Chapter 50 Arrows

I could see that the arrowheads hadn’t fully inserted themselves into my body but a strong pain flared up in my chest. I was in a terrible panic, unable to believe what had just happened to me—I was so young and hadn’t even touched a woman’s hand yet. Was I really going to die in some unknown tomb? If I died in this place, no one would find my body for hundreds of years. Such an outcome would really be too tragic.

Arrows continued raining down on us. I didn’t know what kind of mechanism was used to fire them, but they were coming so fast that there was no way to dodge them at all. Fatty used his backpack as a shield and suddenly rushed in front of us and blocked some of the arrows. When I saw his back, I couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath—more than a dozen of those arrows were stuck in his back, making him look like an incense burner full of incense sticks. It looked like he should’ve been dead by now, but for some reason, he didn’t seem to be in pain at all.

I remembered reading novels where people would end up getting shot so full of arrows that they looked like hedgehogs. I had never actually seen it before, but now that I was witnessing it firsthand, I couldn’t help but curse to myself.

At this time, someone suddenly grabbed my clothes and started dragging me forward along the corridor. Caught by surprise, I looked back and saw that it was actually A Ning. But the cold and menacing look in her eyes instantly gave me a bad feeling so I hurriedly tried to shake her off. When she saw that I was trying to escape, she kneed me in the lower back without mercy. The pain was far worse than those two arrows that had embedded themselves in my chest. My whole body went limp, but the pain was so bad that I couldn’t use my strength to support myself at all. Taking advantage of this, she proceeded to use me as a meat shield as she made her way to the big jade door in the middle. As I was dragged along, more arrows suddenly pierced my shoulder, stomach, and chest. It hurt so much that I almost fainted.

They say that out of all the people in the world, no one is crueler than a woman. I never really believed them because I never thought that women could be so vicious. A Ning had been a frightened, weak woman just now but who would have expected her to change in the blink of an eye and use me as a meat shield to stop the rain of arrows?

Of course, I wouldn’t be so magnanimous. Knowing that I was stronger than her, I twisted with all my strength and managed to break free from her hold, falling into the nearby “lighting” trench in the process. The woman saw that she had lost her shield and immediately flipped herself up into the air, dodged more than a dozen arrows at once, and then turned back and glared at me.

Shit, you still have the nerve to glare at me after that stunt you just pulled?! I thought to myself before I shouted and rushed forward to try and grab her. She sneered at me, rolled to the side, and then leaped into the air, using the wall as a springboard to reach a safe spot free of arrows. She did all of this as swift as lightning, her movements so neat and agile that it was over before I even had time to react.

When I saw that not a single arrow had hit her, I slammed my fist to the ground in anger. She turned her head to look at me, blew me a kiss full of disdain, turned on her flashlight, and then sashayed through the middle doorway.

I was so angry that I almost vomited blood but there was nothing I could do besides hide in the “lighting” trench and listen to the sounds of the arrows flying over my head and hitting the walls with a loud clatter. This shower of arrows continued for another five minutes before it finally stopped. I glanced back at Fatty, who looked like a ball full of arrows and was staggering around as if he was about to fall down. I quickly got up to help him but he waved me away, indicating that he was fine. “Young Wu,” he said, “I think something’s wrong with these arrows. How can they pierce so deeply without feeling very painful? Pull a few out for me and take a look.”

I also thought that something was wrong—why were the arrow wounds not as severe as I had originally thought? My breathing was still smooth and unhindered but it wasn’t like I had ever died before. I didn’t know what it felt like to be shot to death by arrows.

Fatty had asked me to pull a few of the arrows out, but I really didn’t have the courage so I just ended up hesitating for a long time in front of him without making a move. But at this time, Bald Zhang clenched his teeth and stood up from where he had been standing behind Fatty. He had been protected the whole time so not a single arrow had hit him. When he saw Fatty riddled full of arrows like this, he suddenly said, “Don’t worry, it’s going to be alright.”

Fatty and I were both stunned—why did Bald Zhang’s voice not only change but also sound so familiar? Then, he suddenly stretched his whole body and we heard a few clicking and popping sounds as his height actually grew a few centimeters. After that, he stretched his arms out using the same amount of force and we heard some more clicking and popping sounds before his arms suddenly became a little longer.

When I saw this, I thought my jaw was going to fall off. Isn’t this bone contraction? I wondered. I had only read about it in my grandfather’s notes. This was one of the basic skills grave robbers used in ancient times. It was used to pass through some very narrow gaps, such as the gaps between roof beams of underground palaces or empty spaces underground. It was a skill you could use anywhere. I had never figured out the principle behind it so I always thought it was a joke. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes just now, I would’ve never believed that such a supernatural skill existed.

(In recent years, I heard that some people in Luoyang—one of the villages where grave robbers lived—were still using this skill. They dug grave robbers’ tunnels that were very small and used bone contraction to shrink themselves so that they could fit into them. When the police passed by and saw it, they simply thought that it was a weasel hole. But even when they found out that it was a grave robbers’ tunnel, they couldn’t go down to arrest the people. This was because while they were making the hole larger to fit through, the people inside had already dug another one and ran away. Unfortunately, this skill was very difficult to master, so even if you practiced it since childhood, it would be difficult to succeed if you couldn’t get all the bones in your body to coordinate.)

Bald Zhang let out a long breath and then reached behind his ear and pulled, tearing off a human skin mask and revealing his original face. I… when I saw it, I was nearly struck dumb. The person hidden behind the human skin mask actually turned out to be Poker-Face! I stood there frozen for a while before a wave of anger suddenly flared up. Such a good actor. You could’ve won an Oscar. I really didn’t suspect anything at all!

Poker-Face shook his arms out as if he hadn’t moved them for a long time. Meanwhile, Fatty was just as speechless as I was. It took him a long time to come back to his senses, but when he did, he immediately grabbed Poker-Face and said, “Little Brother, what do you mean by this? Were you just messing with us?”

Poker-Face remained silent as he patted him and told him to sit down. Then, he grabbed one of the arrowheads on Fatty’s back, twisted it hard, and easily pulled it off. I leaned over to get a look and saw that Fatty only had a light red mark on his body. There wasn’t a wound at all.

While I was surprised, I was also overjoyed at the fact that I might not have to die. I quickly learned Poker-Face’s technique and then moved to pull the arrows from my own body. As it turned out, it wasn’t difficult at all. I examined the one I pulled out and saw that the arrowhead had been cleverly crafted. As soon as it hit something, the sharp tip would retract and then a few iron hook-like claws would be pushed forward from the sides and latch onto your flesh.

Poker-Face looked at the cluster of arrows lying all over the ground and said softly, “That woman purposefully stepped on the trap just now. It seems that she was not only confident in her skills, but she also wanted to get rid of us.”

When I thought of the kiss she blew just now, it was obvious that she was laughing at me. I was so angry that I bit my lip until it bled. Sure enough, beautiful women couldn’t be trusted. I definitely wouldn’t make that mistake ever again!

Fatty, whose back was almost completely covered in those red marks, grimaced and said, “Fortunately, the fucking arrows here were harmless; otherwise, she would have really succeeded. I’ve got quite the reputation, so if I had died getting shot full of so many arrows that I looked like a hedgehog, I’d be nothing but a laughingstock.”

I looked at the strange arrows and asked them, “Why are all the arrowheads like this? What’s the point?”

“I don’t know either,” Poker-Face said, “but as soon as I saw you get hit with the arrow, I knew that it was harmless. The only explanation I can think of is that maybe the tomb owner wanted to give us a chance to retreat instead of killing us right off the bat.”

I found the whole thing very strange; it just didn’t make any sense. But now wasn’t the time to discuss it. That woman might have already entered the main tomb chamber, but we couldn’t let the bitch slip in, take the goods, and get away so easily. As soon as I thought this, I wanted to rush in after her, but Poker-Face quickly grabbed me and shook his head before saying, “There must be a reason why that jar ghost wanted us to go to the tomb chamber on the left first. We’ll do as it says. We’re in its territory now so we shouldn’t run around recklessly.”

I was impatient. If we didn’t follow that woman and she ended up coming back this way to make her escape, there was no telling if we’d ever be able to find her again. “Don’t worry,” Fatty suddenly said. “Let’s just go back and hide all the diving equipment first. We’ll see if she can hold her fucking breath long enough to make it out!”

When it came to critical moments, Fatty’s brain worked surprisingly well. Why didn’t I think of that? I wondered as I immediately nodded at him. After the three of us quickly ran back to the ear chamber, I used my flashlight to look at the place where we had put our things down and stared at it stupidly. There was nothing there—our oxygen tanks were all gone!

<Chapter 49><Table of Contents><Chapter 51>

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Me acting shocked at the big reveal as if I haven’t read it before ahahahaha