Tomb raiding: Trying to become a little painter

After everyone had retreated, they ran continuously into the passage, with Miluotuo following closely behind. The jade mine passage gradually became a stone-cut passage with less and less jade, and the scattered jade deposits disappeared. After that, Miluotuo stopped following them...

As if there were some kind of boundary, everyone else breathed a sigh of relief, except for Qin Henian and Zhang Qilin, whose eyes were deep. They could sense that the deeper they went, the denser the Yin energy became, and the more black-haired snakes there were in Miluotuo, even larger than the snakes that had come out of the wall before.

Entering the stone-cut passage meant they would soon reach the real Zhang Family Ancient Building. After running for another seven or eight minutes, their view gradually opened up. Looking ahead with their lights on, they could only see a tall stone gate with a stone carving of a Qilin stepping on clouds. On both sides of the gate, there were evenly cut stone slabs on the ground, each carved with a Qilin head as a symbolic guardian of the gate.

Not far from the stone gate, in an open space, there is a huge stone platform. On the platform, there are stone-cut Qilin heads, each about half a meter high. Each Qilin head has a different posture, but they are all facing the stone platform. Looking at the stone platform, it is carved with incomprehensible patterns using extremely complicated techniques. There are also many small holes and channels in the patterns.

"This must be the entrance to the Zhang Family Ancient Building!"

Qiu Dekao stared intently at the door with his weathered eyes, feeling a little excited. Even the woman beside him, who was supporting him, looked excited as she listened to Qiu Dekao's words.

Huo Xiangu, who was watching Qiu Dekao's behavior, flashed a hint of disgust in her eyes, and then turned around and began to order her men to check the stone door.

Kick-kick-kick...

The sound of footsteps echoed busily in the open space.

Seeing the excitement on the faces of the people in front of him, Qin Henian quietly pulled Zhang Qilin into a corner without making a fuss.

Anyway, there are few of them now, so no one can use them as targets. Little Qilin hasn't revealed his identity either, and Old Madam Huo can't scheme against them. For now, they just need to follow behind these people and be a background figure. They'll have some room to maneuver once they're inside.

Click!

Suddenly, a sound of a mechanism being activated came from behind Ah Ning, followed instantly by a wail.

"Help!"

"Help me! It's so hot! So hot, so hot..."

At that moment, a man running ahead encountered something, and suddenly a large amount of high-temperature flames spewed from the stone platform into a small hole, directly igniting the clothes of the man closest to the hole. The flames then penetrated the skin through the fabric, causing the man to scream and slap himself as he ran off the platform, rolling around on the ground...

"What's going on? Help!"

Ah Ning reacted quickly, directing people to help, and while talking, she even took off her own clothes and used them to put fire on the other person.

Huo Xiangu originally intended to ignore it, but in a flash she saw the face of the man rolling on the ground. He was not a foreigner but a Chinese man. Instantly Huo Xiangu knew that this man was one of her subordinates, and she immediately sent people to help him.

Zhang Qilin, who was hiding in the corner, also saw this scene. He was about to move over when someone grabbed his elbow, and then he heard warm breathing and words in his ear, making Zhang Qilin's ear feel itchy and hot...

"Little Qilin, don't go!"

"Ok!"

Qin Henian didn't want Zhang Qilin to stand out. He had originally planned to be a background character, and if Zhang Qilin showed up now, all the time he had spent following behind would have been for nothing.

"Little Qilin, your hometown is hard to get into. You must have some ideas, right?"

Qin Henian breathed softly and asked Zhang Qilin in a low voice.

"There's a fragment of memory where the stone platform and the unicorn head carving have mechanisms, and opening the door requires the Zhang family's agility."

As Zhang Qilin listened, he examined the stone platform, and after recalling the memory of opening the door in his mind, he spoke.

"Zhang Family Movement Technique!"

"They definitely can't open the gate to your old house, but we can't expose ourselves! Here's what we'll do: I have some smelted spider wire that I used to collect. You can use the wire to control a hapless guy to dance around on the platform, and the gate will open!"

Qin Henian's consciousness sank into his private vault. A few seconds later, a bundle of fine silver thread appeared in his hand. Although the thread was very thin after being refined, it was still visible to the naked eye. Qin Henian glanced at it and poked it with his finger. A golden-red magic disc was imprinted on it, and the silver thread in his hand disappeared. However, he could still feel the touch of something on his hand.

Catching a handful of "air," Zhang Qilin felt its texture, and a golden ring flashed in his pupils. In an instant, a handful of silver threads appeared in Zhang Qilin's eyes and hands. Finding the end, he used the power surging from his body to control the direction and threw it towards the unlucky guy closest to the stone platform.

Binding the man's hands, feet, limbs, and waist, Zhang Qilin directly controlled him, raising his hands and pulling him along. His slender fingers danced incessantly, and the unfortunate man on the platform began to flailing his arms and legs. This scene was also observed by observant people, but they couldn't see the silver threads. Some even tried to intervene, but the flames on the stone platform grew increasingly fierce, forcing them to give up and watch as the man on the platform jumped and danced wildly, his body engulfed in flames, his skin burned bright red...

"Whose man is this! What's going on?"

Ah Ning and the others had just finished putting out the fire on the guy on the ground. He had suffered severe burns and had to stay behind to wait for someone to come to his aid. Before she could report this to her boss, she saw another person on the stage. Ah Ning was furious but couldn't go up on the stage. She was extremely frustrated.

"Boss! Hmm...it looks like one of ours!"

A mercenary had followed Ah Ning on several missions and had carefully examined the person on the stage. He then answered Ah Ning's question incredulously.

"Damn it! From this moment on, no one is allowed to approach that stone platform without my order!"

Ah Ning frowned and gave the order directly.

Qiu Dekao and Huo Xiangu watched the farce unfold on and off the stage without any change in expression, though the latter's face revealed her impatience.

boom!

Click!

Rumble~

Just then, the person on the stone platform fell to the ground with a thud, his life hanging in the balance. The next moment, the mechanism clicked and the stone door slowly opened. The group of people immediately fell silent, awaiting orders.

"Hey~ the door's open! If you're not coming in, then we're coming in!"

The silence lasted only a few seconds. Qin Henian took Zhang Qilin's hand, touched the silver thread and put it directly into his private stash, then pulled him inside.

The door is open, and the people have arrived, so there's no need to make yourself a mere background figure anymore!

Qin Henian walked quickly, and Zhang Qilin was not far behind. The two walked directly through the gate, but someone's hand secretly touched her pink fingers.

"Ha! I almost forgot about you two little devils! You have no manners at all!"

"As expected... anyone associated with the Wu family is no good!"

When Huo Xiangu saw the door open, her eyes seemed to light up, but the next second someone went in before her. She continued her tirade, her gaze fixed on the two people's backs, and led her entourage straight in...