Chapter 1370: An Old Friend
When he entered the Imperial Tomb, Zu An reverted to his usual appearance. Continuing to pretend to be the Fiend Emperor there was pointless and would just intimidate the three women.
The three women were all alarmed. “Is it a monster similar to the Scaled Deathworms?” Their last experience in the Yu Clan’s mines had left them with a great psychological shadow.
Zu An shook his head. He didn’t know either. They all grew vigilant and stared at the moving walls, waiting for an attack from the things inside at any time.
Waves rippled across the dirt and stone of the walls. Then, a huge hole appeared, and something emerged from inside.
“Pah, pfft, pah, this fat guy was almost choked to death…” a plump figure cursed.
Zu An and the others nearly attacked, but when they heard the familiar voice and looked at him, they all voiced their surprise. “It’s you?”
It was none other than the one who had given them a divination back in Bluefield Country, the fat daoist Wu Liang who had gone with them to Lord Sui’s tomb.
“Huh? Why is it you guys?” Wu Liang also jumped in fright when he saw them. However, he sighed in relief when he saw that it was people he knew.
“Why are you here?” Zu An asked in confusion. This guy had too many things about him that were too mysterious. He couldn"t help but harbor some doubts.
“That’s what I should be asking you guys, right? How did so many people enter the Imperial Tomb? If I recall correctly, you guys have a grudge against the Golden Crow Crown Prince, right? Huh? Don’t tell me that…” Wu Liang’s mouth formed an O shape, and he looked completely shocked.
“Cease the nonsense. We’re the ones questioning you right now, and not the other way around,” Yun Jianyue berated him impatiently.
Perhaps because he sensed the killing intent in Yun Jianyue’s eyes, Wu Liang didn’t dare to continue being so talkative. He said with an embarra.s.sed smile, “I’ve been lacking funds recently, so I came to see if there were any treasures.”
“Your grave robbing took you all the way to the Imperial Tomb?” Yu Yanluo asked, her expression strange. “You really have no sense of fear.”
Wu Liang shrugged and replied with an embarra.s.sed laugh, “What can I say? The risk in the Imperial Tomb is high, but the rewards are also great.”
Yan Xuehen said suspiciously, “This Imperial Tomb is guarded heavily with killing formations everywhere. The walls in the Imperial Tomb aren’t ordinary either. Just now, I noticed that they were reinforced with runes, and there are all kinds of other defensive measures. Just how did you get in so easily?”
It was precisely because she understood runes and formations that she felt that Wu Liang’s claim wasn’t too reliable. The others looked at Wu Liang as well when they heard that, and their expressions became dangerous.
When he sensed real killing intent, Wu Liang immediately raised the item in his hand and said, “I relied on this to come in.”
The others gave it a careful look. They saw that in his hand was a dark claw that shone with a bit of golden light.
“This is that thing you got from Lord Sui’s Tomb?” Zu An asked. He had some impression of the item.
“Lord Sui’s Tomb? So that was the name of that tomb,” Wu Liang said, stunned. Then, he continued to explain, “That’s right. This is Ancestor Chuan Shan’s weapon, our Pangolin race’s holy object. It can allow us to move at will through the earth, and even break through some formation defenses.”
The others remembered the legend of the Pangolin race. Their clan had excelled at raiding tombs, which was why they had ended up drawing public anger. That was why other races had banded together and almost wiped out the entire race.
However, they probably hadn’t expected their descendant Wu Liang to be so ambitious, to dare to even raid the tomb of the former Fiend Emperors.
Yun Jianyue told the others through ki, “We can’t tell him about our goals this time. Should we just kill him?”
Yan Xuehen frowned and didn’t say anything. Even though she didn’t approve of killing the innocent, everyone else could just walk away from such a problem, but Yu Yanluo couldn"t. If the situation ended up harming the Snake race, it would be too late for regrets.
Wu Liang was a sharp person too. He sensed that there was something off with their expressions. He quickly said, “You’d better not do what you’re thinking! Even though I can’t win against you by myself, I’m not a pushover either! I can still draw the attention of the armies outside before I die. At that point, we’ll just go down together!”
Zu An’s group was speechless. This guy is quite straightforward, laying out all his cards right on the table.
Still, that wasn’t something they could risk either, because this guy was too mysterious. Who knew what kinds of life-saving measures he had? If they had a falling-out, he could really have a way of alerting the guards outside. That wouldn’t be good for anyone.
As such, Zu An said with a chuckle, “Daoist priest is overthinking things. We aren’t such cruel and violent people. It’s just that entering the Imperial Tomb is such an important matter, so we were a bit worried.”
Wu Liang immediately said, “Don’t worry, I can make a vow that I definitely won’t tell anyone that I met you here. Also, if you’re all still worried, I can follow you, so you can monitor everything I do.”
They exchanged a look, feeling a bit surprised. After all, they weren’t completely convinced that Wu Liang had entered just to rob a tomb. If he turned out to be from the crown prince faction, or the Fiend Emperor had sent him, letting him go would be too dangerous. And yet, this guy had actually given such a ‘considerate’ suggestion in the end. That would indeed make it much easier for everyone.
“Then let’s just travel together,” Zu An said seriously. That was all they could do for the time being. They would just observe Wu Liang along the way to see what his purpose for coming to the Imperial Tomb was.
“Sounds good~!” Wu Liang replied. When he heard that his life could be preserved at least, he smiled so widely that his eyes turned to slits.
…
The group then continued inside, secretly reminding each other to be on guard against a sudden ambush from Wu Liang while examining their surroundings. The pa.s.sage they entered was extremely wide and s.p.a.cious. It wasn’t as gloomy and cramped as the previous ones, and every few meters, there was a small golden crown-shaped lantern that lit up their path like sacred flames.
Wu Liang said in praise, “As expected of the Imperial Tomb. The fuel for these lanterns is from deep sea fish; it lets out no smoke when burned. It’s rumored that they can support flames for a thousand years without burning out.”
“Mermaid oil?” Zu An asked. He had heard of a similar rumor before, which caused his expression to change. After all, Shang Liuyu was from the Mermaid race.
“No way. The Mermaid race’s status among the Ocean races is too high.” Wu Liang explained, “This is oil from a kind of whale. It’s extremely precious even in the Ocean races. I’m pretty certain that this is something that the Ocean races offered to a Fiend Emperor as tribute.”
“You seem to know quite a bit,” Zu An said, giving him a look of surprise.
“Heh, that’s how I make a living,” Wu Liang said with a proud look.
…
After walking for a while longer, they all noticed that there were all kinds of murals around them. Still, calling them mere murals didn’t seem too appropriate, because they seemed to have been carved through a special method. Their contents were extremely grand, seemingly portraying some kind of war; it seemed to be a battle between terrifying ferocious beasts.
Wu Liang explained, “What’s portrayed here are the things the past Fiend Emperors have been proudest of, their glorious achievements that later generations will admire them for.”
Yun Jianyue gave him a sidelong glance and asked, “You’re so familiar with this that this can’t be your first trip here, can it?”
“No no no, I’ve just done a lot of homework. After all, as coming to the Imperial Tomb is so dangerous, I had to be a bit more thorough.” Wu Liang explained, sounding sincere.
The others were suspicious. Considering the Imperial Tomb’s situation, it’d probably be hard to find out anything no matter how much homework one did, right? Still, with the level of security present, the idea that he could come and go several times didn’t seem too realistic either.
The Pangolin race really was good at tomb raiding. With Wu Liang there, they were able to avoid many dangerous contraptions along the way. The token the Second Empress had given them could only deal with the killing formations outside the Imperial Tomb. It was useless against the formations inside the Imperial Tomb.
Wu Liang constantly inquired about their objective, but Zu An’s group was intelligent. Naturally, they didn’t say anything.
Just like that, the group continued to head in deeper. When they arrived at a fork, Wu Liang pointed straight ahead and said, “The Golden Crow Crown Prince is most likely going through the previous Fiend Emperors’ trial inside.
“Then let’s go this way,” Zu An said, choosing the other way.
Wu Liang was a bit surprised, exclaiming, “So you guys didn’t come for him! Could it be that you’re after the Imperial Tomb’s treasury, just like me?”
“What treasury?” they asked as they suddenly looked at him.
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