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

The 399th Octopus's Plan
This thing wasn't tattooed with special materials during infancy like the Qilin in the Zhang family.

In more technical terms, it's something that was born into his very being.

The tattoos on the Zhang family members were applied using special herbal juices when they were babies, and they were not visible at first.

Tattoos gradually appear as children grow older, and the designs also grow larger, with the colors darkening until the child reaches adulthood at eighteen, at which point the designs are fully grown and remain there for life, becoming more visible when exposed to heat.

Because everyone's bloodline and natural talents are different, the tattoos that eventually grow will also be different. Therefore, everyone's tattoo is unique, just like fingerprints, which may be similar but are not the same.

Zhang Wuxun doesn't remember when he got the tattoo. His memories before the age of five are like a fog, all blurry. But after the age of five, part of his tattoo has grown out, and the color is approaching that of an adult.

Just like the Wang family and the person with the flat shoulders said, he is a strong hybrid who surpasses ordinary purebloods, so his tattoo can only be a Qilin.

The family elders have not revealed who put the tattoo on him, or whether he already had the Qilin tattoo when the Zhang family took him in from outside.

The system itself said that it found Zhang Wuxun after he was five years old, and the wandering system had no idea what Zhang Wuxun had experienced before.

It can only be inferred from later events that the reason why the overseas Zhang family took Zhang Wuxun back from the ancient temple and focused on raising him was perhaps because they saw the faint Qilin pattern that had begun to grow on his body, thus confirming that he was a member of the Zhang family.

The maternal family often has a habit of picking up young children who have experienced major changes in their living environment and are now young and helpless.

Several of the children in Zhang Wuxun's group were found outside and had no blood relation to the Zhang family. Even among those who were related, the concentration of their bloodline varied greatly.

Although the maternal family is strict in their training of the children, they do not lose too much of their human touch.

The training and tasks that children without a bloodline and children with a bloodline undergo are different. Compared to ordinary children, children with a bloodline are usually much more resilient and have more responsibilities.

If the Zhang family's main branch had not yet been destroyed, children like Zhang Wuxun would have been taken away by members of the main branch and given closed training in the family's inner building.

Zhang Wuxun sighed softly. After all this time, he was still an illegitimate child who didn't know the details of his parents' lives, and he couldn't even be angry about it anymore.

The system says that the ancient temple that the Zhang family overseas discovered was actually in Motuo.

Zhang Wuxun speculated that it was most likely near Kangbaluo, and that he should try to find it if he had the chance, but the chances of finding it were probably slim.

And most importantly, there is also some connection between the flame tattoo and the ancestors of the Khampa people.

In other words, the ancestors of the Khampa people and that ancient tribe shared the same origin, and even more so, that ancient tribe had close ties with the Gu Zhang family.

They trace their roots back to three thousand years ago, belonging to the same large family. However, the Zhang family openly protects the ultimate truth, while the ancient tribe hides in the deeper shadows, doing the same things as the Zhang family.

However, according to the system, a fatal upheaval occurred within that ancient tribe a long time ago, leading to the near annihilation of the entire tribe.

The Khampa people are descendants of that ancient ethnic group, who migrated here after many twists and turns.

The system remained silent about what exactly happened, clearly indicating that it didn't want to say, or that the time wasn't right yet. Even if Zhang Wuxun knew, it wouldn't do him any good; in fact, it might have the opposite effect and be detrimental to the subsequent plans.

The system's components largely originated from that ancient tribe; it was a product of bloodline rituals, and its creation had only one purpose: to prevent the end from arriving.

The system already existed before the Zhang family's main branch declined, but it was in a dormant state.

Zhang Wu asked it who had awakened it.

The system said it was the consciousness of a group of Zhang family members at the last moment before their demise.

"You can call me Bai Ci, which is the name of the young clan leader who led the clan in the blood sacrifice," the system said. "Or you can still call me System."

"What is Awu Chile?" Zhang Wu asked.

The system replied, "Spirit of the Sun."

“One last question,” Zhang Wuxun asked, “Why do you want me to be called Bai Ci? Isn’t Bai Ci the name of your young clan leader? It’s not appropriate for me to use it.”

After the face swap, the system gave him a Tibetan name on its own: Baici Lanmu Yangcuo, which means "Jade Lake Reflecting the Sacred Sky".

Bai Ci is a surname, and can also be used as a Chinese given name.

Zhang Wuxun always felt that the system was up to something.

“You are very similar to him.” The system paused before saying, “Your other half of your bloodline is the purest among all the Zhang family members and Khampa people who are still alive today.”

Zhang Wuxun sneered, "You've really figured out how to play the stand-in literature game."

The system seemed a bit anxious and hastily explained, "It's not a stand-in!" It then fell silent.

If it doesn't want to talk about it, fine. The system is definitely hiding something, but Zhang Wuxun doesn't want to get entangled with it for the time being.

Zhang Wuxun's current identity is that of a fake Khampa Luo person. Well, that's not entirely true, since they do have a slight blood connection dating back to ancient times.

His aim was to use his identity to lead the Wang family to believe that the ancient tribal group had unknowingly revived.

This tribal group is as powerful as the Zhang family back then, and even more troublesome than the Wang family imagined. This will continue to draw the Wang family's attention to them, making them dig deeper into the secrets of the ancient family behind them.

The reason the Wang family believed this so readily was because the people they sent into the Zhang family's ancient building did indeed discover those strange flame symbols. They were very ancient, symbols that they had never seen before and that did not belong to the Zhang family, yet they were so familiar that they were unsettling.

In their view, the person who carved those flame symbols had been operating within the area marked on the Warring States silk manuscript all along. However, they, who prided themselves on being hidden in the shadows and knowing everything, were completely unaware of this. The unknown is always the most terrifying.

The Wang family betrayed their agreement with the Khampa people and persecuted the Zhang family. Their ancestor, Wang Zanghai, felt guilty towards the Khampa people, which is why he later established a clan rule that "obeys those who have phoenix tattoos."

The tattoo the Wang family had been searching for was not actually a phoenix, but rather a part of the flame tattoo on Zhang Wuxun's body, which just looked like a phoenix.

No wonder Wang Xiaoli said in a neurotic way that Zhang Wuxun's bloodline was contained within him, and that the percentage of that bloodline would drop to zero when he entered a certain state.

That state is exactly when the flame tattoo appears.

Zhang Wuxun intended to exploit this clan connection, using the same methods they employed against the Zhang family to split the Wang family from within.

As for the Zhang family, after discovering the connection between Zhang Wuxun, who "died" in the Zhang Family Ancient Building, and that ancient clan and the Khampa people, they would naturally choose to join him in dealing with the Wang family.

He's now impersonating not only Wu Xie, but also Zhang Haike. Copying someone is something the Zhang family excels at, so he's actually looking forward to meeting Zhang Haike and the others. Getting back to the point, the system has also assigned A Ning the identity of a fake Khampa Luo person, meaning A Ning is also part of the ancient tribe's revival.

The flame tattoo is rather shady; it doesn't show up when heated like a Qilin, so even if Zhang Haike and his group captured A Ning, they couldn't confirm which group she came from.

Zhang Wuxun squatted down and felt around in the hole under the cabinet, but found nothing unusual.

He turned to look at the cabinet on the side and found that the wooden cabinet was unusually thick and sturdy, but the workmanship was a bit rough. It looked like that Ah Ning had personally carved the wooden boards and nailed them together.

After thinking for a moment, he got up and walked over, reaching his hand under the bottom cabinet panel. Sure enough, he found uneven, densely packed scratches.

He held onto the edge of the wooden board, lifted the cabinet, and placed it on the side of the kang (a heated brick bed). He took out a small flashlight from his pocket and shone it on the bottom of the cabinet. He saw many round, bean-like dents on the bottom of the cabinet, the same color as the cabinet board, looking as if some insect had gnawed at them from the outside.

Zhang Wuxun carefully felt the irregularly arranged dots and concluded that they were Braille, but in reverse.

Fortunately, he had encountered Braille during a previous mission and, after careful examination, discovered that it appeared to be several rows of numbers.

When blind people read Braille, they need to fix the Braille board on the Braille paper and then write from right to left. After finishing writing, they turn the Braille paper over and touch it from left to right. They can feel the raised parts that were written with the Braille pen, thus achieving the purpose of reading.

Ah Ning treated the bottom of the cabinet like Braille paper, and used something with a round head to tap the information onto it backwards.

Zhang Wuxun immediately took action, using a dagger to pry off the nails from the gaps in the cabinet panel, disassembling the entire bottom panel, and then closing his eyes to touch it, mimicking the reading method of a blind person.

The numbers in Braille are not stamped out like normal Arabic numerals following the direction of the strokes, but are arranged according to certain rules.

60001053200407056
20110762037739044
Zhang Wuxun's eyelids twitched. He touched the numbers again, still not believing it. They were indeed the numbers, but what did they mean?

What exactly did Aning find out in Motuo?
Could this be because she encountered danger or went into hiding?

Zhang Wuxun opened the drawer again to check carefully. At the bottom of the drawer, he found a loose lid. He lifted it and found a note inside with an address written in German.

The address was the same one Zhang Wu had previously asked the Tibetan couple about: the address of the Sangyi Post Office.

Zhang Wuxun searched every nook and cranny of the house, but found nothing else besides those two items.

After restoring the room to its original state and erasing all traces of his presence, Zhang Wuxun immediately set off for the post office.

The so-called post office was not actually a unified administrative unit like in later times, but rather an intermediary that carried parcels in and out of Motuo and charged a certain fee. The post office that Zhang Wuxun was looking for was set up by such an intermediary.

This post office was really inconspicuous, hidden among the other wooden and tile houses around it. Zhang Wuxun took a few extra steps and even missed it.

Realizing something was wrong, they turned back and grabbed a local who was wandering on the snowy road to ask him for directions.

When the man heard Zhang Wuxun say he was looking for the post office and glanced at the backpack behind him, he assumed that Zhang was going to mail something. He waved his hand and enthusiastically led the way.

When they arrived at the destination, the man pointed, then lifted the heavy felt curtain and went inside. "It's right here."

A middle-aged Tibetan man, who was sweeping snow off the windowsill with a broom, turned around at the sound, revealing a blackboard-like sign on the wall he had just covered.

The sign was made by fixing it to the wall with cement and wooden strips, then blackening it with ink, and two large, hastily painted white characters on it: "Post Office".

"You want to deliver something?" The middle-aged Tibetan man looked Zhang Wuxun up and down, judging from his appearance to be that he was a wealthy man, with a wide grin on his face.

Zhang Wuxun gave a vague reply and lifted the thick curtain to go inside, only to be met by a lama wearing a red official robe who brushed past him.

Zhang Wuxun paused for a moment, then subconsciously turned around, only to see that the lama had also turned around, giving him a kind smile, and then clasped his hands together and nodded slightly.

It's as if it's saying, "Welcome, guests from afar."

The middle-aged Tibetan man, who was about to follow him in, quickly stepped aside upon seeing this, bowed respectfully, and nudged Zhang Wuxun with his elbow to signal him to come in as well, saying, "You must not be disrespectful to your guru."

Zhang Wuxun came to his senses and did as he was told.

Unexpectedly, the lama turned slightly to the side and did not accept his bow.

Zhang Wuxun was a little surprised and didn't understand what he meant.

However, the lama did not offer any further explanation and turned directly toward a cluster of silver-white buildings hidden in the misty snow in the distance.

He moved unhurriedly, as if strolling on clouds, with the sunlight breaking through the dark clouds and shining on his shoulders. From behind, he appeared sacred and solemn.

The middle-aged Tibetan man next to him was completely dumbfounded. He turned around and carefully examined Zhang Wuxun, muttering something to himself.

Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and asked him, her words becoming much more tactful, "What exactly is the guest's identity, and why is the master being so polite to you?"

Zhang Wuxun glanced at him and asked in return, "What was the Dharma name of that master just now?"

“The guru is Lama Deren of Jila Monastery,” the middle-aged Tibetan replied, looking at him expectantly.

Zhang Wuxun gave him a mysterious look, then continued to lift the curtain.

As soon as he entered, Zhang Wuxun was hit in the face by the noisy heat inside, and he subconsciously frowned.

Upon closer inspection, I discovered that several people were gathered around a table in the room, all staring intently at a painting on the wall.

They were playing mahjong, with two warm stoves placed beside them, and oily milk tea and tsampa cakes heating on the stoves. Boiling water was bubbling in the iron kettle on the other stove, but no one paid any attention to it.

"Why did the master ask people to switch this painting?" someone muttered.

“The master has his reasons for doing this, which you and I do not understand.”

The silence caused by the lama's arrival vanished in an instant, and the room became lively again.

Zhang Wuxun stared blankly at the painting, his gaze fixed on the face of the person in the painting, and remained lost in thought for a long time.

Thank you so much to the generous donor [The Adorable One Who Never Gets Enough]! Sending love...*
(End of this chapter)