Zhao Yu guessed it right, as there was indeed a person behind him. Just after the two old experts and the tomb robbers were shoved into a clearing in the jungle, a man dressed in white athletic wear appeared. He was Li Xiusheng.
Li Xiusheng suffered from influenza and had not yet recovered. He looked pale and kept coughing. Witnessing the sudden appearance, Zhao Yu’s heart jolted.
Oh no!
Things… were not looking good?
Why did Li Xiusheng and his men appear here?
How did they find this place?
Was it… because they followed him here? It could not be! Zhao Yu thought to himself. “I activated the Invisible Detector. If anyone was to follow me, I would have known it!”
So…
Li Xiusheng and the Taoist priest were from the same gang? But, from the way he treated the tomb robbers, they did not look like they were from the same gang.
“Cough… cough…” Li Xiusheng was coughing, as he walked forward towards Zhao Yu. He greeted Zhao Yu, “Officer Zhao Yu, we meet again! What a… coincidence!”
“A coincidence? Should I not be the one saying this?” Zhao Yu replied in a hostile tone. His eyes were surveying the situation around him.
“Don’t say that, you are too humble…” Li Xiusheng replied solemnly. “Your talent is beyond my expectations!”
Zhao Yu wanted to take the opportunity to ask him a few questions. But as soon as Li Xiusheng finished his sentence, he turned around to face the wounded Taoist priest. He said in an unusually evil tone, “Taoist priest, we finally meet again! He he he…” Li Xiusheng put on a fake smile and said, “Over the past years, you were always my idol, he he he!”
“Oh…”
The Taoist priest covered his wound on his chest with his hand. He wanted to say something, but could not, as he had a mouthful of blood.
“Do not get too worked up, do not get worked up, your life is precious!” Li Xiusheng waved his hands and said. “There is no hurry. We have many opportunities to communicate! Taoist priest, I really take my hat off to you! I was ransacking through your luggage at the bottom of the mountain. Who would have thought that you brought along a drone with you?! My disciples said that you also had remote sensory devices on the drones!”
“It is so surprising to see that tomb robbers nowadays are also embracing the new technologies around us!”
“No, no, not just a tomb robber… you should be called a tomb robber master! It is no wonder that you are still at the top of the tomb robbing trade after all these years!”
“You… Who are you?” The Taoist priest struggled to speak.
“Who am I? He he he…” Li Xiusheng put on a fake smile and said. This sight sent chills down one’s spine. “I am just a nobody! Today I have the pleasure of meeting you, my idol. My wish is fulfilled…”
Just as Li Xiusheng was speaking, his men had tied up the tomb robbers and proceeded to tie up the two experts.
“Hey! Li Xiusheng, what do you mean by doing this?” Zhao Yu hastened to say. “Have you forgotten who you are? Do you need me to remind you?”
“Hmm… What do you think about this?” Zhao Yu asked.
Zhao Yu added, “The policemen were carrying out our duties of capturing the tomb robbers and rescuing the old experts. But in the process, we were outnumbered, and our lives were at stake. At this crucial moment, you led a group of good citizens to come forward and rescue us boldly. Do you think the story went like this?”
Zhao Yu could see Li Xiusheng’s evil intents. Thus, the reason he tried to dissuade him with these words.
“He he, Officer Zhao, thank you for your kindness! Cough… Cough…” Li Xiusheng replied. “But, today I am here to settle several important matters. If I fail to accomplish them, I cannot become a good citizen!”
When Li Xiusheng said that, his men laughed.
“Hello,” Zhao Yu asked again, “Master Li, what exactly do you mean by this? Are you trying to take advantage of the situation? Could you not tell that you would not be able to rob anything out of this? If you were to gain nothing of value, why would you take the risk?”
“Think carefully. There is only a fine line between good and evil. It is still not too late to quit now!”
“Let me remind you. This gang of tomb robbers bombed and killed several policemen. This is not a trivial matter!”
Zhao Yu advised, “Therefore, I advise you not to take part in this!”
“Hmm. Not a trivial matter? Yes, you said it right, it is not a trivial matter at all!”
Suddenly, in Li Xiusheng’s eyes, there was a malicious glint. Then, he stretched out his right hand to one of his men, who handed him a black crossbow. The crossbow was extremely small, smaller and shorter than a regular pair of chopsticks.
At this time, Da Niu, who was knocked unconscious by Zhao Yu previously, was regaining conscious and attempting to stand up. Li Xiusheng suddenly took an aim at Da Niu and shot at his arm.
Naturally, the small crossbow could not kill. Da Niu groaned in pain, as he pulled out the arrow from his arm. However, just after he pulled out the arrow, he started to tremble and twitch. He continued groaning. In a mere few seconds, he stopped moving.
Everyone turned pale after seeing this. Upon taking a closer look, it was discovered that Da Niu’s face had turned purple and become distorted. He was already… dead!!!
Ah?!
The arrow was poisoned! And it was a deadly poison!
“You?!” Zhao Yu shouted at Li Xiusheng. “What… do you want?”
“He he…” Li Xiusheng coughed and said to Zhao Yu coldly, “Officer Zhao, let me tell you what exactly happened today! Your police force encountered the tomb robbers in the wild, and had an exchange of gunfire. This led to great losses on both sides, and to death in both parties!”
“Ha! What a perfect ending?” Li Xiusheng said with a laugh. “Cough… Cough… The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Now, I am that oriole…”
Oh no!
Zhao Yu took a serious look at the surroundings and saw that Li Xiusheng had a total of eleven men, all armed with weapons. These weapons included poisonous crossbows, hunting rifles, and pistols. Under such unfavorable circumstances, it was nearly impossible for Zhao Yu and Miao Ying to force their way out.
“Are all of you crazy? Miao Ying shouted at Li Xiusheng. “We have already called the police. In less than five minutes, the police helicopters will arrive. How will you escape?”
“Tsk… Tsk…” Li Xiusheng paid no attention to Miao Ying’s warning. “Miss police officer, you did not notice? How I was praising the Taoist priest and his men on their embracing of new technologies? If I wish to be an oriole, do you think that I would be worse off than them?” Li Xiusheng said proudly. “Did you not notice the weak cell signal strength here? You said you called the police? How did you do that? He… he…”
“Do not think that I am unaware of the situation? I can tell you clearly that, by the time the police force discover that you are uncontactable, then search the mountains, it would take at least thirty hours! By that time… It would be too late!”
Hearing this, Li Xiusheng’s men sneered, with sly looks on their faces. Judging from their behaviors, these people should be experienced in illegal activities like this. They were just as ruthless as the tomb robbers.
“Officer Zhao” Li Xiusheng said to Zhao Yu. “In fact, the two of you were not part of my plan! It was unfortunate that both of you were caught up in this. So, I had no choice. Blame it on your bad luck! Now I can avenge my nephew, Fei Chang, at the same time. He… he… he… Cough… Cough…”
“Li Xiusheng, are you sick in your mind?” Zhao Yu shouted. “What good do you gain in doing this? Are you trying to find the Gold Buddha? Even the Taoist priest and the two old experts could not find it. Do you think you can?”
“He… he… he…, I am well aware of the situation!” Li Xiusheng shook his head and said. “In our trade, we would only appear when there is gain! But… I am not as naïve as them, who think that they could find the Gold Buddha with their own efforts!”
“Hey! Officer Zhao, it looks like what you are aware of is too little!”
Once he finished his sentence, Li Xiusheng walked towards the Taoist priest and held on to his braid, then said with an evil tone, “Yuan Shucai, this name was given to you by your parents, right?”
“Ah?!”
Hearing his real name mentioned, the Taoist priest trembled. He looked up at Li Xiusheng and asked, “You… Who exactly are you?”
“Huh!” Li Xiusheng pulled the braid aggressively, and said fiercely, “You may not know me, but I know you very well! Our feud originated eighteen years ago. You killed the princess, then heartlessly buried her in someone’s tomb. You even put an ancient costume on her!”
“You heartless demon…” Li Xiusheng slapped the Taoist priest and gripped his jaw, then shouted, “Tell me! Where is my master? Where did you bury him?!”