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

Chapter 333 Cloud Tattoo Shoulder
Zhang Wuxun peeked inside first to check the situation, told the two young men, and then went in first, followed by the other young man.

The fat man glanced at the cave entrance, cursed under his breath, tightened his belt, and then crawled in, with the other members of the Huo family crawling behind him.

Perhaps because this was still a safe area accessed with the correct password, we did not encounter any dangers or traps along the way.

After climbing nearly a hundred meters forward, Zhang Wuxun felt the surrounding space gradually expanding, so he gradually increased his speed.

After climbing several dozen meters more, the passageway was wide enough for a person to crawl on their knees. The fat man finally breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing the sore flesh on his stomach. "Damn it, the way your Zhang family welcomes guests is really enthusiastic. I was almost squashed flat."

After walking for another two hundred meters, the passage ahead suddenly widened considerably. They felt as if they were crawling in a conical flask with an extended neck, turning from a straight passage to a slope that became increasingly steep. Fortunately, by this point in the passage, they could barely stand up and walk with their backs bent.

The belly of the flask is a large rock cave, almost identical to the previous cave. It seems that the Zhang family had dug a shortcut between the two natural caves in the mountain.

With the second sealing stone in sight, the Huo family rushed forward with wild joy and started snapping at it.

This sealing stone looks exactly like the first one, except that the relief pattern carved on it has changed.

The same clock-shaped disc, starting from twelve o'clock, the first picture looks like a continuation of the previous one, the figures depicted on it have changed to two groups of people, one group on the left is those ethnic minorities wearing strange clothes and holding long knives, and the other group on the right is those who are missing their right hands.

In front of each of the two groups stood a leader-like figure who was taller than the others. The two men stood very close together. The long swords held by the people from the minority group had their tips pointing towards the ground, indicating that the two groups had reached some kind of agreement and were not hostile to each other.

At the three o'clock position clockwise, this picture contains a lot of information. There are more figures than ever before, and there are distant mountains, auspicious clouds, simple villages, and carvings resembling houses. Among the figures, there is a woman holding a child in her arms.

It seems that, just as Zhang Wuxun had predicted, the ancient Zhang family members used themselves as bait to help the ancient Miao people capture the Hou. The existence of the Hou was obviously a major headache for this ethnic minority. The Zhang family solved this big problem, and as a result, their strength was recognized by the Miao King. The Zhang family was extremely popular in this tribe.

Looking at the third picture, sure enough, it is a picture of a sacrificial scene. On a very tall altar, there is a beast that is chained up. They seem to be performing some kind of sacrificial ceremony.

The thunderclouds in the sky rolled like a surging tide, their immense power eventually coalescing into a bolt of lightning that struck the trapped beast below.

The figures below the altar are all kneeling with their heads on the ground and their hands raised high, expressing their worship and awe of the heavens.

Zhang Wuxun stroked his chin. So, the record on this stone really is the history of the Zhang family's ancestors' rise to power through totemism?
As I was pondering this, I suddenly felt someone poke me from behind. I turned around and saw it was the fat man. The young man, however, had left the crowd and was squatting in front of the stone wall on the other side, looking at something.

Zhang Wuxun gave the fat man a questioning look.

Fatty glanced at the Huo family members beside him, and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he quickly pulled Zhang Wuxun to the side of the young man and whispered, "Muyu, the young man just found something here. Take a look, doesn't it look familiar?"

"Hmm?" Zhang Wuxun was puzzled as to why he looked familiar.

The young man moved aside slightly to make room, pointed, and said softly, "Someone has been here, but they weren't from the Zhang family."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wuxun quickly squatted down to check the spot the young man was pointing to.

Upon seeing what it was, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his expression turned astonished.

There was a mark the size of a bottle cap engraved there. It wasn't the letter pattern that the guy usually used, but a cluster of strangely shaped fire patterns.

No wonder the fat guy said it looked familiar; it was a tiny, simplified version of another tattoo on his body.

Seeing Zhang Wuxun's reaction, the fat man moved his lips and silently said, "What's going on? Did you come here before, and then suddenly lose your memory like Little Brother?"

Zhang Wuxun immediately shook his head. In his previous life, he didn't even get to touch the edge of the Zhang Family Ancient Building before he kicked the bucket. Where would he get this little flame to carve? Besides, this wasn't the mark he usually used.

A name was about to pop into his mind, but he couldn't be 100% sure it was him.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Did you two find any similar markings near the first sealing stone?"

The young man shook his head to indicate no.

The fat man also said he didn't see it, "It was probably accidentally shoveled away by the Huo family's cave repairmen."

Zhang Wuxun composed himself and said to the two, "Let's take another look. If there are similar markings next to the third sealing stone, I'll probably know who left them."

The young man and the fat man nodded in tacit agreement and did not ask any further questions.

"We need to find a way to cover this up so those bad guys don't see it." The fat man looked left and right, thinking of using a hammer to knock off a rock to block it.

Zhang Wuxun waved his hand and said no, "I just want those rats to see it."

Without the Zhang family's guidance, its people cannot enter the Zhang family's ancient building. Naturally, they will speculate about the unexpected and suspicious events related to Zhang Wuxun. As a result, the Wang family's computing department will devote more of its energy to him.

Regardless of how many outcomes they arrive at, he has definitely secured this wave of hatred.

Meanwhile, the Huo family finally finished photographing the sealing stone and the cave. Huo Zhizhi came over and asked Zhang Wuxun, "Should we also remove that layer on the sealing stone?"

Zhang Wuxun waved his hand, "No need, we'll clean it up next time we go in after we get news from the Four Sisters Mountain."

The layer on the surface of the sealing stone is actually made very roughly. It is a clay mixture of horse manure, grease, egg white and other things, which is pasted on the surface of the sealing stone to fill the blank parts around the real relief. It looks no different from the stone, but you can tell the difference by touching it.

Huo Zhizhi nodded and told the Huo family to pack up.

The group returned the way they came.

As they passed through the first sealed stone gate, Zhang Wuxun noticed that Huo Jinqiu, who was lagging behind the group, picked up a fake rock that had fallen to the ground and quietly put it into his backpack.

The moment he stood up, Zhang Wuxun turned his head away from him, a faint smile playing on his lips.

A few minutes later, the group returned to the outside of the cave, and after three hours, they saw the light of day again.

Huo Zhizhi went to report the situation to Old Madam Huo, and soon arranged for someone to go down the mountain and send the photos to the Four Sisters Mountain.

In the following days, Old Mrs. Huo did not talk to Zhang Wuxun and the other two about anything, and they were happy to have some peace and quiet.

Zhang Wuxun finished weaving the half-finished straw hat, this time making sure it was properly styled. After all, Wu Xiaoxie had come with Wu Sanye's face, which would be too comical and damage the old man's dignity. Taking advantage of this time, Fatty dragged Zhang Wuxun to the Yao village to find a craftsman to tattoo a cloud on his back, expressing his determination to love clouds.

The craftsman in the village was very skilled, and young men from neighboring villages would come to him for tattoos when they reached a certain age. When Zhang Wuxun and his two companions arrived, there were already four or five people queuing outside the bamboo house.

Outside the fence, a group of little girls were gathered around watching the commotion, chattering away like lively larks.

Zhang Wuxun and his two companions first found a spot under a tree to cool off and sat down.

The fat man sipped his tea absentmindedly, his eyes constantly glancing towards the bamboo house where the tattoo was being done.

The tattoo artist moved very quickly. Although it was impossible to see what was being tattooed, the bamboo needle in the artist's hand danced so fast that it left afterimages on the young man's back.

The young man clenched his fists and endured the pain without uttering a sound for half an hour from start to finish.

The fat man's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly as he watched the young man get up, wipe the sweat from his face, and walk out shirtless and nonchalant.

Outside the fence, his beloved girl, blushing, went to greet him amidst the good-natured laughter of the crowd.

The two stood facing each other. The young man, his face flushed, solemnly and resolutely placed a pair of silver bracelets tied with colorful silk threads on the girl's wrists.

The girl reciprocated by giving him a cotton embroidered belt that she had made herself, with words such as "good fortune and longevity," "diligence," "happiness," and "fulfillment" embroidered stitch by stitch, as well as various intricate and beautiful patterns.

The people around them cheered and applauded, and the couple were surrounded by joyful blessings.

The fat man watched with envy, his mouth practically watering, muttering, "If only my sister were here."

Seeing that he was so engrossed in his work that he was about to spill the teacup, Zhang Wuxun took it from him and reminded him, "This one's over, you're next. Have you decided where you want the tattoo?"

"What? How could it be so fast!" The fat man was shocked. He stood up, walked into the bamboo house, looked around, asked the people next to him for a few questions, and then came back with a bitter face. "Hey Muyu, when you and Xiao Ge got your tattoos, was it like this too? Just sticking needles into your body? That must have hurt so much."

Zhang Wuxun tilted his head and recalled for a moment, but found that he couldn't remember some of it clearly. "I was still young at the time, so it probably didn't hurt that much. Otherwise, how could I have gotten such a big tattoo? In short, I think the pain of the tattoo is nothing compared to the training."

"Really?" The fat man was a little skeptical and looked at the young man again.

The guy gave him a faint look in return.

Seeing that the young man lying on the bamboo bed was almost finished with the tattooing, the fat man wiped his sweat, gritted his teeth, and made up his mind. So what if he died? He crossed his arms and ripped off his vest, shouting, "Come on, I'm definitely getting this cloud tattoo today!"

Zhang Wuxun clapped his hands in a very gracious manner, saying, "Fatty is awesome!"

The tattoo artist straightened up, stretched his shoulders, and called out, "Next."

The fat man straightened his back, walked in with a tense face, and lay down on the bamboo bed like a salted fish on a chopping board. He took a few deep breaths and said, "Let's begin."

The tattoo artist changed the needle, heated it over a fire, then soaked it in baijiu (Chinese liquor). He then used gauze soaked in baijiu to wipe the fat man's back and asked him in Yao language, "What do you want tattooed? Where should I get it done?"

Zhang Wuxun and the young man followed them in and sat on a stool to the side.

Since the fat man couldn't speak Yao language, Zhang Wuxun spoke it for him and even showed his master the drawings the fat man had stayed up all night to make.

After the first injection, the fat man craned his neck and howled in pain, "Ouch~~~~"

"Fatty, look this way." Zhang Wuxun held up a digital video camera and beckoned Fatty to look at the camera.

The fat man glared at him, his face contorted in anger, and gritted his teeth, "What are you doing?"

Zhang Wuxun smiled like a fox and said leisurely, "I'll record this glorious moment for you, and then let Yun Cai see it too."

"Damn it—!" The fat man shrugged in pain, his back muscles bunching up.

The tattoo artist couldn't proceed and had no choice but to stop, telling him that he needed to relax his muscles, not to be so tense, and that it would pass if he just endured it.

Zhang Wuxun suppressed a laugh and pretended to advise the fat man, "Why don't you just forget about it? You're screaming in so much pain. Yun Cai would be heartbroken if she knew." With that, he put down the camera.

"Wait, wait, don't play it, keep recording it." The fat man gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, put his arms in front of the pillow, and gripped the headboard tightly. "Come on, Master, keep poking, poke it harder up there."

Seeing that he was ready, the tattoo artist continued to apply the needles.

The fat man's temples were bulging with veins, but he endured it without uttering a sound for the next half hour so that Yun Cai would feel sorry for him.

In the end, he was probably numb from the pain, so he asked Zhang Wuxun to turn the camera around and take a close-up shot of his face. He pretended to be relaxed and said, "Sister Yun Cai, don't worry. Fatty brother is not in any pain at all. Everything is going very smoothly here. In about half a month, Fatty brother will be able to go back to see you."

The fat man rambled on and on, and miraculously, his attention was diverted. When the tattoo artist finally finished, he was still somewhat unsatisfied, asking, "Is that all?"

"Don't get it wet until it scabs over." The tattoo artist put away his tools and handed him a small jar of ointment. "Applying this will help it heal faster."

The fat man got up and made way for him. After paying, he eagerly turned his head to look back as soon as he stepped out the door. "Muyu, quickly take a picture for me. I want to see how it turned out."

Zhang Wuxun took a picture of his left shoulder and showed it to him, "It's still swollen after the tattoo, but the general shape is still visible. Apply some medicine and it will go down in a couple of days."

"Hey hey hey~"

The fat man looked at the two clouds nestled together on his shoulder in the photo, with blood still seeping from the needle pricks, and smiled foolishly.

Several villagers carrying hoes passed by, all looking at him with strange eyes. The fat man was completely oblivious, walking ahead with his bare back exposed, occasionally letting out a silly laugh.

Zhang Wuxun and the young man silently slowed their pace, looking at the sky, the ground, and the grass, but not at the fat man.

Thank you so much to the generous donor [Brother's Leg Accessory]! Sending love...*
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(End of this chapter)