The Tomb-Raiding Journey Starting from Time Travel

Chapter 1 （The Tomb Raiding Check-In System）

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the Mojin Talisman!"

Zhao Yang's eyes were resolute, drawing from years of experience in studying ancient artifacts.

"And if I'm not mistaken again, I've probably been reborn! And it's definitely connected to this Mojin Talisman!"

Zhao Yang looked around at his surroundings, his gaze growing even more certain.

"D*mn it! I've actually joined the trend of reincarnation!"

Zhao Yang wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes, constantly reminding himself to stay strong.

But tears still uncontrollably flowed down his face.

It wasn't that Zhao Yang wasn't manly—anyone in his shoes would struggle to handle such a blow.

China's five thousand years of glorious civilization—reincarnating into any era would have been fine.

But of all times, he just had to be reborn into the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, an era of warlords fighting for power, when the sleeping Chinese lion was only starting to stir!

To make matters worse, his soul had been reborn into the body of a penniless wretch.

The previous owner of this body was named Meng Ercai, just over twenty-five years old. He was originally from a wealthy family, with three generations before him engaged in commerce. But ever since his father passed away, this Meng Ercai had embarked on a path of reckless squandering—indulging in all vices and losing all the family fortune in less than three years, eventually starving to death in his own home.

"Did I commit some great sin in my past life?"

Zhao Yang looked around the thatched cottage. Describing it as destitute seemed almost too kind—the earthen walls had cracks wide enough for a dog to squeeze through, and the roof practically had a panoramic sunroof!

Feeling despondent and hopeless, Zhao Yang glanced again at the Mojin Talisman in his hand.

As a graduate of a top-tier university with a degree in archaeology, Zhao Yang was able to confirm with his professional expertise that this was indeed a Mojin Talisman, the identity token of the Mojin Xiaowei—the tomb raiders of the Mojin Sect—used for warding off evil when entering tombs.

There’s no need to explain who the Mojin Xiaowei were—during the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao established this military rank specifically for tomb raiders to help fund his army.

Zhao Yang had come across this Mojin Talisman while browsing the antique stalls at Panjiayuan Market and had purchased it for three hundred yuan.

The Mojin Talisman was about the thickness of a thumb, conical in shape, with a sharp tip at the lower end, inlaid with gold threads. Its color was jet black and translucent, allowing light to pass through, likely made from the claw of some kind of beast.

It was the material properties of the Mojin Talisman that allowed Zhao Yang to verify its authenticity.

Zhao Yang thought he'd found a great treasure, but while studying and fiddling with it, he accidentally pricked his finger on the sharp tip of the talisman, and then… he found himself reborn into the late Qing Dynasty…

"This is just insane! I had just graduated from university and was fortunate enough to join the country's top archaeological team, ready to explore tombs and fulfill my dream of becoming a tomb raider—ahem—archaeologist, inspired by my love for Ghost Blows Out the Light. Now, it's all ruined…"

Zhao Yang felt like banging his head against the wall, but he simply didn’t have the courage.

[Tomb Raiding Check-In System binding in progress…]

[Binding progress: 25%…]

In his moment of despair, Zhao Yang suddenly heard a strange voice in his mind.

Zhao Yang: What the heck?

[Tomb Raiding Check-In System successfully bound]

[Host: Zhao Yang]

[Health: 100]

[Overall Physique: 75]

[Skills: None]

[Tomb Raiding Equipment: Mojin Talisman]

"A system? A check-in system?" Zhao Yang saw a new information interface appear in his mind and instinctively pinched himself. It hurt a little—this wasn’t a dream; it was real!

"But what the hell is a Tomb Raiding Check-In System?" Zhao Yang had a lot of questions.

[System Notification: Check-In Task issued. Please check the task panel.]

Following the prompt, Zhao Yang used his mind to open the task panel and looked at the check-in task.

[Check-In Task: Host is required to go to the mass grave in Qingshui Town and check in at the tomb of Princess Xiuwen of the Tang Dynasty. Time remaining for check-in: 8 hours, 52 minutes, 35 seconds.]

[Check-In Reward: Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret (Upper and Lower Volumes), 100 silver yuan.]

Go… go check in at the tomb in the mass grave?

Zhao Yang's heart raced—this was insane! While others check in at massage parlors or bathhouses, this damned system wanted him to check in at an ancient tomb.

Was the system worried he had all this archaeological knowledge but nowhere to use it?

The problem was, all of Zhao Yang's knowledge was theoretical. He had no actual tomb raiding experience and hadn’t even seen a real tomb chamber.

But for a reward of one hundred silver yuan, he decided to go for it!

At least it was better than sitting around in this thatched cottage waiting to die.

Besides, in these chaotic times, tomb raiding wasn’t illegal—maybe this was indeed a path to wealth?

Even in such tumultuous times, as long as you had money, you could still live the high life!

Because Zhao Yang hadn’t just inherited this body; he’d also inherited all the previous owner’s memories.

He had some recollection of the mass grave southwest of Qingshui Town, the place he was supposed to check in—it was a remote location, so desolate that not even ghosts would go there.

But even though it was so remote, if he was going to enter a tomb, it would be safest to do so at night.

[System Notification: As this is the host's first time binding with the Tomb Raiding Check-In System, a Mojin Gift Pack has been awarded. Would the host like to open it?]

"A Mojin Gift Pack?"

"Open it—definitely! I was just worrying about not having the tools for the tomb raid tonight!"

Zhao Yang immediately replied in his mind.

[System Notification: Mojin Gift Pack has been opened. Rewards: one leather backpack, black donkey hoof, Luoyang shovel, fire torch, yin-seeking claw, wind lamp, rope, shovel, candles, and the book Feng Shui Encyclopedia (which has been automatically learned).]

These were indeed all essential tools for tomb raiding.

As the system’s voice faded, Zhao Yang turned around to find a pile of tomb raiding tools issued by the system stacked in the southwest corner of the room.

After automatically learning the Feng Shui Encyclopedia, Zhao Yang felt a surge of strange knowledge fill his mind.

With these tools from the system, the foundational knowledge from the Feng Shui Encyclopedia, plus his passion for Ghost Blows Out the Light and the tomb raiding techniques described in it, combined with his archaeological training, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

By dusk, Zhao Yang looked at the setting sun and felt it was time to move.

"Young master… young master…"

Just as Zhao Yang was about to set off, he heard someone calling from outside. The tone was very familiar, and a figure instantly appeared in Zhao Yang's mind.

Chen Fuwang. Back when the Meng family was still thriving, they had bought this servant. Because he was around the same age as Meng Ercai, he became Meng Ercai's childhood playmate and little follower. Meng Ercai treated him well—sharing food and drinks, and even taking him to a brothel for the first time.

Chen Fuwang was a rare, loyal person. Despite the Meng family's downfall and Meng Ercai's current state, even worse off than a beggar, Chen Fuwang would still occasionally bring him some food.