“Can’t do it!” Old Diao stopped him, “We’re under the desert now. This underground palace is already as fragile as an old relic. If the explosives go off, we’ll all be buried under the sands. No one can expect to get out alive.”
After hearing that, the big man was furious, “Damn it! If we don’t blow these beasts to bits, we’ll die anyway. Why not take them with us?”
“No need for mutual destruction. We’ll all leave the same way we came in!” Zhang the Mudder muttered darkly from the side.
“But this won’t work because inside…” Before Old Wu could finish, Zhang interrupted him, still in a gloomy tone, “Don’t worry! The traps inside have already been disarmed.”
Liu Dashao was taken aback after hearing this. Disarmed? When?
After saying that, Zhang the Mudder directly walked toward the hole. The others hesitated for a moment until Diao and Old Wu went in, then they followed one after another.
Everyone in the group exchanged glances, then looked behind them. The snakes were almost upon them. They had no choice but to run without hesitation into the hole.
As soon as they entered, they heard a loud “Boom!” Liu Dashao turned around and saw that the hole was gone, replaced by a cold brick wall. But maybe it was for the better—those snakes outside wouldn’t be able to follow them in now.
In Liu Dashao’s opinion, the entire tomb was like a giant mechanism. As for how it was activated, since he wasn’t an architecture major, naturally he couldn’t figure it out. He believed everyone else was equally clueless.
From what Old Diao and the others had previously experienced inside, the situations they encountered seemed to match up with what everyone had faced earlier. Now there was no white smoke rising, so it seemed Zhang the Mudder was right—this trap had indeed been disarmed.
From a distance, Liu Dashao saw Old Diao and the others standing there dazed. Sensing something was off, he quickly walked over.
When he got there, Liu Dashao fully understood their shock. Unexpectedly, behind the brick wall was a whole different world. Although by today’s standards it wasn’t exactly a miracle, in its time it must have been a high-level architectural achievement.
Looking at it now, it felt like standing beneath an overpass, except instead of roads, there were staircases overhead. The staircases were not densely arranged, but there were no pillars or other supports. Liu Dashao wondered if they would collapse under someone’s weight.
But this wasn’t the most intriguing part. What ultimately captured Liu Dashao’s gaze was the countless tiny holes densely covering the brick wall. The holes were so small that even a large ant probably couldn’t pass through. If not for their sheer number, they would have been hard to notice.
At this point, Liu Dashao became suspicious. These holes definitely weren’t natural—they must have been made deliberately. But why drill so many tiny holes into the wall? For ventilation? That didn’t seem likely. Although Liu Dashao didn’t know much about the tombs of the ancient 36 Western Kingdoms, he did know that ancient tombs were usually built to be airtight—a common practice even in foreign burials. These holes must have served another purpose.
“These are the traps inside!” Just as Liu Dashao was pondering, Zhang the Mudder approached him and said, staring at the hole-riddled brick wall.
Liu Dashao felt puzzled. How could these little holes be considered traps? Thinking carefully, it made sense—perhaps these holes released some kind of gas. Now what confused Liu Dashao was the source of the gas and why it had remained dormant for so long, only activating when they arrived. He looked at Zhang, who likely knew the answer, and asked him about it.
Zhang explained that the gas came from those snakes outside. He emphasized that these weren’t “Jiu Shi Yin” snakes, but a species called “Black-bellied Jiao.” Their blood was even more toxic than their venom. He added that these snakes survived by eating their own kind and had an extremely strong reproductive ability—so long as there was one male and one female, the species would never die out.
Hearing this, Liu Dashao couldn’t help but sigh. Fortunately, these snakes didn’t exist elsewhere, or the world would be in chaos.
Liu Dashao had heard from Old Diao that this gas was transmitted through the senses of smell and sight. Thinking back, he remembered that when everyone else was affected, Jackson remained unaffected. He asked Zhang if there was any kind of immunity to this gas.
Zhang replied that the gas was a general toxin, and immunity was extremely rare—perhaps one in a hundred million people.
This puzzled Liu Dashao further, so he told Zhang about how Jackson had saved everyone.
Zhang paused for a moment and said, “Perhaps your friend is one of those one-in-a-hundred-million.”
Hearing this, Liu Dashao chuckled and shook his head. Jackson really was something special—facing those snakes, he must have been a real survivor.
Before they could study the area further, Old Diao urged everyone to find a way out.
Wang Feifei knew quite a bit and had been observing for a long time. Naturally, she had figured out some clues. She said these stairs couldn’t be walked randomly—taking the wrong path would prevent reaching the top.
Fan Debiao got anxious and asked Wang Feifei exactly how to proceed.
Wang Feifei had already deciphered the structure. She pointed to one specific staircase among many and said, “We go this way.” Then she walked straight toward it.
The others, including Old Diao and Zhang the Mudder, couldn’t understand the layout at all. The design was so unconventional and uninternational that they had no choice but to follow Wang Feifei.
Initially, everyone was very worried that with so many people climbing up, the structure might collapse due to age and instability.
But soon they dismissed this concern. Everyone walked steadily, and the stairs showed no signs of collapse. After a while, everyone relaxed and started walking more confidently.
As Liu Dashao walked, he looked down and saw someone standing there. At first, he thought it was a ghost, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was Fan Debiao.
“Fan Debiao, what the hell are you doing there? Possessed?” Liu Dashao stopped and leaned down to shout at him.
“Damn, this ladder seems a bit shaky!” Fan Debiao looked nervous.
“Shaky? Haven’t you seen all of us walking up there safely? Hurry up and come on!” Liu Dashao couldn’t help but laugh.
After hearing Liu Dashao’s words, Fan Debiao calmed down. Carefully, he stepped onto the ladder and even jumped a few times to test it before confidently catching up.
Wang Feifei really knew her stuff—the path she chose was correct. Everyone reached the top safely, perhaps even more smoothly than expected.
Passing the chamber where they had previously been affected, they arrived at the circular corridor. Wang Feifei led everyone back to where they had originally entered the ancient tomb.
Liu Dashao pointed at the dark gaping hole and said to Old Diao, “Uncle Diao, this is it. We all fell from here. Now it’s your turn to show us how to get out.”
Old Diao ran to the underground river, looked up, pulled out two cold flares, struck them against his leg, and threw them in—but there was barely any effect. This was something I had already anticipated.
Old Diao clicked his tongue in frustration and said, “Mouse, you figure it out.”
“Sure thing, Uncle Diao,” a short, thin man with prominent buckteeth responded and hurried over toward Old Diao.
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