Chapter 109: The Wrong Path

Fifteen minutes to memorize an entire map was no simple feat, especially since the structure was frustratingly complex. After Qiao Sangui finished speaking, I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing my brain to stay calm, then quickly looked down to start memorizing.

When a person focuses intently on a single task, time always seems to slip away with inexplicable speed.

After carefully examining every section of the map, I had essentially committed it to memory. As soon as the twenty minutes were up, Tian Xiaoqi snatched the paper from my lap.

Qiao Sangui glanced at me, and Baldy helped him up from the ground. “Lead the way. Don’t try any little tricks under my nose, or I can’t guarantee your friend’s safety.”

He Yu had just woken up after being doused with three scoops of water, his mind clearly still struggling to clear. He was hauled up by the lackey carrying the Hanyang 88 and stumbled forward. Another lackey pulled me up from the ground as well.

I stood up with a gun pressed against the small of my back and stared at Qiao Sangui. “I can lead the way, but I need to know every route you took while I was unconscious so I can deduce our current position.”

Baldy and Qiao Sangui exchanged a look. Receiving a nod of approval, Baldy walked over to explain their path. He spoke in plain terms, mostly about turning left or right, turning back when things seemed wrong, and circling around four or five times.

After listening, I thought it over for a moment and had a general idea of our location.

Qiao Sangui and the others stopped, their eyes heavy with pressure as they waited for me to choose a direction. I took a deep breath and, without much hesitation, chose the right. The lackey behind me gave me a rough shove, pushing me to the very front of the group.

Less than four months later, I had once again become the cannonball fodder leading the way, only this time, Xiao Wu had been replaced by He Yu behind me.

Someone held a fire starter to light the way for me. I passed the shrines in silence, though my mind was busy calculating every step I took.

A place like this wasn’t a highway; no one was kind enough to put up signs every two or three kilometers. The scale on that map could only be converted using my footsteps.

As He Yu gradually regained his senses, I heard him shouting from behind, “Hey, Third Master, your company’s corporate culture is really lacking! Is this how you treat prisoners? You’ve got me tied up like a Zongzi. Do you think I can even move my legs like this?”

“Shut your mouth, or do you want me to knock your teeth out?” Tian Xiaoqi threatened.

He Yu didn’t back down at all. “Hey! You little brat, go ahead and try it! You think I’m afraid of you? Believe it or not, I could kick you across the room without even using my hands!”

“You!”

Qiao Sangui coughed twice, warning them, “Both of you, shut up. This isn’t the outside world. The mechanisms inside the Underground Palace have already been activated. We need to stay alert. If anyone makes another sound, I’ll cut out their tongue and take it back to feed the dogs.”

At that moment, I stopped on my thirty-sixth step. According to my memory, turning right here should have been the fastest route to the core of the Underground Palace. But strangely, to my right was a solid, sealed wall.

This shouldn’t be.

I stood before the stone wall for a long time. The most likely explanation was that this wall had appeared after the mechanisms were triggered, acting as a man-made barrier.

I kicked the base of the stone wall. The sound was dull. This wall was likely much thicker than I imagined. I wasn’t sure of its operating principle, whether it was a revolving door or a massive stone lowered by a pulley system.

Qiao Sangui walked up beside me and asked, “What’s the problem?”

I told him the truth. “There used to be a path here, but the mechanism shifted and this wall appeared out of nowhere. I don’t know how the wall operates yet, so we can’t go this way for now.”

Qiao Sangui glanced at me. I knew he was highly suspicious, but since I was the only one who could read the map, he had to force himself to trust me. He looked toward the dark corridor ahead and asked, “If this path is blocked, can’t we take another one?”

I let out a helpless laugh. “While I was unconscious, you must have tried many different paths yourselves. You followed the routes set by the tomb’s owner, and what happened? You were trapped here and couldn’t find an exit.”

Qiao Sangui fell into deep thought and remained silent.

I didn’t want to be trapped here until I died. Seeing this stone wall, I realized the original layout of the stone passages had been completely scrambled by the mechanisms. However, one thing remained true: the passages themselves wouldn’t change, no matter how superior the ancient craftsmanship was.

If the passages themselves were to shift up and down, it would require massive excavation within the mountain and something even more enormous than a modern crane to lift these thousand-ton stones.

Therefore, I guessed the designer had chosen a simpler strategy: using identical walls to block off each passage. This would create a “Ghost Wall” illusion for any tomb raider, using that confusion to build a labyrinth.

Fearing Qiao Sangui would continue to doubt me, I explained further, “The reason you were going in circles earlier is because you kept following the established paths. Those paths themselves are wrong. they are hints and deliberate misdirections left by the builders. If we keep going forward, we’ll just keep spinning in circles forever.”

Qiao Sangui considered my words seriously and nodded. “Well said.”

Tian Xiaoqi crossed her arms, looking on with a mocking expression. “College students really are different. You say there’s a path behind this wall, so tell us, how are we supposed to move something this thick? It’s not like we can use the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains, right?”

She was mocking me. The so-called Five Ghosts Moving Mountains was a technique from Maoshan sorcery. Legend had it that a Taoist priest on Zhongnan Mountain could move fruit from the bottom of the mountain into his small temple without ever leaving his room.

On a small scale, it could move fruit; on a large scale, moving mountains or stones was no problem. This was the simplest form of the legendary “Five Ghosts Moving Mountains” technique.

As soon as Tian Xiaoqi finished speaking, the men led by Baldy burst into laughter. At that moment, I truly hadn’t thought of a way to move such a heavy stone wall. I had no counter-argument, so I could only let them laugh at my expense.

Seeing them mock me, He Yu quickly lost his temper. He cursed, “What the hell are you laughing at? At least my Little Yao figured out how this works. You’ve been scurrying around this cave like rats for ages. Not only can’t you read the map, you haven’t come up with a damn thing. What are you so proud of?”

Baldy, having been thoroughly scolded, immediately reached for his knife. Seeing things were about to turn ugly, I quickly stepped in front of He Yu. However, before Baldy could draw his blade, Qiao Sangui pressed down on his hand.

Qiao Sangui’s face darkened instantly. This frightened the people around him into silence, and they didn’t dare breathe loudly.

“You’ve followed me for so many years, and you still won’t admit you’re useless? Gan Ji is right. There are gaps on both sides of this wall; it must have been dropped down later. Now we just need to see how to move it.” Qiao Sangui pulled the knife from his waist and walked toward me.

I didn’t know what he intended with this sudden movement. Then, with a swift stroke of his blade, the ropes binding my hands were cut and fell to the ground. Having been tied up for so long, I rubbed my wrists as I watched Qiao Sangui also move to untie He Yu.

Baldy was completely bewildered. “Third Master! They have too many crooked ideas, you can’t…”

Qiao Sangui raised a hand to cut him off. “I, Qiao San, might be missing an eye, but I trust my judgment. Everyone listen up: until we reach the heart of the Underground Palace, you will show our partners at least a modicum of respect.”

Then he turned his head, fixing his single eye on me with a sinister grin. “Young Master Gan, use that head of yours and think. How do we move this stone wall? I know your grandfather taught you everything.”

His gaze made my skin crawl. I never realized a person’s smile could be so eerie and unsettling.