Chapter 4, The Scar of the Broadsword

"If there is a mistake, you do not need to tell me; tell it to yourself, just speak to your conscience." After saying this, Gou Changqing stood up and said, "Just now, we all saw a terrifying human face behind that tree, and it even had two heads. However, I still intend to go over and take a look. I do not force any of you; those who wish to follow me can move forward together, while those who are afraid can return the way we came." With that, he stood up, picked up his gun, and walked towards the woods across the way.

The correctness of the grading is not our concern; as long as we do what is right, that is sufficient said Gou Changqing

The boss also said that as long as one is alive, one must have the appearance of a living person. Regardless of what you do, you must stand tall and breathe fully. It does not matter whether others look up to you; what is most important is that you respect yourself. San'er, you are a tomb raider, and among the people you deal with, there are few who speak or act with integrity. I can understand your current state of mind, but I just want to ask you one question, and please answer it seriously: Why were your parents killed by poachers back then?

After a while, Gou Changqing said lightly: "I understand why you are laughing, it's merely a death row inmate, just a scum of society, why pretend to be noble there, posing as a good person..."

As we continued speaking, we arrived at the haunted area. Gou Changqing made a gesture, and the other three flashlights were turned on simultaneously. To our astonishment, not far in front of us, beside a black pine tree, there crouched a pale figure. Facing the blinding light emitted by the wolf-eye flashlight and the book light, his ashen face and eyes, devoid of pupils, remained motionless, staring at us blankly, his mouth incessantly moving, though we could not discern what he was saying.

I cannot help but feel sad as I say: "They do not want the things they have worked hard to find to be taken away by others"

But I also know that I have no right to complain, not because I am a death row inmate, but because the land we stand on does not belong to humanity. The "master" here has clearly placed a "large banner" at the entrance, yet we insist on intruding.

He was dressed in a white linen robe, and although he was in the icy cold, he was barefoot. His long white hair flowed down to his waist, fluffy like a permed "afro." Squatting on the ground with a cane, he resembled an old monkey that had attained a certain level of enlightenment.

The phrase "having two heads" refers to a peculiar-looking individual who is holding a dark black cane, with a skull mounted at the top of the cane. Due to the narrow beam of the flashlight, a "montage" effect is created, leading me to mistakenly believe that this person has two heads

They certainly know that poachers are ruthless, and if they do not comply, they will be shot. However, at the most dangerous moment, they stood firm on their principles and did not choose to be cowardly evaders due to external threats. Therefore, although your parents and my boss are not good people, at least they have lived with dignity, and that is my pursuit. Today, Gou Changqing, who never speaks at length, has almost spoken for a month, and has made everything clear to me.

At the same time, I also saw his full appearance

The muzzle was pointed at that dark area, and all of us were fully focused. However, as we got closer, a faint humming sound, delicate as a thread, reached our ears. It seemed like the sound of crying, or perhaps someone was murmuring in an extremely low voice.

Dozens of heavily armed soldiers stood before me, looking as disheveled as the shepherd had described, dirty and ghastly. Among them was an extremely tall and burly man, silently glaring at me with a large cigar clenched between his teeth. A scar ran from his forehead to his chin, nearly splitting his face in half.

My adoptive parents were killed by the guns of four poachers. I became a death row inmate because I survived after shooting two of the four. The scene is still vivid in my memory; the poachers attempted to steal several antiques they had just unearthed. My parents fought desperately to resist, but ultimately they were tragically shot dead, while I managed to escape the disaster by hiding behind a coffin

In a world perpetually shrouded in darkness and cold, there are bound to be some bizarre conditions that differ from those in the world of light, such as that large red coffin, the person who raises a pack of wolves, the entire roasted carcass of a brown bear, and that "two-headed man". God knows what else we will encounter next

The three of us immediately followed, as a good leader can inspire the morale of the team at the most critical moment, and Gou Changqing possesses such ability

Just as we were about to speak up and ask a question, several dazzling lights suddenly illuminated the darkness in front of us. Caught off guard, we were immediately dazzled, our eyes spinning, and instinctively closing our eyes, we saw nothing but "little stars." The world spun around us, and we felt as if we were about to faint.

After a considerable amount of time, my eyes finally regained consciousness. Rubbing them open, I was met with the sight of a dark black gun barrel pointed at my head

I told the three people: "According to the old saying, in desolate mountains and wild ridges, if you encounter a ghost, anything nearby that hasn't spat out water can also be considered. Moreover, ghosts are also afraid of ruthless people. We are all murderers, so if we really encounter this thing, let's not be cowardly. If we shout and scold it loudly, we might be able to scare it away."

Boss, I am certain that the third one does not mean this. We are currently in a very dangerous situation, and some things should be discussed later

I believe this task has been severely underestimated; if this is considered a Level E task, then what must a Level A task be like? I inserted the flashlight into the snow.

No one spoke

I suddenly found it amusing and couldn't help but laugh, lying down in the cold snow. This time, no one intervened to ease the situation, as everyone was feeling quite heavy-hearted

"Boss, I admit that I should not always think about retreating. I, I was really wrong." This is the first time in my life that I have seriously acknowledged my mistake

As a tomb raider, although I have never encountered the legendary ghosts and deities, I have learned methods to exorcise spirits, such as sprinkling dog blood, using swords made from Five Emperor coins, and employing talismans used to suppress corpses. However, this time, as part of a military operation, it was impossible for us to prepare these items. I should have requested some in advance.

Although the flashlight's beam lasted only a moment, I can be certain that I just saw a ghost without a doubt. Instantly, a chill formed within me, nearly freezing me into an ice block. However, when I turned the beam back to confirm, that eerie and terrifying "two-headed person" had completely vanished into the darkness.

Gou Changqing directly interrupted Lei Zhendao, who was trying to smooth things over, saying: "Let me speak. Perhaps in the future, I will forget about this. In fact, when I first entered the underworld, my thoughts were quite similar to the current state of the third brother. I felt that I was nothing more than a rogue scum, and being bad was only to be expected. However, it didn't take long for me to realize I was wrong, because..." At this point, he seemed to let out a self-deprecating laugh and continued: "This can be considered my first execution of a special task in life. That year, I had just turned seventeen, and I went with my first boss to kill a man named Ma Mingbao, because this person had killed his friend."

Ma Mingbao's elder brother is the captain of the criminal police team in our area, so many people advised the boss to let this matter go. Ma Mingbao was also willing to pay compensation, just let him state an amount. According to normal logic, the person who was killed was a thug, and from a legal standpoint, even if Ma Mingbao were arrested, he could not be sentenced to death. Moreover, he was willing to pay compensation, and the boss would not lose face; he could even gain a strong ally. However, he insisted on eliminating Ma Mingbao. I truly could not understand his motives, so I asked him during the ambush why he was so determined to do this. The boss's words have remained etched in my mind to this day; I remember every single word. He said that a thug is still a person, and as a person, one must have principles and boundaries. When brothers entrust their lives to you, you must take responsibility. Every person's life is unique and cannot be exchanged for any amount of money, so Ma Mingbao, having taken a life, must pay with his own.

This must be the sound that just came from that "ghost face". Thinking of this, cold sweat began to pour out of me in waves, and my hand holding the gun trembled involuntarily. I could even clearly see the white mist spraying from my nose, and my rapid and intense breathing indicated the fear within me. I did not know whether the gun would be lethal to this thing, so I could not determine if I would have a way to deal with it once we came face to face. I could even clearly see the white mist spraying from my nose, and my rapid and intense breathing indicated the fear within me. I did not know whether the gun would be lethal to this thing, so I could not determine if I would have a way to deal with it once we came face to face.

At this point, I have become more composed, for when you are fully aware that your death is inevitable, your mood becomes surprisingly light

Perhaps those four soldiers, like us, once set foot on this land filled with an eerie atmosphere, and thus they completely lost the chance to leave alive, while we are now repeating their actions

I took a deep breath and asked, "Did anyone see that just now?"