Night had entirely fallen.
Birds uttered eerie cries, and a stifling atmosphere hung over the forested mountain.
Dong Xuebing had no idea that a team had already been dispatched to search for him. He wouldn’t have slowed down to wait for them even if he had known. Instead, he moved quickly, almost running, toward the excavation site of the ancient tomb. When he arrived, the scene was a mess. Equipment was scattered all over the ground, toppled and askew, clearly left behind in a hurried evacuation. He glanced at a few excavated burial chambers—thankfully, there were no signs of damage. It appeared the tomb raiders hadn’t reached this area yet.
After thoroughly inspecting the surroundings, Dong Xuebing confirmed the tomb was still intact.
A weight lifted from his heart. There was only one thing left to do now. He gazed into the depths of the mountains and started walking.
Dong Xuebing discovered the first looting tunnel far north of the excavation site. Shovels and other tools were scattered nearby. The pit was sizable, about two meters deep, but it was filled with nothing but dirt—clearly, there was no tomb chamber underneath. A wasted effort.
Another ten minutes later.
It was another empty pit. The tomb raiders had found nothing.
Then Dong Xuebing noticed a dark stain on the ground about twenty meters west of the tunnel. As he got closer, he realized it was blood. This must have been where the local county patrol had encountered the tomb raiders, resulting in a gunfight. The blood likely belonged to the county officers. Seeing this, Dong Xuebing’s face turned colder.
Coming to our county to cause trouble? I’ll make sure you pay the price.
Somewhere in the mountains.
Over twenty tomb raiders were huddled together in a patch of forest, discussing their next move.
“Boss, what do we do now?”
“It looks like the area below has been sealed off.”
“How are we supposed to get out?”
“We shouldn’t have fired our weapons earlier. Tomb raiding is one thing, but we’ve added assaulting police to the list. That’s a serious charge. If we get caught…”
“Sigh, we just wanted to make some money. How did things get this bad?”
“What’s the point of worrying now?”
“What if we fight our way out?”
“Yeah! If worst comes to worst, we blow up the tomb—nobody wins!”
“Exactly. A lot of us already have criminal records. If we’re caught, we’re finished. Might as well go down swinging.”
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the trees with no warning.
“Go down swinging? Let’s see just how you plan to do that.” Dong Xuebing stepped out from behind a tree, eyes fixed on the twenty-some men.
The tomb raiders were startled at first, instinctively reaching for their weapons. But when they saw that Dong Xuebing was by himself, they relaxed.
The gang leader’s eyes lit up. “If we had a hostage…”
“Right! Yeah! With a hostage, we could negotiate with the police.”
“Hahaha! Just perfect. The heavens haven’t forsaken us—he walked right into our hands!”
The rest of the gang looked hopeful, eyeing Dong Xuebing up and down.
Dong Xuebing just chuckled. “You want to take me hostage? Heh. Let’s see if you’ve got the skills. Let’s see who captures who.”
Nearly eleven o’clock.
The armed police reinforcements finally arrived. After gathering intel on the scene, the squad leader frowned. Qingluan Mountain’s terrain was treacherous. The suspects were armed and numerous, and even local government officials were on the mountain, making the situation extremely complicated.
Li Zong kept glancing at his watch. He asked the county mayor, “Still no sign of him?”
Zhang Dongfang had been in constant radio contact with the team sent to protect Secretary Dong. But they hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Dong Xuebing. “Still missing. I’ve already ordered them to come down the mountain… They’re down now.” He looked toward the forest.
Two or three dozen county police officers emerged. “Mayor Zhang, Director Chang, we still haven’t found Secretary Dong. Nor have we located the suspects. The mountain is just too vast. Unless we spread out and widen the search, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Chang Lin looked pale. “Could something have happened?”
Zhang Dongfang tried to reassure himself. “Impossible. Everyone knows Secretary Dong can handle himself.”
“But even a skilled fighter can’t beat four people at once. And he’s alone—those guys have guns,” Chang Lin said grimly. With his years of dealing with criminals, he’d seen too much to be optimistic.
Zhang Dongfang said, “But we didn’t hear gunfire. That means he’s okay. He must be okay.”
The atmosphere at the scene was heavy. Many people were genuinely worried for Secretary Dong.
Seeing this, Li Zong muttered: This Dong Xuebing is a troublemaker. You think just because you’re tough, bullets won’t hurt you? Going after armed suspects by yourself, and you don’t even know where they are!
So Li Zong conferred with the armed police, and they quickly finalized a plan: everyone else would continue holding the perimeter, while the armed unit would go up the mountain to flush out the tomb raiders.
“Move out!” came the order.
Dozens of officers readied their weapons and set off.
Just then, sounds drifted down from the mountain—cries of pain, voices, and footsteps. The noises grew closer, bit by bit.
“Someone’s coming down.”
Click-clack—a chorus of weapons being cocked.
Instantly, dozens of gun barrels pointed toward the direction of the noise, ready for anything.
A few minutes later, the first head emerged, the second, and the third.
They were all in civilian clothes, tattered and dirty. Some were limping. Others had dislocated shoulders. Visible injuries covered their bodies, especially their faces. Nearly everyone looked beaten to a pulp, swollen like pigs’ heads. It was a pitiful sight.
These were the tomb raiders.
The armed police shouted.
Over twenty people emerged. None of them resisted—they stood there, obediently.
Some tomb raiders looked up at the night sky, and tears streamed down their cheeks. Some even began to sob.
Bringing up the rear was Dong Xuebing.
Only then did the others realize: It was Secretary Dong who subdued them. He had captured over twenty armed criminals by himself. Without handcuffs. Without ropes. And somehow got them to march down obediently. Some were even crying!
These weren’t just any criminals.
They were the type who dared to open fire on police!
And now? Dong Xuebing had beaten them until they were weeping.