Tomb Raiding: My Family's Last Clan Chief is Little Brother

Chapter 278 Black Iron Box
It was a black tin box covered with rusty patterns. No one knew what was inside. It was very heavy. Wu Xiaoxie tried to lift it with both hands and found it a bit difficult.

There was a heavy iron lock, as bulky as a brick, on the handle. When I picked it up and looked at it, I found that the keyhole was rusted.

"Why would that guy steal this thing?" Wu Xiaoxie asked疑惑地. "By the way, Muyu, when did you arrive? How come you got to that wooden building before us?"

“I arrived this morning,” Zhang Wuxun explained. “When I got to Banna, I found that my phone was dead and turned off. After changing the battery, I turned it on and saw the text message you sent. It wasn’t far, so I just sneaked in by myself.”

Zhang Wuxun said unhurriedly, "The reason I didn't come with you is because I've noticed that ever since I met with Chu Guangtou, I've always felt like I'm being watched, but it's just surveillance, nothing substantial."

"I originally planned to go straight back to Hangzhou to meet up with you, but after realizing I was being watched, I changed my mind. I sent you the information I got from Chu Guangtou directly by express delivery, while I wandered around there to tie down some of their forces."

Zhang Wuxun was telling the truth, except that he had wandered off a little too far. Those watching him secretly were completely baffled when they saw him suddenly run off to a place a thousand miles away.

“After sending the package out, the number of people watching me decreased. When you came to Banna, there must have been people secretly watching you. Those people are likely Chen Pi Asi’s spies here, or they could be from other forces. So after shaking off the sentries, I immediately concealed my itinerary and came here. To avoid any unforeseen complications, I went straight to the wooden building.”

The group walked back while talking.

Zhang Wuxun continued, "I had just found a clue upstairs when I heard the fat man's voice faintly outside. Then, I heard a clattering sound coming from under the wooden planks on the lower floor. I moved the wooden bed aside and followed the sound to find a hidden compartment, where this iron box was located."

"I had just gripped the handle of the box when a bluish-gray hand suddenly reached out from below and grabbed a corner of the box. It didn't look like a human hand. I instinctively thought it was the claw of some animal, so I grabbed the box and pulled it out, which pulled the gray shadowy figure out as well."

"We exchanged a few blows upstairs. I was trying to catch him, but I didn't expect that guy to be able to shrink his body. I was caught off guard and he got away, even taking the box with him," Zhang Wuxun said. "That guy broke through the window and jumped down. I quickly chased after him, and you know what happened next."

The fat man scratched the red mark on his face and asked, "Who the hell is that kid? He's pretty good at fighting."

Zhang Wuxun shook his head. "I don't know, but his tattoos look familiar to me. They might be related to the Zhang family."

Wu Xiaoxie looked at Xiao Ge in surprise, "Could he be a member of Xiao Ge's family? If he snatched that box, could it be because he didn't recognize Xiao Ge and thought we were here to steal his things, which is why he suddenly attacked?"

Zhang Wuxun chuckled silently, a laugh that sent chills down Wu Xiaoxie's spine. "What? Isn't that right?"

The fat man snorted, "Why did you have to come right when we found the guy's house? Nobody would believe it wasn't intentional. Besides, Tianzhen, didn't you notice? That guy's shoulders are sunken."

Wu Xiaoxie was taken aback, then realized what he meant and frowned, saying, "Could it be that the person Muyu was talking about, the one who was watching us after we entered Banna, is him? In that case, the shadow I saw on the second floor of Agui's house last night wasn't just my imagination."

"Huh? What shadow?" Fatty woke up late in the morning, and Wu Xiaoxie hadn't had a chance to tell him about it yet.

Once you get here, looking out from the woods, you can already see half of the stilted houses hidden behind the hillside.

Going out again would attract too much attention, so Wu Xiaoxie stopped and invited the others to sit down, then recounted what had happened last night. The fat man clapped his hands, "It's pretty much confirmed, but it also means that we're looking in the right direction, otherwise the person behind this wouldn't be in such a hurry to move the stolen goods."

"What stolen goods? You're making it sound so awful." Zhang Wuxun rolled his eyes at him.

The fat man stared at the iron box, smacked his lips, and said, "Why are you worrying about that? Even if it's not stolen goods, it must be some kind of treasure. Otherwise, the young man wouldn't have hidden it so well. Why don't we open it and take a look?"

He reached for the large lock, but the young man stopped him as soon as he made a move, saying, "You can't open it!"

The young man spoke very quickly, and his tone even carried a hint of coldness.

The fat man was startled and withdrew his hand. Looking at the pale-faced young man, he mumbled, "I was just saying, but you're so nervous, your face is all white. Could it be that your old wife's dowry is hidden inside?"

The young man looked very nervous. He frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Don't open it. I have a bad feeling about it."

Zhang Wuxun looked at him, moved the box a little further away, and asked softly, "Brother, did you remember something?"

The young man pursed his lips and shook his head. "I don't know, I can't explain it, but I have a very bad feeling that something bad will happen if I open this box."

The fat man almost jumped up. "Damn it, don't scare me. Is there a bomb hidden inside? Or is there some kind of mechanism in this box that will burst out a bunch of silver needles as soon as it's opened, piercing the person who opens it right through the heart?"

Zhang Wuxun carefully ran his left hand along the edge of the iron box, then pressed the lock to feel it, and shook his head, "It's not a problem with the box, there's no sense of a mechanism."

“Then there’s something wrong with what’s inside the box.” Wu Xiaoxie stroked his chin and pondered, “Since Brother has such a bad feeling about this box, it means that what’s inside is very dangerous. It might even be a bomb or something that explodes as soon as it’s opened.”

Zhang Wuxun was speechless. "The box is made of sheet metal and the weight is evenly distributed, which means that the contents are a single unit. Besides, Xiao Ge isn't some kind of terrorist. Where would he get such a big bomb?"

As they talked, they fell silent, exchanged glances, and found it somewhat amusing.

The fat man rubbed his slicked-back hair and laughed, "Damn it, a bunch of grown men can't be bothered by a box. Move aside, I'll handle it. Whether the thing inside is dead or alive, if it's dead, we'll take a good look at it; if it's alive, we'll kill it on the spot."

As he spoke, he touched the lock again. Wu Xiaoxie exclaimed and was about to stop him when he heard a loud clang. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the lock had fallen straight to the ground.

Most afraid of the air suddenly quiet.

Wu Xiaoxie looked at the fat man, his lips moved as if he was about to say something, but the fat man shouted loudly, "You can't blame me for this. I just touched it lightly, and it fell down by itself as soon as my hand touched the edge."

(End of this chapter)