Inside the main tomb passage of the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, after hearing Wei Shengnan's invitation, I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head: "Forget it, the people in my team have all gotten separated from me. They don't understand the mechanisms, and it will be difficult for them to get out without me. Those monsters are about to catch up, and I have to go protect them!"
"Xiao Duan, Duan Jinyan is so close now, are you really going to give up?"
When Song Laosan heard my choice, he stopped and looked at me: "Once Duan Jinyan is arrested by Qu Ruilin, you will never have the chance to speak to him again in your life!"
“In Duan Jinyan’s eyes, we are all stumbling blocks to him, no different from strangers. I have no illusions about him anymore. If he can die at Qu Ruilin’s hands, it may not be a bad result, so that I will not hesitate to kill him.”
I heard the roars of the monsters in the main hall behind me, and quickened my pace as I ran towards the secret passage: "Time is of the essence, everyone stay safe! Also, a reminder: we've been led by the nose by Duan Jinyan the whole way here. Qu Ruilin has rashly pursued us, so you must keep a close eye on him and not let your momentary impulse lead you into Duan Jinyan's trap!"
Wei Shengnan tossed me the pistol: "You watch out too!"
After we made our plans, we parted ways in the tomb passage. They went along the passage to catch up with Duan Jinyan, while I ran through the tomb door into the secret passage that we had previously used to enter the main tomb passage.
When I went to pursue Duan Jinyan, Lin Que's hand was cut off by Duan Shenxing with a hidden weapon, so I left Jiang Man to take care of him.
When I ran back to the spot where we had scattered, Jiang Man had already bandaged Lin Que's wound.
Seeing Lin Que's pale face and listless appearance, I asked with concern, "How is he?"
"It's not good. My hand is beyond saving. The conditions here are rudimentary, so I can only use a tourniquet to tie my arm, but this is only a temporary measure."
After answering my question, Jiang Man immediately changed the subject and asked, "I just heard a lot of gunfire outside, along with explosions. Did things go smoothly?"
"Don't even mention it, let's go!"
I helped Lin Que up from the ground and led them deeper into the area, saying to Jiang Man, "I saw the berserker from the murals inside; those guys have caught up with us!"
"What did you say?"
Jiang Man's eyes widened: "Thousands of years have passed, how could those people still be alive?"
"To be precise, they are no longer human."
I helped Lin Que walk faster and faster: "Those guys have been irradiated into monsters, just like those glowing skeletons we saw before. Their dried skin is broken and their bone density is comparable to steel, so guns are ineffective against them."
"You mean they become skeletons but still have life? How is that possible?"
Jiang Man's eyes were full of surprise: "Without muscles and tendons connecting the bones, how do they move?"
"We encountered them too suddenly, and those monsters were extremely aggressive, so I didn't have time to observe them carefully."
We chatted as we walked, and soon we arrived at the fork in the road where we had entered the secret passage earlier.
This secret passage is like a maintenance passage for the Miao Jiang Celestial Palace, connecting the twelve tomb passages leading to the Yin House. The path we came from has been blocked. According to Qu Ruilin, as long as we keep following the main tomb passage, we will be able to see the tomb passage where the monkeys are.
As I helped Lin Que walk forward, I was constantly worried that the monsters behind us would catch up. But I didn't know if they had some kind of restriction preventing them from leaving the main hall, or if they had been attracted away by Wei Shengnan and the others. There was no movement behind us.
After crossing two intersections, I finally saw a cross pattern carved with a knife on the wall ahead.
The stone door at the end of this passage uses the Yin-Yang Stone as a mechanism. To put it simply, it is a tilted stone pillar, fixed at the bottom and suspended by a copper lock on the other side, connected to the mechanism inside the door. Once triggered, it will close the stone door and at the same time lower the stone pillar outside to seal the door.
I immediately saw the trick to the mechanism. I tied one end of the rope to the stone pillar, then found a relatively high rock and threw it up as a leverage point, slowly pulling the rope up.
The mechanisms in this mountain are all powered by the underground river. After I pulled up the stone pillar, the sound of flowing water came from the valley, and then the stone door slowly opened outward.
After the stone door opened, a beam of light shone out, and then Monkey and Manjing quickly walked out. Upon seeing us, their faces lit up with joy: "Young Master Duan, how did you find this place?"
Although I used a clever trick to pull up the stone pillar, it was still very difficult. After the monkey and Manjing came out, I prepared to loosen the rope: "This is not the place to talk. Lin Que is injured. Take him and leave immediately!"
"roar!"
Just then, a monster's roar suddenly came from the tomb passage behind them.
The monkey glanced in that direction and was immediately startled: "Holy crap! What's that coming over there?"
I heard the monsters were chasing after us, and I shouted urgently, "There are monsters here! Everyone get into the cave, quick!"
"What kind of monster is this? Why is it all green? Is it Baoqiang Monster?"
After hearing my explanation, the monkey started running towards the passage, but stopped after a few steps: "Young Master Duan, what will you do after we go in?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw those monsters running this way, and I urged them loudly, "This door closes slowly, I have time to run in, you guys go first!"
The people in the group were used to having me as the core, and after hearing my words, they had no doubts whatsoever and all ran into the passage.
Jiang Man was the last to enter the passage. Seeing that I hadn't moved yet, she looked at me anxiously and said, "Duan Shenxing, come back quickly!"
I shook my head at Jiang Man: "I'm not going back! This mechanism is instantaneous; the moment I let go, the door will close immediately! After you return to the tomb passage, although it will be dangerous, at least there's a way out. Be careful and watch out for traps while you're moving! After leaving the outer Yin House, return the way you came! Duan Jinyan has already gotten what he wanted; the men in black robes won't linger any longer!"
"Big brother, are you crazy?"
Upon hearing my reply, Lin Que stepped forward, ready to rush out: "My hand is ruined, and I'd only be a burden to the team. I'll take you back!"
"Don't move!"
I gripped the rope and roared, "Time is of the essence! Listen to me! You all came here because of me, to do my bidding. Now that we've run into trouble, I should bear the consequences! This place has terrible feng shui. If I really die here, remember to build me a cenotaph outside!"
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