Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 396 A Living "Stone Sculpture"

To be precise, what suddenly appeared before our eyes was a huge "stone sculpture," not a human-faced bird.

The stone carving looks as if it were carved from a single block of rock.

Many parts were broken and cracked, and the large amount of moss covering it made it look even more bizarre and ugly.

"...The human-faced bird is a type of bird that only exists here."

"In fact, the history of the Wannu King and the Eastern Xia Dynasty is far beyond your imagination."

"Thousands of years ago, the lineage of the Wannu King actually belonged to the Kingdom of the Queen Mother of the West. For some reason, they split off from the Kingdom of the Queen Mother of the West and settled deep in the Changbai Mountains."

"And the human-faced bird was brought from here."

Seeing the confused looks on Wu Xie's and the others' faces, Hu Ming knew that it was time for his lesson.

Thinking about it carefully, at this point in time, Wu Xie hasn't yet explored the Heavenly Palace on the Clouds a second time, so he has no idea about the secrets behind it.

"It turns out that, if we don't talk about it, the Heavenly Palace on the Clouds is a hundred and eight thousand miles away from here."

"Given the transportation conditions in ancient times, or even prehistoric times, relocating the entire country was no easy task."

"What exactly made King Wannu decide to relocate? Was it due to political discord?"

Perhaps because he had experienced so much, Wu Xie was not surprised at all that the King of Ten Thousand Slaves was a figure from thousands of years ago. He simply nodded in realization and accepted it as a matter of course.

As he spoke, Wu Xie stepped forward, wanting to touch the truck-shaped human-faced bird statue up close.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do that."

However, Hu Ming's calm voice came through.

"ha?"

Wu Xie was taken aback. His long-standing trust in Hu Ming led him to immediately heed Hu Ming's advice.

"This thing isn't a lifeless sculpture at all; it's alive!"

Lighting a cigarette, Hu Ming smiled slyly.

"Alive? Something this big is actually alive?"

Instantly, everyone was stunned, instinctively moving away from the sculpture and staring at the object in front of them with suspicion and uncertainty.

No matter how you look at it, this thing looks like an ancient stone carving.

"It's too complicated to explain. In short, open your eyes and take a good look."

After thinking for a moment, Hu Ming took a deep drag on his cigarette, held the butt between his index finger and thumb, aimed it at the stone carving, and flicked it with a little force...

shuh~
The cigarette butt, streaking through the air with a bright flame, landed precisely on the stone sculpture.

In that instant, the stone sculpture suddenly moved!
The stone sculpture head, which had been looking in other directions, suddenly turned and looked at the crowd, especially Hu Ming.

"What the F**k!!!"

In this cold, dim environment, the scene was truly terrifying.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines and their hair stand on end!
"Damn it, is the Kingdom of the Queen Mother of the West really this eerie?" "Leaving aside the crested snake from before, how can even a mere stone sculpture be so bizarre? I'm starting to wonder if this place is the legendary ghost realm!"

"Damn it, how did Wenjin manage to survive alone in this godforsaken place?"

Wu Sansheng gasped and couldn't help but sigh.

"First, Wenjin's survival experience in desperate situations far exceeds your imagination."

"Secondly, damn it, you're already here, what are you still pretending for? I don't believe this trivial matter could make the famous Wu Sansheng so alarmed?"

Seeing Wu Sansheng's genuine look of surprise, Hu Ming couldn't help but complain.

How to say?
Is he addicted to playing dumb?
Or perhaps he'd been playing the fool for so long that he subconsciously began to believe he was a "pig"?
"Uh, I'm used to it, I didn't react for a moment..."

Wu Sansheng was taken aback, and said rather awkwardly.

Anyone who truly knows Wu Sansheng knows that besides being a ruthless scoundrel who cheats people out of their lives, he's also incredibly audacious!
Is there anything in this world that can scare him?
But it definitely won't be this "sculpture" that can turn its head in front of you!

"Third Master, Ming Master, look! That stone sculpture isn't just looking at us, it's smiling!"

As they spoke, everyone's attention was inevitably diverted. Just then, Panzi suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Holy crap, it actually laughed!?"

Looking back, sure enough!
The face of the human-faced bird stone sculpture is slowly changing!
His narrow eyes suddenly slanted upwards, and the corners of his mouth inexplicably curved upwards.

Isn't that a smile? And a malicious one at that!
"Hu Ming, what exactly is this thing? A living creature? An ancient creature that understands human nature?"

Subconsciously drawing her handgun on guard, Ah Ning leaned against Hu Ming and asked softly.

It has to be said that in this group where everyone has their own ulterior motives and different thoughts, only Hu Ming is someone that A Ning can truly trust.

After all, Hu Ming is different from others; he's his younger brother's good friend!
Hmm. Although Hu Ming has tricked people before.
But who in this world can truly fathom the ever-changing mind of a woman?
You should know that even women themselves don't understand this!
Can we really expect men to figure it out?
This is ridiculous!
At the very least, Hu Ming believed that he didn't have that ability.

"Want to know? Just watch!"

Hu Ming gave A Ning a strange look and then snatched the pistol from her hand.

"What do you want?"

Ah Ning was startled; this thing was her last source of psychological comfort!
"boom!"

However, Hu Ming offered no explanation whatsoever, and simply fired a shot at the sculpture.

As the muffled gunshot rang out, the stone sculpture shattered into countless tiny fragments out of thin air!
"What is that? A moth?"

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a sky full of gray-black moths!
"Is it possible..."

"Is that it? Be careful, these moths are poisonous, don't touch them."

Hu Ming shrugged and explained, while also giving everyone a few words of advice.

Poison is extremely potent! Deadly.
Hu Ming already knew this ten years ago, when those unfortunate souls were poisoned to death.

These venomous moths do not need living organisms as incubators.

(End of this chapter)