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墨書 Inktalez
Upon entering, the first thing that greeted them was a tomb chamber, illuminated only by the faint beam of their flashlights, revealing nothing but emptiness.
Although Fat Ma and the Clay Man had brought some digging tools, this expedition was not intended for excavation, so their lighting equipment was woefully inadequate—just two ordinary flashlights, and their gear was quite rudimentary.
The tomb chamber was constructed with neatly stacked bricks, the floor laid with bluestone, and the ceiling also reinforced with bricks. The chamber was not large, roughly the size of a standard double room.
As a professional in the field of tomb exploration, Fat Ma would not linger in such a seemingly worthless place.
A dark passageway connected this chamber to other parts of the Tomb.
Fat Ma took the lead into the passageway, appearing completely unconcerned. This passageway was built similarly to the Tomb Gate's outer Passageway, made of stone bricks with a regular design that felt entirely unremarkable.
The passageway stretched on endlessly. Fat Ma led the way with a carefree demeanor. Despite his claims of having explored numerous large and small tombs, I still felt uneasy about him.
I followed closely behind Fat Ma, while the Clay Man remained calm and collected, which gave me some reassurance. Even if I were to encounter trouble, it seemed unlikely that the Clay Man would face any danger.
As we walked forward, the passageway extended into uncertainty. Typically, a normal tomb structure consists of a main hall, two Ear Chambers, and a rear hall; of course, there are more extravagant designs like Qin Shi Huang's Tomb with its burial pits.
I trailed behind Fat Ma for quite some time when suddenly I sensed something amiss.
I called out to him, "Fatty!" He turned back to glance at me and asked, "Old Sun, what's wrong?"
The Clay Man was at the back providing light. I directed him to shine the beam on my waterproof watch. After checking the time and committing it to memory, I told Fat Ma, "Let's keep moving!"
Fat Ma replied, "Old Sun, when did you start becoming as superstitious as the Clay Man?"
I chose not to respond.
Fat Ma continued to lead the way, and we walked for what felt like a long distance in the tomb passage. However, there was still no end in sight.
Finally, Fat Ma couldn't help but complain, "What kind of damn tomb passage is this? It seems endless."
I glanced at my watch; it had already been over a quarter of an hour. Adding the time we had spent before, it was nearly half an hour. We hadn't even finished walking through one passage, which was simply unbelievable. An adult could typically walk about a thousand meters in half an hour.
A tomb passage stretching a thousand meters was absolutely inconceivable, especially since it seemed we hadn't reached the end yet.
"Something's not right!" I echoed Fat Ma's sentiment.
"What do you see, Old Sun?" Fat Ma asked impatiently.
I shook my head and replied, "I don't know what the reason is, but I feel like we're just going in circles and haven't actually left this passage."
The Mud Man frowned and said, "Old Sun, your guess is correct. We might have encountered the legendary 'Ghost Wall.'"
"Ghost Wall?" Fat Ma repeated, then spat out, "It can't be that unlucky!"
I didn't understand this term they mentioned, so I asked for clarification.
The Mud Man explained, "There may be factors here that disrupt our judgment."
"How do we break through it?" I asked.
The Mud Man replied, "This is my first time encountering such a situation. I've heard my master mention it before, but he never specified any concrete solutions."
I turned to Fat Ma with a questioning look.
Fat Ma shook his large head and said, "I've traveled all over for many years and have never encountered anything like this."
Seeing that Fat Ma was at a loss, I felt even more helpless. Since I started in this line of work, I had only been underground twice before, and this would be my third time.
The Mud Man suggested, "Let's not move; let's stay put," and then he turned off the flashlight.
The three of us squatted in the tomb passage, afraid to make any sudden moves.
I never expected to encounter such a situation right after entering. Although it wasn't a direct threat, it was still something to take seriously.
During this time, the Mud Man told us a story about an experience his master had when he was alive, which was related to the "Ghost Wall." Essentially, it meant being blinded by ghosts. When my master went underground years ago, he encountered something similar, but it wasn't him who faced disaster; it was one of his companions. That person ended up wandering endlessly until he lost his mind and died right there.
After hearing the Mud Man's story, I said, "The last thing we believe in this line of work is that ghosts exist. How could there possibly be ghosts?"
Fat Ma agreed with me. Over the years, he had encountered numerous zombies and Zongzi but had never seen a real ghost. The Mud Man continued, "When we say 'ghosts' blind you, it doesn't refer to actual spirits; what it specifically means is something I can't quite explain."
Time passed unnoticed as we chatted and analyzed the situation. I glanced at my watch; half an hour had already gone by.
I sighed inwardly, realizing we couldn't just waste time here; we needed to come up with a plan. I stood up and said, "Give me a flashlight; I'll go take a look. You two stay here."
They disagreed with me going alone into danger, so we came up with a compromise: we carved a clear mark on the wall.
With the flashlight leading the way, I carefully stepped forward, ensuring that I walked in a straight line.
Although I moved slowly, I made sure I was definitely walking straight. As I walked, I kept glancing at the wall—nothing yet, nothing still. I silently hoped that the marked sign wouldn’t appear.
Just as I checked my watch again and realized another minute had passed, Fat Ma suddenly shouted, "Old Sun, look at the mark!"
A chill ran through my heart as I glanced at the wall, and sure enough, the mark had reappeared. A wave of despair washed over me, and a sense of fear began to take root within.
"What on earth is happening?" I seemed to be asking them, but I was really asking myself.
They couldn't answer, and neither could I. So we squatted there in silence; this time, none of us spoke.
After several more attempts, whether moving forward or backward, we always ended up back where we started.
Suddenly, I recalled the curse inscribed on the Tomb Gate. A shiver ran down my spine. Could the curse really come true so soon?
Hills was still waiting for me to save her; I absolutely couldn't let anything happen to me, I kept reminding myself.
The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became.
Then a spark of inspiration hit me. I remembered a scary story my grandfather used to tell me when I was a child. He was an old man who loved telling tales. He once recounted a story about a Grave Robber who got lost in a tomb and learned to walk like a ghost—on his heels without touching the ground—and ultimately escaped alive.
A flicker of hope ignited within me, and my excitement showed.
"Old Sun, you’re not going crazy, are you?" Fat Ma exclaimed anxiously.
I snapped back, " Fat Ma, stop with the bad luck! If I go crazy, you won't get out either."
Fat Ma caught the underlying meaning in my words. He dusted off his pants and stood up with a grin. "Old Sun, do you have a plan?"
The Mud Man also stood up at the sound. Both of them fixed their eyes on me, waiting for what I would say next.
Although I had thought of a method, I wasn't sure if it would work. My grandfather loved telling stories, so I had no idea if it would actually be effective.
I said, "I can't be sure this method will definitely work!"
Fat Ma, not caring much about my uncertainty, urged me, "Old Sun, just say it straight. Whether it works or not, we'll only know after we try."
I didn't hesitate any longer and spoke all at once.
After hearing me out, they didn't respond immediately.
I pressed on, "What do you think?"
Finally, the clay figure uttered two words: "Give it a try!"
Fat Ma praised, "Old man, you really are well-informed!"
I replied, "…."
"Let's go," I said. I took the lead again, standing on my toes with my heels off the ground. Suddenly, I felt the Spirit Platform was exceptionally clear; I wasn't sure if it was just an illusion. Regardless, it felt different.
I turned back and called out, "Keep up with me!" With that, I started walking ahead. Fat Ma struggled to keep his balance because of his weight; he couldn't support himself on his toes.
As I walked ahead, I kept an eye on the time. After five minutes had passed, I felt a surge of joy as the flashlight beam illuminated the tomb chamber. I quickened my pace to head outside.
The clay figure followed closely behind me. Fat Ma should have been next in line, but after waiting for a few minutes without seeing him emerge, I began to panic. "Fat Ma wouldn't have gotten into trouble, would he?"
The clay figure frowned and said, "The fat guy probably hasn't come out yet."
I shouted down the tomb passage several times: "Fatty... Ma Pingchuan..."
I quickly received a response from Fat Ma: "Old Sun, where have you guys gone?"
Hearing the Fat Ma's voice eased my mind a bit. I replied, "Niren and I have come out."
Fat Ma cursed inside, "Damn!" I asked, "Did you not follow my instructions?"
Fat Ma, out of breath, complained, "Old Sun, you have no idea how exhausting that was!"
I immediately got angry and scolded him, "Fatty, do you want to live? If you want to survive, just do as I say."
I shone the flashlight into the tomb chamber and was surprised to see Fat Ma about fifty meters away from us, pacing in circles.
I exclaimed in astonishment, " Fat Ma, can you see us?"
Fat Ma retorted irritably, "Old Sun, isn't that a stupid question? If I could see you, I would have come out already."
Thinking about what Fat Ma said made me smile.
I knew he couldn't handle walking on his tiptoes for long, so I said, "Just walk as far as you can."
Fat Ma managed to tiptoe about thirty meters; his body couldn't stabilize completely, but it was clear he had already escaped the original magical circle.
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