The dead Zhang Lao

  I stood beside this person, then I squatted down and asked in a low voice: "Who are you?"

  A very faint groan was heard, this person should be very weak, it seems that even speaking is so difficult, but after hearing my voice, a not loud but very clear voice came out: "Is it Master Ninth?"

  My heart skipped a beat, and I felt that the voice was somewhat familiar, but for a moment, I couldn't think of who it was. So I bent down to try to help him up with my hand, and at this time, I heard him say in a barely audible voice: "Young Master Ninth, I am Zhang Lao."

  Zhang Lao?

  My brain short-circuited for a moment and I couldn't react in time to figure out what had happened.

  Obviously, saying these words had almost exhausted all of Zhang Lao's strength. I only heard a hurried and extremely weak breathing sound. I came to my senses and supported Zhang Lao, asking him: "Zhang Lao, how did you end up here?"

  I remember it clearly, in the tunnel, after Zhang Lao opened a mechanism, Zhang Lao was poisoned, his bloody and blurry appearance had no breath left. If that person was Zhang Lao, then who is this person now?

  I couldn't help but feel that I had heard his voice somewhere before, it was Zhang Lao's voice.

  I don't know where Zhang Lao was injured, I checked his body and didn't find any wounds. At this time, Zhang Lao suddenly grabbed my clothes, as if he wanted to tell me something, so I leaned my ear close to his mouth.

  His voice had become so soft that it was almost a whisper, and I only heard his intermittent words, and he would pause for several seconds after each word, just like when someone is about to die. I felt that what he was telling me was very important, and I held my breath, not even daring to breathe out. Old Zhang spoke to me in a low voice, one word at a time.

  "He said: 'In this tomb...'"

  But he only said four words, I felt his body violently trembling, emitting a weak and painful moan, as if someone was choking him, unable to breathe, feeling like an asthma patient, unable to inhale for a moment.

  Wait, I suddenly shuddered all over, feeling a strong pressure around me, tightly pressing down on me. I abruptly lifted my head and saw a shadow above us. I felt that Zhang Lao's panting was caused by this shadow, and the thought in my mind gave me a big fright.

  Who is this shadow? It seems like he wants to kill Old Zhang.

  To prove this idea, I reached out to pull the shadow in the darkness, and indeed, a pair of hands were tightly wrapped around Zhang Lao's neck. I held the person's hand tightly, but he didn't react at all, as if he had to strangle Zhang Lao to death.

  Zhang Lao can't die like this, so at this moment, I exerted all my strength and rushed towards the person, crossing over Zhang Lao's body, and directly pounced on that person. Due to the huge inertial force, I and that person rolled to one side, a bit like a ball rolling down a slope, rolling several times.

  However, this person's kung fu was obviously much better than mine, just like the male lead in an American action movie, and he broke free from my grasp with a few quick moves. I ended up rolling around on the ground by myself for a few rounds before scrambling to my feet and stumbling towards Old Zhang.

  For a moment, I hesitated and lingered, then I felt Zhang Lao's pulse and breathing, which were already gone.

  I slumped to the ground, powerless and weak, with a dark haze before my eyes, unable to see anything. Suddenly, a chill wind swept across my face, and I felt an icy pressure bearing down on me, growing stronger and closer, making it hard for me to breathe. Just as I realized something was amiss, I became alert all over, sensing that something behind me was moving. As I shifted my body, in the next second, a pair of hands grasped my collar, pulling me up.

  The man's strength was great, and I couldn't resist at all. He pulled me up, and with a familiar motion, he twisted my hands behind my back, just like tying a knot, and then dragged me in that direction.

  I struggled desperately, but to no avail. Just as I was about to give up, the person suddenly stopped and let go of my tightly grasped hands, disappearing from beside me in an instant, along with the chill that had been emanating from them.

  I was wondering who that person was and why they wanted to kill Old Zhang. Looking at the person's movements, they seemed very skilled, and there were no glowing objects around them, yet they were able to accurately grab me as if they could see in the dark.

  As I thought of this, I heard a hurried footsteps, and a shouting voice came from not far away: "Xiao Jiu Ye..."

  I recognized this as Zhao Si's voice, he was on the other side of the sacrificial altar. Suddenly, a burst of light flashed over, without any warning, and I closed my eyes in pain. When I opened them again, I saw Zhao Si dragging his body, slowly walking towards me. As he passed by Zhang Lao's corpse, his face changed, and he asked: "How did this man die? Are you okay?"

  I shook my head, and apart from the skin being rubbed off, everything else was fine. It was only then that I thought of Old Zhang lying there, so I turned back to his side, placed both hands on his chest, and kept pressing down, using all my strength to try and wake him up.

  Zhao Si was behind me, expressionless, watching me make these movements. I persisted in this movement for a long time, but Zhang Lao on the ground didn't react at all. It wasn't until then that I finally believed the fact that Zhang Lao had passed away, and I sat down weakly on the ground.

  Mr. Zhang must have had something very important to tell me, but in the end he couldn't say it out loud. Judging from the situation just now, I already believe that this is Mr. Zhang and there's no mistake about it. So, was the one in the tunnel also Mr. Zhang?

  I can't explain the relationship between these two, but I can be sure that both of them are definitely Zhang Lao. Perhaps at that time, he didn't die, it was just an illusion. Thinking about this possibility, my mood became heavier and heavier, because in the end, Zhang Lao couldn't escape death either.

  It's been a long time, and I finally stopped, with a painful gaze. Previously, I thought Zhang Lao was dead, and it was very distressing. But now, it's even more distressing. If I had reacted quickly enough and my skills were sharper, Zhang Lao wouldn't have been strangled to death.

  Zhao Si stared into my eyes and said word by word: "I've seen this person, by Zhou Baihe's side."

  Zhao Si's eyes were very strange, as if they wanted to see through my thoughts, with a suspicious tone.

  Although I had some doubts in my heart, I still replied, "Zhang Lao is a member of the Zhou family."

  Zhou Baihe's behavior in my impression is that of a high-profile person, with an extremely ruthless and cunning demeanor, giving off the air of a mature and seasoned businessman. Although he is only in his thirties, I have also witnessed his cold-blooded and unfeeling side. As Zhang Lao is someone from the Zhou family, it's natural for him to appear alongside Zhou Baihe at many scenes.

  Then Zhao Si said affirmatively, "I saw him just yesterday, it must be them who killed him."

  My heart sank suddenly, and I asked urgently, "Who are they?"

  However, no matter how I asked, Zhao Si just shook his head and said that he was not clear who they were. Anyway, wait until you bump into them to know, but it's best to pray that you don't bump into them.

  Them? This reminds me of Bai Shou Sheng and Lao Wang, the people they met, that person who looks exactly like me? Is it them?

  I thought for a long time, but couldn't come up with an answer, so I gave up. And I also feel that Zhao Si must know something, otherwise, seeing Zhang Lao's corpse would make him feel like it was expected, I want to know the truth, no matter how much I ask Zhao Si, I won't get the answer I want, and he won't tell me either.

  The current situation is that there's not much food left in our backpacks, and the water will probably last no more than two days. If we continue like this, we'll eventually starve to death here. The most important thing now is to find Qi Xie and Xiao Shou Hou.

  I miss them, I wonder how they are doing now? When I saw them in the Jade Stone Room, they all seemed to be injured.

  "Judging from the current situation, it's still far to reach Yuan Tie Men. They've already gone ahead, as long as we keep walking, I'm sure we'll find them. Just don't let them take the lead." Zhao Si said with a somewhat unsightly expression.

  "Let's go." Zhao Si kicked my leg, and I winced in pain.

  The two of us walked towards that path, and before long, I couldn't help but ask Zhao Si: "Without a lighter, how did you light the fire?"

  I've heard of drilling wood for fire and drilling stone for fire, but I've never heard of taking fire from thin air. That feeling is like Lin Zhengying possessing someone.

  Before I could wait for an answer, I heard a series of hissing sounds, extremely piercing and felt as if they were coming from not far away.

  "What did you hear? Turn on the flashlight." I stopped my feet and called out to Zhao Si in a low voice, who was walking ahead. Zhao Si said that there was only one flashlight, so it had to be turned off and we had to grope our way through the darkness until the critical moment when it could be turned back on; otherwise, we would be forever groping in the dark within this tomb.

  Walking in the dark to the grave is an unwise move, who knows what kind of ghost will pop out in this eerie place, it's scary enough to kill someone. But at present, walking in the dark is unavoidable.

  Walking in the dark, I couldn't see anything at all, just following Zhao Si's footsteps to judge and walk forward, so as not to be like a headless fly. In this pitch-black situation, my ears became extremely sensitive, and even a slight sound would stimulate my entire nervous system.

  If there was a light source, at least I would know what's in front of me. I always feel like something is staring at me from the surroundings, that feeling is terrifying.

  Zhao Si's voice came from ahead, and he laughed saying: "Xiao Jiu Ye is actually afraid?"

  I pretended to be fearless and retorted, "You're the one who's scared."

  I really can't understand why everyone calls me Xiao Jiu Ye, even people I just met a moment ago seem to know me for a long time. It seems that among the people who entered the tomb together, except for that skinny monkey guy, all the others are people I've only seen after Grandpa disappeared.

  As I thought so, my feet continued to move forward, the soft shoes treading on the ground, feeling somewhat unsteady. By the time I realized it, I was standing still with great difficulty, not moving at all, and my scalp felt numb. I clearly felt that there was something very fast sliding forward under my feet just now, like a fish, freely coming and going in the water.

  I didn't dare to make a sound, nor did I dare to move, fearing that if I made the slightest movement, it would seem like big trouble was brewing. Maybe Zhao Si hadn't heard my footsteps after all. Then, a strong light shone over.