When Zhu Shan entered the final burial chamber, his gaze immediately swept across the surroundings.

He first noticed Lu Shixun lying on the ground. His condition was obvious at a glance—ribs broken, barely breathing, and completely unable to move. Zhu Shan recognised him without much effort. He was the accomplice of that brat who had escaped earlier.

A trace of killing intent flashed in his eyes.

He could end this man with a single strike.

But he didn’t move.

His priority was still Ye Chen.

Zhu Shan shifted his gaze and quickly locked onto the only other presence in the room. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, his killing intent rising again as he prepared to finish the matter.

However, after taking a few steps, he slowed down.

Then he stopped.

His brows furrowed slightly.

What sat on the floor before him was not the young man he had been chasing.

It was a young woman.

Zhu Shan looked at her carefully. Her figure was slender, her features delicate, and her long hair fell naturally to her shoulders. There was tension in her posture, and her expression looked unsettled, as if she had just gone through something dangerous.

For a moment, Zhu Shan simply stared.

Behind that calm face, his thoughts began to turn.

’Did I sense it wrong?’

’Impossible.’

He trusted his perception. The aura in this room clearly belonged to the person he was chasing.

Then—

’Could it be that he has already left?’

Annoyed, Zhu Shan’s gaze shifted slightly, then returned to the woman.

His eyes narrowed.

’And this girl... Could she have come from another path?

The idea formed quickly.

The terrain inside this tomb was complex. It wasn’t impossible for another passage to exist.

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

His expression eased slightly.

At the same time, Ye Chen felt the pressure clearly.

The killing intent that had been directed at her moments ago had not disappeared entirely. It lingered, heavy enough to make her breathing slow.

’Am I going to die?’

She couldn’t move.

She couldn’t escape.

Even if she spoke and asked for mercy, would it matter?

Her thoughts were tense, but her body remained still.

Zhu Shan walked closer and stopped right in front of her.

He looked at her again.

This time, more carefully.

Then, without any warning, he raised his hand and gently patted her head.

"Little girl," he said in a calm voice, "how did you get in here? Are you lost?"

"???"

Ye Chen’s mind went blank.

For a second, she thought she had heard wrong.

But Zhu Shan’s expression wasn’t fake.

There was no hostility in it anymore.

Only a simple, almost casual concern.

He did not wait for her answer.

Instead, he nodded to himself as if he had already figured it out.

"This tomb must have another entrance, right?" he said. "That explains it."

His thoughts moved quickly.

They had already passed through the underground river. It was very likely that the terrain connected in ways they hadn’t fully explored.

This girl must have wandered in by accident.

Zhu Shan looked at her again, this time with a bit more attention.

She looked young, probably in her early twenties. Her expression carried fear and tension, which matched the situation.

A faint sense of pity rose in him.

’If I had a daughter... she would probably be around this age.’

The thought came naturally.

Then he shook it off almost immediately.

’No.’

’My heart already belongs to Elder Song. I would rather be a bachelor and wait for her to accept my affection.’

His expression turned firm for a moment.

The image of Elder Song appeared in his mind. Zhu Shan felt a small surge of determination.

’After this mission, I must take the next step.’

’I will invite her properly this time.’

Perhaps with the Python he had just obtained, a couple’s meal would be a good start.

A rare ingredient, a quiet setting in the lotus pavilion.

Zhu Shan almost nodded to himself.

Then he stopped. This was not the time to think about that.

He cleared his thoughts and returned his attention to the present.

"Girl," he said, his tone steady, "have you seen the companion of that man lying over there?"

He pointed toward Lu Shixun.

"That man’s partner is extremely dangerous," Zhu Shan added. "If you have seen him, you should tell me."

Ye Chen sat there, her expression stiff.

Inside, her thoughts were anything but calm.

This old man... Didn’t recognise her?

He was treating her as a completely different person.

A stranger, and that too a...woman?!!!

A wave of humiliation and anger rose instantly.

But she forced herself to suppress it.

This mistake was her only advantage right now, and a chance to live.

Zhu Shan looked at her expression and misunderstood it completely.

Her silence, the tension, and her pale face—

All of it confirmed his assumption.

’She must have been threatened.’

’That evil brat...’

Zhu Shan’s killing intent deepened slightly.

"I-I don’t..." Ye Chen said through gritted teeth.

Even speaking felt uncomfortable.

Every word forced her to accept the new identity she didn’t want to admit.

But before she could finish, a sudden shout broke the moment.

Both of them turned at the same time.

"Mr Zhu, this man is awake! He must know where the target is."

The gunman’s voice broke the tense silence.

Zhu Shan turned his head slightly. His gaze moved from Ye Chen—who still sat stiffly in place—to Lu Shixun on the ground. The young man had regained a bit of consciousness under the gunmen’s efforts, though his condition remained extremely poor.

Zhu Shan glanced once more at the "frightened girl" behind him.

Her expression still looked tense, as if she hadn’t recovered from the shock.

A faint sense of responsibility rose in his chest.

’This place is too dangerous for someone like her.’

’I should deal with the matter quickly and take this poor girl out.’

His expression turned serious.

But before anything else, that brat Ye Chen had to be found.

Zhu Shan stepped forward and walked toward Lu Shixun.

The gunmen standing nearby also straightened, their expressions turning colder...