No one dared to be careless. Cai Qingchong and Su Yougui made a simple stretcher and together lifted Da Guozao. Liu Dashao and the rascal Fan Debiao picked up the bags and followed Jackson into the water.
Before long, they swam through the stone gate. Liu Dashao turned on his miner’s headlamp and took a look around. It was a nearly circular natural cave, its stone walls similar to those they had climbed earlier. There was no doubt—this was the base of the cliff.
The water was so bitterly cold that Liu Dashao barely glanced around. He couldn’t bear to stay submerged even a second longer and only wished to escape the icy chill as quickly as possible.
As Liu Dashao’s consciousness began to blur, Jackson suddenly shouted, “We’re here!”
Liu Dashao forced himself to focus. Sure enough, there was a cave ahead. It stood over a man’s height tall, and from inside wafted a series of alluring yet eerie fragrances. Zhang Enpu had once told him that anything emitting strange aromas was likely to be dangerous. Remembering this, Liu Dashao hesitated, uncertain whether to enter.
Fan Debiao urged him, “What are you dawdling for? Let’s go! Or else we’ll all turn into ice statues!”
Hearing this, Liu Dashao realized they were still in the most dangerous place. He thought, “What could be more sinister than this? Better to risk poison than freeze to death.” He exchanged a knowing glance with Fan Debiao, who nodded. Together, they hoisted the bag, used it for leverage, and leapt into the cave.
Due to his bulky frame, Fan Debiao failed to climb in on his first few attempts. Seeing this, Liu Dashao grabbed his right arm. On Fan Debiao’s next jump, Liu Dashao pulled hard, finally helping him into the cave.
Inside, Jackson rolled repeatedly in the mud, claiming it would warm him up. Da Guozao and Cai Qingchong sat nearby, with Da Guozao lying flat on the ground, seemingly still unconscious.
At that moment, Liu Dashao felt a sudden wave of heat course through him, followed by a loss of strength. In an instant, he lost consciousness and fell into darkness.
He didn’t know how long he had been unconscious, but eventually Liu Dashao slowly regained awareness. He opened his blurry eyes weakly, sitting up and immediately feeling a sharp headache. His entire body felt boneless, trembling uncontrollably as he sat in black mud. “Am I poisoned?” he thought. “This must be a sign of impending death.” A chill crept into his heart as panic surged. The more he thought about it, the more pain spread throughout his body. Could the black mud really be toxic? “Today, we might all meet our end here!”
Noticing Liu Dashao’s odd behavior, Fan Debiao slapped his shoulder and asked, “What’s wrong, Dashao? Why are you spacing out like that?”
That slap nearly knocked Liu Dashao apart, given his weakened state. “Fan Debiao isn’t poisoned?” Liu Dashao thought, a flood of questions arising in his mind.
“Whack!” Fan Debiao slapped him again, exclaiming, “Dashao, have you been bewitched or something?”
This slap didn’t knock Liu Dashao down—it actually revived him. The headache vanished, and strength returned to his limbs. “Oh no, this must be a final burst of energy before death!” Liu Dashao immediately stood up and said to Fan Debiao, “Brother, my time is up. I won’t be making it back this time. Please tell my parents I’ll have to repay my filial duties in the next life. And… oh, forget it.” Tears streamed down his face as his throat tightened.
Fan Debiao cursed, “What time is up? Stop talking nonsense! You look like you’re full of energy—does that look like someone about to die? Jackson stayed here for a whole day and he’s fine!”
Hearing this, Liu Dashao felt puzzled and looked around. Jackson was holding a double-barreled shotgun, covered in mud just like when they first saw him. He was watching Liu Dashao helplessly. Beside him lay another gun, suggesting that Fan Debiao and Jackson had been examining the weapon while Liu Dashao was unconscious. Da Guozao, Cai Qingchong, and Su Yougui were eating compressed biscuits, having paused mid-bite when Liu Dashao started acting strangely. Da Guozao remained unconscious.
Liu Dashao thought maybe he had overreacted. Perhaps the earlier sensation was just a reaction to the sudden temperature change. Feeling slightly embarrassed under their stares, he lowered his head, but his mood had eased. At least he wasn’t about to meet Marx.
Seeing Liu Dashao calm down, Fan Debiao said, “Dashao, did you have another nightmare? Your imagination sure is vivid. You could’ve been a movie director.”
Liu Dashao glared at Fan Debiao and retorted, “You just love mocking me! This tomb is full of dangers. If you experienced the same thing, I bet you’d be too scared to even say your last words.”
Fan Debiao, eager to examine the shotgun, didn’t have time to argue. He chuckled and returned to the mud to discuss the gun’s performance with Jackson.
Liu Dashao took a deep breath, and a pleasant fragrance entered his nose. It felt like a surge of energy filled his body, making him feel more energetic. Unexpectedly, the mud wasn’t poisonous—it actually seemed to restore strength.
His curiosity piqued, Liu Dashao wanted to investigate the mud’s properties. He plunged both hands deep into it and pulled up a large clump. Mixed within were some white substances. Could this strange aroma be coming from them? He reached out, scooped up the white object, and wiped off the mud with his clothes. He froze in shock—it was a human hand bone. His first instinct was to throw it away and retreat a few steps, fearing a ghost in white might emerge from the mud.
He plopped back into the mud and shouted, “Ghost! There’s a ghost in the mud!”
Seeing Liu Dashao’s intense reaction, Fan Debiao immediately aimed his gun at the disturbed mud and shouted, “Where’s the ghost? Show yourself! Let me shoot it!”
Liu Dashao pointed at the ground near Fan Debiao’s feet and said, “Fan Debiao, look down!”
Fan Debiao looked down and screamed, “Whoa!” He jumped into the air in fright. Still, he managed to fire two shots at the bone, shattering it into pieces.
Seeing this, Jackson grabbed his entrenching tool and smashed the bone while muttering something unintelligible. His actions were quite comical, and soon the bone was buried back into the mud.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Fan Debiao said, “Scared me? You picked the wrong guy!”
As soon as Fan Debiao finished speaking, strange sounds began emanating from the mud, like the wailing of countless infants. Liu Dashao’s hair stood on end. Soon, skulls began emerging from the mud, quickly filling the entire cave. Liu Dashao sucked in a breath, and Fan Debiao, panic-stricken, wildly aimed his double-barreled shotgun, unsure where to shoot.
It was only then that Liu Dashao realized Cai Qingchong and Su Yougui had already dragged Da Guozao up the cave wall. Liu Dashao and Fan Debiao, having learned their lesson, reacted quickly and leapt up to join them. Jackson, however, seemed clueless, still swinging his entrenching tool in the mud, wildly striking at nothing. His adventurous spirit was impressive, if a bit lacking in sense.
Seeing Jackson hadn’t reacted, Fan Debiao shouted, “Jackson, are you trying to die? Hurry up and climb up, or else you’ll die here and we’ll have to come back to put up a gravestone for you—how inconvenient!”
Jackson shrugged and replied, “What?”
Fan Debiao, not quite understanding, shouted again, “What the hell are you digging for? It’s so tense now, and you’re still digging! I told you to climb up this wall!” He pointed behind him.
This time Jackson understood. He dropped the entrenching tool and scrambled up the wall. His climbing speed was impressive—he reached Fan Debiao’s side in just a few moves, clearly experienced from frequent rock climbing.
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