Chapter 9: The Giant Hand Statue

As Zhang Luxun walked towards Wu Xiexie, he casually dispatched two more monkeys. Seeing this, the remaining monkeys immediately scattered like birds and beasts, dropping their backpacks and scurrying into the forest, vanishing from sight.

Ignoring his wounds, Wu Xiexie quickly ran over to pick up the scattered items on the ground.

As he picked them up, he muttered curses under his breath, "Those damn stinky monkeys! Stealing our food is one thing, but they actually had the nerve to attack us with lethal intent. If those little runts hadn't been so fast, I'd track them down sooner or later and wipe out their entire nest."

Zhang Luxun walked up to the base of the tree, pulled the knife out of the monkey king's chest, wiped it clean, and stored it away in his spatial inventory.

Then, he joined Wu Xiexie in packing the backpacks and organizing the messed-up supplies.

Holding a bag of dried vegetables to check for damage, Wu Xiexie puzzled, "Logically speaking, golden snub-nosed monkeys have gentle temperaments and shouldn't actively attack people. How come these Qinling monkeys are so unique? Not only are they huge, but their temperaments are also outrageously fierce. Judging by that habitual sneak-and-rob routine of theirs, they've clearly done this many times before."

"I suppose the feng shui of this place carries a malevolent streak, which indirectly affects the animals," Zhang Luxun guessed casually. "I reckon that eye peeping into our lean-to last night belonged to this kind of monkey."

Wu Xiexie zipped up his backpack tightly and nodded, "I think so too."

The two dragged the dead monkeys together and dug a deep hole to bury them, fearing the smell of blood would attract wild beasts.

After cleaning up the site, Laoyang, who had chased after the monkeys, finally arrived fashionably late.

Laoyang was carrying the last remaining small bag of self-heating rice, out of breath and thoroughly covered in dust and grime like a refugee fleeing a disaster. His jacket was almost torn into ribbons, and he was still shouting, "Damn it all! Sooner or later... I'll catch those bastards and skin them alive!"

"Cut it out," Wu Xiexie interrupted, tossing him a bottle of hemostatic powder and a roll of gauze. "Hurry up and treat your wounds. It's getting late, and those wild monkeys might make a comeback at any moment. We've already wasted a lot of time, and we still have to travel."

Laoyang caught the medicine, tore open his jacket, and gritted his teeth as he applied the powder to his wounds.

On the other side, Zhang Luxun quickly dressed Wu Xiexie's wounds as well.

The three of them quickly set off again.

Once they thoroughly entered the Chajigou Ravine and walked for about the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, the cliffs on both sides grew even narrower and noticeably slanted inward, as if they could collapse and crush them at any second, sending a chill straight down their spines.

Wu Xiexie kept feeling that this place was hair-raising, turning his head every few steps to check if Zhang Luxun, who was bringing up the rear, was still there.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Luxun asked.

Wu Xiexie shook his head. "I just suddenly remembered what Old Man Liu said about the nether troops passing through. Hey, by the way, Laoyang, did Old Man Liu tell you in detail about the nether troops last time? What on earth are these nether troops?"

Laoyang seemed reluctant to talk about it and brushed it off evasively, "Nether troops... well, they're just nether troops. Since I've never seen them with my own eyes, how would I... know what kind of... ghosts they are..."

Laoyang suddenly fell silent, turning around with a pale face. After remaining quiet for several trembling seconds, he let out a voice shaking with fright, "Wait... wait a minute. Up ahead, it looks like... there's a hand!"

"What? What?" Wu Xiexie grew tense, taking a couple of quick steps to stand behind Laoyang, only then seeing the "hand" Laoyang was talking about.

With a loud buzz, Wu Xiexie's mind went completely blank, his scalp tingling with a creeping numbness. He was so terrified he could barely speak. "Mu... Muyu, come look at this..."

Zhang Luxun hurried forward and looked closely. The path ahead was blocked solid by a massive object, and people could only climb over it.

And blocking their way was actually a gigantic human hand!

The colossal hand was grayish-white all over, buried beneath a pile of large boulders with only the front half of the palm exposed. The fingers were curved as if about to grab something, making it extraordinarily terrifying.

Zhang Luxun gestured with his hand; even just a single pinky finger was a size thicker than his own thigh.

"It's fine," Zhang Luxun said, patting Wu Xiexie's shoulder reassuringly. "It's fake. Just a mutilated statue."

Wu Xiexie let out an "Ah," recovered his wits, ran over to take a closer look, and even reached out to compare sizes. He exclaimed, "Good grief, this is sculpted so realistically! At first glance, I really thought it was a giant's hand."

Even the master of nature's uncanny craftsmanship wouldn't dare claim they could do better than this.

Laoyang also crowded over, looking up and down, left and right, in utter amazement. "This... this, this is bloody too lifelike! They made it just like a real person, it's way too freakin' creepy."

Even though they knew it was fake, their hearts couldn't stop creeping out.

Laoyang had already anxiously climbed up the pile of stones to the other side. Wu Xiexie and Zhang Luxun quickly followed, pressing against the cliff face and inching along the slope bit by bit.

They originally thought there would be a divine statue or something similar on top, but upon getting closer, they discovered that it was actually a half-length human statue carved into the contours of the mountain. Everything above the chest, including the head, had been blown off by something, leaving only one hand and half a shoulder standing.

Below it appeared a pitch-black collapsed hole, about the size of a basketball.

Wu Xiexie shone his flashlight inside and found that the space within was massive, leading him to speculate, "The mountain behind is hollow. I bet there's an ancient tomb hidden behind this statue."

Whoever could rob a tomb in a place like this must be a master among masters.

Zhang Luxun suggested, "Should we go inside and take a look around? Just in case we can pick up some leftovers."

After putting their heads together, the three decided to go in. Even if there were no bargains to be picked up, studying the superb techniques of their predecessors would still be worthwhile.

Laoyang took the lead and squeezed in. Half a minute later, he poked his head out and cursed, "Freaking hell! It's all greenish, stinking water in there. It all sloshed into my shoes."

Wu Xiexie hesitated. He knew Zhang Luxun had a bit of mysophobia. If he really stepped in stinky water and had no change of clothes, it would definitely disgust him to no end.

Seeing through his thoughts, Zhang Luxun poked his head inside to take a look. Laoyang wasn't exaggerating at all; the stagnant water really stank to high heaven, and its acrid smell made his eyes sting even from a distance.

However, having read the original plot, he also knew their destination was inside the cave, so he had to pinch his nose and accept it.

"It's fine. My clothes already got covered in dirt when I fell into that pit earlier anyway, so dirty is dirty," Zhang Luxun twitched the corners of his mouth and said very insincerely.

Wu Xiexie chuckled unkindly, "You said it yourself."

Zhang Luxun glared at him and raised his foot threateningly, "Laugh again, and see if I don't kick you down."

Grinning, Wu Xiexie dodged aside and squeezed into the hole.

Zhang Luxun took a deep breath, held it, turned on his flashlight, and climbed down as well.

Inside was a carved, vaulted stone chamber. One side was entirely stagnant water, while the other side featured a flight of stone steps.