Chapter 42: A Fragment of the Young Man's Memory

"Mm," the Kid began, "Wang Zanghai even buried himself in another place, delusionally hoping to achieve enlightenment and become an immortal after death."

"Wang Zanghai? The Cloud顶 Sky Palace... Kid, what else do you know!" Wu Tianzhen looked at the Kid earnestly. "Back then, what on earth happened to that archaeological team?!"

"Hey, hey, hey? What do you mean?" Fatty looked at the two of them in astonishment. "Are you saying the person in the photograph is really the Kid? Then wouldn't he be at least around the same age as your Third Uncle?"

"What of it? For all we know, the Kid might be much older than Third Uncle!" Wu Yu smiled. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was looking, he planted a signal transmitter and a scanner onto the stone gate, feeling a slight pang of regret that he couldn't thoroughly explore this place the way he did King Lu Shang's palace. He feared that the scanned 3D model would end up incomplete.

The Kid shook his head. "When we entered this place back then, we didn't take this path, but things were relatively peaceful. Because your Third Uncle had a falling out with Xie Lianhuan, they split up. In the very hall we just passed, Third Uncle found the exit first and actually fled alone, leaving us behind. By the time we managed to reopen the exit, your Third Uncle was already gone."

"Later, we entered the heavenly palace, but before long, we were knocked unconscious. When I woke up, I was already in a hospital, and all my memories were gone. Even my name was found by the doctor on the back of a photograph of mine."

"Ah?" Hearing the Kid's words, Wu Tianzhen fell into silence. "If you were also a member of Third Uncle's team back then, why did Third Uncle claim when he returned home that he was the only one who made it out alive from that operation?"

"In this sunken shipwreck tomb, what on earth happened?"

"Even you, Kid, were knocked unconscious? Qilin blood is supposed to be completely immune to all poisons!" Wu Yu couldn't help but say, "It looks like next time we see Third Uncle, I can ask him about your identity, Kid."

Such a targeted item was definitely not something that could be acquired easily. Therefore, there was a very high probability that Third Uncle knew something about the Kid's past!

Upon hearing this, the Kid nodded. "I did indeed feel a sense of familiarity regarding Wu Sanshu. The last time I agreed to go with him to King Lu Shang's palace, it was because there was something strange and familiar about him emanating from his body, which was why I agreed."

"Aiya, we've rested enough, let's get moving!" Fatty was getting somewhat impatient. Knowing that the Cloud-Top Sky Palace was next, he was extremely excited.

"I reckon your intentions aren't just about the scenery!" Wu Yu chuckled.

"Heh heh, Master Yu knows me!" Fatty gave an honest, foolish grin. "Since we've gone through all this trouble to come here with so many dangers, we've got to make a profit somehow!"

"You can take items, but remember one thing: if I find out that anything you sell ends up flowing out of the country, you'd better watch out for my sword drilling a few holes in your body!" Wu Yu warned Fatty.

"Hey! Look at what you're saying, Master Yu, how could that be possible! Fatty still has that bit of morality. How could our ancestors' treasures end up in foreign lands?" Fatty patted his chest and guaranteed.

"Something's wrong!" Wu Yu suddenly exclaimed. "Run! This corridor is narrowing!"

"What?" The three of them were startled, and the next second they scrambled to their feet and ran.

"Wait! Aren't we walking through the Gate of Life?" Wu Tianzhen asked in astonishment. "Then why did we still trigger a mechanism?!"

Having run for quite a while, there was still no sign of the exit ahead. The length of this corridor exceeded all imagination, which was precisely why Wu Tianzhen couldn't understand why such a dangerous mechanism would be set in the Gate of Life!

"We're done for, we're done for, Fatty is going to turn into a meat patty!" As the one with the widest build, Fatty naturally felt the pressure closing in first.

"That shouldn't be. When we came here before, this corridor had no mechanisms!" The Kid also turned somewhat solemn, as they truly seemed to be facing a desperate situation.

"Climb up!" Wu Yu suddenly caught a glimpse of something flashing in the darkness above and urged urgently.

"If we could find this place, others could too, not to mention there was another group that entered with us!"

"Heh! Master Yu, are you talking about that little wench A Ning?" Hearing this, Fatty instantly felt his anger flare up.

"We trusted her too much. When Third Uncle partnered with them, how could they have agreed so easily unless Third Uncle offered some conditions they couldn't refuse, and gave them clues and intelligence about the tomb as an exchange?" Wu Yu said as he climbed.

Spotting an opportunity, he exerted strength in his feet and vaulted several meters high. However, the next second, his expression shifted slightly: "Watch out, the walls are coated with burning oil!"

But the warning came too late, as Fatty and Wu Tianzhen had already been slid all the way to the bottom by the sudden grease, and the Kid had nearly lost his footing and fallen as well.

Seeing this, Wu Yu quickly climbed to the top, tossed a rope down to the three of them, and shouted, "Climb up quickly!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" After Fatty and Wu Tianzhen grabbed the rope, Wu Yu hauled them up rapidly, the two of them feeling weightless in his hands.

At the same time, the Kid wedged his Black Gold Ancient Saber horizontally against the walls to keep them from closing in, buying precious time for the two of them.

"Damn it, when we get back this time, Fatty is definitely going to lose weight!" Fatty took a heavy gasp of air after pulling himself up.

"Kid!" Wu Yu grabbed the rope and tossed it down once more.

Seeing this, the Kid drew his Black Gold Ancient Saber, leaped forward at the crucial moment, grabbed the rope tightly, and swung himself out with a burst of strength, flinging his body into the air.

"Bang!"

The two stone walls closed completely without leaving the tiniest gap. At the very last split second, the Kid managed to escape certain death and landed steadily on his feet.

"Phew—" Wu Tianzhen collapsed onto the ground, looking down at his feet. Recalling the thrilling moment just now, he couldn't help feeling a lingering wave of fear. "Bro... do you think... did A Ning really do this?"

"Bah! Who else besides that little wench could possibly enter this underwater tomb?" Seeing Wu Tianzhen acting like this, Fatty couldn't help but feel exasperated at his lack of resolve.

"Maybe it was those underwater ghosts or water monkeys?" Wu Yu shook his head and said no more.

But was that even possible?

It could be practically guaranteed that, aside from A Ning, it was no one else.

"Aiya, Master Yu, stop messing with me!" Suddenly, Fatty twisted his body and looked at Wu Yu.

"What are you talking about?" Wu Yu looked at Fatty, puzzled.

"???" Fatty was utterly bewildered. "Master Yu, why are you over there? Then who was just tickling me..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Fatty froze completely, turning deathly pale as he looked at the other three and frantically signaled with his eyes.

Seeing this, Wu Tianzhen immediately understood. Without a word of nonsense, he retreated to block the Kid behind him. The Kid abruptly drew his saber, vaulted past the two of them, and landed right behind Fatty.

A flash of black light burst forth, and under that single saber strike, even the solid rock was cleaved out with a deep chunk missing.

"You two, get over here!" Wu Yu pulled Wu Tianzhen back and stared fixedly at the creature before them. "What on earth is this thing?"

"Never seen it before!" Fatty shook his head.

"I haven't either," Wu Tianzhen chimed in.

As they looked closer, the creature fighting the Kid was extremely bizarre: its upper body resembled a human infant, but its entire body was covered in white fur, making it look much more like a small white monkey!

Yet the strange part was its lower body, which shockingly turned out to be the body of a cat!

"Why does this thing kind of look like a centaur from Western mythology?" Wu Yu muttered with a strange expression.