Chapter 286: A Hidden Chamber
Tom smiled slightly and opened the small cooler.
He took out a tetanus vaccine from inside, quickly shutting the cooler to prevent excessive cold air loss, which could speed up battery consumption.
Finding a syringe from the medical kit, he injected the vaccine into Taotie’s body before discarding the syringe.
“Done! No risk of infection now!” Tom said cheerfully.
“But whether these monkeys carry other viruses, I can’t say. That can wait until we get back for a full check-up.”
Tom’s words gave Taotie a scare. Only after hearing the explanation did he breathe a sigh of relief.
“Your Highness, did you see where these monkeys came from?” Tom asked with a serious expression.
He hadn’t forgotten his earlier suspicion—was someone conducting experiments here? Had their chemical waste mutated these creatures?
If so, was the lab still operational? Who was behind it?
These questions fascinated Tom.
“Yes!” Fang Xiaocao nodded firmly.
“These sticky monkeys ran out from behind that wall. The wall suddenly rumbled and cracked open, scaring me to death!” She pointed at a stone wall.
Tom was taken aback and turned to look at the wall, eyes full of curiosity.
A wall that could move…
Not only did it open, but it also closed itself.
Tom looked at Taotie and asked, “Do you know what kind of mechanism this is?”
Taotie grinned. “Simple! It’s just a hidden door. Behind it could be another trap or a burial chamber. Since these monkeys came out of it, it’s likely a chamber with no traps—possibly even a tunnel leading outside. Otherwise, they wouldn’t still be alive.”
Hearing this, Fang Xiaocao and the others looked excited.
“What are we waiting for? Open it up! Let’s go in!” she urged.
Taotie nodded and pressed his large hand against the stone wall.
The next moment—click!
A faint sound echoed, and a crack appeared in the wall.
Taotie raised an eyebrow and smiled, placing his hand in the crevice and pushing hard.
With a deep rumbling noise, a stone door slid open, just wide enough for someone to squeeze through sideways, revealing a dimly lit chamber.
Fang Xiaocao marveled at the sight—she had only ever seen such hidden doors in period dramas, never in real life.
“Should we go in?” Taotie peeked into the chamber, checking for danger before turning back to Tom for a decision.
At moments like this, Fang Xiaocao’s opinion was secondary. The real decision-maker was Tom.
“Not yet. Let’s observe first.”
Tom took out a few glow sticks, snapped them, and tossed them inside.
These weren’t ordinary glow sticks but high-intensity ones for expeditions, emitting bright light.
With several glowing at once, the chamber was illuminated as if by a high-wattage bulb.
Tom peered inside, scanning the chamber. Aside from skeletal remains, some decayed weapons, and rotting clothing, there wasn’t much else.
On the far side, another identical stone door stood slightly ajar, blocked by a rusted iron sword.
Had the monkeys done this?
They had likely heard the loud crash from the collapsing floor earlier and ran through the passage, forcing open this door to attack Fang Xiaocao’s group.
Seeing no immediate danger, Tom nodded. “Let’s go in.”
“There’s another door on the other side. Let’s check it out. Hummingbird, Taotie—stay alert and protect Her Highness in case of surprises.”
With that, Tom stepped inside.
Hummingbird followed closely, with Fang Xiaocao behind her.
Taotie brought up the rear and shut the stone door behind them.
Tom crouched beside the remains, inspecting them.
The bodies varied in age—the most recent one was about two years old, already mummified.
It was covered in monkey bite marks.
Clearly, these people hadn’t died here but had been dragged in by the sticky monkeys as food.
Tom narrowed his eyes and turned to Fang Xiaocao.
“Your Highness, the freshest body here died within the past two years. Cause of death—a clean cut to the throat. Whoever did it was a skilled knife user.”
“The oldest skeleton has decayed beyond recognition, making it impossible to determine its exact age, but it’s been here for a long time.”
“Most of these remains were likely dragged here by the monkeys. Only the oldest ones might have died in this chamber.”
Fang Xiaocao nodded. “So, what’s our next move?”
“Do we go back to the main tomb passage, or continue through these hidden chambers?”
She blinked, waiting for an answer.
Tom pondered briefly before turning to Taotie.
“You know tombs well. Based on your past experience with tomb raiders, which path is safer?”
Tom knew his intelligence was useful, but experience trumped theory. Taotie was the expert here.
Taotie chuckled. “Neither path is completely safe. But I’d suggest taking the hidden chambers.”
“The main passage is full of traps—that’s a given. If we have pursuers, they’ll follow that route. If they’re not thorough, they might miss this hidden door. That means no one sneaking up behind us. Taking this route at least guarantees we won’t be ambushed from the rear.”
Tom’s eyes lit up.
“Good! We take the hidden chambers!”
He made the decision instantly.
Fang Xiaocao had no objections.
Taotie’s reasoning was clear—without pursuers, their journey would be at least half as dangerous.
