Chapter 31: Piercing Screams (Please Subscribe and Vote)

“Uh, well, I really don’t know how to explain the situation there.” Unexpectedly, Professor Chen finally gave up trying to maintain appearances. After speaking, he placed his hands on his hips and turned his head away.

At that moment, Fatty and I had every reason to suspect Professor Chen. By now, three people had already died, and both of us were boiling with frustration. Fatty was angry at himself for being outwitted by Chen, while I was angry at myself for being such a fool—why had I left the comfort of a small villa with air conditioning in Beijing to meddle in this mess? Most importantly, neither of us wanted to be next.

Exchanging a few glances, we both decided we didn’t want to leave either.

“I’ll be straightforward.” Zhuge Xuan stepped forward, glancing between us. “Are you still coming with me?”

Fatty and I both mimicked Professor Chen, turning our heads aside.

“Fine, then we’ll go our separate ways. I’m not sticking with you grave-diggers anyway,” Zhuge Xuan snapped in anger. Fatty held back his temper, and we watched as she scooped up two gear packs from the ground. After handing one to Professor Chen, she shot me a sharp glare and then headed toward the faint light in the distance.

Professor Chen shook his head at Fatty and followed her without hesitation.

As the two of them quickly disappeared, Fatty patted me on the shoulder, noticing my hesitant expression. “What, you can’t bear to leave that little girl behind?”

“Tch, what nonsense,” I replied, though a pang of reluctance lingered.

“Don’t be fooled by her pitiful act. I tell you, she’s cunning.” Fatty stared in the direction they had gone. “I’d already sorted the gear earlier; the stuff we packed could hold off both her and Chen. But she went and took the one I packed for you. She must have figured it out when I was organizing.”

I said nothing, asking instead, “So, what do we do now?”

Fatty explained that the multi-chambered brick tombs from the Wei, Jin, and Six Dynasties period had many courtyards. He had mentioned before that if we couldn’t find a way out, he’d dig through the courtyard with a shovel.

According to Fatty’s estimate, even if the tomb was as large as Chen claimed, the nearest courtyard would be only a few hundred meters away—not hard to find. Once Chen and Zhuge Xuan were far enough away, we could set off.

After Fatty finished, I suddenly realized that what we were about to do wasn’t entirely honorable.

Professor Chen had invited us here. Even though he had tricked us out of quite a few things, since we came, we shouldn’t just abandon them like this.

We were still at the front chamber, and already so many things had happened. If more trouble awaited deeper inside, what would happen to those two—an old man and a young girl?

The thought made me uneasy as I nervously drew on a cigarette.

I didn’t notice when Peanut returned. He glanced at Fatty and me, then picked up a pack from the ground. “Wait here for me.”

“What?” Fatty turned his head.

“When this is over, I’ll lead you out.” Peanut tossed the words over his shoulder and disappeared into the darkness ahead.

“Hey, wait!” I called out.

But as I stood, Peanut turned slightly and said, “Don’t follow me. This place isn’t just occupied by us.”

With that, he vanished into the shadows.

“‘Not just us’?” Fatty looked at me. “What does he mean by that?”

“How would I know?” I was irritated by the question and grabbed a gear pack, slinging it over my back.

Peanut must have detected traces of others here, but I had no idea whether these ‘others’ were people or something else.

“What are you rushing for?” Fatty asked.

“What else? To find that courtyard you mentioned and dig our way out.” I started forward.

Fatty, realizing there was nothing left to do here, grabbed his pack as well.

Suddenly, a sharp thought struck me. I froze, then quickly removed my pack and flipped it inside out.

“No, not here?” I muttered, then rummaged through the nearby packs. Nothing.

“What the hell are you doing?” Fatty asked, puzzled.

I ignored him and inspected his pack too—still nothing.

“What exactly are you looking for?”

I looked up at Fatty and asked, “When you were reorganizing the gear earlier, did you see anything glowing gold at the bottom of any bag? Like gold powder used in makeup?”

“No,” Fatty said.

“Tch, think carefully and tell me again.”

Fatty pursed his lips. “If there’s anything that glitters gold in this world, I’d remember it after one glance. I’m sure none of those bags had what you’re talking about.”

“But I suddenly remembered—when we saw that black-tumor coffin, I saw something golden glittering beneath one bag. I thought it was strange, but then everything else happened and I forgot.”

I recalled clearly; those gold-powder-like things were definitely there.

“So what if there was? Big deal.” Fatty scoffed. “Gold powder is nothing special.”

“No.” I shook my head. “What I saw looked like gold powder but felt different—hard to explain, just very odd. The key is, I think that ‘gold’ character Yang Lang wrote at the end might be connected to this.”

I said it seriously, but Fatty didn’t care much. “Look at you, scared stiff over a little gold powder. I’d be glad to find something glowing gold! Yang Lang wrote ‘gold’ to tell me about gold powder? You think he meant for us to remember to give him smoky eye makeup when he’s dead?”

I knew Fatty wouldn’t take such vague things seriously, but it still gnawed at me.

“Think carefully,” Fatty said, packing his bag. “That guy told us to wait here—I trust his abilities. If we go after him now, what if...”

“Ah!!!”

Before Fatty could finish, a woman’s scream echoed from the depths of the tomb passage.

Though distant and faint, Fatty and I both heard the strain in her voice—it was a scream torn from the very depths of her throat.

I immediately thought of Zhuge Xuan. “What’s going on? Did something happen to them already?”

Fatty frowned. “Peanut’s with them, right? Even if something happened, that guy can handle it. Does Zhuge Xuan really need to scream like that?”

“Enough thinking. Let’s go check. If someone dies, it’ll be a disaster.” I felt a sinking dread and, ignoring Fatty, grabbed my flashlight and dashed forward.

“Hey! Don’t run off like that!” Fatty cursed and chased after me, soon overtaking me.

Looking back now, I deeply regret that reckless impulse.

After less than a hundred meters, we suddenly found ourselves in a narrow corridor only five or six meters wide.

Fatty stopped, panting. “How did we get here? Why didn’t we notice?”

I looked around. “Don’t think about it. Let’s find them first.”

“Tch.” Fatty seemed uneasy. “We shouldn’t be wandering like this. When we came in, we should’ve seen the stone door at the entrance.”

I had no patience for that now. If Zhuge Xuan or Professor Chen were in trouble, I’d never forgive myself.

“It’s so dark here; maybe we just didn’t notice the door when we came in. Let’s finish this corridor first.” I started running again.

Fatty grabbed me from behind. “No, you go ahead and we’re dead meat.”

We pressed deeper down the corridor. After ten minutes, it remained unchanged. Whether from anxiety or fear, we ran faster and faster. Then, I suddenly sensed the air around me lighten.

Just then, Fatty shouted, “Stop! Stop!”

I was caught off guard and crashed into the pack on his back. Suddenly, Fatty started falling forward, and I lost my balance too. My flashlight swung wildly before me, and I realized in horror that the damned corridor had ended—we were both falling over a cliff.

(To be continued.)