Chapter 148: The Ancestor

Fan Debiao pushed Huang Shitou and said, “Mr. Liu, why don’t we just draw another one using the blood of the stones?” As soon as those words left his mouth, Huang Shitou was immediately horrified, his skin crawling with goosebumps.

Liu Dashao shook his head, “Those talismans had a specific order. I intentionally scattered them randomly and now I can’t remember which one is missing. Redrawing one won’t help if it’s the wrong one!”

Beside them, Su Yougui suddenly plopped onto the ground and screamed, “Grandma’s legs, the centipede is out!”

Liu Dashao’s forehead bulged with veins, “Dear ancestors, so fast?” The six of them turned around and saw the giant centipede already clawing its way toward them. With one swing of its tail, it blocked their escape route.

Liu Dashao shouted, “Run toward the cliff wall!” The five sprinted forward like a gust of wind. When they reached the stone wall, Fan Debiao suddenly realized something and cursed, “What the hell, why did you make us run ourselves to death on the road?” Liu Dashao quickly looked around and hurried behind a stone taller than a person. After examining it for a moment, he exclaimed, “Quick, look! Something strange is here!” The others rushed over and saw it too—a dark cave hidden where Liu Dashao pointed. The cave’s walls were narrow but spacious enough for people to walk upright inside.

Hearing rustling from behind, they knew the centipede had arrived. Fan Debiao gritted his teeth, switched on his headlamp, and dove into the cave. The others shouted and followed him in. Liu Dashao entered last. Using the light Fan Debiao shined his way, he noticed a wooden board beside the cave entrance. Instantly realizing its usefulness, he grabbed it and blocked the cave entrance. A dull thud followed as the centipede slammed into the board, forcing Liu Dashao to stagger backward. Seeing the situation, Ge Shuanwa quickly stepped forward and pushed against the board, managing to shove the creature back.

A hissing sound came from the other side of the wooden board. A black mist began seeping through the cracks between the board and the cave entrance. Ge Shuanwa and Liu Dashao, both pushing against the board, held their breath. Liu Dashao shouted, “You guys, quick—find something to block this door!” Fan Debiao, holding the lamp, searched and found a few stones. Together, everyone managed to secure the wooden board in place. Liu Dashao and Ge Shuanwa exhaled in relief, retreating to where the smoke hadn’t reached. They felt utterly drained and collapsed onto the ground.

Fan Debiao shouted, “Quick, light the kerosene lamps! This flashlight battery won’t last long!” Hu Beikang and Huang Shitou immediately lit two kerosene lamps, brightening the cave considerably. Under the light, they saw that the cave was over a person’s height, clearly man-made, with scattered wooden stakes inside. No one could tell what kind of wood it was, but despite the passage of time, the stakes remained undamaged.

As the noise outside gradually faded, Huang Shitou asked, “Do you think the centipede has gone? Also, Mr. Liu, my brother must have entered this cave, right?” As soon as he said that, everyone felt like sitting on fire, instantly standing up and staring into the cave. Liu Dashao felt a deep sense of dread. Outside, a fearsome creature waited for them to emerge, while inside, an unknown danger lurked. Truly, they were caught between a rock and a hard place.

Su Yougui, already famished and unarmed except for the detonator Liu Dashao had given him, had picked up a pointed wooden stake from the ground and tied it to his waist. Everyone turned toward the cave, but there was not a sound. Suddenly, Su Yougui screamed, “Ah!” Startling everyone.

Fan Debiao’s voice trembled, “What’s wrong? Did you see something?” Huang Shitou immediately squeezed closer to Liu Dashao.

Su Yougui slapped his forehead and cried out, “The snake! The snake!” Liu Dashao nearly lost his mind, urgently asking, “Speak clearly! What about the snake?” Su Yougui replied, “That snake was huge! If we roasted it, we could have eaten for two days! Now it’s just wasted out there! Oh no!”

Fan Debiao angrily kicked Su Yougui in the butt, “You idiot! At a time like this, you’re still thinking about food!” Liu Dashao, had it not been for Fan Debiao’s presence, would have joined in with another kick.

Just then, a sudden “clattering” sound came from inside the cave, scaring everyone into silence. Liu Dashao exchanged glances with Ge Shuanwa before turning to Fan Debiao and saying, “You all stay here and watch the entrance. Don’t let anything happen to it. Ge and I will go inside to check things out.”

Fan Debiao wiped his sweat, “Hope nothing happens. Should I come too?” Liu Dashao thought for a moment and shook his head, “The cave is narrow. Too many people will be in the way. We’ll take some ropes. If we find him, we’ll tie him up. I don’t believe he can even break free from ropes!”

Truthfully, Liu Dashao deeply appreciated Ge Shuanwa. He remained calm under pressure and could control the situation. Liu Dashao tied his broken belt, turned on his headlamp, and walked ahead. Ge Shuanwa followed sideways along the wall. The cave twisted and turned, and both men’s breaths quickened with tension.

After walking about ten meters, they suddenly found themselves at a dead end. This small cave, barely ten meters long, had no sign of Huang Peng inside. Liu Dashao’s face was drenched in sweat, “Oh my ancestors, what’s going on? How could a person just disappear like that?” Ge Shuanwa felt sweat on the hand holding the lamp, so he switched hands and leaned against the wall to catch his breath. But as he leaned, he heard a “click” sound, and suddenly, he rolled sideways into a hidden chamber.

Liu Dashao shouted, “No good! It’s a secret room!”

Ge Shuanwa rolled inside, his lamp swinging wildly, casting flickering light. Liu Dashao, unaware of the situation inside, dared not rush in. Holding his kerosene lamp, he searched the entrance of the hidden room and saw Ge Shuanwa waving the lamp frantically inside. Just then, Liu Dashao’s headlamp flickered twice and went out.

Liu Dashao turned pale with anger, cursing, “Damn it! Can’t a person even live anymore?”

He turned back and said, “Don’t move. I’ll go get help!” Then he ran toward the cave entrance. The cave was curved, so the noise inside couldn’t be heard outside. The four at the entrance, seeing someone running out of the dark cave, were startled and instinctively drew their knives and stakes. Huang Shitou raised the kerosene lamp to see who it was and asked anxiously, “Why are you alone? Where’s Brother Ge?”

Liu Dashao panted, “No time to talk,” and threw the headlamp at Fan Debiao, “Fan Captain, change the batteries. Light two more kerosene lamps quickly! Follow me inside to help!”

Seeing the others hesitating, he roared in frustration, “Follow me in now, quick!”

The four snapped out of their shock and followed Liu Dashao. Fan Debiao frantically tried to change the batteries while running. Within less than a minute, they reached the hidden room’s entrance. Seeing the lamp still lit inside, Liu Dashao exhaled in relief and shouted, “Ge Brother, are you okay?”

As soon as he shouted, the lamp inside the hidden room suddenly went out. Liu Dashao was startled when he heard Ge Shuanwa scream inside, “Oh no, damn it!” Liu Dashao’s legs gave way in fear, and he fell to the ground. Fan Debiao was still struggling with the batteries, failing to insert the new ones several times. Hearing Ge Shuanwa’s scream, he was so anxious he nearly wet his pants, “Damn it! Can’t a person even live anymore?”

Hu Beikang helped Liu Dashao up, who said nothing and rushed into the hidden room with the lamp. Ge Shuanwa had once saved his life, and Liu Dashao couldn’t bear the thought of losing him here.

As Liu Dashao entered the hidden room, he first saw Ge Shuanwa sitting on the ground, his face unusually flushed, seemingly very excited. Liu Dashao relaxed a little. At this time, Fan Debiao had finished changing the batteries and came in with the headlamp. Now with three kerosene lamps and one headlamp, the room was dimly lit but visible.

Liu Dashao went over and helped Ge Shuanwa up, noticing his lamp was still intact. He asked, “Are you okay? Why did the lamp go out just now?”

Ge Shuanwa stared for a while before finally regaining his senses. He grabbed Liu Dashao tightly and said, “Damn it, this place feels off!” Liu Dashao supported him and asked, “What’s off? Tell me what happened just now?”

Ge Shuanwa swallowed hard and said, “When I rolled in, I was swinging the lamp around and saw three tall shadows! You went out to get help, so I stood up and started looking around. Just as I saw one of the shadows move, the damn lamp went out!” As soon as he said that, Huang Shitou and Su Yougui moved closer to the center.

Liu Dashao loudly said, “First, take the lamps and check the surroundings, especially see if Huang Peng is here!” Saying that, he shone Fan Debiao’s headlamp ahead and froze. Seeing his strange expression, the others followed his gaze.

The hidden room must have been about ten meters high, entirely carved out inside the mountain. The space was large enough to hold two hundred people. Standing at the entrance, they could see three carved human figures about twenty meters ahead on the stone wall. Liu Dashao scratched his head and said, “This really is a Daoist temple! Aren’t those the statues of the Three Pure Ones?” He shone the lamp on the three statues and suddenly sighed, “They said it was carving Buddha statues, but in reality, they were carving a Daoist temple!”

Fan Debiao stood beside him, full of questions, “Damn it, although this project might not compare to building the Great Wall, it must have taken at least eighty to a hundred people to complete! Who the hell had nothing better to do and carved a Daoist temple in this mountain?”

On the side, Su Yougui walked closer with the lamp to examine the Three Pure Ones statues and suddenly screamed, “Oh my God, a dead person!”

Liu Dashao and Fan Debiao exchanged glances and simultaneously said, “Huang Peng!” Then they rushed over. They saw Su Yougui trembling, pointing at a table in front of the Three Pure Ones statues, “Oh no… a dead person…”

The group bravely gathered around and saw a corpse sitting cross-legged on the table, hands in a strange gesture resting on both sides of the legs. The body had turned black and dried up, clearly dead for many years. The empty eye sockets, illuminated by the lamp, seemed to emit an eerie glow.

Huang Shitou moved close to Fan Debiao, trembling as he held the lamp and asked, “Brother Biao, could it be haunted?”

Fan Debiao, already in a foul mood, was about to scold him but suddenly remembered Huang Shitou had just lost his brother. Feeling sympathy, he patted Huang Shitou’s shoulder to comfort him.

Liu Dashao approached the corpse for a closer look. He noticed it wasn’t wearing Daoist robes but rather something resembling military attire from the past. He thought to himself: Could this person have been a soldier? Why would he come here to carve a Daoist temple and die inside? Looking at the corpse’s hands, he suddenly froze and exclaimed, “Oh my God, these hands… could they really be his?”

Everyone looked and felt strange. Although the body was dried up, the skeleton was huge, the figure not tall, but the hands were slender and delicate, giving an impression of peculiar bone structure. Liu Junqiang clicked his tongue and said, “Truly, a coal miner with hands like someone who plays the piano.” Everyone found this description very vivid.

Just as they were thinking, Liu Junqiang suddenly screamed, “Huang Peng!!”

Everyone simultaneously felt their skin crawl and grabbed their weapons, eyes wide open. From the darkness on the other side, a figure with a blackened body stepped out slowly—it was none other than Huang Peng!

Liu Dashao exchanged a glance with Fan Debiao and Ge Shuanwa, signaling them to circle around from both sides with ropes. He took a kitchen knife and blocked Huang Peng’s path. However, Huang Peng ignored them completely and continued walking forward step by step. Liu Dashao was really troubled; he still didn’t know what had happened to Huang Peng. Seeing him approach, he shouted, and the three of them rushed forward together.

Originally, Liu Dashao, Fan Debiao, and the others were prepared for a fierce battle, but unexpectedly, Huang Peng offered no resistance. He was quickly tied up tightly by the three like a dumpling.

Liu Dashao exhaled in relief, and everyone else felt a great weight lifted off their shoulders. They had come out specifically to find Huang Peng, and now that they had found him and tied him up, there was no longer any fear of him causing trouble. Huang Shitou sat beside Huang Peng but dared not sit too close. He noticed that after tying up Huang Peng, there was no sign of life from him, and he was probably truly dead. Feeling sad, he quietly began to cry.

Fan Debiao said, “Damn it, I only feel relaxed now. As for that dead centipede outside, I don’t even want to think about it anymore!” Hu Beikang exhaled deeply and said, “Let’s just stay here until morning. Afraid of that dead centipede causing trouble again?”

Liu Dashao and Ge Shuanwa were more cautious. They took two kerosene lamps and went to check the area Huang Peng had come from. As soon as they shone the lamp, Ge Shuanwa burst into laughter, “Haha… damn it… dog, damn dog, dog!”

Liu Dashao turned his head and looked, saying, “So this is the flying white dog everyone was talking about? Isn’t it just a dead dog?”

Curious, everyone gathered around and exclaimed in unison, “Oh!”

There on the ground lay a large white dog—the very same flying white dog they had been obsessed with the previous night. Now the dog was no longer flying, lying motionless with its big mouth wide open. It was clearly dead and stiff. Liu Dashao patted the dog and reminisced, “Oh, if it hadn’t flown last night, I might have been killed by someone!” This made Fan Debiao and Huang Shitou’s faces turn red.

Liu Dashao exhaled deeply but faced a new problem. He said, “Now there are still two issues. How did this dog fly into this cave, and what exactly happened to Huang Peng? Until we figure this out, I don’t think we can feel safe tonight. We still need to be careful!”

Huang Shitou quietly said, “That dead… that ancient person, could he also…?” This question struck a chord with everyone. Fan Debiao stared intently at Liu Dashao and said, “Mr. Liu, judging by the situation, this must be one of your Daoist predecessors. Just tell us what we should do!” Liu Dashao was a bit scared in his heart. If this corpse were to act like Huang Peng, tonight would certainly not be a good one.

Thinking about this, he looked at Huang Shitou and asked, “By the way, do you still have ropes in your bag?”

Liu Dashao took a thick rope and wrapped it around the ancient corpse, again and again. As he tied, he said, “Esteemed senior, it seems you’ve passed away long ago. This is not out of disrespect, but we fear your sacred body might be used by evil spirits!”

He licked his lips and continued, “When we have time, we, your juniors, will surely bring some incense and paper money to express our respect.”

As he spoke, he tied the ancient corpse into another bundle. Once done, he patted his hands and said to everyone, “Let’s all bow to this senior!” The group, filled with fear, bowed very sincerely.

After standing up, they felt a bit more at ease. At that moment, Su Yougui suddenly blurted out while staring at the dog, “This dog is so big… can we roast it and eat it?”

Fan Debiao, already on edge after Liu Dashao’s words, was so nervous upon hearing Su Yougui muttering that he broke into a sweat, “Speak clearly, damn it! What about the dog?”

Everyone perked up their ears, waiting for Su Yougui to say something…

Su Yougui said, “This dog is so big, can’t we roast it and eat it?”

Fan Debiao was so angry he immediately slapped him.

“Ouch! My God… Brother Biao, Brother Biao, Master Liu!” Huang Shitou, sitting nearby, suddenly screamed in agony, startling everyone. Fan Debiao, anxious and agitated, shouted, “What are you screaming for? What’s wrong?”

Huang Shitou trembled and pointed at Huang Peng, “My brother… my brother… there’s a worm on his head…” This shocked everyone. Fan Debiao shone the lamp toward Huang Peng’s head and immediately exclaimed, “Damn it!” Under the light of the several lamps, everyone saw it clearly and felt a chill in their hearts.

There, on top of Huang Peng’s head, a blood-red worm was struggling to push its way out of his hair, about the thickness of a pencil lead. Under the lamp’s glow, it was clear that the worm was emerging from Huang Peng’s brain. Fan Debiao squatted down with the lamp, “Ah… this… this kind of life, damn it, can’t a person even live anymore?”

Ge Shuanwa held a knife and shouted, “No need to be scared. If it comes out, I’ll cut it in two. How can it not die?” Liu Dashao cautiously touched the worm with the kitchen knife in his hand. The worm shrank back, and Huang Peng’s body suddenly began to tremble violently, convulsing like it had been electrocuted. The group, already fearful, screamed and jumped aside. At that moment, Fan Debiao’s headlamp flickered and went out completely!