Tomb Raiding: My Family's Last Clan Chief is Little Brother

Chapter 225 Uncle's Message
Zhang Wuxun nodded, confirming their speculation.

"The black miasma spreading from the woods is poisonous; it can silently blind people temporarily in their sleep. Coupled with the sudden attack by the snakes, your third uncle and the others are probably in grave danger."

Panzi pointed to the drag marks on the ground, "Last night, when the sound faded away, I secretly lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out. It was indeed one of those crested snakes. They somehow intertwined with each other, stacked higher than a person, just like tofu pudding with loaches inside. They moved very fast."

“I reckon that’s how they took away Aning’s body,” Panzi continued. “The snake-men we bombarded in the bushes were probably the same ones from last night.”

Wu Xiaoxie clicked his tongue in amazement, "Then why did they destroy this place like this?"

Zhang Wuxun lifted the collapsed tent frame and pulled out the towel that had been inside the previous night, which contained roasted sweet potatoes. He then opened it to show the others.

The once whole sweet potatoes inside have now been squeezed into a flat, rotten sweet potato paste.

“Those snakes must have known we were there, but they couldn’t see us because of the miasma, so they tried to force us out by destroying the tents,” Zhang Wuxun said. “Although they are beasts, they are indeed clever.”

Panzi said with a look of relief, "Luckily, I listened to Muyu and the others last night and covered the tent with mud, otherwise we would have been squeezed into a pile of minced meat."

The fat man sneered, "No wonder he didn't make a move in the jungle after we beat him up. I thought he was scared, but it turns out he was just waiting for us to walk into his trap."

Zhang Wuxun casually tossed aside the towel with roasted sweet potatoes in his hand. "We can't stay here any longer. We need to leave before the afternoon. Otherwise, they'll come back tonight, and these tents won't be able to withstand another attack."

The young man suddenly pointed to the temple behind the camp and said calmly, "Go inside, away from the water source."

Several people agreed.

The fat man started tidying up the stove to prepare a meal. Just as he took off the tattered rag covered in mud, he suddenly noticed something and hurriedly called Zhang Wu to come over.

"Look here, isn't this what your third uncle left behind?"

The fat man pointed to a line of small characters written in charcoal next to the dark stove fire door and said to Wu Xiaoxie.

"We have found the entrance to the Queen Mother of the West's Palace. Once inside, there is no turning back. This is our final farewell. Our wishes are fulfilled. Have no regrets and do not dwell on the past. Moreover, this place is dangerous. You must leave quickly and not linger."

After the fat man finished reading, he let out a soft "Ah!" and said, "Your third uncle is..."

Seeing Wu Xiaoxie's expression, the fat man silently swallowed the words that were about to come out.

Wu Xiaoxie was stunned. Although his mind was a little slow to process what was happening, perhaps because he was tired or because he had long been used to it, he did not feel sad or angry. On the contrary, he was very calm.

He looked at the writing calmly, expressionless.

The fat man quickly winked at Zhang Wuxun, meaning that he should persuade Wu Xiaoxie not to be too sad.

Zhang Wuxun was also unsure what Wu Xiaoxie was thinking at the moment. In any case, he didn't think Wu Xiaoxie was sad at the moment.

Having gone through so much, Xiao Tianzhen has actually grown a lot. Although she is still a bit short of the planned expectations, it is not easy for Wu Sansheng and the others to get to where they are today.

One person sheds their identity to take the place of another, shouldering the burden of two families; the other hides in the darkness, willingly becoming a shadow, unknown to anyone.

Zhang Wuxun actually admired them, which is why he wanted to lay bare his own value so they could see it clearly, thereby creating the possibility of cooperation.

Although his plan differed somewhat from those of Wu Sansheng and Xie Lianhuan, the core principle remained the same. As clever as Wu Sansheng was, he could naturally see the clues from Zhang Wuxun's consistent behavior. However, to his surprise, it was Chen Wenjin who was the first to extend an olive branch to him.

However, with Chen Wenjin mediating, the possibility of him cooperating with Wu Sansheng is greater. If Wu Sansheng agrees, then the plan can be brought forward.

"Let's go." Zhang Wuxun patted Wu Xiaoxie on the shoulder. "Let's organize our equipment first, and then find the entrance to the Queen Mother of the West's Palace."

After saying that, he deliberately avoided Pan Zi and whispered in Wu Xiaoxie's ear, "If you're really angry, when you find your third uncle, I'll lure Pan Zi away, and you can find a chance to beat him up to vent your anger."

Wu Xiaoxie chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm not angry, I'm used to all of this. It's just that no matter how hard I try to catch up, my third uncle is getting further and further away from me. I will never understand what he's thinking."

The two went to organize their equipment, while Xiao Ge and Pan Zi entered the temple to scout ahead, returning after half an hour.

The fat man shouted, "Dinner's ready! It's a mixed stew of canned beef and diced sweet potatoes. Just make do with it. With this little bit of ingredients, even I, Fatty, can't make a Manchu Han Imperial Feast."

Zhang Wuxun set out the bowls and chopsticks and helped serve the rice.

The fat man really has a pair of skillful hands that can turn the rotten into the magical. No matter what it is, if he just throws it in the pot and mixes it together, the final product may not look very appealing, but it tastes really good.

The fat man was very proud of this, saying, "Back when I was sent to the countryside, I had a head like a monk's, completely bald, and I was dirt poor. I spent all my time digging for wild vegetables in the mountains, but now I've made something of myself."

"So people shouldn't eat too much. People like you, who are cultured, start to overthink when they have food in their stomachs. They worry and grieve all day long, but life still goes on."

Wu Xiaoxie nodded, thinking that what the fat man said made a lot of sense, but no matter how he listened, he felt that the guy was subtly criticizing him.

﹉﹉﹉

The group left the camp before noon.

From Wu Sansheng's message, it is not difficult to determine that the entrance to the Queen Mother of the West's Palace should be near the camp.

The fat man suggested searching carefully in the vicinity, hoping to find it by sheer luck.

But the young man advised everyone not to be so optimistic.

The fat man asked why.

“Wu Sansheng is meticulous. He knew that if we saw the message, we would know that the entrance was nearby,” the young man said calmly. “He didn’t want Wu Xie to take any risks. If the entrance were easy to find, he certainly wouldn’t have left any words.”

Zhang Wuxun pondered, "Therefore, this entrance must be in a very difficult place to find, or even if we find it, we may not be able to enter."

The fat man shrugged and shook the branch in his hand. "If that's what you two are saying, then we're just wasting our time looking for a donkey hair on a tortoise shell."

"I drove over a thousand kilometers to get here, crossing the Gobi Desert and traversing the rainforest. Oh, and all I got was a full-body mud mask and a sunbath before I had to go back," the fat man complained with a bitter face. "I didn't pick up a single piece of trash, and I almost lost my life to those bastards. This trip was a complete disaster."

(End of this chapter)