The Fatty, normally slow in his actions, was surprisingly decisive when it mattered most.
Just as Fu Honglang yelled, "Don't move," he had already pried a stone loose from the stone coffin with his entrenching tool.
"It's just a stone... I thought it was a gem," the Fatty said sheepishly.
To everyone's surprise, shortly after the stone was dislodged, the entire tomb chamber began to shake. Dust rained down from the ceiling, as if an earthquake had struck.
After a moment, the shaking stopped.
"Did... did the ground shake?" the Fatty asked.
Fu Honglang's face was grim. "We need to get out of here immediately!"
"What's wrong, Brother Fu?" I asked, confused.
He explained, "The stone he just dislodged is a mechanism in the tomb. I've seen this kind of mechanism before; it's a self-destruct device!"
"Self-destruct device?"
The Fatty and I exclaimed in unison, staring at each other.
"Exactly! The shaking just now must have been the self-destruct device being triggered. We have to leave quickly, or we'll all die here!"
From the tone of Fu Honglang's voice, I knew he wasn't joking.
Jin Qiaoyue and Ayuan recovered faster than I expected. Ayuan picked up Fu Kui's corpse and headed towards the passage exit.
We quickly followed. The Fatty, still somewhat reluctant, kept staring at the stone coffin, examining it.
"What's wrong? Want to be buried with it?" I asked him sarcastically.
The Fatty grinned. "Master Xiang, the things inside..."
"Aren't we in enough trouble already? Let's go."
"Alright..."
When we returned from the tomb chamber to the ancestral hall, we discussed our next move. The plan was for one person to lure the monster away while the others escaped.
"Where are we going?" the Fatty asked.
His question caught me off guard.
Indeed, where were we going?
We didn't even know the exit to this ancient city. Even if we escaped this stone chamber, where would we go?
I looked at Fu Honglang. His brow was furrowed, and he couldn't provide an answer for the moment.
"To the plaza..." Ayuan, who usually spoke little, finally chimed in.
"What are we going to the plaza for?" I asked.
"There's a spring in the pool at the plaza. If we jump in, we might find an underground river. There's a chance we could survive by following the underground river."
We exchanged glances, unsure if his plan would work.
"But we don't know how deep that pool is. If we dive in and there's no underground river..."
Before I could finish, Ayuan said, "We just have to gamble. Live or die."
I took a deep breath and looked at Fu Honglang, seeking his opinion.
He was clearly hesitant. Meanwhile, the tremors were growing stronger, and the shaking of the stone chamber was becoming alarming.
"We have to take a gamble!" Fu Honglang declared.
Hearing his decision, we had no choice but to proceed with the plan.
Initially, I had planned for Fu Honglang and me to lure the monsters away while the others went to the plaza.
However, Ayuan volunteered to distract the monsters, asking me to take Fu Kui's body.
With time running out, I didn't hesitate and agreed.
When the stone door was opened again, the outside was empty. Just as I thought the monster had left, a "jie jie jie" sound echoed. Before I could react, Ayuan shoved me aside.
Instantly, the monster charged in from outside!
Ayuan slashed at it with his short knife, and the man and the beast began to grapple, knocking over statues within the stone chamber.
"Hurry!" Fu Honglang urged.
We quickly left the stone chamber. Ahead of us, at the end of the ancient city, a white ocean was engulfing the city!
The white sand poured in like a tide, already consuming a quarter of the city!
At this rate, within half an hour, this place would be completely buried by the sand sea!
The sight was so grand that it stunned us into silence.
"Oh my god! This is probably a desperate situation!" the Fatty wailed.
Fu Honglang took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sniffed the air. After a moment, he said, "Stay close to me!"
I glanced at Jin Qiaoyue beside me. She was injured and would surely slow us down, and I was still carrying Fu Kui's corpse...
After a moment's thought, I handed Fu Kui's body to the Fatty and asked Jin Qiaoyue to climb onto my back.
She looked at me and then clambered onto my back.
The commotion in the stone chamber was growing louder. I wondered how Ayuan was doing.
But at this point, we couldn't afford to worry about anything else.
Fu Honglang led the way, and we followed closely.
Honestly, due to not eating enough, I had very little strength. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and I could only grit my teeth and persevere.
After about ten minutes, we reached the ancient city's plaza. The sand sea was now less than fifty meters away from us.
"Master Xiang, is there really a way out under this pool?" the Fatty asked, panting.
To be honest, I wasn't sure either.
Fu Honglang said, "There's no time left, we can only gamble! It's better to drown than be buried alive!"
With that, he was the first to jump into the pool. I glanced at Jin Qiaoyue, who nodded at me.
"When we're in the water, you must hold onto me tightly," I instructed her.
Reaching the edge of the pool and seeing my reflection, I gritted my teeth and pulled Jin Qiaoyue in with me.
The Fatty followed close behind. There was still some light in the water. I saw the Fatty jump down alone, and Fu Kui's corpse had clearly been abandoned by him.
At this moment, I couldn't say much.
After all, our own survival was uncertain, who could spare a thought for a corpse.
We continued to descend, and the light from above grew dimmer. Soon, white sand began to seep in, and the light source gradually faded.
The surroundings became pitch black, and I had no idea where to swim.
The sensation was peculiar, as if I were in a void without air.
My body felt buoyant, and the only thing I could feel was touch.
My lungs began to burn, and I could only swim by this sole sense of touch.
I didn't know how long I swam, perhaps ten seconds, perhaps five. Time had become completely elongated.
Finally, I couldn't hold my breath any longer. Water gushed into my mouth, and my mind became disoriented. My limbs gradually lost their strength.
At that moment, I didn't even have time to think, "I'm really going to die this time," before I passed out.
When I woke up again, I saw the Fatty pouting and about to kiss me. Almost instinctively, I slapped him.