799: Chapter 799 If oaths were effective, what would be the point of having police?

Ye Chen's vision went black, and when he opened his eyes again, he had returned to the stone chamber.

The blood coffin was still there, but the copper bell had burst open, and the Talismans on it had vanished as well.

Ye Chen sighed.

At this moment, he also understood the sequence of events leading to this.

It turned out... that scumbag had run away, truly abandoning Zi Yan all by herself.

In the end, Zi Yan was forcibly dragged back by the wealthy landlord's son to be married.

But that night, she committed suicide while wearing a red dress.

Consequently, the landlord had someone perform a ritual to seal her here.

As for the torn map fragments in her hand, they belonged to Zi Yan's husband. The sorcerer had pointed out that her resentment was too heavy, which was why he told the landlord to place them there.

And this... was the reason she was imprisoned there, never to be reincarnated for eternity.

Ye Chen lowered his head and looked at the woman in the coffin.

The woman was still keeping her eyes closed, wearing a blood-colored wedding dress and a phoenix coronet.

But on her face... there was a hint of a smile.

Ye Chen gripped the torn map fragments in his hand and said softly.

"Rest in peace."

After speaking, he turned and walked out of the stone chamber.

Behind him, inside the blood coffin, the woman's body turned into specks of red light and dissipated into the air.

The blood coffin also collapsed, turning into a pile of dust.

...

Ye Chen walked out of the passage and returned to the back of the mountain.

Yan Qingwu immediately stepped forward to meet him.

"How did it go? Did you get the item?"

Ye Chen nodded, took the four torn map fragments out of his pocket, and waved them in front of her. "Got them all."

Yan Qingwu's eyes lit up instantly.

The old man's eyes widened even further, and he looked completely distraught.

"You... you really got the things inside?"

"That's impossible!"

"I've studied this for over a hundred years and couldn't get in, how could you possibly..."

Ye Chen glanced at him and cut him off: "I told you, you're trash."

The old man: "..." Humiliation! Naked humiliation!

Yan Qingwu couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"By the way, what was inside?"

Ye Chen thought for a moment and said casually: "A pitiful woman."

Yan Qingwu was stunned: "Huh?"

Ye Chen didn't explain further; he put the four torn map fragments away and shoved them into his pocket.

"Let's go, time to head back."

"We'll talk about tonight's business when we return."

Seeing that he didn't want to say more, Yan Qingwu didn't press him and nodded.

Ye Chen took two steps, then suddenly stopped and turned to look at the old man who was still frozen in mid-air: "By the way, how do you think we should deal with him?"

Upon hearing this, the old man's face turned green.

"Little... no, Mr. Ye! Master Ye! Please spare me!"

"I swear, I will never harm anyone ever again!"

"I'll go back to my grave and never come out again!"

Ye Chen couldn't help but laugh. "Swear an oath?"

The old man nodded desperately: "Yes! I swear!"

"If swearing an oath were useful, what would we need the police for?"

Ye Chen dropped that line speechlessly, then looked at Yan Qingwu.

"Qingwu, make a call and have the Dragon Group come over to take him away."

"Check if this guy has any criminal records from two or three hundred years ago, and while you're at it, see if he's of any use."

"If he's useless, just find a place to bury him alive."

The old man was so scared his soul nearly flew out of his body. Wait, no? That's too ridiculous!

It's true I've lived for over three hundred years, but you're not even letting go of records from two or three hundred years ago? Not to mention whether you can even find them, but at the very least, what I did back then is none of your business, is it?

But he didn't dare say that out loud, instead he shouted in a panic.

"No, no, no!"

"I'm useful! I'm really useful!"

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow: "Oh? What use are you?"

"Because of the cultivation technique I practice, I need to live in ancient tombs, so..."

"I know the locations of many ancient tombs!"

The old man was so anxious his voice cracked. "I've lived for three hundred years, from the end of the Ming Dynasty until now. I've explored no less than a hundred ancient tombs, large and small, across the world. I know where the good stuff is!"

"Should have said so earlier." Ye Chen glanced at him. "However, being useful isn't something you just say; it's something you prove. When the Dragon Group people ask you questions later, you better answer them honestly. If you dare to play any tricks..."

He paused and gave a kind smile. "I'll just bury you back in that grave of yours and seal it shut, letting you truly be a dead person for the rest of your life."

The old man's face turned as white as paper, and he nodded frantically: "Definitely, definitely! I will absolutely tell you everything I know!!!"

Yan Qingwu had already taken out her phone and dialed Meng Chuan's number.

"At the back of the mountain at Guanxing Temple on Qingniu Mountain, there's a tomb-robbing old man who has lived for three hundred years. Send people to take him away, lock him in the special interrogation room, and arrange for someone to take his statement."

"Remember to use locking shackles, otherwise he has the strength to escape."

Meng Chuan's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Understood! Bringing people up right away!"

She hung up the phone. Yan Qingwu looked at the old man suspiciously: "Are you sure this guy is really useful?"

"We'll know if he's useful after interrogating him." Ye Chen shrugged, "Anyway, we've got nothing to lose."

Tianyang Zi stood to the side, still in a daze.

He had been tormented by black energy for half a year. Tonight, not only was he completely freed from its control, but he had also witnessed a three-hundred-year-old Nascent Soul Stage monster crawl out of a grave, only to be frozen in place by Ye Chen using a single Talisman... He felt that all the strange things he had experienced in his life combined didn't add up to what happened tonight.

"Mr. Ye..." He calmed himself down, then took a deep breath, walked up to Ye Chen, and bowed deeply. "This poor Taoist, Tianyang Zi, thanks Mr. Ye for saving my life."

Ye Chen waved his hand: "I was originally here for that cliff face anyway, just helped you out while I was at it."

"To Mr. Ye, it may have been a simple gesture, but to this poor Taoist and everyone at Guanxing Temple, it is a debt of gratitude for saving our lives."

Tianyang Zi said solemnly, "In the future, if Mr. Ye has any needs, just give the order, and this poor Taoist will certainly do his utmost."

Ye Chen stretched: "Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Get some rest and don't let yourself get possessed again."

Tianyang Zi agreed repeatedly. Ye Chen and the other walked straight out of the back of the mountain.

Tianyang Zi watched their departing figures and sighed.

He had to admit... this Dragon Group deputy leader was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

How could he not be terrifying? He even rubbed a Nascent Soul monster into the ground...

At this moment, the fat and Thin Taoists slowly woke up. They discovered that Ye Chen and the other were gone, but the old man was still there, and they panicked.

"Ab... Abbot, did that Mr. Ye lose?"

"It's over! It's over! We're going to meet our ancestors soon!"

Upon hearing this, Tianyang Zi's face darkened: "What nonsense are you spouting? How could a person as powerful as Mr. Ye lose? Instead, it's you two who are simply embarrassing Xingchen Temple."

The fat and Thin Taoists suddenly realized. But upon hearing Tianyang Zi's words, they subconsciously looked at their own crotches. Good grief! Both of them had peed themselves!

When Ye Chen and the other reached the foot of the mountain, Meng Chuan had already arrived with his people.

Meng Chuan had a young agent drive them back to the station.

Before long, the car drove into the station of the Nanxun branch.

It was an inconspicuous four-story building with a sign hanging outside that read "Nanxun Cultural Relics Management Office," and there wasn't even a security guard at the entrance.

If one didn't know the inside story, anyone would think this place was just an ordinary public institution.

Ye Chen pushed the door open and got out, followed Yan Qingwu into the building, and came to the conference room.

Yan Qingwu walked to the table, pushed the clutter aside, and cleared off the tabletop: "Take out the torn map fragments."

Ye Chen took the four fragments out of his pocket and spread them out on the table one by one.

The four torn map fragments had interlocking edges, like a shattered jigsaw puzzle.

Yan Qingwu leaned over, her gaze carefully sweeping over those lines, her brows slightly furrowed: "These patterns seem to be more than just a simple map."

"They are indeed not simple." Ye Chen also leaned in, reaching out to adjust the position of two of the fragments, making their edges fit together perfectly.

"This is a type of ancient topographical locking pattern. It's not just a simple map, but a positioning chart that combines terrain, the direction of ley lines, and even some kind of Feng Shui layout."

Yan Qingwu only half-understood, but she knew that Ye Chen never spoke without certainty when it came to these things: "Then can you tell where the location is?"

Ye Chen didn't answer immediately. He first pieced the four fragments together, then took out his phone and took four panoramic photos.

Yan Qingwu was stunned: "What are you taking pictures for? To print them out and study them?"

"Print?" Ye Chen didn't even look up, his fingers sliding rapidly across the screen, "That's too slow."

Yan Qingwu: "???"

"I'm hacking directly into the National Geographic Information Center's database." Ye Chen added, "Of course, after I'm done hacking, you help me smooth things over afterwards."

Yan Qingwu was taken aback: "You... are hacking directly with your phone?"

"What else?" Ye Chen finally raised his head and shook the phone in his hand, "Don't forget who I am. A mere geographic database is a matter of minutes."

Yan Qingwu: "..."

Seems like that's right! Ye Chen hasn't done this kind of thing just once or twice. Not long ago, didn't he cause quite a stir in Eagle Country? Furthermore, she had long since gotten used to Ye Chen's various outrageous operations.

Ye Chen lowered his head and continued operating, his fingers dancing rapidly on the screen. But to Yan Qingwu, the screen was just a mess of garbled code and image data scrolling frantically; let alone understanding it, she struggled to even see it clearly...

Suddenly! Ye Chen stopped, then turned the phone screen toward Yan Qingwu: "Found it."

Yan Qingwu leaned in to look; on the screen was a satellite topographic map. Marked on the map was a red coordinate point... Greater Khingan Mountains, Tianzhu Peak!