Chapter 127: Mural of the Tomb Chamber

My words clearly convinced Su Rou and Ling Ruyue. They believed that the real tomb chamber should be below this passage. However, even so, it was still not enough reason to go down. The danger had already worn down their excitement for adventure.

“San Wa Er, even if that is true, we still should not go down. Really, I think we should not take risks anymore,” Su Rou said. After speaking, he added as if making a firm decision, “At worst, I will just not look at the gold and silver treasures.”

Ling Ruyue bit her lower lip and said nothing. She was clearly also afraid now, but at the same time she still wanted to see and explore it. So she became indecisive.

“Do you trust me?” I asked very seriously.

“What is it?” Su Rou looked confused. He had always trusted me, and he did not understand why I would suddenly ask such a question here.

Ling Ruyue had not known me for long, so it was not really a matter of trust or distrust. However, she still gave a firm look. After the incident with the blocking ghost, I could clearly feel that this little girl had started relying on me more.

“Because I feel that my master and the others are probably inside this ancient tomb, so I insist on going down to find them,” I said very seriously.

In fact, I even believed that this gap was my master’s handiwork.

“Then what are we hesitating for? Let us go down,” Su Rou immediately agreed once he heard this. He had grown up roughing it in the mountains and already understood one principle very well. My spiritual perception was strong, and someone with strong perception often had strong premonitions.

More importantly, he trusted me.

Ling Ruyue also nodded. “I trust Third Brother.”

Since the decision was made, we began to act.

The first to go down was Su Rou. Because of his weight, no one could catch him if he jumped directly. My strength was sufficient, so we decided I would hold him, lower him down first, and then he would jump.

“Damn Su Rou, if you ate one less bowl of rice today, you would be a kilo lighter,” I cursed loudly. At that moment I was holding him while he slowly slid down along the edge of the gap. This reduced the drop and avoided injury when he jumped.

Even though I prided myself on being strong, Su Rou was simply too heavy. As his support point, I felt it was extremely strenuous.

“Alright, San Wa Er, let go. I am going to jump,” Su Rou’s voice finally came from below.

I sighed in relief and slowly let go. A dull Thud came from below, followed by Su Rou letting out an “Ow!”

“Su Rou, are you okay?” I lay at the edge of the gap and shouted down. I was genuinely worried since he was the first to go down.

After a long while, Su Rou’s voice finally came up. “I am fine. Just fell a bit and hit something. It is very dark. Hurry and come down. Bring the oil lamp too.”

I handed the oil lamp to Ling Ruyue and said to her, “I will go down first. Then you come down with the lamp. Su Rou and I will catch you below.”

After all, I had trained since childhood. A height like this was manageable if I was careful.

I finished speaking, then jumped down along the edge. I did not land steadily and ended up crashing into Su Rou, startling him.

“Could you at least say something when you come down? You scared me to death,” Su Rou said.

I was about to scold him back when I realized how dark this place was. It was so dark that one could not see anything at all. Only a faint glow from the oil lamp above the gap could be seen. If Ling Ruyue stepped back even slightly with the lamp, even that light would disappear.

“I thought you saw me coming down. I did not expect it to be this dark,” I said casually.

At that moment, Ling Ruyue’s voice came from above. “Fat Brother, Third Brother, I am jumping down. Catch me.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she jumped. Because she was holding the oil lamp, she was very visible.

“Damn, does this girl not give us any time to prepare?” Su Rou cursed and quickly moved forward.

I also had the same thought and stepped forward as well.

In the end, Ling Ruyue landed directly on our shoulders. Since she did not sit steadily, I had to steady her by pulling her.

“Hehe, this is so exciting,” Ling Ruyue laughed happily.

Su Rou complained bitterly, “My butt is still hurting, and now you land on my shoulder too. You are excited, but what about me?”

“Alright, come down quickly,” I said, then together with Su Rou, we helped her down.

The moment her feet touched the ground and she steadied the oil lamp, she suddenly screamed.

At that time, I was looking up at the ceiling. That was my habit, I always looked upward first.

Su Rou was rubbing his butt when he heard her scream and panicked again. “What are you screaming for? What are you screaming for?”

I ignored them and was about to take the oil lamp to look at the ceiling carefully when I vaguely saw something carved above.

But at that moment, Su Rou also started screaming.

Frowning in irritation, I turned around. Both Su Rou and Ling Ruyue were jumping around like they were dancing, pointing everywhere on the ground and shouting incoherently.

What?

I walked over and took a look, then sucked in a cold breath.

Bones. So many bones. Human bones.

“Stop! Stop screaming!” I shouted loudly.

The two of them finally quieted down. After all, anyone would lose it seeing skulls scattered everywhere in a place like this.

I took the oil lamp and looked carefully. There were so many of them.

Su Rou’s face turned ugly. He had seen a shattered skull, and that skull had clearly been crushed by him when he jumped down. He had earlier thought he had just hit something.

“How can there be so many dead people in a single tomb? San Wa Er, what is going on?” Su Rou said, feeling like he had fallen into a pit of corpses.

Ling Ruyue, after her initial shock, had already calmed down. After all, the poisonous insects she dealt with daily were far more frightening than these lifeless bones.

I did not speak, because my attention had been completely drawn to a symbol on the wall. Beneath the symbol was a mural, along with some writing.

“San Wa Er! San Wa Er!” Su Rou shouted beside me.

With a slightly grim expression, I said to him, “If you want answers, be quiet. I am reading.”

That symbol was very familiar to me. It was identical to the jade pendant I had obtained at the Three Forks junction. The same simple strokes, the same devil-like face. It was clearly the same symbol.

But this tomb was not a Hungry Ghost Tomb. It was a tomb within a tomb belonging to a Hungry Ghost Tomb. How could it have the same thing?

The mural showed groups of devout people worshipping, followed by rows of people with fanatical expressions being led onto carts. The destination of those carts was a gate, a tomb entrance.

Behind that gate was a creature. It looked like a snake, but not entirely. It had a single horn on its head and two claws under its belly.

What was that thing? Not quite a dragon, not quite a snake. Was it a jiao? No, not exactly.

But I could roughly understand the meaning. Those people were being offered as sacrifices. The fanatical ones being transported were the offerings. And the thing devouring those offerings was that creature.

And that creature was raised inside this tomb.

Cold sweat instantly broke out all over me. I did not think encountering that thing would be a pleasant experience.

Almost running, I rushed to the mural. Beneath it was a line of small text. Because I had read many ancient books, I had some understanding of old writing. Fortunately, this region was not using anything too obscure.

It was standard classical script and relatively easy to read.

However, after I understood the content, my heart became even more uneasy. I read it several times over.

Su Rou and Ling Ruyue also came over. After all, we were just children. In a place full of human bones, staying close together felt safer.

“What did you find, San Wa Er?” Su Rou asked.

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and said, “This was left by a tomb raider who died here. He said this was the tomb of a tribal Great Shaman. He came here looking for something, but encountered a creature that was still alive and ended up trapped here until death.”

“What? What kind of creature is still alive?” Su Rou asked, confused.