Hu Ba Yi, Shirley Yang, and Wang Pangzi quickly made their decision—
They would build a bamboo raft and take the water route.
Early the next morning, Kongque even brought over an air rifle, saying it could be used for self-defense once they entered the mountains.
Among the group, Old Hu was the most familiar with firearms. He carefully inspected the Jianwei air rifle.
He found that it had been very well maintained, and it fired large steel pellets with considerable power.
It wasn't just for shooting birds—even wolves wouldn't be a problem.
The only drawback was that it was single-shot.
Fortunately, Wang Pangzi had excellent marksmanship, so the rifle naturally went to him.
At dawn, after breakfast, Kongque eagerly insisted on leading them near the tunnel entrance.
"I know there's a large bamboo grove at the foot of the mountain. You can build your raft there."
"But there are a lot of bees in that grove—very poisonous. We'll need to be careful."
It took less than half an hour to reach the bamboo grove from the Colorful Cloud Inn.
Inside the grove were towering bamboo stalks, each as thick as a bowl and several meters tall—perfect material for building a raft.
Wang Pangzi pulled out a machete from their gear and was about to start cutting when Kongque quickly stopped him.
"You can't just cut them directly. There are large bees in this grove, extremely venomous."
"The patterns on their abdomens look like human faces. Around here, we call them human-faced venom bees."
"When they sting, it hurts terribly—like being shot with an arrow."
"And if you anger a swarm, it's a disaster. A large group of them can even sting a water buffalo to death."
Hearing this, Wang Pangzi immediately put down his machete.
"Then what do we do? If I'd known, we would've brought insecticide."
Kongque added, "When we locals cut bamboo, we wrap thick clothes around our heads and faces. If we hear bees approaching, we run straight into the river."
Hu Ba Yi nodded. "That's a workable method… just not very efficient."
Shirley Yang sighed. "We can only hope we're lucky and don't run into them."
As they spoke, they began taking out clothes from their packs.
Before long, Xu Lang, Hu Ba Yi, Shirley Yang, and Wang Pangzi were fully covered.
Seeing that preparations were complete, Xu Lang said to Kongque:
"Thank you, Kongque. Once we finish building the raft, we'll head through the tunnel and pass under Zhelong Mountain. You should head back."
Kongque pouted, clearly wanting to go with them, but Xu Lang firmly refused.
Wang Pangzi leaned closer to Xu Lang and whispered,
"Lord Lang, this girl's pretty and lively—why not let her guide us?"
Xu Lang gave a bitter smile.
Fatty, if only you knew how terrifying Worm Valley really is…
This place was practically the most bizarre and dangerous tomb in the entire tomb-raiding world.
If not for his system, the Golden Silkworm Gu, and his foreknowledge as a transmigrator—
Even Xu Lang himself wouldn't dare venture in.
"Worm Valley is too dangerous. Remember Chen Xiazi? Someone that capable still lost both his eyes."
"Besides, Kongque has never been to Worm Valley. She doesn't know the terrain inside. She can't act as a guide."
"Let's not drag an innocent girl into this."
Hearing this, Wang Pangzi recalled Chen Xiazi's eye sockets—covered in web-like scars—and shuddered.
He said nothing more.
After seeing Kongque off—reluctant as she was—the group began cutting bamboo.
Wang Pangzi and Xu Lang handled the cutting, Shirley Yang cleared off branches and leaves, and Hu Ba Yi tied the raft together with rope.
Xu Lang had volunteered to cut bamboo.
After hearing about the human-faced venom bees, he had become extremely interested.
After the Golden Silkworm Gu leveled up, Xu Lang had gained the skill Insect Control.
Back at the inn, whenever he had spare time, he practiced with it—controlling flies and teasing mosquitoes.
In less than half a day, he had already managed to control dozens of flies, making them form patterns in the air—like a "V" shape or a straight line.
Unfortunately, flies were useless aside from being annoying.
But if he could control dozens—or even hundreds—of highly venomous human-faced bees…
That would be a completely different story.
As a defensive tool, it would be far more effective than an air rifle.
Holding his machete, Xu Lang walked deep into the bamboo grove, deliberately choosing the thickest stalks to cut.
He was practically waiting for the human-faced venom bees to show up.
Behind him, Wang Pangzi was sweating nervously.
"Lord Lang, take it easy! Don't actually provoke them! It's not that I'm scared—I'm just worried it'll delay our progress…"
He had barely finished speaking when—
A buzzing sound suddenly rose from within the bamboo grove.
At the same time, rustling noises came from the grass.
Looking up—
A dark swarm of several hundred massive bees surged out from the grove.
These bees were pitch black, their wings glinting with golden light. Each one was over half an inch long.
On their abdomens was a ring of white markings—
Arranged like eyes, nose, and mouth—
Forming what looked eerily like a human face.
If these weren't human-faced venom bees, then what were?
"Lord Lang, run!" Wang Pangzi shouted.
He immediately covered his head with his clothes and sprinted downhill.
Xu Lang also saw the swarm.
But instead of running—
He curled his lips into a grin.