Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 220: The Dark Trap
The food was quickly distributed, and everyone's packs were bulging, mainly filled with Compressed Biscuits and compressed beef. If allocated properly, it would be enough to last two or three weeks.
As for water, that was a bit more challenging. It gets consumed quickly and takes up space and weight, so each person only received three bottles, except for me.
There were also a few people from the Spirit Department in The Dead. Given the current situation, I didn't dare to let anyone out casually because I really couldn't understand the dangers here; I couldn't risk lives for an experiment.
"Which path should we take now?" Yu Yu looked at the three passages and turned back to us in confusion.
"Look here." Xianxian pointed to a spot on the map, beckoning us over. I gathered around to take a look, and saw Xianxian still pointing at that spot, saying, "What do you think this place is?"
I stared at it for a few seconds and then uncertainly said, "Could it be a tunnel?" Although it had the shape of stairs, it seemed to lead downward.
"It seems like we're here now. If we head this way, then... well, maybe we can reach over there," Xianxian was saying when Cold Snow interjected, "There's a mark here."
A mark? We were quite sensitive to marks, so as soon as Cold Snow mentioned it, we walked over to see.
The mark was carved on a red pillar leading to the right passage, about shoulder height for us.
"I feel like I've seen this somewhere before." Looking at the shape of the mark, which resembled a messy "wood" character, I couldn't tell when it had been carved. However, upon seeing it for the first time, I felt there was indeed a slight resemblance.
"I've definitely seen this!" Xianxian laughed as well. I looked at him just as Wang Yi spoke up for Xianxian, saying, "When we used to 'work underground,' we saw quite a few of these. Although they weren't identical, they weren't too different either."
I couldn't remember if I had seen it in Heizhugou or somewhere else, but anyway, I had seen it!
"Who do you think it could be?" Pei Zi's eyes sparkled as he looked at us, seemingly already knowing the answer.
"Although I don't know who else has been here, it seems there aren't many who possess the ability to dig up graves," Xianxian said, glancing at me. His eyes held suspicion, speculation, and understanding.
In fact, I had already guessed who it was. After taking one last look at the marks on the pillar, I smiled with delight. "This is it; let's go!"
Coincidentally, according to the map's route, we were supposed to head this way, so we were now fairly certain of Lime's whereabouts.
Although I didn't know what the mark resembling "wood" meant or what Lime's original name was, the possibility that this mark was left by Lime was very high, wasn't it?
"Hey, hey, hey, who left this mark?" Yu Yu asked curiously and confused from behind.
"Can't you tell?" Xianxian teased with a smile.
Yu Yu expressed extreme disdain. "I'm not in this line of work; how could I possibly know!"
...
Perhaps due to descending underground, the air around us seemed much colder than when we first entered. The red lanterns had somehow transformed into green flames of everlasting light.
As we ventured deeper, the narrow passage became increasingly filled with Yin Qi. Although there was no wind blowing, I felt something brushing against my face, a chilling sensation that made my hair stand on end.
"Is there something here? Feng Xiao Ge?" Wang Yi seemed to sense something too and asked me with confusion.
I looked around but didn't see any spirits or anything like that; I could only shake my head and say, "I can't see anything; there shouldn't be anything."
"How could a person possibly see a ghost!" Yu Yu said decisively, as if he found my answer very amusing. I didn't feel the need to explain further; after all, there was no necessity for me to clarify anything for him.
"Everyone be careful... just a little!" As soon as Pei Zi said the word "careful," a sudden sound echoed through the narrow passage. We immediately stopped in our tracks, alertly looking around, and no one dared to move an inch.
"Hehe, did you guess something? Look at how nervous you all are..." Yu Yu chuckled, raising his foot.
"Don't move recklessly!" Before Pei Zi could finish his sentence, Yu Yu had already lifted one foot. He shrugged and laughed, "It's fine, right? Can't you all stop being so jumpy?"
Yu Yu's words left us speechless, but the conditioned reflex developed in the tomb couldn't be changed overnight. Most importantly, we needed to remain cautious at all times; after all, we only have one life!
"Just don't move around!" Xianxian said, equally exasperated.
"Do you really think there are traps? Come on, stop joking!" Yu Yu seemed even more incredulous than us and said, "Although this is my first time in a tomb, even I know that this path has been traveled by more than just us; otherwise, there wouldn't be such a thing as a map."
"There are traps here." I recalled the blueprints my dad had given me, which clearly marked the presence of traps.
Yu Yu still looked unconvinced that there were any traps. He lifted his other foot as well and said, "If there are traps, then why is there no sign of them here?" As he spoke, he continued walking and added, "See? Nothing's happening!"
I rolled my eyes. Was bringing this person along really the right choice? Being looked down upon by a novice made us so-called "veterans" feel somewhat defeated.
Just as I began to doubt that there was really no problem, a series of whooshing sounds reached my ears. I suddenly became alert; my eyes darted around, trying to locate the source of the noise.
The atmosphere grew tense to the extreme. The waiting was excruciating, especially since we knew there were traps but had no idea when they would activate or where they would come from.
"Could it be a barrage of arrows?" Wang Yi asked nervously and cautiously.
I was about to say not to think negatively when suddenly my feet slipped away from under me, and my body lost its balance and began to fall.
Aside from the screams, I could hear faint whispers—so soft they were almost negligible.
From the moment we fell, everything around us was pitch black; I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. The fear of darkness is something that can never be eliminated, simply because darkness is the most elusive of all.
What I worried about the most was this situation—everyone had fallen together, and no one could see anyone else, making it easy to get separated. Fortunately, I had been holding onto a hand the entire time, and even at the moment of our fall, I did not let go.
I pulled the owner of that hand into my embrace while my other hand freed itself to turn on the flashlight.
The flashlight's beam was strong, but here, the darkness seemed to consume the light. As it shone into the void, it became clear that I could not see far at all; it was as if no light had penetrated. Half a meter away remained completely dark, with not even a glimmer of light breaking through.
Just as I was feeling anxious, I heard an angry shout: "Damn it! What is going on!"
"Xianxian, where are you?" I quickly asked.
"Where am I? This Lord doesn't know either; I can't see anything. By the way, why aren't you all turning on your flashlights?" Xianxian sounded somewhat exasperated, as if we were all fools.
"I turned mine on," I replied, feeling a bit helpless.
This situation was truly beyond our expectations; we couldn't even go back through the entrance to the underground.
"Why haven't we reached the bottom yet? Are we just going to keep falling?" I said, but after a long while, no one answered. Growing anxious, I called out to Xianxian and the others several times, but still received no response.
"Don't worry; they won't get into trouble." At that moment, Cold Snow's voice reached my ears. I held her waist tightly and buried my head in her neck. A faint fragrance calmed me down considerably.
As for Yu Yu, I wasn't sure about his exact abilities, but Xianxian, Pei Zi, and Wang Yi had been in this line of work longer than me—definitely more than a year or two. While there was some concern, it wasn't overwhelming.
"Yeah, I'm glad you're here."
We continued to hold each other as we descended further down. I had no idea when it would end; it felt like an endless pit. The longer it went on, the more restless my previously calmed heart became.
After a long time, Cold Snow whispered in my ear, "Is this an illusion?"
"There is over a ninety percent chance!" I replied confidently while looking at the surrounding darkness. However, even knowing that everything happening right now was an illusion, I couldn't make it stop.
Having walked for so long without a proper rest, I quietly asked Cold Snow, "Are you tired?"
Cold Snow nodded and answered, "A little."
"If you're tired, let's take a nap. Let's not think about anything; maybe when we wake up, we'll find ourselves somewhere else." Although I knew this approach was somewhat impractical, it seemed like there was no other option at the moment.
I couldn't be anxious or desperate; I could only proceed like this. After all, I had no idea how much longer we would continue to fall.
The current situation was that Cold Snow and I had already separated from Xianxian and the others. Being anxious wouldn't solve the problem, and overthinking wouldn't help either. So what else could we do?
I couldn't think of any solutions!!
I only knew that I couldn't wait to die. Now that I was tired, it would be better to just sleep for a bit. Perhaps when we woke up, we would really have left this damned place?
Cold Snow wrapped her arms around my neck as I took out a rope and tightly bound us together...
Comment 0 Comment Count