Chapter 33: We Have General Yifei

    “Is… this really considered romantic?” Meijia couldn’t quite grasp Wan Yu’s definition of romance.

    “I think it’s very romantic! Imagine exploring an ancient tomb—I’ve never even seen what one looks like before!” As soon as Wan Yu said this, everyone else nodded in agreement. None of them had ever seen one either.

    But if Hu Yifei and Chen Yuze heard this, they’d definitely curse. What kind of romantic place was this? If this counted as romantic, then a mass grave would be even more so!

    “But this time, Yuze only took Yifei with him. That’s so unfair—I wanted to go too.” Wan Yu slumped listlessly over the bar counter.

    “You’re right. Next time, we should all go together. And it’s an ancient tomb! Just grabbing any random artifact would be worth a fortune. Let’s see… one times seven is seven, two times seven is eighteen, March 8th is Women’s Day… So much money!” Meijia’s eyes sparkled with greed. In the Love Apartment, she had always struggled to hold down a steady job, though things had improved somewhat lately.

    “…” The others had long given up on Meijia’s math skills.

    While things were lively at the Love Apartment, the situation on the other side wasn’t bad either.

    Well… lively might be an understatement.

    The group was currently overwhelmed, but Hu Yifei was having the time of her life. Guess what they ran into? Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Fine, I’ll admit it—they encountered something that excited Hu Yifei: rats!

    “Kid, what’s going on? Why are there so many rats?!” The chubby guy fired his gun while backing away. The swarm of rats was simply overwhelming.

    As soon as they entered the tomb, they must have triggered something, because an endless flood of rats came pouring out, covering the ground in a writhing, squeaking mass.

    “What’s there to be afraid of? They’re just a few little rats! HYAH!” Hu Yifei brandished her sword and gleefully charged into the swarm, slashing away with unrestrained joy.

    Let’s rewind a bit.

    With the chubby guy’s reckless encouragement, the group hadn’t rested much before heading straight into the tomb. The moment they entered, they were stunned. This didn’t look like an ancient tomb at all—it resembled a grand hall, completely defying traditional tomb layouts and designs.

    Beyond the entrance stood two rows of palace lanterns, each over a meter tall, lining a straight path paved with bluestone slabs nearly five meters wide. At the end of the path stood a majestic hall, its grandeur undiminished despite centuries buried underground. It looked as pristine as if it had just been built, still radiating its former glory.

    The four of them cautiously stepped onto the path. After only a few steps, the palace lanterns on either side suddenly lit up on their own. The sound of flames igniting echoed like switches being flipped, one lantern after another, illuminating the surroundings in an eerie glow. Now, they could clearly see where they were—a vast plaza, with the grand hall standing imposingly before them.

    After observing cautiously for a while and finding no immediate danger, they decided to proceed further.

    “Kid, what’s up with these lanterns? That sickly green flame looks seriously unsettling.” The chubby guy stared at the emerald fire inside the lanterns, an inexplicable dread creeping up his spine.

    “Yuze, is this will-o’-the-wisp?” Hu Yifei, ever the fearless one, leaned in to examine the flames closely. The fact that they burned without any visible fuel fascinated her.

    Chen Yuze and Old Hu shook their heads. While the grand hall was clearly abnormal, the lanterns themselves weren’t too hard to explain.

    “Don’t overthink it. The lantern oil contains white phosphorus—it ignites automatically when exposed to air, lighting the flame. It’s a common method for eternal lamps. At first glance, it might seem like they’ve been burning for a thousand years. As for the green color, it’s not supernatural—it’s probably due to bone powder or other special additives. Same principle as fireworks.” Old Hu provided the explanation.

    Chen Yuze nodded and approached one of the lanterns. He carefully scraped a bit of the oil with his dagger and frowned. “This is probably corpse oil. And these lanterns are actually made of colored glaze—isn’t this level of luxury a bit excessive?”

    “What?!” Hu Yifei immediately took a step back. The idea of corpse oil was disgusting—and horrifyingly cruel.

    “Stay alert. Something’s off here.” Old Hu also sensed the strangeness. This level of extravagance was far beyond what a mere general could afford—unless this general was someone very special.

    Proceeding with caution, they slowly advanced toward the grand hall. But after only a few steps, Hu Yifei sniffed the air.

    “Do you guys smell something weird?”

    “Probably just the scent of humans.” Old Hu brushed it off. By “human scent,” he meant the stench of corpse oil.

    “Feels a bit strange…” Hu Yifei muttered under her breath as they continued forward.

    “Squeak… squeak squeak…”

    Suddenly, an odd noise echoed around them.

    The four immediately formed a defensive circle, backs pressed together. But then, a black tide of rats surged toward them like a swarm of locusts.

    The rats charged at them mindlessly, as if driven by madness. The group had no choice but to defend themselves—well, except for Hu Yifei. The moment she saw the rats, she became even more excited than they were. Sword in hand, she charged straight into the swarm, cutting them down left and right.

    And so, the earlier scene unfolded: rats chased the chubby guy, while Hu Yifei chased the rats. She was like their natural predator—more effective than a cat.

    “Chubby, lead them over here! Stop running around! They’re just a few rats—let me crush them!” Hu Yifei’s grin never faded as she single-handedly protected the three men, chasing the rats all over the place.

    Finally rescued by Hu Yifei, the chubby guy retreated next to Chen Yuze, still fighting off the remaining rats. Watching the frenzied Yifei, he gulped hard.

    “Kid, what’s up with Yifei? She’s way too brutal!”

    Chen Yuze scratched his cheek. Even he hadn’t expected this. As he watched Yifei gleefully slaughtering rats left and right, he replied, “Well… Yifei-jie has a special reaction when she encounters things she’s good at. Seeing rats sometimes makes her… excited. Don’t worry, she’ll calm down once she’s done killing them… probably?”

    “‘Probably?!’ At this rate, I’m more afraid her sword will end up on our heads!” The chubby guy and Old Hu shivered as they watched Yifei wreak havoc.

    It was obvious even to them—these rats were likely part of the tomb’s defenses. A grand tomb like this wouldn’t just let rats in for no reason.

    But now… they almost felt sorry for the rats.