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

Chapter 351 Fifty Star Chart
Before they could stop it, the arrows had already pierced the throats of the Wang family members.

Looking into the young man's clear and innocent eyes, Zhang Wuxun suddenly fell silent.

Out of a sense of respect, he had been quietly observing the young man, and sometimes he would imitate the moves the young man had used when he drew his knife.

However, the difference is that he doesn't mind killing, especially enemies, while the young man will choose to kill with one blow, whether it's a person or a zombie, he does it cleanly and the death is swift.

The young man is a clean, gentle, strong, and compassionate person.

Compared to a god who is high above and looks down on all living beings, his true nature is more like that of a Buddha.

His emotions were indifferent; there was no deliberate hatred, nor any overly strong liking. Before meeting Baima, he was like a stone without any feelings.

During those three silent days, when only the sound of breathing could be heard, Baima taught him about longing with the only warmth and heartbeat she had. Perhaps it was the first time he felt the desire in his heart, instead of the extreme coldness that the Zhang family had deliberately cultivated.

Even after experiencing so much darkness and hardship, his heart remained as pure, resilient, and gentle as Baima had hoped.

The Zhang family's training was so rigorous that it was outrageous; most of the children's joys and sorrows had disappeared during the long period of hardship.

Children are bound to have weaknesses. If a child is unusually calm from a young age, that child's life may be miserable without them even realizing it.

Just like Zhang Wuxun himself, no matter how outstanding he was, he once messed up a task because of his willful nature when he was young. But the only lessons his parents gave him were two lashes and solitary confinement to reflect on his mistakes. They did not deliberately deprive him of his emotional perception.

Of course, the initial punishment was quite severe, but one of the grandfathers stopped him. Later, he realized that the trouble he had caused was so serious that it was almost devastating, and it was the parents who stepped in to clean up his mess.

Zhang Qiling's childhood was messy and chaotic, but these things did not leave any trace in his heart. He is a person who can still treat the world kindly after experiencing all the hypocrisy and filth in this world.

Even when facing the Wang family, who destroyed the Zhang family, he still didn't show any extra emotion.

"Do you think this world is lively?" Zhang Wuxun looked at the young man and suddenly asked.

The young man looked at him calmly, somewhat puzzled.

Zhang Wuxun suddenly laughed, "Besides poached chicken, what else do you like to eat?"

The young man maintained his aloof demeanor, but subconsciously pondered for a moment, "Goldfish."

Zhang Wuxun was about to reflexively say "okay" and let Fatty make it for him when they got out, but he suddenly stopped himself. "Um, bro, you can't eat goldfish. They're actually a genetically mutated variety of wild crucian carp, and they have excessive levels of heavy metals in their bodies. Plus, it's said that goldfish only have a seven-second memory, so eating them can make you forgetful."

The young man seemed to pause for a moment, but it was fleeting.

"Once we get out, let Fatty cook you some steamed sea bass." Zhang Wuxun brushed the sand off his hands, stood up straight, and said, "Let's go."

The Wang family members in the quicksand were killed instantly, and their bodies were completely swallowed up by the quicksand.

The only slight regret is that we didn't manage to find out the whereabouts of the other members of the Wang family, which shows how effective the Wang family's brainwashing skills are.

The young man nodded. Since he had already memorized the formation here, the two quickly bypassed the Gate of Blockage and the Gate of Injury, and came out through the Gate of Life.

The traps here are controlled by the footsteps, and the location of the person is determined by the sound of their footsteps. They are very sensitive.

The two circled back to the crack they had entered from. Before Zhang Wuxun could speak, the entire ground began to tremble, and some of the pillars in the stone pillar forest began to move, swaying like ghostly shadows amidst the mist and dust.

After a short while, the stone pillars gradually stopped moving, and a deep, dark, winding path appeared before us, stretching as far as the eye could see. The stone pillars stood solemnly on both sides of the path like guardian warriors, and the fog dissipated.

Zhang Wuxun and the other man exchanged a glance, then carefully entered, lighting their lamps.

Every time you walk a certain distance, the stone pillars behind you will move like a sensor door, sealing off the path you've already traversed, leaving no trace of where you left off.

Well, this thing can only go forward, not backward.

The two walked along the path for about twenty minutes and finally emerged from the stone forest, where a stone palace appeared before them.

In the very center of the stone hall, a huge, pitch-black statue comes into view. The base of the statue alone is more than two meters high. The statue is carved to resemble a giant Hou. That's right, not a Qilin, but a Hou.

Zhang Wuxun suddenly remembered the fluorescent patterns he had seen on the stone pillar earlier, and thought that Xiao Ge must have noticed them as well, so he asked him what the patterns on his side were made of.

The young man said softly, "A Hou with reverse markings."

A look of understanding flashed across Zhang Wuxun's eyes. Sure enough, this was the screening mechanism set up by the Zhang family here. If one was careful and had a good memory, one could find a way out by following the fluorescent patterns on the stone pillars in the first layer of the formation. But the second layer relied entirely on one's understanding of the Eight Trigrams.

The Zhang family's innate amnesia is uncertain, but their familiarity with mechanisms seems to be innate. No matter how much amnesia they suffer, they will never forget the totems and symbols in their blood.

The Qimen formation used earlier, while screening, also served to warn the Zhang family members who later entered this place with amnesia. The function of the subsequent mechanisms is probably similar.

The murals on the walls on both sides of the stone hall were also painted using special techniques. They depicted various forms of the Hou on the stone sculpture, which were bright and complex, ancient and mysterious, and also revealed a hint of eeriness.

Especially the eyes of the mythical beasts in the murals, which seem to bulge out like real eyeballs, make it feel as if these ancient ferocious beasts are staring right at you, sending chills down your spine.

There are a total of eighteen lamp figurines along the edge of the stone hall, nine on each side. The tops of the lamp figurines are the heads of various ancient birds and beasts, with their bodies coiling down from the lamp posts.

The two walked down the steps. The young man pinched the bead in the mouth of the dragon on the right lamp figurine and gently turned it clockwise. With a snapping sound, all the lamp figurines on the right lit up one after another. They circled the stone hall and gradually lit up the lamp figurines on the left. Bright yellow flames spewed from the mouths of those beast heads as if they were riding the clouds.

The eerie feeling of darkness all around was instantly dispelled, and they retreated into the shadow of the firelight.

Although they didn't smell any obvious odor, Zhang Wuxun and the young man put their gas masks back on.

The two entered the stone hall and examined the enormous, dark-colored Hou statue closely. In the bright firelight, the patterns carved on the Hou's body were exquisitely detailed, possessing an extraordinary spirit—a masterpiece of unparalleled craftsmanship. Even the Hou's fur was so clear and vivid, as if the artisan who sculpted the statue had truly witnessed the legendary beast. A shadow flashed beside them, and looking up, they saw the young man had grabbed one of the Hou's forelegs, leaped to the bronze octagonal bell hanging around its neck, and reached out to feel it for a few moments.

This bronze octagonal bell was added later with a bronze chain. Due to its age, it is covered with rust. The young man reached behind him and took out a black gold ancient knife. He used one hand to stabilize his body and swung the knife at the bronze chain with the bell.

With a clang, the chain, as thick as a bowl, snapped, and the bronze bell fell to the ground. Zhang Wuxun stumbled and caught the bell, his arm sinking from the shock.

Upon closer inspection, the bell looked almost like an inverted, heavy bronze cauldron. Since it was too small to examine closely while holding it in his arms, Zhang Wuxun put the bell on the ground.

The young man also put away his knife, jumped down from above, and squatted down next to the bell.

Ignoring the patterns on the bell's exterior, the two simply flipped it over and stood it upright like a bowl.

The bell did not have a copper tongue embedded inside. Instead, it had nine small bronze balls strung together like the Nine Dragon Balls, which were tightly fixed in the center of the bell by a bronze chain. That's why the bell didn't ring even with such a big shake.

At first, Zhang Wuxun didn't understand why the young man had cut the bell off, but when he saw another fire pattern on the inner wall of the bell that was both familiar and unfamiliar, he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.

Damn it, what exactly is Zhang Menyu up to? Can't he give us some clear hints? The most important thing is that he has no idea what these fire patterns represent.

"How about we pet this beast again?" Zhang Wuxun said quietly.

The young man shook his head, bent down to pick up the bell, walked straight past the Hou statue, and went to the back. Zhang Wuxun quickly followed.

After taking two steps, Zhang Wuxun looked at the bell the young man was holding and a guess suddenly came to his mind, "Young man, did he hang this bell up after he came in?"

The young man didn't say anything, but just glanced at Zhang Wuxun indifferently.

This drove him a little crazy. Could it be that the young man had already guessed the meaning of the different fire patterns? But he couldn't see any connection between this fire pattern and the symbols that the Zhang family usually used, except that they were equally complicated.

Or perhaps the young man's memory has returned somewhat, and he remembers that he once met Zhang Menyu?

If Zhang Menyu had recognized Zhang Qiling in Zhang Dafoye's group, the two should have at least exchanged words. Perhaps Zhang Menyu had even told Xiao Ge what the fire mark meant.

He clicked his tongue softly, finally understanding the naive girl's burning desire to get to the bottom of things.

Behind the giant Hou statue is a tomb door, which is also carved with Hou. There are two small holes below the Hou's nose in the very center.

Zhang Wuxun stuck his finger in, pressed the mechanism inside, turned it clockwise twice, heard a click and then turned it counterclockwise three times. After feeling the same blockage, he pushed it down hard, and then turned it clockwise once more.

With a hum, the tomb door shook. Zhang Wuxun quickly took his hand out, and then heard a series of chain pulls. The tomb door slowly rose up.

A stone staircase appeared behind them, and the two stepped inside. After a few steps, the tomb door slowly descended again.

The stone path was short and soon came to an end, where another grand hall stood. A faint light shone from the dome, much like moonlight, shining down like stars twinkling in the night sky.

"Wow, the fifty-star map that Fatty's been eyeing all along," Zhang Wuxun exclaimed.

The scale here is very similar to the stone hall in front, except that the patterns on the murals have been changed to majestic Qilin, and in the center of the hall is a jade-carved altar.

In the center of the altar was a circular offering plate with indentations about an inch deep and nine fist-sized holes.

The young man set the chopped-off bell aside, broke the chain inside with his bare hands, removed the bronze balls, and put them into the holes one by one.

Zhang Wuxun, who was standing to the side, had already drawn his knife and made a cut on the ulnar side of his right palm. He clenched his fist and squeezed hard, and the blood that dripped onto the jade platform immediately spread rapidly along the patterns, forming a nine-petaled lotus flower pattern. The tips of the lotus petals corresponded to the nine small bronze balls.

As the blood flowed into the holes, the small ball inside suddenly seemed to be propelled by an invisible force, and rolled towards the center.

Zhang Wuxun withdrew his hand, took out a disinfectant wipe to wipe away the remaining bloodstains. In just a short while, the bleeding from the cut had stopped, and the granulation tissue inside showed signs of slow healing.

The young man stared at his right hand for a few moments, then pursed his lips.

Zhang Wuxun jokingly said, "Don't even think about it. Wait until you can stop bleeding as easily as I can before you start thinking about bloodletting."

This time, the mechanism started even slower. After about half a cup of tea's time, the circular offering plate slowly moved open, creating a hole that only allowed one person to pass through at a time.

Under the light of the flashlight, all that could be seen was a deep, eerie green. The young man jumped right in and, after two seconds, waved the light upwards.

Zhang Wuxun followed closely behind and discovered that this was a man-made lava passage mixed with jade veins, with connections at both ends. They had entered from the middle.

The entrance above had been closed. The young man reached out and touched the wall, remaining silent.

Zhang Wuxun, with his sharp eyes, spotted a mark commonly used by the Zhang family on the other side of the wall. It was engraved rather hastily, and he was almost moved to tears. "Brother, come this way."

The young man turned his head and saw the mark, then nodded.

The two walked quickly through the passage. The stone quality of the jade vein lava soon disappeared, turning into a pure rock passage. Here, they made direct use of the cracks between the mountains. Later, the two simply walked out sideways through the cracks.

A glimmer of light appeared ahead, a pale amber-green color unique to the jade vein. The two crawled out of the crack and looked around, only to find themselves in a completely unfamiliar cave.

The cave was similar to the ones they had entered before, with pools of water on the ground and stone paths leading to the corresponding ends.

However, after they went outside, they discovered that the Huo family members, who were supposed to be guarding the original cave entrance, had unknowingly moved to this location.

Thank you to [年少时最是天真] [Book Friend 20210318194155272] for the generous donation! Sending you a huge heart!

··*


(End of this chapter)