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

Chapter 315 After Several Battles
After Zhang Wuxun finished speaking, Huo Xiaoli and the others reacted and rushed to the jade vein, shining flashlights and pressing their eyes against it to look inside.

"It's still early." Zhang Wuxun stoked the fire a little stronger, then gave orders to Huo Xiaoli and the others, "Go, find some more rotten tree roots and make this fire burn even brighter."

Huo Xiaoli and the others ran over and cut off the dry tree stumps that had taken root in the cave, carried them to the jade vein crevice, and lit a fire.

Zhang Wuxun warmed himself by the fire while watching them accelerate their "slow suicide" with a smile.

As Huo Zhixing watched, he couldn't help but feel that the man's smile was malicious.

Around that time, Zhang Wuxun stood up and stretched.

The young man who had been leaning against the stone wall with his knife and closing his eyes to rest also opened his eyes.

Huo Zhixing had been keeping a close eye on Zhang Wuxun's actions, and upon seeing this, he immediately told Huo Xiaoli and the others to put out the fire.

The young man stepped forward, extended his right hand to feel several jade veins, then turned to Zhang Wuxun and nodded, "It's ready."

Zhang Wu replied with an OK sign, then said to Huo Zhixing and the others, "Hurry up and put on your protective suits. We're about to have a tough battle ahead."

The protective suits were all in their own waterproof backpacks. After quickly changing into them, Huo Zhixing and the others took out alkaline powder sprayers and stood by, ready to spray as soon as Zhang Wuxun gave the order.

Zhang Wuxun placed his hand on the jade vein, closed his eyes to feel it, and then pointed to one of them, saying, "Let's start from here, and do them one by one in rotation."

Huo Zhixing didn't say much. After Zhang Wuxun moved aside, he immediately sprayed the alkali powder from the steel cylinder onto the dark green jade vein.

The white powder surged forward, quickly melting a large hole in the jade vein, and the roar of Miluotuo hidden within grew ever closer.

When Miluotu first appeared, it wasn't very agile.

With the addition of alkali powder, dealing with two or three in a flash is no problem at all.

They soon arrived at the next cave. Huo Zhixing ran out of alkali powder, so he asked Huo Xiaoli to clear the way.

Then do the same.

As the group ventured deeper into the area, Zhang Wuxun could sense more and more Miluotuo around him.

At first, there were only two or three kittens, but gradually it grew to five or six, and later, more than a dozen Miluotuo swarmed in, surrounding them from all sides.

Huo Zhixing and his group were quickly overwhelmed, and Zhang Wuxun and Xiao Ge could only help by using their knives to kill Miluotuo.

After some time, the number of Miluotuo finally decreased.

It's highly likely that they've dealt with most of the Miluotu people in the vicinity.

Exhausted, the group cleared out a space to rest.

Huo Zhixing took a sip of water, panting, and asked, "Master Yu, are we almost there?"

Zhang Wuxun shook his head. "If it were that easy, it wouldn't be called Zhang Family Ancient Building."

Huo Xiaoli asked in confusion, "But Miluotuo has appeared much less frequently before."

Zhang Wuxun chuckled, "Little brat, you still don't believe me? Let me tell you, the closer we get to the Zhang Family Ancient Building, the more Miluotuo there will be, and the more agile they will be. It's just like when you're playing a game and killing monsters, the difficulty of the monsters increases as you go further. But look at us, we've been trapped here for two days, and the Miluotuo we've encountered, while not exactly the same, are by no means difficult to deal with."

Huo Xiaoli scratched his head and thought for a moment, "You mean, what kind of big move are these Miluotuo people preparing?"

Zhang Wuxun gave him a look that said "you're hopeless," and then said to Huo Zhixing, "This kid is as stupid as a pig. The old lady's taste in people is getting worse and worse."

Huo Xiaoli was a little angry, "Hey, why are you cursing? You can call me stupid, but you can't slander our family head!"

"Weren't you also chosen by our family head?" Huo Xiaoli said, looking quite unconvinced.

Zhang Wuxun glanced at him indifferently, "That's why I said that after picking a few of us, Old Madam Huo's taste in people has gotten worse and worse. Is there a problem?"

Huo Xiaoli was so angry she almost fell backward. Knowing she was bad at talking and couldn't win an argument with Zhang Wuxun, she simply shut up and kept quiet.

Zhang Wuxun clicked his tongue, thinking, "She's really easy to tease."

Huo Zhixing sighed, "It seems our operation this time was in vain, but finding a way out is not necessarily a bad thing."

Food was being consumed faster than he had anticipated, and their alkali powder reserves were running low. Given their current exhausted state, a few more Miluotuo would be too much for any of them to handle.

Seeing the dejected looks on the faces of the Huo family's young apprentices, Zhang Wuxun began to give them some pep talk, "Don't be discouraged. Failure is the mother of success, and mistakes are the father of correct ones. It's the same when you're working in the fields. If you don't fail a few times, you won't feel a sense of accomplishment even if you get the treasure. Am I right?"

Huo Xiaoli and the others all gave Zhang Wuxun dead fish eyes in unison.

As they spoke, another Miluo Tuo emerged from the hole in the jade vein ahead, its empty, hollow eyes and ugly appearance giving off an eerie and sinister feeling.

Zhang Wuxun got up, dusted himself off, and said, "Get to work, get to work. Try to get back to your old lady before you starve to death."

﹉﹉﹉﹉
at the same time.

On the lakeshore, the fat man caught Huo Zhizhi and gave him a good scolding.

Because he was so disruptive, Huo Xiangu had the fat man stopped outside.

Unable to find Old Mrs. Huo, the fat man could only vent his anger on the old woman's men.

"You brat, this is your final ultimatum. If my two brothers aren't out of the water by nightfall, you can wash your neck clean and wait to die," the fat man said, glaring fiercely at Huo Zhizhi.

On the day Zhang Wuxun and Xiao Ge were trapped underground, Fatty went to find Old Madam Huo to demand an explanation after returning from his survey of the mountain.

However, Huo Xiangu brushed him off by saying that the underground waterway was complicated and that a delay of one or two days was normal.

The fat man had been through the same thing with Zhang Wuxun and the other two before, and he knew what was going on, so he could only suppress his anxiety for the time being.

Unexpectedly, it's already the second day, and the sun is about to set, but Zhang Wuxun and the others still show no signs of returning.

The fat man couldn't sit still any longer and started yelling that he wanted to lead a group to search the mountain.

There's a high probability that Zhang Wuxun and the others will emerge from a distance far from the lakeshore, just like last time. But better safe than sorry; if something happens to the two of them, Tianzhen would strangle him if he found out.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, the fat man immediately spat it out, "Children say the darndest things, children say the darndest things, haha."

The fat man's cursing power was comparable to a machine gun, and he sprayed Huo Zhizhi from head to toe. "Go and tell your old lady that I'm going to lead a search party tonight. Otherwise, don't blame me for making a phone call and ruining Tianzhen's operation, leaving your old lady empty-handed."

After saying that, he turned around and went back into the tent.

Huo Zhizhi watched him leave without saying a word, then took out a handkerchief with a look of disgust and wiped the spit that the fat man had just sprayed on her face. Still feeling disgusted, she immediately turned around and ran back to the tent to wash her face.

Only then did they go to Old Mrs. Huo's tent to report on the progress of the mountain exploration.

“Master, the exploration of the mountain is three-quarters complete. At this rate, it should take about two more days for us to find the correct entrance,” Huo Zhizhi said.

Huo Xiangu stared at the documents and drawings spread out on the table and sighed, "It's still too slow. We can't afford to delay things at Four Sisters Mountain. We still haven't found the cave entrance where Wu Xie and the others came out."

Huo Zhizhi lowered his head. "No, the hole seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace whatsoever."

Huo Xiangu sneered, "Disappeared into thin air? Hmph, Wu Xie said there was no trace of jade veins in that waterway, so there's no such thing as Miluotuo filling the cave. It's all up to human intervention."

Huo Zhizhi poured the brewed ginseng tea into a teacup, respectfully presented it to Huo Xiangu with both hands, and said in a low voice: "Our people also found out that not long after Wu Xiaosanye and the others were trapped underground, Wu Erye brought a lot of his men to Banna."

“Wu Erbai,” Huo Xiangu said, holding the cup lid and wiping away the rising steam. “That kid hasn’t been involved in the affairs of the Nine Gates for a long time, but he still cares a lot about his only nephew. Perhaps he knows more about what’s happening in Banna than we do.”

Huo Zhizhi asked, "Should we send someone to pay a visit to Second Master Wu?"

Huo Xiangu shook her head. "No need. He won't say anything even if I go. That kid is a complete liar. He's better at playing dumb than a grandmaster. If he finds out I'm hiring Wu Xie, he'll definitely get involved and try to bring Wu Xie back."

The fat man's cursing came from outside the tent again. Huo Zhizhi's face flashed with impatience. "That fat bastard's words are too rude. I really want to shut him up."

Huo Xiangu smiled indifferently, "Just find a few people to go for a walk on the mountain with him and come back. There's no need to worry about it too much."

She didn't think a simple scouting trip would stump those two.

Huo Zhizhi said "Yes," and seeing that Huo Xiangu had no further instructions, he withdrew.

The moment he stepped out of the tent, the fat man grabbed him from behind by the neck. "You brat, don't think I can't do anything to you just because you're hiding in the old lady's tent..."

Huo Zhizhi was furious, but he was no match for the fat man's brute strength. The fat man held his neck and bent his back, spinning him around in circles, and he couldn't break free.

Enraged, he yelled, "You fatso, get off me right now, or don't expect me to send people with you to the mountains to find them!"

"Huh?" The fat man pinched Huo Zhizhi hard, making him yell in pain. "How dare you talk to your fat grandpa like that?"

Huo Zhizhi stubbornly continued to curse, but the fat man kicked him in the butt, sending him sprawling to the ground. Only after taking two punches did he finally give in, "I was wrong, I knew I was wrong, please stop hitting me. Don't you want to take some men up the mountain to find your two brothers?"

The fat man then stopped, snorting coldly, "A little brat who hasn't even shed his pubic hair yet dares to act high and mighty in front of your fat master. Remember to show some respect next time, or you'll regret it."

He then kicked Huo Zhizhi's leg again and urged, "Get up quickly, stop pretending to be dead. Send eleven, twelve, or thirty men with me up the mountain first."

No matter how resentful Huo Zhizhi was, he didn't dare show it on his face and slunk away to call for help.

The fat man finished packing his gear and came out, only to see exactly ten people standing outside the tent. He immediately glared at them.

Huo Zhizhi was afraid that this brute would attack again, so he quickly took a few steps back. How could he not save face if he got beaten up in front of so many employees?

"Why are there only a few people? Are you treating what I said as nothing?" the fat man said, dissatisfied.

Huo Zhizhi said with a bitter face, "Everyone else has things to do, and there are only a few people who can free up their hands for the time being."

The fat man glanced into the distance and saw that those people were indeed not idle. He then snorted coldly and said to the ten Huo fellows, "Take your tools and go up the mountain to find someone."

Huo Zhizhi gave the men a wink, meaning they should just go along with it.

The fat man, who had already turned around and started walking up the mountain, sneered inwardly. Did he really think that he was easy to fool?

﹉﹉﹉

Underground, in the Miluotuo Cave.

Two days later, after continuing along the jade vein, Zhang Wuxun sensed that the number of Miluo Tuo around them had increased once again.

After another round of fighting, Huo Zhixing and his men ran out of alkali powder.

The young men were so tired their legs were shaking, but they didn't dare lean against the wall to rest.

Previously, one of the men hadn't seen clearly and leaned against a dark-colored jade vein wall. As a result, Miluotuo stabbed him through the back, and he didn't even have time to scream before he suffocated from the blood that had entered his lungs.

When it died, its eyes were wide open, as if it wanted to take everyone with it.

The other young men were terrified. One second they were fighting alongside each other, and the next they were bleeding on the spot. This huge psychological shock was something that these greenhorns could not accept for a while.

One of the men was already somewhat delirious from being in this dark and oppressive space for so long. Then, his face was splattered with the blood of his dead teammates. He could no longer suppress his fear and screamed as he ran around wildly. He soon died in Miluotuo's siege.

Zhang Wuxun and Xiao Ge stood back to back, withstanding the attack, and then led the remaining three to retreat to a temporarily safe place.

Huo Xiaoli's once innocent eyes were now bloodshot. He couldn't remember how long he hadn't slept. These past few days, all they had done was fight. He had long since run out of tears of fear. His mind was now completely numb. He had even forgotten his original purpose for coming here. His only thought now was to live, to get out of here alive.

Huo Zhixing licked his dry, cracked lips, instantly tasting the metallic smell of rust. He blinked his slightly sore eyes and asked Zhang Wuxun in a hoarse voice, "Do you think we can still get out?"

Zhang Wuxun rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a few energy gels, tossing them to Huo Zhixing. He then grabbed a few more and stuffed them into Xiao Ge's hands, saying, "I think I can do it, and of course Xiao Ge can too, but the three of you might not be so sure."

Huo Zhixing gave a wry smile. "Even at this point, you still like to make sarcastic remarks."

"Even poisoned chicken soup won't work," Zhang Wuxun said helplessly. "You should be grateful that I'm still willing to talk to you."

Good night~
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(End of this chapter)