Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 643 The Bones of Two Forces!
Regarding the matter of Hu Ming going out and bringing A Ning back...

Luo Que and the others naturally wouldn't say anything more.

And Zhang Rishan, this hundred-year-old monster...

He looked at Hu Ming meaningfully, and smiled...

Even the next morning, Zhang Yueshan would occasionally cast meaningful smiles at Hu Ming.

"The Chen family's place is just ahead..."

"On the surface, the Chen family is using the petrified wood mining here for sanitation, but in reality... you should understand what I mean, right?"

Arriving at the location near the Chen family's residence, Zhang Rishan said softly.

"Everyone here is a smart person, is there any need to be so tedious and keep us in suspense? How do they make a living? Do we really need to guess?"

Hu Ming gave a noncommittal answer.

"Whether it's tomb raiding or petrified wood mining, the Chen family hasn't had a comfortable life in this place over the years. They've had a tough time, but they're willing to do anything that makes money!"

"Murder, arson, robbery, smuggling, and even trafficking in illicit goods—they won't miss out on any of these as long as there's a substantial profit to be made!"

Ah Ning, who was standing next to Hu Ming, smiled faintly and talked about the intelligence she had gathered in Mian Dian over the past few days.

"There's another point worth noting. Remember the bronze door I mentioned yesterday that was unearthed?"

"According to reliable intelligence, Chen seems to have known all along that there are some secrets buried under this land, and after leaving Changsha, he settled here directly."

When asked about the Chen family's departure from Changsha, A Ning looked at Hu Ming with a smile.

Those messy, unresolved accounts from back then were probably one of the reasons that forced the Chen family to leave their hometown.

"These are all secondary. If that hadn't happened back then, even if Chen Pi had died of natural causes, the Chen family's successor would have moved the clan's territory here."

"Decades ago, Buddha commissioned Chen Pi to build a special tomb! That's right, the entrance is that bronze door, and the secrets underground here are inseparable from Buddha."

"Back then, Chen Pi and Master Fo made a pact not to touch the secrets underground, but the rest of the Chen family..."

At this point, Zhang Yueshan sighed with a hint of regret.

"They are greedy, inexperienced, and lacking in ability. They have lofty ambitions but little talent. They lack the destiny to achieve what they desire, yet they covet things they shouldn't."

"Nothing more than a path to death."

“Even if we hadn’t come here today, do you believe that brute Chen Jinshui would have destroyed the entire Chen family just to dig up something underground here?”

Hu Ming summarized Zhang Rishan's points in a concise and insightful manner, pinpointing the biggest problem facing the Chen family.

"That's right, that's exactly what happened. After Chen Pi left, the Chen family no longer had anyone capable of taking on the responsibility. Chen Jinshui was still lacking; he had ambition but lacked the mental fortitude and methods to match it."

Zhang Rishan remained silent. Hu Ming was right; this was a classic case of someone whose virtue did not match their position.

If you lack the ability and the qualifications, yet insist on making money this way, you're only courting death.

To people like Hu Ming and Zhang Rishan, Chen Jinshui's self-righteous scheming was nothing more than childish trickery, laughable.

This is also why Zhang Yueshan, as the president of the Nine Gates Association, tacitly approved Hu Ming's next plan.

Rather than letting one bad apple spoil the whole bunch, wouldn't it be better to just kill the bad apple in the first place?
As they spoke, Hu Ming and the others had already emerged from the dense forest. Before them, the ground was a patchwork of pitted and dilapidated ruins.

Upon closer inspection, the traces of these pits are still quite fresh, indicating that they occurred within the last day or two.

"After the Chen family unearthed the bronze door, they immediately sent people to try to open it and explore. Strangely, an earthquake was triggered for unknown reasons."

"These craters in front of us are all ground collapses caused by the earthquake. What's even stranger is that these craters are all filled with..."

Ah Ning pointed to the pit in front of her and said softly.

Before he finished speaking, Hu Ming had already jumped into the nearest pit, which was nearly three meters deep.

"The corpse..."

Ah Ning sighed as she watched Hu Ming's actions.

Hu Ming crouched down in front of the corpse at the bottom of the pit and turned the face-down body over.

This is a corpse that has been devoured by underground microorganisms, leaving only a skeleton...

Strangely, the body's original nostrils, mouth, ears, and eyes—all seven orifices—were completely sealed with soil different from the local loess.

"Bring them all up!"

Hu Ming used the edge of the pit for leverage and jumped up in a few leaps, giving instructions in a low voice.

After Luo Que and the others had arranged all the skeletons from the nearby pits together, Hu Ming examined them one by one.

"They were all suffocated to death by having their seven orifices blocked with mud before being buried in this place."

"And these tools. Judging from the time they've decayed, Zhang Yueshan, do you think this was your master using this place as bait, or... the Chen family breaking the rules?"

Hu Ming glanced at Zhang Rishan and asked softly.

"Both are true. These people are clearly not from the same faction."

Zhang Yueshan narrowed his eyes and said softly.

"What a coincidence, that's what I thought too!"

Hu Ming nodded and said, "Let's go. What we need is inside that bronze door. Let's not waste any more time."

"The problem is, this is Chen family territory. We entered without permission. As the president of the Nine Gates Association, I can't just lead the way in breaking the non-aggression pact, can I?"

"We'd better go and say hello to the Chen family."

Zhang Rishan stopped Hu Ming, saying with difficulty.

Sometimes, agreements are just empty words, their main purpose being to be torn up when needed.

However, Zhang Rishan's position is too sensitive; even if it's just to put on a show and convince the public, he has to set an example.
"Go ahead, I'll just take some people and wait for you at the entrance of the Bronze Gate."

"Luo Que, take a few men and follow Zhang Rishan. Just in case—and I mean just in case—our Chairman Zhang's negotiations with the Chen family break down, help him out!"

"However, I reckon that Chen Jinshui will most likely ask us to help him go down into the ground to explore for the treasures inside!"

Hu Ming said he didn't like those insincere and boring conversations, so he would just wait for them at the door.