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墨書 Inktalez
I suddenly remembered that Cold Bench was fundamentally an Old School type. Could it be that he and Third Granduncle Master were old acquaintances, deliberately pretending not to know each other in front of us?
Damn, it would be a shame if this Oscar Winner didn’t get awarded to either of them!
At that moment, Old Qiao pinched A Li's shoulder and laughed, "My sister doesn’t have many hobbies, but she loves to tinker with these wigs. Once the sea level rises on my Mediterranean patch, I’ll start a land reclamation project! Zhao Master, what else can your wig be used for?"
Cold Bench nodded expressionlessly, determined to sell A Li's idea: "The wig made by A Li has a large opening and functions similarly to Fish Gills, allowing it to separate air from water and provide oxygen."
In front of everyone, Old Qiao awkwardly nodded, "My sister is quite talented!"
Everyone had their own thoughts at that moment, but surprisingly, no one spoke up. Third Granduncle Master likely hadn’t gathered enough evidence yet and, being in a weak position without any leverage, wasn’t ready to confront us too soon; Liu Zi liked A Li and wouldn’t interfere; A Chen had never been one to meddle in others’ affairs… That left us with our own people. Oh right, except for Cold Bench, the traitor who played both sides.
Following Old Qiao’s method, everyone prepared for what was likely the final leg of our journey. There was no need to reserve backup supplies; we divided the gear and food evenly among ourselves and carried everything on our backs.
I initially thought reorganizing supplies meant distributing gear and food as evenly as possible so that anyone who got separated from the group could manage on their own. However, Third Granduncle Master, that old fox, had a different approach. He separated the gear from the food. Aside from each person’s dagger and weapon, all the gear was assigned to our group while he and Liu Zi took charge of the food. This way, none of us could stray too far from one another.
Once we submerged into the oily water again, our advance team led the way. To prevent anyone from getting lost in the dark waters, we used two thick Safety Ropes to split everyone into two teams before setting off. One rope connected me and A Chen while another linked me, A Chen, and Cold Bench together in a tree-like formation with Cold Bench as the crown.
We took turns using a Fish Gills device while passing it around carefully, fearing it might slip into the black Oil Layer below. The three of us at the front had some experience with submerging in oil; we managed to move somewhat under the Water Oil Layer. However, the two teams behind us struggled like heavy weights sinking downwards instead of moving forward. A Chen and I nearly ran out of breath several times.
In just fifteen meters of waterway, we spent nearly twenty minutes swimming. If it weren’t for the Fish Gills device supporting us, we would have already reported to the Dragon King.
At that moment, Cold Bench signaled from ahead. A Chen and I peeked out to see that we had reached a well opening—also an entrance for thieves—only one meter square in size, allowing only one person through at a time.
I followed behind Old Qiao, A Li, my junior brother, while A Chen trailed behind Third Granduncle Master and Liu Zi. Since my side had both older folks and women—more vulnerable individuals—A Chen gestured for my team to go first and cut the rope connecting us to Cold Bench.
The tunnel was roughly dug, but the technique was quite skilled. The direction of the shovel marks on the walls consistently pointed inward, and the spacing between each mark was wide, indicating that the person who dug it must have been in a hurry. However, they did not slack off; considering the pressure from the Oil Layer, the tunnel was dug in the “Z” shape typical of Old Qiao's style. It was clear that this person was also an expert in tomb raiding.
I wondered if he had taken the treasure mentioned by Third Granduncle Master and whether he had made it out alive in the end. The more I thought about it, the more eager I became; I almost wished to rush into the main burial chamber and lift the coffin lid to see for myself. A surge of energy filled me, and I felt invigorated, moving with even more enthusiasm than before.
The tunnel slanted downward, and with a place to push off from, moving through it wasn’t too strenuous. I could clearly feel that the oil pressure increased as we descended, as if we were nearing the Oil Layer.
But for some reason, I felt the rope around my waist tightening more and more, making it hard to breathe! Turning back to look, I saw that A Chen had shamelessly wedged himself between Old Qiao, A Li, and my junior brother. No wonder I felt heavier as I moved forward.
I figured that Third Granduncle Master, that old fox, was afraid we would leave him behind, which is why he came up with this dirty trick. He really underestimated us! If he wanted to ditch us, he should at least wait until he secured some food first—how foolish!
As expected, the tunnel was indeed over ten meters long, with a vertical distance of about eleven or twelve meters, totaling twenty-six meters. It seemed that Yuan Da Tou had indeed submerged here.
Thinking of this made us all tense. Old Qiao untied the rope and staggered to the front of the group, splitting off with Cold Bench to scout ahead.
In the flickering shadows, I saw a sturdy gray brick wall ahead with a small hole just big enough for a person to crawl through. The previous explorers must have entered through this hole; Yuan Da Tou must have accidentally bumped into something near it that led to his downfall.
Here, apart from Old Qiao, everyone else was completely inexperienced. They stretched their necks and widened their eyes in curiosity and caution as they peered forward. The excitement of being on their first expedition was evident on their faces—even Third Granduncle Master ’s old face showed a hint of radiance.
However, their limited perspective prevented them from seeing everything clearly. I only noticed Old Qiao and Cold Bench carefully exploring around the brick hole for a while. Old Qiao took out his Qiankun Bag and pulled out an empty Medical Straw. He inserted it into a crack in the bricks and drew back; when he looked at it again, half a bottle of pale yellow semi-solid liquid filled it.
Old Qiao dropped a drop of this liquid onto his sleeve, which immediately produced a cloud of black smoke and burned a hole the size of a one-yuan coin through it. He gestured for us to be extremely careful not to touch any of these Azure Stone Bricks as we passed through the hole.
In truth, there was no need for him to remind us again; that earlier experiment had already been enough to instill fear in everyone. We all nodded vigorously in agreement.
Cautiously filing through the hole, we entered a narrow Passageway where the Oil Layer had completely ended. We paused briefly to clean off our faces and hands from the oily residue; however, there was too much oil to wipe off completely. Some had even seeped into our skin; everyone’s faces were yellowish and grimy as if we had just crawled out of a cesspit—extremely uncomfortable! If only there were a pool nearby where we could wash up!
My junior brother asked, “Old Qiao, what’s that stuff in the cracks of the bricks? It looks like some kind of toxic gas!”
"Don't touch that!" Old Qiao stopped him, worried that he might recklessly reach out. "This is a mixture of concentrated sulfuric acid, quicklime powder, mercury, and wax oil. Its effects are similar to Hua Shi Shui; if it comes into contact with your skin, it will corrode it instantly."
Upon hearing this, the junior brother quickly pulled his hand back and stubbornly said, "Hmph, of course I wouldn't touch it! I was just giving you all a warning!"
Liuzi snorted but didn't say anything more.
It was still Old Qiao and Cold Bench leading the way, followed by me, the junior brother, Third Granduncle Master, A Li, Liuzi, and A Chen.
This passageway was somewhat similar to the one we encountered in the Manshan Underground Palace. The walls were sealed with azure stone bricks, but the ceiling was even lower than that one, probably only about one point eight meters high. As we walked, I, the junior brother, and Cold Bench had to slightly lower our heads.
Thinking back to our last adventure in the underground palace, I couldn't help but feel that we looked just like characters from Tomb Raider. I even worried that we might be stepping onto a path of tomb raiding that we could never return from; that would truly be a disgrace to Shimen. Moreover, tomb raiding is not something just anyone can do.
What surprised me this time was that everyone was united in willingly stepping forward as "interns" for Tu Fuzi. I pondered how we ended up on this path step by step but couldn't recall clearly. It was vague and unclear.
However, there’s an old saying from our ancestors: when you come, you should settle down. If soldiers come, we’ll fight; if water comes, we’ll block it. The seven of us living people shouldn’t be afraid of Li You who has been dead for over two thousand years. That would be ridiculous.
Just then, Old Qiao suddenly stopped ahead and made a gesture for silence. Everyone immediately held their breath and listened intently. To our surprise, there was actually someone singing in the distance.
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