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

Chapter 427 Gather together

I walked along the base of the wall in the thick fog for half an hour. Before I knew it, the fog had dissipated and the sky was gradually brightening.

With the fog gone, the surrounding scenery became clear.

Only then did they realize that there were walls on both sides, and they were walking in a narrow passage that seemed to have no end.

The fat man exclaimed in astonishment, "Are we already in the city? When did we enter? I didn't see any city gates."

What's strange is that this city wall doesn't have a gate tower structure like traditional ancient city walls; instead, it's just an earthen wall of almost the same height.

Nie Xiaoba, who was leading the way, was also bewildered. He looked at the little monkey in his arms and asked, "Little guy, where did you take this to?"

The little monkey squeaked impatiently twice, waved its arm and pointed forward, indicating that it should follow the monkey.

Wu Xie looked up at the gloomy sky, then turned back to remind the people behind him, "Be careful not to fall behind."

Until noon, they were still walking inside the tall, earthen-yellow walls. The surrounding scenery had not changed at all, but Wu Xie knew that they had not encountered a ghost wall.

Realizing the problem, he immediately marked the route, but those marks never appeared again on the rest of the journey.

In other words, they have been moving forward and have not gone back.

The fat man pulled up his shirt and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He felt that all the water he had just drunk had evaporated. It was already noon, but the sun hadn't come out yet. Why was it so hot?
"Tianzhen, aren't you hot?" he asked Wu Xie, turning around.

Wu Xie pursed his dry, chapped lips, and sweat beaded on his forehead. "A little. It's probably because the space here is cramped, the airflow is blocked, all the heat from the ground rises, and there's no wind blowing in, so it feels hot."

In narrow alleys where both sides are open, the space is relatively narrow and airflow is restricted, creating a narrow passage effect that increases the airflow speed from both sides, resulting in increased wind speed.

But right now they are walking through a closed-off space with no front or back, where air cannot circulate. The only place where they can breathe is high above their heads, which are far away. All the heat is concentrated there, so it is normal to feel stuffy.

But this won't do, because they don't have much water left, and they don't know where this road will end. If they keep walking for many days, they will die of thirst and become mummies when they run out of food.

Wu Xie stepped forward and communicated with the little monkey using sign language, "How much further until we reach the place your master wants us to go?"

The little monkey was also very thirsty, listlessly sticking out its tongue and gesturing that it didn't know and was far away.

The fat man was furious. "You little brat, are you playing us for a fool?"

Wu Xie also had some doubts about whether the little monkey was playing tricks on them.

If it takes such a long distance to walk from inside the city to outside, it would be impossible for the little monkey, with its frail body, to make it out.

The little monkey sensed the accusation in the fat man's tone, squeaked twice in dissatisfaction, suddenly broke free from Nie Xiaoba's arms, jumped up on his head, grabbed the earthen wall, dug its claws into the cracks, and quickly climbed to a very high place.

Wu Xie took out his binoculars and saw the little monkey dart up to the top of the city wall in a few quick movements, then jump from left to right and back again.

Wu Xie was speechless. This was awkward. He had forgotten that monkeys could not only climb high places, but also jump.

The little monkey quickly jumped down, stepped on Nie Xiaoba's head, flicked its tail, and looked at the fat man with disdain.

The fat man's lips twitched with anger, while Wu Xie smiled and said, "That's a good method. Monkeys can jump, and so can people."

The little monkey tilted its head, looked at the claw hook Wu Xie handed over, thought for a moment, and then took it.

Wu Xie used sign language to ask him to help attach the grappling hook to the wall and secure it with stones. They then climbed up directly. The gap between the two walls was about 1.8 meters, which they could easily jump over.

This elevated position saves a lot of time.

The little monkey gestured to indicate that the job was not easy and that it needed extra pay.

Wu Xie agreed and watched as the little monkey climbed back up with the rope of hope.

After waiting for a while, Wu Xie and the others heard the little monkey squeaking and beckoning them to come up quickly.

Nie Xiaoba was the lightest, so he went up first to test the waters. Although the grappling hook almost came loose halfway through, he still managed to reach the finish line.

After the claw hooks were securely re-secured, the people below climbed up one by one.

At this moment, they could finally see their previous location clearly. Looking around, they realized that they were in an enormous spiral maze!

Like the shell of a parasitic snail, the passages inside were symmetrical yet intricate, winding and turning. If it weren't for the little monkey leading the way, they would have long been lost in this desolate city.

They were now at a point half the diameter of the maze, and fortunately, to reinforce the walls, the wall beneath their feet was a full meter wide, enough for them to step on.

After a short rest to replenish their energy, they immediately followed the little monkey and began jumping on the wall.

The 1.8-meter distance is not difficult for adult men. After trying to jump over it a few times, it became easier and easier, and their speed increased significantly.

Even though it's just a maze designed to trap you, it's still fraught with danger.

As Wu Xie and his companions jumped across the high wall, they saw numerous pheasant necks coiled below them more than once, and even some snakes climbed onto the wall.

Upon sensing their prey overhead, the snakes spontaneously began to move towards them.

Among the passages below, only one path was free of snakes. The little monkey skillfully led them, avoiding the snake-infested areas, and they reached the end of the spiral maze as quickly as possible.

There was a vast expanse of towering, rocky mountains, resembling an ancient, armored beast that had been defeated and petrified in that place. Ivy and other plants took root and sprouted on the beast's remains, nourished by its blood.

Amidst the lush greenery covering the mountains, there are numerous honeycomb-shaped caves of varying sizes, with ivy hanging down from their entrances. Inside each cave, something seems to be crouching, though it's difficult to see clearly.

As they got closer, Wu Xie parted the vines at one of the cave entrances, and they were able to see clearly that there was a statue with a monkey's head and a snake's body inside the cave.

Wu Xie looked at a few more and found they were all the same. The stone statues inside were all strangely shaped, with ferocious faces staring at everyone, making people feel uneasy.

Without the slightest hesitation, the little monkey climbed up the rocky mountain and led them halfway up. There was a dark cave there, with vines hanging from the entrance, resembling a mountain of flowers and fruits. Inside, there was a slope leading directly underground.

The cave was cool and refreshing, and Wu Xie and his companions could clearly hear the sound of water flowing inside.

The fat man slumped onto the cool stone slab, pouting and sticking out his tongue to catch the trickle of water dripping from the cracks in the stone. He let out a comfortable sigh, "Cool!"

The others were also exhausted, slumped on the ground with their backs against the rocks. The continuous jumping was really tiring, and they were able to get here only by sheer willpower.

The little monkey squeaked a few times into the depths of the rock crevice, and soon a large monkey responded with a whimpering echo from deep within the cave.

The little monkey leaped three feet high, grabbed the backpack containing the canned food, and dashed into the crevice in the rocks, disappearing in a flash. "That little rascal, his IQ is way too high," the fat man couldn't help but mutter.

Wu Xie wholeheartedly agreed with his words.

Just then, footsteps came from below the crevice in the rock, and Wu Xie and the others immediately became alert.

After waiting for a while, what came out was none other than Tie Tuo, who had been missing for a long time, and Da Fu and A Zhai.

Look at all these people, their faces are glowing with health; they seem to be living a pretty good life.

"Third Master! Fatty, Eighth Brother!" Tie Tuo cried out, rushing over in three steps, hugging Nie Xiao Ba and bursting into tears, "You've finally come."

Nie Xiaoba rolled his eyes at him, cursing, "Damn it, you've come here to enjoy yourself ahead of time."

Seeing the three of them standing unharmed in front of him, Wu Xie smiled with relief, "It's good that you're all alright."

Dafu's face was still a little pale, and Azhai was not much better off. Both of them had suffered from the snake plague. In the end, the one who was the most relaxed was Tietuo, who almost died at the beginning.

Everyone gathered together and exchanged pleasantries for a while.

Tie Tuo said that the night he was captured by the mountain demon, he almost thought he was going to die, but unexpectedly he survived by a twist of fate.

Wu Xie asked him, "Who brought you here?"

Tie Tuo scratched the back of his head. "I don't know either. Maybe it's monkeys. Those monkeys give me some wild fruit to eat every day."

Dafu and Azhai also said that after seeing a monster covered in snakes standing under a tree, everything suddenly went black, and when they opened their eyes again, they were here. They had no idea how they got in.

"Didn't you see Luo Wenbing?" Wu Xie asked.

The three of them shook their heads in unison, and Wu Xie had no choice but to give up.

He felt that the Zhang family might not want to reveal their identities so directly, although he didn't know what their purpose was in staying there.

Wu Xie asked Tie Tuo and the others, "What's deep inside the cave? Have you gone to check it out?"

“There are many clay sculptures,” Tie Tuo said. “Third Master, this seems to be the ancestral tomb of monkeys. There are many clay monkey statues inside. We didn’t dare to go further in for fear that the monkeys would object.”

The monkeys lived in the crevices of the rocks above the cave. The crevices varied in size, and as soon as they spoke, a monkey would peek out from inside, blatantly watching them.

The fat man was furious at their stares, but he couldn't do anything about it. After all, this was the monkeys' territory, and it was already a favor that they were allowed to stay for the time being. Moreover, the monkeys had brought them all sorts of wild fruits at night.

"He who eats monkey food is bound to be subservient to monkeys," so even the fat man was too embarrassed to get angry.

The next morning, after a full rest, the group, led by Wu Xie, stepped into the cave.

Facing you is a narrow, long cave with a clear pool of water at the bottom. The water is so clear that you can see the chains fixed to the rocks below.

There are many recessed niches carved into the stone walls of the cave, which contain the clay monkey statues that Tie Tuo and the others mentioned.

The clay sculptures were very rough, but Wu Xie could tell that they were very old, and if he wasn't mistaken, they contained the remains of monkeys.

Or perhaps, it was the corpse of a hominid.

Wu Xie saw that the limbs of the clay sculptures were broken and detached, revealing the corpses wrapped in burlap inside. Judging from the size of the clay sculptures and the material of the cloth, these things had not been placed here for very long.

The fat man suddenly gasped and frantically winked and blew at Wu Xie, "Tianzhen, Tianzhen, turn around and look!"

Wu Xie felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end; this is an instinctive reaction of mammals when they encounter a dangerous animal that is difficult to defeat.

He instinctively glanced behind him and saw an enormous black shadow standing silently behind him, its massive body completely overwhelming him.

He immediately realized it was the one-armed mandrill; it had somehow appeared there.

Wu Xie didn't want to clash with it, so he silently retreated to the side, intending to give up his position.

The mandrill ignored him, quietly looked at the clay sculptures for a while, then turned and stepped directly into the pool.

The water in the pool was much deeper than they had imagined. With the mandrill's tall and imposing size, the water had already reached its chest after walking a dozen steps.

Just before it was about to sink into the water, the mandrill turned around and glanced at Wu Xie, and their eyes met.

Although that glance was devoid of any emotion, Wu Xie felt a shiver run through him, as if under a spell, and followed it without thinking.

The fat man was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly reached out to pull him away, "Tianzhen, what are you doing?"

Wu Xie had already walked straight to the bottom of the pool. The biting cold startled him from his daze, and when he came to his senses, he realized that the water was already up to his knees.

The fat man thought Wu Xie had been possessed by a demon after staring at the clay sculpture of a corpse for too long. He let out a strange cry, pounced on Wu Xie, and shoved him into the ice water. Then he grabbed Wu Xie by the neck and shook him violently, shouting, "Tianzhen, wake up, wake up!"

The water surged and splashed, leaving Nie Xiaoba and the others stunned. When they came to their senses, they quickly jumped into the water to pull the two people away.

"Young Master, Fatty, what's going on with you two? Why are you fighting amongst yourselves?"

Wu Xie nearly died from being shaken, choking on several mouthfuls of water. Furious and angry, he kicked the fat man in the stomach and pushed him away. While Nie Xiaoba and the others were holding him back, he quickly paddled away into the distance.

"You fatso, are you crazy?" Wu Xie cursed at him. "I didn't get killed by the zombies in the tomb, but you've already killed me."

Fatty shook off Nie Xiaoba and the others, wiped the water off his face, and said, "You're the one who's sick. If you're not sick, why did you walk into the water for no reason? I thought you were possessed by something evil and wanted to die. I just wanted to wake you up."

Wu Xie choked for a moment, "We're going into the water because the path is underwater."

"How did you know?" The fat man swam toward him.

Nie Xiaoba and his group quickly caught up with their equipment.

Wu Xie dove into the water and surfaced two minutes later. "There's a stone door underwater. The mountain demon has already gone in."

Good afternoon

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(End of this chapter)