Chapter 1333 — Which Way to Go?

"I can't tell either. There isn't a single mark or sign here, and no hidden mechanism is involved — it's just two paths, and I can see no difference between them." Yu Xiaoke spoke bluntly; she had no wish to send everyone astray on the strength of her own guess.

"Old Hei, what do you say?" Lord Hao looked at Old Hei, somewhat disappointed.

"I don't know either..." Old Hei shook his head. This tomb was a peculiar one: the mouths of the passages bore no markings at all, not the least hint to be found. He could not imagine how the builders had ever found their way, though they had surely carried a map with them each time they came.

"Then we'll take the left one. This time every man of us will scatter lime powder on the ground as we go, and I'll personally bring up the rear. There shouldn't be any trouble." Lord Hao said after a moment's thought.

"Fine, I agree." Old Hei thought it over — it was indeed a solution. With Lord Hao himself guarding the rear this time, there was nothing to fear.

"I agree too!" James nodded. At a moment like this he could hardly disagree; and if he did, was he to go down the right-hand passage alone? That would be far more dangerous.

"Good, then it's settled!" Lord Hao nodded.

"You take the left. I'll take the right," Wei Zhao said mildly.

The moment they drew near the left-hand passage, the jade pendant at Wei Zhao's chest began to warn him. Clearly there was nothing good down there, and so he chose the right.

"What? You're not going to move with the rest of us?" Hearing Wei Zhao strike a contrary note, Lord Hao's dignity could not hold; his expression darkened. The proposal to go left had been his.

"I want to go right. Is there a problem?" Wei Zhao gave a cold snort.

"Suit yourself, then! Let's go!" Irritated by Wei Zhao's lack of tact, Lord Hao sneered and spoke to the others.

Old Hei, however, frowned, suddenly recalling what he had overheard Wei Zhao say the day before.

Could it be that Wei Zhao was absolutely certain? Otherwise, why refuse to go left with the rest and insist on the right? At the thought, Old Hei hesitated, then said: "Lord Hao, perhaps we should take the right after all!"

"What? You trust him?" Lord Hao's expression darkened further.

"I'm in favor of the right as well!" Yu Xiaoke spoke up now. For some reason she found this Lord Hao deeply disagreeable, and so she came out in support of the thieving couple.

By then Wei Zhao had already set off down the right-hand passage without another word, with Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian close behind him.

Old Hei hesitated, then led his men after them. Seeing Wei Zhao so certain, he grew all the more convinced that Wei Zhao knew what he was doing. Yu Xiaoke followed them in as a matter of course, and after a moment's hesitation James did too.

A flicker of anger crossed Lord Hao's eyes. He had been the one whose word carried the most weight in this party, and now no one seemed to listen to him — even Old Hei, who had hired him, had gone off to follow that thieving couple. It infuriated him.

But everyone had gone, and he could hardly take the left passage alone. He coughed twice and, with no other choice, led his few men after them.

The right-hand passage was not long either. They had not gone far when they arrived at another fork — again two passages, left and right.

This time everyone was somewhat dumbfounded. How had two more passages appeared? On the way in they had been at their backs, and the cave had been pitch-dark, so no one had noticed. Now that they noticed, it was too late.

"This... which way do we go?" Old Hei, at Wei Zhao's side, looked at him hesitantly, unsure whether he really knew.

"Let me take a look first." Wei Zhao stood near the mouths of the two passages, sensing the danger within. Yet what puzzled him was that the jade pendant gave no warning for either one. Were they both safe, then?

Wei Zhao frowned; for a moment he could not make up his mind.

"Why aren't we moving?" Lord Hao spoke up now. "Don't know the way anymore? I said we should go left, and you wouldn't listen — you had to go right with him!"

"This..." Old Hei, thus addressed, began to waver. "Thief, do you really know the way or not?"

"I didn't ask you to follow. You followed of your own accord." Wei Zhao spoke mildly, giving Old Hei not the slightest hint. "If you don't care to follow, you're free to turn back."

"Come, come back with me. We'll take the left," Lord Hao chimed in.

Old Hei and James exchanged a glance, and each saw hesitation in the other's eyes.

Wei Zhao glanced at Lord Hao, then lifted his leg and walked on down the right-hand passage. If there was no danger, then one path was as good as another. As the saying went, all roads lead to Rome — perhaps both these passages would lead out.

Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian trusted Wei Zhao absolutely, Chen Yutian above all. He was a man who had survived in the jungle alongside Wei Zhao, and Wei Zhao was a formidable instructor, one who could slip past the traps the enemy set during combat training, a man of keen judgment and sharp observation. Chen Yutian had never once doubted him.

Seeing Wei Zhao go, Old Hei hesitated, then followed after all. In his view, the thieving couple might be arrogant, but they were exceedingly cautious in all they did. Those two prized their own lives far too much to do anything that would walk them into their own graves.

Old Hei followed, and Yu Xiaoke followed as a matter of course. James hesitated, then brought his men along too, while Lord Hao trailed behind with a face full of displeasure.

After another hundred-odd meters, Wei Zhao abruptly halted.

"Thief, what now?" Old Hei was startled. There was no fork ahead — why had Wei Zhao stopped?

"Look behind us," Wei Zhao said mildly, turning his head.

This time Wei Zhao had been paying closer attention, and as he walked he had noticed that the long corridor of the passage tilted very slightly. Barring the unexpected, this should be the junction of the two passage mouths.

Sure enough, behind them there were two passage mouths, exactly like the ones they had seen before — and these people had come out of the right-hand one of the pair.

"Ah! There's another passage!" Old Hei cried in amazement.

"If I'm not mistaken, going left earlier would have brought us out right here — these two mouths are connected." Having said this, Wei Zhao lingered no longer and walked on.

This time Old Hei did not hesitate, sticking close behind Wei Zhao. Yu Xiaoke and James went on as well, leaving only Lord Hao, his face thoroughly black, obliged to keep following.

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