At this moment, Liu Dashao began to curse inwardly the person who had dug the tunnel. Now he was certain that the bastard had either been up to no good or had fallen victim to the Devil’s Flower.
There was no time to dwell on it—theend was just ahead. Everyone rushed out of the tunnel and landed in a tomb corridor made of Han bricks, unmistakably of Central Plains design. Along both sides of the corridor were numerous lit lamps, yet there was no one in sight. No one could explain why the lamps were still burning.
The tunnel had been dug into the wall of the corridor. It was unclear whether it had been made from inside or outside. Uncle Diao and his team weren’t there, and the lamps couldn’t have lit themselves. Therefore, Liu Dashao reasoned that Uncle Diao’s group must have been here before. The corridor’s Han-style architecture was puzzling, and Liu Dashao felt he needed to find Uncle Diao quickly to figure out what was going on.
Everyone followed the corridor, running forward. Suddenly, a side chamber appeared alongside them, with light spilling out. Liu Dashao thought Uncle Diao and the others might be inside.
Liu Dashao was the first to rush in. The scene before him immediately stunned him.
The second to enter was Fan Debiao, who naturally saw what Liu Dashao had seen and immediately exclaimed, “Damn it, he’s emo!”
Everyone gathered in this side chamber, and all were immediately shocked by what they saw.
There was a man lying on the ground, soaked in a pool of blood. He had white hair, was dressed in tattered clothes, and had a bulging backpack beside him. Fan Debiao, perhaps because of the man’s overly dramatic appearance, immediately slapped the label “emo” on him.
Everyone probably already knew who this person was—yes, it was Clay Figure Zhang. This shocked Liu Dashao deeply, and he immediately sensed something was very wrong.
According to Clay Figure Zhang, only those who had entered the correct arcane gate could reach this place. How had he ended up here, in such a pitiful state? And where were the others?
Was the tunnel his doing?
Of course, this wasn’t the time to ponder these questions. Clay Figure Zhang was lying in a pool of blood, and no one knew whether he was alive or dead. The priority now was to save him.
While everyone was still in shock, Liu Dashao rushed forward first, lifting Clay Figure Zhang up. He checked his pulse—it was weak, but there was still life.
A quick glance revealed several deep wounds, though the bleeding had stopped. The scarf on his face had fallen off, but his face was smeared with blood and sand, making it impossible to recognize him clearly.
The others snapped out of their shock as well. Though they didn’t understand what had happened, saving a life was the priority now.
Among the team, only Wang Feifei had some basic medical knowledge. She took out a medical kit from her bag and poured powdered medicine onto Clay Figure Zhang’s wounds. He winced in pain—this was a good sign, at least he was still conscious.
After applying the medicine, Wang Feifei gave him a shot, likely for tetanus. Watching her work so hard, Liu Dashao felt ashamed. If they managed to escape, he resolved to study medical knowledge seriously.
Once Clay Figure Zhang’s wounds were treated, everyone sat down in the side chamber to rest. Liu Dashao felt something odd about the place and turned to Wang Zhicai, asking, “Mr. Wang, have you noticed? This structure is of Central Plains style.”
Wang Zhicai nodded. “I noticed that earlier. I can’t make sense of it either.”
Hearing this, Liu Dashao’s mind became even more confused. The journey had brought too many bizarre and inexplicable events. Now, in the tomb of the Golden Queen, there was a Han-style corridor—thinking about it, it did bear some resemblance to the tomb of Zhang Jue.
As they rested, suddenly music reached their ears. It sounded familiar. Upon closer listening, it was actually Liu Dashao’s phone ringtone. Immediately, everyone’s eyes turned toward him.
He quickly pulled out his phone. The screen displayed “Uncle Diao.” Liu Dashao was stunned—could you actually get a signal down here? It was unbelievable.
Without hesitation, he pressed the answer button. “Uncle Diao, what’s going on?”
“I don’t know either. Suddenly my phone had a signal. Where are you now?” came Uncle Diao’s voice through the receiver.
Although the situation felt strange, at least they had made contact. Liu Dashao replied, “We passed through the tunnel and arrived at a Central Plains-style corridor. We’re resting in a side chamber now. What’s your situation?”
“A Central Plains-style corridor?” Clearly, Uncle Diao was also baffled. “My situation is hard to explain.”
Liu Dashao thought this sounded odd. “What exactly is going on? Just give me the general idea.”
Uncle Diao paused. “You listen for yourself.” Then gurgling sounds came through the receiver.
Upon hearing this, Liu Dashao immediately understood. “Damn it, how did you end up in water?”
“Who knows? We were running and suddenly fell into an underground river. Now we’re drifting with the current. You guys quickly look for the underground river,” Uncle Diao said.
Before Liu Dashao could speak, the line suddenly cut off. This abrupt disconnection sent a chill down his spine—had something happened to Uncle Diao’s group?
Putting his phone away, Liu Dashao’s mind was even more chaotic. Underground river—yes! Uncle Diao had told them to find the underground river. Liu Dashao immediately stood up. “Quickly, everyone, let’s find the underground river!”
“What underground river?” Everyone looked at Liu Dashao in confusion.
“Uncle Diao’s group might be in trouble. He told us to find the underground river,” Liu Dashao explained.
At this, everyone snapped to attention, quickly getting up. As soon as Wang Zhicai stood, he immediately collapsed.
Lin Miaoke quickly supported him. Liu Dashao looked over and saw that Wang Zhicai’s face was pale, his lips cracked—clear signs of severe dehydration.
“It’s not serious. He just needs some water,” Wang Feifei said, reaching into her bag for water. But after searching for a while, she found none. Looking around, the others shook their heads—no water left! This was unexpected.
Liu Dashao said, “We can’t wait any longer. Even if we can’t find Uncle Diao, we must find the underground river to save Mr. Wang.”
With that, Liu Dashao led the way out of the side chamber. Fan Debiao carried Clay Figure Zhang, Jackson carried Wang Zhicai, and Wang Feifei brought up the rear. The group sprinted down the tomb corridor.
Soon, they entered a tomb chamber. It was empty, except for a square opening in the center. Approaching it, they found an ancient staircase descending into darkness.
Liu Dashao looked around and saw no other paths. He turned to look at Wang Zhicai and Clay Figure Zhang—without water soon, their lives were in danger.
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