Zhang Haike pushed aside the mud and immediately discovered that among the muck he had vomited were countless tiny leeches. These pure black leeches were as thick as noodles, writhing incessantly in the filth, resembling a bowl of living noodles. Zhang Haike picked one up and noticed that it looked different from the ones he usually saw; it was covered in small bumps, and upon closer inspection, he saw that those were all white eggs coated in mud, densely packed together.

Zhang Haike clicked his tongue and carefully examined his skin, a cold sweat breaking out on him. He could see countless tiny protrusions faintly visible beneath his skin, with numerous tiny bumps on them. There was no sensation, and it was hard to notice unless one looked closely.

The others were still busy washing out the stomach of the person who had vomited, joking and shouting angrily. Zhang Haike shouted, “Stop messing around! We’re going to die!”

The others quieted down and gathered around. They saw Zhang Haike using a dagger to pierce his own skin, cutting deep, revealing a black leech covered in eggs. He used the dagger to lift it, blood gushing out and dripping onto the ground, causing the leeches in the filth to crawl towards the blood.

The leech he had picked up writhed on the tip of the knife, and Zhang Haike’s expression twisted in pain as he struck a match and burned it to death. Looking at other parts of his body, Zhang Haike felt almost hopeless; everywhere he could see was faintly lined with black, and beneath his skin were almost entirely these leeches.

“When did they get in?” he asked.
“While we were in the mud. You all should check yourselves,” he replied.

The others immediately took off their clothes and examined their bodies. Upon seeing their own conditions, everyone collapsed in despair; every person had the same situation as Zhang Haike, with leeches lurking beneath almost every inch of their skin.

“They entered through the pores. In the mud, they were in a dormant state, probably only as thick as a hair. Once inside, they sucked blood and grew larger,” someone explained.

“What do we do? If we dig them out, we’ll be minced meat!” another panicked.
“Burn them out,” Zhang Haike suggested.
“They’ve grown so big from sucking blood; they probably won’t come out easily,” someone else argued.
“Dying inside is better than them draining us completely,” Zhang Haike said.

The underground space lacked sufficient oxygen; otherwise, he would have boiled the water in the vat. They could only use fire to roast close to their chests. Soon, a rich smell of roasted meat filled the space.

Zhang Haike thought that even if these leeches didn’t come out, they would be cooked alive inside him. However, after trying this, he realized something was wrong. The leeches were immediately disturbed by the heat; he could clearly feel all the leeches burrowing deeper into his body. What had previously felt like itching quickly turned into excruciating pain.

They had no choice but to stop. The others went into a frenzy, trying to cut open their own bodies with knives. Zhang Haike managed to calm down: “Don’t panic; this isn’t the end.” He looked around and said, “When our people came here before, these leeches must have already existed. They’re fine, and when we looked at the bodies earlier, they didn’t seal their pant legs or anything, which means they must have a way to deal with this. Let’s look for it.”

A few people began to search among the few items in the land temple, but there was so little that they found nothing, only that water tank. Could it be the water in this water tank? They immediately used the water from the tank to wash their bodies again, this time with extra care and effort, wishing they could inject the water into their skin. After they finished washing, they found it useless, and everyone calmed down; the leeches also became still.

“That little ghost said we would definitely die. Could it be that he knows there are these worms in the mud?”

“But he jumped in too. If he knew, how did he overcome it?”

Zhang Haike, panting heavily, recalled the rumors he had heard before. The Muffled Oil Bottle was a child with the most powerful family genetics. Although this genetic ability was not essential, only by inheriting such abilities could one enter some particularly dangerous ancient tombs.

“His blood,” Zhang Haike suddenly realized. “His blood keeps these worms away from him. Damn it, last time he was here, those Zhang family members used his blood to avoid these worms.” He abruptly stood up. “Stop resting! Before these worm eggs hatch inside us and kill us, we must find that little ghost; only he can save us.”

They set off immediately.

They walked forward, not knowing how long it had been, at least a day and a night. They had completely delved into the ruins but had not found any trace of the Muffled Oil Bottle; it seemed he had not taken this route at all. By the next evening, Zhang Haike and the others arrived at the edge of the ancient city that had already been explored.

The so-called edge meant that the exploration by the Zhang family had ended here. At this edge, there was an ancient ship stuck in the mud. Inside the cabin, Zhang Haike saw three corpses of children. Piled in a corner, they were completely dried out, clearly orphans from the Zhang family, having died from blood extraction, with obvious wounds from the bloodletting.

The children were only seven or eight years old. Zhang Haike felt both anger and helplessness. The black lines on his body grew thicker, and he could clearly feel the contours of the eggs under his skin.

“There’s no way out. This place is too big; we can’t find any other passage, and it’s impossible to find him. Maybe we should go back home; my father and the others will have a way.”

“You heard that little ghost say it—if the family knows we’ve been to this place, we’ll be killed,” Zhang Haike said. “Besides, it will take time to get back home. By then, not to mention the leeches, even the eggs will have hatched. We only have one chance to survive.”

“What do you mean?”

“We need to cause destruction here, very serious destruction, to make him come and stop us,” Zhang Haike said. “The structure here is unstable; we brought explosives. We need to create a big enough shock to make this place collapse. Blow it up every two hours; no matter where he is in this ancient city, he will definitely come to stop us.”

“What if he not only doesn’t come but runs away instead?”

“Then we’re doomed, so there’s no need to consider that possibility,” Zhang Haike said. “But I believe, since he has gone through so much trouble to return here, he definitely won’t give up easily. Our odds are good.”