Just as the three of them were discussing how to finish off the little beast...
Suddenly...
A jumble of sounds came from the passage.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
It sounded like wings beating, mixed with insects chirping and birds calling-a confused cacophony.
Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang were still wondering what it was.
Something suddenly occurred to Gu Cheng, and his expression changed instantly.
"Don't make a sound!"
With that, he pulled the two of them aside and crouched down.
Though they had no idea why, both obediently followed his lead.
Neither voiced a question.
In fact, ever since they had entered the mountains, Gu Cheng had been steadily changing their impression of him. Although he was much younger than either of them, they had come to trust him without even realizing it.
A few seconds later...
Hu Bayi's and Fatty Wang's eyes went wide.
Fatty Wang even instinctively covered his mouth and nose, afraid his breathing might alert the creatures before them.
From the passage they had come through...
Countless enormous bats came flying out.
These bats looked strange, with two large, diamond-shaped ears sticking straight up, round heads, and round noses.
Their faces looked like pigs'.
Each bat's spread wings made it look like an eagle.
They were utterly terrifying.
Perhaps because Gu Cheng and the others stayed so still, the bats ignored them. Instead, they all poured through the opening in the wall and swooped toward the Flood Dragon Serpent.
It seemed they had followed the scent of blood here to attack the Flood Dragon Serpent.
Before long...
A tremendous racket erupted inside the burial chamber.
The sounds left all three men trembling with fear.
The battle lasted a little over ten minutes.
The noise inside the burial chamber gradually faded.
The three craned their heads to look inside.
Bat corpses littered the floor, most of them crushed flat.
The Flood Dragon Serpent lay dying on the ground. What made their scalps prickle was the dense mass of bats crawling over its wounds, all gnawing at its flesh.
Gu Cheng put away the Little Divine Edge, then raised his submachine gun.
"While two sides fight, a third reaps the rewards."
"Now it's our turn!"
Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang eagerly raised their guns too.
The remaining bats seemed oblivious, intent only on eating, with no concern for their own survival.
A barrage of short bursts from the three men killed them all.
To keep the little beast from striking back in its death throes...
The three stood at a distance and poured fire into the split wound on the Flood Dragon Serpent's head. They emptied every round they had, nearly blowing its head apart, before they finally felt safe.
Fatty Wang plopped down on the ground and let out a long breath. "We finally killed the damn thing."
Their taut nerves relaxed.
At once, boundless exhaustion washed over them like a tide.
Gu Cheng and Hu Bayi also sat down, grimacing.
Both of them were injured.
Hu Bayi in particular had taken a blow that had nearly shattered his bones.
If he hadn't been so intent on getting rid of this monster...
He would have collapsed long ago.
Now that the Flood Dragon Serpent was dead, the determination that had kept him going drained away, and all the pain he had pushed aside immediately flooded his body.
He let out an agonized groan.
He lay straight down on the ground, wishing he could sleep like this for three days and nights.
But all three knew...
This was no time to rest.
So they sat for only a few minutes before rallying their spirits and getting back to their feet.
"Young Master Gu, shall we take a look at those vases first?"
Fatty Wang sounded excited.
People always talked about hunting for treasure in tombs.
Wasn't finding the treasure the most thrilling, exhilarating part?
The three went to the side chamber by the entrance.
The left side of the chamber was piled with porcelain pieces and pottery jars. Some sat on wooden shelves, while others stood directly on the floor.
On the right were assorted weapons, shields, and similar objects.
"Looks like the tomb's owner practiced martial arts."
Hu Bayi was the first to offer his opinion.
Unfortunately, Fatty Wang had no interest in his opinion. Instead, he pulled Gu Cheng over and asked, "Young Master Gu, take a look at these things. Are they worth anything?"
Gu Cheng crouched down and picked up a pottery vase.
[Item name]: White-Glazed Plum Vase with Carved Designs [Item grade]: None [Item ability]: None [Item description]: A piece of pottery with 812 years of history.
Gu Cheng's innate ability could only identify the age of antiques.
As for how much they were worth...
He had to estimate that entirely from his own experience.
"This is a White-Glazed Plum Vase with Carved Designs from the late Northern Song dynasty. Its market value is roughly 2.8 million."
"2.8 million?!"
Fatty Wang immediately broke into a broad grin.
Hu Bayi smiled happily too.
After all their hard work, they finally had something to show for it.
Anyone would have felt delighted.
Gu Cheng set the vase down and dusted off his hands.
Then he stood, swept his gaze over all the pottery and porcelain, and said, "These are all very old antiques. They're worth a considerable amount."
Fatty Wang grinned so hard his mouth nearly twisted sideways.
He grabbed Hu Bayi, clamoring to pack everything up and take it out.
In the past...
Gu Cheng would surely have been just as excited as Fatty Wang.
But ever since he had encountered the world of supernatural treasures, ordinary artifacts no longer sparked his interest.
He turned and returned to the burial chamber.
He hesitated over whether to activate the mechanism now.
It wasn't that he feared the Jin general in the coffin might rise from the dead.
They had killed such an enormous Flood Dragon Serpent. Why would they fear a mere Jin general?
The main problem was that everyone was completely spent.
They were exhausted and hungry.
In this state, he couldn't say for certain whether facing the Jin general would be suicide, but they certainly wouldn't have much of an advantage.
If only we had something to eat.
They had lost all their food and water while fleeing through the cave.
Gu Cheng rubbed his stomach.
Then his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the Flood Dragon Serpent's corpse.
"Its meat should be edible, just like ordinary snake meat, right?"
He licked his lips.
[Item name]: Black Flood Dragon Meat [Item grade]: First-grade spirit material [Item ability]: Nourishes the body [Item description]: Flesh from the Black Flood Dragon, a spiritually awakened beast. It nourishes the body, and prolonged consumption can improve one's constitution.
The stats have been terrible these past two days. They've stopped moving.
Please give me some more encouragement and support. I'll work hard to release extra updates.
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