Chapter 66: Epilogue
Almost half an hour ago, Yin Chuan, Du Yunzhang, Luo Mei, Ou Yelinlang, the fourth concubine Qin, and the fifth concubine Yu Zhenzhu were trapped in the cave by the stone that had been set down by Fan Zheng. Just as everyone was panicking and desperate, Yin Chuan noticed a few flickering lights in the darkness on the other side of the cave. He shouted, "Don't panic, everyone! Maybe we still have a chance!"
"We have a rock that will destroy our family in front of us, and a landslide behind us. Old Yin, you are not just trying to comfort everyone and keep the army stable, right?" Du Yunzhang said half-believingly and half-doubtingly.
"Look what are those?" Yin Chuan pointed at the few faint lights.
"That's... Tu Chi?" Du Yunzhang shuddered with fear. "Isn't this a case of good fortune never comes alone? We're already in dire straits, and now Tu Chi is targeting us?"
Yin Chuan smiled and turned to Luo Mei and asked, "Luo Mei, tell me, you've overturned many tombs before. Have you ever seen this flying insect called Tu Chi?"
Luo Mei thought for a moment and said, "No, I've never seen it before."
"That really makes me wonder," Yin Chuan lowered his voice. "Even a veteran tomb raider like you hasn't seen one before, but how did Fan Zheng recognize it at first sight? He even confidently introduced this insect to us. Don't forget, he's not an expert in your tomb-robbing business."
"you mean?"
"Remember? When we first arrived at this village, we found a lot of abandoned beekeeping tools. Luo Mei, you should know what this place was like before it was abandoned, right?"
Luo Mei seemed to have suddenly realized something. "If you hadn't asked me, I would have almost forgotten. Master Lan once told me that he had dealings with a group of mysterious people. Their base was here, and they used beekeeping as a cover. As for Shen Wansan's tomb here, they must have discovered it accidentally when they were excavating here. Because many of their group were foreigners, they didn't know who Shen Wansan was. The map of the tomb that later fell into Master Lan's hands, I guess, was drawn by a knowledgeable fellow who infiltrated this place and was passed down to the Lan family. The village is now deserted. It seems that you suspect the so-called Tu Chi in the cave are actually the bees in the hive that originally existed in the village?"
"Yes. Those flying insects are most likely bees. Although Tan Zhuozi's reaction was exaggerated when he was stung, the pain was real. If this is confirmed to be the case, you must know that bees have a habit of recognizing their nests. Generally, bee nests will never be located in dark, enclosed tunnels. If we follow them, we will definitely find a way out of here. Moreover, I have an even bolder guess. We should be able to meet Director Fan Zhengfan again soon."
Seeing Yin Chuan so confident, and having witnessed his wit and courage along the way, Luo Mei naturally believed what he said. Just as she was about to call everyone over to explain Yin Chuan's intentions to them, she was immediately stopped by Yin Chuan. "You don't have to make a big fuss, just follow my instructions - you and I will go in the front, Du Yunzhang and Linlang will follow behind, and the two concubines will be at the end of the team. Trust me, there is a reason for my arrangement. You will understand when the time comes."
Thus, six people—two men, four women, and a monkey—led by Yin Chuan followed the trail of a few bees and found themselves near a cave wall midway through the tomb passage. The bees had burrowed through a crack above, where the soil was soft and invisible without careful observation. Luo Mei dug a few times with a Luoyang shovel and found enough space to reach the other side, which turned out to be a bend in the tunnel. Yin Chuan suddenly remembered that this was where they had first encountered the so-called Tu Chi. They had deliberately avoided it out of fear of it, but unexpectedly, this was the tunnel leading to the lowest tomb. The truth of the entire underground "tomb" was indeed consistent with his suspicions. Therefore, after leaving this dead end, everyone would undoubtedly reach the lowest level of the underground facility and meet Fan Zheng again.
However, Fan Zheng died of poisoning in a very aggrieved way, and the real murderer, the fourth concubine Yu Zhenzhu, used some unknown means to control the fifth concubine Qin and a pair of twin monkeys, and started a confrontation with Yin Chuan and the other four.
An egg? — Is this what Yu Zhenzhu used to control the Fifth Concubine Qin? When Yin Chuan showed everyone the egg he had secretly stolen from the Fifth Concubine's box, everyone was stunned.
"You... when did you steal it? Give it back to me!" Qin released Luo Mei and turned to pounce on Yin Chuan. But she didn't notice that beside her, Ou Ye Linlang had unknowingly picked up the Luoyang shovel that Luo Mei had dropped and thrust the handle into Qin's soft spot. The jab stung Qin's breath, her eyelids drooped upward, and she passed out.
"Huh, Desculpe! Desculpe! (Portuguese: I'm sorry)" Linlang kept muttering, her face full of guilt.
"She's not dead, right?" Luo Mei asked as he got up.
"He probably just fainted." Yin Chuan moved closer to take a look.
"Ha, she can't go crazy this time. Yuzhenzhu, what tricks do you have now? You don't still think that two monkeys can cause any waves, do you?" Du Yunzhang put his hands on his hips, took out the mirror box at his waist, and laughed at the fifth concubine.
"Oh, I thought Luo Mei didn't bring her smoking thing, so I could be safe. I didn't expect you had one too, but you just kept it hidden."
"How is it? Are you scared?"
"Yu Zhenzhu, you should also be a member of that organization, right? The Jin family's grandfather and grandson, Nie Rumeng, and Wan Jianjun of the queue army are all in cahoots with you? How many of you are still lurking around the canal? What is your ultimate goal?" Yin Chuan held up the egg in his hand. "What is this egg for?"
Yu Zhenzhu also smiled and asked nonchalantly, "What do you think?"
"Let me guess... I guess no matter whether this egg is a chicken egg, a duck egg, or a goose egg... well, of course a goose egg wouldn't be this small. There's no egg white or yolk or anything like that inside. Instead, it's been injected with some kind of drug. Just like the injection drug in the box hidden by Han Chi, the chief of staff of the pigtail army, right?"
"Is it right? Or is it not right?"
Yu Zhenzhu's ambiguous answer made Du Yunzhang extremely angry. "You still have the leisure to play tricks on us? I'll kill your two monkeys first, and then capture you alive. Let's see if you can still be so sarcastic then."
When Yu Zhenzhu heard that they were going to attack her monkey, her expression suddenly changed. She bent down, took the box from Fan Zheng, and held it with both hands. "If you dare to shoot, I will die with you!"
Du Yunzhang, Luo Mei, and Linlang on the opposite side had no idea what she was up to. Only Yin Chuan understood what she meant and quickly shouted, "There's still poison gas in that box! Everyone, don't act rashly!"
"Hehe, are you scared? Fan Zheng only opened a crack, and the poison gas released was only enough to kill him. If I open the whole box, guess how much poison gas will be released? Can you still survive in this closed space?" Yu Zhenzhu smiled particularly ferociously, which made Yin Chuan and others shudder.
Just as the two sides were in a stalemate, a sound came from the coffin in the middle, and suddenly someone popped out from the open coffin lid, scaring both sides so much that they took several steps back.
"Hey, as expected, everyone is here!" said the person who suddenly appeared, a girl's voice.
"Princess? Why are you here?" Yu Zhenzhu asked in confusion.
"Hey, Grandpa and I made a bet that your trick was definitely seen through. I couldn't wait any longer and came to check it out. Haha, it looks like I was right." The girl said, "Also, I'm telling you again, don't call me Gege."
"Okay. You guessed right. Mr. Yin is really an extraordinary person. Not only did he find me out, he even saw through my pair of treasures."
"What did I say? Don't underestimate him. Okay, you've done what you need to do anyway, so come with me."
Yin Chuan was furious when he saw how they treated everyone as if they were nothing. Seeing them about to leave through the secret passageway in the coffin, he shouted, "Hey! You've killed so many people, and you think you can get away with it so easily? You really don't take us seriously, do you?"
"What? Do you insist on having a mutually destructive ending?" Yu Zhenzhu glanced at Yin Chuan.
"Mr. Yin, it's been a long time since we last met. You're still the same person, and of course your reasoning skills are still top-notch. But... I have one piece of advice for you: humans can't compete with momentum. As for momentum—you're such a smart person, you should understand it immediately. Yu Zhenzhu, let's go."
After the girl finished speaking, she pulled Yu Zhenzhu into the coffin, and the two monkeys quickly followed. By the time Yin Chuan, Du Yunzhang and the others arrived near the coffin, it was empty.
"There must be a secret passage down there! Pry open the coffin and let's give chase!" Du Yunzhang called out to Luo Mei, fetched a Luoyang shovel, and began prying the wooden planks at the bottom of the coffin. However, after they cracked the planks, they discovered a thick steel plate underneath, making it incredibly difficult to open.
"Damn it, they still got away!" Du Yunzhang cursed angrily.
"What should we do now?" Luo Mei asked.
"It's not a problem for us to escape. We just need to follow the bees. But..." Yin Chuan frowned and hesitated to speak.
Linlang understood what he was thinking. "Brother Yin, you're still very concerned about that organization, right? The girl who suddenly appeared just now looked very familiar. I think you recognized her as the granddaughter of the Jin family."
"Yes, that's her. The shoemaker's granddaughter, the sixth child in the private school, Maomao, the Hua Fei'er from Luyuan Village... It's truly remarkable that she possesses such abilities at such a young age. However, the word 'gege' that Yu Zhenzhu blurted out this time makes me hesitate to think too much. Perhaps her background is unfathomable..."
"Humph... what's so great about a princess?" Du Yunzhang said nonchalantly, "The Qing Dynasty is already a thing of the past. There are down-and-out princesses everywhere. Are you still afraid of her?"
Yin Chuan did not answer, but shook his head thoughtfully, as if he had foreseen a huge disaster in the future.
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