The change happened so suddenly that it caught us completely off guard!

Before I could even draw my knife, Little Liang was already tightly bound by the vine.

The vine wrapped around my calf suddenly yanked, causing me to lose my footing and fall flat on my face. The backpack in my hand rolled far away, beyond my reach.

I shouted anxiously, "Run! It's a trap! There's a trap here!"

But when I turned around, I was dumbfounded. The vines had spread densely around us, like a large hunting net laid out on the ground.

Uncle Mei and Jiang Yongguang heard Little Liang and me shouting, and before they could react, vines had already wrapped around their ankles, preventing them from escaping!

"Holy crap! What the hell is this thing?"

Like me, Uncle Mei was tripped by the vine wrapped around his calf. He broke the corner of his mouth and cursed as he asked.

Jiang Yongguang was also caught off guard. He said in a low voice, "This vine is like a snake; it's too damn weird, isn't it?"

Old Wei seemed to recognize this creature and frowned, "Damn it, could we have run into a man-eating tree? It's said that this thing only exists in the rainforests of South America, and it's been extinct for years. How could it appear here?"

"Man-eating tree?" Jiang Yongguang asked doubtfully, "Is there really such a thing in the world?"

The mention of the man-eating tree immediately reminded me of an animated series I watched as a kid called the *Hai'er* Brothers.

Because my family bought a TV early, I watched a lot of cartoons when I was little.

There was an episode of the *Hai'er* Brothers about a tree in South America covered in vines. The tree was called the man-eating tree, and its vines were like snakes, actively缠人chán rén (entangling people). The vines also secreted a corrosive liquid that could instantly dissolve prey.

In that episode, a large python was缠住 chán zhù (entangled) by the vines of the man-eating tree and was instantly corroded away. The scene was quite terrifying.

Little Liang had also seen the same cartoon.

She immediately said, "I know the man-eating tree! It was in an episode of the *Hai'er* Brothers when I was a kid!"

But now the situation was critical, and it wasn't the time to reminisce about childhood.

Jiang Yongguang quickly reached into his backpack for a knife and said loudly, "Quick, grab your weapons and cut this thing off!"

But before he could finish speaking, Jiang Yongguang was also tripped by the vines under his feet. Then two more vines spread over and bound his arms, leaving him completely unable to move, like a fly caught in a spider web.

When I looked elsewhere, I saw that the Xiaoling Guards were also缠住 chán zhù (entangled) by the vines, one by one unable to move.

Old Wei said with a mournful face, "Crap, I suddenly understand where all these bones came from. These are all the food of the man-eating tree! It uses its vines to纏住 chán zhù (entangle) prey, absorbing their nutrients to nourish itself, which is why there are bones all over the place!"

This made everyone panic, and Jiang Yongguang quickly said in a deep voice, "Old Wei! Now is not the time to talk about discouraging things, quickly think of a way to escape!"

Old Wei said helplessly, "How can we escape from these damn vines that are like a spider web?"

Before he finished speaking, the vine on my calf suddenly contracted, actually pulling me all the way towards the dead tree. I struggled desperately with both hands, trying to grab something, but only managed to grasp a handful of dirt.

After a while, the vine actually hung me on a tree branch, with my head down and my feet up, like a piece of dried meat.

But from a higher vantage point, I suddenly saw Huang Mao Xiaoming (Yellow-Haired Xiaoming) sitting on the ground resting next to the coffin of the Little Emperor.

I was overjoyed and quickly shouted, "Xiaoming! Xiaoming! Quickly come over with a knife, we're all纏住 chán zhù (entangled) by the man-eating tree, come and save us!"

Jiang Yongguang also smiled when he heard this, "That's right, there's Xiaoming! It's a good thing he didn't come over, let him save us!"

But hearing our cries for help, Huang Mao Xiaoming (Yellow-Haired Xiaoming) slowly stood up from the ground. He took two steps towards us, and I saw that he was no longer limping, and the expression on his face had changed.

He sneered, and the憨憨傻傻 hān hān shǎ shǎ (simple and foolish) look he had before completely disappeared, replaced by a sinister look.

He sneered阴恻恻 yīn cè cè (grimly) and said, "A bunch of idiots, did you think I didn't come over because my feet hurt? You still want me to save you? You really don't understand the situation!"

Hearing this, my heart sank!

I realized that we had fallen into a trap!

We were being played by this damn rat!

Huang Mao Xiaoming (Yellow-Haired Xiaoming) had been扮猪吃虎 bàn zhū chī hǔ (pretending to be weak to deceive others) from the beginning, this grandson is really an acting派 pài (expert)!

Then I saw him raise his hand and clap, shouting loudly, "Zhi Guoren (Pot Setter), the prey is all trapped, you can come out now!"

Before he finished speaking, a sneering laugh came from the passage outside the tomb chamber, followed by a one-armed middle-aged man walking in, accompanied by four tomb robbers.

Without an introduction, I could guess that this one-armed guy was the famous Zhi Guoren (Pot Setter) -- Yang Guo.

As soon as Yang Guo entered the door, he said with a smile, "Xiaoming, well done. I knew you could lie, and you would definitely be able to fool this group of officials."

Huang Mao Xiaoming (Yellow-Haired Xiaoming) laughed得意 dì yì (triumphantly): "Hahaha, Zhi Guoren (Pot Setter), do you know who they are? They are actually the Xiaoling Guards! Hahaha, it's really killing me, the famous Xiaoling Guards are actually such trash, so damn embarrassing!"

Old Wei was furious when he heard this, "艹 cāo (Fuck) your grandma, you're asking for death!"

After saying that, he猛 měng (suddenly) pulled out his weapon from his waist and raised his hand to fire a shot.

His legs were缠住 chán zhù (entangled) by vines, but his hands were still free to move. Although he was trapped in place, it didn't affect him shooting.

When the rats saw this, they quickly躲 duǒ (dodged) behind the coffin of the Little Emperor.

Huang Mao Xiaoming (Yellow-Haired Xiaoming) said贱嗖嗖 jiàn sōu sōu (obnoxiously), "Officer, don't shoot! If you damage the文物 wén wù (cultural relics), you will be severely punished! I'm afraid you can't afford it!"

Yang Guo also sneered, "Yes, the dignified Xiaoling Guards, whose duty is to protect cultural relics, how can they break the law? Hahaha..."

With the coffin of the Little Emperor as cover, Old Wei didn't dare to shoot them even with a gun in his hand, and could only watch the group of rats flaunt their power from afar.

Yang Guo, Huang Mao Xiaoming (Yellow-Haired Xiaoming), and the other rats were小人得志 xiǎo rén dé zhì (petty people who are pleased with themselves), with得意 dì yì (triumphant) faces.

Huang Mao Xiaoming (Yellow-Haired Xiaoming)探 tàn (leaned) out from behind the coffin and said嘚瑟 dé sè (smugly), "Officers, let me tell you, this man-eating tree eats people without spitting out bones, it's very邪 xié (evil)! If you are抓 zhuā (caught) by this thing, you can't逃 táo (escape) at all, you can only be困 kùn (trapped) in place, starving and dying of thirst, hahaha!"

Zhi Guoren (Pot Setter) Yang Guo shook his head and said, "No, Xiaoming, you're wrong. They won't starve and die of thirst, because there are some細 xì (tiny) tentacles on the vines of this man-eating tree, and the tentacles contain微 wēi (trace amounts) of毒素 dú sù (toxins). These微 wēi (trace amounts) of毒素 dú sù (toxins) will slowly注入 zhù rù (inject) into their bodies, allowing them to die slowly within two days. That taste is even more惨 cǎn (miserable) than starving and dying of thirst!啧啧 zé zé (Tsk tsk), I just shudder at the thought of it, so scared!"