Chapter 10: Turning Danger into Safety

  After a while, footsteps were heard outside the door. Two guards opened the door, lit candles and walked in.

  "Have you eaten? The dishes are not bad! Eat well, this is your last meal in the world of the living. Once you're on the other side, don't come looking for us!" As they spoke, the two of them put down several rice bowls on the ground.

  Zhou Tianhao took a glance under the lamplight and saw that the two men were of different heights, one tall and one short. They looked to be in their twenties or thirties. Their clothes were tattered and patched up everywhere, with several large holes.

  "Two big brothers, would you please feed us?" Tian Hao said with a pleading tone.

  "You guys are really enjoying yourselves! We didn't even have anyone to feed us when we were young. Don't be ungrateful, it's already good that you have food to eat." The two of them got a bit angry.

  "You guys eat this meal instead. Anyway, we're tied up and can't eat. It seems that we'll only be able to eat after we report to King Yan in the underworld. At that time, we'll tell King Yan that you two brothers ate our last meal on earth for us." Tian Hao sighed.

  "Aren't you cursing us? Who said we wanted to eat your food? If it weren't for the custom of serving a farewell meal, this food would have been sent to you, and we would have eaten it halfway. Don't bother, whether you eat or not is up to you." The two put down their rice bowls and were about to leave.

  "Hey, brothers, in order not to starve to death, would you please untie the rope for us? Leaving one hand free is fine too! After we finish eating, you can tie us up again."

  "If I untie you, what if you run away?" One of them stopped in his tracks and turned around.

  "We want to run but can't even if we wanted to, don't you see that our legs are still tied up?"

  "It's also good. Big brother, why don't we untie their hands and let them eat first? After they finish eating, we can tie them up again. We'll accumulate some good karma too, so they won't come back to haunt us after they're gone!" The shorter guard suggested to the taller one.

  The tall guard thought for a moment and said, "Alright." The two of them walked over to Tian Hao and Aqui and untied their ropes. Tian Hao took advantage of the dim candlelight to give Aqui a signal, and Aqui immediately understood. As soon as they had just untied the ropes from their hands, Tian Hao and Aqui seized the opportunity when no one was paying attention to slip the ropes around the guards' necks. With just a slight tug, the two men let out loud cries.

  "Spare our lives! Spare our lives..." The two begged for mercy.

  "Quickly untie the ropes on our legs!" Tian Hao shouted loudly.

  "Yes, yes, yes." The two of them didn't dare to be slow and quickly untied the ropes from Tianhao's and Aqui's legs.

  "I'm asking you a few questions and I want you to answer truthfully, otherwise you'll be meeting the King of Hell today." Tian Hao's voice was not loud but his tone was extremely severe.

  "Yes, yes, yes! We must tell the truth!" The two knelt on the ground, not daring to lift their heads to look at them.

  "What's the name of that big guy just now, who is your leader?"

  "Call, call Xiong Erpao." The guard who was relatively close by on the other side of the wall replied in a trembling voice.

  "What deal are they going to make tonight?"

  "It's about exchanging the baby."

  "What treasure?" Tian Hao asked loudly.

  "This, this... we don't know."

  "Really don't know?" Tian Hao pulled the rope in his hand back and forth, tightening the ropes around their necks again.

  "Brother, no, sir, we really don't know." The two begged.

  "Where did this baby come from?"

  "It's from Zhiguai"

  "'Branch pot'?" Tianhao was puzzled.

  "It's tomb raiding, we call it 'branch pot' in our line of work. Tonight is about exchanging the treasures we dug up from the tomb."

  "Exchange with whom?"

  "Grandpa, please spare us. I have a mother over 70 years old at home. We really didn't know, these are the mountain's secrets, only the people at home know." One of them said while kowtowing.

  "We wouldn't dare tell a half-truth! I also have a two-year-old child at home." Another person was also busy kowtowing.

  "Alright, I'll let you off...". Tianhao hadn't even finished speaking when the two of them knocked their heads again and said: "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

  "I'm not finished yet. After we leave, I'm afraid you two won't be able to keep your lives either. How about this: you take us down the mountain and I'll give you some traveling expenses as a gift. You can go back home too and stop doing these immoral things here. There will be retribution sooner or later. Are you willing?" Tian Hao asked.

  "Agreed!"

  "I'm willing too!" The two replied in unison, extremely delighted.

  "Go, first take back our horses and packages." Zhou Tianhao untied the ropes on the two men's bodies and followed them to where the horses and packages were. Zhou Tianhao checked the luggage and found that not many things were missing. Because Zhou Tianhao had put the valuable things in a place that others wouldn't think of - inside the saddle. At this time, all the people in the yard had been gathered by Er Dangjia to perform tasks, leaving only two guards to watch over Zhou Tianhao and Ah Gui. The two guards brought two more horses, and the four of them rode down the mountain together.

  When they reached the foot of the mountain, Zhou Tianhao gave each of the two guards ten taels of silver and parted ways with them. The two were extremely grateful.

  Tianhao said to Aqui: "Aqui, we still have one more thing to take care of, and we need to hurry up."

  "What's going on, young master? We've already been delayed for quite some time on this road." Aqui said in puzzlement.

  "We've discovered their illicit dealings, which are against the law. It seems that with just our own strength, it's difficult to stop them. We'll report this matter to the authorities, what do you think?" Tian Hao and Ah Gui discussed.

  "Aqui thought for a moment and analyzed: 'If we go to report to the authorities directly, they may ask us many things, who knows, it might cause a lot of trouble, delay our journey, besides, we don't have any real evidence!'"

  "You're a clever kid! Why don't we put things in black and white, and send them the letter of accusation?" Tian Hao praised Aqui.

  "This is a good idea! But how can we inform them?" Aqui was at a loss.

  "Look, I just praised you and then got confused. Can't stand the praise!" Tianhao teased Aqui, "Let's go, I have my own way."