Fan Debiao replied, “Damn it, Big Guguo and I were just walking straight ahead when we suddenly ran into the merman and had a fierce fight with it. Then you and that Millennium Bug showed up.”
“Huh, according to what you’re saying, we somehow went back again? Oh no, oh no, looks like it’s really some ghost-walking-in-circles phenomenon!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Big Guguo raised his hand to signal everyone to stop. Before Fan Debiao could even ask what was going on, a strong stench of blood rushed toward them.
At this moment, Fan Debiao was so terrified he even wished for death. He stomped his foot in anger and shouted, “Damn it! How come this bastard came back again!”
At this point, all four of them were confused by the passageway inside the tomb and couldn’t figure out what was happening.
Big Guguo raised his gun and said, “Since we’re bound to run into this cursed merman anyway, we might as well fight it head-on.” With that, he opened fire on the merman.
Although the Thompson submachine gun had tremendous firepower, it couldn’t stop the merman’s advance. As the merman drew closer, suddenly a dark shadow flew out from behind it in the darkness.
The sound of fighting echoed loudly in the dark tomb passage. Fan Debiao stared into the darkness and asked, “Did anyone catch a clear look at that shadow just now?”
Big Guguo lowered his gun and said in astonishment, “That dark figure was a person—it must’ve been Master Liu!”
Upon hearing Big Guguo’s words, Fan Debiao, both surprised and delighted, said, “So Old Liu is still alive! Heh heh, a real top-notch figure is indeed top-notch. We couldn’t even handle the merman with guns, yet he actually fought it in close combat! Truly a brave proletarian warrior!”
While Fan Debiao was talking, Big Guguo had already finished smoking a cigarette. He threw the butt to the ground and stamped it out twice with his foot before saying, “Yeah, at first I thought it was just a coincidence that you saved me, but now that we’ve encountered this merman, I finally get to witness Master Liu’s true abilities.”
Seeing Big Guguo rambling on, Fan Debiao interrupted him, “Big Guguo, stop talking nonsense. Big Liu is out there fighting the merman right now! Shouldn’t we think about going to help him out?”
Upon hearing Fan Debiao’s words, Big Guguo stopped talking about Liu Dashao and asked, “Then how do we help?”
“Uh…”
Just as everyone was at a loss for what to do, Liu Dashao suddenly appeared right in front of them. His upper body was already torn to shreds, shirtless with injuries all over, looking like a human mannequin. In his right hand was the Taoist sword, yet his breathing remained calm and steady. If it weren’t for his wounds, no one would have guessed he had just finished a fierce battle.
Seeing Liu Dashao retreat back, Fan Debiao and Big Guguo immediately pulled out their black donkey hooves to charge forward. But Liu Dashao stretched out his arms to block them, shouting, “No! The black donkey hooves won’t work on this thing! Turn off your flashlights and follow me!” With that, he ran off behind everyone.
No one had any idea what Liu Dashao was up to, but they had no choice but to comply. So they turned off their flashlights and followed him running.
Without the light from the flashlights, everyone was plunged into complete darkness. They ran in silence, the sound of footsteps echoing throughout the tomb passage. The eerie sound sent chills down their spines.
As they ran, Big Guguo thought to himself, “This isn’t good. This tomb passage is some kind of mechanism. If we keep running like this, we’ll eventually run into the merman again. If we meet it in the dark, we won’t even know who gets chopped up first!” Thinking Liu Dashao might not realize this passage was a ghost-walking-in-circles type mechanism, he was about to warn him when suddenly Liu Dashao shouted loudly, “Jump!”
Since everyone was following Liu Dashao’s lead, they all jumped into the air at his command.
Big Guguo thought Liu Dashao had made them jump because they were about to meet the merman, hoping to leap over it. But just as he was about to land, he felt himself fall into empty space, as if he had fallen into a ditch. This sudden drop completely confused him, leaving him speechless.
After falling, Big Guguo landed on something soft. Thinking he had encountered another monster, he quickly turned on his flashlight. Only then did he relax, realizing he had landed on Fan Debiao.
Fan Debiao was lying on the ground, his mouth opening and closing without uttering a word. When Big Guguo shined the light on the others, they were all in the same state. He thought to himself, “It must’ve been that sudden drop into a ditch that stunned everyone.”
After a while, everyone gradually recovered. Fan Debiao stood up and immediately pointed at Big Guguo, cursing, “Tomb raider, you bastard always land on me!”
Big Guguo helplessly waved his hands in response. At this moment, all four flashlights were turned on, clearly illuminating the area. In front of them, about dozens of meters away, was the stone gate they had entered the tomb through. Behind them was a burial chamber about half the size of a basketball court.
Fan Debiao exclaimed in surprise, “Could it be that our jump just deactivated the tomb’s mechanism?”
Liu Dashao walked to the center of the group and said, “Actually, you were all walking on top of it.”
Upon hearing Liu Dashao’s words, everyone immediately pointed their flashlights upward. There, above them, was another tomb passage identical to the one in front of them. At the end of that passage stood a Tai Chi Bagua mirror about a meter high.
Seeing the mirror, Big Guguo said, “This is the Yin-Yang Mirror!”
Before Fan Debiao could ask, Big Guguo explained, “The Yin-Yang Mirror is said to be a high-level Taoist magical artifact. It can transform the space in front of it into another real space, but these two spaces are exact opposites. I think the reason we couldn’t escape that passage was due to this mirror’s trickery!”
After hearing Big Guguo’s explanation, Fan Debiao and the others realized they had been running in circles within just ten meters of the tomb passage for so long—it was truly ridiculous!
After cursing for a while, Fan Debiao turned to Liu Dashao and asked, “Brother, how did you figure out this mechanism?”
Liu Dashao sheathed his Taoist sword behind his back and recounted what had happened. Originally, after the merman emerged from the door, he had planned to block it alone and told the others to run first. Later, he noticed the short passage where the others ran begin to slowly rise, while Yin-Yang Mirrors appeared at both ends of the passage. During his fight with the merman, he heard footsteps from the upper passage and realized the others must be trapped. Thinking quickly, he lured the merman to the upper passage and led the others out, thus trapping the merman inside. The injuries on his body were sustained during this process.
After hearing Liu Dashao’s explanation, Fan Debiao finally understood the whole story. Thinking about it, Fan Debiao stared at the Yin-Yang Mirror with gleaming eyes and said, “This treasure is a real gem! It’s definitely worth a fortune if we take it out!”
Upon hearing Fan Debiao’s words, Liu Dashao flew into a rage, shouting, “You piece of crap, that’s all you care about? We didn’t come here to rob tombs, so not a single item from here can be taken!”
Big Guguo frowned and also tried to persuade him, saying, “Fat brother, you absolutely mustn’t touch this thing! Once you move it, the merman will be released, and we’ll have endless trouble ahead.”
After hearing Big Guguo, Fan Debiao nodded and said, “Ah, I actually forgot there was a damn bastard still in there!”
In his heart, Liu Dashao cursed silently, “Damn it, you idiot Fan Debiao! You were just fighting for your life against that merman up there, and yet in such a short time you’ve already forgotten! You sure have a pure heart, huh!”
Big Guguo paused for a moment and said, “Now that everything is settled, let’s continue moving deeper into the tomb!”
With that, everyone turned to walk into the burial chamber. But just as they turned around, they heard a loud “Boom!” from behind. They turned back to see the tomb passage from above crash to the ground in pieces. Both Yin-Yang Mirrors were shattered beyond recognition. Amidst the rubble, the merman’s blood-red eyes stared directly at them, letting out continuous guttural growls.
It seemed the merman was furious this time—it wouldn’t stop until it had chopped them all to pieces.
In the tomb passage, five people and one merman stared at each other, each side ready to deliver a deadly strike at any moment.
In the chaotic tomb passage, five people and one merman stood in a tense standoff. The merman was also covered in wounds, with almost half its scales already gone. It glared at everyone with a vicious expression, making them feel uneasy just by looking into its eyes. Fan Debiao and Big Guguo aimed their guns at the merman, ready to fire—but suddenly, Liu Dashao blocked them.
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