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

Chapter 359 The Rise of the Zhang Family
After thinking about it for a while, Zhang Wuxun deduced that the old man must have approached Xiao Ge alone, wanting Xiao Ge to help him retrieve something from the ancient building.

Moreover, it was during the time when Wu Xiaoxie and Fatty were not around. After thinking it over, the only time that could be spent was when Xiao Ge was hospitalized.

Huo Xiangu couldn't understand the riddles the two were exchanging. Seeing the young man put the two jade rings into his robes, she asked suspiciously, "Could this be it?"

"What is that?" Huo Xiaoli also curiously peeked over, but couldn't see anything clearly. However, his attention was quickly drawn to the treasures at the bottom of the coffin.

“No.” Zhang Wuxun shook his head. “What you’re looking for isn’t here. This kind of jade ring is for preventing zombies from turning into zombies.”

Huo Xiangu could not hide her disappointment. She coughed a few times with some difficulty, and her figure slumped a bit. "Hurry up, I can't hold on much longer."

As she spoke, she raised her hand, gesturing for Huo Xiuxiu to help her to the side.

Huo Xiaoli's eyes practically gleamed with greed as he looked at the other jade artifacts at the bottom of the coffin, but he didn't forget to ask for permission, "Master Yu, can we take these things?"

Zhang Wuxun picked out the best gold-threaded amber bracelet and a coral bead and agate necklace. These were gifts that Tibetans would give to distinguished guests, and even at that time they were extremely precious.

Then he stood up and made a casual gesture, and the Huo family cheered a few times before dividing the remaining dozen or so jade pieces equally according to their estimated value.

Huo Xiaoli lay prone beside the coffin, reaching her hands into the quilt to search carefully, almost falling in herself.

Zhang Wuxun turned to look at the wooden plaques on the wall, which recorded all the major and minor things Zhang Ruitong had done since he was selected as "Zhang Qiling" at the age of nineteen. However, the description of Zhang Ruitong's cause of death on the last row of wooden plaques was very vague, as if it was deliberately covering something up.

It was only mentioned that he died during a tomb raiding expedition due to a stroke caused by a mental disorder.

However, as far as he knew, the "Zhang Qiling" of that generation died mysteriously in Sizhou City during a family feud. Later, at the instigation of the elders in the clan, in order to cover up the truth, his brother Zhang Ruishan, who had turned against him, led people to breach the dam and flood Sizhou City. From then on, the Zhang family's lineage was interrupted.

The truth is not important; what is important is that the young man retrieved the hexagonal copper bell, symbolizing the clan leader's status, from underground during his first time letting the wilds roam.

After that, everything went smoothly. The young man was recommended by the elders of the clan to become "Zhang Qiling" and take over the family business, which had become corrupt and chaotic.

However, the appearance of the new "Zhang Qiling" did not change the fact that the Zhang family was falling apart.

As the clan leader, Zhang Qiling, having never received the inheritance ceremony and knowing nothing about the secrets guarded by his family for generations, could only keep entering various tombs in the hope of finding the meaning of the Zhang family's existence and what he needed to protect.

Just then, Huo Xiangu, who was standing by the door, began to cough violently again, spitting out blood continuously. The inside of her gas mask was covered with black bloodstains.

"Master!" Huo Xiuxiu exclaimed in surprise, and hurriedly helped the unconscious Old Madam Huo. She originally intended to give her first aid, but when she touched the old lady's hand, she found that her clothes were soaked with blood seeping from her skin.

An unbearable itch in her throat made her realize something was wrong. Looking outside, she saw large wisps of white mist spreading from the cracks in the floor in the dark blue space, like evil spirits draped in white cloth, drifting out of hell. White vapor was also constantly rising from the pillars around them, and it was already very close to them.

"Oh no! We have to get out of here right now!" Huo Xiuxiu shouted as she hoisted the old lady onto her back. "The trap has been activated, and the alkaline gas will soon spread to our area!"

The Huo family members also experienced similar discomfort. They began to cough incessantly. The alkaline fumes in the air were so strong that they were suffocating. Their throats felt like they were swallowing charcoal and were burning. Their lungs felt like they were being squeezed by heavy objects. They could exhale, but they could only inhale very little air. Their gas masks had completely failed.

The young man, carrying a knife, went out and saw what was happening. His expression immediately changed, and he said, "Come with me." He then immediately ran towards the depths of the corridor, where the alkaline fumes had not yet spread.

The Huo family members stumbled and fell behind him in a chaotic rush, coughing and panting, the more they inhaled, the more violently they coughed.

Huo Xiuxiu was carrying the old lady on her back, which was quite heavy. Coupled with her rapid breathing while running, she quickly became exhausted due to insufficient oxygen supply.

Huo Chu Shi hurriedly tried to take over, but Zhang Wu Xun quickly grabbed the person and threw him onto his back, urging him urgently, "You two, hurry up and go!"

Huo Chu and the other two glanced at him gratefully, and without daring to delay any longer, immediately followed the crowd and ran away into the distance.

Zhang Wuxun turned around and glanced at the large patch of white mist that was still more than ten meters away from his feet. He took out two new gas masks from his spatial storage, put them on himself and Huo Xiangu, and then turned and ran after them.

The young man led his group straight to the end of the corridor before stopping.

Upon seeing that the end of the road was a wall, the Huo family immediately shouted, "Dead end! Dead end! We can't get out of here!"

The young man ignored them, raised his hand and slammed his elbow against the wall. The wall, which looked like stone, suddenly opened up a round hole. He then reached in, grabbed the iron ring inside, and pulled hard. A series of chains scraping sounds came from the ceiling above, and a gap was opened that was only big enough for one person to pass through.

"..." The Huo family members were initially overjoyed, but then their faces fell into despair. They had found a way in, but damn it, they couldn't jump up to that height at all. They wouldn't be tall enough to form a human pyramid, and besides, there was no time for them to do a test.

The young man didn't care what they thought. He grabbed someone, put his hand on their shoulder for leverage, and jumped up. In mid-air, he stepped onto the railing, twisted his waist, and flew up to grab the edge of the cubicle. In a flash, he climbed up and crawled into the opening in the ceiling.

The Huo family members below were frantic, not knowing what to do, when they saw a rope ladder hanging down from above. Overjoyed, they seized the time and climbed up as fast as they could.

The alkaline gas spread faster than expected, submerging the calves in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Wuxun was fortunate that he had put in solid training in breath-holding during his early years, and he would only take a little breath when he really couldn't hold on any longer. In addition, with the new gas mask, the amount of poison gas he inhaled was only a trace.

He suppressed the urge to cough, carried Huo Xiangu on his back, and quickly climbed the rope ladder with one hand. When they were almost at the top, the people above pulled them up with their hands and feet.

Seeing Zhang Wu approaching, the young man immediately put away the rope ladder and pushed the stone slab back to close it.

This space is a very, very small mezzanine room. A person can barely stand up straight inside, and if they tiptoe, their head will touch the ceiling. Moreover, the walls are covered with something, making it very dark and oppressive.

Everyone thought they could finally relax here, but instead they saw the young man stand by the wall for a few seconds before suddenly pushing open a door and slipping inside.

The Huo family members quickly helped each other to their feet. Some were about to follow them over there when the young man soon came out again, carrying many large black window paper sheets. He poured water from the kettle into the lid, moistened the edges with his fingers, and then pasted them onto the wall one by one, like pasting New Year pictures. Everyone stared blankly, hands dangling, unsure of what to do.

Zhang Wuxun had just finished stuffing the cracks in the stone slabs when he turned around and saw this situation. He cursed and kicked the person sitting on the ground up in a few kicks. "Damn it, how can you just stand by and watch? Hurry up and find something to seal all the cracks here. That's alkali gas, you know what a gas is? It's as thin as air, and it can get in if there's a crack."

The Huo family suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly rummaged through their backpacks for extra clothes. They used a knife to cut and tear the clothes into strips to stuff any gaps that might leak air, and then used softened wax to seal them completely.

After struggling for more than ten minutes, we finally made the mezzanine room as solid as a rock, ensuring that not a single bit of alkaline gas could leak in from the outside.

Once everything was finally done, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

While Huo Xiuxiu was treating Old Mrs. Huo, Huo Chushi started counting the number of people by the light. No matter how he counted, two people were missing.

"Who's not here? State your names," Huo Chu Shi said.

It was pitch black here, so to save resources they only had two flashlights on, one in Huo Xiuxiu's hand and the other in Huo Chushi's. Plus, they were all wearing gas masks, so they all looked almost identical from the dark, hole-like appearance.

Upon hearing this, the Huo family members immediately removed their masks, revealed their faces, and introduced themselves.

After reporting it twice, it was confirmed that two people were indeed missing. Huo Chu Shi cursed under his breath, "Damn it, Huo Xiao Li and Chu Qi aren't here either."

Zhang Wuxun frowned slightly. It was a chaotic mess at the time. He had run out of the cubicle early and hadn't noticed if anyone had been left behind. Huo Xiaoli was still rummaging through the coffin at the time. Could she have fallen in in her haste?

The poisonous gas outside has probably spread completely to the vicinity of these two floors by now. If those two cannot find a suitable shelter in time, they will definitely die soon and become skeletons covered in dried flesh.

Huo Chushi was silent for a few seconds, then stopped mentioning the missing people and began to arrange the preparations to be made. "Take stock of the equipment in your backpacks. We don't know how long this alkaline gas will continue to be released. We need to conserve resources as much as possible so that everyone can survive."

Huo Chushi is the leader of this small team. Although his name is Chushi (meaning "tenth of ten"), he is indeed the most capable one in the team. His leadership skills in dealing with emergencies like the one at hand are quite competent.

Zhang Wuxun tossed his and his brother's backpacks over as well, saying, "Add them."

"Okay." Huo Chushi readily accepted it and added it to their equipment. Then, she was surprised to find that Zhang Wuxun's backpack was mostly filled with food, all kinds of food.

Huo Chushi glanced at Zhang Wuxun discreetly, thinking to himself that this was indeed a strange person, but this also solved their immediate problem, allowing them to hold on for a while longer.

Huo Chushi shared some food with everyone, and they didn't even move from their seats, half-lying down to conserve their energy.

It wasn't that no one with a wandering mind glanced sideways at the hidden door from earlier, but Zhang Wuxun and Xiao Ge were sitting right next to it, and they didn't dare to cause any trouble there.

The only person who could take charge for them and be on equal footing with Zhang Wuxun was Huo Xiangu, but Old Madam Huo remained unconscious and would not wake up anytime soon. Judging from the solemn expression on Huo Xiuxiu's face, it was unknown whether she would wake up or not.

For a moment, everyone's thoughts turned gloomy and desolate. Although they had prepared themselves for death at any time before entering, the process of death was still unbearable for them.

Seeing the two members of the Zhang family calmly resting with their eyes closed, they felt somewhat relieved.

Huo Chu hesitated for two seconds, then cautiously leaned closer and asked, "Master Yu, when do you think Miluotuo will retreat?"

Zhang Wuxun opened his eyes and gave him a cool glance. "I don't know, but I can tell you that we're not the only ones who have come into this building. Don't forget that foreigner has been loitering outside for a long time. They must have discovered something too. The more people come in, the more Miluotuo will be attracted."

"So, once Miluotuo retreats, will we be able to leave?" one of the Huo family members asked.

"Save your breath," Zhang Wuxun said lazily. "The mechanism may be off, but the alkaline gas hasn't disappeared yet. Besides, wooden structures are most susceptible to gas penetration. Even if Miluotuo retreats, you won't be able to get out."

"You?" the Huo family member repeated, his eyes fixed on Zhang Wuxun. "Why you? Do you know something? And how was this alkaline gas mechanism activated? We didn't hear any of the mechanisms running at the time."

Zhang Wuxun's face turned cold. He tilted his head and asked in an ambiguous tone, "Are you questioning me?"

Sweat immediately broke out on the forehead of the Huo family member, and he stammered, "No...no, I'm just curious, yes, purely curious."

Zhang Wuxun chuckled, his imposing manner undiminished.

Huo Chushi quickly tried to smooth things over, "Master Yu, you're a magnanimous person, don't take this kid to heart. He's a bit dim-witted and doesn't think before he speaks."

He then turned and scolded the Huo family member, "Chu Jiu, why don't you hurry up and apologize to Master Yu!"

Huo Chu Jiu's face was deathly pale as she stammered an apology.

They were all dying men, and Zhang Wuxun had no intention of arguing with them. "Do you really think that such a huge mechanism in the entire ancient building can be moved by a few people?"

Upon hearing this, Huo Chu Shi and the others showed inquisitive expressions. "How is it activated?"

“The rock strata of the mountain where Zhangjia Ancient Building is located contain a large amount of strong alkali. The top of the mountain in this area is a huge alkali ore. Guangxi has a lot of rain. Whenever it rains, all the rainwater on the mountain will be washed down from the top of the mountain and introduced into the pre-designed water channel, and then reach the bottom of the mountain through the underground river channel.”

"These natural mountain paths have a unique formation. The flow of rainwater slows down significantly here, and the surface of the paths has many water accumulation designs. The pools in the caves we saw before were formed in this way."

Thank you so much to [望仔yd] and [不念] for the generous donations! Sending you a huge heart!
[Damn it, my darlings, I don't know why the new chapter got locked after I posted it. I'll have to contact the editor to unlock it tomorrow.]

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(End of this chapter)