certain principle quite unlike his outward appearance.
Immersed in the mundane world, observing the flashing lights and intoxicating wine, feeling the release of human desire, yet able to quietly walk away.
Unconsciously, this had become his unique way to vent while living in this strange world.
Once he finished this cup of tea, he would find complete inner peace. That would be the time to leave.
“Damn it, what good stuff could there be in this hellhole?”
A loud, hearty curse came from behind him.
Before turning his head, Zhang Xuan saw two shirtless figures—one tall and one short—walk past him and settle on the recliner directly in front of him.
These two were quite distinctive.
The tall one was about six feet two inches, thin as a stick, seemingly fragile enough to be toppled by a gust of wind.
The short one was under four feet eleven, with a neck thicker than his head, shoulders and neck compressed together, a smooth bald head resembling a gas cylinder.
Their manner of walking exuded a low-class aura.
Before they could settle, the short and stout man cleared his throat loudly, spat a few thick phlegm blobs, crossed his legs, and spoke in a coarse voice, completely ignoring the disdainful glances from those around.
The short, stout man said to the tall one, “Damn, didn’t Third Master just give us a hundred thousand? Why didn’t he take me somewhere upscale?”
“I’ve been wanting to hit a high-class escort for a long time!”
“Shut your damn mouth!”
The tall one chuckled. “Don’t judge this place by appearances. The ladies here are wild and work hard. I promise you’ll have a blast!”
“The high-class escorts? I’ll take you there when we get back.”
The short one wasn’t convinced.
The tall one offered, “How about I call two for you?”
“Three!”
Only then did the short one lie back comfortably. “Alright, that works.”
Several attendants rushed over, making cooing sounds as they crouched nearby.
The tall one seemed uninterested, merely pointing at the short, stout man. “Just take good care of this master.”
Then he reminded the short one, “Your train ticket’s at two o’clock. It’s almost noon now; you better keep that in mind.”
The short one looked surprised. “So rushed?”
“Damn, what kind of trap did Third Master fall into?”
Lying behind, Zhang Xuan perked up at the word “trap,” turning to look at the two.
He had been wondering why these two looked so odd.
Now, after hearing their chat, everything became clear.
These two were likely grave robbers!
The tall one immediately became tense, lowering his voice. “Watch your words. Don’t let anyone hear!”
The short one was indifferent, turning to the attendants and asking, “Who understood that?”
“You?”
“You?”
The attendants quickly smiled awkwardly and shook their heads.
The short, stout man snorted, then turned to Zhang Xuan behind them, arrogantly pointing a finger. “Or you?”
Their eyes met.
Zhang Xuan saw a forehead shrouded in dark mist!
Seeing Zhang Xuan silent, the short one turned back, laughing loudly at the tall one, “Look at your nerve!”
Then he grabbed two attendants and grinned lewdly. “Let’s do it right here!”
“Bro, I love the thrill!”
The tall one frowned, glanced behind, saw Zhang Xuan’s figure had vanished, then said to the attendants, “If it’s good, I’ll pay double!”
...................................................................
The next afternoon.
Mengshan Village.
As a motorcycle left, the tall and short figures appeared before Zhou Cheng.
After calling out to Third Master, Zhou Cheng quietly asked Uncle Tai Li, “Tai Uncle, which one of these two is the ‘dilaizi’?”
Before Tai Li could answer, the tall one’s ears twitched, smiling as he said to Zhou Cheng, “You must be Third Master’s nephew, Young Master Zhou?”
“We’re both ‘dilaizi’!” Zhou Cheng said awkwardly, scratching his head.
Third Master wasted no time and invited the two into the mountain.
Over an hour later, they arrived at a hillside.
The tall one looked around, then scooped some soil from the ground, rubbed it between his fingers, surprised, he said to Zhou Ze, “There’s sandy ash here, below must be a layer of crushed stone tamped earth. This won’t be easy to dig!”
Third Master nodded. “If it was easy, we wouldn’t be hiring you.”
“This is big work. Doing this will set you up to live well for years.”
The tall one’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
Third Master nodded. “Alright, get to work.”
The tall one nodded, pulled out a Luoyang spade, assembled it, and circled the pine forest several times, testing multiple spots.
But each time, he only dug one scoop, then rubbed and sniffed the soil.
Zhou Cheng, watching, was puzzled and asked Tai Li, “What is he doing?”
Tai Li explained, “The sealing soil of an ancient tomb mainly concentrates above the main burial chamber. So the soil above the main chamber has a different composition.”
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“Experts can locate the sealed soil above the main chamber by analyzing the soil’s composition and moisture.”
Zhou Cheng’s expression brightened. “So that’s how it is…”
About half an hour later, the tall one nodded to Zhou Ze. “Third Master, found it!”
“Dig down here, we’ll definitely find the main burial chamber!”
Zhou Ze stomped on a pile of scattered cigarette butts on the ground and hurried toward the tall one.
“Are you sure this is it?”
Seeing the tall one nod, he looked at Tai Li. “Dig!”
But before Tai Li could lift the shovel, the tall one stopped him, saying, “Our brothers are here; let’s not have Tai Ge do the work.”
Then he said to the short one, “Brother, it’s your turn to show Third Master what you can do!”
Zhou Cheng looked at the short one in surprise.
The short one pulled out two massive leather gloves from his bag. The palms were fitted with layers of metal studs!
The fingertips were capped with triangular, jagged metal tips.
Zhou Cheng stared in curiosity.
The short one fastened the straps around his wrists, nodded to Zhou Ze, then dove headfirst into the earth like a mole, his huge gloves stabbing into the soil like shovels!
Then, swinging his arms, dirt flew everywhere.
Within moments, his entire body disappeared into the hole.
Zhou Cheng watched in amazement and suddenly understood why these two were called ‘dilaizi’!
.................................
Duty Room.
As usual, Xiao Lü started the night shift and immediately noticed Liang Jingyi staring at him oddly.
He was surprised. “Sister Liang, why are you looking at me like that?”
Liang Jingyi said nothing, but when she turned around, behind her appeared Captain Fang Youcai’s stern figure!
Xiao Lü jolted. “Captain? What are you doing here?”
Fang Youcai glared at Xiao Lü before speaking, “I saw the video you posted yesterday.”
“Timely reporting is good.”
“But you need to be careful with your methods. At least give a brief description of the content beforehand!”
Xiao Lü hurriedly nodded.
Liang Jingyi took over. “Captain Fang, about yesterday’s video, it’s been causing quite a stir online.”
“Do we need to intervene?”
Fang Youcai nodded. “I was about to discuss this with you.”
“Intervention requires a legitimate reason.”
“Otherwise, the backlash will be worse!”
“Hmm…”
“Let’s issue a statement to open an investigation.”
Liang Jingyi nodded. “Alright, Xiao Lü and I will investigate the suspect’s information.”
Fang Youcai said, “Good!”
.................................................
“What a wonderful day!”
Zhang Xuan stretched lazily; it was time to start streaming.
He glanced at the backstage and saw his fans had grown to 110,000!
Though he expected last night’s live broadcast would perform well,
he hadn’t imagined gaining so many fans in a single day!
This was no ordinary popularity—it was explosive!
He opened the short video page.
After swiping through about ten clips, he found marketing accounts, fan-edited clips, and trending searches.
All featured his account’s presence.
Almost half the platform’s users were discussing his encounter with grave robbers during an appraisal livestream—and the encounter with the female ghost!
The viewer comments enthusiastically promoted his account.
“I watched the entire live broadcast last night. I just wanted to see appraisals but ended up scared out of my wits by the woman in white!”
“I’ve followed hundreds of mystery streamers, including ones live from Fengmen Village, but I’ve never seen anything so terrifying!”
“Not sure if it’s scripted. If it is, the streamer might end up in jail!”
“This streamer starts at six. Let’s see if he streams tonight. If not, something must have happened!”
Zhang Xuan understood now.
Viewers loved fresh videos they couldn’t see in everyday life.
But many online videos were fake or sensationalized for clicks.
These audiences were fed up with that.
His live link with the grave robbers was a reality check for these unworldly viewers.
It was bound to go viral.
Last night’s stream already broke ten thousand viewers; today he had to capitalize on the momentum.
After a quick wash and ordering takeout, he began today’s livestream.
As expected!
Right after going live, the official platform promoted his stream!
Viewers surged rapidly.
Within minutes, the stream attracted over eight thousand people!
“Wow, the streamer is still here?”
“Is there more of the female ghost?”
“Is he an appraisal streamer or a tomb appraiser?”
“Go, streamer!”
“......................”
Seeing the barrage of comments, Zhang Xuan cleared his throat. “Everyone, please stop talking about tombs and ghosts. That can cause the stream to crash!”
“Also, let me make a statement.”
“This channel and I bear no responsibility for any legal issues.”
“Yesterday and the day before were accidents.”
“Today, we’ll do regular appraisals.”
“Since there are many people in line, we’ll try a new method.”
“We’ll rank viewers by how many sunglasses they send. The more sunglasses, the higher your rank.”
Sunglasses cost just a few yuan; he used this to screen for quality viewers, as too many people caused troublemakers.
“Six, the streamer is starting to collect yuanzi (gifts).”
“Let’s have a sunglasses mini-game!”
“Xuan, no grave robbers today, I’m not watching!”
“Xuan, stop appraising treasures. No one’s interested. Go appraise grave robbers.”
“Xuan, who was that long-legged lady yesterday? Why did she keep contacting you?”
“...............”
Qingcheng Hao connected.
Zhang Xuan: “Hello, treasure friend. What would you like to appraise?”
Qingcheng Hao: “You’re Xuan, right?”
“I’m Qingcheng Hao!”
The screen was dark, obscuring his figure, but his speech had a slight lisp.
Zhang Xuan: “...............”
“I can read!”
“What treasure do you want to appraise?”
Qingcheng Hao: “I want to ask—was that grave robber yesterday real?”
Zhang Xuan: “.............”
“What grave robber?”
“That was a stranded netizen asking for help during an adventure!”
“Are you alright?”
“Want to appraise something?”
Qingcheng Hao: “I do, I do!”
Zhang Xuan: “Then please show your treasure to the camera!”
Qingcheng Hao: “Ah, well, the treasure’s not with me. I have to dig it up to show you!”
Zhang Xuan: “????”
“What do you mean?”
“You hid your treasure in your backyard?”
Qingcheng Hao: “No!”
“The treasure’s in the mountains; I have to dig with a shovel, make a hole!”
Zhang Xuan: “No, dude, are you joking?”
“You’re a grave robber!”
“Careful, I’ll call the cops on you!”
“Do you have something or not?”
Qingcheng Hao: “Yes, yes!”
Zhang Xuan, growing impatient: “Well, say it quickly. Others are waiting. Don’t waste our time!”
Qingcheng Hao: “Xuan, it’s like this.”
“My family’s poor. I quit school after middle school, staying at home every day isn’t good.”
“My dad wants me to learn a trade.”
Zhang Xuan nodded. “That’s good. Listen to your dad.”
“I’m not your dad; I can’t give you advice.”
“Bye!”
Qingcheng Hao: “Dad!”
Zhang Xuan: “???”
“Are you crazy?”
“Don’t shout randomly!”
Qingcheng Hao: “Dad, after thinking it over, I feel digging machines are too tiring, chefs have too much smoke hurting their throats, beauticians are just women chirping.”
Zhang Xuan took a deep breath, didn’t expect to encounter such a weirdo at the start of a stream. The viewers in the chat laughed.
“Then what do you want to learn?”
Qingcheng Hao: “So I want to learn grave robbing!”
Zhang Xuan: “Get lost!”
Qingcheng Hao’s voice returned to normal: “Haha, Xuan, don’t be mad. I’m joking!”
“Xuan, goodbye, I’ll send you a gift to apologize!”
The connection ended.
[Qingcheng Hao sent a Carnival gift!]
Zhang Xuan smiled helplessly. “Brother, don’t do that next time.”
“If you want to send gifts, just send them.”
With that comedic moment, the stream’s popularity stabilized.
Zhang Xuan cleared his throat. “Next treasure friend, please!”
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