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"Li Dong, are you sure Little Master is really coming?"
Outside the ruins, the once fearless exploration team now huddled together, their eyes still filled with fear.
"Didn't you hear it in the live stream earlier? Besides, whether Little Master comes or not isn't up to us," Li Dong couldn't help but roll his eyes.
These people had only cared about saving themselves earlier, completely forgetting about him. If it weren't for Little Master saving him, he would have died inside, and they wouldn't have even known.
Indeed, adversity reveals true character—this saying couldn't be more accurate.
"It's... it's just that you have a better relationship with the master. We can only ask you."
"Hmph..." Li Dong felt a bit smug at the mention of his "good relationship." "Little Master is someone who keeps her word. If she says she'll come, she will. Don't wander off, or if something happens, don't blame me for not warning you."
Since being rescued, Li Dong hadn't even realized how much he had turned into a loyal lackey.
His companions, however, saw it clearly. They glanced at each other, suddenly curious about what had happened to make the usually arrogant Li Dong act so subservient. The pride on his face was almost blinding.
But they didn't dare ask. After all, the fact that they had left him behind wasn't something they could easily brush off.
If they pressed too much, Li Dong would definitely lose his temper. So, they could only itch with curiosity.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached at a steady pace.
The surroundings were already quiet, so even the slightest movement was noticeable. The group, already on edge, immediately turned to look.
However, when they saw who it was, they were stunned. Those faces had been on their phone screens just minutes ago.
"Lit... Little Master!" Li Dong's reaction was even more exaggerated. He shot to his feet, only to wince in pain as his injuries flared up.
"You came so fast! I thought we'd have to wait a while," Li Dong said, his eyes filled with confusion.
After all, this place was at least half an hour away from the capital. But how long had it been since the live stream ended? Ten minutes?
Yao Yao didn't answer directly. Instead, her gaze fell on the ruins—a half-buried ancient castle.
The rounded turrets and peeling walls exuded an air of decay, as if time itself had worn them down. Around the castle stood withered trees, with black crows perched on the branches, cawing harshly.
Even without using her mystic vision, Yao Yao could sense the faint traces of yin energy lingering in the air. She couldn't help but glance at Li Dong.
This place was so ominous, yet they had dared to charge in. It was hard to tell if they were truly fearless or just foolish.
"We... we did hesitate about whether to go in or not. But so many people had gone in before without any issues, so we..."
Li Dong noticed the unspoken question in Little Master's eyes and awkwardly scratched his head, his voice trailing off.
"Those people were fine because they didn't have anything that would provoke the vengeful spirit. But you're different," Yao Yao said, her round eyes scanning the group before settling on a chubby young man.
"Little brother, did you get something tattooed that you shouldn't have?"
As soon as she said this, everyone's eyes turned to the young man. The chubby guy, now the center of attention, trembled, his face paling.
"I... I..." he stammered, his voice shaky and his eyes filled with panic.
His reaction made it clear that he was hiding something. Li Dong's expression darkened, and he snapped, "Zheng Hang, we're at a critical moment here. Stop beating around the bush. Are you trying to get us all killed?"
The thought that his near-death experience might have been caused by a companion's carelessness filled him with anger, and his tone was far from polite.
As the leader of the group, Li Dong usually carried some authority. Under his stern gaze, Zheng Hang, the chubby guy, finally spilled the beans.
"I... I did get something tattooed."
Under everyone's scrutiny, he knew there was no escaping it. He took off his dusty jacket, revealing his back. There, covering his entire back, was a detailed tattoo of Guan Gong.
"Holy crap, Hang, you're a real piece of work!"
"No wonder you've been wearing long sleeves all summer while everyone else is in T-shirts. Aren't you afraid your mom will kill you?"
The others, seeing this for the first time, couldn't help but comment.
"You think I'm not scared? I'm terrified," Zheng Hang said, on the verge of tears. He explained that he had stumbled upon tattoo videos online and thought they looked cool, so he decided to give it a try.
However, he hadn't expected to fall into a scam. While he was asleep during the tattoo session, the artist had changed the design from a small dragon knife to a full-back Guan Gong, extorting nearly two thousand yuan from him—all his savings.
Since the tattoo was fresh and still swollen, he couldn't get it removed immediately. Plus, he didn't have the money to do so, so he had put it off.
He had planned to borrow money from friends to get it removed, but then he heard about the possibility of finding antiques. He thought if he got lucky and found something valuable, he wouldn't need to borrow money and might even save up. So, he decided to join the exploration first.
If he didn't find anything, he would ask for help. But who knew things would go so wrong?
After hearing his explanation, everyone was speechless.
Li Dong couldn't hold back and cursed, "You idiot! Why didn't you report it to the police if you knew it was a scam?"
"I was afraid my parents would find out if it got too big. If they did, I'd really be dead," Zheng Hang replied, his face crumpled in despair.
Great, a classic case of being both cowardly and reckless—a perfect target for scams!
Li Dong clenched and unclenched his fists several times before finally managing to suppress his anger.
He turned to Yao Yao. "Little Master, you said the thing that provoked the vengeful spirit was this tattoo? But so many people have tattoos. Why did we run into trouble?"
Gu Yu also looked over curiously. After all, he had once considered getting a tattoo but had been stopped by his manager.
"Tattoos themselves aren't the problem. It's what he got tattooed that's wrong," Yao Yao explained, shaking her head.
"There's a saying in the tattoo world: 'Dragons shouldn't cross the shoulders, tigers shouldn't descend the mountain, Guanyin with closed eyes won't save the world, and Guan Gong with open eyes will surely kill.'"
These are the rules of tattooing. If a person's fate isn't strong enough, they can't bear the weight of such designs. Failing to do so can lead to constant misfortune or even sudden death.
The saying about Guan Gong with open eyes being a killer is true. Guan Gong, known for his fierce loyalty and martial prowess, carried immense killing intent in life. After his death, he was enshrined as a god of war, inheriting his vengeful nature.
He kills people when he sees them, and he kills ghosts when he encounters them.
So, carrying this deity into a vengeful spirit's lair is like planting a bomb at their doorstep. Tell me, should they kill you or not?
"The person who scammed you into getting this tattoo didn't even follow the industry rules?"
Yao Yao's expression turned serious. Every profession has its rules. You can run a scam, but you can't cross the line into endangering lives.
The former is just unethical, but the latter is outright murder and can land you in jail.
At this point, Zheng Hang looked uneasy. He glanced at Little Master. Despite her young age, her piercing black eyes made it impossible for him to lie.
He admitted honestly, "Little... Little Master, the tattoo artist said they were giving me a closed-eyed Guan Gong. But..."
"But what? Spit it out!" The others, seeing him hesitate, grew impatient.
Zheng Hang took a deep breath and said, "But they said I was too fat, and it stretched Guan Gong's eyes open."