Chapter 97 - 77: Ancient Tomb Development Rights
Lin Yi’s heart sank.
He was immediately reminded of the attempted kidnapping of Zhou Meng on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.
At the time, he thought Yan Hao was behind it and even set a trap to draw him out and deal with him.
But now, it seemed...
Things were far more complicated than he had imagined!
If it was just Yan Hao, a mere Second-Grade Martial Artist, why would the Zhou family go to such great lengths, even spending a fortune to hire a Fourth-Grade Martial Artist to stand guard?
After all.
In all of Yang City, aside from the three great Fifth-Grade figures—the Governor of Yang City, the Chief of the Public Security Bureau, and the Head of the Education Bureau—a Fourth-Grade was the absolute pinnacle of power! A single stomp of their foot would make the entire city tremble!
For the Zhou family to actually hire a Fourth-Grade Martial Artist to protect Zhou Meng...
It was clear that the Zhou family’s situation had likely become extremely dire.
"That’s exactly what all the fuss is about!" Luo Qian sighed, his expression turning grave. "The rumor in the upper circles is that someone has their eyes on the Zhou family, looking to stir up trouble."
"Who is it?"
Lin Yi’s gaze sharpened as he pressed for an answer.
Zhou Meng was his student, after all, and one of his few friends.
Luo Qian shook his head helplessly.
"There’s no solid info on who it is yet. They’re hiding deep. But anyone who dares to target the Zhou family can only have one goal: the development rights to the Pre-Qin Qi Cultivator tomb they control!"
"The Zhou family controls a Pre-Qin Qi Cultivator tomb?"
Lin Yi was genuinely surprised, his eyes widening slightly.
He knew what a Qi Cultivator tomb represented.
It was a massive treasure trove of resources.
A land of opportunity that Martial Artists could only dream of!
"Yeah!" Luo Qian nodded emphatically, his eyes glinting with undisguised envy. "In the entire Yang City region, there are only three discovered Pre-Qin Qi Cultivator tombs with any development value! Two are in the government’s hands, and the development rights to the last one belong to the Zhou family! I’m so jealous I could die!"
Lin Yi gave him a speechless look.
"Didn’t your family get its start by raiding tombs? It’s your ancestral trade, what’s there for you to be jealous of?"
"How is that the same thing?"
Luo Qian immediately shook his head like a drum-rattle, a pained look on his face.
"What my old man did was tomb raiding! It’s snatching stuff in secret before the development rights are even assigned! We had to be sneaky, hit one place and then move on to the next. If you were too slow and got caught by the authorities, it was off with your head!"
"But what the Zhou family does? That’s ’officially authorized development’! Do you even understand the significance of having ’development rights’? It’s all above board, completely legitimate!"
"Even though they have to pay a heavy tax of 45% of the value to the government for everything they dig up—be it partial Cultivation Techniques, Spirit Medicine Ore, or antique Dharma Artifacts—what’s left is more than enough for the Zhou family to get filthy rich and become the wealthiest in the region! Now that’s a real golden goose!"
Lin Yi was a bit stunned as he listened.
He had only known that Zhou Meng’s family was extremely well-off, one of the top elite families in Yang City.
He never imagined they were *this* loaded.
To actually control a Pre-Qin tomb that continuously produced resources!
It was like sitting on a gold mine!
"Get it now?"
Luo Qian nudged Lin Yi with his shoulder, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. His tone was full of instigation.
"Lin, take a brother’s advice: you’ve got to get on Miss Zhou the Elder’s good side!"
"I’m telling you, according to reliable sources, they’ve only explored the outer areas of that tomb. The real core, the inner sanctum, is supposedly riddled with powerful Restrictions and incredibly dangerous. No one’s ever made it inside! Who knows what kind of earth-shattering opportunities are hidden in there!"
"If you can make Zhou Meng happy, maybe they’ll bring you along the next time the Zhou family organizes a tomb expedition! And if that doesn’t work..."
Luo Qian snickered and lowered his voice.
"You could always try a little harder and become the Zhou family’s live-in son-in-law! Then the whole tomb would be..."
"Get lost!"
Lin Yi’s face flushed red, and he irritably punched Luo Qian’s sturdy shoulder. The blow wasn’t light, making Luo Qian yelp, "Ow!" and rub his shoulder with a grimace.
Just then, a set of crisp, cheerful footsteps approached.
"Hey! What are you two guys whispering about? Are the fireworks set up yet?"
Zhou Meng came running over, her jet-black ponytail tracing a lively arc in the night sky.
Her cheeks were flushed rosy by the cold wind, and her big eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation. She was holding a long, lit incense stick, its tip glowing with a warm red light in the darkness.
Lin Yi and Luo Qian immediately and tacitly dropped the topic.
"Yep, yep, all set," Luo Qian replied.
Zhou Meng volunteered enthusiastically, "I’ll light it! I’ll light it!"
"Be careful! The fuse is over here!" Luo Qian directed.
"I know, I know! I’ll light this one!" Zhou Meng, eager to start, carefully brought the lit incense stick closer to the fuse of one of the firework tubes.
FSSS...
The fuse ignited, burning rapidly with a soft, urgent hiss.
The three of them immediately took a few steps back.
WHOOSH!!!
A sharp whistle tore through the night sky as a blinding pillar of light shot upward, piercing the clouds.
After a moment of silence—
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion erupted overhead!
It was as if thunder from the highest heavens was roaring right next to their ears.
Immediately after, a massive, incomparably brilliant ball of gold and red fire blossomed in the sky. Like a golden chrysanthemum in full bloom, it instantly illuminated the entire tenement complex as if it were day.
Countless fine, golden specks of light, trailing long tails of fire, scattered from the center in all directions like a meteor shower. It was a dazzling and breathtakingly beautiful sight.
"Wow!!!"
Zhou Meng jumped up in excitement, clapping her hands. With her head tilted back, her face was bathed in a red glow, her eyes filled with wonder and joy.