Tomb Raider: Call Me Dragon Vein Cleaner

Chapter 369 Beast-shaped Stone Lamp

Huo Ling didn't make a fuss after hearing this. She nodded heavily and started thinking about how to use these gems to decorate her courtyard.

The group continued forward, and after passing several glittering pools of water, a new change appeared ahead.

In a pool of water where the light was slightly dim, the group discovered a huge stone tablet nearly five meters high.

Upon seeing the stone tablet, Zhang Qiling's expression changed slightly. He quickly approached and went directly into the pool.

This place wasn't very friendly to the bear; the reflection of light from the pool severely impaired his vision.

Therefore, one has to cover their face with their hands to see what's under the pool.

Hei Xiazi discovered that the stone tablet was made of white marble and inscribed with Mongolian script.

However, Zhang Qiling was clearly not paying attention to these words.

Following Zhang Qiling's gaze, there were many seemingly messy scratches next to Meng Wen.

"Old Zhang, have you found anything?"

In response to Hei Xiazi's question, Zhang Qiling replied with a slightly solemn expression:

"This was a symbol used by the Zhang family, signifying danger ahead."

Black Bear raised an eyebrow slightly. Even the Zhang family considered this a dangerous place, so it was probably not much different from the Gates of Hell.

Zhang Qiling quickly returned from the water to the grass, and judging from his expression, he seemed to have remembered something.

Cheng Feng didn't ask him directly, believing that Zhang Qiling wouldn't hide important information from them if necessary.

Just as everyone was about to bypass the pool and continue forward, the horses in the group refused to move.

"It seems this is a dividing line. Let's leave these Mongolian horses here for now, grab our equipment, and walk in."

Cheng Feng gave the order, and the Xieling disciples immediately began to remove their equipment from their horses.

After tethering their horses a short distance from the pool, the group began walking towards the woods ahead.

Once inside the forest, Cheng Feng discovered that the pools of water were even more numerous, and the dazzling light was almost unbearable for Black Bear.

"I can't take it anymore, I wish I were really blind right now, guys, please help me out."

As he spoke, Black Bear took off his outer clothes and covered his head with them, acting like an ostrich.

The disciples of the Unloading Ridge Sect nearby did not complain. Two of them spontaneously stepped forward to help Hei Xiazi and carry him on his way.

It wasn't until they were deep in the woods, where the canopy above blocked most of the sunlight, that Black Bear took off his coat.

"Blind man, I thought your eyesight would be better after experiencing Thunder City,"

It seems the enhancements you received back then didn't have as much effect on your eyes as I thought.

Cheng Feng spoke with a slightly solemn expression.

Black Bear laughed nonchalantly: "There's no way around it. Nothing in this world is perfect. If you want to live longer, you have to pay a price."

If all the side effects were completely eliminated, I might just die instantly.

"I'll think of a solution later. Even if it can't completely solve the problem, alleviating these side effects shouldn't be an issue."

Cheng Feng patted Hei Xiazi on the shoulder and said.

These pools are mostly formed by the melting snow from distant mountain peaks, and the number of pools increases as you get closer to the snow-capped mountains.

Fortunately, the pools formed by melting snow were not very deep, allowing everyone to wade across by stepping on the agate stones below.

Otherwise, taking a detour would be troublesome, as it would probably mean walking one or two times the distance.

"Old Cheng, look over there."

At that moment, Chen Wenjin noticed something among the trees and immediately reminded Cheng Feng.

Cheng Feng turned his head and saw a stone lamp shaped like an animal standing not far from a pool of water.

"Go over and have a look."

Cheng Feng called out to everyone and then changed direction, heading towards the beast-shaped stone pillar.

Upon closer inspection, the group gathered around the half-person-tall, animal-shaped stone lamp and examined it closely.

The stone lamp is so closely connected to the ground that its full height is not visible.

The large beast-mouthed creature was pitch black inside, but it was clearly hollow.

In front of the animal's mouth is a tray, which should normally contain lamp oil and wick.

"That's really strange. Normally, these things are placed in the tomb passage. This is the first time I've seen one placed in the sunlight."

Black Bear stroked his chin, feeling slightly intrigued.

Cheng Feng withdrew his gaze from the beast's mouth, then tapped the beast-shaped stone lamp with his finger.

Yang Xueli, who was standing next to her, seemed curious about what was inside the beast's mouth and took out a flashlight to shine inside.

"No need to take pictures anymore. Inside is a tunnel that is tens of meters long, and there is a considerable amount of space below."

As he spoke, Cheng Feng took out a flare from his backpack.

After pulling the safety pin, he threw it directly into the beast's mouth.

A moment later, everyone saw a faint red light emerge from the beast's mouth.

"It seems there is indeed a very deep space inside, otherwise the light would not be so weak."

Huo Ling took a few steps forward, wanting to get closer to the beast's mouth and look inside.

But before she could place her hand on the stone lamp, Cheng Feng suddenly pulled her back a few steps.

"The boss?"

Huo Ling turned her head in confusion. At this moment, everyone's expressions were solemn, and they all took out their respective guns.

"Something brought the flare up."

Cheng Feng's words startled Huo Ling, who quickly looked at the stone lamp.

Sure enough, the faint red light was growing brighter at an alarming rate, indicating that the light source was getting closer and closer to the beast's mouth.

Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi stood on either side of the stone lantern, perfectly in sync.

The moment the flare appeared in the beast's mouth, the two men instantly drew their swords and plunged them into the beast's jaws.

clanging

The sound of stone and metal clashing rang out, and the light quickly dimmed.

The four women, blinded by the red light, quickly looked towards the beast's mouth, only to find that Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi's weapons were empty.

"The thing inside has very tough skin; my knife couldn't pierce it."

Hei Xiazi sheathed his short sword with a slightly solemn expression, especially after noticing that Zhang Qiling's Black Gold Ancient Sword had also failed to achieve its purpose.

His expression turned even worse.

"To find out what's inside, the boss will probably have to take action himself."

Both of their swords were forged with meteorite copper, and they rarely suffered setbacks except in special circumstances.

However, unlike before, this time it wasn't because the thing's scales were hard, but rather because it felt very slippery.

It was like a piece of tough jelly; when the knife pierced it, it sank deep but didn't damage it at all.

"Do we really need to figure out what's inside?"

Chen Wenjin didn't think Cheng Feng would be in danger, but the monsters here might not necessarily be related to the upcoming journey.

There's no need to take this so seriously.

"Don't take any chances. It will be too late to figure out how to kill it once we encounter this thing in the narrow tomb passage."

As he spoke, Cheng Feng came to Hei Xiazi and Zhang Qiling's side.

The three of them were standing in front of the beast's mouth, and could easily reach into it with a simple gesture.

"I'll try to pull that thing out later, and you guys can try to cut it again when you have the chance."

Hei Xiazi agreed, and Zhang Qiling nodded to indicate that he understood.

Then, without changing his expression, Cheng Feng put his hand into the beast's mouth until half of his shoulder was inside.

No one dared to make a sound at this moment, and even their breathing slowed down considerably.

At this moment, Cheng Feng's gaze narrowed slightly as a cold hand grabbed his wrist.