Chapter 156: Master Liang: Are You Being Polite?
Lao Yang had Wu Xie completely baffled. They were just talking about the sacrifice thing, so why was he suddenly about to run? But seeing Wu Xie’s terrified expression, it didn’t seem fake: “What, what’s wrong with you?”
He looked at Master Liang, who was still calmly observing the bronze tree, then at Wu Xie next to him, who was practically jumping up and down, scratched his head: “Be, besides, there’s no—no place for us to run anyway?”
“Damn it!”
After Wu Xie muttered a curse under his breath, he also discovered this fact and had no choice but to stop back in place, but he still uneasily looked around, like a startled bird: “You still haven’t realized? You really think we’re the only ones who’ve discovered this place all these years? Look at when that corpse is from!”
Lao Yang took another look at the corpse on the edge of their line of sight using the flashlight light, innocently shook his head: “I, I can’t tell.”
“You damn” Wu Xie started to speak but stopped, took a heavy breath to calm himself: “Didn’t you notice how strange his death is? The clothes on that person are clearly not much earlier than ours, barely considered modern clothing, and that bag next to him is obviously a tomb raider’s. You know, anyone who dares to go underground, whether alone or not, has some skills to rely on, right? This place is so easy to climb—”
He gestured with his hand in a circle to indicate, every one or two meters around there was a large branch, almost every half meter to one meter there were small branches, not to mention the smaller ones. Even someone who couldn’t climb could use these branches to climb up, let alone those experienced tomb raiders.
Lao Yang nodded in agreement, but his eyes were still puzzled, not understanding Wu Xie’s implication, so stupid it made Wu Xie furious: “Still not get it? All skilled people, how could they fall from above for no reason? There must be something on this tree! Got it?”
Seeing Wu Xie was about to slap him on the head, Lao Yang quickly shrank his neck and nodded repeatedly: “Got, got it! But last—last time I came, I, I didn’t encounter anything either?”
Wu Xie sneered: “Make it up, keep making it up! What did you say last time? Let me think, oh, you and your cousin came here, found the tree couldn’t be taken, so you took a branch, right? And you climbed up? Oh right, this tree is over a hundred meters tall, right? And the top is a dead end, right? Make it up, keep making it up, let’s see what else you can come up with!”
Seeing Wu Xie bringing up old accounts, Lao Yang’s momentum immediately dropped: “Th, then we can’t just climb down like this, right?”
Wu Xie rolled his eyes irritably: “Nonsense, Lin Yan is still up there, why would we go? Be honest, last time you climbed up, did you really encounter nothing? Now we have four people, whatever it is, better say it now, or what if it drags everyone down later?”
Seeing Wu Xie really anxious, Lao Yang’s eyes suddenly lit up: “Look, those two are, are done for, how about—”
Uncle Tai next to him panicked, the more he listened the worse it sounded, they’d come this far, he didn’t want to be left behind! He hurriedly made muffled sounds while trying hard to spit out the flashlight, but the flashlight was still bulky, and he didn’t dare use too much force, lest he really knock out his own teeth.
Unfortunately, the sounds from someone with a blocked mouth were very limited. Wu Xie was seriously considering whether to bring along this one crazy and one deranged person, while Lao Yang next to him looked at him expectantly, completely ignoring the movement here, making Uncle Tai even angrier: “￥%……&*（）&…（!” You two damn bastards let me go! I’m sober, really sober!
Wu Xie looked at Master Liang, saw his face pale and his physical condition really bad, then looked at Uncle Tai, the tied-up person, saw his movements getting bigger, practically slamming the back of his head against that bronze tree branch, not knowing if it hurt, clearly not out of the illusion yet.
“I’ll go up with you.”
Just as he was thinking how to phrase it to get Master Liang to go down, Master Liang seemed to know what he was going to say and spoke first before he could open his mouth.
Wu Xie frowned worriedly, somewhat hesitant: “But your body”
Master Liang smiled weakly: “It’s fine, rest a bit and it should recover. Besides, this place isn’t safe either, who knows if there’s something below too, right? The entrance we came in probably isn’t easy to get out now either, following you isn’t the only choice?”
Wu Xie was stunned hearing this, did not expect Master Liang to see through it so clearly, felt like a different person from the scared weak-kneed one before. Had he seen through life and death? But what he said was spot on, leaving them behind now wasn’t a good choice either, just Uncle Tai.
He turned to look at Uncle Tai who seemed exhausted from struggling, thinking not sure if this guy was really sober. If not, better knock him out? Carrying him up would be better than bringing a near-neurotic climbing up, right? Treat it like carrying a hundred-jin sack, he and Lao Yang could take turns carrying, still could make it up.
Hesitating a bit, he decided to test first if Uncle Tai was really sober, after all sober would be better, save them some effort.
He climbed back in front of Uncle Tai, looking into his eyes: “Uncle Tai, are you sober? If yes, nod.”
Uncle Tai saw him come over, thought they finally remembered him, naturally nodded frantically at the question. Wu Xie saw the response and hurriedly carefully pulled the flashlight out of his mouth. The flashlight had been in Uncle Tai’s mouth too long, his greatly expanded mouth was numb and couldn’t close, so Uncle Tai spoke slurrily.
“Li, Li Meng Hong Wu Xing Hi Oh Ai E, E Ha Na Ou Xing Heng Hou Gyu E!” (You finally remembered me, I’ve been damn sober for a long time!)
“.Huh?” Wu Xie couldn’t understand this new language at all, but seeing Uncle Tai on the verge of tears made him a bit guilty: wouldn’t it be that he’d been awake a long time and heard them talk a long time? Thinking that way, tying him here so long without even removing the flashlight did seem excessive.
Uncle Tai rubbed his chin, feeling the numbness, continuously drawing in cold air, only after several minutes did he ease a bit, but still spoke with a slight lisp: “I mean, I’ve been sober a long time, when you first discussed if I was sober, I had already recovered!”
Wu Xie and Lao Yang were stunned, both looking at Uncle Tai apologetically: sorry we didn’t notice for so long! Lao Yang shrank back a bit, muttered softly: “Wh, who told you to get so agitated, we thought you weren’t sober.”
Uncle Tai glared at him but said nothing, slightly moving his hands and feet tied for so long, lifted his clothes and saw bruises, enough to prove how hard he’d struggled. But those two hadn’t noticed at all! Considering their good intentions, let it go this time!
Though he didn’t say anything on the surface, Uncle Tai still minded a bit. He knew before being tied he was climbing up, still somewhat resented Lao Yang and them for meddling. So what if it was a hallucination? If they hadn’t stopped him, maybe he’d be on the bronze tree by now!
Thinking Lin Yan might already be up there, a sense of urgency rose in him, with Lin Yan in that same deranged state as him, wouldn’t he accidentally destroy the treasure up there?
So just as Wu Xie and Lao Yang tied the safety rope on Master Liang, they saw Uncle Tai already agilely climbing up one or two meters. Lao Yang stared dumbfounded: “This, this old man, how is he so awesome? Wasn’t he just tied up that—that long, how, how so”
He looked at Uncle Tai climbing up, temporarily couldn’t think of an adjective. Wu Xie wasn’t highly educated either, back then always bottom in language, seeing this patted his shoulder: “Why think about that now? Uncle Tai’s gone, aren’t we hurrying? If it’s really like I think, there’ll definitely be danger on the way, getting up early is reassuring!”
Pausing, he sought confirmation from Lao Yang again: “You’re sure there’s really nothing strange up there? Don’t let something pop out and screw us later! With Lin Yan not here, Xiao Bai Bai not here, their three new little brothers not here, we’re stuck in between.”
Lao Yang hesitated a bit, as if recalling something, after a while firmly shook his head: “Re, really nothing! I can guar—guarantee you! I’d never pit you!”
He anxiously looked at Wu Xie, almost swearing, but his credibility with Wu Xie was too low, words taken at half value, but Wu Xie had no evidence to refute now, could only temporarily believe: “You better not be lying, or I tell you, if you really get me killed, I’ll drag you down with me!”
Lao Yang gave a bitter laugh: “I’m really—really sincere, not lying to you!”
Seeing Uncle Tai already up several meters, thinking Lin Yan had been up twenty or thirty minutes, at his speedy pace probably at the top now, better hurry up lest something happen to Lin Yan. This sacrifice place was made like this, what about the main tomb chamber?
He didn’t dare think, could only temporarily believe Lao Yang’s words to comfort himself.
They turned off their flashlights, the battery already changed once, second one half used, better save it. Lao Yang took a torch from the side to probe ahead, following Uncle Tai’s light wouldn’t lose him.
Had to say, the ancient ever-burning lamp was well made, the torch burned steadily, left aside so long and hadn’t gone out.
Wu Xie and Master Liang followed behind Lao Yang, watching the firelight sometimes hugging the pillar sometimes lighting up broader space, using this light observing the places he’d climbed, more he looked the more amazed at ancient craftsmanship. If not for the rust clearly from over a thousand years ago, he’d think it modern cast, interfaces at different places flawless, could rival modern machines.
No, maybe modern machines couldn’t. He thought of modern craft interfaces, increasingly felt machines couldn’t match handmade. Ancient casting was mostly mold casting, partial molds then overall welding. But these welds showed no trace, not just one place, probably the whole tree, showing how superb the casting craft was.
This place had no wind at all around, yet strangely hot, but to not be affected by hallucinations, they wrapped every bit of skin to avoid intimate contact with the bronze pillar, besides the tiny flashlight light and front firelight, all darkness, making one feel uncomfortable all over.
Wu Xie climbed over ten minutes and couldn’t take it. Seeing Master Liang behind probably too tired to respond, could only talk to Lao Yang ahead: “Lao Yang, say something. This is too quiet.”
Lao Yang nearly jumped, looked back at him sweating coldly, knowing the young master unused to solitude couldn’t take it: “What do you want to hear?”
Wu Xie frowned, suppressing the rising irritability inside: “Anything, if no talking soon I’ll suffocate.”
Lao Yang thought, actually had something to discuss: “Then can you tell, tell me about Lin Yan? And that little, little zombie by his side, what’s the deal?”
Mentioning the little zombie, he looked up at Uncle Tai, slowed his pace, saw that flashlight light getting farther, lowered his voice to ask Wu Xie.
“Wha what zombie?”
Master Liang hanging behind was full of cold sweat, hands and feet going soft, but hearing what they said still tried to join the topic: “The ball by Lin Yan is actually a zombie?”
Ah, overheard, really okay? Lao Yang stopped moving, looked down at Wu Xie, silently asking him. Wu Xie pushed his leg signaling to climb up quick, while saying: “It’s fine, bound to be known sooner or later. Xiao Bai Bai doesn’t look like a normal pet, Master Liang’s seen Xiao Bai Bai’s miraculous side, no problem.”
“Really a zombie?”
Master Liang was shocked, hand slipped nearly fell, luckily the waist rope took the weight saving him, giving time to react and grab nearby branch to stabilize.
This too unbelievable, a zombie this human-like actually existed in the world? He thought long for wording, came up with this fitting description for Xiao Bai Jiang. Besides looks and strange skills, totally a pet, right? That said he suddenly thought of something.
“So. That group of rats wasn’t driven over by that little zombie, right? They just ran past when you arrived, and Lin little brother said to have that little thing find you”
Ah bad, discovered! Wu Xie and Lao Yang felt awkward, didn’t expect Master Liang had leisure to deduce this. Silent a while, they tacitly decided to skip this topic.
“You said before, Lin Yan’s strength is very—very great, how, how great?”
Silent a moment, Lao Yang still changed to another question for Wu Xie, previously Wu Xie vaguely mentioned it, but hadn’t specifically seen along the way, Lao Yang still curious.
Wu Xie thought: “Probably. Could lift both of us up?”
Pausing, he added: “Maybe plus Master Liang no problem?”
Master Liang inexplicably mentioned full of question marks: What’s it got to do with me? Why plus me? Lift me up?
