Actually, there was no need for me to say anything. The moment Fatty and the others heard the mysterious woman's voice, they sprinted towards the direction of the side chamber without a second thought. It was definitely worth a gamble; staying put meant certain death, and even worse, being torn apart by tens of thousands of vengeful spirits. Regardless of what lay ahead, be it fortune or doom, it was worth a try.
"Xiao Tian, do you know who the owner of that voice is?"
As Fatty ran, he chuckled and teased, "Look at how excited you are, as if you're about to meet your sweetheart."
I have a thin skin, and Fatty's words made my face heat up instantly. But his teasing made me realize that I might have a very special feeling towards that mysterious lady, perhaps admiration or an inexplicable sense of closeness. In any case, I really wanted to meet the woman who had saved my life.
Seeing that I didn't want to talk, Fatty laughed even more lewdly.
We had already entered the side chamber of Helian Gui's tomb at the beginning, and the tomb door, which was a semi-automatic stone device, had been pried open by Fatty using a crowbar key. We had no respect for Helian Gui, so when we left the tomb initially, we didn't bother to close the door. This made it convenient for us now, as we didn't have to waste time prying the tomb door open again. If we had to waste time on the tomb door with so many vengeful spirits chasing after us, it would have been truly unbearable!
Following the mysterious woman's instructions, Rosa rushed directly to the southwest corner of the side chamber upon entering the tomb. This corner was supposed to be the burial site for sacrificial warhorses, and it was littered with horse bones that had severely weathered over time. The bones were so brittle, almost like tofu, that they couldn't even be picked up. As Rosa stepped on them, any bones she stepped on would emit a faint "crack" sound before turning into powder.
Rosa lightly tapped on the floor in the southwest corner, and the sound that came back was very clear, indicating that there was a hollow space underneath. It wouldn't have made such a sound if it were solid. Rosa then took the assault rifle she was carrying on her back and used the butt of the gun to smash the ground several times. This woman's strength was not small; she managed to smash the butt of the assault rifle to pieces, and the floor "boom" collapsed, revealing a dark hole.
This woman was fearless; she didn't even bother to check the depth of the hole and jumped right in without fear of falling to her death. Moments later, a "thud" of her landing echoed from below, followed by Rosa's voice coming from the dark hole: "It's not high, only about a meter, you won't get hurt from the fall. Come on down!"
Hearing Rosa's words, Zhang Jinya and Zhou Jing, along with the others, almost all jumped down one after another. Even Princess Kinskaya floated down gracefully. In the blink of an eye, only Fatty and I were left in the side chamber.
"Hey, you guys wait down there for a bit!"
Fatty shouted down the dark hole: "Xiao Tian is pretty much incapacitated, I can't jump down carrying him. I'll have to send him down first, catch him!"
"Okay, throw him down!"
Zhang Jinya's voice came from below. Fatty, being a straightforward person, and perhaps because he was throwing me, didn't hesitate at all. Carrying me to the edge of the hole, he simply dropped me down. I didn't even have the chance to scream before being engulfed by a strong sense of weightlessness. The fall was brief, but it felt incredibly long to me. I prayed fervently in my heart that Fatty and Rosa would catch me, because although a fall from a little over a meter wouldn't kill, it could certainly leave one half-dead.
Fortunately, my two teammates below proved reliable this time and didn't let me down. I was caught shortly after falling, and when I turned my head, I saw the person grinning with a big gold tooth shining in the darkness!
It was Zhang Jinya.
Just then, sharp ghostly screams suddenly came from above us, indicating that the vengeful spirits from the Soul Suppressing Tower had probably entered the side chamber!
Fatty was still in the side chamber!
Worried, I shouted, "Fatty!!"
"Fatty is coming too!"
Fatty's voice came from above, calming my heart. Then, a dark shadow jumped down from the "hole" we had opened above, landing with a ground-shaking thud. Other than Fatty, probably no one else had such a weight.
"What the hell are you all standing around for? Those things are right behind us!"
Fatty screamed and rushed forward, taking me from Zhang Jinya's arms and carrying me on his shoulder as he ran, with Zhang Jinya and the others quickly following behind.
Our group put all our strength into running, even Fatty. Despite his short legs and stout figure, his running speed was impressively fast, leading the way while carrying me.
Being carried by Fatty, I didn't have to worry about running for my life, so I took the opportunity to observe our surroundings.
We were still in an underground cavern, but the terrain here was extremely complex. The cavern was not just a single path but rather like a spider web, filled with various twists and turns!
Seeing this, a bold idea suddenly struck me—could our previous speculation be entirely correct? For the Ten Dire Tombs to form, they must be interconnected by tombs filled with murderous aura. If that was the case, wouldn't it mean we could find the other nine tombs by following this underground cavern from one of them?
My mind was in turmoil as we ran for our lives. Then, the mysterious woman's voice rang out again: "Turn left, go forward for two miles, then turn right!"
At this point, we were like headless flies, and upon hearing someone giving directions, we immediately followed the path pointed out by the mysterious woman. Thus, we dashed left and right through the maze-like underground cavern, with the vengeful spirits chasing after us. The ghostly screams spurred us on, fully unleashing our potential as we ran through the cavern for five or six hours. After turning another corner, a long staircase appeared before us, with an exit at the top.
"We're here."
The mysterious woman's voice rang out again: "Come on up, you'll be safe once you're up!"
Hearing this, Zhang Jinya was the first to rush up the stairs, then squeezed through a broken hole at the end of the stairs. But within three seconds, we heard him scream from above: "Oh my god, ghosts!!!"
Then, he tumbled down the stairs, ending up with a bruised nose and swollen face, nearly knocking out his front teeth.
"I say, Old Zhang, what the hell are you screaming about?"
Fatty said discontentedly: "Hurry up and tell us, what's the situation up there!?"
"Happy... Happy ghost!!"
Zhang Jinya grimaced: "It looks like another ancient tomb up there, with the tomb door wide open, and a happy ghost in a big red dress standing at the entrance!!"
Happy ghost, I knew about this. It's recorded in the "Fa Qiu Secret Arts" as a type of malevolent spirit that died on its wedding day, filled with a transition from the happiest to the most sorrowful resentment that couldn't dissipate, thus forming this fierce ghost. They're rare, only appearing during major joyous or sorrowful events, haunting wedding and funeral ceremonies, repeating their happiest and saddest moments. Few who see them live to tell the tale.
Then, a cold, eerie voice suddenly came from above: "If you don't want to die, hurry up and come up!"
Hearing this, Zhang Jinya immediately turned pale and shouted: "Damn, it's the happy ghost talking, scared me to death!!"
We looked at each other, all hesitating.
"Forget it, let's take a chance!"
Suddenly, Fatty gritted his teeth and said: "Whether the happy ghost up there wants to harm us or not, dealing with one happy ghost is still better than facing tens of thousands of vengeful spirits!"
With that, Fatty carried me and charged up the stairs.