Asked you to write a book, not to confess your criminal record!

Chapter 251: Chapter 183: Entering the Tomb (Seeking Subscriptions)_2

Qin Sisi's face also changed, "So, does that mean this is the most difficult place to enter and also the most dangerous?"

"Those words are not entirely correct. The danger coefficient of this ancient tomb is very high. Entering the tomb from the Xun Position, which is the southeast direction, is relatively safer. However, there should also be no shortage of traps," Lin Chuan explained as he walked forward.

Old Yao and Qin Sisi exchanged glances, greatly shaken.

The tomb passage was quite chilly.

Both of them had goosebumps.

Leading the way, Lin Chuan passed through the narrow stone gate and saw carved on the walls to either side Nanyue's distinctive totems and various symbols.

Everlasting Lamps hung above the tomb passage, but they had long since gone out.

The entire underground was pitch-black.

"Old Yao, was it there that you last lost touch with Zhao Shan?" Lin Chuan turned his head and asked.

Old Yao pointed and said, "Just ahead at the crossroads. I went left, he went right. Halfway through, I sensed something was wrong and immediately turned back. I followed his markers but Zhao Shan was nowhere to be seen."

Lin Chuan cautiously moved forward.

Sure enough, a crossroad lay ahead.

To the left, to the right.

"Which way should we go?" Qin Sisi asked, frowning as she sought Lin Chuan's decision.

"Follow me and don't touch the walls lightly," said Lin Chuan, his eyes narrowing as he entered the right passage.

Ancient large-scale tombs often had mazes.

The intricate and interwoven passageways formed a net, with dead ends occurring frequently, easily causing tomb raiders to lose their sense of direction and get stuck in a deadly cycle.

Only with sharp judgement and accurate spatial awareness could one navigate out of the maze.

At this moment,

Lin Chuan spotted an arrow symbol left by Zhao Shan on the tomb passage wall, not far ahead.

Following the arrow, he turned six corners and entered four dead ends.

The arrows disappeared.

In the dead end, there was no way forward anymore.

If Old Yao swallowed hard and said, "This is as far as I went last time, I didn't dare proceed any further."

Lin Chuan didn't say anything.

The strong light illuminated the two sides of the tomb passage and the stone wall in front.

Strange patterns left by bacteria on the stone wall drew Lin Chuan's careful scrutiny as he explored further ahead.

The experience of being an assassin helped him develop a meticulous ability to survey a scene.

Thump, thump, thump.

Lin Chuan knocked on the wall, eyeing the intermittent patterns on the stone wall which seemed a bit incoherent, "This stone wall, it can be moved."

Two other strong flashlight beams joined his.

In the dead end, it was now brightly lit.

"Is there a mechanism inside here?" Qin Sisi asked, staring at the stone wall in front of her, puzzled.

Lin Chuan shook his head, "It's not hollow inside, it should just be a movable stone gate. Look at the sides of the tomb passage or under your feet, to see if there are any different panels."

Qin Sisi and Old Yao immediately began to search.

They both understood.

According to Lin Chuan's deduction, since Zhao Shan's markers ended here, it was very likely that he had triggered a mechanism and passed through the stone wall.

"Lin Chuan, over here."

Qin Sisi's flashlight shone on a slightly loose stone slab on the right side of the floor.

Lin Chuan leaned over, squatting down for a detailed inspection.

He tapped his hand over different spots on the slab, then he lifted his right foot and gently stepped on the left side of the stone slab.

Clack.

A faint sound, like beads falling into place, and the stone wall in front of them easily slid aside, revealing a passageway.

The strong light shot through.

Indeed, right side of the tomb passage, another arrow marker left by Zhao Shan was visible.

Old Yao and Qin Sisi's hearts leapt with joy. Though their anxiety was not fully relieved, they could finally take a deep breath.

Whew—

Lin Chuan's eyes blazed as he continued to follow the arrow markers forward.

This trip was both an exploration of the tomb and a rescue.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the tomb corridor.

Suddenly!

"Old Yao, is that you?" A somewhat listless voice came from around the corner in the corridor ahead.

Old Yao's heart pounded, his face slightly excited, "It's me, it's me."

He quickened his pace.

Around the corner was a dead end. Zhao Shan was feeling the wall with pale face; beside him was his equipment bag with dry rations and water, which would probably keep him going for two days.

But the oxygen bag probably wouldn't last that long.

Upon hearing Old Yao's voice, Zhao Shan's face lit up with joy. A new strength surged in his weary body, and he immediately got up to meet Old Yao.

"I thought I was going to die here," Zhao Shan managed a wry smile.

Old Yao patted his shoulder, laughing, "Lucky for you, you have a strong fate."

"How did you get in?"

In the dim environment, Zhao Shan looked at Old Yao, Qin Sisi, and Lin Chuan.

"It was Brother Lin who led us in, otherwise you might have really been done for here," Old Yao said with a smile.

Zhao Shan turned to Lin Chuan, thanking him repeatedly.

Lin Chuan waved his hand and asked about the maze, "Captain Zhao, have you been trapped here this whole time?"

Zhao Shan nodded, still shaken, "When I came in everything was fine, but when I tried to return, I found the passage was blocked and couldn't be opened. I had no choice but to keep going, thinking there might be some mechanism that could open it."

After hearing this, Lin Chuan walked back to the corner and carefully examined it, remarking, "This is a dead end."

"Then at the intersection, should we go left?" Old Yao asked, lost in thought.

Lin Chuan didn't commit to an answer but instead took out pen and paper from his bag and started to draw a partial map of the maze.

Afterward.

He led the group back to the intersection.

Zhao Shan had been trapped in the Ancient Tomb for four or five hours, exhausted to his limits, and wasn't in any condition to press forward, so the group had him go back first.

Lin Chuan, Old Yao, and Qin Sisi then explored the left path of the intersection, surprisingly finding another dead end at the end of that corridor as well.

And they didn't find Zhong Xunfeng or the others either.

This situation made Old Yao and Qin Sisi tense again.

Lin Chuan glanced at the two and reassured them, "Not finding them means they might have gotten out of the maze and into the main part of the Ancient Tomb."

"That's even more dangerous," Old Yao sighed.

Lin Chuan didn't rush but sat squatting beside the corridor, continuing to draw the maze on paper, marking both the left and right paths from the intersection.

Qin Sisi tactfully remained silent, not disturbing Lin Chuan's thought process.

Lin Chuan, studying the maze on the paper with its twists and turns, furrowed his brow and simply dropped the line 'follow me' as he walked on, stopping at the end of the triangular intersection and facing the wall.

"Brother Lin, what is this?"

Old Yao was puzzled to see Lin Chuan facing the wall.

Lin Chuan explained, "According to the layout of the Death Gate Kun Position in the bagua, this is the most likely location leading to the central hub."

"But it's sealed off," Qin Sisi interjected.

"Shine your light on it for me," Lin Chuan asked as he placed his palms on the stone wall, meticulously feeling every part.

Suddenly, his fingers found two indentations.

They were the eyes of a totem.

"Holes?"

Lin Chuan instinctively probed the holes with his fingers, his face immediately lighting up with joy; indeed, they were trigger holes!

Inside the holes, a series of protruding points were like the pins of a lock core, transmitting the sensation from his fingertips to his mind, forming an image of the mechanism's construction through his understanding of the device.

After a moment.

Lin Chuan's index and middle fingers suddenly pressed down hard.

Creak——

A heavy sound, like the sigh of ages, began to resonate beside the three of them.

The stone in the middle of the wall ahead slowly opened backward.

The strong lights in their hands immediately penetrated the darkness, illuminating what lay behind the Stone Gate; behind it, under the strong light, was a large, bright, circular area.

Not known animal patterns were engraved on the stone walls.

There were also texts carved in small seal script, recording the related events of the Ancient Nanyue Kingdom.

Lin Chuan led the two to the central area and suddenly noticed an unusual aura in the southeast direction.

There were also sets of footprints of varying sizes.

Lin Chuan's brow tensed, "Tomb Robbers have been in here!"