"Second Brother, wake up! Wake up!" Big Brother's face was etched with urgency as he shook Second Brother, trying to rouse him.

I stifled my fear and slowly peeled the Grey Robe off Second Brother's body.

Once the situation was clear.

Our pupils dilated in shock!

There, sprawled on Second Brother's belly, was a Yellowish-Brown Four-legged Little Snake.

"Beast!"

Third Brother was the first to snap out of it, his expression livid as he grabbed the Four-legged Snake.

The creature seemed fearless, wriggling incessantly even as it was seized.

"Wait, Third Brother!" Red Sister's complexion was grim as she pointed at the unconscious Second Brother and said, "Don't move just yet, look at his belly."

"What's this? A Bronze tube?"

I noticed it too—there was a green-rusted Bronze Pipe about five centimeters from Second Brother's navel on the right side of his lower abdomen. The Rusty Bronze Pipe was connected at one end to Second Brother's belly and at the other to the Yellowish-Brown Four-legged Snake. The scene resembled a blood transfusion. We were all terrified, utterly baffled by the spectacle before us.

Unable to bear it any longer, Third Elder Sun lost his patience. He grabbed the Stone Gecko and with a swift motion of his knife, he sliced the creature in two.

The cut spurted a fair amount of blood, reminiscent of slaughtering an eel.

Even in death, the creature's copper tube remained embedded in Second Brother's belly, the wound looking deep. This time he dared not pull it out directly, uncertain of Second Brother's injuries and reluctant to yank it out forcefully.

Our minds were focused on rescue; as for how Second Brother ended up in the Coffin by himself, we hadn't had the chance to ask. Saving him was the priority.

"Third Brother, be careful with that tube, try not to touch it."

Third Elder Sun nodded. He bent down, scooped up the unconscious Second Brother in his arms.

"Let's get out of here first, there must be another way nearby, otherwise how did Second Brother get down here! Let's leave quickly! To the hospital!"

Aside from Second Brother and that beast, the Golden Coffin and Silver Outer Coffin contained nothing else, let alone any Burial Artifacts.

Despite the myriad of questions and confusion in our hearts, unless the person involved spoke up, we could only speculate wildly, never truly knowing what had transpired.

"Click." Unintentionally, Red Sister's right foot pressed down on a stone slab, which sank three centimeters under her weight!

"Don't move!" Seeing the development, Big Brother immediately shouted a stern warning.

"Third, keep an eye on Second. Everyone, stay put and don't wander off!" he said with a grave expression.

Red Sister's complexion was terrible. She maintained her posture, not daring to move a muscle.

Both Red Sister and I had previously encountered the Human-head Bell Mechanism Group. The ancients from over two thousand years ago had already learned to use the attraction between gravity and meteoric iron to design intricate mechanisms.

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At that moment.

Where the Flowing Coffin Liquid had been, the small holes beneath the Bronze Human Foot suddenly began to emit white vapor without warning.

In a matter of seconds, billows of white vapor rose as if from a giant steamer beneath the ground.

The vapor carried the scent of medicinal herbs, and just a whiff was enough to make one feel dizzy. My legs went weak, and I collapsed. The others were similarly affected; Third Brother could no longer support Second Brother and also slumped to the ground.

Then, beams from flashlights shone through the entrance of the Main Tomb Chamber, the very spot we had blasted open with a detonator.

My head was heavy and groggy as the beams of flashlight grew closer. I struggled to look while lying on the ground.

There were about four or five people, with one man leading the way. That man... was Chen Jiansheng.

I tried to move my mouth, wanting to shout, but no sound came out.

After that, I lost consciousness and blacked out.

...

I had no idea how much time had passed when I awoke with a pounding headache.

I tried to move but found myself unable to; my arms and legs were bound with ropes.

"Red Sister! Big Brother! Third Brother!" I struggled fiercely, shouting at the top of my lungs.

"Well, the young have such good constitution, you're the first to wake up," Chen Jiansheng teased, shaking the flashlight at me, looking down at me with a playful malice.

Blinded by the strong flashlight, I closed my eyes and yelled, "Chen the Earthworker, you're alive! Why have you tied me up? Untie me this instant!"

"Heh," he withdrew the flashlight, smiling sardonically. "Elders, come out and see. Let's judge if this young man is suitable as a sacrifice. That Second Elder Sun is really no good; it's been what, five or six months? And there's still no reaction from the Mustard Marquis's corpse."

No sooner had he finished speaking than several figures emerged from the darkness.

I took a closer look; there were three people in total, two middle-aged men and an elderly man. The old man had grizzled hair and was strikingly short, not even reaching one and a half meters tall, thin and small, almost childlike—an elderly dwarf.

"So, Jiansheng, is this the young man you spoke of?" the Dwarf Old Man scrutinized me.

"Yes," Chen Jiansheng glanced at me and said, "Elder, the Echoing Insect has taken effect on this one."

"Oh? Is that so?" The Dwarf Old Man appeared quite surprised.

Unable to comprehend the conversation among these people, I raised my voice and exclaimed, "Chen the Earthworker, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing? Ha ha?"

Chen Jiansheng, pointing at me and shaking his head with a chuckle, said, "You're called Cloud Peak, right? Indeed, you are inexperienced in the ways of the world. Perfect timing, Chen the Logistician, you're awake now. Why don't you share your thoughts? Go on, speak freely."

I turned to see Red Sister tied up, leaning against the stone wall, having regained consciousness, glaring furiously at Chen Jiansheng.

"Come now, Chen the Logistician, that look in your eyes—someone who didn't know better might think you're about to devour someone," Chen Jiansheng said, shrugging his shoulders with an air of ease.

Red Sister took a deep breath and began, "You pretended to be mentally ill before, feigning madness and imitating my speech to get close to Cloud Peak and me, to lower our guard?"

Chen Jiansheng snapped his fingers. "Exactly."

Red Sister's voice turned cold. "The Echoing Insect that Cloud Peak caught was deliberately released by you."

Chen Jiansheng nodded openly. "That's right. The Echoing Insect reacted to the lad, but unfortunately, you discovered it prematurely."

"I'm asking you, you actually knew whether that cave entrance was real or not. In other words, those Mountain Goblins were trained by you as well, weren't they? The hats and clothes on them, were they all intentionally provided by you?"

"Correct. In order to train those beasts, I've been telling them stories every day, all to hone their skills. Of course, all this was ultimately to lead you here, to bring you to the Coffin."

Red Sister's chest heaved with anger; she was clearly at her boiling point. We had been schemed against.

I also began to understand and shouted angrily, "Chen the Earthworker, we have had no past grievances nor recent quarrels with you. Why would you do this!"

"Oh? You ask why?" The diminutive dwarf old man, not even one and a half meters tall, slowly approached. As he walked, he said, "You don't need to know why. After all, you won't be alive much longer, so there's no need to know everything."

"Jiansheng, do it," said the Dwarf Old Man, taking out a stick of red incense from his bosom and handing it to Chen Jiansheng, then stepping back a few paces.

"Mm, I'll get right to it, my lord," replied Chen Jiansheng, lighting three sticks of incense.

Holding the three sticks of incense, he bowed to me and Red Sister, saying, "Members of the Northern Faction, inhale the fragrance."

"Please, proceed on your journey." (To be continued)

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I have also posted the following more chapters [All free]: https://www.readgates.com/article/7b136c