<h4>Chapter 1184: Chapter 1191: Opening the Coffin</h4>


    Ling Chen took a deep breath; the coffin was about to be opened, and it was impossible not to feel excited. If there were no issues, the most important parts of Ling Gengqiu’s remains should be inside this coffin. Once Hu Fei finished all the preparations, Ling Chen and Beison lifted each end of the coffin lid together, exerting force to slowly raise it and ce it onto the floor.


    As the lid was lifted, Hu Fei immediately shone a shlight into the coffin. Upon seeing the contents, Hu Fei’s expression turned exceptionally strange. Noticing his change in expression, Ling Chen, still holding the coffin lid, urgently asked, "Fatty, what’s the matter?"


    "Ling Chen, I think you should see this."


    Hearing this, Ling Chen hurriedly put down the coffin lid and walked over to the coffin. He looked closely, and his expression shifted slightly. Inside the two-meter-long coffin, there was a skull, a ribcage, severed arms and leg bones, while all other parts were cast in gold.


    Seeing those bones, Ling Chen understood Hu Fei’s meaning. Before opening the coffin, Ling Chen was confident that Ling Gengqiu’s head and trunk should be well-preserved and not reduced to bones. However, from the current situation, his previous thoughts were all wrong.


    Ling Gengqiu’s remains had all turned to bones, offering no research value.


    "Ling Chen, it seems we were too optimistic. After hundreds of years, it’s impossible for a corpse to remain intact."


    "No!" Ling Chen eximed. "There’s definitely a problem here." He had once seen Ling Gengqiu’s severed arm; Ling Tao had told him it was found in a cemetery. At that time, the coffin contained a skeleton, but Ling Gengqiu’s severed arm remained intact, as if freshly cut. If that arm could be preserved, the rest of Ling Gengqiu’s body should have been too. Unless something happened that caused Ling Gengqiu’s remains to change.


    "Fatty, collect these bones and take them back for research."


    Hu Fei nodded, cing the bones into vacuum-sealed bags he had prepared in advance. Meanwhile, Ling Chen wandered around the tomb, looking for signs of intrusion. Yet, to Ling Chen’s disappointment, all entrances to this tomb were sealed tight, showing no signs of tampering. Thus, apart from the three of them, no one had entered in hundreds of years.


    Before long, Hu Fei finished gathering all the bones from the coffin. The three swiftly retraced their path back to the surface.


    "Beison, stay here. Make sure the passage is sealed off and everything restored without leaving traces."


    "Understood, boss!"


    Back at the base, Hu Fei immediately sent the bones to theboratory for testing and research by the scientific staff. Simultaneously, Ling Chen called porridge girl to inform her of what had happened and expressed his wish to contact Ling Tao.


    The Northern Ling Family ced great importance on this matter, and shortly after Ling Chen hung up, Ling Tao called.


    "Did you find more of Ling Gengqiu’s remains?" Ling Tao asked directly, his tone reflecting his excitement.


    "Found them, but we have a big problem." Ling Chen then described what he had witnessed.


    "What?" Ling Tao sounded taken aback. "That’s impossible. The other parts of Ling Gengqiu’s body are all well-preserved; the main body parts should be even more intact."


    "I thought so too. So now, I need to conduct a test to see what’s really happened."


    Ling Tao pondered for a moment, then said, "I’ll send you some informationter. Compare it carefully to see if there’s any issue. Save this number; notify me immediately once the test results are out."


    "Okay, I’ll sort it out as soon as possible."


    After hanging up, Ling Chen headed directly to theboratory to oversee the technicians’ work. After several hours, the test results were finally out.


    Ling Chen examined the test results,paring them with the information sent by Ling Tao, and furrowed his brows.


    So that’s what it is, no wonder... Leaving theb, Ling Chen went straight to the control center.


    "How is it, are the results out yet?" Seeing Ling Chen approaching, Hu Fei quickly asked.


    Ling Chen said little but handed over the test results and the other document directly. Hu Fei examined them for a few moments, his expression changing as he eximed, "The bones in the coffin aren’t Ling Gengqiu’s? This... how is that possible? Could it be your clue was wrong?"


    "The clue should be correct. The tomb we found is certainly Ling Gengqiu’s burial site; the problem is whether Guo Qiang really buried Ling Gengqiu’s remains there back then."


    Upon hearing this, Hu Fei immediately understood Ling Chen’s implication and responded, "Are you saying...the tomb is just a decoy, and Guo Qiang buried Ling Gengqiu’s body elsewhere?"


    "Exactly. The only thing I can’t figure out is why Guo Qiang did this. If he didn’t want Ling Gengqiu’s body found, he could have destroyed the clues. Since he left clues to the tomb, he must have had his reasons."


    "It’s been hundreds of years; even if he had his reasons, no one knows them now. Ling Chen, what should we do now? Should we continue chasing this lead or..."


    Ling Chen resignedly said, "There’s nothing else to investigate; the only lead is gone. Guo Qiang’s descendant, Guo Liang, knows nothing about this, so we can’t rely on him. I think we should temporarily set aside the matter of Ling Gengqiu and pursue it again once new evidence emerges."


    "Alright then." Hu Fei paused and then switched topics, asking, "How are you nning to deal with the girl you caught?"


    "You mean Zhu Qing? I’m quite interested in her background; I’ll decide once I understand more about her origins."


    Entering the room where Zhu Qing was detained, Ling Chen asked the security personnel guarding it to leave before walking in alone.


    Although Zhu Qing was a prisoner, Ling Chen did not mistreat her. Apart from restricting her freedom, Zhu Qing enjoyed good food and sleep here. Hearing footsteps approach, Zhu Qing kept her eyes on the television, not acknowledging Ling Chen at all.


    Ling Chen grinned indifferently, walked over to Zhu Qing, and said, "Lady Zhu, I’ve entered that tomb."


    Zhu Qing replied coldly, "Congrattions on obtaining what you wanted."


    "No, I didn’t find what I wanted. Furthermore, the one buried in that tomb isn’t Ling Gengqiu."


    "Impossible!" Zhu Qing blurted out, "That was clearly Ling Gengqiu’s tomb."


    "Lady Zhu, I think we’ve all been deceived by Guo Qiang. I want to know, how much do you know about that tomb?"