Chapter Sixty-Seven: Chaos Unfolds

Because the darkness around us was so absolute, we had no way of judging how far those points of light were from us. Instantly, everyone held their breath, nerves pulled taut.

Those lights swayed in the blackness, appearing like ghostly flames drifting over a graveyard. If one listened closely, one could hear faint tinkling, clinking sounds.

“That’s the direction of the main burial chamber,” my father suddenly said.

His words sent a jolt through me. I immediately turned to Peanut, “Is that where the chieftain of the Yelang people sleeps?”

Peanut didn’t answer, but stared even more intently at the lights. After a while, he whispered, “Those are flashlights.”

“Flashlights?” Fatty said to me, “Miss, could it be your second uncle and his group?”

“It’s possible,” my father replied.

But before he had finished, with nothing yet confirmed, Fatty suddenly raised his voice and shouted across, “Hey! It’s me! Over here!”

My father was startled, rushing to stop Fatty, but it was already too late. At first, I didn’t react, thinking Dad was overcautious. But then, on second thought, I realized Fatty had made a terrible mistake.

We hadn’t yet confirmed if those lights were flashlights. To shout so brazenly at the entrance to the main tomb could attract anything. Even if it were my second uncle’s group, Fatty shouldn’t have been the one to call out. If they’d reached the burial chamber before us, their nerves would surely be stretched tight. To hear a strange Beijing accent suddenly might provoke any kind of response.

“Cao Family’s Jin, are you trying to get yourself killed?” Dad scolded, then broke into a fit of coughing.

“What, what did I do? Aren’t we just trying to rejoin the main group…” Fatty protested, still a bit defiant.

I cursed inwardly at Fatty’s inability to cooperate, but didn’t know what to do. Just then, the dozen or so lights ahead, along with the tinkling sounds, vanished all at once.

Suddenly, things became much more complicated. Now, none of us dared to shout again, nor could we discern anything about the situation on the other side. But I could sense a stalemate forming, as if the other side was also trying to figure out what was happening with us. The silence was absolute, not even a breath dared escape from our lips.

“Quick, toss your flashlights and torches aside, everyone crouch down,” Dad suddenly whispered urgently.

His tone brooked no argument; we instinctively obeyed, lowering ourselves as he’d instructed, all of us glancing at him with puzzlement.

Dad’s expression was grave, eyes fixed ahead as he whispered, “The ones across from us are definitely not your second uncle’s group.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Second uncle and the others came for me. If we can see their flashlights, they can see our torches. With Fatty’s shout, if it were your second uncle, even if they didn’t reply, they’d surely have given us some kind of signal. We waited a while, but nothing happened. That means something is off.”

“If it’s not them, then who—” I began, but was interrupted by three sharp gunshots, “bang! bang! bang!” In less than a second, three flashes erupted around the torches we’d tossed aside.

After those three shots, a barrage of gunfire followed, “clang, clang, clang, clang.” From the sound, it was clear the bastards on the other side were spraying bullets with a machine gun, each round hitting precisely around the torches.

Our faces turned ashen with fear. Fatty couldn’t help but curse, “Damn it, not even a word and they’re gunning for us. That’s just ruthless.”

Dad, however, remained calm. “Don’t worry. As long as we stay away from the light, they can’t hit us.”

Now we were certain the others were human, but the situation seemed even worse. If it had been something else, at least Fatty and Peanut could hold their own. But those across from us were senselessly firing, and against a hail of bullets, neither Peanut’s skill nor Fatty’s bulk would help.

“Dad, this isn’t a solution. Even if they can’t hit us, what if they charge over with a dozen men?” I asked anxiously.

“They won’t.” Dad shook his head. “They won’t dare come over.”

“You’re so sure?” I was surprised by his confidence.

“You’ll see soon enough.” Dad looked upward. “If I’m right, the flashbangs will come soon… Come, retreat behind the stone wall.”

We had no other option but to follow Dad’s lead. He was a veteran of countless adventures, and when it came to ancient tombs, he knew them like the back of his hand. We’d just ducked behind the stone wall when, suddenly, a burst of fire shot up behind us, casting a dazzling pale red glow across the sky. It was a high-suspended flashbang.

As I marveled at Dad’s foresight, I finally saw the scene in front of us—and understood why he was so certain the others wouldn’t dare to come.

Fatty moaned, “Damn… Master Yuan, it wasn’t like this when we came in.”

Dad didn’t reply, and Fatty was too stunned to ask further, only staring ahead with me in awe.

Before us was a colossal cliff, and to our right and across from us were similar cliff faces. The three cliffs were nearly identical in width, forming together an unbelievable equilateral triangle within the mountain. We were more than three hundred meters from the other two cliffs, and below was a shadowy abyss. Strange, ethereal cold winds rose from the depths, making the hairs on my arms stand on end, and every rock seemed to twist into grotesque shapes, as if countless demons lurked on the walls, watching us with cold eyes.

In reality, these were not sheer cliffs; there were paths connecting the three. Yet it was precisely these stone slab roads that chilled our nerves even more.

They weren’t just one or two paths, but dozens, even hundreds, closely packed and tangled together like a chaotic mass of thread. From a distance, it looked like a maze. In such an environment, finding the right way across would require extraordinary luck; otherwise, it would take three to five days at least.

Even if one could find a path, few would dare to cross. Those stone slab roads, tangled between the cliffs, had no visible support beneath them. If not for the brilliance of the flashbang, we might think the paths were floating in the air.

The sight was so unexpected that, by the time I tried to turn and look at the situation across, the flashbang had already fallen into the abyss, and once more our vision was swallowed by darkness.

“Master Yuan, what do we do now?” Fatty whispered. “We can’t even risk lighting a match. How are we supposed to cross those paths?”

Dad waited a long time before speaking. “Don’t worry. We’ll make it. Right now, we’re not the ones panicking… Yuanzi.”

Dad called my name, and it took me a moment to respond. “Uh…”

“Wait a bit, then you take the lead and guide us across,” Dad said.

Panic seized me. Thinking of those chaotic stone paths, my confidence vanished. “Dad, I… I can’t find the right way, and we don’t even have any light…”

“No need,” Dad cut me off. “In this tomb, only you can cross without fear.”

Every question, every doubt that had troubled me converged at that moment. No one spoke further. Though we couldn’t see each other’s faces, I could imagine the shock written on Fatty and Peanut’s. If before, the things I felt were horror and mystery, now, what came to mind was—conspiracy.

Yes, it must be a conspiracy. I forced myself to think more practically, to ignore the strange and mysterious details and seek the most rational explanation. So this could only be a complete and utter conspiracy.