Tomb raiding: Today is another day I don't want to go home.

Chapter 129 Waiting to die in the darkness, hoping for nothing in the light.

"Fall back!"

Black Glasses tilted his head, and upon hearing the sound of the wolf king behind him, he quickly reached out and grabbed Xie Lianrui's arm, pulling him in front of him while bending backward due to the momentum.

As instructed, Xie Lianrui fell backward, his body half-lying on the lap of the man in black glasses. He used his lower back as a leverage point to move horizontally towards the other wolf king, and the two formed a temporary balance.

The next second, a shadow that was difficult for an ordinary person to catch while moving narrowly missed the two of them and landed where Black Glasses had been standing. It was the wolf king that had been staring at Black Glasses' side.

"ignition!"

The two men used their wrists to pull themselves up, and Black Glasses took Xie Lianrui's short sword and held it horizontally in front of him, completely blocking the latter's attack. However, the ferocious face of one of the wolf kings was already inches away, and in desperation, he had no choice but to offend it...

This is just a pity for Xie Lianrui, who has seen so much evil in the world but still trusts the unreliable Black Glasses! After hearing Black Glasses' shout to light the flamethrower, he lowered his eyes and fumbled for the flamethrower. Even when Black Glasses hung him upside down by his side and moved him around, he accepted it without complaint.

It's worth praising that this time, our Blackie was reliable.

The two overlapping figures separated and reunited as they were attacked by the two wolf kings. Although they almost escaped from the wolves' jaws each time, Xie Lianrui managed to light the two torches by taking advantage of the gaps in his movements with the help of the black glasses.

"Their skin is too thick; my short sword won't be of much use. Throw me up!"

As Black Glasses dodged, he used Xie Lianrui's short sword to glide across the wolf king's hide. Although the wolf king didn't say anything, it was still paying attention, as it was something that could cost it its life if it was even slightly careless.

However, when he said this, he didn't get the immediate response from Black Glasses. Xie Lianrui gave him a questioning look, and Black Glasses just pursed his lips when he saw this. Even if he said before that he wouldn't rescue Xie Lianrui if he were kidnapped, it didn't mean that he would treat Xie Lianrui like a snack and send him to the wolf king.

This mutated wolf king is fast and tall. If Xie Lianrui, with his small frame, were thrown up on it, he would be torn to shreds in no time. He, Black Glasses, has never had a penchant for being rained down with human flesh, and he never will! Otherwise, why would he be carrying Xie Lianrui around, making him feel so cramped that he has to lie flat on the ground even when he rolls over? Oh, just so it's fun to roll around like that!? What a load of bull!

"I also had a bottle of wine clipped to my lower back."

Hearing Black Glasses' irritating words, Xie Lianrui was puzzled. What was going on?

He silently grumbled to himself, but his hand honestly reached for the back of Black Glasses' belt. Sure enough, besides a gun, a can of baijiu (Chinese liquor) was also clipped to that counterfeit belt...

Xie Lianrui, knowing full well what was going on, casually sprinkled the liquor on the two wolf kings as he passed them, then turned around and held the torch up to them.

The flames spread across the wolf king's fur instantly, but unexpectedly, apart from a brief pause at the beginning, the wolf king's attacks became increasingly fierce.

"What's going on! This is illogical again!" Black Glasses plunged his sword into the belly of a wolf king, but his hand was almost burned raw, and the short sword that fell to the ground was already red-hot.

Phoenix, flames, burning...

A few words flashed through Xie Lianrui's mind. He slapped his forehead, pulled on his black glasses, and ran towards the depths of the secret passage, following the route he remembered, scattering a handful of red powder behind him as he ran.

A pungent, itchy smell began to permeate the scorching, high-temperature tunnel, making one question the meaning of life. Of course, there was also the smell of wolves, not to mention...

There was more than just that handful of powder; all the way back, Xie Lianrui's Taoist robe sleeves were dripping powder recklessly.

Compared to the two wolf kings chasing them, Black Glasses and Xie Lianrui had a slightly better escape environment, but only slightly. After all, the former was huge and had flames on his body! Like a giant fireball, he walked with a gust of wind, sending Xie Lianrui's pepper powder flying everywhere, enough to choke you to death!

Xie Lianrui ran ahead to lead the way. Seeing that the man with black glasses was sneezing intermittently, he simply tore off a clean piece of his Taoist robe and covered his face with it. The two of them, holding torches, quickly left this place of trouble...

"This secret passage was originally designed with a specific method in mind—cough cough—only by following a fixed route could one avoid triggering the mechanisms, but so much time has passed, I don't know if it still counts anymore, cough cough!"

"Whether it counts or not, I don't know, achoo~" Black Glasses couldn't help but let out a flamboyant sneeze, but because he inhaled air mixed with pepper powder, the sneezing became continuous.

Xie Lianrui couldn't bear to watch any longer. Fearing that the thing would die if he continued to hit it, he reached out and grabbed the piece of Taoist robe that was floating in Black Glasses' hand, and pressed it forcefully against the latter's mouth and nose.

"Ah—um~" The sneeze was held back in his nasal cavity and went straight to his head. His eyes rolled back under his dark glasses and sunglasses. His eardrums almost burst from the inside. His whole person exuded a sense of impending death.

"Thank you for saving my life..." After a while, Black Glasses finally managed to say a sentence with a heavy nasal tone. Then, as he walked, he clutched the piece of his Taoist robe that he was using to save his life, even though it was covered in saliva and snot.

Xie Lianrui twitched his forehead in disgust. Feeling the dampness in his palm, he quietly held his breath and wiped his face on the large black bag belonging to the man with the black glasses...

Although no more pepper was sprinkled, the pungent smell in this place was still very strong. This was to be on the safe side, to give the wolf king more time to digest the smell, and to give them more opportunities to find the third level of the underground palace.

"Hey? Look!"

After walking a little further, Black Glasses blew his nose, looked up and pointed to the murals above the secret passage, indicating to Xie Lianrui beside him.

The mural appears to depict a jade staircase for worship, but it seems to stretch endlessly into the darkness. Xie Lianrui can't see it clearly, and what bothers him is that he has no memory of this mural ever existing...

“This mural is quite old, but I don’t remember it. It must have been the Wang family who erased my memory.”

Black Glasses had never heard of Xie Lianrui's past and hadn't asked about it along the way. Now that he knew the other party had a grudge against the Wang family, he was a little stunned for a moment, but after he came to his senses, he asked directly, there was no need to hide anything.

"What exactly is your relationship with the Wang family?"

"You remember the experimental room we saw on the second floor of the underground palace just now, right?" Xie Lianrui couldn't explain properly to Black Glasses, after all, time is money. "I spent decades there as a research subject. At first, I would try to escape, but I stopped doing so later."

Black Glasses recalled that lifeless environment and subconsciously muttered, "Why?"

"Can't escape."

An unspoken silence fell between the two. Black Glasses, unfamiliar with the place, began to study the murals, while Xie Lianrui went to find the mechanism.

After a while, Black Glasses broke the silence first: "Why did you become a Taoist priest?"

"Being a Taoist priest can help me cultivate my character and temperament. I want to see how much longer I can live and whether I can achieve immortality."

"The result is, can you?"

"No, there are no immortals in the world. So-called immortals only live in other people's memories, and memories will eventually disappear."

"So tell me, which of us will live longer?"

Xie Lianrui stood in front of a wall and smiled, not directly answering Black Glasses' question: "That depends on whether you remember me more or I remember you more."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that the mechanism on the third level of the underground palace has been found."

"Huh?" Black Glasses suspected Xie Lianrui's brainwaves were malfunctioning. Was there a connection? No, so he was malfunctioning too. "Where?"

"At your feet."

"Oh, holy crap—" Black Glasses was about to move his foot, but before he could even lift his foot completely, a large tile was missing from his body, and his mind went completely blank.

Xie Lianrui pressed the button, and the black glasses fell down...

"Xie Lianrui—I'll remember you for the rest of my life—Aaaaaah!"