Chapter 172: Eyes In The Darkness
Although Wu Xie now knew almost everything he was supposed to know, and even though some truths were indeed hard to understand, it was undeniable that Lao Yang was still hiding some minor things from him.
They were minor because they had nothing to do with the purpose for which he deceived Wu Xie into coming here, but if Wu Xie found out, it would still cause a fuss.
For example, Wu Xie already knew that the bronze tree’s ability could manifest people, so how could he guarantee that all the current people weren’t manifested?
Wu Xie just hadn’t thought in that direction. Many questions don’t require a definitive answer. For instance, how Lin Yan recovered his consciousness, or how Lao Yang got out when he came here a few years ago. As long as they were still alive now, that was already the best outcome.
Lao Yang had hidden some things in a certain other sealed cave, and he was quite afraid of Wu Xie finding them.
Lao Yang didn’t dare speak, afraid of saying too much and making mistakes; Wu Xie had no mind to speak, while Lin Yan was purely mentally exhausted. He figured he still needed quite some time to digest the things underground in this tomb, so he leaned against the stone wall and began to close his eyes to rest. The three listened silently to the constant rumbling sounds from outside, and the cave immediately fell into silence.
After a long time, when the movement outside gradually died down, Wu Xie lazily got up and stretched, feeling sore all over. The excessive exertion and various falls and bumps made him think that if he didn’t go to the hospital soon, he might get rheumatism when he got old.
“So, do your flashlights still have battery? I reckon finding the exit will take quite a while.”
Lao Yang reached into his bag, held up the battery, and looked up: “Yours ran out? I have a spare one here.”
Lin Yan also spoke up: “My battery hasn’t been used much. If you need one, just ask me.”
Wu Xie touched the only remaining spare battery and felt the world’s disparities. They had come in together, so why had his and Lao Yang’s drained so fast? Didn’t Lin Yan need light? But thinking about it, when he climbed up, he hadn’t even turned on his flashlight. It seemed he really didn’t need it?
So, did Lin Yan have an extra night vision skill?
It wasn’t that Lin Yan had some night vision skill; rather, he still hadn’t remembered this yet and instinctively thought he could see, so he had been carrying a big light bulb with him, making everywhere feel like the living room.
As usual, Lao Yang went out first. No matter what, his understanding of this place was much stronger than Lin Yan’s and Wu Xie’s. If there was any hope of finding another exit, it could only be on Lao Yang.
The area illuminated by the flashlight was already a ruin. The upper half of the bronze tree had completely collapsed, and the remaining hollow pillar stood below with its broken mouth open. They then discovered that, though it was a hollow pillar, the bronze part was nearly a meter thick. It was hard to imagine what could have broken through such a thick inner wall.
In the part the flashlight could reach, the upper branches had fallen everywhere, many caught on the lower branches, making the already gleaming branches even more ferocious. Wu Xie shivered looking at the scene below. He had just imagined falling down there and immediately dismissed the thought.
If he fell down there, it would be far worse than Uncle Tai’s death from falling back then!
Lao Yang swung the flashlight up, down, left, and right. Although it was strange that the Chi Gu and mountain monkey were nowhere to be seen, he thought, wasn’t that a good thing? Shaking his head, he stopped thinking about those things and began observing the surrounding cave.
Though this cave was naturally formed, some parts inevitably showed traces of chiseling, clearly used by craftsmen as footholds before.
But after checking a few, Wu Xie found that the insides of the caves were all sealed tight. Obviously, this direction wasn’t the exit. Though he could confirm the bronze pillar was built in the center of the mountain, he had only glimpsed the mountain a few times, and with all the twists and turns underground, he wasn’t sure which direction in the mountain belly they were in.
If he hadn’t guessed wrong, one side now faced Jia Zi Gou, and the other should be the endless mountain range. If Lao Yang hadn’t lied to him before and had indeed been smashed in from the Jia Zi Gou side, then following that direction toward Jia Zi Gou should lead out. But being in the mountain belly, how could he know which was the right direction?
After spending over half an hour arduously climbing around the rock wall, having checked only a few, Wu Xie felt discouraged and suggested: “Let’s split up and search. It might be faster that way.”
Lao Yang’s eyes lit up when he heard this. He had been waiting for this sentence for a long time. He hadn’t suggested it himself to avoid suspicion of having ulterior motives, especially since he had a record.
He immediately agreed without hesitation, swung the flashlight around, picked a direction, and said: “I’ll go this way.” Then he walked off without looking back. Wu Xie was stunned by him: although it was indeed more efficient this way, Lao Yang had agreed too quickly. He had wanted to say it was safer to stick together, since that giant snake was still nowhere to be found—what if they encountered it?
But before he could finish, Lao Yang had already left on his own. Wu Xie rolled his eyes, feeling something was off with Lao Yang. But it was strange—the secrets of the bronze tree had all been revealed to him, so what else could Lao Yang be hiding? Thus, he quietly tugged Lin Yan: “Don’t you think Lao Yang is acting a bit strange?”
Lin Yan looked at the somewhat paranoid Wu Xie and rolled his eyes: “Hasn’t he always been pretty strange? To be honest, having that ability for years would make anyone strange.”
“No, I mean… don’t you feel like he’s still hiding something from us?”
“No way…” Lin Yan glanced at the flashlight light from Lao Yang’s direction gradually disappearing, frowned: “His mother has been resurrected—what else could he be hiding from us? Besides that big thing here, what other secrets could there be?”
Speaking of that big thing, Wu Xie suddenly remembered something, his eyes lighting up: “Do you still remember the eardrop on Lao Yang’s ear?”
“That small hexagonal bronze bell?” Lin Yan nodded, flicked his hand, and a large version of the bronze bell was already in his hand: “Are you suspecting Wang Canghai also tampered with things here?”
Wu Xie nodded, then shook his head: “We can only confirm he came. As for tampering…” He hesitated, “That Thousand Coffin Formation outside really seems like his handiwork, but here… he wouldn’t have had the opportunity, right?”
“Not necessarily…” Lin Yan thought of that fleeting glimpse of the giant snake-like figure and voiced a soul-deep doubt: “Do you really think the Banajiemu they worshipped is a snake? Using snakes as offerings is either Western Regions or southern frontiers. You really think it’s a handiwork from the central plains? I think Wang Canghai might have done something.”
Wu Xie nodded thoughtfully. This place was so mystical; it was entirely possible Wang Canghai would be tempted. No, he definitely would be! From Lu King’s Palace, to the underwater tomb, to here… it all seemed like a net, a giant net laid by Wang Canghai!
His footprints now seemed like wandering all over the country, as if searching for something—no! Wu Xie suddenly understood: he was experimenting! If he guessed right, this was a longevity experiment! The blood corpses below Lu King’s Palace, the dry corpses in the underwater tomb, and the huge corpse in the corpse cocoon here!
These might be three different paths to longevity! So, could Wang Canghai really still be alive now? Wu Xie felt his scalp tingle at the possibility… A man as clever as a demon, proficient in feng shui secrets—if he were really alive today, how terrifying would that be? But if he was alive now, why hadn’t they heard any news of him? Or… did he fail?
For a moment, Wu Xie hoped he had failed more, otherwise it was too creepy.
Since Wang Canghai had planned so much, these three places clearly weren’t his final testing grounds. So, if he himself wanted to achieve longevity, where would it be? Now it seemed the Sunken Ship Tomb at the seabed was indeed just a decoy tomb. Wu Xie frowned, recalling the Cloud Top Heavenly Palace outlined by light and shadow in the tomb chamber.
Could Wang Canghai… really have succeeded?
While they were silent here, they didn’t notice a pair of eyes watching them from above.
