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

Chapter 383 Under the Moonlit Clouds and Thorns
The man with slumped shoulders didn't answer, but continued, "So the other person is Zhang Qiling? Where did he go?"

Zhang Wuxun retorted, "Why are you asking this?"

From his reply, the man with slumped shoulders already knew the answer, and his eyes turned cold. "Since you are not Zhang Qiling, then saving you is pointless."

Zhang Wuxun was speechless. "Didn't you say before that you were repaying my life-saving grace?"

"Anyway, you don't remember, so it's useless to return it." The slumped-shouldered man suddenly became shameless. "It doesn't have to be Zhang Qiling, you have to do something for me."

Zhang Wuxun asked irritably, "What are you doing?"

He's currently living under someone else's roof, and until his injuries heal, he'll still have to endure the frustration.

"Carve a box for me," said the man with slumped shoulders. "I've seen the little sign on the old pine tree behind the mountain; your carving is excellent."

"Are you going to die?" Zhang Wuxun asked in surprise.

"You're the one who's going to die." Ever since he found out he wasn't Zhang Qiling, the slumped-shouldered man's attitude suddenly turned sour. "Can't I keep it for later?"

Zhang Wu scoffed. Sure enough, all members of the Qiongqi lineage were like this, indifferent to life or death.

Duan Jianjian pulled out a piece of rosewood from somewhere, tossed it to Zhang Wuxun, and then went to deal with the two rabbits he had caught in the trap.

Zhang Wuxun held the piece of huanghuali wood, turning it over and over to examine it, then found the spot where to make the cut and asked him, "What kind of pattern do you want to carve?"

With his shoulders slumped as he dealt with the two rabbits, he said without looking up, "The mountains, the mountains of the Yao village."

Alright, Zhang Wuxun didn't say anything more.

Outside the crack, the rain pattered on and on, showing no sign of stopping.

With slumped shoulders, he used a knife to cut the roasted rabbit meat into pieces and put them into a bowl. After changing the batteries in the lamp, he placed it next to Zhang Wuxun.

Although Zhang Wuxun was very skilled at carving wood, he decided to carve slowly in order to prolong his recovery time and have more days to heal his injury. This way, his slumped shoulder would have no excuse to drive him away.

After two days in the gourd cave, the gloomy sky finally cleared up, and Zhang Wuxun's mood improved as well. During his recovery, he was even able to hop out of the cave on one leg to clean up the rotten bones that had started to smell.

One morning, he went out with slumped shoulders and didn't return until the afternoon of the next day, bringing Zhang Wuxun a message: "They've been looking for you. They've raided many of my hideouts near the ancient tower."

Zhang Wuxun paused in his hand holding the knife. "You didn't let them find any clues, did you?"

The man with slumped shoulders scoffed at his suspicion, "Why don't you go back?"

"Sometimes, death is the best way to hide."

After Zhang Wuxun finished speaking, he continued to meticulously carve the details of the box. He mainly carved the lake and the nearby mountains. The initial shape had already been shown to the hunchback, and he had no objections.

"Which faction do you belong to now? The Awakening Faction?" the slumped-shoulder man asked him.

Zhang Wuxun slowly blew away the small wood shavings from his hands, lifted his eyelids slightly, and asked, "The awakened faction you mentioned, are you referring to the archaeological team after they were switched? Did you know that the archaeological team had already been switched back then?"

"I know." The slumped shoulders had nothing to hide. "The Zhang family is masters of disguise; how could they possibly fool me with those tricks?"

"The reason I didn't stop them was simply because I realized their goals were in my favor. I tried to extend an olive branch to them, but they didn't trust me, and when they finally withdrew, they even abandoned me."

When he spoke these words with slumped shoulders, his eyes were indifferent. He kept his face covered, and Zhang Wuxun had never seen his face hidden beneath the cover.

"I guess so," Zhang Wuxun said. "Or maybe not. I'm not in the same camp as them. We cooperate, but we're also wary of each other. But ultimately, we have the same goal."

He slumped his shoulders, gave an "oh," and withdrew his hand from the broth where he was about to pour the black powder into it.

Zhang Wuxun's face darkened; this guy was truly vindictive.

On the eighth day of living in the cave, Zhang Wuxun finally finished carving the box, and his slumped shoulders somehow managed to get some tung oil.

Zhang Wuxun applied a protective film to the wooden box using gauze. This prevents the wood from cracking and is the simplest way to maintain wooden handicrafts. It doesn't need to be done frequently; applying a layer every six months is sufficient.

The hunchback also brought back several medicinal herbs he wanted, which could be used to make simple human skin masks. After leaving Banna, Zhang Wuxun would no longer be able to show his true face.

On the ninth day, with his injuries healing well, Zhang Wuxun decided to officially leave.

With a shrug, he blew a bamboo whistle, and soon there was movement in the dense jungle. Four or five brown lynxes, each larger than a calf, emerged, carrying pheasants or wild rabbits in their mouths.

As soon as these lynxes saw Zhang Wuxun, they kept baring their teeth at him, but because their owner was nearby, they did not attack.

These felines are very intelligent and have a human-like understanding of human nature. It's no wonder they hold a grudge since Zhang Wuxun killed so many of their companions.

Zhang Wuxun suspected that the guy with the slumped shoulders was doing it on purpose. "Are you trying to get these lynxes to take me down the mountain?"

The man with slumped shoulders ignored him, went forward to pick up the small prey that the lynxes had brought, and tossed them to Zhang Wu to find a rabbit.

The two wandered through this almost primitive, dense jungle, with several large lynxes flitting around them.

By this time, the sun had begun to set in the west, and it was getting dark quickly in the jungle. The lynxes could act as temporary bodyguards, because there were many medium-sized wild animals in the deep mountains of Banna, such as wolves, and even more dangerous beasts like leopards and black bears in the deeper parts.

"Do you raise all these lynxes?" Zhang Wuxun looked at the large lynx leading the way. "They're quite convenient for hunting; they're even more useful than dogs in this forest."

Despite his slumped shoulders, he said that he initially raised these lynxes to eat. "I am not a traditional hunter. Before getting involved in that matter, I was a spy. I learned a lot about raising animals. After several experiments, I found a way to tame lynxes, and the same goes for raising snakes."

“There weren’t many lynxes in the mountains of Banna before, but there are more now.” He then looked at Zhang Wuxun, “If you weren’t a member of the Zhang family, I would have had my lynxes tear you to pieces long ago.”

The lynxes were strong and agile, and good swimmers. He used the lynxes to surround and kill many people who tried to approach the Zhang Family Ancient Building.

Zhang Wuxun chuckled, "Pan Ma wasn't a member of the Zhang family, so you killed him?"

He gave a strange laugh with slumped shoulders. "He died from his own greed. I didn't force him."

“Panma is dead. If you stay here on this mountain all by yourself, won’t you be forever cut off from the outside world?” Zhang Wuxun asked doubtfully.

"That's none of your concern," the slumped-shouldered man said, not wanting to answer his question.

As Zhang Wuxun walked, his eyes flickered. "Do you have other subordinates or spies outside?"

He slumped his shoulders and remained silent, quickening his pace.

Zhang Wuxun pushed aside the branches blocking his way and hurried after him, asking, "Is that A-Gui's son, the one you took away?"

The woman with slumped shoulders suddenly turned her head to stare at him, a fierce glint in her eyes.

Zhang Wuxun wasn't afraid of him. In the darkness, his slumped shoulders and eyes were almost invisible due to the shadows, so Zhang Wuxun could only guess based on his physical reactions. "Judging from your appearance, I should have already met that person, right?"

With slumped shoulders, he said coldly, "What do you want?"

"Nothing much, I just think your Qiongqi lineage is really annoying and immoral," Zhang Wuxun said bluntly.

The man with slumped shoulders gave a cold laugh, offering no rebuttal, because he himself felt that those who tattooed Qiongqi were all bad people, including himself.

Seeing that he remained silent, Zhang Wuxun silently and carefully considered the Yao children of the appropriate age that he had seen recently. Suddenly, a special and eye-catching name popped into his memory: "Is he in Kujiao Village now?"

No wonder I thought the person looked kind. Most people in the surrounding Yao villages are related, so it's not surprising that they look similar. I didn't even suspect anything at the time.

Upon hearing his insightful words, he slumped his shoulders and bowed, his hand instinctively reaching for the Yao sword slung at his waist.

Zhang Wuxun ignored him completely and walked past him.

With a slumped shoulder, he squinted, untied another knife from his waist, and threw it directly at Zhang Wuxun's back.

Hearing the sound of something cutting through the air, Zhang Wuxun didn't even turn his head. He reached behind him and grabbed the sword with its bamboo sheath. He pulled it out and examined it. A strong aura of bloodlust rushed towards him.

This is a hunting knife with a deer antler handle. When held in the right hand, the tip of the blade extends about half a hand's width beyond the elbow. The knife is 40 centimeters long, including the handle and the blade. Although the workmanship is a bit rough, it is sturdy and sharp. The texture of the deer antler handle is very beautiful, giving it a rustic and steady feel. It is indeed a rare and excellent knife.

"What are you doing?" He didn't see any intention to attack from the slumped shoulders, so was he trying to use the knife to win people over?
She slumped her shoulders and stared at him intently. "Here, take this."

"Don't worry, I won't go looking for them after we get out." Zhang Wuxun pursed his lips, sheathed his knife, and turned to continue walking forward.

The system completely crashed this time, and Zhang Wuxun only then realized that when the system was truly in a state of energy depletion and hibernation, his treasure chest was unusable, including those so-called reward material perception abilities. Now he only had night vision left, but fortunately it wasn't too useless.

So all those previous hibernation claims were lies to him. The dog system was afraid he would question it, so it used hibernation as an excuse to escape.

“But he will definitely return to his biological family sooner or later,” Zhang Wuxun added. “The bond of blood is not something you can sever just by wanting to.”

He slumped his shoulders and remained silent. Even knowing the outcome would be like this, he didn't want to change anything.

"You taught that kid his kung fu, didn't you?" After realizing that Lan Baihong was indeed Yun Cai's brother, some clues and details became clearer.

You could tell from the Yao boy's posture and the way he exerted himself that he was quite skilled. At the time, I thought he had learned it from the old hunter in the village.

"Are you planning to make him a member of the Zhang family as well?" Zhang Wu asked.

He slumped his shoulders and gave a bitter smile, a hint of melancholy flashing in his eyes. "I don't know how much longer I can live with this body. I originally planned to find a successor, but now that there is a new Zhang Qiling, there is no need for me here anymore."

Zhang Wuxun asked, "What was your original name? The name that Zhang Qishan and the others chose for Zhang Qiling?"

He stood there, slumped in his shoulders, stunned for a long while. His name... he suddenly realized he couldn't remember it.

“I don’t remember,” he said.

"Then what will you write on the epitaph in your Tezuka? Zhang Diandian? Zhang Ellipsis?" Zhang Wuxun found it a bit funny.

Having lived in this remote mountain area for a long time, I had no idea what his dots and ellipses meant. I was baffled by his laughter and a little annoyed.

"A name is just a label; it doesn't matter what you're called."

"Just pick one at random when the time comes."

This vast green forest is nearing its edge, and the vegetation is much sparser than before. Standing on high ground, you can already see the lights of thousands of homes below.

"They're holding a lamp burial for you," the slumped-shoulder man said. "Aren't you going down to see?"

In the vast night fog, clusters of white lights gathered on the mountains like starlight, igniting an inextinguishable sea of ​​spirits, like an endless brocade of silver silk, with the stars in the sky echoing it.

The night is soft, the starlight is hazy, the silvery light shines obliquely, and the evening breeze caresses everything with its invisible cicada wings.

"They are saying goodbye to the world on my behalf."

Zhang Wuxun's voice was very soft, and it immediately drifted away into nothingness with a gust of wind.

With a look of melancholy and envy in his slumped shoulders, he sat down and stroked the lynx's large fur, whispering, "Do me one more favor."

"What?" Zhang Wuxun replied casually, his attention already flying past the mountains to the sea of ​​lights below.

The distance here was just right; he could see a brazier lit under the old pine tree in the center of the candlelight, and three familiar people burning paper money for him, with a very high stack of paper money beside it.

He felt a pang of regret, regretting that he had "died" so easily, leaving Wu Xie burdened with obsession and guilt as he continued to move forward.

But having already taken this step, there's no turning back.

"Will you come back here?" the slumped-shoulder man asked.

Zhang Wuxun then paid him some attention, "What's wrong?"

"When Zhang Qiling brings Tezuka home next time, take my box out from that crack and have him put it in with him."

Zhang Wuxun paused for a moment, looked at him, and said, "Okay."

With a sigh of relief, the man with slumped shoulders turned away, waved, and blew a bamboo whistle. Several lynxes followed behind him, and their figures disappeared into the dense jungle.

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

Zhang Wuxun sat on the mountaintop the whole time, his gaze piercing through the night. He watched for as long as Wu Xie and the others stayed under the old pine tree.

As dawn breaks, the lamplight fades and the Milky Way gradually turns white.

Only the last lamp burning at the treetop was still emitting its lingering warmth.

Rubbing his aching left leg, Zhang Wuxun stood up from the grass, looked down at the dying fire at the foot of the mountain, and whispered a barely audible "Goodbye."

After taking a few steps, he turned around as if possessed, only to find that the three men had also looked in his direction as they left.

﹉﹉﹉﹉﹉

Time flies by, past and present are but fleeting moments, like feathers of the passing years.

Sorrow is heavy both in the human world and in heaven; for whom shall I lay this tomb? Beneath the clouds and thorns under the moon, a thousand gates stand locked.

Sending love and goodnight~
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(End of this chapter)