Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 336 Counterattack at the End of the Tunnel
"Yes, even though Dongxia is a small border country, this place is a royal mausoleum, not a place for child's play."

"The quantity and arrangement of all the funerary objects in the burial pit are meticulously planned. Anyone who dares to act recklessly will have their entire family beheaded by that old Emperor Wan Nu!"

The fat man knew about this too and found it strange.

It is important to know that the ancients were very particular about the burial site after death, and there could be no mistakes whatsoever.

The arrangement of everything is a matter of knowledge.

Feng shui and burial studies are very rigorous disciplines. If something is even slightly off, a good auspicious burial site can turn into an inauspicious one.

This is not a joke.

"These things are probably guarding something underground. As for what exactly it is... guess?"

Hu Ming remained silent.

The Eastern Xia Dynasty of the King of Wannu has been stationed here since it split off from the Western Queen Mother's Kingdom.

This timeframe can be traced back four or five thousand years, and its origins extend far beyond the periods recorded in so-called history.

However, in those distant times, the Dongxia Dynasty did not exist; instead, it existed as a tribal society.

"I guess?"

Wu Xie and the others immediately looked at Hu Ming, who was keeping them in suspense, with black lines on their faces, feeling utterly disgusted.

To be honest, Wu Xie was really fed up with Wu Sansheng's behavior of being "manipulated" and led by the nose. He knew everything but refused to say it.

But there was nothing Wu Xie could do. After thinking it over and over, he sadly realized that he couldn't do anything about either his third uncle or Hu Ming.

“There’s one point that I completely agree with your third uncle on, nephew: there are too many secrets in this world, and many earth-shattering events have been buried in the torrent of time.”

"Knowing too much is really not a good thing. If you want to remain innocent, don't be so persistent."

"Of course, if you're determined and prepared, then disregard what I said."

Hu Ming smiled. He understood Wu Xie's feelings. This feeling of not knowing anything, being lost and helpless, was not pleasant.

But to be honest, isn't innocence a kind of happiness?
Often, people just know too much and create their own troubles.

However, Hu Ming could never do the kind of thing where he forces others to follow a path he has laid out for their own good.

Wu Xie is free to do whatever he wants.

"Panzi, have you figured out the direction the moat water flowed back then?"

"If we follow the canal to the end, our direction of progress will undoubtedly be the direction in which the river flows."

Hu Ming patted Wu Xie, whose face was grave, and then came to Panzi's side to ask.

Panzi used to be in the field army, the kind who had participated in actual combat. His basic skill was to be able to identify the direction in which the river had flowed from the dried-up riverbed.

"Hmm, judging from the water erosion marks on the stone figures, the direction of the water flow should be the direction they were facing..."

Panzi nodded and said affirmatively.

"That's good. Let's take a short rest and then continue on our way."

Nodding, Hu Ming said softly.

Thinking about it carefully, the group had been traveling all the way from the secret passage under the Spirit Palace of Little Sacred Snow Mountain until now, and they hadn't rested for more than a day.

After resting for a while and reorganizing their equipment, the group continued their journey. Strangely enough, ever since they reached the bottom of the moat, the human-faced birds that had been circling overhead had disappeared, abandoning their hunt.

It was as if there was something at the bottom of the river that filled them with deep-seated fear.

As we traveled along the riverbed, we saw terracotta warriors and horses everywhere we went.

These sculptures all face the same direction, gradually descending into the underground.

In the end, all that was presented to Hu Ming and the others was a head.

Part of its body was buried deep underground.

It's as if the direction these terracotta warriors and horses are moving is the unseen depths of the earth.

"arrive!"

Suddenly, Hu Ming, who was walking at the front of the group, stopped and waved to the people behind him.

At this point, the canal had come to an end, the procession of terracotta warriors had long since disappeared, and a huge stone river wall blocked their way.

At the base of the stone wall, there is a square cave that is mostly buried by rubble.

Many of the stones had been moved aside, revealing a dark hole.

"Another counter-attack tunnel?" Pan Zi exclaimed in surprise. "How could the opening be here? That's impossible."

"How could it be impossible? It wasn't you who fixed it."

The fat man instinctively contradicted Panzi. "No, what I mean is, this place was underwater back then, and this tunnel was dug at the bottom of the river, so it must have been filled with river water. Do you think Wang Zanghai is a fish?"

Panzi shook his head.

As they got closer to Wu Sansheng, he lost all interest in arguing with the fat man.

"Have you forgotten the tomb raider's tunnel in the Lu Palace? That used to be a water-damaged tunnel. This tunnel must be the same as that one, with air vents at intervals on the top."

Hu Ming explained casually.

"Uncle Ming, Panzi, Fatty, come quick! There's something here!"

At this moment, Wu Xie spoke up.

When the searchlight was shone, a few words were roughly carved on a stone on one side of the cave entrance.

It is a random collection of English letters with no rules or grammar.

"Do you think this might be a mark left by our third uncle, a sign indicating the direction we should take?"

Wu Xie guessed.

"Impossible, Third Master. You don't know, Third Master once said that he doesn't speak English."

Panzi shook his head in denial. He had been following Wu Sansheng for over ten years and knew very well that Wu Sansheng was proficient in various ancient Chinese esoteric texts, but he had a knack for foreign languages. Wu Sansheng had once told him that he did not know English.

"This was left behind by the young master," Hu Ming said softly, glancing at the servant.

Hu Ming didn't believe Fanzi's words at all. After all, Wu Sansheng had gone to university and graduated successfully! He didn't know English? You're kidding!
As for the one in front of me, it probably really was left behind by the guy!
In the underwater tomb, Wu Xie and his companions saw the marks left by Xiao Ge, but they just couldn't recall them at the moment.

(End of this chapter)