Chapter 41 – Collapse of the Phoenix Tomb
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The trembling intensified. Dust rained down in sheets, ancient stones cracking with ominous groans as the first pillar fell. The impact sent a shockwave through the chamber, knocking Xueqing and Mo Chen back.
"Xueqing!" Mo Chen gripped her arm and pulled her up as chunks of ceiling broke away.
"Get Qiao Lan's brother!" she shouted, already dashing toward the chained figure.
The gloved man only smiled and stepped into the shadows, disappearing like smoke into the cracks of the tomb itself.
Mo Chen fired after him, but the bullets struck stone. "Coward!"
Xueqing reached the young man first. He was bleeding from his temple, pale and barely conscious. His wrists were bruised from the iron shackles, but his eyes flickered open.
"Bai… Xueqing?" he whispered hoarsely.
"I'm getting you out of here." She jammed a blade into the rusted cuffs, wrenching them open with a strength born of fury.
Mo Chen caught her by the waist as the second pillar came crashing down behind them, shielding both her and the boy from flying debris. "We need to move. Now."
They staggered to the center of the chamber. Mo Chen pressed a palm to a slab etched with unfamiliar characters.
Xueqing recognized them instantly. "It's a phoenix glyph. It activates the escape passage."
"You trust it?"
"I wrote it—in another life."
He didn't question further. The slab shifted, revealing a narrow staircase descending into pitch-blackness.
As they slipped inside, the chamber collapsed entirely behind them, entombing the gloved man—if he was still there—and sealing the tomb once again.
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Ten minutes later, above ground…
They emerged from a hidden crevice beneath a fallen banyan tree. The early morning sun bled through the mist, painting the world gold.
Paramedics rushed forward to tend to Qiao Lan's brother, while Lin Nuo and Meng Zhihao burst from the surveillance van.
"We lost the feed!" Lin shouted. "What happened in there?"
"History," Xueqing muttered. "And a message."
Mo Chen looked grim. "Someone's playing a deeper game. The tomb was just the opening move."
"And he knew who I was," Xueqing added, voice like ice. "Even the Phoenix rites."
Mo Chen's jaw tightened. "Then he's not just some tech thief. He knows your past."
"And he's baiting me to remember mine."
Meng Zhihao handed her a small chip. "We recovered this from the room before collapse. It might contain more data on him."
Xueqing nodded. "Good. But this changes everything."
"Why?" Lin asked.
She met Mo Chen's gaze. "Because this enemy doesn't just want to hurt us in this life. He remembers the last one, too."
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