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

Chapter 280 is another one.

Wu Xiaoxie explained that they had picked up a friend while they were out for a stroll.

Agui's eldest daughter is a bit shy, unlike Yun Cai who is lively and outgoing. Upon hearing this, she did not ask any further questions.

The four of them went upstairs one by one and squeezed into Wu Xiaoxie's room.

"Those people on the hillside..." Wu Xiaoxie hesitated, then stopped.

Zhang Wuxun finished his sentence for him: "It's unlikely that a local or an outsider could disguise themselves by wearing Yao ethnic clothing. This village is only so big, and every household knows if a stranger comes."

The fat man hissed, "If they're locals, could they be people from Chen Pi Asi's old gang here?"

Zhang Wuxun nodded. "It's very possible. We're all being watched by them now, and it might be difficult for us to go back to the stilt house."

“Then let’s go investigate the building where I saw the figure with the slumped shoulders last night,” Wu Xiaoxie said decisively. “Since the slumped shoulders lives here, and it seems that A-Gui is intentionally hiding this, we might be able to find some clues in that house.”

"Fatty, go and lure Yun Cai's sister away," Wu Xiaoxie said to Fatty.

The fat man hesitated for a moment, "Well, I think that although A-Gui might have a problem, Yun Cai is a gentle and delicate girl, so she should be fine, right?"

Zhang Wuxun patted him on the shoulder, "That's why I sent you to test the waters. Who told you to just chat with that girl for nothing?"

"Alright then." The fat man nodded. The redness on his skin hadn't completely faded yet, so he took this opportunity to send Sister Yun Cai to buy medicine.

Zhang Wuxun and the other two watched as the fat man went downstairs, stood in front of Sister Yun Cai and said something, and then the girl ran out anxiously.

The fat man turned around and gave an OK sign to the people upstairs.

“Naive, you stay here and keep watch. If anyone comes, try to help Fatty stall for time,” Zhang Wuxun said to Wu Xiaoxie.

Wu Xiaoxie nodded in agreement.

Zhang Wuxun and Xiao Ge climbed out of the side window and, using the bamboo house as cover, silently jumped to the ground.

The two bamboo houses were separated by a vegetable garden more than two meters wide. To avoid leaving any traces, the two deliberately walked lightly and carefully crossed the vegetable garden. They then climbed up to the second floor from the side that blocked their view.

"The windows are locked, so we can only use the door," Zhang Wuxun said softly.

The young man nodded, pressed his ear against the wooden wall to listen, and said, "No sound, no one is inside."

The door wasn't locked, it was just tightly shut.

Zhang Wuxun placed his hand on it and tentatively pushed it away.

The wooden door creaked open a crack, and the friction sound of the door hinges turning was particularly sharp.

Zhang Wuxun cursed under his breath, looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief when he found nothing amiss.

"Let's go." The young man whispered, squeezing sideways through the slightly ajar door.

Zhang Wuxun quickly followed him inside, then turned around and quietly closed the door.

Looking around, the furnishings in the room were completely exposed, as simple as could be.

There was a wooden table and a bamboo chair against the wall, and a small cabinet next to the bed. The bed was completely bare of any everyday items, and it was clear at a glance that no one lived here often.

The young man walked to the wall, stared at the few simple knives and axes on it, and then turned to flip the table.

Zhang Wuxun walked to the other side, took a thin wire from his spatial storage, bent it, inserted it into the keyhole, fiddled with it for a bit, and the cabinet door lock opened.

Because the cabinet was covered in dust, and he was afraid of leaving fingerprints, Zhang Wuxun used a dagger instead of his fingers to pry open the cabinet door.

With just this little noise, dust billowed up.

Zhang Wuxun took a step back, and after the dust settled, he squatted down and picked up a small notebook made of rough paper, sewn together with black thread, from the bottom of the cabinet. The material was very rough, somewhat like the kraft paper he used to use to cover his textbooks.

Upon opening it, one finds it filled with ancient Yao script.

Although Zhang Wuxun had learned the Yao language during his time with the Yao people in order to investigate his origins, Mandarin had already become widespread among them by then. What Zhang Wuxun learned was only some Yao language used for daily communication. As for ancient Yao script, let alone Zhang Wuxun, even genuine Yao people probably wouldn't recognize it.

Zhang Wuxun frowned; this was really worrying.

Suddenly, the system in my mind popped up.

[Host, these are some account records.]

"Accounts?" Zhang Wuxun was taken aback. "You can read these?"

[I realize that this notebook itself has little practical value; it seems to be just a collection of random notes. The first few pages contain information about stones and timber used in large-scale construction projects, while the later pages contain information about salt, grains, and the like. The content is scattered and incomplete.]

Zhang Wuxun frowned. A large-scale project?

Is it Zhangjia Ancient Building, or a new Yao village?

The location of Zhangjia Ancient Building was chosen as early as the Ming Dynasty, and the person who built this project was the Lei family of the Qing Dynasty. The record in this book is too brief, so it should not be true.

Therefore, the only possibility is that it was recorded by a craftsman during the construction of a new Yao village after the original Yao village was flooded.

I don't know where this little ledger came from, but it wasn't of much help to Zhang Wuxun.

With just a dozen or so pages, Zhang Wuxun quickly took photos with his camera and put the notebook back in its original place.

There was a bundle of tattered hemp rope hanging in the cabinet, but nothing particularly special about it.

Zhang Wuxun closed the cabinet, restored it to its original state, and turned to look at the young man.

"What did you find?" he asked.

The young man's expression was somewhat strange, and he turned to show Zhang Wuxun what he was holding.

It turned out to be another "iron gourd," exactly the same shape as the one in the tin box before.

Just as Zhang Wuxun was about to say something, the fat man's voice came from outside, "Hey, Yun Cai, you're back!"

Then Yun Cai's voice came, "Fatty, what happened to your face?"

Wu Xiaoxie, who was upstairs, peeked down, grabbed a medicine bottle from the table, and ran downstairs in a flustered manner.

"Hey Fatty, in just this short time, your face looks even worse than before. Quick, spray this medicine on first."

Wu Xiaoxie said anxiously, his body positioned in the middle, blocking Yun Cai's view of the bamboo building.

"What kind of medicine is this? Does it work?" the fat man asked exaggeratedly.

"I don't know. I think this is the only medicine we brought that seems to have anti-swelling and analgesic effects. Why don't you spray it on and try it?" Wu Xiaoxie said.

Two seconds later, the fat man screamed even more miserably, "What kind of lousy medicine is this? It doesn't work at all! I feel even itchier!"

Yun Cai stood to the side, looking at the not-so-obvious redness and swelling on the fat man's face, somewhat at a loss. "What should we do?"

Wu Xiaoxie seized the opportunity to say, "Yun Cai, you should have a doctor in your village, right? Your sister went to find a doctor earlier, but she hasn't come back yet. Is something holding her up? Could you please help us find her? We've only been here for two days and don't know the way."

Yun Cai hesitated for a moment, "Alright then, hey, where's the other person who was with you?"

(End of this chapter)