Even with her deep reservoir of composure, she couldn't suppress the shock and anger that surged through her upon hearing the news.
Her anger wasn't about her ancestral graves collapsing; in fact, despite possessing royal blood from the Western Xia Dynasty, the lineage was so distant that she felt little connection to her ancestral tombs.
She had even contemplated excavating them herself to retrieve the Golden Buddha Head.
What truly ignited her fury was the prospect of the Golden Buddha Head being buried and potentially damaged by the collapse.
This was an unacceptable outcome for her.
"You are truly something, aren't you? I gave you the keys, and this is the result?" Tang Lengyun stood up, her voice sharp with accusation, "I overestimated you all, a bunch of disorganized rabble!"
Although she had promised Li Chonglou and the others that she wouldn't take the Golden Buddha Head.
But a merchant's words were merely a strategy for the moment, not a binding promise.
The original plan was to arrange for someone to steal the Golden Buddha Head after the archaeology team had transported it out of the tomb.
By then, even if they wanted to find her, there would be no evidence.
This way, she wouldn't alienate the archaeology team and could fulfill her own aspirations and help her goddaughter, Fan Meng, achieve hers.
It was a win-win situation.
This was the reason she had given the keys to the archaeology team, not because Li Chonglou had promised to help Fan Meng.
After all, how could she possibly believe the words of a barely grown youth?
However, the current situation was that her plan had been disrupted, and the tomb had collapsed.
Fan Meng also looked on with despair.
"Don't worry, the Golden Buddha is fine; it was stolen." Li Chonglou leaned back on the sofa, observing Tang Lengyun's expression clearly, and spoke slowly.
He accompanied Lin Ying, fearing that she might throw a tantrum at the Tang family in her anger.
After all, due to the tomb collapse and his injury, his senior sister had jumped to conclusions and blamed Tang Lengyun entirely.
Now, it seemed she had been mistaken.
The disappointment and anger in Tang Lengyun's eyes were not feigned.
Li Chonglou was exceptionally confident in his judgment and perception.
Lin Ying also seemed to sense something amiss, her emotions gradually calming as she asked, "Do you have paper and pen?"
"I'll draw a person; see if you recognize him!"
Fan Meng reacted, quickly scurrying to the study and returning to the living room with a pencil and white paper.
Lin Ying took the pen. With swift, phantom-like movements, lines of lead appeared under her hand, astonishingly precise and almost too quick to follow.
Soon, A Yue Qubi's appearance without his mask was vividly captured on paper.
It was lifelike.
It could almost rival a photograph.
"Sister, how can you draw so well?" Fan Meng was immediately captivated by the exceptionally handsome young man on the paper, showing a look of admiration.
Lin Ying's drawing skills were on par with a human printer.
One couldn't help but be impressed.
Tang Lengyun's attention, however, was not on the drawing but fixed on the portrait of A Yue Qubi. After a long period of thought.
She finally took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and said, "If I recall correctly, his name is A Yue Qubi. He is of Yi ethnicity and has close ties with the Chen family of Yuyuan."
"Because he is exceptionally handsome, he wears a mask in his daily life."
Women and men have no fundamental differences in their desires.
The circle of affluent ladies also frequently discussed handsome men.
This A Yue Qubi, due to his good looks, had always been a hot topic among the wealthy ladies of Yuchen city.
She had seen photos, but never met him in person.
"It's highly likely to be him. I remember him saying something about you Han people like this," Li Chonglou recalled.
A Yue Qubi appeared fair-skinned and handsome, with a touch of exotic charm, but this was a significant departure from the dark complexion typically associated with Yi people.
Of course, it was also possible that he rarely exposed himself to ultraviolet rays since childhood, or perhaps he had albinism.
However, what was this Yuyuan Chen family?
He knew Yuyuan; it was an ancient city nestled in the mountains, not far from Yuchen city.
"What does the Chen family of Yuyuan do?" Lin Ying asked first.
"Grave robbing!"
Tang Lengyun let out a long sigh, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes, "But daring to disturb the earth in my Tang Lengyun's ancestral graves, they are tired of living."
"I will personally seek out the Chen family to clarify this matter."
"Since the Buddha's head has already left the tomb, you are no longer needed."
"Yuchen city is a dangerous place; you had best leave soon."
Conversations between intelligent people were efficient.
In a few brief exchanges, Tang Lengyun had a general understanding of the tomb's collapse and A Yue Qubi's involvement, and that he had stolen the Golden Buddha Head.
And behind him stood the Chen family of Yuyuan.
How dare they target her! She would see how many lives the Chen family had!
"Whether we leave or not is none of your business. Only after you find that A Yue Qubi can I confirm that you are not involved in this matter," Lin Ying said, showing Tang Lengyun no respect. With that, she helped Li Chonglou up and left the villa.
The matter had become clear.
A Yue Qubi, the Chen family of Yuyuan, these local ancient forces were deeply entrenched.
Their entire team were outsiders, and digging out that Golden Buddha Head would not be an easy task.
But Tang Lengyun was a local influence.
She only needed to wait for Tang Lengyun to locate the Golden Buddha Head, and then she could make her move.
But this would take time.
Fan Meng watched Li Chonglou leave with reluctance, wanting to say something but then closing her mouth.
Her eyes dimmed slightly.
"Chonglou, I'll drive you to the airport tomorrow. You should return to Qin Province first," Lin Ying instructed as she drove onto the main road, "The archaeological expedition encountered unexpected accidents, and the heavy losses were not what we intended."
"I cannot leave yet; I must find A Yue Qubi and bring him to justice."
"As for you, staying here will only distract me."
Lin Ying's words were blunt, but her tone was filled with concern.
She wasn't finding fault with Li Chonglou for being a hindrance; she simply didn't want to see him injured again.
A Yue Qubi was formidable, and the Chen family of Yuyuan likely had other experts. Li Chonglou, in his current state, was no match for them.
Understanding his senior sister's thoughts, Li Chonglou nodded, "Senior Sister, call me anytime if you need anything. I'll bring people over."
The people he referred to were Xu Lie.
"You mean that fierce tiger? There might indeed be a use for him. I'll call you," Lin Ying smiled, relieved.
Upon returning to the hotel, Li Chonglou began circulating his cultivation techniques to heal his injuries.
The kick he received today had displaced his internal organs. If he hadn't been cultivating the methods from the parchment for some time, he would have likely died on the spot.
Fortunately, it was only displacement and not actual damage.
With a night's recovery, he would be almost as good as new.
The potency of the parchment's cultivation techniques was fully evident when he was injured.
The next morning, around eight o'clock, after bidding farewell to Zhao Zheng and the others, Lin Ying drove Li Chonglou to Shuzhou Airport alone.
In the car, Li Chonglou took out the dragon totem and the meteorite cat's eye from his bag, intending to give them to Lin Ying.
Before he could speak, Lin Ying said, "You keep them. That item has been passed down for many years. Tang Lengyun gave it to you, so it's yours."
"It's not a wasted trip for you to Yuchen city."
"Now, in the entire ancient tomb, besides that Golden Buddha Head, the items in your hands are the most precious."
Upon hearing this, Li Chonglou put the items back into his bag.
He had nothing to be polite about with his senior sister. He genuinely liked such ancient artifacts and would neither sell nor give them away unless absolutely necessary.
There was no need to put on a show.
He chuckled, "It seems I had the greatest gains from this trip to Yuchen city."
*Screech!*
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Ying slammed on the brakes, the tires emitting a piercing shriek and leaving two black skid marks on the road.
Lin Ying looked at the five thugs blocking the road ahead, wielding clubs.
Her pretty face turned cold.