With Yu Yan joining the fight, Xiao Wu's side wrapped things up quickly. As Zhao Xiao's neck was snapped by Xiao Wu, the black fog that had blocked their vision gradually dispersed.
Like a death-dealing demon, the Profound Ice Chain shot outward, piercing through the still-standing Bandits amid their pleas for mercy and harvesting their lives without pity.
Because they still needed information, Yu Yan deliberately spared the most terrified Bandit when he finished off the survivors.
"Yu Yan, Xiao Wu, you two are incredible."
After the battle, Bai Chenxiang—looking at Yu Yan and Xiao Wu, who barely had a scratch on them—couldn't help sighing in admiration.
"It's nothing, really. It's not that we're strong; it's that these Bandits are too weak."
Carrying on Yu Yan's modesty, Xiao Wu didn't laugh and boast about her prowess; she credited the victory to the Bandits' weakness.
Hearing Xiao Wu call the Bandits weak, Bai Chenxiang wanted to say a lot but didn't know how.
Claim the Bandits were strong?
Yet they hadn't lasted long against Yu Yan and Xiao Wu.
Say they were weak?
Recalling the Bandits' performance moments ago, Bai Chenxiang truly couldn't call them weak.
"Do you want to live?"
As he retracted the Profound Ice Chain, the terrified survivor was dragged before Yu Yan, who tossed the man a single question.
This Bandit was a First Ring Spirit Master at Rank 19—not weak and well dressed. He probably held a high position among them and should know plenty.
"Yes, I want to live!"
Hearing the demon in front of him, the Bandit—half unhinged with fright—bobbed his head and shouted his plea.
"Good. Answer my questions and I'll spare you."
Seeing the man wanted to live, Yu Yan nodded in satisfaction. As long as he clung to life, there was always a way to pry information out; only the truly unafraid were trouble.
If answering questions meant survival, the Bandit eagerly nodded, promising to speak without holding anything back.
"Tell me about this tomb."
Yu Yan asked a broad question, and the desperate Bandit began, trembling, to recount what he knew about the mountain tomb.
Xiao Wu and Bai Chenxiang dropped the idea of scouring the battlefield and came over to listen quietly.
According to him, they had discovered this large mountain tomb two years earlier. The whole excavation had been led by the second chief, Zhao Xiao.
Generations of Zhao Xiao's family had been tomb-robbers; he had located the tomb and dug the narrow passage into it.
The tunnel was cramped because that was the only way Zhao Xiao knew how to dig. Suggestions to widen it were vetoed by him, citing safety concerns.
Zhao Xiao only knew this size was safe; whether enlarging it remained safe, he couldn't say.
They had unearthed many valuable items, all fenced off for coin. The gold coins were nearly spent—one can't expect Bandits to save; they usually squandered every coin the day they got it.
The three Bandit chiefs owed their high Spirit Power Levels chiefly to resources found inside the tomb.
From artifacts and books recovered, they deduced the owner had been a king of a realm that existed before the Hagendas Kingdom.
The Hagendas Kingdom had stood for over six hundred years, so the tomb was at least that old.
After more than two years of meticulous plunder, only the king's burial chamber remained unexplored.
The reason: a two-thousand-year-old Corpse Ghost Vine grew across the entrance.
A variant of the Ghost Vine, it thrives amid piles of corpses, possesses fierce vitality and aggression, and will attack any intruder without rest.
Unwilling to share the richest chamber, the three chiefs schemed to battle the vine over a prolonged campaign.
After relentless harassment the vine was showing fatigue; in half a year they expected to break through and seize the tomb's greatest treasure.
The tale was simple, but the frightened Bandit took over half an hour to stammer it all out.
"So the reason these Bandits kept hidden and acted oddly was tomb-robbing," Xiao Wu mused, finally getting an answer—unsatisfying, but an answer all the same.
"A two-thousand-year Corpse Ghost Vine we can handle, especially one worn down like this."
"Right, Xiao Wu—end him."
Having learned the tomb's layout, Yu Yan meant to seize the burial chamber's treasures. Because he had promised to spare the Bandit, he let Xiao Wu deliver the killing blow.
With a casual gesture Xiao Wu took the Bandit's life, completing the extermination.
"But this is a tomb of the dead. Isn't what we're doing wrong?" Bai Chenxiang asked, hoping to dissuade the eager Yu Yan and Xiao Wu from disturbing the dead.
"It's fine. We'll only take the items, not desecrate the corpse."
Yu Yan had no qualms about tomb-robbing; indeed, after reading classic grave-robber novels, he rather looked forward to what treasures might await.
Xiao Wu felt the same and backed his plan, equally hopeful for a windfall.
"But… this…" Bai Chenxiang hesitated, torn.
Seeing her dilemma, Yu Yan decided, "All right, Xiao Bai, wait here for us. Xiao Wu and I will be back shortly."
Her own pride forbade Bai Chenxiang to join or condone such an act.
Everyone has principles; Yu Yan had his—like refusing to con poor families into buying a shoddy milk-tea franchise.
So he respected her stance, yet would not abandon his chosen course.
"Relax. Rest here and don't overthink it."
Xiao Wu patted Bai Chenxiang's shoulder, then walked with Yu Yan toward the depths of the tomb, following the route the Bandit had described.