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

The snake's nest was funnel-shaped and about half the size of a football field. The entire area beneath the winding chains was bathed in a scorching red light, making it look as if someone had set the chains on fire.

The three of them peered down in surprise and discovered that the source of the red glow was a stone that resembled jade but was not jade. It looked like scorching magma, and this strange red stone was distributed throughout the pit and the surrounding sloping surface near the bottom.

Even if its color is similar to that of flames, it will never have the same high temperature as lava erupting from a volcano.

With Zhang Wuxun's eyesight, he could easily see the blood-red strips that were constantly wriggling or crawling at the bottom of the funnel pit, occasionally emitting a hissing sound that made one's scalp crawl.

Whether from fear or heat, the fat man's face was covered in a fine layer of sweat. He whispered in a low voice, "Good heavens, there are snakes down there!"

Zhang Wuxun and the other man nodded silently.

After observing silently for a while, Zhang Wuxun guessed that these snakes were probably in the process of molting, because the temperature here was comparable to early summer, and the air they breathed carried a damp, strange, and sweet-smelling smell, as well as a trace of blood that was hard to ignore.

"What should we do?" Wu Xie looked at him.

Snakes in the molting stage become somewhat nervous and more aggressive. They may attack anything that comes near them, even their own kind.

In just a short while, they saw several snakes entangled and fighting each other, vying for territory with harder and finer stone that would be more conducive to shedding their skin.

However, at this point, the snake has stopped eating, and a fluid is secreted around its head and eyes, causing the stratum corneum to become irregular, affecting the propagation and refraction of light, resulting in near blindness. This condition can last for several days or weeks.

"They can't see us, so we approach quietly, being careful not to step on the snakes, and then we go down from there."

Zhang Wuxun pointed to a dark, irregular hole in the center of the funnel. Slightly thicker snakes were gathered on the fiery red stone near the hole, indicating that the snakes molting inside the hole were likely larger ones.

Snakes have an instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm, and the snakes further inside the nest are definitely more powerful, which means they are closer to the center of the snake nest.

"Okay," Wu Xie and Fatty replied in unison.

The slope was quite steep, a terrain that was just right for snakes, but rather torturous for humans who were used to standing upright. They suppressed the inertia that made them want to rush down, taking each step as if walking on a tightrope, while also being careful not to make too much noise from the stones under their feet.

Halfway down the slope, the fat man could no longer stand, so he simply lay down and shuffled inwards little by little. His palms were painfully chafed by the hard, rough, reddish stone, and he grimaced and gasped for breath, occasionally having to turn over to avoid the swarms of snakes.

"Damn it, it's too steep..." The stone under the fat man's foot suddenly came loose, and his leg slipped and he tumbled down the steep slope.

In desperation, he frantically thrashed his hands and grabbed a protruding, fiery red stone, barely managing to stop in front of the largest clusters of snakes.

The snakes stirred instantly. The fat man was so frightened that he dared not breathe. But the commotion he had just made had attracted the snakes. Hundreds of snakes began to wriggle and spread outwards, their long blood streaks undulating like the vines of a nine-headed cypress as they crawled toward the fat man.

"Damn Li Liang!"

The fat man scrambled to his feet, backing away in an attempt to escape. His footing was unsteady, and his hands were raw and bleeding. He was surrounded by the snakes, with nowhere to hide. Just then, several whooshing sounds pierced the air.

With a few loud crashes, the earthenware pot shattered, and shards of porcelain broke everywhere. The snakes that had crawled to the fat man's feet seemed to have been punched by the air in front of them. The snakes bent into exaggerated arcs, their bodies half-standing and falling backward.

Zhang Wuxun and Wu Xie rushed over as if they couldn't stop, throwing a porcelain jar at the snakes. As the snakes retreated, Wu Xie grabbed Fatty and rushed towards the pit.

Wu Xie shouted softly, "Jump!"

Hearing the sound of the two jumping into the cave and landing, Zhang Wuxun, with his back to the cave entrance and facing the swarm of crimson snakes that were about to surround him, suddenly had his irises lighten, gradually turning into a dark gold amber color, and then rapidly squeezed towards his pupils in the center, eventually shrinking into a narrow, arc-shaped line.

Under the reflection of the red light at the bottom of the pit, a thin layer of light-colored, tiny scales flashed across the surface of the eyeball, disappearing in an instant.

In that instant, it was as if an invisible energy expanded outwards, enveloping the entire space. The hissing sounds around them all quieted down, and all the crawling movements disappeared.

The red snakes stood frozen in place, their proud bodies held high, and all was silent.

Wu Xie and Fatty helped each other to their feet in the cave. Suddenly, they felt a chill run down their spines. A chill that sent shivers down their spines was pouring down from the top of their heads. Every pore on their bodies was trembling, and their cerebral cortex was screaming danger signals to all the nerves in their body.

The two held their breath, not daring to move, knowing they were being watched by a massive creature.

A chilling aura pervaded the air, and exposed skin felt as if it were enveloped by some mysterious, cool touch.

A soft cracking sound rang out, the solidified space was broken, and something lightly stepped onto the rubble behind Wu Xie and the other person, its movements nimble, like a nimble cat.

Wu Xie felt a sudden relaxation all over his body, and the danger had left silently. But there was still something behind him. He didn't dare to turn around rashly. He could only use the light emitted by the red rocks in the cave to secretly glance back, and then glance again.

Unable to contain himself, the fat man gritted his teeth and threw the shovel tied to his backpack in that direction. As he turned around, he saw a familiar figure standing behind him, slightly bowing, gazing tenderly at a frozen snake with one hand outstretched.

He was puzzled as to why all the snakes suddenly stopped moving. It didn't seem like they were hiding from a predator, but rather like the way weak creatures in nature play dead in fear when a higher-level predator of their own kind passes by.

Unexpectedly, the red snake hissed and awoke, its bloody mouth wide open as it sprang up and lunged at his arm.

The man reacted extremely quickly, dodging to the side and grabbing the snake by its vital spot. He then unwrapped the part of the snake that was wrapped around his arm. Hearing the wind rushing towards him, he swung the snake around like a whip, knocking the shovel away.

"Damn it..." Fatty was about to unleash a furious roar when Wu Xie swiftly stopped him.

"Shh! Are you crazy?" Wu Xie covered the fat man's mouth tightly, then looked at the man with a mixture of shock and anger, and whispered, "Zhang Haike, what are you doing here?" (End of this chapter)