Book 1: Chapter 22: Looking for the Tomb Entrance

Book 1: Chapter 22: Looking for the Tomb Entrance

[TN note: I made a boo-boo last chapter. Those were jars and boats in the wall, not holes.]

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I was relieved when Poker-Faces cold firework went off in the distance. I looked at my watch and calculated our present situation.

The downward flow of silt was obviously slowing down, but there was more and more water under our feet. When I looked up, I found that we were about sixty meters below the surface, which was almost a twenty-story drop. The distance from the bottom of the chasm to the surface was really huge.

The mud that was still pouring down from both sides formed a V-shaped slope, which we were at the bottom of. I could see rock protrusions in the mud that were obviously part of the rock strata beneath the mudflat.

The chasm wasnt particularly wide and wouldve been about twenty-five meters wide without all the sludge. For some reason, the mud on the surface didnt immediately pour down and fill this chasm. I figured this V-shaped canyon was actually a huge tubular cave in the rock strata below the mudflat. When we set off the detonators earlier, we blew the top of this cave to pieces. All the silt above poured into the cave below, and we just happened to get swept along with it.

The jars and boats in the cave walls seemed to be burial pits. This cave was probably the outer part of the South Sea Kings tomb where the burial pits were located.

But even though the mud was moving so slow that it didnt look like anything was happening on the surface, this chasm would definitely be filled within two hours. We couldnt waste a single minute.

I shouted to Fatty, "Whats the plan?"

Liu Sang was already trying to climb back up the mud slope to the surface, but the downward flow was too strong. Every time he stepped on the slope, he was immediately pushed back down again. Fatty made the most accurate decision at this time and shouted, "We can't get up!" He pointed to the mud river at his feet, which was flowing in a single direction along the chasm bottom.

"Swallow it!" I shouted at him.

"Little Brother is looking for the tomb entrance! Fatty shouted. His hands are occupied, so give him a light! With that said, a flare suddenly shot up in the air, instantly lighting up the whole chasm. Fatty clenched his teeth. We were spinning rapidly and sliding into an abyss. There wasnt any mud on either side of the cliff wall, but there were countless eaves and stone terraces.

I took a closer look and found that they were embossed pavilions (3) on the cliff walls that looked just like a huge bonsai. Among them, we could see that there was a huge hall inlaid on the cliff in front of us, which had to be the tomb entrance. I looked at it and thought, oh no. I saw Poker-Face looking at me, so I quickly shouted, "Don't throw me! Fatty! The grappling hook!"

Fatty threw me the grappling hook and I held it in my mouth as I pulled the gun out. I inserted the end of the grappling hook into the gun while Fatty pulled out the climbing rope. He tied the rope around his waist and then fastened the other end to the grappling hook. I tried to ignore my severe dizziness and shot at the cliff. The gun went off and the grappling hook immediately shot out. It hit the cliff and started pulling the rope tied around Fatty's waist as it fell all the way down without snagging on anything. Fatty started scolding me loudly until the hook finally caught on something and pulled the rope taut. Fatty shouted and gripped me with one hand while holding the boat with the other. Poker-Face grabbed my belt. As the three of us were pulled forward, the boat came to an abrupt halt. Liu Sang flew out of the boat, but Poker-Face managed to grab him by the hair and throw him to the cliff. He smacked into the cliff wall and rolled a dozen times, only stopping when he finally caught a protrusion with one hand.

Fatty started laughing, but at that moment, we suddenly heard a thunderous sound coming from overhead. When we looked up, the flare revealed the scene above us.

Mud was pouring down from the sky like a tidal wave.

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TN Notes:

(1) Not sure if Ergouhei is like some underworld gun dealer, but Changping is a district in Beijing.

(2) Remember, its a sled-like wooden plank the locals use.

(3) Basically, the pavilions have been sculpted in such a way that theyre raised above the rock wall. Imagine the pavilions sticking out like this: