Chapter 6: Traps in the Passageway

Seeing me frozen in place, the man in the black jacket was the first to notice. He cautiously walked behind me and asked in a low voice, “Did you find something?”

I snapped out of my daze and replied calmly, “I wouldn’t call it a discovery, just that this mural feels odd.”

“Mural? What’s odd about it?” The man in the black jacket glanced at the mural before us, unable to make sense of my words.

I shook my head and explained honestly, “This mural shouldn’t belong to this tomb. Judging by the construction of the passage and the fired stone bricks, this tomb is likely from the Tang Dynasty. But the style of this mural is reminiscent of the Western Han period.”

I voiced my doubts. Hearing this, Ma Xu curiously leaned in and said with a smirk, “Maybe the tomb owner just liked Western Han murals, a fan of Han culture, you know? Ha!”

“Shut your damn mouth. If anyone’s a fan, it’s you!” Zhao Zhiqiang had long been annoyed with Ma Xu and seized the chance to curse at him.

The man in the black jacket frowned impatiently and ordered coldly, “Enough, both of you! My head’s already spinning!”

With the black jacket’s command, both Ma Xu and Zhao Zhiqiang fell silent, obediently standing behind him, waiting for him and me to analyze the mural.

“Perhaps I’m overthinking this. No need for everyone to worry.” I pondered for a while but still couldn’t figure out why the mural had a Western Han style. Not wanting to delay our progress, I reminded myself to stay humble, considering it was my first time in a tomb.

“Ahem, I thought it was something serious. Brother Pang, if nothing’s wrong, let’s move on.” Zhao Zhiqiang, hearing my words, immediately relaxed and strode forward. I quietly followed behind them, walking out of the passage together.

At that moment, I suddenly caught the scent of sulfur powder in the air. Feeling something was off, I stopped immediately. Seeing me halt, the man in the black jacket also came to a stop.

“What’s wrong?” His words brought both Ma Xu and Zhao Zhiqiang over to check on the situation.

Without answering, I pulled Ma Xu toward me and sniffed his clothes. Strangely, there was no trace of sulfur powder on him now, yet the air clearly carried the smell.

Suddenly realizing something, I widened my eyes and asked Ma Xu nervously, “Where’s your sulfur powder?”

Ma Xu was startled by the question and stammered, “I already collected all of it. I was worried we’d encounter bugs, so I treated it like treasure and gathered it all in this little paper packet!” As he spoke, he anxiously fished out the packet and opened it, as if afraid I wouldn’t believe him.

Seeing this, my heart skipped a beat. I crouched down and began carefully inspecting the ground.

“What’s going on?” Zhao Zhiqiang asked anxiously, not comprehending the situation.

I looked up, frowning deeply, and said with resignation, “We’ve triggered a trap. We’re back in the passage we walked through earlier.”

“What! That’s impossible—we were walking straight the whole time!” Zhao Zhiqiang panicked, raising his voice, but a sharp look from the man in the black jacket silenced him.

The man in the black jacket was much calmer. With a grave expression, he asked, “Are you sure?”

I sighed and nodded just as seriously. Picking up a bit of sulfur powder from the ground, I held it out before Ma Xu. The moment he saw it, his eyes widened in shock and his trembling finger pointed at the powder in my hand. He nodded nervously, panic in his eyes. “Yes, yes, that’s the sulfur powder that fell off me!”

“Exactly. This sulfur powder is unique to my Wang family’s secret recipe. I can recognize it instantly. This is definitely what fell off Ma Xu during the fight with the bugs earlier. While he collected the powder from his clothes, he missed what fell to the ground, right?” I gave Ma Xu a look, and he quickly nodded in agreement.

Upon witnessing this, the man in the black jacket picked up his flashlight, examined the surroundings, and muttered in confusion, “That doesn’t make sense. We’ve already exited the passage—there are no murals here. It’s not the same place where we encountered the bugs.”

“It is the same ground; only the environment around us has changed.” I stood up, my tone firm.

“What do you mean?” The man in the black jacket frowned, not quite understanding, but his eyes showed he believed me.

I paced a few steps, then said solemnly, “The floor is the same, but the walls and surroundings have shifted. In other words, the floor and walls here can move. We’re completely at the mercy of the tomb owner’s mechanisms.”

“What? Then what do we do? Are we trapped here?” Ma Xu grew frantic, muttering to himself. I only caught the end: “He’s right, I read about such mechanisms in a book once. The walls and floors rearrange to create new environments, ever-changing, trapping intruders forever!”

The more Ma Xu spoke, the paler he became, until despair was written all over his face and his body went limp.

“Damn it, what kind of cursed place is this? I’ve been in so many tombs and never seen anything this sinister!” Zhao Zhiqiang cursed, trying to appear calm, but it was clear he was unraveling.

The man in the black jacket didn’t want any drama. He growled, “Shut up, all of you. Complaining won’t get us out—better to keep calm and think of a solution!”

Chastened by his words, Ma Xu and Zhao Zhiqiang fell silent, though hopelessness was still etched on their faces.

“What do we do now?” the man in the black jacket asked, clearly trusting me. After all, even though it was my first time in a tomb, I was still from a family of official tomb raiders. The knowledge and skills I possessed were far beyond their reach. Not to mention, my family’s secret “Dragon-Seeking Manual” was a legendary art they could only dream of.

I considered for a moment and replied steadily, “The only way to defeat the mechanism now is to leave marks. It’s the simplest solution, but also the most effective. No matter how many ways this tomb can change, we’ll eventually find our way out.”