When the shadow lunged at me, I was ready to fight for my life, but no one expected this shadow to be Yang Hanxue!
"What are you doing here?!" Yang Hanxue looked at me with surprise.
I gave a wry smile, saying, "Of course, I came to find you!"
Before I could say more, he stared at the firelight in the stone chamber, his expression changing: "Did you light those niches?"
I nodded.
Seeing his anxious look, I couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
"Why would you think of lighting the lamps?"
I didn't understand his meaning; with the darkness, why wouldn't you light lamps?
He quickly explained, "There's already very little oxygen in here. Once you light the lamps, the oxygen will be depleted before long!"
Hearing him say that, I realized the seriousness of the situation.
"Forget it... it's already happened, we need to find a way to locate the item quickly," Yang Hanxue said.
"What item?" I asked.
He didn't answer, instead beginning to feel along the wall.
As he searched, his gaze fell upon Wang Yang: "Who is he?"
"A friend of mine."
"A friend? Why is he here?"
I explained the general situation. After listening, Yang Hanxue wore a meaningful expression.
It was clear he didn't believe Wang Yang came here by chance, and I didn't bother to explain further.
After all, if I explained, it would inevitably involve Sister Ying.
"What are you looking for?" I asked.
Yang Hanxue said, "The lock and key."
"Lock and key?"
"To open the stone chest in this chamber, you must find the lock and key."
I scanned the smooth walls, thinking to myself: How could the stone key be hidden in the jade wall?
This didn't seem like a place to hide a key.
Besides, I hadn't seen any keyholes on the stone pedestal, so how could it be opened?
Despite my many doubts, finding Yang Hanxue had already put me more at ease.
But where had Song Bing gone?
I asked Yang Hanxue if he had been here all this time since he came down.
He told me that after entering, he couldn't see anything and had to rely entirely on his hands to feel his way around.
Since he entered, he had already felt his way through the entire stone chamber.
He said the chamber was "口" shaped, with small rooms in each of the four corners surrounding the main chamber.
The side we entered from was one of these rooms, and the other rooms had the same structure. There were no sarcophagi here, only stone pedestals.
After hearing this, I said, "Then this isn't Shen Wansan's tomb?"
Yang Hanxue didn't speak, but from his eyes, I noticed he had clearly known this for a long time.
Since this wasn't Shen Wansan's tomb, what was this place used for?
Was it truly built solely for storing things?
Then why would this stone tortoise move?
And how did it not get filled with water?
A host of questions made it impossible for me to figure anything out.
"Where's that bodyguard with you?" Yang Hanxue asked.
His question reminded me of Song Bing. I quickly said, "He went to chase something just now. We didn't see him when we followed."
"There really is something in here..." Yang Hanxue said with a grave expression, "And not just one..."
As he said this, I noticed some bright red on his trouser leg. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was blood.
This discovery quickly made me think that he must have encountered something when he came in here.
"What was it?" I asked.
Yang Hanxue replied, "I'm not sure... that thing is very cunning, excellent in the water, its scales are very tough, and it's incredibly strong."
"Was it a water tiger?" I asked.
He seemed a bit surprised: "You know about water tigers?"
I nodded and recounted what had happened in the water earlier.
After listening, Yang Hanxue said, "It's very likely a water tiger."
Wang Yang had been standing aside, not saying a word, just observing Yang Hanxue, I didn't know what he was thinking.
Normally, this guy would have been chattering away, but for him to be silent for so long was a miracle.
I figured he must be thinking about Yang Hanxue's tattoo.
"Boss Yang, how about you stay here, and Wang Yang and I go find people?" I suggested.
Yang Hanxue said, "Don't go yet."
Just as I was about to ask why, something flew out of a corridor. The object hit the ground, and only then did I see it was Song Bing's Nepalese army knife.
Before I could figure out what was happening, Song Bing himself flew out of the corridor.
As he fell to the ground, a cloud of dust rose.
Song Bing's combat ability was undeniable. To have him beaten like this clearly meant his opponent was no ordinary foe!
With a swift roll, Song Bing got up from the ground, turned to scan us, and shouted, "Run!"
After saying that, he practically ran towards me.
Just as he reached me, several monsters I had never seen before emerged from that corridor!
They had pointed ears and long mouths, a pig's nose on their faces, and were bald on top with some hair around the sides, looking like someone with a receding hairline.
Furthermore, their eyes were very peculiar, with golden eye sockets and a slender pupil. Their bodies were covered in green spots, like scales, one after another, enveloping their entire bodies.
They were about 1.45 meters tall, with long arms, much like apes.
I noticed they only had three fingers on their hands and feet, and each finger was connected by skin.
I instinctively swallowed, my eyes glancing at Wang Yang beside me. He was as terrified as I was.
Yang Hanxue, however, remained calm, his gaze alert.
Song Bing tugged at me, clearly signaling me to leave.
I shook my head slightly, tilted my chin, and gestured for him to look back.
At this moment, several of those monsters had emerged from all four corridors, leaving no path to escape.
The sound of "ge-ge-ge..." echoed throughout the hall, emanating from the monsters' mouths as they ground their teeth.
They all had fangs in their mouths, and I could imagine that being bitten by them would leave almost no chance of survival.
Over a dozen never-before-seen monsters were now facing the four of us, making my scalp tingle.
If a fight broke out, we wouldn't stand a chance.
What were we to do?
After a few seconds, the monsters all retreated to the side, no longer looking at us, but waiting for someone.
Soon, a monster about my height walked out of a corridor. As it appeared, all the other monsters turned to look at it.
It seemed this creature was the leader of these things!