Chapter 10: 010 Beast

The mountain wind grew stronger, and the sound of rain, heavy as beans, began to pelt down in succession. The downpour had finally begun, and the guards finally had a sufficient excuse to retreat.

Murong Wei had already walked deep into the graveyard. In the darkness, she could see nothing to begin with, and as the rain intensified, there was only the sound of the downpour in her ears; she could hear nothing else.

She hadn't been able to bring her toolbox out, but many of the items inside were compressed. Even the case itself used a combination lock and was waterproof, fireproof, and even bulletproof and riot-proof. She wasn't worried at all; it couldn't be destroyed, and she would always be able to find it.

As for the stun baton she carried with her, she had already used it three times, and there wasn't much charge left. She didn't know how much longer it would last.

She shielded the child tightly before turning on the light of the stun baton to illuminate the path ahead.

The raindrops had turned into sheets. Murong Wei grew increasingly anxious. She didn't know if her battered body could hold out, but she knew that if she didn't find a place to shelter from the rain, this child would certainly not live to see tomorrow's sun!

She could no longer worry about being discovered. She swept the flashlight’s beam back and forth across the graveyard, searching for a place to hide.

However, apart from the straight, upright tombstones and low bushes, there was nothing else in the graveyard—not even a single large tree.

Whether she went back or forward, it was too late to exit the graveyard.

What was she to do?

The rain grew heavier. Murong Wei could feel the rainwater slowly trickling down her cheeks. She took off her blood-stained outer garment to wrap the baby, gritted her teeth, and headed toward the main tomb in the center of the graveyard.

Bowing her body to barely shield the baby from the wind and rain, she fumbled frantically in front of and behind the massive tombstone for a long time. Finally, amidst the sound of the pouring rain and the rumbling thunder, a dull, muffled sound faintly emerged.

The massive tombstone actually shifted, revealing a pitch-black opening.

She had raided ancient tombs before; she knew at least that much about mechanisms.

Without a second thought, Murong Wei bowed her head and entered!

The strong beam of the flashlight illuminated everything in the passage. The tunnel sloped downward, and as far as she could see, it dropped vertically; this was clearly an underground tomb chamber.

Murong Wei had no curiosity left. Holding the baby, she sat at the entrance and tremblingly checked the breathing of the child, who had stopped crying. Knowing he was still alive, she let out a long sigh of relief. She leaned her entire body against the stone wall and slowly slid down, her hands nearly slipping and dropping the child.

She was just too tired, so incredibly tired. Waves of faintness washed over her. When she was a teenager, she had fought a tiger with her bare hands and had never been this exhausted.

She placed the child to one side, her hands hanging limp on the ground. Her eyelids kept fighting each other, and she could no longer hold on. Before long, she slowly tilted her head and slumped over, falling asleep...

That night, she had many, many dreams. She dreamed of the old master who had adopted her; he still wore that fierce, menacing expression, demanding to know why she hadn't returned to report back.

She also dreamed of the real Fourth Miss, Murong Zi. She had actually come to snatch the baby from her, and then, Murong Zi’s appearance suddenly changed, turning into Murong Lan, the Second Madam, and even General Murong!

They all wanted to snatch her baby!

She kept running and running while holding the baby, and the baby cried so loudly, so very loudly.

"Waaah... waaah... waaah..."

Her head was spinning from the dreams, as if it were about to split open. Finally, she woke up to the sound of real crying.

"Ugh... it felt so real. So it was all just a dream!" She groggily opened her sleepy eyes, chuckling to herself as she reached out to the right.

But after reaching for a long time, she couldn't find her soft pillow, and why couldn't she find her phone?

Why were her hands sticky, and why was she touching a cold stone wall?

And why was there the sound of a child crying?

Murong Wei snapped her eyes open. Everything before her hit her like a blow to the head, shocking her into complete wakefulness.

It hadn't all been a dream!

"Waaah... waaah! Waaah..." The child’s crying continued, growing more intense, finally pulling Murong Wei back to her senses.

She tried to get up, only to find herself covered in blood, her legs too weak to stand.

It took a great deal of effort to turn her body, and it was a long while before her aching arms could lift the baby.

"Baby, please stop crying, okay? Let me have a moment of peace so I have the strength to take you away!" Murong Wei pleaded, not knowing what to do as she saw the child’s face flushed red from crying.

She had forgotten her own hunger and hadn't even considered that the child might be hungry; she had assumed he was just startled and, being a bit thick-skinned, was only now feeling the fear.

"Baby, shh... stay here for a moment. Mommy is going to go out and see if those people have left, okay?" Murong Wei whispered, naturally referring to herself as "Mommy." As she spoke, she carefully placed the child back down and gritted her teeth to stand up. The tomb door hadn't closed. She cautiously poked her head out, scanned the surroundings for a long time, and then exited the passage.

However, the moment she stepped out, she was shocked.

She realized she had been mistaken in her panic last night; this wasn't the main tomb, but a stele standing next to the main grave!

The inscription on the stele recorded the identity of the deceased and their life’s achievements. This was actually the graveyard of the Prime Minister’s estate, and the person buried here was the Duke of Ning of the Han Kingdom, the father of the current Prime Minister Ning. She hadn't expected the entrance to the tomb chamber to be beneath this stele.

Murong Wei didn't have the mental energy to care about all that. She checked the surroundings, and seeing no signs of pursuit, she hurried back into the passage.

But the moment she reached the entrance, she stopped abruptly, stunned as if struck by lightning. She watched, wide-eyed, as a leopard slowly walked toward the baby from inside the passage. It was clearly a female leopard; its tail was longer than its body, its coat was bright and glossy, brown-yellow, and covered in black spots and rings—the copper-coin-like markings of a common leopard!

Time to race!

That was Murong Wei’s first reaction.

But trying to outrun a wild beast was an incredibly brainless act, especially when it was a leopard, one of the fastest creatures on earth!

The leopard seemed to have seen her, but it didn't retreat at all. Instead, it leaped right beside the baby. The leopard’s head and eyes were filled with hostility as it glared at her.

Although Murong Wei had never encountered a leopard before, she had some experience with wild animals. While leopards were fierce, they didn't easily attack humans. She stood perfectly still, not daring to provoke the beast.

The leopard kept staring at her, flashes of golden light darting through its eyes. Murong Wei was astonished; if she had seen this golden light at night, it might have been normal, but in the bright light of day, for the leopard’s eyes to still glow with gold—this leopard was clearly no ordinary animal.

Thinking of this, she grew even more panicked, but she desperately clenched her hands to keep herself from moving. All her exhaustion and pain were cast to the back of her mind. Human potential is infinite, especially the human heart.

She had only one thought: protect this child. Even if she had to fight this leopard with her bare hands, she would protect this child!

A long, long time passed. Seeing that she didn't move, the leopard slowly lowered its head, its large mouth and sharp teeth moving toward the baby, who was still wailing.

In the blink of an eye, Murong Wei picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it fiercely at the leopard.

"Awoo..." The leopard roared immediately, baring its fangs and stepping forward, placing the baby beneath its body!