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

Chapter 320 Siguniang Mountain
The white wooden carved box has a very special mechanism lock. Only the octagonal silver dart that Zhang Wuxun asked someone to bring to Wu Xiaoxie before he went to Changbai Mountain can be used as a key to open it.

Zhang Wuxun knew very well that he was destined to clash with the Wang family at the Zhang Family Ancient Building, and he could already vaguely sense the impending storm.

In fact, he himself was not sure whether he could get out of the ancient building.

This box served as an extra layer of insurance for his plan.

If, if he really does perish in Zhang Family Ancient Building this time, he hopes that Wu Xiaoxie can follow the guidance in the box, avoid some detours, and bring Xiao Ge out of the bronze door as soon as possible.

But he won't be able to be with him then.

Pan Zi appeared to believe Zhang Wuxun's explanation, but he still harbored doubts and felt that the boy was hiding something from him.

Pan Zi stared at Zhang Wuxun for a long time, but still couldn't find any flaws in his expression.

From the other side of the archway came shouts of "Pickled radish and beef tripe, eggplant with salted egg, and stir-fried pork kidneys with vinegar!"

The waitress whistled in with a large wooden platter full of dishes, quickly setting them out. "This is rice, please start eating. The crayfish will be ready soon, and a few other dishes will be served shortly as well."

Pan Zi placed the white wooden carved box on the table, picked up his chopsticks, and put some food into Zhang Wuxun's bowl. "When the new year comes, I will also try to gradually step down from my current position. In the end, Third Master's business will have to be handed over to Little Third Master. After you all get married, I don't think I'll have time to take care of you young people's affairs. Whatever you want to do, just keep your heads up."

Zhang Wuxun smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll remember."

Afterwards, we chatted about some unimportant things, and the meal was quickly finished.

After leaving the restaurant, the two got into the car.

Panzi put the box into his backpack, lit a lighter, and asked, "Where do you want to stay? A hotel or my place?"

Ever since he had someone he cared about, and considering the future, Panzi used the money he had saved over the years to buy several houses in places with good environments and convenient transportation. He still usually lived in the old alley near the temple.

Zhang Wuxun shook his head. "Let's go straight to the airport. I need to get back to Banna as soon as possible. Xiao Ge and Fatty are waiting for me."

"Okay." Pan Zi nodded, said nothing more, and didn't ask any further questions.

After leaving Banna that day, Zhang Wuxun timed it perfectly and returned to the Yao village on the morning of the fifth day.

It hasn't rained for the past few days, and the road leading up the mountain is now open.

Zhang Wuxun arrived at the village entrance in a fellow villager's oxcart, where he happened to run into Huo Xiuxiu, who was directing her men to load equipment onto a donkey cart.

I don't know what this little girl has been through these past few days, her expression is always so unpleasant, she doesn't even smile when she sees Zhang Wuxun.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Wuxun understood the whole story. He didn't want to go and risk getting into trouble, so he decided to go up the mountain to see Fatty and Xiao Ge first.

He had only taken two steps when he heard Huo Xiuxiu calling him from behind.

“I’ve already spoken to Grandma, and she wants you to come up the mountain with us after you return,” Huo Xiuxiu said.

Zhang Wuxun pondered Old Mrs. Huo's intentions for a moment, then silently squatted down on a nearby rock and waited for Huo Xiuxiu and the others to finish loading the car.

It seems that the old lady is indeed angry after these few days of delay. However, judging from Huo Xiuxiu's tone, her anger doesn't seem to be directed at him, so it can only be Fatty.

Thinking of this, Zhang Wuxun chuckled to himself. This fat guy really knows how to handle old devils.

I just don't know what this kid did to make the old lady so angry.

An hour later, the team set off.

They took the same route as before. The path that A-Gui had led them on was still quite sturdy. Despite so many heavy rains, only a small section of the mountainside had collapsed, so taking a detour wasn't too difficult.

On the morning of the seventh day, the group reached the riverbank.

Zhang Wuxun returned to the tent to check, but neither the young man nor the fat man were there. However, he found several pieces of paper under the cot frame, with messages left by the fat man on them.

After reading this, Zhang Wuxun immediately understood why the Huo family members he encountered on the way back to the tent had all given him a cold shoulder.

During the few days he was away, the fat man came up with a particularly despicable idea.

In order to delay the time in accordance with Zhang Wuxun's wishes, the fat man thought about it and found that other plans seemed to be useless, so he asked the young man to pretend to be sick.

Actually, there's no need to make it too obvious. As long as the young man lies there, whether he's sick or not, Huo Xiangu will understand.

No matter how anxious she was, if the young man didn't want to move, she couldn't get in and could only wait.

That's one thing, but everyone knows the truth.

The technicians under Huo Xiangu's command can take this opportunity to widen the passage behind the ancient tree.

But the fat guy was a drama queen. He always had a long face and would sidle up to Huo Zhizhi, pretending that his brother was about to die, trying to swindle some precious medicinal herbs or other valuable things from Huo Zhizhi.

Huo Zhizhi was furious, but as a scion of a large family, he was used to seeing all sorts of scheming and plotting with Huo Xiangu. Until the very end, everyone maintained a facade of harmony.

Faced with the fat man's shameless and unruly fighting style, which resembled spreading pancakes, the two sides were truly helpless even with their cooperation.

Old Mrs. Huo had plenty of things to do, and he didn't have time to argue with this fatso.

Moreover, Mrs. Huo's health has been deteriorating recently, and several close acquaintances are on edge, as the fat man's harassment is driving them crazy.

Eventually, the matter reached Old Madam Huo's ears. Old Madam Huo directly sent a message to Fatty, saying that she would wait for Zhang Wu to return before taking action together, and that no matter how much Fatty struggled, it would be useless; the medicine would not be given.

The fat man, having failed in his attempt, was quite sullen.

However, he didn't dwell on it. The next day, he took the young man, who was "recovering from a serious illness," and went up the mountain with the Huo family's group. In the words that the fat man wrote on the paper, he didn't trust Old Madam Huo and had to keep an eye on things himself.

The fat man also wrote down on the paper what the Huo family had discovered: there were three sealing stones deep within the crack.

He also relayed a lot of what the young man and Grandma Huo said, interspersed with a lot of the fat man's own private rants and complaints.

In summary, those three sealing stones are the legendary Thousand-Mile Lock, and the place Wu Xiaoxie went to, Mount Siguniang, is the "key" to the Thousand-Mile Lock.

Over the past two days, they have spent two days clearing the outer edge of the crack and creating a passage leading directly to the sealing stone.

This morning, he and his friend took some people in to check the situation again, and then they contacted Wu Xiaoxie.

﹉﹉﹉

The camera then shifts to Mount Siguniang.

Because they had to wait for special equipment, Wu Xiaoxie and Xie Yuchen set off two days later than Zhang Wuxun and the others.

On the second day, hanging on the towering cliff face, things went surprisingly smoothly, and they found the reinforced cave that Old Mrs. Huo had mentioned.

They quickly dug through some of the cement poured into the cave entrance and found a gruesome corpse inside.

The corpse was covered with a large amount of mold-like hair. Xie Yuchen used a small hammer to crack open its skull and found that it was also filled with large clumps of dark hair.

"This is bad," Xie Yuchen clicked his tongue. Wu Xiaoxie looked up into the cave and saw several white bones sticking out of the reddish cement surface in that area, indicating that the situation inside was even more serious.

He couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. He wondered how these hairs had gotten into this person's head. He suspected that the reason why the Nine Gates' team suffered such heavy casualties back then was because there were many forbidden women hidden inside, or even something more bizarre than forbidden women.

He shared his guess with Xie Yuchen, who was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I looked closely, and these hair-like things seem to be growing out of this person's body. It's very likely that something inside the cave was inhaled. So why don't we cover all the exposed skin on our bodies, put on gas masks, and make sure our mouths and noses are covered tightly?"

The implication was that they absolutely had to go into this cave.

Without much hesitation, Xie Yuchen picked up the walkie-talkie and instructed his subordinates to bring up several sets of sturdy and durable protective gear, as well as gas masks, goggles, and the like.

The equipment was quickly delivered. After Wu Xiaoxie and his companion put on their gear, they wrapped each other's cuffs and necks with tape, leaving no gaps for air to get in. Finally, they put on their gas masks.

Before even entering the cave, Wu Xiaoxie was already drenched in sweat, with perspiration pouring down his body like water.

Xie Yuchen handed him the pickaxe, and the two continued to clear the remaining cement.

They carefully dug around the skeletons, and soon the second skeleton was unearthed, followed by the third, and even more.

What puzzled them was that the skeletal remains were all frozen in a gruesome way, one after another, huddled together.

At first, Wu Xiaoxie thought they were fighting over something, but as more and more bones were dug out, he gradually realized that these people's actions were not fighting, but pushing the people in front of them outwards.

Wu Xiaoxie could even imagine how, after the accident, when people outside were pouring cement in, those trapped inside went from struggling desperately to having no hope of escape, filled with despair as large amounts of cement and hair were poured into their mouths and noses, ultimately suffocating to death.

Xie Yuchen quickly cracked open a few more skulls, looked inside, and then turned to Wu Xiaoxie in a deep voice, saying, "Your earlier guess was correct. The cave was sealed not after Granny Huo left, but when that incident happened. They quickly sealed the entrance to prevent those who couldn't evacuate in time, as well as the thing that caused the incident, from coming out of there."

"But there's something strange. Since Granny Huo knew about this, why didn't she tell us?"

Wu Xiaoxie found a place to sit down and catch his breath. Hearing this, he shook his head, "Not necessarily. Since they're going to cooperate, there's no reason for Old Madam Huo to hide such crucial information from us. It's possible that after they left first, the remaining people were unwilling to give up and continued searching the cave, which is why..."

“No, this is still not right!” Wu Xiaoxie frowned, staring intently at the large number of gray-red cement blocks that they had smashed and piled up to the side. He suddenly turned to Xie Yuchen and said, “This was a premeditated situation. They had foreseen the situation inside the cave before entering it, so they installed a cement filling system on the cliff as a precaution. Before going in, they were prepared to die.”

Xie Yuchen had clearly considered this as well. "She didn't tell us, most likely because she herself wasn't clear about the situation here."

“But since she was a key member of the team back then and participated fully in the entire event, there’s no reason why she wouldn’t know about something so important. So, there’s only one explanation for all of this.” Xie Yuchen looked at Wu Xiaoxie.

Wu Xiaoxie immediately thought of something deeper. A mountain breeze blew, and a chill seeped down his spine. "These corpses are not from the Nine Gates. After the Nine Gates left, another group of people came here, and it wasn't too long ago. Look at those cements, the blood is still red."

He didn't know if the other group of people he was speculating about might be the so-called "it" people, but the possibility was high.

Installing a cement hopper system on a cliff is an extremely large and difficult project; it would be impossible to complete without strong and substantial financial resources.

At the time, the Nine Gates were preoccupied with their own problems. It seems that only that mysterious and treacherous "it" could have accomplished this so quietly without alerting any other forces.

Xie Yuchen quietly added, "You're right. Moreover, the other group is very powerful. The fact that they installed cement tanks beforehand means they knew what was inside before they entered. These people must be related to what happened back then."

"Grandma Huo said that the group that went to Mount Siguniang was very large and included a mixed bag of people, so it's not surprising that some people from other forces were mixed in," Xie Yuchen continued. "But after what happened back then, that force probably didn't find what it wanted, but it didn't give up, so it made a comeback after years of lying low."

Wu Xiaoxie subconsciously looked into the cave. Outside, the sun was shining brightly and the weather was fine.

The cave was eerily cold and damp. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt as if something deep inside was coldly watching them.

He said softly, "So, there is something in this cave that is even more important than the Lu Huangbo."

(Updates will be made as needed)
Looking at those grotesque, curled-up, blood-stained mummies, Wu Xiaoxie felt an indescribable sense of disgust and revulsion. What were these things that made those people make such meaningless sacrifices time and time again?

Just as he said before, this group of people seemed to be a suicide squad, already prepared to sacrifice themselves. There can only be one explanation for their terrible struggle before death.

These disgusting, hair-like things are more terrifying than death when they launch an attack.

The process of dying was likely incredibly painful, so painful that even these assassins were terrified.

Thinking of this, Wu Xiaoxie couldn't help but smile bitterly, looking at Xie Yuchen, "It seems we're destined to suffer some hardships this time."

Xie Yuchen remained silent for a long time. He wasn't as optimistic as Wu Xiaoxie; whether he could come out alive was still unknown.

He didn't think that the group back then had less information or made fewer preparations than they do now.

"Regardless, it seems they failed back then and triggered a deadly trap. The Old Nine Gates members have already triggered the traps inside, and they also fell into the trap. So the traps inside are not one-time use, and they are extremely dangerous. The two of us may not be able to avoid them either, so we have to be extra careful."

Xie Yuchen sighed, picked up the pickaxe again, and began to chisel away the remaining cement blocks.

Wu Xiaoxie also sighed heavily. With those three people gone, he always felt that something was missing, and his heart felt empty. He wondered how things were going in Banna.

After working non-stop for more than three hours, we finally cleared away the cement and rocks blocking the cave entrance.

The two men piled all the bones together, creating a passage in the middle for easy escape in case of an emergency.

Back in the sunlight at the cave entrance, the two rested for a while, ate something to replenish their energy, and then changed into new protective suits and masks before putting on their backpacks.

Just as they took two steps inside, Wu Xiaoxie suddenly called out to Xie Yuchen, took out five or six octagonal silver darts from his backpack, and handed them to Xie Yuchen, saying, "Take these; they might save your life in a critical moment."

"What is this?" Xie Yuchen pinched it and examined it closely. He quickly noticed the oddity on it and looked at Wu Xiaoxie with a smile. "This isn't yours, is it?"

Wu Xiaoxie patted his backpack with a smug look on his face. "Of course, it's a life-saving and escape toolbox that my family's Muyu prepared for me."

Xie Yuchen smiled and shook his head, "You..."

Wu Xiaoxie showed Xie Yuchen how to use the octagonal silver dart, and the two turned on their headlamps and entered the cave.

The space behind them was larger and deeper than they had imagined, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Upon entering, the first thing you see is a square pit filled with bones and broken pottery jars.

The skeletons in the pit were also covered in hair. These skeletons were yellowed and brittle, and looked older than the corpses trapped in the cement outside.

Xie Yuchen gripped his entrenching tool and poked around in the pit a few times. The small patch of moss-like, rough hair crumbled into dust, just like dry leaves falling to the ground in autumn. Under the light of his miner's lamp, wisps of bluish-gray musty smoke rose into the air.

"People from the Nine Gates?" Xie Yuchen's voice sounded muffled because he was wearing a gas mask.

Wu Xiaoxie nodded. "Perhaps. This pit doesn't look like it was originally there. Could it be that the later group collected the remains of the Nine Gates members who died here?"

Xie Yuchen glanced at him sideways, "Do you think those people would be so kind?"

Wu Xiaoxie and he exchanged a silent glance. "Then what's the point of them collecting these remains?"

"How should I know?" Xie Yuchen straightened up and walked around the pit from the edge to the back.

Wu Xiaoxie puffed out his cheeks, marking several days since he had missed Zhang Wuxun and the other two.

Several of my relatives' kids came back for the Chinese New Year. The elders were busy, so I had to look after the kids, and they were quite noisy. I haven't had time to write much lately. The relatives only left this afternoon, so I'm sorry. I'll make up for the missed writing these past few days as I can.

Thank you to the following generous donors: [才哥l], [大理陈], [不念], [敷衍], [书友20180808074252060], [书友20230101103334660], and [聂莫忘情长]. Happy Year of the Rabbit!



(End of this chapter)