Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

Outside the small door is a cliff, its bottom unseen.

A wind blew up from below, carrying a damp, cold, and fishy smell. The flashlight beam was quickly swallowed by the darkness, unable to penetrate to the bottom. The shadows of the buildings opposite appeared and disappeared in the mist, more than fifty meters away.

"How do we get over there?" Fatty Wang peeked out, then withdrew.

"Go," Zhang Qiling said.

"Down?" Wu Xie looked at the dark cliff. "Below is..."

"There is a way," said Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. The cliff face wasn't vertical; there were protruding rocks and vines. He turned to look at Fatty Wang, who swallowed hard. "Brother, this time... could you change your posture? Holding the backpack strap is getting uncomfortable."

Zhang Qiling glanced at him, said nothing, and reached out to grab the shoulder strap of his backpack. The fat man resignedly closed his eyes.

Zhang Qiling walked up to Wu Xie, who nodded and said, "I'm ready."

The two jumped out at the same time.

Zhang Qiling, carrying the fat man, plummeted several meters before using his right foot to lightly touch a protruding rock, slowing his fall. Simultaneously, he grabbed a thick vine with his left hand, using the momentum to swing to the side and land on another platform. The platform wasn't large, barely big enough for two people to stand on.

"Zhang Qiling," carrying Wu Xie, pressed his left hand against the cliff face as they fell, shifting his body sideways and landing on a wider rock ledge below. His movements were even more graceful than Zhang Qiling's, like a falling leaf.

Hei Xiazi, Xie Yuchen, Huo Xiuxiu, and A Ning jumped down one after another. Hei Xiazi was the most agile, making several turns on the cliff face before landing steadily. Xie Yuchen and Huo Xiuxiu cooperated well, using each other's momentum. A Ning was a little slower, but steady.

The levitating live-streaming sphere followed and flew down, hovering in mid-air to film.

The comments scrolled by:

The prophet: They've started scaling walls and rooftops again!

This is a perfect excuse for experts to disagree: Just looking at this cliff makes my legs weak.

The male fan club: Husbands, watch out!

Further down the platform was a path, a narrow, man-made stone staircase clinging to the cliff face. The steps were slippery and covered in moss. Zhang Qiling led the way, his steps steady. "Zhang Qiling" brought up the rear.

After climbing about a hundred steps, a cave entrance appeared ahead. The entrance wasn't large, and a breeze blew out, carrying an even stronger fishy smell.

"Go in?" Wu Xie asked.

Zhang Qiling nodded, bent down, and went into the cave. "Zhang Qiling" followed.

The cave was a narrow passage, so low that you had to crouch to walk through it. The ground was uneven and had puddles. After walking for several dozen meters, the passage widened, and you could stand up straight. A light appeared ahead, a ghostly green, shining through the walls.

At the end of the passage was a stone chamber, larger than the ones above. The floor was paved with black stone slabs, polished so smooth that they reflected images. The four walls were inlaid with luminous stones arranged in a star map. In the center of the chamber was a stone platform, on which sat a coffin.

It was a bronze coffin, rusted but well-preserved. The coffin lid was engraved with intricate patterns, a vortex of countless eyes, and in the center of the vortex was a piece of jade—shaped exactly like an eye, about the size of a palm, with a warm and lustrous texture, flowing with a restrained radiance under the dim light.

"True jade eyes?" Fatty Wang's eyes lit up.

"Maybe," Xie Yuchen said.

"Be careful," Ah Ning suddenly said.

As soon as she finished speaking, a "crackling" sound came from the corner of the stone chamber. It was the sound of carapace rubbing against the stone, very dense and piercing.

Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound. In a corner of the stone chamber, a stone slab on the floor was lifted up, and something crawled out from underneath.

It was a scorpion. But it was terrifyingly large, over three meters long, its entire body covered in a dark red carapace, like red-hot iron. Its tail was held high, its stinger jet black and glossy, dripping with mucus. Its two enormous pincers snapped open and closed with a "click-click" sound. Its head was small, but its eyes were compound, densely packed, gleaming with an eerie red light in the dim glow.

"The Crimson-Armored Yama Scorpion," Black Bear said in a low voice. "Shouldn't this thing be in the desert?"

"He was raised here," said Zhang Qiling.

The scorpion moved. It was incredibly fast, its eight legs darting about, and in the blink of an eye, it reached the center of the stone chamber, its pincers clamping down on Zhang Qiling, who was at the front.

Zhang Qiling didn't retreat; instead, he charged forward. The instant the pincers clamped down, he slid to the side, slipping through the gap between the pincers. At the same time, his black-gold ancient sword was drawn, flashing and striking the scorpion's left foreleg.

"clang!"

Sparks flew everywhere. The carapace was extremely hard, leaving only a white mark. The scorpion was in pain, its tail lashing out like a whip, its stinger piercing Zhang Qiling's back.

Zhang Qiling moved. He leaped up, tapped his foot on the scorpion's back, and used the momentum to flip and land on the scorpion's side. He made a fist with his right hand and punched the seam of the scorpion's ventral carapace.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud. A crack appeared in its carapace, seeping out a dark green liquid. The scorpion hissed, turned, and simultaneously clamped its pincers at "Zhang Qiling".

Zhang Qiling didn't retreat. He reached out with both hands, grabbed the scorpion's pincers, and pushed off with all his might. The scorpion was strong, and its pincers slowly closed. Zhang Qiling pushed off the ground with both feet and used his waist and abdomen to flip the scorpion over.

The scorpion lay belly up, its eight legs flailing wildly. Zhang Qiling seized the opportunity to step forward, aiming his knife at the softest part of the scorpion's abdomen, and plunged it in, pulling downwards.

"laugh--"

The carapace tore open, and the scorpion's internal organs spilled out. The scorpion struggled violently, and Zhang Qiling released his grip and retreated. Zhang Qiling drew his sword, the blade drawing out a large amount of viscous liquid.

The scorpion rolled over and stood up, but its movements were no longer agile. It hissed, its tail thrashing wildly, its stinger carving deep grooves into the stone slab.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" exchanged a glance and charged forward simultaneously. Zhang Qiling attacked from the left, while "Zhang Qiling" attacked from the right. A flurry of sword and fist strikes ensued, leaving Scorpion caught between two sides, unable to defend effectively.

Zhang Qiling slashed at the joint of the scorpion's right pincer, shattering its carapace and causing the pincer to droop. "Zhang Qiling" seized the opportunity, grabbing the scorpion's left pincer with both hands and twisting it forcefully.

"Snap!"

The joint snapped, and the entire pincer was ripped off. The scorpion hissed in agony, its tail sweeping out, forcing the two men back.

But it was already at its last gasp. Zhang Qiling circled behind the scorpion, leaped onto its back, gripped his knife with both hands, and thrust it down at the junction of the scorpion's head and thorax.

The blade pierced through, protruding from the scorpion's jaw. The scorpion's body stiffened, its stinger drooping limply. Zhang Qiling drew his sword, rolled over, and landed on the ground.

The scorpion swayed, then collapsed to the ground with a thud. Its eight legs twitched a few times, then it remained still.

The battle lasted less than three minutes from start to finish.

The stone chamber reeked of a pungent, fishy stench. Dark green liquid seeped from beneath the scorpion's carcass, corroding the stone slabs and emitting white smoke.

"Poison," said Zhang Qiling.

"Step back," Zhang Qiling said.

The group retreated to the edge of the stone chamber. The scorpion's carcass was still smoking, and the area affected by the corrosive liquid was expanding.

"Let's look at the coffin," Xie Yuchen said.

The bronze coffin sat in the center of the stone platform, not far from the scorpion's corpse. The jade eye on the coffin lid gleamed faintly in the dim light.

"How do we get it?" Fatty Wang asked. "The venom has flowed over there."

Indeed, the scorpion's venom was slowly flowing towards the stone platform; though slow, it would eventually reach the coffin.

Zhang Qiling glanced at the distance, then at the top of the stone chamber. There were glowing stones and some hanging stalactites on the ceiling. He took a few steps back, ran, leaped up, pushed off the stone wall with his feet, and his body rose high. He grabbed a stalactite with his left hand and swung towards the stone platform.

While in mid-air, he reached out with his right hand, grabbed the jade eye on the coffin lid, and pried it off with force. The jade eye loosened and he removed it. He released the stalactite, flipped onto the ground, and the whole movement was completed in one smooth motion, the jade eye already in his hand.

Zhang Qiling was waiting below, and nodded when he landed.

The jade eye felt warm and smooth to the touch, heavier than the previous one, with a restrained luster. Zhang Qiling examined it closely and saw that in the position of the pupil, there was a tiny vortex, and in the center of the vortex, there was a red dot the size of a pinhead, like blood.

"This..." Wu Xie leaned closer to look, "It seems to be real?"

"Maybe," Zhang Qiling said.

"Want to give it a try?" Zhang Qiling asked.

Zhang Qiling walked to the stone platform, where there was a groove that matched the shape of the jade eye. He placed the jade eye into the groove.

The moment the jade eye was embedded, the stone chamber trembled. It wasn't a violent earthquake, but a low-frequency humming sound emanating from underground. Immediately afterward, the stone platform slowly sank, revealing an opening below. The opening wasn't large, with steps leading downwards, and the sound of flowing water could be heard from its depths.

"There's still a way," Xie Yuchen said.

"Down." Zhang Qiling closed his jade-like eyes and was the first to descend the steps.

"Zhang Qiling" was the second. The others followed suit one after another.

The steps were steep and led downwards. After about five minutes, the sound of rushing water grew louder. At the bottom of the steps was an underground river, wide and with a rapid current. There was a makeshift dock on the riverbank with several rotten dugout canoes moored there.

"We need to cross the river," said Black Bear.

"There's light on the other side," Aning pointed to the other side of the river.

On the opposite bank, there were faint shadows of buildings and a faint light, not from a flashlight, but a warm yellow light, like lamplight.

"Is anyone there?" Fatty Wang asked.

"It doesn't look like it," said Zhang Qiling.

"Let's go take a look," Zhang Qiling said.

There were no intact boats on the river, but some driftwood. Zhang Qiling picked out a few thick pieces and tied them together with rope to make a simple raft. The raft wasn't big; it could carry two people at a time.

"We'll do it in two sessions," Xie Yuchen said.

Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" crossed first, paddling the raft steadily. After reaching the other side, they rowed the raft back to ferry the others. They crossed the river in three groups.

On the opposite bank was a dock, paved with neat stone slabs. Behind the dock was a set of stone steps leading up to a temple.

The temple was small, but exquisite. It had a vermilion gate with copper nails and rings, and a plaque above the door, the characters now faded. Warm yellow light shone through the cracks in the door.

"How come there's light here?" Wu Xie wondered.

"Let's go in and take a look." Zhang Qiling pushed open the door.

Inside the gate was a small shrine, housing a statue of a deity. The statue wore royal robes, its face indistinct, and held a jade eye in its hands. The eternal lamp before the statue was still burning, its oil nearly exhausted, its flame flickering.

The hall was very clean, without any dust, as if someone had cleaned it. But it was empty.

"Can an ever-burning lamp burn for two thousand years?" Fatty Wang didn't believe it.

"The lamp oil is special." Xie Yuchen looked at the lamp bowl. "It's whale blubber mixed with medicine, so it can burn for a long time."

"Look here," Huo Xiuxiu pointed to the base of the statue. There were characters engraved on the base, in ancient Dian script.

Xie Yuchen knelt down to examine it, and slowly recited: "'See the heart with your eyes, and see the truth with your heart. The true eye is here, and you will see eternal life.'"

"It's the same old routine again." Black Bear shook his head.

"The true eye is here..." Wu Xie looked around the hall. "Could the jade eye be hidden here?"

Zhang Qiling walked up to the statue and looked at the jade eye in the statue's hand. It was carved from stone, not real jade. He reached out and pressed on the eye area of ​​the statue.

"Click".

A stone slab slid open on the statue's chest, revealing a small hidden compartment. Inside was a jade box, about the size of a palm, carved into the shape of an eye.

Zhang Qiling took out the jade box and opened it.

Inside was a piece of jade, shaped like an eye, almost identical to the one they held, but more translucent, with a flowing luster. At the center of the jade eye, the swirling symbol was three-dimensional, appearing to be truly rotating.

"This..." Xie Yuchen leaned closer to look, "It seems... even more real."

"Which one is real?" Fatty Wang asked.

Zhang Qiling placed the two jade eyes side by side for comparison. Their size, shape, and jade quality were almost identical. The only difference was that the swirling symbol in the center of the later-made jade eye was clearer and more three-dimensional.

"It's all true," Zhang Qiling suddenly said.

"Hmm?" Wu Xie looked at him.

"One yin and one yang," Zhang Qiling said.

"Only when they are put together is it complete," said Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling joined the two jade pieces together, aligning the swirling symbols perfectly.

The two jade eyes merged into one. The merged jade eye shone brightly, illuminating the entire hall. The vortex at the center of the jade eye seemed to be slowly rotating, and looking at it for too long would make one dizzy.

"This..." Wu Xie took a half step back.

The radiance lasted for a few seconds before gradually fading. The jade eyes returned to normal, but the feeling they gave was completely different, as if they had come to life.

Zhang Qiling withdrew his unified jade eyes and looked into the depths of the main hall. There was a small door there, ajar.

"Continue," he said.

Zhang Qiling nodded.

A new road lies ahead.