Chapter 398: Traps and Near-Death Experiences! Luo Feng’s Close Call! (2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The ground and the sides of the tomb passage were entirely lined with stone bricks.
Rope-like objects were hanging down from the tomb ceiling, immediately drawing Luo Feng’s attention.
“Is this a rope?”
Luo Feng spotted a rope, approximately two or three meters long. It connected to the tomb ceiling. Some of the brickwork on the tomb’s ceiling was fractured. The rope appeared to be punched directly through from the outside of the tomb, then hung in place.
There were more than a dozen of such ropes, each spaced about a meter apart.
“Could this tomb have been robbed?”
“What does hanging a rope signify?” Luo Feng questioned.
His attention was quickly captured by a stone stele at the entrance of the tomb passage. The inscription on the stele was similar to the one from before: “Enter the tomb and die.” Damn it!
Another such stele.
Boss Cao, you’ve done enough, stop scaring people.
“What does this rope mean, Luo Feng? Has this tomb been robbed?” Su Meiji also started asking upon seeing this.
“I don’t know, let’s assess the situation first!” Luo Feng actually did not know either. If this tomb had been plundered, could it still be worth three hundred million? Or was it the real tomb?
Subsequently, Luo Feng cautiously moved forward.
He had barely walked three meters when he felt as if his foot was stepping on air and quickly lost balance. It felt as though the ground had collapsed beneath him.
Upon looking down, he noticed that a stone brick had turned into a seesaw. Luo Feng stepped on one end, naturally causing the other end to tilt upwards.
“Is this an ancient tomb mechanism?
Luo Feng quickly made this connection.
However, because he had stepped on empty space, he lost his balance.
Luo Feng fell.
The tilted stone brick quickly began to fall back down.
If it were to fall back down unchecked, Luo Feng’s foot, which had stepped on it, would certainly be crushed.
In a split second, the quick-witted Luo Feng inserted his Jungle Blade into the seesaw, preventing it from falling back down, thereby saving his leg.
Clearly, it was a close call this time.
But he managed.
“By the gods, it’s a trap, everyone, tread carefully and proceed slowly!” Following the evasion of a trap, Luo Feng raised his voice to caution the second-generation heirs behind him.
Observing his surroundings, Luo Feng saw no evidence of arrows being triggered. It seemed like a simple prank, a trap meant to ensnare the leg. “Damn it! A trap, it nearly scared me to death!”
“The nerve of Boss Cao! Even in death, he attempts to harm others. If our host were to be disfigured, he would lose a significant number of fans!”
“Indeed, if our host were to fall, I’d take to the New Three Kingdoms forum and berate Guo Jianbing.”
“How comical, why not go to a Qing dynasty drama and criticize Empress
Dowager Cixi?”
“We did, we’ve been criticizing her.”
“I did say it was a deadly tomb, the host didn’t believe me. Now do you understand? Every corner is a trap! The host should not continue!”
“Enter the tomb and perish, Boss Cao wasn’t bluffing, there truly are traps littered about!”
“I fear our host may not survive today!”
“That won’t happen, considering the host’s capabilities, these average traps have nothing on him.”
“The host’s response was swift indeed. If it were me, I’d probably have my leg severed by the seesaw trap.”
“The host should consider retracing his steps. Don’t put us all in danger!”
Panting heavily, Luo Feng, after the initial scare, had already regained his composure. In his mind, he mentally berated Cao Cao and his kin.
However, Luo Feng could not place the blame entirely on Boss Cao, who merely sought to protect his tomb from plunderers. Luo Feng admitted he had been careless; in the past six months, they had dug up many graves, yet none had contained traps. The most they had encountered were venomous snakes in Zhao Gao’s tomb.
“I was merely caught off guard, I will not fall for it again!” Luo Feng chuckled.
He picked up the swallowtail hoe that had dropped during his tumble. This tool was a lifesaver. As long as he held it in front of him, any danger would be averted.
“Be careful as you move. As long as you step on the center of the stone slab, that is, the fulcrum of the seesaw, the stone brick will not flip up!”
“I recommend you three ladies go back first. There might be more mechanical traps ahead!” Luo Feng said with concern.
However, the three ladies were determined to accompany Luo Feng. Not one of them showed signs of backing down. When given an opportunity to express their faith in Luo Feng, they would never allow him to belittle them.
After traversing a certain distance, they arrived at the next location. Luo Feng sensed another trap ahead, a pitfall, one would fall in if stepped on.
“These are pitfalls. Step on every third tile. The first and second tiles of every three are traps,” Luo Feng advised, though he felt his warnings would be futile.
As he moved forward, he would avoid the traps, leaving the path safe for his followers.
“Damn! There are spikes down there! So ruthless!”
“Thank goodness our host used the Swallowtail Hoe to probe the ground, or else they would have perished here!”
“Boss Cao: I warned you kindly, but you didn’t believe me, so you deserve to die!
Upon inspecting the ground below, Luo Feng showed no sign of fear. He advanced cautiously. With the swallowtail hoe leading the way, Luo Feng had nothing to fear.
However, Luo Feng soon learned that the trap pattern had changed. Instead of the first two stones being trapped, now the third one was. The first two were safe.
“Haha, a bit of variation, huh?”
“If it weren’t for this Swallowtail Hoe, I would have fallen for your trick!” Luo Feng declared, realizing that as long as there was a trap, there would have been people to maintain it.
Certainly, there would be a safe step left for these individuals. No matter what, the way forward would be to locate the safe tiles. However, Luo Feng did not need to seek a pattern. He just needed to wield the Swallowtail Hoe to clear the path.
Having traveled a distance of around three to five meters, seven or eight floor tiles collapsed, revealing sharp iron spikes beneath.
“Be cautious, the walls seem peculiar. They are definitely arrow holes!” He warned before embarking on the next leg of their journey.
Upon examining the walls, Luo Feng noticed some minute holes, despite the wall’s best effort at concealment. He believed these were likely launch points for arrows.
Thump, thump, thump. Clang, clang, clang. Luo Feng struck the path ahead and the wall with the swallowtail hoe. It seemed to provoke no response. Could it be that the mechanism had deteriorated with time?
Luo Feng thought it plausible. Advanced traps like these, given enough time, were likely to fail.
‘Good heavens! Boss Cao, this is too much! Are we not just guests in your home? Is this your idea of hospitality?”
“Haha, Boss Cao was always known for treating the virtuous and talented generously, so this level of warmth is quite normal!”
“Host, quickly pay your respects to Boss Cao, and then leave!”
“I think, the host will want to find Boss Cao’s coffin later to defile the corpse!”
Looking at the holes in the wall, Luo Feng felt a strong urge to pry them open and remove the crossbow bolts. After all, bolts from that era were cultural relics.
In this moment, Luo Feng examined the ordinary floor tiles and the ropes. He finally understood the origin of these ropes.
“Although the crossbow trap seems to have failed, we cannot guarantee that all of them have lost their function. You should leave first.” Luo Feng stepped back and added, “I must say, it’s a very simple trap, but very effective.”
After only a thousand years, the mechanism had started to fail. Was it a clever contraption? Not particularly. It was quite simple. But if you stepped on it unknowingly, your leg would be broken, or you would be killed by ground spikes, or even shot dead by crossbow bolts.
“Those of you with good arm strength, grab these ropes and swing across! ”
“Those of you without enough strength, don’t try it. If you can’t hold on, you won’t make it across!”
With a laugh, Luo Feng announced, “Boss Cao, I’m coming!”
The use of these ropes was now clear. Luo Feng had done so much. Could the others not understand what was going on? The ropes were certainly drilled in from the outside, hung in, and then used to swing across. The tomb raiders did not want to step on those tiles and trigger the traps.
However, just as Luo Feng freed a hand to grab a rope, he felt a sense of weightlessness again. The rope in his hand, which had been taut, became slack. He began to freefall. Moreover, a rumbling sound was heard from above..
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