In a sense, Xiong Hui was truly a very qualified subject, able to forcefully attribute anything to the mandate of heaven. If it weren't for Tan Xiao doing morning exercises at school every day, he would have really believed it.

"Is that so?" Xiong Hui wasn't very concerned about this. "Then I suggest you requisition it. It's very adaptable."

Tan Xiao: "...This is something even our principal can't decide."

Tan Xiao shooed...asked Xiong Hui to go back, but Xiong Hui was reluctant.

Kong Xuan didn't like it to begin with. Don't think he didn't see Tan Xiao shaking Xiong Hui off today. Xiong Hui must have been shamelessly clinging to Tan Xiao's waist, and at that time he was busy with his damaged mask. Wasn't this taking advantage of a weak point?

In short, it was all Xiong Hui's fault. Kong Xuan walked over with a cold and handsome face, hands in his tracksuit pockets, and stepped on Xiong Hui's head. Tan Xiao at least had regard for Xiong Hui's efforts and stopped him, "It will look very suspicious if you step on air here."

"How could that be?" Kong Xuan started doing warm-up exercises on the spot, instantly blending into the atmosphere of the sports meet.

Tan Xiao: "..."

At this time, fun sports events had already started on the side, like jumping rope in a big group under the rope. Yu Zhenzhen, who was passing by to take photos, was puzzled for a second: Does Kong Xuan still have events left to finish?

"Hurry up and chase it away. Can this kind of thing appear on campus?" When Kong Xuan spoke, it seemed like it wasn't him stepping on the snake's head, but rather asking Tan Xiao to take action.

"...You really, you should go back." Tan Xiao persuaded.

Although the other party was of a divine background, Xiong Hui still retained its last shred of dignity. After all, they had taken a big step today and had been summoned by Tan Xiao. How could it lose face at this time? "We're fine, our nine heads are taking turns standing guard now."

Tan Xiao: ?? But doesn't taking turns getting hit sound even more painful!

"I still have school activities and can't go to 404 to audit. You..." Before Tan Xiao could finish, Xiong Hui, this veteran odd-jobber, immediately understood his meaning.

On the side, the jump rope event had already begun. The students took turns dashing under the constantly swinging long rope. One, two, jump--

"I will naturally go and investigate." Under Xiong Hui's head, Kong Xuan was still warming up on the spot, doing high knee lifts. It seized the opportunity. One, two, pull out--

Tan Xiao, who witnessed everything: "..." You guys even have a sense of rhythm.

Xiong Hui looked at No. 1 Middle School with lingering affection. He knew Tan Xiao was also coerced by Kong Xuan. Alas, this was taking the emperor hostage to order the princes around.

After all the sports meet events ended, Tan Xiao hurried home without stopping. As soon as he got home, he ran upstairs to the second floor and rushed into the room, his footsteps slowing down. He saw the cracks on the peacock mask, almost spanning the entire cheek, and the cracks were not shallow, almost penetrating through the middle.

Kong Xuan saw it with his own eyes, and his voice also couldn't help but deepen, "The face is ruined."

The peacock had always cared about its appearance, and this mask was equivalent to his avatar. Moreover, he even kept the paper mask Tan Xiao made himself, but instead, this first wooden mask actually cracked first.

The more he thought about it, the more disappointed he became. Kong Xuan's emotions were almost showing on his face. He cracked!!

Touching his own cheek, at the moment the mask was damaged, he himself seemed to be able to feel the sensation on his face.

Tan Xiao carefully took off the mask. The other party actually had the ability to make a move on the Nuo mask, catching them off guard. He also stroked the cracks with heartache.

He said in a low voice, "...Can we only change to another one?"

"Wait a moment, maybe there's a way." Tan Xiao said.

Kong Xuan frowned, but there was still a glimmer of hope in his eyes. After all, this was what Tan Xiao said, "What other way could there be?"

Tan Xiao took a deep breath and shouted, "Mom--"

Kong Xuan: "??"

Half a minute later, Tan Chunying ran upstairs, knocked on the door, and pushed it open. "What's up, oh...your this." Tan Chunying saw the damaged mask in Tan Xiao's hand at a glance and said in shock, "How did it crack? Did the old craftsman cut corners?"

When making Nuo masks, from the selection of materials, wood that is not easily cracked is used. There are also so many processes. Let alone Tan Xiao's new mask, even the old masks in his family for so many years would not produce such large cracks.

Tan Xiao hesitated, "There shouldn't be any cutting corners. I accidentally pressed on it."

"Wow, did you step on it and dance?" Tan Chunying took the mask and examined it. This damage made her tsk tsk in amazement. She raised her head and said mysteriously, "You will be punished by the gods for this!"

Tan Xiao: "..."

Tan Chunying's expression softened, "Hahaha, scared you didn't I?"

Kong Xuan: "............"

Tan Chunying put down the mask without any awareness, "It's time to show you a new technique. We can see if we can mend the crack. If not, we'll patch it."

In the early days, the production of Nuo masks was actually done by the shamans themselves. It was only later outsourced to craftsmen, but they naturally knew how to maintain and repair them.

Tan Xiao had never experienced patching up a face before, but since there was a way, he was relieved. "Um...Mom, can you teach me how to fix it?"

"Of course, I'm just afraid you won't have time to fix it." Tan Chunying gave him a strange look, "You have to fix it yourself?"

Tan Chunying stood very close to him, so Tan Xiao didn't dare look in Kong Xuan's direction at all. He just raised his hand and touched that crack, "I set up the altar myself, so of course I have to repair my own deity's mask myself."

Kong Xuan could feel that Tan Xiao's hand was different from his, a warm palm stroking the mask...as if it was pressed against his own cheek.

"Haha, that's good too." Tan Chunying teased, "Then don't dance on it in the future."

Tan Xiao nodded. He would definitely take good care of the mask.

......

Tan Xiao and Kong Xuan finished their evening self-study and rode their bicycles to the Laomei Temple. They had an appointment to meet today.

"Tan Xiao, you're here." An old man on the side also got off a shared bicycle. Seeing Tan Xiao, he called out his name.

Tan Xiao hesitated. He didn't recognize which Taoist priest this was. No, he didn't look like a Taoist priest either. Although he appeared at the Laomei Temple, he wasn't wearing a Taoist priest's uniform, and his hairstyle didn't look like one either.

At this time, the old man rolled up his sleeves, revealing strong arm muscles. Tan Xiao instantly recognized him, "Mr. Ji."

This was none other than Old Ji, who was in charge of the excavation work of the Chu emperor's tomb. He chuckled and nodded to Kong Xuan beside Tan Xiao, "Let's go in together and see what good things you discovered this time."

Oh right, when catching the Yorkshire Terrier during the school sports meet, Tan Xiao and the Elder Baoping unintentionally entered a tomb. They hurriedly went to find the Yorkshire Terrier at the time, but since the tomb-guarding beast of that Tang tomb seemed to have developed consciousness, and the tomb specifications also appeared quite high, there would naturally be follow-up.

When it was said excavation would be done on you later, it meant excavation would indeed be done on you. The Bureau 404 said they would invite experts for a discussion, and it turned out to be Old Ji himself who came.

As soon as Tan Xiao arrived at the office area, Xiong Hui darted out to show him the interrogation records of the Yorkshire Terrier.

Tan Xiao glanced over it. The Yorkshire Terrier was no different from the few caught before, and there was no point hoping it could confess anything. Even the whereabouts of Fang Zhu's grandma couldn't be dug out.

"How about... asking something else, like the location of the tomb." Tan Xiao glanced at Old Ji. He came over originally for archaeological matters, to locate the specific position of the Tang tomb together. But previously he only wanted to communicate with Xiong Hui and Tan Xiao.

"Like the fighting ones, it also can't reveal information about its master. But what about other aspects?" Tan Xiao pointed at the map prepared in the office, "Might as well ask about other aspects and probe further. Maybe it can reveal something?"

"Sure, there's nothing else to do anyway." Barry said.

He also found they were still helpless, which was not surprising. In fact, the primary goal of their team was actually just to arrest the Huodous and bring them to justice. This way, at least the current cases could be stopped first. The higher-ups had specially allocated manpower to search for where the Huodou souls went.

Agreeing to Tan Xiao's suggestion meant everyone was thinking of squeezing a bit more out.

"Besides, Teacher Ji, you don't know that actually it previously took us into that tomb by directly dragging our physical bodies into the tomb in the underworld." Tan Xiao said thoughtfully, "In fact, this technique of it is quite good. If learned, wouldn't tomb opening be very convenient in the future?"

Old Ji really didn't know the details. "Oh?"

"You see, previously when you cooperated with Xiong Hui, Xiong Hui after all has limitations of the times and could only go down itself. But this can drag living people down without injuring the body like soul separation. With your discerning eyes, it's better to see for yourself. There's no need to dig open the tomb, and you can grasp the situation and determine how to protect it, whether to protect on-site or excavate later." The more Tan Xiao spoke, the more intriguing it sounded.

Old Ji's eyes lit up listening to it, "This is non-invasive tomb opening!"He laughed heartily, "Good, what a good technique!"

That Yorkshire Terrier was interrogated again. It thought it would be repeatedly questioned as before and sat honestly on the ground with sparse fur. But it heard among the people who came to interrogate this time, a human old man urgently asked, "Hurry up and hand over your secret archaeology method!"

Yorkshire Terrier: "?"

......

"...This is the place." Tan Xiao located the tomb's position again according to the method the Yorkshire Terrier taught. It turned out to also be in Qiyun Ridge.

This was not surprising. After all, the Yorkshire Terrier was active and digging in that area. It probably discovered the tomb by the way. Just because it had its own primary objective, it didn't do anything to the Tang Sancai, just like the sugar sprites.

"Then let's go down and take a look together." Tan Xiao looked at Mu Fei.

Since it was like this, Mu Fei organized a team. From their office, two people would go to identify and register the tomb-guarding beast according to the old rules, bringing along an intern, Aperture.

Old Ji also wanted to represent the archaeology industry to go down. Xiong Hui shamelessly said they were also archaeological consultants and wanted to go together, but actually just wanted to follow Tan Xiao's actions.

Tan Xiao followed the Yorkshire Terrier's instructions, using lime to draw a formation on the ground. Holding a peach wood tally, he faced east, inhaling and exhaling, "...Today I pace the Big Dipper, three and five form a whole, stepping on the Xuanji and Heng..."

While chanting and placing the wooden tallies in corresponding positions, he joined his palms in a hand seal, "My spirit guides me, traveling all around!"

The group of people in the formation suddenly felt ripples shimmering before their eyes. Taking a step forward, the scene before them immediately changed. It was the underworld Tang tomb Tan Xiao had visited before.