Wu Pang, feeling guilty, and Xiao Zhang, looking bewildered, packed up their ropes.
Although Xie Yuchen provided all the funding and equipment for this exploration, Wu Pang and Zhang, along with their companion, were essentially there to help, so they didn't treat Hua'er like a mere benefactor.
But—
...But Hua'er had provided almost all the strategic rear support during the conflict with the Zhang family's inner clan!
Wu Tianzhen screamed internally, a frantic cry. He had the privilege of seeing the financial calculations, and the terrifying number almost made him flee for his life.
That war was ultimately launched to rescue Zhang Qiling. Although Xie Yuchen never mentioned them bearing the financial burden and even said he benefited from the war, Wu Tianzhen and Fatty still couldn't forget his kindness because of it.
This created an inexplicable pressure of being a benefactor.
However, neither Wu Tianzhen nor Fatty had told Zhang Qiling about this, nor had they mentioned the war at all. Therefore, Zhang Qiling became the most bewildered and the most arrogant person among the three present.
The bewildered and arrogant individual finished packing the ropes and spontaneously walked to the front to scout. This habit of his hadn't changed at all, even after losing his memory, indicating it was likely etched into his DNA.
But the mist and clouds truly obscured their vision. The group almost circled the entire base of the cliff but found nothing suspicious.
The ground was only covered with monkey corpses, dusty stones, withered grass, tangled vines, and gold and silver treasures covered in dust.
After a long walk, the exploration progress bar hadn't moved at all. Fatty, however, happily put on another antique, so pleased he almost sang "Good Luck Is Coming" at the top of his lungs.
"Speaking of which, Hua'er, how did you confirm that the bronze statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva was problematic?" Wu Tianzhen paused and coughed a couple of times. For some reason, the mist here was unusually choking. As he walked, his lungs felt heavy, and he just wanted to cough his heart out.
"Perhaps we can find the cause by looking at the symptoms of the problem."
Xie Yuchen stopped upon hearing this.
He looked up, but the clouds and fog obscured the bronze statue.
"It's actually not a very profound reason."
"This place used to be a very famous scenic spot, with countless bronze statues." He took out the map again and pointed to several places.
"There used to be bronze statues in these places, but now they are completely gone, worn away by the forbidden land."
Wu Tianzhen's mind raced, and with this single point, he understood everything: "I get it... all the other bronze statues were destroyed, but that bronze statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is still intact!"
...Although the gold paint on it had peeled off, that was a normal phenomenon due to a long period without maintenance, not damage caused by the forbidden land.
The main body of that bronze statue remained incredibly sturdy.
This was indeed not a difficult problem to ponder, but the anomaly it revealed was exceptionally prominent.
As Wu Tianzhen was secretly contemplating the possible hidden secrets of the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva statue, Fatty's voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Holy crap!" Fatty knew he wasn't very good at these mentally taxing things, so he immediately shifted his attention elsewhere. "Is this Samantabhadra Bodhisattva that amazing?!"
He suddenly remembered his arrogant boasts when he first entered the forbidden land and felt his situation was extremely perilous.
"Bodhisattva, please don't take offense. Ignorance is no offense!"
"...What does that have to do with ignorance?" Wu Tianzhen glanced at Fatty's rough face and couldn't help but interrupt his shameless act of feigning youth.
But unexpectedly, Fatty spoke with conviction and confidence: "How can you say that? Compared to the Bodhisattva's ancient age, I'm as pure and flawless as a newborn!"
"Oh my..." Wu Tianzhen conceded defeat. "You're truly something. My hospitality was lacking. Next time we go out, I must remember to bring you baby diapers."
Wu Tianzhen spoke jokingly, but his mind was still occupied with thoughts about this place.
"...It's not good for us to all gather here. How about we split up and look for clues?" he suggested.
Wu Tianzhen's voice wasn't loud, but the moment he spoke, the gazes of the people around him, like searchlights, instantly focused on him.
"Wow," Xie Yuchen looked at Wu Tianzhen with a peculiar expression for a moment. "Wu Tianzhen, why do you think we're gathered here? Want to make a guess for a prize?"
Fatty immediately followed up with a jab at Wu Tianzhen: "Amazing, Tianzhen, you've got the exclusive awareness of a horror movie protagonist!"
"To suggest splitting up in this place where you can't see beyond three steps is incredible, truly incredible!"
Zhang Qiling wasn't overly sarcastic. He was always concise: "No."
Although Xiao Zhang only said two words, the undisguised rejection in his cold tone pierced like a sharp arrow.
Wu Tianzhen felt hurt, but the infuriating thing was that, knowing how weak he was, he couldn't retort.
"...I know you're worried about me," Wu Tianzhen's sly thoughts hadn't died down. He took out a high-powered flashlight from his bag. "Isn't it just a bit too foggy here? I'll keep this flashlight on the whole time, okay? I guarantee you'll always see my location!"
His voice was so sincere that Zhang Qiling, who was the most easily swayed, clearly wavered a little.
But he gripped the Black Gold Ancient Saber, and from its cold hilt, he regained his cool and ruthless state of mind. Thus, facing Wu Tianzhen's expectant gaze, he coldly said:
"...I'll go with you."
"You are too weak."
Wu Tianzhen: ...
At this moment, facing the direct verbal assault from Xiao Zhang, Wu Tianzhen inexplicably began to miss Hei Yanjing.
...Although that scoundrel's actions were somewhat confusing, his training was indeed effective!
Zhang Qiling nodded to the remaining two. Those two immediately dispersed to look for clues, with mocking glances at Xiao Wu.
The laughter was a bit loud, likely from Fatty, and it echoed in Wu Tianzhen's ears like a muffled thunder, lingering endlessly.
Wu Tianzhen: ...Good brother.
Zhang Qiling ignored Wu Tianzhen's minor melancholy. He also had suspicions about the cliff face, so he extended his finger for digging and slowly and carefully began to feel along the cliff.
Wu Tianzhen was next to him, examining the stones. There were no unusual sounds from either side; it was temporarily safe.
But just as Xiao Zhang slightly relaxed—
Wu Tianzhen, who had wandered a couple of steps to the side, suddenly "crackled" and disappeared without a trace?!
The monkey corpses beneath his feet had tightly covered a large hole. The moment Wu Tianzhen stepped on it, he disrupted the precarious balance and fell in with the monkeys!
Zhang Qiling, looking at the large hole: ???
Wu Tianzhen fell down with a "whoa," landing squarely on the soft cushion of monkey corpses.
The hole wasn't very deep. He endured the pain and got up, only to find everything in front of him pitch black, unable to see anything.
"Damn, is it this weird?" he couldn't help but mutter, skillfully trying to walk to the edge of the hole to make way for Xiao Zhang, who was about to jump down.
The soil at the edge of the hole was incredibly cold and hard. He touched it and instinctively pulled his hand back.
But at that moment—
The hand he pulled back suddenly froze, forced to stop in mid-air!
Something had grabbed his shoulder from behind.