Chapter 54: Escape from Danger
Everyone fell silent. After a while, the Fifth Concubine came closer to the four of them, grunting, "Um... when can we get out? I really can't stand being in this dark and stuffy tomb anymore."
"Xiao Wu, don't worry," Luo Mei said soothingly, "I haven't found the exit of the tomb yet."
"But... someone has clearly left from there." She pointed to the entrance of the tomb where Fan Zheng had entered earlier.
Luo Mei shook his head helplessly, "That's not the exit, but a trap left by the tomb owner for tomb robbers."
"No, that's not right. That must be the exit!" Yu Zhenzhu seemed unable to bear staying here anymore. She wanted to leave very urgently and was even a little panicked.
"Fifth Madam, I advise you to trust Luo Mei. She has rich experience in tomb robbing and will definitely know where the exit is and where the trap is." Yin Chuan also advised.
"But...but...I don't want to die here at such a young age! Wuuuu..." As she said this, she squatted on the ground and started crying again.
"Why are you crying? What's the point of crying? If you keep crying, you might as well die here!" Luo Mei had a bad temper to begin with, and she had just managed to calm down and try to persuade him kindly. But the Fifth Concubine's crying and making a scene made her anxious again.
"Hey, Luo Mei, are you sure that the tomb passage that Fan Zheng left through was a trap?" Du Yunzhang seemed to be affected by the crying of the fifth concubine and couldn't help but question.
"What? Even you don't believe my judgment? Well, go and try it yourself, and you will know if I'm right or not! Go!" Luo Mei pointed towards the tomb passage in a bad mood.
Du Yunzhang was outmaneuvered and felt a little embarrassed. "Do you think I'm afraid? Just give it a try." He raised his eyebrows and walked straight to the entrance of the tomb.
Seeing Du Yunzhang so stunned, Luo Mei immediately became anxious and stepped forward to grab his shoulders, "Come back here! Do you want to die?"
Seeing her like this, Du Yunzhang wanted to retort, but at this moment, a small black shadow suddenly jumped out from the tomb passage, scaring everyone.
“Squeak… squeak…”
Luo Mei's eyebrows lit up immediately. "It's my monkey!" As she spoke, she raised her hand and waved it towards the dark shadow. Sure enough, the shadow walked into the light and it was indeed Luo Mei's monkey. "Where were you just now? You were so disobedient!"
The monkey seemed to understand Luo Mei's words and scratched its ears, looking a little guilty. But soon, it pointed at the tomb entrance and squeaked incessantly, as if desperately trying to express something.
"You let us in?" Luo Mei was a little surprised. "Did you find out there's no trap inside?"
Yin Chuan, Du Yunzhang and Lin Lang all heard Luo Mei's words and came closer.
The monkeys' squeaking became sharper and more rapid in the empty tomb, as if there would be a disaster if they didn't walk into the tomb immediately.
"What do you mean?" Du Yunzhang asked, "Could it be that this little monkey has discovered the exit?"
"It wants us to follow the tomb passage that Fan Zheng left, but this is clearly..."
Yin Chuan carefully observed the monkey's expression, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Why don't we try it according to its wishes?"
"Try it? You say that so easily. Our lives are at stake. If we don't try well, we might all die in there!"
Yin Chuan showed a nervous expression. "It seems we have no choice but to give it a try!" He pointed upwards and said, "The top of this tomb has begun to crack and the soil has begun to fall off. It might collapse soon."
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces suddenly changed, and they all looked up at the dome of the tomb. Strangely, they didn't see the cracks or fallen soil he'd mentioned. "Old Yin, why are you so alarmist? Isn't there anything completely fine?" Du Yunzhang asked in confusion.
"I'm not exaggerating. I just didn't pay attention before. But after Luo Mei told me about the monkeys' nervousness, I couldn't help but listen carefully to my surroundings. You know what, I did hear a very subtle and crisp 'creaking' sound coming from the top of the tomb. And..." He walked a few steps to the lowest level of the sarcophagus closest to him, picked up a concave stone piece, filled a water bag with water, raised his hand and held it up for a moment, then turned around to show everyone, "Here! Take a closer look--"
Luo Mei stepped forward to take a look. The surface of the clear water in the spoon was already speckled with dirt. She looked up again, straining for a closer look, and gasped, "If it weren't for Brother Yin probing this way, I wouldn't have noticed. The top of the tomb has already started to fall! This is a sign of the tomb collapsing from top to bottom!"
Du Yunzhang, Linlang and the fifth concubine who were present all had their expressions changed suddenly. It was obvious that the dome of the tomb was about to collapse. If they did not evacuate in time, they would probably be buried alive here.
"What are you hesitating about? Let's hurry up and make a move!" Du Yunzhang shouted.
"But..." Luo Mei still had some concerns in his heart.
"Don't overthink it. It's better for everyone to leave this place first. At least there's still a glimmer of hope." Yin Chuan said, "As for whether the tomb passage leads to a trap, let's not worry about it for now."
In this way, the monkey led the way, Luo Mei followed closely behind, and everyone entered the tomb passage one by one. The fourth concubine, who had no sense of existence, was lifted up by Linlang and the fifth concubine, and was pulled and carried out of the tomb.
As soon as Yin Chuan entered the tomb passage, he noticed a significant difference from the previous one. The previous passage was dark, low, and narrow, making it very strenuous to walk through. However, the passage opened by Luo Mei's mechanism, while still low at first, rose significantly higher after only ten or so steps. The walls were also more uneven than the previous ones, clearly lacking the heavy traces of artificial carving, and more like a naturally formed cave.
"If this tomb passage is formed naturally, the possibility of there being a man-made trap in front is greatly reduced, right?" Du Yunzhang, like Yin Chuan, discovered the characteristics of this place and couldn't help asking.
"Don't be careless," Luo Mei warned. "Based on my experience, even in a natural cave, there are always dangers. Moreover, this is a secret passage deliberately left by Shen Wansan. I absolutely don't believe that he would have mercy on the tomb robbers and deliberately leave a way for them to escape."
Yin Chuan thought about it and realized that this was the truth, so he did not dare to let his guard down and moved forward cautiously, and from time to time he also looked after Linlang and the two concubines who were following behind him.
The tomb passage stretched straight ahead, seemingly sloping slightly upward, seemingly heading toward the surface. As they skirted the pit Luo Mei had previously avoided, they heard a muffled sound coming from the tomb behind them. It must have collapsed into ruins, and everyone felt a wave of fear. If they had been even a step later, they might have been buried underground with Master Lan's headless body. Luo Mei repeatedly thanked Yin Chuan for his attentiveness, but Yin Chuan felt a little embarrassed.
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