Chapter 438: Brandon Is the Mastermind

Chapter 438: Chapter 438: Brandon Is the Mastermind

"Bury it here? There’s a commercial forest right in front, with people coming and going. If someone discovered it, wouldn’t all our efforts be for nothing?"

That’s what he was thinking, so he asked it aloud.

"You’ve been coming up here since you were a kid, right? How many times has that been? Did *you* ever find it?" Monty Lynch shot back bluntly.

The man who had just spoken scratched his head in embarrassment. It was true, he’d never noticed anything.

"We came here later. The ancient tomb was already buried here from the start. Our ancestors decided to bury our own family members a little behind it. That way, fewer people would come up here, and the chances of outsiders discovering it would be lower," Monty Lynch said, recalling the reason his elders had given him. He spoke each word deliberately.

The others thought about it for a moment and quickly understood the reasoning.

If the area was empty, yet people were constantly coming up to stand guard, anyone with a sharp mind would quickly guess that something was hidden underground.

But by burying their own family here, anyone who came up to stand watch would just be seen as a grieving relative. The chance of exposure was drastically reduced.

"Forget it. I originally figured those good-for-nothing kids of mine had no interest in this. They barely come home once a year. I was planning to find a simple, honest person from the family when I was on my deathbed, tell them the secret, and have them carry it on.

But I never thought that rotten kid, Brandon, would actually dare to bring people to do something as despicable as robbing a grave. And now you police have found this place... Maybe this was all fate." With the help of the people around him, Monty Lynch found a flat patch of ground to sit on, his voice tinged with resignation.

The old professor circled the large pit. Once he was certain there was no risk of collapse, he told his assistant to contact the rest of their team and have them hurry over.

Then he walked over to Monty Lynch, sat down beside him, and asked, "Brother Lynch, do you know anything about the origin of this tomb?"

Monty Lynch pulled a hand-rolled cigarette from his pocket, slowly lit it, and took a drag before shaking his head. "I don’t. I don’t even know how many generations this has been passed down. Back in my grandfather’s day, he didn’t know the origin of the tomb either.

My grandpa told me that the person buried in that tomb saved our Lynch Family ancestor’s life. They gave him a chance to survive, which is the only reason the Lynch family line wasn’t broken.

Later, when that savior passed away and was buried near here, their own family was all gone. So the Lynch Family ancestor moved our entire family to this area to stand guard for generations."

Monty Lynch didn’t know any more than that.

He couldn’t even say how much of the story had been changed as it was passed down by word of mouth.

But the one thing he was certain of was that the person in the tomb had indeed saved the Lynch Family. They had stood guard all this time to repay that debt of gratitude.

For the first few generations, it was about repaying a debt. By now, it has simply become a legacy.

"In that case, you might not be able to stand guard for much longer. Cracks have appeared in the tomb chamber below. It’ll hold for another decade or so at most. If it collapses, it could become dangerous for you all," the old professor said after hearing the full story. He candidly explained the tomb’s condition to Monty Lynch and revealed the full purpose of their visit. "We came here for two reasons. The first was to stop Brandon and his men from excavating illegally and causing further damage to the tomb. The second is to assess the situation underground and then conduct a preservation-focused excavation."

Monty Lynch’s hand, holding the cigarette, paused. He turned to the old professor beside him and asked, "Is there really no other way? Does it have to be excavated?"

"We have no choice. The ten-year estimate is an optimistic one. If there’s a major rainstorm or some other natural disaster in the meantime, the consequences will be far worse than just this pit," the old professor explained.

If the tomb contained any hazardous materials, a collapse and subsequent leak would cause immeasurable harm to the surrounding environment and its people.

Hearing the firm conviction in the old professor’s voice, Monty Lynch knew the matter was no longer up for debate.

There was nothing to be done. He sighed, placed a hand on a nearby police officer’s arm to support himself as he stood up. His voice held a note of release. "Fine, excavate it. Once it’s excavated, we won’t have to stand guard anymore.

Just be careful with your work. Don’t damage anything else on this mountain."

"Of course. You have my word," the old professor replied, also standing up. He reached out and shook Monty Lynch’s hand in assurance.

Just then, a few police officers brought Brandon, Ace, and the others over, their arms twisted behind their backs.

Brandon had been relatively compliant, but when he saw a group of his elders standing on the summit, he started to struggle wildly. "Let me go! Let me go!

Grandpa! Help me! I don’t want to go to jail!"

Several of the elders standing beside Monty Lynch couldn’t bear to see Brandon—a boy they’d watched grow up—being restrained like that. They took a step forward, about to speak, but Monty Lynch raised a hand to stop them.

"Brandon," Monty Lynch said, his hands resting on his cane. His gaze was sharp as he stared at his grandson, as if trying to pry the answer from him. "Tell me, why did you rob that grave?"

Brandon’s struggling stopped. His expression turned guilty. He had just turned his head when he saw Ace and the others, also in custody.

They were all glaring at him with pure hatred, as if they wanted to tear him limb from limb.

Before Brandon could even explain, Ace started yelling, "Officers, you’ve got it all wrong!

Brandon here got hooked on gambling recently and lost a ton of money. He came to us and said he had a way to make some cash, asked if we wanted in.

He didn’t say what it was. We didn’t even know it was grave robbing until we got here! We wanted to leave and call the cops, but Brandon said since we were already here and had even dug a few shovelfuls, we were already accomplices. He said we’d get arrested even if we turned ourselves in.

He forced us! Brandon is the mastermind!"

The other men, who had been lamenting their capture, suddenly brightened up when they heard what Ace said.

’That’s right!’

’We can just pin it all on Brandon!’

’It’s true he’s got gambling debts, and he’s the one who brought us here. It doesn’t matter if we bend the truth a little, as long as we get out of this scott-free!’

’Besides, and this was crucial, they knew the difference between pissing off Brandon and pissing off Ace, who had powerful connections.’

Once they realized this, the other men quickly chimed in.

"Yeah, that’s right! I asked if we should call the police at the start, but Brandon said we’d get locked up either way!"

"I’ve got the chat logs on my phone to prove it! Brandon’s the one who called me here! He’s the mastermind! We’re accomplices at worst. Since we’re cooperating, can’t you go easy on us?"

"That’s right, officer! We can all testify. Brandon was the one who brought it up, and he’s the one who led us here.

Now that there’s trouble, you should just deal with him!"