Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

Andrew chuckled. "You all remember what was written on the treasure map, right? 'The Fallen Crimson Dynasty treasure... the Underworld Kingdom of the Dead, the bliss of the fallen, the hell of the living.'

"The Underworld Kingdom of the Dead, the bliss of the fallen—that sounds exactly like an underground empire, like Emperor Zenith's tomb. And in ancient times, only something like the royal tomb could be built on such a massive scale. At the very least, it had to belong to some insanely rich tycoon or a powerful warlord."

He paused, letting that sink in before continuing, "Captain Tora saw a Blood Ghoul crawl out of this place the Underworld Kingdom of the Dead, the bliss of the fallen. Doesn't that mean it came from one of those burial chambers?

"If we head down this well, we're probably entering the underground tomb. And once we're in, it'll only be a matter of time before we find the treasure."

Tiana's eyes lit up. "You're absolutely right, Andy! That makes so much sense." Logan burst into laughter and clapped. "Damn, Andy, you really are a genius."

Chantelle looked at Andrew with a strangely admiring gaze. "Mr. Lloyd, at this point, you're the only one still calm and clear-headed. You've kept this entire mission under control from the start."

Andrew motioned for Logan to bring over the climbing ropes, then tossed them straight into the well. "Let's go down before it gets too dark to see. Everything depends on this."

Tora stepped back. "Mr. Lloyd, I wish you all the best of luck."

Logan blinked in surprise. "Captain, are you not coming with us? If we strike gold, there'll be a cut in it for you too."

Tora shook his head and gave a wry smile. "I'm still injured. I'd rather head back down the mountain and recover. Besides, all of the Wright family guys have left. Honestly, I was never that into this treasure hunt anyway. I'd like to stay alive, thank you very much."

Andrew nodded. "Then take care on the way down, Captain. Oh, and one more thing, you might want to rethink your loyalty to Kevin."

Tora's expression darkened. "No need to rethink anything. I was loyal-fiercely loyal to him and the family. But that man watched me die without blinking. Hell, he evennoveldrama

en Redie

ordered it. That moment told me everything I needed to know-Mr. I

Wright Senior's not worth dying for."

With that, he turned and limped away from the ruins, making his way back down the mountainside.

Tiana smiled faintly. "I have to admit that Tora's got some backbone."

Andrew grunted. "That's exactly why I thought he deserved to live."

He checked the stability of the ropes, gave a nod, and then descended into the darkness first.

Tiana, Chantelle, and Natasha

followed one by one, moving quickly but cautiously. Logan stayed behind to cover the rear, and once everyone was down, he brought up the tail and dropped in last.

The canyon, surrounded by steep peaks, was slowly swallowed by an eerie dusk.

Darkness crept in once more. In

truth, it was only just past 6 p.m

and the sunset had barely begun. Yet, the golden light of dusk could not touch this place at all.

Not even a flicker of the sun made it past the looming cliffs. In that dense, stifling

darkness, the silence was almost absolute.

Soft footsteps broke the stillness near the well.

...

"That sworn brother of mine really is something else he actually found the entrance. But I'm no slouch either. Let's head down. It's payday, boys!"

It was Kevin and his men.