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墨書 Inktalez
We seemed to wait outside for a quarter of an hour before Zhang Tong said it was time. Fat Ma eagerly climbed down the ladder, and once everyone had descended, I followed, once again bringing up the rear. When the flashlight was turned on, the light was dim and unclear, as the glass cover was clouded with a layer of water mist.
The escape tunnel was relatively well-constructed. Judging by the materials, it appeared to be built from leftover stones used for constructing tombs. The tunnel stretched straight ahead, and the Fat Ma and Huang Lin were chatting away at the front. Fat Ma was recounting his stories from Northeast China to Huang Lin, their voices echoing intermittently in the tomb passage.
Zhang Tong was in front of me when she suddenly turned and asked, "Who did you learn Ghostly Script from?"
I was taken aback by the question.
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."
I responded with a slight "mm."
"Are you really not going to say anything?"
"Just now... well, actually I learned it from a friend of my grandfather."
"Oh," Zhang Tong replied thoughtfully, nodding her head. After a moment of silence, she added, "Actually, I know a bit too."
Hearing this made my expression slightly unusual, but since Zhang Tong was facing away from me during our conversation, she didn't notice.
Noticing my silence, Zhang Tong quickened her tone: "But I only understand a little bit."
"Ghostly Script is indeed a rare script; it's normal not to know it. In fact, there are many characters I don't recognize either." Thus, we exchanged a few words back and forth.
The journey forward was relatively smooth without any setbacks.
Suddenly, Fat Ma's voice rang out: "I found the exit." Soon after, I learned that the exit was still sealed by a wooden board; however, it wasn't above us but directly opposite in the escape tunnel.
Fat Ma did not hold back, kicking the tomb passage open. However, in the next moment, he was stunned, unable to react, and instinctively muttered, "damn."
I sensed something was off at the back as a sudden chill swept through.
"Brother Ma, is something wrong?"
The stout figure of Fat Ma blocked everyone's view. Behind him, Huang Lin was still waiting for an answer.
At that moment, the scene before Fat Ma revealed a steep drop, and below looked like Fang Tianran's cave. It was certain that there must be air circulation inside, as a cold breeze surged up from below.
"Brother Ma," Huang Lin called out.
Once Fat Ma regained his composure, his first words were, "Let's go down."
"Down?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Lin understood immediately, and I had a rough idea as well. When the news was confirmed, I couldn't help but feel a bit shocked.
This tomb was truly a labyrinth; if all of this was part of a single structure, it was indeed quite incredible!
"How do we secure the rope?" Fat Ma shouted back.
"What’s the drop?"
"About four meters."
I surveyed my surroundings; there seemed to be no gaps where we could secure the rope. The only option was to have a few people hold onto the rope from above while one person descended, and then proceed in that manner.
Once this plan was confirmed, we immediately put it into action.
The six of us held onto the rope, first lowering the Fat Guy, then Huang Lin, followed by Residual Anger, then the Mud Man, and finally, only Zhang Tong and I were left.
Zhang Tong turned to look at me.
"I can do it; hurry up!"
I stood a distance away from the exit, wary that if the load was too heavy or if things went too quickly, I would have no room to maneuver.
After taking a deep breath, I heard Zhang Tong's voice: "I'm going down."
"Okay, you can go now," I replied, raising my voice.
Zhang Tong gripped the rope and slowly slid down. I strained as I stepped forward a few paces. Once Zhang Tong reached the ground, I let out a huge sigh of relief. After all this, I was drenched in sweat.
Now it was just me left. I held onto a rope, panting heavily, my arms feeling somewhat sore.
"Old Sun, what are you still doing up there? Hurry up and come down!" The Fat Guy's loud voice echoed from below.
"Coming right away," I responded.
I walked to the edge and looked down. Although it wasn't very high, it was still challenging for someone with a fear of heights.
"Jump down!"
After those words were spoken, I crouched down without hesitation and jumped straight down. As my feet hit the ground, I felt my whole body shake, especially my head; it felt a bit dizzying.
"Good job, Old Sun!" Fat Ma praised me.
Zhang Tong rushed over to support me.
I didn't move at first, but after a moment, I regained my senses and took a step. Standing for too long had made my feet a bit numb. Once I fully recovered, I began to feel the coolness of the place.
This was a Fang Tianran cave, with a slanted top that appeared dark green, almost black. Sparse plants grew along the black stones.
The ground was covered with some gravel, and plants poked through the gaps. The entire cave was shaped like a dome, higher in the center and sloping downwards on both sides, but it didn't descend infinitely; it reached a certain level and then stabilized.
We had exhausted ourselves on this trip, and the fat guy suggested we take a break here.
When I opened my backpack, I discovered that we only had enough food for two days, and our water supply was nearly depleted as well. Additionally, we only had two spare batteries left.
It was still unclear whether this cave connected to an exit.
As I turned off everyone else's flashlights, leaving just one on, darkness rushed in without hesitation. The sound of dripping water echoed clearly as it hit the ground.
After a simple meal, I looked up to see Fat Ma enjoying his food heartily. I couldn't help but say, "Eat less; otherwise, when the time comes and we run out of rations, you'll be waiting to starve!"
"Old Sun, that's impossible! Can't you feel the airflow here? With my rich experience in Panning for Gold, there must be an exit ahead," Fat Ma said confidently.
I didn't deny him; his words still held some truth until proven otherwise.
Seeing that I had stopped talking, Fat Ma chuckled proudly a few times.
After resting for a while, I stood up. "I'm going to check out the surroundings here."
"Old Sun, wait for me," Fat Ma said as he took a swig of water.
"Stay where you are, don't move."
They nodded in response. I felt a bit more at ease with the clay figures remaining in place.
Fat Ma and I took a few steps forward. I said to him, "Let's split up, one on each side."
Fat Ma didn't hesitate; he headed left while I went right, using the clay figures as our reference point.
The ground was uneven, causing the flashlight beam to flicker erratically in the cave.
I steadied my steps and ventured deeper inside. The darkness was pushed away by the light, revealing scenes that unfolded like layers of an onion before my eyes.
The cave's height continued to slope downward, and at its lowest point, I had to bend nearly ninety degrees.
I crouched down and moved forward a bit more. The light could only penetrate about ten meters ahead, while beyond that remained an abyss of darkness.
The lower I went, the colder it became, like a chilling needle piercing my skin and reaching deep into my heart. I couldn't help but shiver.
As I moved a few more steps, suddenly the light illuminated a pair of glowing eyes that met my gaze. I froze for a moment; when I finally reacted, my heart felt as if it had stopped beating after a tremor.
I forced myself to suppress the panic rising within me and steadied my breath as I began to back away.
The light started to shrink as I retreated until I could stand upright again. The glowing eyes remained still, but I still didn't dare relax. After taking a few more steps back and realizing I could move freely, I practically crawled and ran out of there.
I swallowed hard, followed by heavy gasps for air. At that moment, I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.
The commotion caught the attention of the clay figures nearby. Before long, they gathered around me.
"What happened?" the Clay Man whispered.
I felt a lump in my throat, unable to speak.
Zhang Tong patted my back, helping me catch my breath. I said, trembling, "A pair of glowing eyes."
At my words, everyone was taken aback.
The Clay Man's expression turned serious. It seemed that Fat Ma had not returned yet.
After a while, there was still no movement from inside. My heart began to settle. "If they didn't follow us, it should be fine."
We returned to our original spot and sat down. The exit in the direction I had gone could basically be ruled out now; we could only wait for news from Fat Ma.
As I sat there, my gaze remained fixed on that direction, fearing any sudden changes. About a quarter of an hour passed, but there was still no response from where Fat Ma had gone.
We started to feel restless.
"Brother Ma, could something have happened?" Huang Lin whispered.
"I'll go take a look," the Clay Man said as he stood up.
"I'll go with you," Huang Lin suddenly chimed in.
The Clay Man ignored him completely and headed straight toward Fat Ma's direction. Huang Lin was taken aback by the Clay Man's attitude but quickly followed after him.
I paid little attention to them; my eyes were still focused on that direction.
Finally, Zhang Tong waved her hand in front of my eyes, bringing me back to reality. Instinctively, I rubbed my eyes.
"What exactly is over there?" After that question, Residual Anger's gaze shifted towards me.
"I don't know," I replied, feeling somewhat fatigued.
"Brother Sun, didn't you see clearly?"
I nodded. "But that doesn't rule out the possibility that it could be dangerous." Seeing my serious expression, Residual Anger's demeanor changed slightly.
The more silent it became, the more uneasy I felt.
"Could it be some kind of dark creature?" Zhang Tong suggested.
Her words jolted me; it wasn't impossible. But could there really be a creature with such bright eyes? I suddenly thought that perhaps it was just a reflection caused by the light shining on something.
That seemed very likely. A sense of curiosity ignited within me, and after a brief internal struggle, my curiosity ultimately won out.
"You all stay here; I'm going to take a look!"
"Isn't it dangerous? It's better not to go," Zhang Tong said, staring at me intently.
"Don't worry; I'll be careful," I said as I stood up, preparing to head over there. Suddenly, Zhang Tong tugged at my shirt. "I want to go too."
"No way. It's not safe with too many people."
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