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

Wu Xie, biting the pen cap, scribbled and revised the route on the paper, then said quietly, "I have a feeling that the sudden movement of the snakes is related to the wooden fish. Fatty, what do you think?"

“I think,” the fat man drawled slowly, “that what you’re saying makes a lot of sense.”

"Making such a commotion, is Muyu transforming into the White Snake Lady and about to become an immortal?" The fat man started spouting nonsensical nonsense.

Wu Xie chimed in with a witty remark, "I think that with the wooden fish's fighting prowess combined with the Zhang family's ancestral bell, he's definitely the reincarnation of Fahai. These snakes are the real Bai Suzhen. The wooden fish has captured Xu Xian, and Bai Suzhen has gone to save her husband."

The fat man started humming a song, "Fahai, you don't understand love, Leifeng Pagoda will fall down..."

"Who?!" Zhang Haike suddenly shouted, turning his head to look warily at the stone path behind him.

Wu Xie and Fatty were startled and stumbled, but after regaining their senses, they quickly grabbed their weapons and became alert.

Dan had already drawn his short hunting knife from his waist. The space in the stone passage was too cramped, and using a gun would easily injure his companions.

The person who arrived didn't seem to have any intention of concealing themselves; their footsteps were extremely light and unhurried.

A gray figure slowly emerged from the corner of the stone path, carrying a knife on his back. He then stood still in the light and shadow, lifted his eyelids, and stared intently at Wu Xie and his companions with his slightly droopy eyes.

Just by looking at his aura, you can tell that the newcomer is no good person.

The fat man steadied himself and shouted at the gray figure, "Hey! Who goes there? State your name!"

“Zhang Jiuri,” Zhang Haike replied.

"Hmm, hmm?" the fat man exclaimed in surprise.

Wu Xie was also surprised and asked him, "How did you know?"

“He was a teammate who participated in the wilderness expedition with the clan chief.” Zhang Haike sighed, his eyes deep, his expression solemn with a hint of complexity, the past events too numerous to recount in a few words.

Wu Xie and Fatty looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. There's a story here.

Judging from the situation, it didn't seem like a fight was going to break out anytime soon. The fat man nudged Zhang Haike with his elbow and gave him a gossipy look.

Zhang Jiuri glanced around at everyone present, his eyelids drooping listlessly, and asked, "Where is he?"

"Who is it?" the fat man asked, feigning ignorance.

He felt his lips were a bit dry, so he bit off a piece of dead skin from his lip with his teeth, flicked it out with his tongue, and continued, "Just name names."

Zhang Jiuri paused, his eyelids drooping even more. "I don't know his name. I only know that he is Zhang Qiling's disciple."

"Huh?" The fat man and the others all looked confused.

"Pfft..." Wu Xie chuckled, then quickly covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking.

The fat man wasn't so polite. He clutched his stomach and laughed like Donald Duck, "Quack quack quack... Oh my, since I came to this snow mountain, I haven't heard such a funny joke in a long time."

"Speaking of which, has Muyu's seniority been promoted or not? He went from grandson to nephew, and now he's an apprentice."

They already knew that Zhang Menyu and Zhang Wuxun were actually the same person, but for some reason, his age and body were reversed, as if he had lived a second life.

Fatty jokingly said that the wooden fish might have been struck by the Age-Reversing Palm of some mysterious creature in the Bronze Gate, which is why time seemed to reverse on him.

Dan, however, believed him and stared wide-eyed in shock, looking left and right, seeking confirmation: "Is what he said true? Is the young clan leader really the Zhang clan leader's disciple?"

Zhang Haike almost lost his composure and asked, "Zhang Jiuri, why are you here? And who is the other member of the Zhang family with you?"

"Also, who told you that the clan leader had taken on an apprentice?" Zhang Haike asked, puzzled.

“Zhang Nian, it was Zhang Nian who told me, and he also told me that there were things left behind by Zhang Qiling here.” Zhang Jiuri answered honestly; he had always been an honest child.

The fat man rubbed the stubble on his chin and looked Zhang Jiuri up and down. "The young man is not bad looking, but why is he so stubborn?"

"I have a question." The fat man looked at Zhang Haike and clicked his tongue in surprise. "How could such a fresh and unique flower emerge from such a den of thieves as the Zhang family? Could it be that they were switched at birth?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Zhang Haike glared at the fat man, then turned to look at Zhang Jiuri and said seriously, "This is not a place you should be. Zhang Nian lied to you. The younger members of the Zhang family who are with us are not the clan leader's disciples. They are just extra cared for by the clan leader because they are the clan's own Qilin and have been living away from home for a long time."

Zhang Jiuri's eyes remained stubborn, and he exuded a melancholy aura. "Then he must be a very important person in Zhang Qiling's heart."

Zhang Haike was speechless. He frowned and asked him, "Zhang Jiuri, what exactly do you want to do?"

"I only have one question: if I defeat him and then kill you all, will Zhang Qiling feel pain?" Zhang Jiuri said expressionlessly.

Sensing the undisguised killing intent emanating from Zhang Jiuri, Wu Xie and Fatty felt a chill run down their spines and exchanged bewildered glances. What was going on? Hadn't they been talking amicably? Why the sudden change of heart and threats to kill?

The fat man quietly nodded his head and winked at Zhang Haike: Is there something wrong with this guy's brain? Look at his arrogant look, can you and Lao Dan take him down together?

Upon hearing this, Dan stepped forward without hesitation to shield Pang Xie and the other man behind him, staring intently at Zhang Jiuri, and said firmly, "You can try."

Zhang Haike stepped forward and said firmly, "Zhang Jiuri, stop being so stubborn. I know you've been deceived by Zhang Nian's words and methods. I've already investigated what happened back then, and it has nothing to do with the clan leader. It's not too late for you to turn back now."

He still remembered the few carefree times they spent together in the wild, and he didn't really want to clash with Zhang Jiuri.

He knew that Zhang Jiuri was simply too simplistic in his thinking and had been blinded by Zhang Nian, the real traitor.

Zhang Jiuri stared at him, then suddenly smiled and said softly, "I know. I discovered long ago that the Zhang Qiling who killed my parents was Zhang Nian in disguise."

When he saw that the secret letter left by Zhang Haike had been destroyed and discovered that Zhang Nian's whereabouts were suspicious, he already had doubts in his heart.

He's not smart, but he's not ridiculously stupid either.

He had been living in a daze all these years, being used by Zhang Nian, who only wanted to get close to him to find out the truth. He only regretted not protecting his parents and that he had trusted others too easily.

He didn't regret waiting for Zhang Qiling; he was just unwilling to accept that Zhang Qiling would forget him.

He had simply lost too much. The passing of his parents took away his last attachment to the world, and the despair of being powerless to change his fate overwhelmed him like a tsunami. The only solace he could grasp had been forgotten.

The straw he tried to grasp snapped, and the suffocating feeling of being submerged again by the sea was unbearable. He was like a piece of duckweed, homeless and nowhere to go. The world was vast, but there was no place for him. He couldn't hate Zhang Qiling for upholding the family's mission and responsibility, because he was also a member of the Zhang family. He knew that Zhang Qiling's amnesia was caused by all the Zhang family members who shirked their responsibilities, including his parents.

He didn't know who he could hate or blame; he could only hate himself for not being strong enough.

At that time, he was thinking, if I am powerful enough, even more powerful than Zhang Qiling, can I take over Zhang Qiling's responsibility and save Zhang Qiling?

He wanted to cause Zhang Qiling pain, because it meant that Zhang Qiling would never forget. He wanted to tell Zhang Jiuri, who had waited so long, that his waiting had been meaningful.

"Since you already know this, why do you still follow Zhang Nian and do things that are detrimental to the Zhang family?" Zhang Haike asked, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

Zhang Jiuri was uninterested. "I followed Zhang Nian just to see if he could really find a way to break the Zhang family's fate after half a lifetime of research. I didn't expect him to be such a waste. Without the Qilin blood, his so-called research is worse than a blank sheet of paper."

When Zhang Haike was about to ask another question, Zhang Jiuri suddenly interrupted him impatiently, "You haven't answered my question yet!"

He suddenly turned his head to look behind Zhang Haike and Dan, "Wu Xie, you answer this question."

Suddenly called upon, Wu Xie pointed blankly at himself, "Me?"

Zhang Jiuri nodded somewhat unconvinced, "That's right. Since the clan leader has chosen to be your friend, I'd like to hear your unique insights."

“Your abilities are terrible, yet you always manage to escape danger. And that fat guy, I haven’t found any merit in either of you that surpasses the Zhang family. Why is it that the clan leader can remember you after losing his memory?”

The fat man looked Zhang Jiuri up and down with an incredulous gaze and complained, "This guy is like a child who's trying to grab candy. He lies on the ground and cries when he can't get any."

Zhang Jiuri frowned and said disdainfully, "I, Zhang Jiuri, never cry. Tears are a weapon used by the weak."

"Can't you understand good or bad words?" The fat man pointed at his nose and cursed rudely. "What else could it be? Because you're stupid, because you're an idiot, you've been completely fooled by a traitor. You probably've never even entered the Jila Temple and seen that stone statue in the courtyard."

Zhang Jiuri's expression gradually stiffened, somewhat at a loss. "What statue?"

Wu Xie shook his head and sighed, "It seems you know less about Xiao Ge than I do."

"Since you were once my teammate, I'll answer your question. It's simple: you can't kill us at all, so your assumption is invalid."

"Why?" Zhang Jiuri was taken aback by the certainty in his tone and asked blankly.

Wu Xie smiled and pointed behind him with one hand, "Because you can't beat Zhang Wuxun."

Zhang Jiuri was startled, drew his sword, turned around, and slashed behind him.

Zhang Wuxun didn't even draw the sheath; he simply handed it forward, and the hilt of the sword blocked Zhang Jiuri's powerful slash.

“It’s you!” Zhang Jiuri recognized his face, grinned, looking somewhat deranged, “You’ve finally come.”

"I will definitely defeat you!" Zhang Jiuri's eyes flashed with ferocity, his tone unwavering.

"You think you can take me?" Zhang Wuxun shoved him back with a flick of his arm and said coldly, "You'd be better off dreaming."

Zhang Jiuri tilted his head and licked the corner of his mouth, his hungry expression like that of a starving wolf eyeing a lamb.

"Then let's wait and see."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Jiuri flashed forward like an arrow, slashing his blade towards Zhang Wuxun's throat.

Zhang Wuxun leaned back to dodge, taking two steps back while sidestepping a follow-up slash, and kicked against the stone wall to propel himself up.

Taking advantage of the momentum of Zhang Jiuri's downward slash, Zhang Wuxun easily anticipated and dodged it. Before Zhang Jiuri could even get up, Zhang Wuxun, with his arms braced against the wall above, launched a kick at a speed imperceptible to the human eye, aiming for Zhang Jiuri's chin.

Zhang Jiuri hastily raised his hand to block, and a crisp sound came from his arm that was directly hit by the heavy blow. The sound reached his brain before the pain.

The force of the kick was much greater than he had imagined. The moment he was hit, he knew that he could not block it with his bare hands.

The arm, still bearing the force of the impact, slammed into the chin, causing a second, severe injury.

Zhang Jiuri's neck was kicked backward, followed by a twisting and dislocation sound from his jaw and cervical vertebrae.

The force traveled all the way to his skull, causing his head to vibrate and buzz. The next second, he was struck hard in the chest again. Zhang Jiuri's body flew backward uncontrollably and crashed to the ground. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his whole body became dizzy, with tinnitus and vomiting following one after another.

Wu Xie and the others watching from behind only saw Zhang Wuxun suddenly appear above Zhang Jiuri's head as if by teleportation, and the next second Zhang Jiuri was sent flying.

Wu Xie shrugged and said helplessly, "See? I told you so."

Previously, Muyu's fighting ability was basically on par with Xiao Ge's, but after completing the super-biological evolution, Muyu's fighting ability has far exceeded the scope of human imagination.

The fat man leaned forward to check on the unconscious Zhang Jiuri, and gently kicked him with his foot. "Hey, why isn't he moving at all? Is he really dead?"

Zhang Jiuri opened his eyes with trembling hands, his eyes filled with despair, as if he had already died once. "No... cough cough vomit..."

"Why...why..." Another mouthful of blood, mixed with some fragments of internal organs, came out.

The fat man quickly moved away, afraid that Zhang Jiuri would vomit on his shoes. Looking at Zhang Jiuri's miserable state, he really didn't know what to say to him.

"Instead of being a proper member of the Zhang family, you're acting strangely and insisting on causing trouble for our little brother. You even dare to provoke and threaten me and Tianzhen. What's the difference between this and you directly riding on the reverse scale of our Super Fish, jumping around and pooping on it?"

"Now look what happened, you got a beating, you're behaving now."

Wu Xie wrinkled his nose in disgust, feeling like he could smell it himself. "Fatty, although your words are rough but your reasoning is sound, this is just too rough."

"It sounds awful." Zhang Wuxun glared at the fat man with annoyance, then turned around, picked up the rope on the ground, dragged Zhang Nian over, and threw her next to Zhang Jiuri.

"Hey, what a pair of unfortunate brothers." The fat man gloated and asked Zhang Haike, "And who's this blockhead?"

“He is Zhang Nian.” Zhang Haike said in a heavy tone.

The fat man sighed and patted him on the shoulder, "It must be tough managing such a bunch of traitors. You've had a hard time."

Zhang Haike ignored the fat man and looked at Zhang Wuxun, saying solemnly, "I still want to thank you for holding back and not executing them outright." (End of Chapter)