Chapter 254: Finding Another Way

Xu Damao took out his Dagger, cut the Rope, and lowered Siqiang down from the roof beam.

He reached out to check Hu Yunbin's neck and found his pulse was still beating weakly.

Xu Damao slapped Siqiang's chest hard; after a good while, Hu Yunbin finally woke up in a daze, looking at him with unfocused eyes, "Damao, what... happened to me?"

Xu Damao said with a sobbing tone, "Siqiang, why were you so desperate, why did you hang yourself?"

Hu Yunbin shook his head weakly, his gaze glancing at the small yellow weasel still hanging from the beam, "It was that evil thing that cast an Illusion... I, I just followed suit, I couldn't control myself at all..."

Xu Damao looked around and found nothing special about the room, but he felt dizzy: "Siqiang, why do I feel dizzy as soon as I enter this room? Let's leave quickly, shall we?"

Hu Yunbin was indeed a veteran at Doudao; even in a dangerous situation, he did not forget why he had come.

He carefully observed the room and discovered that there was a chimney for a fire on the wall; where it met the roof, there was a hole, and the inside was surprisingly smooth, clearly indicating that something frequently traveled through there.

What made him even more suspicious was the sturdy kang surface—unlike the collapsed kang in the other room, this heated kang was actually built with blue stone slabs.

Just then, that bewitching voice rang out in Hu Yunbin's mind again: "Hang yourself! That feeling is very comfortable, happy as an immortal!"

He endured the dizziness and urged hurriedly, "Damao, let's go, I'm having hallucinations again!"

"What about these bodies?" Xu Damao asked.

Hu Yunbin gritted his teeth and stood up, stretched his limbs, and said, "Take Lin Nan. The others... we can't worry about them!"

The two of them carried Lin Nan's corpse and stumbled as they ran outside.

Passing by a niche, Xu Damao took the opportunity to stuff a porcelain vase from it into his bosom.

Seeing this, Hu Yunbin scolded, "You little brat, what time is it, and you're still being greedy!"

"We can't come here for nothing!" Xu Damao argued.

In the dim passage, the two of them tripped several times before getting out.

Once outside the cave, Hu Yunbin was still shaken, and he ordered, "Damao, hurry and find something to block this cave entrance! Don't let these yellow weasels come out and harm people again!"

Xu Damao hurriedly threw the shrine, broken bricks, and roof tiles from the Po Miao into the cave, but the entrance was too large to block immediately.

At this moment, Cui Dazhi returned to the temple in a hurry with a Shanzhai brother, as well as the Old Hunter and the girl named Yingzi.

"Siqiang, what happened to Lin Nan?" Cui Dazhi was shocked at the sight.

Hu Yunbin was still shaken: "All six of us who went in fell for the yellow weasels' tricks and hung ourselves from the roof beams. If it weren't for Damao arriving in time, my life would have been left down there."

The Old Hunter looked them over, shook his head, and sighed: "This big brother, it's not that I want to lecture you, but you all have quite some nerve to dare to break into this Huang Pizi Fen."

Yingzi added, "I've heard from the elders that no one who has designs on this tomb has ever been seen coming out alive."

Xu Damao curled his lips in defiance: "Didn't my Siqiang and I just come out?"

"But didn't the people who went in with you all die?" Yingzi's words left him speechless.

Hu Yunbin said sorrowfully: "Hei San, Wang Laoqi, don't blame me. In that situation, I could only bring Lin Nan out... I'm sorry for Zhao Laoliu and the other three."

Hei San and Wang Laoqi hurriedly said, "Fourth Master, we don't blame you. It's all fate!"

After finishing, Hu Yunbin bowed deeply toward the cave entrance, muttering prayers to ferry the lost souls.

After resting for a long time, Hu Yunbin finally regained his composure.

He looked with pleasant surprise at the bear meat brought back by Cui Dazhi and the others: "You actually hunted such a big guy!"

Cui Dazhi said, "It's all thanks to Uncle Zhao's skills. If it weren't for him, we would have all been done for in the forest."

Hu Yunbin turned to the Old Hunter and asked, "How should I address you, brother?"

The Old Hunter stroked his beard: "Just call me Zhao Si."

"You're a local, right? Can you tell me about things in this area?" Hu Yunbin asked.

"The big mound in front is called Huang Pizi Fen, and behind the mountain is a river called Laojingou, where you can pan for gold dust in the water," Zhao Si explained slowly. "When the little devils were here, thousands of people were panning for gold here. Many shacks and Earth Pits were built at the foot of this mountain..."

Hu Yunbin recalled the structure of the tomb and suddenly realized: "These yellow weasels really know how to pick a spot. The people living in those shacks lit fires and cooked every day, the smoke never ceasing, as if they were offering incense to them every day. Having absorbed so much worship, these yellow weasels naturally gained power."

"It's fate that we could meet in these mountains, brother, I advise you to leave quickly!" Zhao Si said.

A flash of ferocity crossed Hu Yunbin's eyes, and a stubborn spirit surged in his heart: "Brother Zhao, it's not that I won't listen to your advice, but now that five of our men have died, this grudge must be avenged. Can you find me a few strong men from the village? I want to dig this tomb open and destroy the yellow weasels' nest."

Zhao Si said with difficulty: "Everyone in the village knows that Huang Pizi Fen is evil; I'm afraid no one will be willing to come."

"One piece of gold a day." Hu Yunbin took out the gold bar Xu Damao had given him, "Brother, find me three men, can you do it?"

Zhao Si pondered for a moment: "I'll ask for you."

Hu Yunbin instructed again: "Brother Zhao, don't spread the word about this. If anyone comes, have them bring pickaxes and shovels. If no one comes, I won't blame you."

After Zhao Si and his daughter left, Hu Yunbin dug a pit at the foot of the mountain and buried Lin Nan.

The setting sun shone on Lin Nan's pale face, looking exceptionally ghastly, and Xu Damao quickly turned his face away.

Hu Yunbin sobbed and said: "Child, go in peace." Then he used a shovel to move the earth, covering the frozen soil one shovel at a time.

The four returned to the Po Miao, and Cui Dazhi asked: "Siqiang, Zhao Si said there is a bronze treasure chest in this tomb, filled with beautiful jade and gold."

Xu Damao added: "Siqiang, if we don't go through that underground passage, how can we get the treasure?"

Hu Yunbin analyzed: "If I'm not mistaken, that bronze treasure chest is in the kang cavity where the people were hanged. These yellow weasels are deliberately protecting that room—it's true they can use Illusion, but their power is limited and can only be concentrated in one small room. We will dig directly to the bottom of the kang and take the things out..."

Cui Dazhi praised: "That's a good idea."

"Don't think about anything today, just have a good meal, rest up, and we'll do a big job tomorrow!" Hu Yunbin said.

Xu Damao looked at the hundreds of pounds of coarse bear meat and worried: "Siqiang, how are we supposed to eat this bear meat?"

Hu Yunbin waved his hand: "We don't have any seasonings, so let's just roast it."

The five of them roasted the bear meat while discussing the plan to dig the tunnel.

After the meal, the sky was pitch black, the wind was howling, and the tiles on the roof were rattling.

Last night it was a team of ten, now only five remained. At night, each person had to stand guard for three hours.

Xu Damao was the first to stand guard; he sat by the fire, lost in thought, recalling the yellow weasel's warning: "If you don't listen to me, you won't be able to walk out of this forest."

The other four were fast asleep, only Hei San was groaning incessantly in the corner due to his festering foot injury.

Near the hour of the Rat, Xu Damao suddenly had an unbearable stomachache and hurriedly clutched his belly, running to the back wall of the temple to relieve himself.

Just as he finished dealing with it, he looked up and saw two glowing green eyes staring right at him.

That familiar voice rang out in his mind: "Little brother, I said I would be polite before resorting to force. Since you people don't keep your word, don't blame us for being impolite!"

Xu Damao immediately picked up a stone: "Yellow weasel, you killed five of our people, I'm not finished with you!" As he spoke, he threw the stone.

The yellow weasel dodged it nimbly.

Xu Damao pulled out his Box Cannon, aimed it at the creature, and shouted: "Do you think I'm easy to bully? I'll kill you!"

The yellow weasel scurried away with a "whoosh," leaving behind only one sentence: "Just you wait, you won't make it out of this forest."

"Wait for your grandfather! You only know how to bully me!" Xu Damao cursed.

Early the next morning, Zhao Si arrived with three sturdy men.

Under Hu Yunbin's direction, the group began digging on the west side of the large earthen mound.

Many hands make light work; by two o'clock in the afternoon, they were close to digging through, revealing the rammed earth layer inside.

Hu Yunbin went down himself, used a Compass to determine the position, and made a mark on the rammed earth layer.

After another hour, a small hole only wide enough for one person to pass through was finally dug open.

Hu Yunbin called over Xu Damao: "You go in and scout; if there's anything, bring it out."