Following Liu Xingxing’s directions, Li Ziyu brought the Mobile Fortress to a clearing...

Li Ziyu glanced at the clearing outside the window, then turned to look at Liu Xingxing, then back at the clearing again. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. ’Last time, this guy led me to someone’s ancestral burial ground. At least there were sticks stuck in the ground, so I knew what it was. This time, it’s just a clearing with absolutely nothing in it.’

’To be fair, saying there’s *absolutely* nothing isn’t quite right. There are a few sparse tufts of grass.’

"Are you sure there’s treasure here?" Li Ziyu sighed. He felt like he’d been duped again.

Liu Xingxing sidled up to Li Ziyu and peered out at the clearing. He pulled up his system and fiddled with it for a moment before nodding earnestly. "This is the spot, Big Bro. It’s a treasure hunt, right? Treasure isn’t just going to be sitting on the surface, or else everyone would find it. We have to dig. It’s down below."

’What you’re saying makes perfect sense. I can’t even argue with that.’

Before starting the excavation, Li Ziyu surveyed the area. He confirmed it wasn’t another ancestral grave or some other kind of "forbidden ground." He then had the Undead scout the vicinity. They found no traces of any nearby Tribes, only small animals like mice and rabbits. Only then did he relax.

’Since he says there’s treasure underground, and we’re already here, we might as well dig and see.’ With a wave of his hand, he sent the Undead out to excavate the clearing ahead.

Upon receiving the order, the Skeleton Undead immediately stirred. They left the fortress in droves and swarmed into the clearing, where they began to dig without any specific direction.

The Undead were not professional miners, nor did they have suitable tools. They flung dirt about with their bony claws, kicking up dust but making little progress. It was a pathetic sight, watching them try to dig with their bare hands. Fortunately, the Undead didn’t mind; they diligently went about their "work," goofing off in earnest.

As one Undead was digging, its claws suddenly struck something hard. It picked the object up and examined it. It was a bone, likely from some kind of beast. Having found something, the Undead held the bone high and ran back to the fortress, presenting it to Li Ziyu.

Based on the Undead’s assessment, the owner of the bone must have been dead for a very long time, so long that all its flesh had vanished, leaving only the skeleton.

"Keep digging!"

Li Ziyu wasn’t surprised to see a bone. The wilds had claimed countless creatures; bones buried beneath the soil were hardly a rare sight.

Having received its orders, the Undead immediately ran back to where it had found the bone and began to scrabble at the dirt again. Perhaps motivated by its earlier discovery, the Undead dug with much greater Speed. It soon uncovered more bones, pulling them from the earth and tossing them aside.

The Undead didn’t stop until it unearthed the skull. It then gathered its brethren, and together they carried the excavated bones back to the Mobile Fortress. They placed the pile of bones before their Lord, their Soul Fires flickering.

Li Ziyu examined the find. It was a complete skeleton of a Wild Beast, likely a Big-Horned Bull or something similar. It was equivalent to three units of Skeleton.

’Getting three units of Skeleton just from a little digging... Not a bad deal.’ Li Ziyu raised an eyebrow and glanced at Liu Xingxing, who was now curiously studying the bones, trying to piece the skeleton back together.

"So what exactly is the treasure here?" Li Ziyu asked, rubbing his chin.

"Heh heh, there are tons of bones buried under here." Liu Xingxing paused in his efforts to assemble the beast’s skeleton, turning to flash a sunny smile in response.

’Last time, he led me to an ancestral grave. This time, the "treasure" is a massive amount of bones.’ Li Ziyu stroked his chin, watching Liu Xingxing go back to diligently assembling the skeleton. A suspicion began to form in his mind. ’This guy’s treasure hunting... he must be able to specify what he’s looking for. Otherwise, it’s impossible that the last two spots he found were an ancestral grave and a Burial Ground.’

’Treasure hunting is for treasure—gold, silver, jewels. Who goes treasure hunting by actively seeking out graves and cemeteries to dig up?’

’Unless he’s doing it on purpose.’

’Now this is a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think he had an ability like this. Targeted treasure hunting... Interesting.’

Li Ziyu recalled the mission he had given Liu Xingxing. He had only mentioned it in passing—that it would be great if he could find Skeletons or corpses, but that he wouldn’t be blamed if he couldn’t. Liu Xingxing was a newly transmigrated Lord who wasn’t even familiar with his own fortress, let alone the wider world. Back then, Li Ziyu had assumed his treasure hunting was just a matter of luck.

Only now did he realize he’d struck gold. Liu Xingxing’s ability was a treasure in itself. If properly developed, would he ever have to worry about resources again?

’Whatever I need, I can just have him find it!’

Li Ziyu could practically see a future filled with light... er, filled with Darkness... no, that wasn’t quite right either. A tomorrow filled with hope.

After the first Undead dug up a skeleton, a second and then a third followed. A continuous stream of bones was excavated and brought back to the fortress, almost all of them belonging to Big-Horned Bulls.

’Was an entire herd of bulls buried in this clearing?’

’Or do Big-Horned Bulls have a habit similar to elephants, seeking out a special graveyard when they’re about to die?’

Li Ziyu watched the bones being hauled over, puzzled. He turned and posed the question to Liu Xingxing. Since he was the one who found the spot, it was only natural to ask him.

The answer wasn’t really important. Li Ziyu was just bored. Digging up bones was nothing like hunting; it lacked all the passion and thrill. There was no danger, just a lot of waiting. He didn’t actually expect an answer from Liu Xingxing. After all, this was the guy who’d been ready to lead him to dig up an ancestral grave. If he’d had any clue what that place was, he wouldn’t have been foolish enough to go there in the first place.

"Oh, according to my scans, this area was probably a swamp or something like it a long time ago. That’s why the animals buried here are so well-preserved," Liu Xingxing explained without looking up, clearly engrossed in assembling the skeleton.

’Oh, a swamp. That would explain why we’re digging up a whole herd of Big-Horned Bulls. They must have wandered into the swamp by accident, gotten stuck, and died.’

’Wait... if he knew this place used to be a swamp, then what about the graveyard before?’

’Don’t tell me he knew that was a graveyard and was trying to set me up?’

Li Ziyu watched Liu Xingxing assemble the skeleton, his eyes slowly narrowing. If his suspicions were correct, he would have to be wary of him.

He had seen plenty of people like that in his past life: a sunny exterior hiding a belly full of schemes. Just because someone has a pretty face doesn’t mean they have a good heart.

The restraints of the Conqueror Contract had caused Li Ziyu to lower his guard around Liu Xingxing, but now, his vigilance was back up.

The Conqueror Contract gave Li Ziyu power over Liu Xingxing’s life and death, but it didn’t give him control over his thoughts.

Feeling a murderous aura from behind him, Liu Xingxing shuddered. He turned his neck stiffly to look at Li Ziyu. "Bi-Bi-Big Bro, what’s wrong? D-don’t scare me! If I did something wrong, just tell me. I’ll fix it, okay?"

In the previous battle, Li Ziyu had personally finished off Ah Mu, and it had coated him in a baleful aura. That, combined with his narrowed eyes, was almost enough to make Liu Xingxing wet himself.

A Warrior who has been to battle and killed is completely different from one who hasn’t. They carry a special kind of presence.

"You knew this place might be a swamp... so what about the ancestral grave? Did you know about that, too?" Li Ziyu asked slowly after a moment of silence.

’I can’t control your thoughts, so I’ll just ask you directly. If you dare lie to me, you’ll just have to face the contract’s punishment!’

Several Skeleton Undead and Skeleton Warriors sensed the change in their City Lord. They silently gripped their Weapons and moved to stand beside Liu Xingxing, their posture making it clear that they would kill him at the slightest provocation.