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

Chapter 523 The Sand Seeker
Later, by chance, the fat man obtained a solid clue—this white sand was used for comparison.

Some people are searching for the original desert where these white sands were located, and comparing the composition of the white sand samples with that of the sand in the desert is the only clue.

If they find the desert where the white sand is, they will find what they truly want.

"What are they looking for?" Wu Xie asked.

The fat man spread his hands nonchalantly, "How would I know? I don't even know where that fighting corpse came from."

Wu Xie then looked at Zhang Haixing, only to receive a disapproving glare that said, "Do I look like I know anything?"

“If the clue Fatty got is true, I speculate that the fighting corpse Fatty saw and the one we see here are the same ones,” Zhang Wuxun said, pointing with his chin at the Yama mummy. “The white sand filling them should have been brought out from the same desert.”

"Does this sand have any special use?" Wu Xie asked. "Could this white sand possess some kind of divine power, and be a necessary step in the creation of fighting corpses?"

"No, this sand is just a filler, it's just that the color is a bit special." The fat man spoke with great conviction, making it sound very reasonable. "Fighting corpses sounds far-fetched, at most it's just a way of making mummies that can activate a combat mode."

The fat man was initially captivated by the mysterious background of this thing, and he couldn't stop thinking about it, feeling that if he couldn't figure it out, he would die with regrets.

After listening to all sorts of hearsay in a daze, it was finally that old guy with big gold teeth who told him that the earliest record of this thing can be traced back to the pre-Qin period, and the only technology that can completely and correctly refine fighting corpses can only be found in that desert. Now it has been lost with the extinction of the people there, and the fighting corpse that Fatty saw was only a half-finished product.

It is said that the fighting corpses made using this technique are more obedient than dogs raised from puppies, and can attack wherever they are pointed. Such zombies can no longer be called fighting corpses, but rather corpse puppets.

Later generations, through fragmented ancient texts, did not obtain complete information and misinterpreted many of the true meanings. They always believed that the white sand in the corpse-fighting was the key factor, and thus continued to collect sand in that desert. In fact, the sand was not important.

"The ancient books came from that desert and are related to a special civilization," the fat man concluded.

After listening, Wu Xie seemed to understand something. "So those people who bought the ship and acquired the white sand may have learned the truth through some means. What they really want to find is the corpse-refining technology under that white desert, or the civilization that was buried and disappeared by that desert."

During the pre-Qin period, alchemists were rampant, and everywhere there were people carrying bronze cauldrons to cultivate elixirs in hopes of achieving immortality. Their ultimate goal was to abandon their physical bodies and ascend to become immortals. It is possible that the technique of corpse refining was invented in this way.

Before the Qin Dynasty was truly established, many places were not originally deserts. In ancient times, places with lush vegetation were more likely to attract people and animals. Various human activities, coupled with changes in geology and climate, led to the destruction of vegetation, a decrease in soil stability, and forced desertification of the surface soil.

But Wu Xie felt something was off, so he asked, "What's the name of this civilization?"

The fat man shook his head. "It has no name, but they believe this civilization is the predecessor of the ancient city of Juyan."

The Juyan Ancient City Ruins, historically known as Zheluzhang, are located in present-day Alashan and Jinta County of Suzhou, Inner Mongolia. They are a group of ruins including beacon towers and Tiantian Fortress walls on the Juyan border, which were under the jurisdiction of the Juyan Commandery and Jianshui Commandery of Zhangye Prefecture during the Han Dynasty.

In the early 1930s, a Chinese scientific expedition team discovered a Bronze Age site, thirteen city sites from different periods, and a large number of temples, pagodas, and canals from the Western Xia to the Yuan Dynasty within the Juyan site.

Wu Xie's mind went blank for a moment, and he suddenly began to doubt the authenticity of the so-called civilization.

Perhaps there really was a sorcerer who devised a method for refining corpses back then, but to think that this could establish a civilization with ruling and educational significance is a bit too presumptuous.

In that era, the niche practice of corpse refining was typically practiced in small tribal communities. Even if later generations discovered some minor details, it would be difficult to classify it as a form of civilization.

It is quite possible that there exists a mysterious tribe in the desert where humans and the undead live together, and that they even worship mummies.

The Qing Dynasty ship-fighting corpse that Fatty encountered was more likely made by later people digging sand to create it. Just like the Yama fighting corpse in front of him, hollowing out the inside of the rice dumpling is the basis for making a fighting corpse, and removing the head of the rice dumpling is the first step.

The only unique point is that the method of making the Yama Fighting Corpse has been upgraded; someone used something that lives inside a stone to replace the head.

The key is still that white desert.

"I'll treat your wounds first, then move your heads away. We need to collect this white sand; it'll be useful." After saying this, Zhang Wuxun took out a first-aid kit from his backpack and tossed Zhang Haixing a roll of clean gauze and a pack of iodine-soaked cotton.

Zhang Haixing pursed her lips and slowly walked away from the place that was still leaking rain.

Taking off his boots and rolling up his trousers, he saw a large patch of bruises on his fair calves, from being soaked in rain and mud. The wounds were already inflamed and swollen.

"Do you have any antibiotics? Anti-inflammatory drugs will do too," she asked, looking up.

Zhang Wu found the medicine she wanted, and after taking a look, he raised an eyebrow. "You're so ruthless to yourself. Your wound needs stitches. If this drags on any longer, you won't be able to leave the snow mountain."

Zhang Haixing lifted her eyelids and glanced at him, then reached out for something, "I won't die, give me the needle and thread."

Wu Xie found a dry rock and sat cross-legged on it. Hearing their conversation, he tossed the small bag containing surgical needles and thread over from a distance, saying, "Catch."

Zhang Haixing grabbed it with her hand, disinfected it in a very simple and crude way, then moved to a position where she could see the light and began to suture herself.

Zhang Wuxun ignored her and turned to see if there was anything he could help with regarding Wu Xie and Fatty. When the blast wave hit, Wu Xie and Fatty instinctively curled up and used their arms to protect their heads, so their arms had the most copper pieces embedded in them. Some were as big as a fingernail, and some were as small as match heads. Some of the fragments had to be picked out with tweezers.

Zhang Wuxun wrapped a new torch around his hands, carefully disinfected them, and holding the tweezers, asked, "Which of you two will go first?"

"Let's pull out the ones for Tianzhen first." The fat man shook his leg and said, "I'm thick-skinned and tough, so the ones aren't stuck very deep. I'll pull out the big ones myself first, and then you can clean up the small ones. It'll save you trouble."

Zhang Wuxun looked at Wu Xie, a faint glow flickering on the tweezers.

“…Alright then.” Wu Xie silently stretched out his two claws.

Seeing Wu Xie grit his teeth and endure the pain, Fatty Kaka laughed gleefully.

Zhang Wuxun's hands were steady and fast, and he had finished pulling out one arm in no time. Just as he was about to switch to the other arm, his hand suddenly stopped, and he turned his head sharply to look at the mummified corpse of Yama.

Feng had somehow woken up and was now silently squatting next to Yama, his hands reaching out to touch the stone ball's head, his expression a mixture of madness and excitement.

"Don't touch it!"

Zhang Wuxun shouted and immediately got up to stop him.

Seeing that his actions had been discovered, Feng didn't care much. He hurriedly pulled down his sleeves to cover his hands, grabbed Yama's head, and ran into the darkness.

Wu Xie and Zhang Wuxun quickly stood up as well, while Zhang Wuxun chased Feng Chong into the bronze gate.

"Holy crap?" the fat man yelled. "When did that old bastard wake up? He actually launched a sneak attack. If I catch him, I'll beat him to a pulp."

Zhang Haixing also stood up, listened to the sounds, then sat back down to continue stitching the wound, calmly saying, "Don't worry, it won't take long to take care of it."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud bang came from inside the bronze door, followed by what sounded like something heavy falling to the ground, though it was hard to hear clearly.

The fat man glared at her and beckoned to Wu Xie, "Come on, let's go take a look."

The two carefully approached, torches in hand, and heard light, steady footsteps coming from inside the bronze door. They exclaimed in unison, their joy growing even stronger, "Wooden fish!"

Upon seeing the two people, Zhang Wuxun's cold and stern face softened slightly. He quickly walked to the firelight and said, "It's alright, it's all taken care of."

The fat man saw the black blood splattered on the chest and collar of the man's clothes, and raised a thick eyebrow, "You killed him?"

Zhang Wuxun grunted in response, then flicked his hand behind his back and tossed a spherical object into a crevice in the rocks not far away, so fast that Wu Xie didn't even have time to see it clearly.

With a "thud," the sound was like a large rock.

"His hand touched the parasitic meteorite; he's not going to survive," he explained casually.

"Hey, it's no big deal." The fat man patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go back and keep pulling out copper sheets."

Wu Xie lagged behind and walked alongside Zhang Wuxun, lowering his voice to ask, "Is it alright to leave Yama's head inside? Should we find a place to bury it separately?"

Zhang Wuxun raised an eyebrow, gave him a look, then took off his blood-stained down jacket, crumpled it up, lit it in front of the torch, and held it in his hand until it was almost burned before throwing it away.

"..." Wu Xie silently understood.

You worried too much; it turns out it's already been stored in the "treasure chest."

The three of them bypassed the area where it was still dripping rain and began to tend to their old and new wounds.

"Even the King of Hell has kicked the bucket, why isn't this rain stopping? When is it going to stop?" the fat man asked, somewhat puzzled.

“That’s really strange.” Wu Xie also craned his neck to look at the cave ceiling.

After Zhang Wuxun removed the last piece, he checked carefully to make sure nothing was missed before applying the medicine and wrapping the wound with gauze.

Seeing that he was still propping up his two paws, I reminded him, "It's done."

Wu Xie didn't react. His brows were furrowed, and he stared intently at the top, muttering, "Am I seeing things? Why does it feel like the rocks on top are moving?"

Good night and sweet dreams.

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(End of this chapter)