Chen Qinghan stared at my face for two seconds, then gave a faint smile, "Forgot too?"
His gaze moved to the top of my head, "You're wearing a lotus on your head, Fuqu endures summer and fits into autumn... How about I call you Little Fu for now?"
Getting rid of the name 'zongzi' was my greatest wish. I would be happy to be called Little Fu, even Little Maggot, if I could shake that off.
I instantly felt much better about him and wanted to drag him back to the main tomb chamber, sparing him the trouble of tossing back and forth. Every tomb raider's ultimate goal is the main tomb chamber, and entering it often leads to despair. Those who didn't make it, perished along the way.
I hoped Chen Qinghan could live a bit longer. We could play Go or word association to pass the time over the next decade or so.
Chen Qinghan was about to step forward when I stopped him and wrote on the ground: Return to the passage you came down from, there's a route leading to the main tomb chamber.
Chen Qinghan was momentarily stunned, then he laughed, "Our destination isn't the main tomb chamber. Do you want to go? Is that your temporary residence?"
My ability to manage expressions wasn't too agile yet; I intended to raise an eyebrow but ended up just wrinkling my nose.
A group of tomb raiders that doesn't want to enter the main chamber... It seems the background of this team 317 tomb raiding players isn't simple. They're a team with depth, a unique team.
"Let's find my companions first, then accompany you back to the main chamber, alright?" Once again, Chen Qinghan used that gentle tone to soften my resolve.
I had zero intention of finding Miss Scream, but I needed someone to 'navigate.' With Chen Qinghan's good demeanor, if all went smoothly, he'd likely be my future 'roommate.' Why should I refuse him?
The inside of the tomb passage was pitch dark. Chen Qinghan moved ahead with a flashlight. The so-called maze-like passage didn't mean it was a true maze, but symbolically described its complexity and variability.
I overheard many tomb robbers discussing it, each with a different narrative, and exiting at different spots.
This means, the passage's exit wasn't fixed. I entrusted all hope to Chen Qinghan, obediently following him.
After a while, I suddenly heard a swishing sound as something was rapidly approaching me.
"Professor Chen! Duck quickly, something's behind you—" A teenager's clearly voice-cracking voice came from around the corner of the passage.
Chen Qinghan reacted swiftly. He reached out and caught the object thrown at me firmly.
It was a hairy creature's front leg, judging by its size, definitely not a donkey's hoof. I've seen plenty—if not a thousand then at least eight hundred—donkey's hooves, so I'm somewhat authoritative in distinguishing their authenticity.
"Professor Chen? Were you kidnapped? If so, blink!" The teenager hid around the corner, peeking out half his face.
"No need to be nervous. She's human and might have developed aphasia after being trapped for so long." Chen Qinghan confidently claimed to his companion that I was human, based on unknown reasoning.
"Oh, got it, that's a relief～"
He actually believed it, without even asking for proof!
I roughly guessed why the main team had abandoned them; these four were obviously not professional tomb raiders.
A woman who only screamed at zongzi, Chen Qinghan who believed a zongzi was human, and this teenager with the fake donkey's hooves—they were barely even amateur tomb raiders.
Only the burly man, always carrying a machine gun, seemed professional. He'd shot a burst at me before, but unfortunately, not a single shot hit.
"Professor Chen, this maze isn't arranged by the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Formation, my skills are useless. Does she know the way?" The teenager emerged from the corner and tucked his compass into his chest cross-body bag.
"She doesn't remember the path, likely trapped for quite some time, but she said the main chamber is safe."
I widened my eyes at Chen Qinghan, thinking when did I ever say the main tomb chamber was safe?
But then again, there was some truth — there were no traps in the main chamber. After living safely there for years, it certainly felt safe.
Yet, I couldn't quite keep up with Chen Qinghan's train of thought, feeling like I was being led by him by the nose.
"Huh? Wasn't our goal the Nine Nether Flower? That thing's not in the main chamber!" The teenager's words baffled me.
What is this Nine Nether Flower? I've lived in this tomb for millennia, never heard of such a thing.
Such a fantastical name, was it me who time-traveled, or were they out of their minds?
"This tomb is filled with traps. A safe spot to regroup and discuss plans is invaluable."
"True～ but first, we need to get out of this maze, right? Professor Chen, any ideas?"
"I do, but we must find Miss Cheng first."
"Ah—"
Just as Chen Qinghan finished speaking, the familiar screaming started again. Some people just shouldn't be mentioned, they must belong to the clan of Cao Cao!
Now it's fine, we followed the screams over and indeed found Miss Cheng spinning amidst a pile of snakes.
I tried to keep my distance, afraid my brain might shatter from her screams.
Chen Qinghan took a packet of what seemed like medicine out from his backpack, grabbing a handful of powder. Before he could take it out, I stopped him.
I wrote on the ground: These snakes are harmless.
Initially, I wanted to tell them these snakes were old; they were paralyzed, demented, bone-spurred sick snakes.
Miss Scream had merely barged into their 'senior center,' otherwise, they'd have bitten her to death already.
From early on, I've known I could communicate with the tomb's creatures, but given their small brain capacity, conversations were limited to a few phrases, making talking to them utterly boring.
As soon as we neared, I heard the snakes moaning and groaning about aches and pains.
So, I stopped Chen Qinghan, not wanting him to waste the medicine powder. There are many younger, stronger tomb guardian beasts in this tomb.
"Miss Cheng, these snakes are harmless. Just walk over." Chen Qinghan put the medicine powder back in the bag.
Upon hearing his voice, Miss Cheng opened her eyes wide. She was so frightened that her beauty faded, not to mention her makeup was ruined. She had descended into the tomb with a full face of makeup. It wasn't uncommon, as all women love beauty. But her mascara wasn't waterproof!
Her face, caked with thick white powder, coupled with mascara running into black eye circles, and her sultry red lipstick smearing from turning in circles with disheveled hair—at first glance, I might have thought a ghost appeared in the tomb.
"Qinghan!" Miss Scream jumped out of the snake cluster, lunging towards Chen Qinghan.
Chen Qinghan, this cold and unruly man, sidestepped, leaving me exposed to Miss Scream.
I dreaded hearing her scream, hurriedly grabbing the fake donkey's hoof from the teenager's hand and stuffing it in her mouth.
"Professor Chen, Daoist Shunfeng, step aside, let me smash this big zongzi to smithereens!" The burly man suddenly yelled, pointing his gun at Miss Scream, ready to pull the trigger.