King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 228

"The Filipinos' emergency distress signal should belong to the unique indigenous language of the Yamalk people?" A huge question mark of astonishment appeared on Gu Qingcheng's face. "The Philippine waters are far to the southeast. How could the indigenous language of that place appear here?"

I was even more shocked than she was, because one of my friends was fluent in the language and was one of the most notorious gangsters in Southeast Asia.

When the whistle sounded again, it was much closer. This time it was an extremely long whistle, with six melodious turns and variations in pitch, like a lonely lark singing loudly.

Gu Qingcheng quickly glanced at her watch: "It lasted for fifteen seconds? This person has profound internal strength. He can keep making a whistling sound while running at high speed."

I'm almost certain of that person's identity—the tiger! The tiger who disappeared after stealing the "Scripture of the Underworld" in the Egyptian desert!

A gust of wind rustled past, and Uncle Wei appeared beside Gu Qingcheng: "Miss, has a powerful enemy arrived?"

His reaction was faster than I expected; he already had a dark, heavy submachine gun in his hand, the safety already popped open.

The sentries stood blankly, clutching their submachine guns and gazing into the distance. Perhaps the increasing number of mysterious events in the cave had numbed their senses, so they could only passively accept any new situation and were unable to make a quick response.

“They’re not necessarily enemies, Mr. Feng. What do you mean?” Gu Qingcheng’s gaze swept over me.

I maintained a faint smile, but my heart was in turmoil, like a stampede of horses and a raging army. If the tiger really did appear here, the "Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs Scripture," which had vanished without a trace, would also reappear, allowing the search for my elder brother's clues to continue.

It's a pity that Suren isn't here; perhaps only she can share in my joy at this moment.

"Tell the snipers to prepare to fire! Everyone on alert! Everyone on alert!" Uncle Wei shouted in a low voice, and the two messengers behind him immediately ran off.

Tiger's internal strength, martial arts skills, knife skills, and marksmanship are unparalleled in the Southeast Asian underworld. Moreover, he has a powerful Australian family backing him up. If he weren't so carefree, he could have established a powerful sect that would dominate the martial arts world long ago.

I really hope he can appear and become a powerful assistant in helping me get out of this predicament.

When the whistling sound appeared for the third time with a frequency of three long, two short, and one long, I took a deep breath, exerted my strength in my dantian, and let out the whistling sound as I rushed south.

After the battle at Fuuki-ji Temple in Japan, my internal strength had been subtly improved with the help and guidance of several masters, and today was the first time I had used it. As soon as the whistle sounded, it shook the surrounding valleys, creating countless echoes, and immediately drowned out the opponent's whistles.

The night was still dark, but guided by our voices, we met on the top of a small, protruding hill within half a minute.

"Tiger—" I shouted from thirty paces away, my heart pounding with excitement, and I even tasted a slightly sweet, metallic flavor of blood in my throat.

The man was dressed in a gray leather outfit, with a beige silk scarf around his neck, the half-foot-long tassels swaying in the wind. When we were fifteen paces apart, he began to laugh loudly, leaping into the air and embracing me in mid-air before we spun and landed together.

"Wind, we finally meet again! I thought our parting in the desert was the last time we'd ever see each other. Haha, thank God, you've brought me back to the world of the living once more! Hahahaha..." His laughter startled all the nearby owls, who flapped their wings and chirped as they flew into the depths of the bushes.

Besides a tiger, who else possesses such a heroic spirit that can shake the mountains and forests with a single laugh? I never expected to see him in this place.

His hands were still rough and strong, and his full beard flew wildly in the wind: "Feng, do you have any wine? Let's have a drink, brothers, and then discuss this incredibly strange matter—"

I let go of his hand and suddenly saw a two-inch-long wound on his left cheek, with flesh turned outwards and blood beads constantly rolling down his neck.

"What happened? Who hurt you? Where's Tang Xin?" I asked urgently. Anyone capable of injuring a tiger like that must possess extremely high martial arts skills. If they're still nearby, I must warn Gu Qingcheng and Uncle Wei to be on their guard.

“Feng, this wound was given to me by the Japanese, but it happened during the last theft of the scriptures… Sigh, it’s a story that can’t be told in a few words. Let’s drink first, and I’ll tell you while we drink.”

The tiger frowned, a huge "川" (river) character appearing between his eyebrows. His eyes, besides showing anxiety, were filled with unspeakable confusion.

I'm sure that our every move is being clearly seen through the sniper's scope.

I glanced in the direction the tiger had come from; the distant mountains were dark and rugged, with towering peaks and dense, overgrown trees, concealing countless unknown dangers. Since he insisted on going for a drink first, I could only let him be.

Back at the camp, all the team members had been released from emergency alert and dispersed, leaving only Gu Qingcheng and Uncle Wei waiting there.

Tiger paid close attention to Uncle Wei, secretly glancing at him more than once, a silent killing intent permeating between the two.

I brought him into my tent. Drinking was a minor matter; I was really curious to know what had happened to make him so confused.

Tiger only began to relax after a whole case of Rémy Martin cognac was brought up. "Feng, where did you find these helpers? That old guy looks very strange, and that girl, though she always has a smile on her face, is full of murderous intent. Hmm, it's really bad for you to be with them. Where's Miss Suren? Didn't she come?" He opened a bottle of liquor, muttering to himself, took two big gulps, and let out a long "tsk" of a sigh.

A seasoned veteran like him has eyes that can see through someone's disguise in an instant. I remained silent, letting him ramble on, hoping to get back to the main topic as soon as possible.

In fact, every seasoned figure in the martial arts world has their own secrets. After all, only they know how many wounds they have and how deep they are, which allow them to survive repeatedly in the midst of bloodshed.

"Feng, if I told you that for many days I have been imprisoned in a transparent space, doing strange things day after day, would you believe me?" He tilted his head back and took a few more gulps, emptying half the bottle.

I added three ice cubes to the glass and pushed it towards him: "Hey, Remy Martin without ice tastes worse than aviation kerosene, have you forgotten?"

Chilled drinks make people more sober, and tonight is still a long night; I don't want him to pass out in just a few minutes.

Tiger obediently filled the glass with wine, held it up to his eyes, and muttered to himself in a blank and helpless tone, "For many days, I've been stuck in that space like an ice cube, half-dead and half-alive, unable to find any way out. I've thought about death more than ten times, but I don't know if dying in such a place would still send my soul to heaven or hell, so I could only endure it until just now when I suddenly had a chance to escape. What's more, the first thing I'll encounter outside is you. Is it fate that I have to go back and save Xiaoxin?"

The ice cubes swayed restlessly in the brown liquor, like three elusive sprites.

"Tiger, you're just rambling on and on; no one can understand you."

I told him frankly that I didn't want to play guessing games with anyone through a vague and cryptic narrative; I just wanted to find out what had happened to him and Tang Xin as quickly as possible.

The tiger stroked its bristling whiskers, smiled wryly, and asked, "Wind, could you give me a mirror?"

The mirror was right by the bedside; I picked it up and handed it to him.

"Why haven't I changed at all in all these days? Even the length of my beard is the same as before. Can anyone tell me why?" He grabbed his beard tightly, the skin on the back of his hand as pale as his face. Only living in a place without sunlight for a long time could cause such a sickly color.

"In that place, time stands still. The wind—the changes in my body before and after I went in were almost negligible, but I was indeed imprisoned for a very long time—"

He raised his wrist, and a silver Seiko watch was diligently performing its function, the second hand ticking steadily.

I frowned, still not quite understanding.

The table, imprisonment, beard length, a mysterious space—how are they all connected in sequence?

Little Red Devil was still fast asleep, emitting soft snores. He really was still a child who hadn't grown up; once he fell asleep, even if the sky were to fall and the earth were to collapse outside, it wouldn't matter to him.

"Tiger, please answer three questions seriously: What happened after you stole the scriptures in the desert? Why did you come to the Sichuan-Tibet border? Who imprisoned you and where?"

I stared at him; this heroic figure, who "would not flinch even if a mountain collapsed before him," seemed unusually dejected. Of course, what I needed to know most was who had the "Scripture of the Yellow Springs and the Netherworld" now.

Tiger tilted his head back, downed the entire glass of wine in one gulp, crunched on the ice cubes, and his bloodshot eyes darted back and forth as if he were trying to think: "Alright, when we stole the scriptures from the Japanese, I was hit by a trap set by Tanino. A poisoned seven-star dart slashed my cheek, leaving me in a semi-conscious state. Carefully hide me in the sand dunes. Song Jiu killed the vegetative person in the camp, disguised himself as me, and dumped me deep in the desert, exactly opposite to our escape route. The Egyptian army is very good at pursuing, but luckily you came with us, preventing us from being discovered while hiding inside the camel's belly."

That mysterious disappearance infuriated Tina, because Tang Xin had vanished with the Egyptian president's special envoy, Lu Jiacan, which was tantamount to cutting off the president's arm out of thin air.

"What about Lu Jiacan? Was he also killed by Song Jiu?" Once I learned that the vegetative dragon wasn't killed by Tiger, I breathed a sigh of relief. Tiger wasn't the kind of person who indiscriminately killed innocent people in the martial arts world; he always had a valid reason for killing, which was why he was able to establish his formidable prestige in the Southeast Asian martial arts world.

Tiger paused for a moment, then grabbed the bottle and poured himself a full glass.

"Tiger, don't hide it from me. It's no fun if friends are always hiding things from each other and playing riddles." I could see his hesitation.

"Then... can I choose not to answer?" The tiger's expression turned serious.

"Why? Because of Tang Xin?" I pressed.

Lu Jiacan's time in the desert was very short, and he rarely spoke or participated in important matters, so I suspect that he came with some kind of mysterious mission.

The tiger silently raised his glass, choosing to remain silent.

"Okay, the second question, why did you come here? Was it by chance or by design?" The enthusiasm I had for seeing the tiger was gradually cooling down.

Tiger's answer was much more fluent: "Careful, the secret to restoring the Tang Clan of Sichuan lies in these mountains, so we left Song Jiu in Cairo to await news and rushed over immediately. We might as well answer the third question at the same time. Careful understood the contents of the *Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs Scripture*, and led me through tunnels, snake formations, and iron chain bridges, directly to the stone house. Right in front of the stone tablet inscribed with the words 'Heavenly Ladder,' a person wearing a golden mask suddenly appeared. Within a few rounds, we were hypnotized and lost consciousness within seconds. When I awoke again, I was in a transparent cylindrical space, about fifteen meters high, divided into four levels, connected by a spiral staircase—"

Part Four: The Star Array, Chapter Ten: Pandora's Box

My senses were instantly triggered, and I lightly tapped the table: "Please stop for a moment and tell me, is there a light source there? Do those stairs automatically emit white light?"

Tiger asked in astonishment, "How do you know? The staircase does indeed glow, but the light source isn't just from it. Looking out from inside the space, the surrounding stone walls and the ground are also glowing—a kind of irregular, diffuse white light, clean and soft, not dazzling at all. The most amazing thing is that the ceiling and floor of the space are also transparent. At the top, you can see the changes of day and night, the sun, moon, and stars, while at the bottom, you can overlook a vast ancient city."

I stood up and suddenly felt a chill run through my body. I had a similar unforgettable experience at Fuuki-ji Temple in Japan, the only difference being that last time I saw the sea, while this time the tiger saw a cave.

"Feng, what's wrong with you? Don't worry about me, I'm standing here perfectly fine now. I was trapped for so long, about two hours ago, a huge force suddenly hurled me away, and I landed on a pile of rubble. I tried to find the entrance to that space again, but there was nothing there."

Tiger seemed much more relaxed after revealing his deepest secret, but this heavy psychological burden suddenly weighed on me. Not everyone can escape from this space; neither Tiger nor I could explain why we were able to get out.

If I lead this group forward, besides facing the terrifying snake formation, I might also be imprisoned for life. Wouldn't that harm most people?

"I wasn't worried about you. I just felt that there were just too many unsolved mysteries in the world, dazzling and unbelievable." When Guan Baoling and I were trapped in the glass box, my depressed and anxious mood was no better than that of the tiger.

The tiger chuckled sheepishly: "I'll go back, but be careful, they might still be there."

"Are you sure? So much time has passed, surely she won't escape on her own?" I know perfectly well that Tang Xin's intelligence far surpasses Tiger's. Regardless of whether Tang Xin used the "Emperor's Gu" on Tiger, Tiger's attitude towards her alone is enough to tell that he would risk his life for her.

When a man is willing to do that for a woman, it can only be attributed to love, whether blind or obsessive. But there is only one ending: either a happy reunion when they return together, or a tragic love story where they go to the underworld together.

He glanced at his watch, silently calculated for a few seconds, and then answered with absolute certainty: "We made a pact to survive. Whoever returned first would build a bonfire in front of the tunnel and keep it burning for 24 hours. I was trapped for 43 days, and I believe Xiaoxin did the same."

The tiger sitting in front of me at this moment has been completely transformed. He is no longer the overlord who once dominated the Southeast Asian underworld, but seems to have become a young man in the bloom of youth.

I sighed helplessly: "Perfect, with a good guide like you, we can smoothly begin the next step of our operation. You need to find Tang Xin, and I also need to search for Su Lun's whereabouts. I hope she has had a similar experience to you, just trapped, and can return unharmed in the end."

In any case, the addition of the tiger is always a good thing.

The bottle of wine was empty, and the tiger's face flushed, but his mood was clearly improving.

"The wind, that person wearing the golden mask, moves with an extremely strange speed, as fast as a wisp of smoke. According to Xiaoxin, if you enter that round stone house, you can find a mysterious 'source of life.' It's a strange tool left behind by the ancient goddess Nuwa when she created humans, capable of instantly granting people boundless and immense power. Almost everyone on Earth covets it, wanting to possess it. In other words, whoever obtains it can create thousands of troops anytime, anywhere, invincible and unstoppable—"

I raised my hand to interrupt him, and asked with slight dissatisfaction, "Tiger, what exactly does Tang Xin want? What do you want? Surely you don't want to continue the dream of unifying the world that so many heroes throughout history have had?"

Tiger has indeed changed; he is no longer the carefree and indifferent person he once was.

The tent was filled with the aroma of wine. Tiger was not drunk at all, but he was talking nonsense: "What you say is what I will do; whatever you do is something I am happy to accompany you from beginning to end."

"Clap, clap!" Little Red Devil jumped up, clapping and laughing, "Good, well said! A hero turned lover, I admire you, I admire you!"

I thought he was asleep, but it turned out he was just pretending to be asleep, taking the opportunity to eavesdrop.

"Little fellow, who are you to dare laugh at me?" The tiger's face, which had already turned red, suddenly turned purplish-red.

"Why can't I laugh at you? People under the influence of Gu like to talk to themselves in wishful thinking. Want to know who Tang Xin likes the most? I can find out in ten seconds and tell you—" Red Little Ghost grinned, grabbed a bottle of foreign liquor, and looked down at the label.

The tiger roared, "I'll kill you—" and slammed his paw on the table, sending the empty bottle flying. Just before he could swing his arm horizontally to smash the bottle at the little red devil, I managed to grab it, deflecting the fierce blow.

"Tiger, calm down." The situation in the camp is already chaotic enough; I don't want to make things worse.

"Who is this little guy? Feng, why are you always surrounded by so many weird monsters?" Tiger opened another bottle of wine, filled the glass, grabbed a handful of ice cubes with his left hand, and stuffed them into his mouth, crunching them haphazardly.

To be honest, his nature is rough, bold, and unrestrained. If he were to constantly serve Tang Xin cautiously, it would be tantamount to deliberately distorting his own temperament, and he would eventually go insane. Moreover, Tang Xin, being such a delicate and pampered person, doesn't seem like someone a tiger could easily handle.

"He's Red Devil, the helper I invited." I've always maintained a peaceful attitude, hoping to organically unite this large group of sharp-tongued figures in the underworld to achieve our common goal.

Red Ghost tossed aside the wine bottle, tapped a few times on the nearest computer with his left hand, and read aloud: "Tang Xin, the future leader of the Tang Clan in Sichuan, just completed the 'Hundred Deaths Divine Skill' ten months ago. He possesses super strong mental control and is adept at using it to control the actions of various poisonous insects. He is covered in poison and should not be approached."

The tiger seemed somewhat numb, probably already very familiar with this information.

I had heard Tang Xin talk about cultivating the "Hundred Deaths Divine Skill" herself, so I wasn't too surprised.

"Tang Xin keeps a low profile. According to reliable sources, her real purpose is to find someone. In the Tang Clan's secret family genealogy, there is a portrait of the founding patriarch, a person with extraordinary abilities. Tang Xin wants to find him, rebuild the Tang Clan in Sichuan, and become the leader of the martial arts world—uh, look, this so-called founding patriarch actually has a pair of square eyes, haha, utterly ridiculous..."

Red Devil slapped his forehead and grinned.

"Square eyes? Has the person who drew the chart lost their mind?" Tiger raised his glass, becoming somewhat delirious. For someone who had just survived a near-death experience and escaped, alcohol might have some benefits; let him be.

I controlled my excitement, slowly walked to the computer, and zoomed in on the picture on the screen to its maximum.

It was a line drawing copied from an ancient book. A tall, imposing man stood before two large doors, bald, with square eyes, hands on his hips, dressed in the style of the late Tang Dynasty. At his feet, on either side, was a huge square box, its lid open, revealing a dense array of tiny compartments inside.

Aside from his strange eyes, he was a truly imposing man.