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

Chapter 318 Long time no see
The fat man craned his neck to look this way, "What is that? Let me see too."

Upon seeing it, he immediately exclaimed, "Oh, this is great! It's perfect! A triangular pyramid with exactly four corners symbolizes the indomitable spirit of the four of us brothers, our unity, our invincibility, and our unstoppable momentum."

Zhang Wuxun snapped out of his daze, his face beaming with obvious joy. He took out a transparent resealable bag, carefully put the small stone inside, and planned to apply a layer of transparent resin to the outside later to make it into a pendant.

The fat man winked at the young man and teased, "I didn't expect that this young man, who usually looks so cold, would be so thoughtful. Even I, Fatty, can't compare."

The young man kept his eyes downcast, quietly drinking his soup without making a sound.

The fat man habitually made some witty remarks, and Zhang Wuxun chatted with him casually. The young man seemed to be in a daze, but also seemed to be listening attentively to the two of them.

Raindrops hanging from the edge of the tent formed a beaded curtain, as if creating a barrier that separated the cozy interior from the continuous sound of rain outside.

Before long, a series of rapid splashing sounds broke through the rain, shattering the joyful atmosphere.

Huo Zhixing appeared at the tent entrance, holding a black umbrella.

"The three of you, the patriarch requests your presence to discuss matters."

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"I've discussed it with some technicians. If the rain stops tomorrow, we'll go up the mountain to explore the crack you discovered to confirm that it's indeed the entrance, and then we'll clear it with explosives," Huo Xiangu said calmly, taking a sip of tea.

Zhang Wuxun replied, "No problem, but I have to go down the mountain tomorrow."

Huo Xiangu frowned slightly, "What are you going down the mountain for?"

"I need to take care of something, but I don't need to report to you what it is," Zhang Wuxun said, then stood up.

Huo Xiangu's eyes showed a hint of nervousness, and she immediately looked at the young man, "Are you also going down the mountain?"

The young man ignored her, only looking at Zhang Wuxun with a hint of doubt.

Zhang Wuxun nodded slightly to him, "I'll tell you later." After saying that, he directly told him and the fat man to leave.

After the three left, a shadow of gloom flashed in Huo Xiangu's eyes, and she murmured, "This Zhang Wuxun is really hard to control, and even that person's personality seems to have changed a bit. I don't know if this change is a good thing or a bad thing."

A cold glint flashed across Huo Zhizhi's face as he stood to the side. He asked softly, "Patriarch, since this is an uncontrollable variable, should we send someone—"

"No need." Huo Xiangu's expression was inscrutable, with a hint of sinister danger. "Such variables will not have much impact on our operations, but for certain people hiding in the shadows, such variables often have a fatal effect."

Huo Zhizhi seemed to understand, but he nodded and said, "Yes, if those three come down the mountain at the same time tomorrow, should we stop them?"

“That person can’t leave, but the others don’t matter,” said Huo Xiangu, putting down her teacup. “This tea is getting a little cold.”

Huo Zhizhi understood, turned around and left. When he returned, the Longjing tea in the teapot had been replaced with a medicinal tea that was more potent than before.

Huo Zhizhi's expression was slightly strange. He replaced Huo Xiangu's teacup with a clean one, poured her a cup, hesitated for a moment, and then reported truthfully, "Master, the medicinal herbs in the warehouse have been tampered with."

Huo Zhizhi listed out the names of the medicinal herbs that were missing a small portion.

Huo Xiangu downed the medicinal tea in one gulp. "Have you found out who did it?"

"That Fatty Wang," Huo Zhizhi said angrily, "was missing all the medicinal herbs that replenish qi and blood, and he used them to make mutton soup."

Huo Xiangu asked curiously, "For whom?"

"It was given to the two people surnamed Zhang, who are said to be anemic," Huo Zhizhi said truthfully.

"No wonder." Huo Xiangu lowered her eyelids. "Send those two boxes of century-old ginseng from the warehouse over there. You should deliver them yourself."

On the other side, Zhang Wuxun and the other two returned to their tents, each holding an umbrella.

Fatty stood at the door, shaking the rainwater that had accumulated on his umbrella, and asked Zhang Wuxun, "Muyu, why did you suddenly decide to go down the mountain? It's been raining for so many days, the road down the mountain is not easy to walk."

Seeing that the young man was also looking over, Zhang Wuxun invited the two of them to sit down next to him and said in a low voice, "Which of you do you think are the problematic members of the Huo family?"

"Huh?" The fat man was quite surprised. "Aren't these people all Old Madam Huo's trusted subordinates?"

Zhang Wuxun sneered, "I don't necessarily think so. There are so many Huo family members here. Who knows which one of them is a rat hiding in the shadows, infiltrating in disguise?"

The fat man gasped. "You mean, there are people in the Huo family who are 'it'?"

"It's not certain yet," Zhang Wuxun shook his head, "but it's pretty close."

The fat man frowned, then suddenly realized, "No wonder the young man felt something was wrong last time, but couldn't catch anyone after chasing after them. It turns out they were hiding in the Huo family's group."

Zhang Wuxun nodded, "So I have to go down the mountain to prepare in advance and take precautions."

“Okay then.” The fat man nodded. “I’ll go down with you.”

“No.” Zhang Wuxun refused outright. “You have to stay here with Xiao Ge. The reason why Old Madam Huo agreed to let the two of us go down the mountain is because we are not very important to her. But she will definitely not let Xiao Ge go down the mountain at this time because she doesn’t have much time left. This operation cannot afford any risks. If something goes wrong, all her efforts over the years will be in vain.”

The fat man hissed, "So, that old woman really is nearing her end."

For Huo Xiangu, this plan to find the Zhang Family Ancient Building was more like a high-stakes gamble at the end of her life. If she won, she could use the things she took from the ancient building to blackmail the person who had been threatening her with the videotape and Huo Ling's whereabouts, and thus take revenge.

However, once she lost, there was no turning back.

Despite her seemingly imposing demeanor, she was actually just like a frail old woman in her twilight years, especially after catching a cold. No matter how much tonic she took, it could only temporarily mask the decay within her body.

That's why the young man said that Huo Xiangu has no right to be willful.

“You have to keep an eye on Xiao Ge, don’t let that old lady Huo fool him away,” Zhang Wuxun said. “The road into Zhang Family Ancient Building is definitely not easy to navigate. I reckon the mechanisms inside are likely related to the things in the place Tianzhen and the others went to.”

People like Huo Xiangu are ruthless in achieving their goals, and it's hard to guarantee that she won't gamble everything and trick Xiao Ge into falling into her trap once again.

Zhang Wuxun couldn't guarantee that this person would feel guilty. "I might not be back for three to five days. If Tianzhen sends any news, Huo Xiangu will definitely take action. Fatty, remember, you must stall for time until I get back, then we'll make plans," Zhang Wuxun said in a deep voice.

"We definitely need to enter the ancient building, but how we enter is not up to Aunt Huo."

The fat man understood the implications and nodded. “Don’t worry, after you go down the mountain tomorrow, I’ll eat and live with you. I’ll follow you wherever you go and won’t give that old lady Huo any chance to fool us. Right, brother?”

At the end, the fat man even raised his eyebrows at the young man.

The young man had a blank face and no expression.

"Look, even the young man agreed." The fat man stroked the stubble sprouting on his chin.

As they were talking, the young man suddenly shushed them, signaling them to be quiet, "Someone's coming."

As soon as he finished speaking, in the lamplight not far away, Huo Zhizhi was seen walking towards them with a blank face, holding two mahogany brocade boxes in his hands, and walking around the scattered puddles on the ground.

The fat man spotted the two mahogany boxes and exclaimed, "Damn it!" "That brat Huo Zhizhi discovered that I took his medicinal herbs. Judging from his attitude, he's definitely coming to settle accounts with me."

“I don’t think so. Aunt Huo wouldn’t bother with us over a little bit of medicinal herbs. Don’t forget we’re still in a cooperative relationship with her,” Zhang Wuxun said. “However, Aunt Huo definitely knows about you taking the herbs. After all, there are many spies here, and several are watching our tent alone.”

Upon hearing this, the fat man's eyebrows immediately shot up. "This bastard is treating us like suspects, we're already being kind by not going to settle scores with him."

So when Huo Zhizhi walked into the tent with a serious expression, he saw the fat man glaring at him angrily.

Huo Zhizhi was immediately dumbfounded. What was going on? He hadn't even questioned him yet, so why was this fat guy suddenly making that face?

Thinking of the fat man's exceptional combat prowess, and then looking at the two powerful and dignified masters sitting upright beside him, Huo Zhizhi subconsciously shrank back.

"What instructions does your old lady Huo have this time? You all treat this place like a guesthouse, do you think you can come and go as you please just because the door is open?" The fat man preemptively struck, launching into a sarcastic and mocking mode.

Huo Zhizhi muttered to himself, wondering which fool had offended this fat man again. It was raining outside today, and there were puddles everywhere. He didn't want to be forced to take a mud bath.

So he quickly explained his purpose, and fearing they wouldn't believe him, he placed the brocade box on the table and immediately opened one of the boxes, holding it up for the fat man to examine closely. "This is our master's way of expressing his gratitude to you two for your hard work. He specially sent me these two century-old ginseng roots to convey his thanks."

The fat man never expected things to turn out this way, and was momentarily speechless. "Ahem, well, I see. Well, keep it. Please thank your grandmother for us."

They're clearly here to give him something nice, so how can he possibly make a move?

After delivering the items and relaying the message, Huo Zhizhi took advantage of the fact that the three people weren't paying attention to him and immediately slipped away.

Having walked two miles, Huo Zhizhi recalled the situation just now and slapped his forehead in frustration. How could he have messed up at such a crucial moment? He should have righteously retaliated and let that fatso smugness rage on every day. It was infuriating to look at him.

Huo Zhixing was holding a folder in his hand. When he passed by and saw his expression, he asked him what was going on.

Huo Zhizhi awkwardly scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "Nothing. Oh, by the way, where are you going, bro?"

Huo Zhixing waved the documents in his hand. "These are what the technicians just analyzed and produced. I'll take them to the head of the family."

"Oh, then you should go quickly, the head of the family hasn't rested yet," Huo Zhizhi said hastily.

Inside the tent, Zhang Wuxun and the other two stared at the brocade box on the table, their expressions varying.

"What's Old Mrs. Huo up to?" the fat man hissed. "My husband stole medicine from her storeroom, and instead of pursuing the matter, she even sent over two better boxes."

Zhang Wuxun was also somewhat confused, pondering what Huo Xiangu's purpose was in doing this, but no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. Was he being too conspiratorial?
“Perhaps we’ve overthought things this time. The old lady may simply want to use these two ginseng roots as a gesture of goodwill,” Zhang Wuxun said after pondering for a while.

"Oh, who cares?" The fat man didn't have the patience to think about it. He picked up the box, turned around and tidied it up. "Since they've sent it and it's a friendly collaboration, let's just accept it. We can give you two a good boost before we go down into the tomb."

The rain stopped the next morning.

The melodious chirping of birds came from the woods behind the camp, a clear and pleasant sound.

Zhang Wuxun, carrying a knife and backpack, waved goodbye to Fatty and Xiao Ge, and headed down the mountain following the direction he remembered.

Alone, Zhang Wuxun traveled much faster, arriving at the foot of the mountain in just a day and a half.

He did not disturb Huo Xiuxiu, who was still in the Yao village, but left Banna directly for the capital.

He is going to find someone.

After leaving the airport, Zhang Wuxun took a taxi directly to Panjiayuan.

Walking through the bustling crowd, Zhang Wuxun's gaze settled on a small shop that mainly offered massage and acupressure.

Seeing that the people inside were still busy, I found an empty seat at the wonton stall next door and called out, "Boss, a bowl of wontons, no cilantro, please."

"Alright, please wait a moment, sir." The owner called out, lifted the wooden pot lid, put some white wontons from the cutting board into the pot, stirred them a few times with a strainer, and then put the pot lid back on.

After waiting for three or four minutes, the owner scooped up half a ladle of cold water, lifted the pot lid, and poured it in. The boiling, bubbling noodle soup immediately quieted down.

After waiting two more minutes until the soup boiled again, the owner used a strainer to scoop all the wontons into a large bowl at once, then poured on the clear soup that had been prepared earlier, sprinkled some dried shrimp and seaweed, and asked Zhang Wuxun, "Should I add garlic sprouts and chopped green onions?"

“Loosen it a little,” Zhang Wuxun replied, then turned around and saw the owner of the massage parlor sitting with his legs crossed, counting money with a big smile, his toes barely touching the ground. It was obvious he was ripping people off… no, he was making a lot of money.

The customer who was just lying on the massage bed has already left, rubbing his neck, and looks like he's questioning his life.

Zhang Wuxun chuckled, then grabbed a clove of garlic from a small dish on the table and tossed it over there.

The massage parlor owner paused in counting money, spread his fingers, grabbed at the air, and then looked up at Zhang Wuxun.

Zhang Wuxun raised a hand and waved at him, "Long time no see."

I've noticed that many kids didn't quite get the point about the little stone.
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(End of this chapter)