This time I felt it distinctly; a cold wind just blew past the back of my neck. It was definitely not a natural breeze. I clenched my teeth, swiftly turned around, only to find nothing behind me but the silent stone statue standing tall.
Despite my initial calmness, my legs began to tremble unevenly again. I adjusted the flashlight to its maximum brightness, sweeping it back and forth across the stone walls, but found nothing.
Puzzled, I furrowed my brow and searched again. Suddenly, I remembered the bronze mirror. Subconsciously, I directed the flashlight towards it. I gasped as the brass mirror reflected a shadow, positioned just above the stone statue's top, near the brazier. Looking into the mirror, I saw the eerie shadow extending a peculiar long neck, protruding from the stone statue, peering down at me.
Frozen in place, I dared not move, feeling the creature's extended head just above mine. The moment I turned, our eyes would meet.
After a few seconds of stillness, I regained some composure. Standing still wasn't a solution, so I mustered my courage. I took a deep breath, lunged forward, swiftly turned, and aimed the flashlight at the statue. Huh? I shifted the light around; the creature had vanished. I hurriedly checked the bronze mirror, but found nothing.
This thing was too elusive. Gazing at the eerie stone chamber and the mysterious bronze mirror, I shivered suddenly. Glancing at the drainage channel above, I decided to go up first. The water network here was extensive; maybe I could encounter Lao He and the others. Thinking that I wouldn't have to stay alone here, a glimmer of hope emerged.
I quickly checked the diving gear; luckily, there was no significant damage. The oxygen gauge still indicated one-third capacity. If things went awry, I could return through the water route once those strange fish dispersed.
I took out some bandages from my backpack and quickly treated the minor bites on my legs. Although the teeth of those strange fish were sharp, fortunately, they didn't cause deep wounds. It wasn't possible to take off the diving suit here; Lao He had purchased a wet suit, providing both warmth and waterproofing. After arranging everything, I ascended the stone steps.
The steps were rough, with enormous drainage channels on both sides. At the top, there were two branching paths. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that both routes were natural caves, probably integrating the entire tomb with the cave system inside the mountain.
With this realization, I looked down. Sure enough!
One cave was covered in fine sand, while the other had very little. If my guess was correct, one cave connected to the surface water system, accumulating mud and sand during heavy rainfall. The other came from inside the tomb, likely serving as internal drainage, causing minimal sediment.
I shone the flashlight towards the external drainage path. If Lao He and the others faced a similar situation, they would choose the other path. After all, Second Master was still inside.
After some hesitation, I ultimately selected the path leading into the tomb. Alone, it was challenging to navigate out of this massive mountain. Besides, I had no idea where the external cave would lead me.
Slapping my face to regain focus, I believed my complexion must look awful at this moment. If I had known the danger earlier, I wouldn't have followed. With this thought, I suddenly retrieved the phone from my backpack. Surprisingly, it was still functional after being underwater for so long.
I opened the camera, clicked on the selfie mode, and my face indeed looked terrible. Suddenly, my whole body tensed. I noticed a head resting on my shoulder, and a pair of pitch-black eyes staring at my phone.
Staring back into the camera, I almost met its gaze. The cave was dim, and I was wearing a black diving suit. I barely spotted it, but once I did, the creature's outline became clear: a round, large head. My scalp tingled; I held my flashlight backward. Feeling resistance, the flashlight must have hit the creature. When I turned, I saw a black creature, roughly the size of a human head, lying on the ground, looking at me.
I shone the flashlight at it, and it jumped up with astonishing speed. It pounced on my face, and I felt it had several legs with hair. My childhood fear of insects overwhelmed me. I dared not move but swung the flashlight at it. I encountered resistance, indicating that the light had hit the creature. Simultaneously, I turned and saw a black creature, about the size of a human head, lying on the ground, motionless.
As the smoke slowly dissipated, it remained still. I sighed in relief, threw away the extinguished fire stick, and quickly turned away. Suddenly, I heard the sound of "swishing," as if an underground river was flowing nearby. I closed my eyes, trying to listen more carefully. The sound seemed ethereal, making it challenging to pinpoint its location. It felt like it came from the stone walls or the cave ceiling.
Suddenly, my neck felt cool. Was there water dripping from the cave ceiling? I reached to grab my neck, realizing it wasn't water but an insect. If I hadn't recently experienced those events, I might not have guessed what it was. I pinched the insect between my fingers, and, to my horror, it was a small spider. Disgusted, I threw it away. Suddenly, a realization struck me, and I knew what the "swishing" water sound was.
I widened the flashlight beam; at some point, the ground, the walls, and the cave ceiling had become filled with small spiders, each the size of a fingernail.
Frustrated, I cursed silently. The atmosphere turned colder around me. I initially thought my diving suit had been damaged, but this sudden temperature drop was influenced by the surroundings.
As I pondered this mysterious change, a group of people appeared at the bend in the cave, blurry shadows. Surprised, I wondered if it was Second Master and his team. However, their number seemed unusually high.
The procession moved steadily, every step perfectly synchronized.
As I watched, the blood drained from my face. No, it couldn't be Second Master's team. These people were extremely tall, perhaps over two meters, thin, and hunched, each wearing ancient-style red robes with green outer cloaks. They carried old, white paper umbrellas.
My heart pounded, and I couldn't look away. They approached me without acknowledging my presence, directly passing by.
My heart raced even faster as I observed the eight people behind the group, carrying a black wooden coffin. Dressed in bright red clothes with embroidered little devils and wearing peculiar hats that covered their foreheads and eyes with red fabric, they followed the others into the cave.
As the procession moved away, I breathed a sigh of relief. What had I just witnessed?