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

Chapter 282 The Lynx Attack
Not far along the way, they saw Old Man Panma's son running towards them in a hurry.

Behind them followed a group of young and middle-aged men, carrying torches and various farm tools such as hoes and sickles. They looked anxious and passed by the group without saying a word, heading straight up the mountain.

Wu Xiaoxie sensed something was off about the expressions on these people's faces, so he quickly asked Agui to stop one of them and ask what was going on.

Only after asking did they learn that the old man Panma they were looking for had an accident on the mountain. A hunter's son had seen his blood-stained clothes on the mountain, and they were now taking people to search the mountain for him.

Ah Gui panicked upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, "Where was it found?"

"In the water buffalo head ditch."

After saying that, the man hurriedly followed the rest of the group away.

Ah Gui clapped his hands and said anxiously, "Oh dear, how can it be so far?"

Turning his head, he saw Zhang Wuxun and the other two beside him and hurriedly said, "The three bosses, you go back first, I have to go and help."

Zhang Wuxun and the other two exchanged glances. Wu Xiaoxie frowned, his expression grave. "I think there's something fishy about this."

“Let’s go, let’s follow them and take a look.” Zhang Wuxun gestured with his chin toward the departing crowd.

The young man, with a somber expression, took the lead and followed.

When A-Gui saw that the three of them had come along, he initially refused, but after much persuasion, he reluctantly agreed. However, he told the three of them to stay close to him, as the mountains at night were the most dangerous, and they must not get separated.

The group consisted of twenty or thirty people, with about half of them carrying hunting rifles, and a dozen or so strong hunting dogs leading the way.

After entering Buffalo Head Gully, the hunting dogs followed the scent of blood to a tangled thicket of trees. They circled around the base of the trees, their gleaming eyes fixed on the branches, and growling with a mix of warning and excitement.

The person who first discovered the blood-stained clothes pointed to the tree branch above the hunting dog's head and said, "Look, it's right there."

An experienced hunter found drops of blood in the grass under the tree. Following the bloodstains up the tree trunk, he found a tattered, blood-stained garment in the darkness above.

They quickly called for people to climb the tree and take down the blood-stained clothes, where they found obvious tear marks.

Clearly, Old Man Panma had encountered some kind of wild animal in the mountains and forests, and in his haste, he climbed a tree and left his blood-stained clothes behind to send a message.

Wu Xiaoxie asked Agui, "What kind of wild beasts live in these mountains?"

Ah Gui's face was grim. "A long time ago there were tigers in the mountains, but they've all disappeared now. With Pan Ma's experience and skills, the only thing that could hurt him is probably a leopard."

Wu Xiaoxie was shocked when he heard this. If a leopard could climb trees, and it really was a leopard, then Old Man Ma might already be dead.

Zhang Wuxun sniffed the bloody smell in the air and frowned slightly. "It shouldn't be. If it were a leopard, the amount of blood loss wouldn't be this small. Old Man Panma should still be alive. This must have been done by a carnivore smaller than a leopard. Let's take the dogs and search around here again."

After searching around the bushes for a long time without finding any more clues, the group decided to split into several teams, each with a dog, to expand the search area.

These mountain dogs are quite fierce. They have been hunting in the mountains with their owners since they were young and are very experienced. They quickly sniff out the scent and run towards their target.

Zhang Wuxun's group followed closely behind, heading deeper into the narrow valley of Shuiniutougou.

In the latter half of the night, the crescent moon hung on the treetops.

Their team had four dogs, all large white dogs with black spots, probably from the same litter, and they all looked very similar.

The four dogs led Zhang Wuxun and the others to the bottom of a slope caused by a mudslide after the rain. They all glared fiercely at a clump of trees on the hillside and growled in low voices.

Everyone became alert. Several hunters with guns loaded their guns, exchanged a few secret signals, and then silently surrounded the bushes on the hillside.

Taking advantage of their attention being focused ahead, Zhang Wuxun pulled out three half-arm-length double-edged short knives from his spatial storage, handed them to Wu Xiaoxie and Xiao Ge, gestured for them to be careful, and then bent over and reached forward himself.

Wu Xiaoxie was so nervous he dared not breathe. If the one that attacked Old Man Panma was indeed a leopard, the thing behind the bushes was probably already in a terrible state, and the culprit might be watching them with greedy eyes from some corner.

Zhang Wuxun ventured ahead, and a hunter, seeing his youthful appearance, tried to stop him. Zhang Wuxun had already used his knife to clear away the bushes. When he shone his flashlight, there was no corpse behind him, only an ugly, cracked black rock.

Just as they were wondering what was going on, a hunter next to them suddenly felt something was wrong with the soil under his feet. He was about to speak when his foot suddenly sank into the ground, and he instantly shrunk down.

Zhang Wuxun reacted quickly, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him up from the ground, shouting, "Run! This place is going to collapse!"

The remaining few people immediately took off running and retreated to the bottom of the hillside, where they stopped not far away with the others.

Under the harsh white light of the flashlight, something seemed to be surging beneath the soil of the hillside in front of us. Centered on that ugly rock, the entire area around it sank down, and with a loud rumble, the ground shook violently.

As the dust settled, a deep pit more than two meters in diameter was revealed, completely sinking into the spot where people had just stood. The ugly stone was now perched on a flattened, rotten piece of wood. Upon closer inspection, some people couldn't help but scream in surprise.

It turned out that the piece of rotten wood was not ordinary wood, but an ancient and old coffin.

The coffin had long been dilapidated due to the accumulation of time, and the falling ugly stone had smashed the large end of the coffin to pieces, causing the black liquid inside to leak out and emit a nauseating stench.

Everyone was stunned. The mountain people were superstitious, so they all left the place. A-Gui muttered that seeing a coffin in the middle of the night was unlucky and he would have to wash his eyes when he got back.

The young man jumped into the pit first, and Wu Xiaoxie followed. The two of them circled the coffin a few times.

Suddenly, the young man reached out and pulled something out of a crevice in the ugly stone.

Zhang Wuxun stood by the pit, shining a light on them. The object was a plastic bag, also stained with a lot of blood.

The plastic bag was empty; clearly, the contents had been taken long ago.

"Come on up." Zhang Wuxun reached out and pulled Wu Xiaoxie up.

The deliveryman jumped up, showed the plastic bag to Zhang Wuxun, and whispered, "He took the things."

Zhang Wuxun nodded, "It hasn't been long, the blood hasn't clotted yet, he must be nearby."

After saying that, he turned to A-Gui and the others and explained that they should search carefully in the vicinity.

Those people were clearly still in shock, their expressions a mixture of astonishment and confusion. They wondered how these three people, dressed so smartly and clearly city dwellers, could be so bold as to jump into a grave.

Ah Gui whistled to call the dog back, and then they discussed it and split into two teams. One team searched up the hillside, while Zhang Wuxun and the others followed Ah Gui and two other hunters down the hillside.

A short while later, urgent barking suddenly came from another group of people not far away. Zhang Wuxun and his hunting dogs immediately ran back upon hearing the noise. Immediately afterwards, there was a shrill scream, and countless shadows flashed out from the darkness, creating chaos.

Ah Gui shouted over there, "What happened?"

No one answered him. Amidst the swaying shadows of the trees, only mournful howls could be heard, and the grass shook wildly, rapidly approaching the direction where Zhang Wuxun and the others were like lightning.

Zhang Wuxun shoved a pistol into Wu Xiaoxie's hand, saying, "Be careful, there's something in the bushes."

Ah Gui's expression changed drastically, and he roared, "Release the dogs!"

With a few whistles, the hunting dogs barked and charged forward, engaging in battle with the dark figure that was moving swiftly through the grass.

Soon, the pained cry of some wild beast came from the bushes. Agui and the others also rushed over with their guns. They all had hunting experience. They shouted a few words in the local language and then followed the dog and chased the dark shadow into the woods.

The hunting dogs that accompanied their team gathered together and quickly surrounded the prey. The creatures were probably quite large, and the dogs didn't know where to start biting.

Ah Gui and his men were on high alert. The creature in the bushes was cunning; instead of panicking and fleeing when surrounded, it took the initiative, hiding in the waist-high bushes, making Ah Gui and his men hesitant to approach.

The situation reached a stalemate for a time.

When the flashlight beam shone through, all that could be seen were indeed several pairs of green eyes inside.

Zhang Wuxun and Xiao Ge surrounded Wu Xiaoxie, quietly sensing the surrounding situation.

Suddenly, Zhang Wuxun's eyes sharpened, and he raised his hand and flicked it in one direction. A streak of silver light shot through the air and disappeared into the bushes behind Agui and the others.

A piercing scream rang in everyone's ears, sounding very much like the scream of a feline.

Upon hearing the sound, A-Gui and the others' expressions changed drastically. "It's a lynx!"

Although lynxes are solitary animals, there are more than three surrounded by hunting dogs right now, and who knows how many more are hiding in the dark grass around them. This situation is really strange.

After that shout, strange ripples appeared in the surrounding grass, and something was crawling inside, constantly approaching them.

Ah Gui and his men immediately reacted, whistling to call the dog back. They also gathered around, raising their guns and scanning their surroundings.

"Be careful, they're surrounding us!" Zhang Wuxun warned.

The young man looked serious and said in a low voice, "Retreat towards the ancient tomb; there's too much grass here."

The group retreated towards the hillside while remaining vigilant.

As they approached the hillside, the hunting dog in front suddenly stopped, arched its back, bristled its fur, bared its teeth as if to attack, and growled low at the bushes beside it.

The ripples in the grass paused for a moment, then approached them at an even faster speed.

"Come on!"

Zhang Wuxun pushed Wu Xiaoxie up the hillside as fast as he could.

He turned around and pushed A-Gui and the others up as well. Because it had just rained, the soil underfoot was soft and could not support the weight of so many people. He could only keep urging them to climb higher.

The sound of trampling dead branches and leaves echoed continuously in the grass, everywhere.

After Ah Gui and the others climbed up, they quickly called Zhang Wuxun and Xiao Ge to climb up as well.

"Brother, you go first!" Zhang Wuxun urged.

The young man shook his head, his gaze fixed on one spot.

"Run! Run away!"

A-Gui and the others were standing on higher ground, so they could see more clearly. They saw something and suddenly shouted.

In an instant, several dark figures sprang out of the bushes. They were about the size of calves, agile, and had light brown, patterned fur. At first glance, they looked like tiger cubs or leopards, but their ferocious furry faces were more pointed than those of tigers and leopards. They had large ears with two black hairs sticking out of their tips, slanted eyes, white foreheads, and fierce glints in their eyes. In just a breath, they were right in front of Zhang Wuxun and his companion.

Zhang Wuxun raised his sword and swung it, aiming for the face of the creature in front of him.

The lynx was terrified. Using its powerful waist and abdomen strength, it twisted in mid-air to dodge the attack. The moment it landed, it pushed off with its hind legs and sprang up to pounce on Zhang Wuxun's throat. This is a common hunting tactic of felines.

Zhang Wuxun twisted his wrist, using his knife to block the lynx's claws. At the same time, a similar double-edged dagger appeared out of thin air in his other hand. He thrust it upwards, stabbing it right into the lynx's trachea. Then, he flicked his wrist, sending the lynx stuck in the knife flying, which struck another lynx that darted up from behind.

On the other side, the young man was standing on the slope. After dealing with a lynx that was trying to climb up the slope, he was pulling another one down by its tail.

The lynx's sharp limbs pierced deep into the soil, but because the soil was soft and there was nowhere to hold on, the young man grabbed it and dragged it down, then rushed forward and plunged the knife into the lynx's head.

The lynx, in pain, disregarded protecting its soft belly and flipped over, its four paws flailing as it scratched at the young man.

The young man rolled to the side, and in the instant he stood up, he kicked a smaller lynx that was lunging at him, sending it flying.

The hunters on the slope were also busy, firing their guns incessantly. Some unlucky lynxes were hit by several shots at once, and half of their bodies were blown apart.

With lightning speed, Wu Xiaoxie, while Zhang Wuxun was focused on dealing with one of the lynxes, raised his hand and shot it right between the eyebrows of the lynx that was trying to sneak up on him from behind. The lynx died on the spot.

There were more than a dozen lynxes besieging them. After the first few vanguard lynxes were all killed, the rest became even more alert.

Fortunately, this slope was relatively far from the bushes, and lynxes are not good at close combat. Otherwise, if the lynxes climbed up the trees and gained control of the air, they would have had a very difficult time dealing with them.

The roar of a lynx is chilling and extremely eerie in this dimly lit setting.

Zhang Wuxun flung several octagonal silver darts into the grass where the ripples were strongest. With a series of muffled thunderous booms, the grass was blasted open into several strange craters, resembling the odd marks left by a UFO that had suddenly landed.

Animals are naturally afraid of thunder. After several loud bangs, the lynx's attack became noticeably more hesitant. It lay in the grass, its green eyes fixed on the people on the hillside, clearly not wanting to give up the meat that was so close to its mouth.

More and more urgent barking came from afar. Agui and his men's faces lit up with joy. Clearly, other groups searching the mountain had heard the commotion and were heading over with their dogs.

The lynx pricked up its furry ears, bared its fangs, and prepared to launch a final attack.

(End of this chapter)