Finally Found- Wu Xie x Zhang Qiling

Chapter-17

“Wu Xie, watch out!” Zhang yelled out but his warnings fell on deaf ears as the younger kept fighting off the jade soldiers unaware of the approaching danger.

Zhang, distracted by the threat to Wu Xie, forgot about his own fight, leading him to be punched right in the stomach. He groaned in pain as he knelt down, unable to stand. His eyes widened as he saw the jade soldier raise a knife to strike him.

All of a sudden, the entire place was filled with white smoke. Hearing cries of agony from the jade soldiers, everyone held their breath in anticipation of what might be their next challenge.

After a few minutes, the smoke cleared and the entire group was in a fighting stance.

"Cool down people, you're scaring me!" A man joked, decked out in a PPE kit, a cylinder attached to his back with a pipe and hose in his hand.

Yuchen perceived the man as a threat and was ready to fight him but his cousin's voice held him rooted to his place.

"Pangzi!" Wu Xie exclaimed happily. He went to hug the male but Zhang stopped him.

"Let him strip out of his suit first." He said and Wu Xie nodded in understanding. Pangzi quickly wiggled out of his suit and hugged his best friend tightly. He was glad he was on time and saved both Zhang and Wu Xie at the same time.

"How did you come here? How did you find us? Why were you wearing a suit? What was that white smoke and how did you know how to tackle the soldiers?" Wu Xie bombarded Pangzi with questions without catching his breath. A feminine chuckle sounded and Yun Cai emerged from the shadows with a huge smile.

“Take a breath Tianzhen. Yun Cai here filled me in on all the crazy shit about this place. It ain't no ordinary tomb to raid. There are three extremely dangerous vhallenges that every tomb raider would have to face once they step foot into this wretched cave.”

“One, a siren that picks and drowns a male that, according to it, is the most unattractive of the group.” At this Yuchen let out a hearty chuckle and Xiazi pouted.

“Hey! I am attractive okay?!” Xiazi protested, causing Yuchen to laugh harder as he teared up. He took in a deep breath to calm himself down and urged Pangzi to continue, Xiazi still pouting in the background. Wu Xie wanted to laugh but kept his lips sealed when he saw Xiazi throwing daggers at him with a death glare.

“Second challenge, these jade soldiers you just encountered. These are called Li Mu Tuo and are a sort of defence mechanism against intruders such as ourselves. The key to trigger them? Heat. And we humans being warm-blooded in nature, release a lot of heat even after a small brisk walk. As a result of rise of temperature, the jade stone transforms into human like statues that attack anything that emits heat. The more the heat, the more fluid their movements and although they may seem easy to deal with in the beginning, but as you keep fighting them, the more heat you release, which is like a power booster to them.”

“There are two ways to deal with Li Mu Tuo. One, stab them in the chest, specifically on the left side where the human heart is situated. Second, spray a good amount of alkali on them and they will melt easier than a chocolate thats left in your pocket in a hot summer day.”

“So that white smoke was alkali? Where did you find so much of it?” Wu Xie asked and Pangzi gulped. He couldn't possibly tell the younger that he spent almost all his money to buy this cylinder, knowing he would get upset. Wu Xie gives his all for everyone but can't accept even 10% of the kindness he gives away.

I didn't help you because I want something in return, I helped you cause I wanted to. He would say everytime someone reached out to help him. 

“Focus on that stuff later. Now for the last and most horrific challenge of all. Meeting all the zombies this place in named after. As the name of the cave suggests, these zombies are thirsty for the taste of blood. They'll grab you by your neck and sink their teeth into yout flesh, sucking your blood till you finally convert into one of them.”

Wu Xie shivered. He did not the like the idea of running into these creatures and wanted to go home as soon as possible.

“Where do we find these things?” Zhang asked and Pangzi motioned to Yun Cai to guide them, the group followed the petite female. They soon arrived at another huge gate that was covered with stains of dried blood and the stench of death that loomed in the atmosphere made them all sick to their stomachs.

Yun Cai had a tight gtip on the handle of the gate as she looked over her shoulder towards the group.

“Are you ready?” She asked.

“One.”
“Two.”
“THREE!”