Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 115 The Endless Staircase

Standing here, Hu Ming felt that he was one step closer to the core of the Ghost Tomb.

The fact that a Western Zhou tomb could become a haunted tomb suggests that some of the artifacts, into which the craftsmen poured their hearts and souls, possessed a spiritual quality, thus causing the tomb to give rise to ghosts.

Once Hu Ming finds that object, he will have a way to crack the Ghost Tomb.

Such things, as long as they exist, will never disappear. The fat man reached out and touched the stone coffin.

"Should we pry open this stone box and see what's inside? If there's treasure, we'll hit the jackpot."

Hu Ming shook his head repeatedly, "Don't even think about it. This is a ghost tomb, which means this thing never existed in the first place. What do you expect to get out of it?"

Hearing Hu Ming say this, the fat man had no choice but to reluctantly remove his hand from the stone coffin.

"Damn it, this ghost is really weird. It looks like it exists, it feels like it exists, but it doesn't actually exist."

"The world is full of wonders. Alright, let's go find out where there's a passage to get out."

Big Gold Tooth shone the flashlight to the side.

Isn't there a passage right here?

Sure enough, next to the coffin, there was a tunnel with a row of stone steps leading downwards.

It was unusually dark down there; even the beam of a flashlight couldn't shine very far, as if something had absorbed the light.

"Let's go down and take a look."

Hu Ming possessed the bloodline of the Golden Dragon and could tell at a glance that these stone steps were real and not ghostly illusions.

However, they clearly didn't see it when they came in earlier.

It was probably blocked by something conjured by the ghost tomb, and only revealed itself after a change occurred.

The sides of the stairs were pitch black, and the bottomless abyss lay on either side of them.

They walked down a considerable distance and entered another tomb chamber.

Hu Bayi held up his flashlight and shone it around, his expression immediately changing drastically.

"Isn't this the Underworld Palace we just left?"

Upon hearing his words, he quickly looked around.

Stone coffins, murals, strange faces, and domes all came into view.

That's absolutely right, this is the Underworld Palace they just left.

But they clearly walked down the passage, so how did they end up back where they started?
"What the hell is going on? Are we trapped in a maze?" the fat man cursed.

“Let’s go back and take another look.” Hu Ming’s eyes flashed. He had the bloodline of the Golden Dragon and could see through illusions. He could see very clearly.

He carved a mark on the steps with his machete and started walking back.

This place was very eerie, and the four of them dared not separate. After walking for a while, they entered the Underworld Palace again.

"Hey, we're back again."

The surroundings remained unchanged. Hu Ming shone his flashlight on the ground and saw that the scratches he had made were still there.

In other words, there are no two identical underworld palaces; they have been wandering around in one palace all along.

However, Hu Ming and his companions did not leave the steps and step into the Underworld Palace, since anyone could see that there was something wrong with it.

However, no matter whether they went down the stone steps or up, they eventually returned to the same place.

This was truly bizarre. Hu Ming frowned slightly. Just then, Big Gold Tooth made a new discovery.

“Mr. Ming, look over there, there’s another set of stone steps next to the stone coffin.” Hu Ming looked in the direction the big gold tooth was pointing.

Sure enough, next to the stone coffin, a stone staircase leading down appeared out of nowhere.

Hu Ming shone his flashlight, but the light seemed to be swallowed by the darkness; just a few meters away was pitch black, and nothing could be seen. The fat man could no longer remain calm. He was already afraid of heights, and this situation only made him more panicked.

"Damn it, this ancient tomb is really haunted. How come another stone staircase has suddenly appeared?"

As he spoke, he walked up the stone steps, and Hu Ming followed him.

Hu Bayi and Da Jinya followed closely behind. After walking for more than ten minutes, Hu Ming felt that something was wrong.

Not long after descending the stone steps, Hu Ming deliberately used a machete to carve a mark next to the special marker on the steps.

As he walked, Hu Ming unexpectedly discovered the scratches he had made.

In other words, they are actually going in circles.

If we keep going like this, we'll never reach the end, even if we work ourselves to death.

Hu Ming explained the situation to the other three, and they turned and walked upstairs.

Going down the stone steps is easy, but going up is difficult.

The group ran wildly for a very long time, and the stone steps seemed endless, with no end in sight.

Hu Ming's body had been strengthened, so he was naturally fine, but the other three were all panting heavily from exhaustion.

Especially Big Gold Tooth, who had always stayed in Beijing, had never suffered such hardship.

At that moment, his throat was making a whooshing sound, as if a strong wind was blowing through it.

Hu Ming stopped in his tracks. The fat man was also exhausted, but he only wanted to escape and was unwilling to give up.

Seeing Hu Ming stop, he shouted, "Mingzi, why did you stop? Hurry up and move on. Even if I'm exhausted, I have to get out of this hellhole."

Hu understood him and said, "If you keep walking like this, you'll exhaust yourself and never get out."

The fat man was stunned. He had been walking for so long and was already extremely anxious. Hearing Li Sheng's words, he became even more anxious.

"Mingzi, what's going on? Logically speaking, given the distance we've come down, even ten Netherworld Palaces should have been enough to get us back. Why can't we reach the end?"

Hu Ming shone his flashlight to the side. "These are the scratches I made with a knife before."

The fat man was startled, then suddenly realized, "Mingzi means we've been going in circles?"

Hu Ming nodded, while Hu Bayi remained puzzled.

"This is really strange. We were going downhill just now, and now we're climbing uphill. This is completely different. How did we end up at the bottom while climbing uphill?"

If it were flat ground, you could say you were going in circles and got lost.

But this place is completely different up and down; why did they walk a distance and end up back where they started?
“We brought ropes, didn’t we? I think we should use the ropes to separate the group and see if we can get out,” Big Gold Tooth suggested.

This place was too eerie, and the group dared not separate, for fear of never finding each other again.

Both flashlights and candles can only illuminate a very short distance.

The place was eerily dark, as if even the light had been absorbed.

Holding a flashlight, you can't see anything more than a few meters away.

Fortunately, they brought very long ropes, which they could use to lower people down when exploring the tomb.

Some tombs are dug very deep, and there may be natural deep holes or the like. In this case, you need to use a hook to hook the rope down and use the rope to climb down.

Given the current situation, lowering the rope is indeed a last resort.

Hu Ming nodded.

At that moment, the group took out ropes from their backpacks and tied them together.

(End of this chapter)