Chapter 139: It Came Down, But Not Completely
“Holy shit!” Lao Yang cried out in alarm. His stunned mind began to clear, and he desperately flailed toward the shore. It was clear at a glance that the few people behind had also come down, but whether they were dead or alive, he decided to slip away first and talk later.
Lin Yan looked at the huge splash Lao Yang made as he swam away from him, feeling somewhat speechless. He had pulled Wu Xie up too! Did that mean he was just leaving Wu Xie to him? Didn’t he know how tiring it was to drag one person plus a backpack full of equipment?
Looking around, the few people who had just fallen hadn’t surfaced yet. He didn’t know if they had been knocked out on impact or were already gone. There were no other light sources under the pond either. It seemed they hadn’t brought their flashlights down, or they had been smashed. Either way, this was good news for them.
While pulling Wu Xie toward the shore, Lin Yan vigilantly watched behind him, occasionally shining the flashlight, afraid that someone might suddenly lunge out and shoot him. Judging from that Er Mazi who might not be fully dead yet, these people were definitely desperate outlaws. Er Mazi seemed like a frontline charger, while that somewhat portly middle-aged man was taciturn and more like a qualified professional with a special skill. He didn’t know if he was Master Liang’s man or Uncle Tai’s.
As for that Uncle Tai, he seemed more like a local tomb raiding boss figure. It was clear he had a lot of prestige and was experienced himself, probably skilled at double-crosses too. As for Master Liang, honestly Lin Yan couldn’t quite figure him out. Although he looked like he was seeking cooperation with Uncle Tai, from the dialogue it seemed like he was leading this operation rather than Uncle Tai. But this guy didn’t seem to have any combat ability himself. Apart from scheming in other ways, his threat could be ignored. The ones to watch out for were still Uncle Tai and that Er Mazi.
Finally swimming to the shore, Lin Yan struggled to drag the person onto the pebble beach, checked his breathing, found he wasn’t holding his breath and hadn’t choked on water, then tossed him onto the beach and ignored him, plopping down to rest. He had to admit, he was exhausted too. Just swimming ashore with nearly 150 pounds was no human feat! If he weren’t so strong, he and the equipment on Wu Xie’s back probably wouldn’t have made it, and he’d have to dive back for it if there was a chance.
He was still panting when Lao Yang had already scurried off to pick up some dry wood and lit a bonfire a ways from the water’s edge, calling him over to drag Wu Xie there too.
By the way, there was dry wood up there, fine, but where did the firewood come from here? Could there be a forest down below? This wasn’t reasonable!
But having some was better than none. They were soaked through and needed to dry off. It was already damp and damp down here, and after soaking in water, they might catch colds or fevers later. Looking at the situation, they probably couldn’t get out in the short term. If he hadn’t felt wrong, he had bumped into many iron chains during the fall, but they were all broken.
This meant that unless they found another way out later, hope of returning the same way from the waterfall was gone.
Lin Yan took off the backpack, stripped off his clothes to dry them, while keeping a close eye on the pond. There still hadn’t been any movement in the pond. Could Uncle Tai and his group really be dead? Although their deaths would be good for them, from the glimpse they caught while tracking earlier, these people knew more about this tomb than they did.
Lao Yang? What did Lao Yang know? From his account, it was obvious that although he knew a bit back at Wu Xie’s shop and had plenty of experience traveling around, his knowledge of tombs was still limited. For starters, he didn’t even understand tomb specifications and couldn’t figure out which part of the tomb they were in now. What could he be counted on for? Better to ask that Master Liang!
From what they had overheard, Master Liang might have a map of the entire tomb’s chamber layout, maybe even knowing exactly what’s in the main tomb chamber. It was ancestral! His ancestors might have even marked the mechanisms clearly. If they could get that, wouldn’t it be smooth sailing? Provided Master Liang really carried the book on him! If it was memorized in his head and he died, it was no different from not having it.
In this situation, it was better if Master Liang didn’t die. Of course, for their safety, Uncle Tai and his men were better off dead. Lin Yan stared at the pond. Although there was still no movement inside, he was thinking about tossing some dynamite in.
This was something he learned from Fatty: when in doubt, dynamite the way forward! Say no more, just throw the dynamite they brought into this pond. No matter if the people inside were dead or alive now, they certainly wouldn’t be in a bit.
But after weighing it, he still couldn’t bring himself to do it. He wasn’t some ruthless villain. It wasn’t certain if they were dead, so finishing them off—what was that about? By the time they climbed ashore alive, they’d probably be exhausted. He could wait at ease and deal with one or two people; it shouldn’t be hard.
With his mind at ease, Lin Yan started worrying about Wu Xie. It had been nearly five minutes, and Wu Xie still hadn’t woken up. This was a bit abnormal. Not just him—Lao Yang had only been out for a few seconds after coming down before waking. Was Wu Xie just particularly weak, so he stayed out longer?
He tentatively patted Wu Xie’s cheek, but there was no reaction.
Lao Yang came over to look, flipped his eyelids, and said: “Th-that won’t work! You need a different method!”
“What method?”
Lao Yang first carried Wu Xie over and patted his back, saw he didn’t cough up much water, figured it out, grabbed Wu Xie’s collar, and delivered a big slap, saying in his mouth: “Y-you need to stimulate him enough. Only then will someone who’s passed out wake up!”
“Holy shit!” Lin Yan rushed over and grabbed Lao Yang’s hand, stopping him from further harming Wu Xie: “No, if you’re gonna stimulate him, why hit him in the face? Aren’t you really afraid Wu Xie will kill you when he wakes up? Forget it, forget it. Let him stay out if he’s out. He hasn’t slept well the past few days anyway. Let him take a nap now. We’re not in a hurry. We can keep going after he wakes up.”
Lao Yang thought about it and agreed. Seeing the red mark on Wu Xie’s face, he felt he had hit too hard, quickly rubbed it, and together with Lin Yan stripped off Wu Xie’s wet clothes to dry them, then went to sort his own stuff.
Only then did Lin Yan have the mind to observe the surroundings.
Before coming up, his vision was limited, and he thought this was a big beach with a passage in the mountains behind it. But now he saw the beach was very small, with a cliff behind it and a large cavity below. If he wasn’t wrong, they were probably right above that tomb now.
The flashlight couldn’t reach too far down; the light was swallowed by darkness after just over ten meters. There were no other light sources in the mountains. Just as Lin Yan was at a loss, a hoarse voice came from behind him—Wu Xie’s: “Where am I?”
“You’re awake?”
Lin Yan turned around and saw Wu Xie sitting up, pinching the bridge of his nose, looking dazed: “Didn’t we jump down from the waterfall? There’s a deep pond at the bottom of this waterfall—turns out it won’t kill you on impact! This is a beach by the pond. Behind it is still a cliff. It’s probably the tomb Lao Yang mentioned.”
After being dazed for a while, Wu Xie finally got the situation. He took spare clothes from the backpack and put them on first, then remembered their earlier predicament and hurriedly asked Lin Yan: “What about Uncle Tai and those guys up there? They didn’t follow us down, right?”
“How to put it?” Lin Yan organized his words: “They came down, but not completely?”
“Huh?”
“They jumped down too, but haven’t come up yet. Probably gone?”
“What????”
