The Unorthodox Tomb Raider

"What are you up to? Speak up if you have something to say, or shut up. Stop dawdling around here. You look in the mirror and comb your hair, and you really think you're some kind of empress?"

Wu Xie said helplessly.

"So you're the one who didn't listen to the story properly, aren't you? Brother Zhang Qi just said that the path to the so-called Heavenly Palace on the Clouds goes upwards. The higher you go in this underwater tomb, the closer you get to the sea level. Plus, the structure of this ancient tomb is so complex, it's at least ten meters high. Just think about it, isn't the top chamber, where the story of the Heavenly Palace on the Clouds is kept, the closest to the sea level?"

"Wouldn't it be safer and faster to just dig a hole out of that tomb chamber? Are you going to wander around this haphazardly designed tomb like a headless fly?"

"That's what the fat man said with disdain."

“It seems you’ve hit the nail on the head this time, Fatty. I’ve thought about it carefully and it’s true. But we can’t just chisel a hole out of that height of over ten meters with our bare hands. We need to find some handy tools.”

Wu Xie said.

· ·········Request flowers· ···

"Have you forgotten? Brother Zhang Qi just mentioned that there's a bronze mirror in that room. Just imagine how heavy a bronze mirror must be, requiring several young men to move it together. Wouldn't that guy have used it to chip away at the wall much faster?"

The fat man said slowly.

Wu Xie turned to look at Fang Yun, who nodded slightly in agreement with the fat man's words.

"Alright, since you, Fatty, have made a very good point, we'll believe you this time. But we need to make this clear first. We'll have plenty of time for you to explore tombs in the future. But don't mess around in this ancient tomb. I don't want to go through what happened in the tomb of King Lu Shang again."

Wu Xie quickly replied.

The fat man nodded quickly.

As planned, Zhang Qi would lead the way. Zhang Qi had been here once before and was more familiar with the layout.

...... .. .......

Then came Fang Yun and Wu Xie, and finally Fatty.

There was no other reason than the fear that the fat man would get stuck in the middle, making it difficult for the people in front and behind to move forward or backward.

as predicted.

"Did anyone who designed this kind of heavenly path even have a brain? How am I supposed to get through such a narrow place? If you're talking about ascending to heaven to become a Buddha, then all the Buddhas in heaven are so huge, how are people supposed to get through such a narrow path?"

The fat man kept complaining.

"Don't you, Fatty, know anything after all these years of tomb raiding? Underwater tombs are bound to get narrower as you go up. You can't build an underwater tomb that's perfectly square. Besides, according to people's previous thinking, tomb raiders are usually shrewd and capable, and they're usually quite thin. Who would have thought that a fat guy would also be involved in tomb raiding?"

Wu Xie said.

"That's Fatty, I may have gained some weight, but I'm incredibly agile, ouch—"

Before the fat man could finish speaking...

"See? You were just saying you were agile, but you've already proven yourself wrong. It's time for you, Fatty, to go back and lose some weight."

Wu Xie said.

"Something's not right. We were able to get through before, even though it was a bit difficult to move around. But now it feels like even turning around is so difficult?"

The fat man muttered to himself.

"Quickly back up, the wall is slowly closing in."

Zhang Qi quickly replied, his tone unusually serious.

Chapter 285 presents yet another mystery!

"This is not the time to retreat. These mechanisms don't activate for no reason. Someone might be trying to harm us. The only way to escape is from above us. Hurry up and move upwards."

Fang Yun said calmly.

Zhang Qi's heart skipped a beat.

Zhang Qi then realized that he had been too hasty and hadn't even grasped the current situation.

Fortunately, Fang Yun was there to remind him; otherwise, if he hadn't been able to retreat, he might have really perished there.

After the road narrowed, people could crawl uphill, moving at a speed no slower than walking.

Although the fat man was still somewhat stuck, he was at least able to move up a little.

The speed is not too slow.

Three minutes later.

"Do you remember the tomb chamber where Fatty and I were? There was a '627' drought demon there. We escaped through a hole in the coffin. Now that I think about it, that hole was a bit eerie."

Zhang Qi said.

"Brother Zhang Qi, just say what you want to say. We're running out of time. It's already taken us a long time to get up here, and now I'm stuck here and my stomach is hurting."

The fat man said quickly.

"Fatty, you've been raiding tombs for so many years now. Think about it: do you walk normally in an ancient tomb, or do you have to dig a tunnel and wander around in a maze-like palace?"

Zhang Qi asked.

"Of course there's a way to walk on it. Who would dig a tunnel for fun? No, you mean he dug the tunnel because he had no other choice."

The fat man said quickly.

"That's right. I suppose that person also encountered a similar situation to us. When he was desperate, he had no choice but to dig a tunnel and escape."

Zhang Qi said.

“I know you still have some doubts. When you saw these two walls suddenly close together, wasn’t your first reaction to run away? That is to say, a normal person would think like that. But when he found that he couldn’t escape from down there, he could only go up. Only by going up could he find a glimmer of hope. Perhaps the tunnel was up there.”

Fang Yun said calmly.

Hearing Fang Yun's explanation, Wu Xie and Fatty breathed a sigh of relief.

Because they were genuinely thinking about what they would do if the tunnel wasn't up above but down below!

After all, being unarmed and surrounded by hard granite, there was no way to create an escape route by manpower alone.

The group continued climbing upwards, when suddenly they opened their eyes as if they had seen something.

Zhang Qi shone his flashlight on Wu Xie.

Wu Xie quickly squeezed upwards, but fortunately Fang Yun's body was relatively flexible and resilient.

This allowed Wu Xie to squeeze through, as he had initially thought Zhang Qi had found the entrance to the tomb.

Unexpectedly, there was a line of words on the granite in front of Wu Xie.

"Wu Sansheng harmed me, leaving me with no way out and dying unjustly. Heaven and earth bear witness—Jie Lianhuan."

"Third Uncle, why is it Third Uncle again? Who is Xie Lianhuan?"

Wu Xie quickly asked.

"He was one of the team members who came to explore with us 20 years ago. He was the one holding the snake-browed bronze fish. He died on the coral reef."

Zhang Qi said.

"Since he left a message here, he must not have been crushed to death here. It seems that the tomb robber's tunnel is nearby. Let's hurry and find it!"

Wu Xie's mind was full of questions, but the current situation didn't allow him to think about it for even a second longer.

Every second you stay here increases the danger.

Wu Xie didn't want to hold everyone back because of himself.

"The Xie family seems to be the same family that Er Yuehong was back then. We haven't been in touch for a long time."

"The Xie family, the Wu family, and the Huo family—three of the Nine Gates have already emerged into the world. It seems that the war did not wipe out the Nine Gates. I suppose other families will also emerge one after another. I wonder if there are any old friends who still recognize me."

Fang Yun muttered to himself.

Wu Xie also thought about the person's background.

Wu Xie had heard his grandfather mention it, and it seemed that his grandfather had blamed his third uncle.

It is said that he harmed the child Lianhuan, and from then on, Wu Xie's father forbade Wu Xie from getting too close to his third uncle.

It now seems that the family members also know about what happened back then, but not the whole truth.

Fang Yun and his group continued climbing upwards.

The fat man had several scrapes and bruises, and Wu Xie's legs were starting to feel weak.

He lay helplessly against the wall.

“Hey Zhang Qi, didn’t you say there weren’t many problems when you walked this path back then? Why does this passage seem to get more and more difficult? Could it be that you’ve led us astray?”

"I can't breathe," the fat man said.

"I don't think the fault lies with Zhang Qi. It's very likely that someone secretly altered the path to life, so the path we're taking is the path to death. That's quite possible."

Fang Yun said calmly.

"Could it be that the same wicked woman from before, seeing that we're clueless, is trying to frame us again?"

The fat man asked doubtfully.

"You fatso, have you lost your mind from being squeezed like that? Don't you even consider what year this tomb is from? How could that woman possibly alter this kind of mechanism? There's one other person who might be able to, but—"

Wu Xie hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

“Wu Xie, I know you still have some doubts. Why don’t we make a bold assumption and speculate on the truth of the matter based on Zhang Qi’s description?”

Fang Yun said calmly.