I cast a doubtful glance back, but it was pitch black under the dim light, and the diffusion of light from our side didn't have much penetrating power, making it impossible to see over there.
I nudged Xiao He beside me with my arm, explained the situation to him, and he turned to look but shook his head. Then, he obtained a rifle from the hands of a bald guy nearby, examined the barrel, and commented, "Type 63 automatic rifle, quite an old fellow, must have been scrapped for a long time."
The man helplessly smiled and complained, "In these times, getting hold of such goods is already quite good."
Xiao He aimed through the scope and said, "These are from Vietnam, problematic guns. There are precision issues in the connection of the barrel and the receiver."
After saying that, he turned off the flashlight, telling me to wait for him there. I pulled him back, feeling uneasy since we entered this tomb, and I was worried about him going alone. Although I might be the least experienced among this group, having someone to watch each other's back seemed better. He nodded, handed me the flashlight, and proceeded cautiously with the rifle.
The stone door was only slightly open, and even with the flashlight shining, it was pitch black. Both of us walked to the entrance, Xiao He nodded to me, rushed out low, and I followed suit. We searched around but found nothing despite going through the area several times.
I sighed with relief, thinking that the guy must have been mistaken. As I turned around, a face covered in white fur appeared out of nowhere right in front of me, only about a fist's distance away. Almost instantly, the face with white fur "blossomed" open, as if a large mouth had opened. At this moment, that strange face suddenly burst with a "pop" sound, and a large amount of viscous fluid splattered on my face. I felt my stomach contract and bent over to vomit, ignoring everything else. Xiao He came over and patted my back, "Are you okay?"
While coughing, I asked him, "What was that thing?"
Xiao He squatted down, pulled the rifle bolt a few times, and said, "Seems like a spider, but it's way too big."
I felt a shock, urgently saying, "Not good."
Immediately after, I heard a creepy rustling sound in the pitch-black tomb passage. Without looking, I knew what it was. The spiders in this tomb were not only unusually large but also seemed to have a keen sense of smell. Once one was harmed, it would attract a large number of its kind.
Xiao He also reacted immediately, helped me up, and ran back into the room, shouting loudly, "Liángzi, call Er Ye, hurry!"
Although Liángzi and the others didn't know what had happened, out of trust in their own people, he immediately knocked three times on the external coffin, warning Er Ye that something was wrong outside.
The bald guys had already picked up their guns, forming a defensive formation. I had to admit that these guys were quite professional, not something ordinary bandits could compare to. However, considering the things behind us, it was likely that twice the number of people wouldn't be able to stop them. While running towards the red coffin, I waved my arms and shouted, "Can't hold them back, hurry!"
Xiao He saw that Liángzi and the others hadn't withdrawn yet and said anxiously, "Hurry, it's too late if you don't run."
Liángzi, feeling helpless and almost in tears, pointed to the red coffin and said, "Er Ye won't come out."
Xiao He frowned, asking what might have happened. Since Er Ye entered, the strange noises from inside the coffin had stopped. Xiao He gritted his teeth, "Forget it, I'll go in and check."
The bald guys had already started shooting, and hundreds of small spiders poured in through the door crack, like waves after waves. The small spiders were as small as fingertip, while the big ones were the size of a fist. The bullets fired were drowned in the mass, having no effect. Moreover, those creatures were extremely fast, jumping onto people directly. The first person was already knocked down by the spider tide, screaming like a pig, rolling back and forth. However, the sound grew smaller and gradually stopped struggling.
The bald guy organized the retreat while ordering someone to take out explosives, gritting his teeth, "Blast these bugs to hell."
"Pour gasoline and use cold fireworks."
At this moment, Er Ye's hand reached out from the coffin, marked by injuries, making a victory gesture. Without Er Ye's words, Xiao He had already picked up the rifle, saying with red eyes, "Brother, farewell."
With a gunshot, a flame erupted from the spider tide, and high temperatures burned the small spiders on the ground with crackling sounds. At the same time, a fire wall rose on the ground, temporarily blocking those spiders.
Liángzi grabbed the gasoline container, and with his last breath, he marked his location for us.
The bald head also realized it at this time, hurriedly leading his men into the left stone passage. Xiao He pulled me along, and in a daze, we followed. I didn't remember how long we ran, but we stopped at a turn. Er Ye felt the tomb wall, pushed a stone brick with force, and opened a small door on the side of the wall. He took the lead and went in.
I sat on the ground, gasping for breath, taking a long time to recover. Old He also regained consciousness just now, sitting weakly beside me. Seeing me catch my breath, he said, "I can rest easy now that I see you're fine. If I, an old bone, were thrown here without any trouble, it would be embarrassing to face Er Ye."
As soon as Er Ye was mentioned, I couldn't help but feel angry. With a cold face, I said, "Is it worth sacrificing yourselves for him?"
Old He took out the wrinkled bag of white sand, struggled to open it for a long time, and I took out a cigarette for him. He lit it and took a deep drag, leaning against the stone wall, squinting, "Truly getting old. When I was young and followed Er Ye, why didn't we make three trips in and out of such a place? Now, we have to burden the younger generation. Remember what I told you before, Cao'er? Some people are destined to carry everything. On this road, Er Ye is above the heavens. Those things we don't want to see, he doesn't want to see either, but just because he is Er Ye, he has to bear it all. Believe me, the sorrow in his heart is no less than yours, Er Ye is not just a title."
After listening to Old He's words, I was a bit confused but somewhat understood. I looked at Er Ye, the old man who had always been steady and stern. Although he was still standing upright, I felt that he had aged a lot in that moment. Perhaps it was because I had experienced too little, and I found it difficult to imagine what kind of burden he carried on his shoulders. Er Ye, perhaps truly as Old He said, he was not just a title but more like
a path, a path of a lone rider traveling thousands of miles.
I woke up in a daze, looked at the watch, and realized that we had been in this stone room for several hours. To pass the time, I recorded briefly what happened these past few days, thinking that it might serve as a farewell letter in case something happens.
My name is Cao Nuan Song, and I never expected to encounter such a situation on my first attempt to open a coffin. Er Ye said that this struggle is too fierce, and we might not be able to get out...