Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 767 If you're going to do something, do it thoroughly!
After arriving in Hangzhou, Hongxia and Erjing took care of the aftermath.

Hu Ming, Xiao Ge, and Wu Erbai disappeared silently from the main group and, accompanied by Bai Haotian, arrived deep inside Warehouse Eleven.

There's still a tiny bit of loose end to be dealt with regarding Lei City—Zhang Dafoye!
The underground dock deep within Warehouse Eleven.

Amid Bai Haotian's sweet laughter, the group quickly arrived at the spot, standing on the wooden dock and looking down at the deep waters below.

"Hu Ming, are you sure the intelligence you brought back from Lei City is true?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't doubt you, I just..."

Wu Erbai lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and finally couldn't help but speak.

"Back then, Wu Sansheng and Qi Yu teamed up to enter the South Sea King's Palace. You know about the feng shui formation Qi Yu left inside. I don't need to explain the effectiveness of that feng shui formation, do I?"

Hu Ming gave an ambiguous reply.

"……spiritualism!"

Wu Erbai said in a deep voice.

"Back in the old Nine Gates, Eighth Master was always Buddha's good buddy, and Qi Yu goes without saying. In fact, when I saw the feng shui formation left by Qi Yu, I didn't expect this."

"However, I learned from Thunder City that the Buddha obtained some ancient secret techniques from the South Sea King's underground palace..."

At this point, Hu Ming glanced at Bai Haotian, who was silently eavesdropping on the secret.

Bai Haotian shrank his neck, subconsciously took two steps back, and gave Hu Ming a sweet, smug smile, pretending to be a harmless little white rabbit.

As the saying goes, nothing can be accomplished without rules.

The same applies to a strategically important place like Warehouse Eleven. Although Wu Erbai is the current true owner of Warehouse Eleven, there are far too many great secrets buried within it.

It involves the Nine Gates and even some secrets of those big shots. Therefore, even Wu Erbai cannot do whatever he wants in the Eleventh Warehouse.

For example, regarding the placement of the Buddha's coffin, even Wu Erbai could not come here without the guidance of Bai Haotian, the supervisor of the Eleventh Warehouse.

The Bai family is responsible not only to the Nine Gates, but also to the powerful figures above them.

This is the Bai family's way of survival.

It should be noted that the Buddha was a military general in his lifetime, and he was also a collaborator with that person. Furthermore, he had an irreconcilable blood feud with the Nine Gates. Even if it was just a prestige project, the people from the Nine Gates would absolutely not be allowed to come here without the Eleventh Warehouse Manager leading the way.

Otherwise, Hu Ming wouldn't always bring Bai Haotian along when he comes here.

"Second Master, don't worry, I won't go down with you. In fact, I'll even keep watch for you... I'm very discreet! I definitely won't say a word!"

"Of course... it would be even better if you could give me an autographed copy."

Despite his seemingly naive and innocent appearance, Bai Haotian was not truly naive and innocent. With just one glance, Bai Haotian vaguely sensed something, looked at Hu Ming with a conflicted expression, and finally gritted his teeth and said.

"Of course, Second Master, as you know, this is, after all, our Bai family's duty. Let's discuss whether we can leave too many traces, otherwise, I won't be able to explain to the people above."

Seeing Hu Ming nod, Bai Haotian chuckled and then reminded him with concern.

This isn't just about fans being unable to refuse their idols' requests, but rather...

Bai Haotian knew very well that none of the people in front of him were good people; no, they were all audacious individuals who could do anything without being surprised.

In short, Bai Haotian had no choice at all once he arrived here.

Judging from Wu Erbai's hand subtly moving towards his lower back, it was clear that if Bai Haotian had uttered even half a word of protest, he would most likely have met an "accidental death" today. "The feng shui formation left behind by Qi Yu is used in conjunction with a secret technique to guide the Buddha's 'spirit.' There are still undiscovered secrets deep within the South Sea King's underground palace; those were the South Sea King's contingency plans to resist the one deep within Thunder City."

"The secret there... While it may not grant immortality, it is possible to give someone a second chance at life. That was a backup plan left behind by our Buddha."

At this point, Hu Ming glanced at Bai Haotian with a half-smile and added:
"In fact, I don't care at all whether you tell the higher-ups about our conversation or what we're about to do."

"...Times have changed. The era of Buddha is long over. Nowadays, neither our Nine Gates nor those above us would want Buddha to return."

"After all, the pie is only so big and has already been divided up. Based on their greedy nature, those in power will definitely not be happy for an old relic to return and compete with them for power and profit."

"As for the Nine Gates, to be honest, I was the mastermind behind the fact that the Buddha had no descendants. It was done with the support of the Nine Gates. We would never allow the Buddha to return, not even if it's just a one in a million chance."

Hu Ming took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaled the smoke, his calm gaze obscured by the smoke, and spoke in a low, languid tone.

Some things, if you're going to do them, then do them thoroughly.

Leaving the enemy a sliver of hope for a comeback is something only the most foolish person would do.

"...There's no way to refute it. If things were really as you say, I'm afraid you wouldn't even need to do it yourself; the higher-ups would probably cremate the Buddha's remains immediately, wouldn't they?"

Bai Haotian gave a bitter smile and thought it over carefully. Hu Ming was right. Although it was just Hu Ming's opinion, even the slightest possibility was not allowed to those above him.

"So, Zhang Qishan soaked his own and Yin Xinyue's corpses in the large amount of Qilin blood he obtained from slaughtering his clansmen, not only to pursue that one in a million chance, but also to use the strange power of the Qilin blood to nurture and strengthen the remaining 'spirit' and 'soul' in the corpses, laying the groundwork for a later move?"

For once, the young man's voice was filled with icy coldness; the moment he opened his mouth, it almost froze the air into ice crystals.

"There's no reason for that person in Leicheng to lie to me about this. Besides, I've also noticed some clues, and based on the current intelligence, it's probably true."

Hu Ming said with certainty.

"If it were a few great men who wanted this, I would have nothing to say. But he... he deserves to die! He doesn't deserve immortality or rebirth! His final destination can only be the eighteenth level of hell!"

The young man spoke softly, his face expressionless.

Young man, you are the last Zhang Qiling, the last patriarch of the Zhang family!
"Who can argue with that? If it weren't for the internal and external troubles back then, the immense resistance, the fact that Second Master was still alive, and the need to appease Zhang Rishan, I would have scattered Buddha's ashes long ago!"

Wu Erbai exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Speak your mind, don't bring up the past. After all, Buddha did a great favor for Er Yuehong back then. Er Yuehong only regarded Buddha as a sworn brother, but he never participated in Buddha's persecution of the Nine Gates. He just quietly lived as an actor in Beijing, untouched by worldly strife."

Hu Ming glanced sideways at Wu Erbai.

After all, as the successor of Er Yuehong, he still had to uphold the innocence of the former head of the family.

"Of course I know that, otherwise, why would you suddenly start tomb raiding in the 1980s... If Second Master weren't innocent, the Nine Gates would have already secretly come after you!"

Wu Erbai chuckled. "It's all about clear distinctions between gratitude and resentment. Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. As members of the martial arts world, the Nine Gates are undoubtedly qualified in this regard."

"Ha, should I thank the Nine Gates for being reasonable back then?"

Hu Ming was somewhat disdainful. If the Nine Gates dared to intervene based on their strength at the time, he would definitely use his connections in the military to crush them!

Even if Zhang Qishan intervened, it would be useless. Did they really think that the old fat man and the Hu family, who had been holding shares throughout the entire event, were useless?

"I'm leaving now, Bai Haotian. I'm leaving this place in your care. If anyone breaks in, please notify us immediately."

As they spoke, the three of them had already quickly changed into their diving gear. Hu Ming pointed to the diving headset next to his ear and gave instructions.