Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

The young man's movements were not much slower than Hu Ming's.

Ultimately, there were only two enemies; on land, they wouldn't even qualify as an appetizer for two people.

Similarly, the young man emerged from the dark green water with a frown on his face.

He shook the knife with a hint of disgust and washed the blood off his beloved blade in the lake water.

"Go around it!"

Hu Ming gestured to the group.

He didn't want to cross that bloody, mangled water again.

This point was agreed upon by all three.

The group consisted of people who worked in the fields year-round. While they weren't exactly germaphobes, they still wanted to avoid this disgusting sight if possible.

The dark green blood color spread rapidly in the lake water, and within a short period of time, an area of ​​tens of meters in front of it was dyed dark green.

Among them, countless tiny fragments of bone, flesh, and internal organs, and even what appeared to be a large intestine, floated erratically in the water, rising and falling with the undercurrent.

The group moved quickly, bypassing the area from the side before it expanded further.

Almost none of the buildings in the ancient village are intact; all that can be seen is a ruin.

The ruins of the damaged buildings were covered with a slimy, unidentified substance unique to the underwater environment.

As they swam along, they found no clues of interest.

For a moment, the group felt quite discouraged.

In particular, the oxygen gauge needle is already halfway down; if we continue exploring, we could easily face a crisis of oxygen shortage.

Underwater, oxygen is scarce, and if an emergency occurs... it will be difficult.

Of course, some of these people were not professional divers, so a large portion of the oxygen was wasted.

Just as Wu Xie and Fatty exchanged glances, Wu Xie pulled Hu Ming and Xiao Ge, who were at the forefront, to convey the idea of ​​a temporary strategic retreat.

Suddenly, the flow of water at the bottom of the lake changed!
The slow current at the bottom of the lake suddenly began to accelerate and become rapid.

The group could clearly sense the force behind them and the direction of the water flow; it was not towards the very center of the village, but rather towards the north.

From a distance, it appears that the shadow of a well-preserved ancient building stands in the water.

"That is..."

Wu Xie and Fatty didn't even bother to talk about retreating; they looked ahead in surprise.

The group of people only went diving in the afternoon.

Judging by the time, it was already evening.

Based on previous inferences, this lake is a siphon lake, and every night, a large amount of its water is drawn into an unknown place.

There
Thinking of this, the two men's eyes lit up. Their intuition told them that the secret of this Yao village was hidden inside that well-preserved ancient building!
As expected, at the first moment the undercurrent surged, Hu Ming not only did not slow down, but instead rode the undercurrent and increased his speed, rushing towards the ancient building like an arrow released from a bow.

The group dared not delay and quickly followed in Hu Ming's footsteps.

The village wasn't large, and even though the ancient building was in a remote location, they arrived in front of it in just ten minutes by taking advantage of the undercurrent.

Led by Hu Ming, the group clung to the walls of the ancient building to steady themselves.

The ancient building before them resembled a massive, complex stilted tower, composed of several stilted buildings joined together. Upon closer inspection, everyone except Hu Ming froze in place.

The ancient building before us is not a Yao ethnic building at all, but rather an architectural style of the Han people!!!
Wu Xie studied architecture in college, and he could clearly see that this tower was built in the architectural style of the late Qing Dynasty!
It's important to know that areas where ethnic minorities live are quite xenophobic.

The Miao and Yao people have been irreconcilable with the Han people since ancient times, living in separate groups and being very concerned about their privacy and lineage. The Southern Yao, in particular, have been the area with the most ethnic conflicts throughout history.

Although they will accept some relatively friendly people from other ethnic groups to settle in the village.

But how could it be possible to so openly build a Han-style ancient building that "showcases individuality" in a Yao village?
Wu Xie was momentarily lost, feeling that all his previous research on the customs of ethnic minorities in China had been wasted.

"Look there."

Just then, Hu Ming pointed to the plaque at the top of the door frame and gestured to it.

"Zhang Family Ancient Building!"

The words on the plaque were clearly these four characters.

This is also why the guy's face changed color.

They swam slowly, silently observing the ancient building.

Upon closer inspection, even more puzzling details were discovered.

This ancient Han-style building is completely enclosed by stilt houses on all sides, and the roof tiles are all the same color, as if it were deliberately protected by the stilt houses.

From the outside, you would never guess that there is such an ancient building inside.

Moreover, this is the only detached building in the courtyard!
According to the architectural style of ancient courtyards, a courtyard of this size should have contained several ancient buildings.

But here, the rest of the building seems to have been cut off, leaving behind this incongruous ancient building on the ground.

The strangest thing is...
None of the buildings in the entire courtyard have windows!
For some reason, the buildings here are completely enclosed except for the necessary entrances, and even in broad daylight, absolutely no light can penetrate into the interior.

It's hard to imagine that this is a house for living people.

This courtyard exudes an eerie feeling from head to toe.

Instinctively, Wu Xie shivered in the water and looked at Hu Ming.

However, Hu Ming's expression remained unchanged, even with a faint smile.

It seems that this bizarre architectural style was exactly what he had anticipated.

Let's take a look at the young man...
His face remained as icy as ever, except now it held a perfectly measured hint of confusion and bewilderment.

Great, that fits the guy's character perfectly. His memory has always been like Schrödinger's cat, making it hard to understand when he forgot something and when he remembered it again.

"Come with me!"

Without giving Wu Xie more time to speculate, Hu Ming gestured again, crossed the wall, and swam into the depths of the courtyard along the undercurrent.

After passing through the gate, Hu Ming landed in the courtyard.

The next few people landed one after another, grabbing onto the stone tables and chairs covered with sediment to steady themselves.

Most of the buildings here are made of wood, using very high-quality timber, and have also undergone some special treatments.

Despite being submerged in water for so many years, it has not decayed or collapsed and has maintained its complete structure.

Turn the diving light; there are doors on all four sides.