Chapter 24 Standoff at the Queen Mother of the West's Palace

The stench of the snake swamp, carrying the foul smell of decaying leaves and mud, assaulted their faces, causing Wu Xie to cough twice. The dim light was pressed low by thick clouds. Jude Kao, leaning on an ornate cane, stood at the edge of the muddy swamp, followed by dozens of well-equipped men. The dark muzzles of their guns were hidden in the shadows, pointed directly at Zhang Qiling and his group, creating an oppressive atmosphere that made it hard to breathe.

Zhang Qiling stood at the forefront, his black and gold ancient sword held at an angle. The cold, hard blade reflected the faint light, gleaming with a chilling sharpness. Beside him, Hei Xiazi had just exhausted some strength in the earlier entanglement. Although he had been cured of the poison, a thin layer of sweat still clung to his forehead. Yet, he still tilted his head, twirling his short sword, and leaned closer to Zhang Qiling with a roguish air—a gesture of complete trust, as if he knew this man would always protect him.

"Clan Chief Zhang, I've long admired you." Jude Kao's voice drifted over on the wind, his tone feigning respect, but his eyes gleaming with undisguised greed. "Hand over the keys to the Queen Mother of the West's Palace, and I'll spare your lives. How about it?"

Black Bear chuckled, taking half a step forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Zhang Qiling. His tone was undisguisedly sarcastic: "Old Qiu, decades have passed, and you haven't changed a bit of your habit of robbing others while pretending to be respectable. Do you really think our young master Zhang is easy to bully?"

Wu Xie gripped the dagger at his waist, his heart pounding. He quietly moved closer to Zhang Qiling and whispered, "Brother, he must have set this up a long time ago. Those dark figures underwater look strange. What do we do now?"

Zhang Qiling didn't respond, his dark eyes sweeping across the murky swamp before him. Sure enough, tiny black shadows darted swiftly underwater, their scales occasionally reflecting fleeting light—it was obvious they were the venomous snakes that Jude Kao had released beforehand, lurking and waiting for their chance to strike. He subtly moved half an inch closer to the bear, raising his arm slightly to discreetly shield the man behind him.

“He’s not waiting for us to compromise, he’s waiting for that thing.” Xie Yuchen suddenly spoke, pointing his finger to the center of the swamp, his tone grave. “Look at the water.”

Following the sound, everyone looked and saw that bubbles suddenly rose from the center of the once calm swamp, the muddy water churning and bubbling. A huge bronze coffin covered in moss was slowly rising from the water. On the coffin lid, the totem of intertwined snakes and birds was clearly visible, the iconic pattern of the Queen Mother of the West's tribe.

Jude Kao's eyes lit up instantly, his cloudy pupils filled with wild joy, even trembling slightly with excitement. He murmured, "Found it! We've finally found the coffin of the Queen Mother of the West!" He suddenly raised his hand and shouted to his men behind him, "Get ready! We'll grab the key first, then open the coffin!"

The men immediately raised their guns and were about to advance when a huge wave suddenly burst open on the surface of the swamp—a thick, black shadow burst through the mud and water, hissing as it pounced on the group! It was the giant python that Zhang Qiling had previously cut in two. For some reason, it wasn't completely dead; the flesh at the wound was turned inside out, and its shape was even more ferocious than before, clearly having been catalyzed by some kind of force.

"Watch out!" Wu Xie shouted, throwing his entrenching tool, but was whipped by the python's tail and slammed hard into the muddy ground. The python opened its blood-red maw, its fangs gleaming coldly, and lunged straight at Hei Xiazi—it seemed to hold a grudge against Hei Xiazi for the previous sneak attack, its target exceptionally clear.

Zhang Qiling moved almost instinctively. He touched the muddy ground with his feet, and his figure darted like a ghost in front of Hei Xiazi. His black-gold ancient sword slashed horizontally, the sharp wind of the blade forcing back the giant python's attack. "Stand behind me," he said without turning his head, his voice deeper than usual, carrying an undeniable force.

"Alright, I'll listen to you, bro." Black Bear didn't try to be brave and obediently retreated behind him, but he wasn't idle either. With a flick of his finger, the short knife flew precisely towards the giant python's vital spot. The giant python cried out in pain, hissing and twisting its body, its tail sweeping wildly in all directions, splashing mud and water all over people.

Taking advantage of the giant python's momentary lapse in attention, Zhang Qiling moved again, his blade flashing as he dispatched two of his men who were brandishing guns. His gaze locked onto Jude Kao behind the crowd, and stepping on the dark stones in the swamp, he swiftly reached him in a few steps. His black-gold ancient blade was pressed against Jude Kao's neck, the chilling aura turning the old man's face pale.

"Withdraw your men." Zhang Qiling's voice was as cold as ice, his eyes devoid of any emotion. "Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."

But Jude Kao calmed down, even revealing a strange smile: "Clan Chief Zhang, you dare to kill me? The explosives my men have are enough to flatten this swamp, and then none of you will find the Queen Mother of the West's Palace." He glanced at Hei Xiazi, who was helping Wu Xie up not far away, and his tone became even more certain, "Besides, are you willing to let your men be buried here with me?"

Zhang Qiling's eyes suddenly turned cold, and his grip on the knife tightened, the blade almost digging into Jude Kao's neck. Just then, Hei Xiazi's voice rang out: "Brother, don't waste your breath on him! This old bastard is just a paper tiger!" As he spoke, he suddenly pulled a white jade pendant from his pocket and held it high, "Jude Kao, look what this is?"

The jade pendant was warm and antique, engraved with several sharp cloud patterns—it was the patriarch's jade pendant passed down through generations of the Zhang family, which Zhang Qiling had lost during the battle, but which Hei Xiazi had retrieved. Zhang Qiling was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Hei Xiazi, a barely perceptible warmth flashing in his eyes.

Jude Kao's expression changed instantly: "This... how did this end up in your hands?"

"What do you care how it ended up in my hands?" Black Bear shook the jade pendant, his tone mocking. "The Zhang family's ancestral precept is that seeing the jade is like seeing the clan leader. This area beneath the snake swamp has long been the Zhang family's territory. You've brought your men in here; are you courting death?" He paused, deliberately raising his voice, "Besides, don't you realize what you're standing on?"

Jude Kao panicked. Just as he was about to look down, the ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked. The soil collapsed instantly, and he frantically tried to grab one of his men, but he lost his footing and fell into the pit with a scream. His remaining men, leaderless, were thrown into chaos. Some turned and ran, while others aimed their guns wildly, and the situation spiraled completely out of control.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Qiling pulled back his knife and turned to run towards Hei Xiazi. "Are you alright?" He reached out and touched Hei Xiazi's arm, his gaze sweeping over the mud stains on the other's body, his tone revealing a barely perceptible concern.

"This little incident, could it hurt me?" Black Bear patted the back of his hand, grinned, revealing his signature roguishness, but casually brushed the mud off his shoulder. "But you, you rushed too fast just now, I was sweating for you."

Just then, the ground suddenly trembled violently, and bubbles rose continuously from the swamp. One after another, bronze coffins rose up, neatly arranged on the water's surface. Each coffin exuded an ancient and oppressive aura, clearly funerary objects for the Queen Mother of the West. Wu Xie suddenly pointed to the coffin closest to the shore, his voice trembling: "Brother! Black Bear! Look! There are Zhang family cloud patterns on it!"

Everyone looked over and saw cloud patterns carved on the side of the coffin, the lines ancient and sharp, the very seal mark the Zhang family used to keep their secrets hidden. Zhang Qiling's pupils suddenly contracted, and he subconsciously took half a step forward, his fingertips curling slightly—he had never imagined that the Zhang family's mark would appear on the coffin used as a funerary offering to the Queen Mother of the West. What connection was there between the two?

"Something's wrong, look at the water level!" Xie Yuchen suddenly shouted.

Everyone looked down and saw that the water level of the swamp was dropping at a visible rate, gradually revealing the underwater stone steps that meandered towards the center of the swamp. At the end of the stone steps, a huge bronze door stood there, covered with complex runes, and embedded in the gaps between the runes was a star map, with clear lines, clearly an astronomical map of the Queen Mother of the West's palace.

"That's the location of the Queen Mother of the West's Palace!" Wu Xie waved excitedly. "Brother! Can this door be opened?"

Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi exchanged a glance and walked over side by side. Zhang Qiling reached out, his fingertips touching the bronze door, his eyes closed as he sensed the patterns beneath the stone—the unique mechanisms of the Zhang family. After a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes and said to the crowd in a deep voice, "Step back! The mechanism is about to be activated!"

Everyone immediately stepped back a few paces, and saw the bronze door slowly open inward. Behind the door was not the palace they had imagined, but a deep staircase. The eternal lamps on both sides of the staircase were triggered by something and lit up with a warm yellow light, illuminating the murals on the walls.

The murals vividly depicted the Queen Mother of the West refining elixirs of immortality and leading her tribes, gradually revealing the secret to eternal life. Wu Xie and Xie Yuchen stared intently until the last painting—in which the Queen Mother of the West sat regally on her throne, with a young man in white standing beside her, his features cool and aloof, his posture upright—clearly Zhang Qiling in his youth!

"This...how is this possible?" Wu Xie's eyes widened as he muttered to himself, "Brother, how did you end up in the mural of the Queen Mother of the West?"

Hei Xiazi also dropped his joking expression, looking at Zhang Qiling with doubt but even more worry in his eyes: "Dumb, do you remember this yourself?"

Zhang Qiling stared at the mural, his expression complex and unreadable, his hand gripping the black and gold ancient sword trembling slightly. Fragments of memories flashed through his mind, but he couldn't grasp any clues—he didn't remember ever seeing the Queen Mother of the West, yet the person in the painting—her eyebrows, posture, even her aura—were exactly the same as his. He silently shook his head, a hint of bewilderment, unnoticed even by himself, flickering in his eyes.

Just then, slow, heavy footsteps echoed from the depths of the stairs, and an aged voice, carrying the vicissitudes of time, resonated precisely in everyone's ears:

"Young man from the Zhang family, you've finally come."

Meanwhile, Jude Kao, who had fallen into the deep pit, was slowly getting up, leaning against the rock wall. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, dusted himself off, and revealed a sinister smile in the darkness. He took out a small copper talisman from his pocket, tracing the snake pattern on it with his fingertips, and murmured, "Zhang Qiling, Black Bear... you think you've won? The true secret of the Queen Mother of the West's Palace has only just begun."

At the bottom of the deep pit, a hidden stone door slowly opened, emitting a faint green light.