The fat man and the “dumb oil bottle” must have encountered something at this spot, because for some reason I still don’t know, they untied the rope connected to the water’s surface and then disappeared into the depths of the lake, which is several dozen meters deep. Without scuba gear, they could only hold their breath for a minute underwater. How far could they have gone in that minute? I refuse to believe in the bizarre notion of being swallowed by a water ghost. Based on reality, they could only have traveled a maximum of twenty to thirty meters underwater, which means unless there was a submarine waiting for them, they couldn’t do anything and had nowhere to go. They should be nearby.

But there’s nothing around, just the silent and vast lakebed. The strangest part is the details of removing the diving helmet and untying the rope. On one hand, this helmet is quite cumbersome to wear; the zipper is at the back and very long, so even if you had ample time, it would take at least ten to twenty seconds to take it off. Adding the time to untie the rope, the fastest it could be done would still take at least five more seconds. This twenty-five seconds is based on the “dumb oil bottle,” and for the fat man, given his physique and mental state, it would likely take even longer. On the other hand, the helmet does not hinder their movement; it can even serve as protection when attacked, so logically and emotionally, there was no need for them to remove the helmet.

What could have happened that made them think to take off their helmets? The fact that the “dumb oil bottle” also removed his helmet suggests that this was not a sudden whim; his character is very reliable, so taking off the helmet must have been a necessary action.

I believe it couldn’t have been too dangerous; their calmness in removing the helmets indicates that what they encountered was not an urgent or rapidly changing situation, like being attacked by an animal or encountering something strange. Instead, it must have been something that allowed them to think calmly and make a judgment like “it’s safe to take off the helmet” or “it’s safe to take off the helmet, the danger is manageable.”

One thing is certain: this incident must have occurred nearby. Analyzing step by step gradually calmed me down. I looked at the deep underwater ancient village below the stone slope and suddenly felt a strange chill emanating from that ruin—could they be inside this ancient village at the bottom of the lake? However, it would be impossible to reach the ancient village within a minute. They would have to be crazy to take off their helmets and swim there; that would be equivalent to suicide.

I tried to reconstruct the scene at that time, looking around to see if there were any places where they had to untie the rope to pass or had to remove their helmets to get through. The surroundings were all clean stone beaches. I swam slowly and found that the situation here was very simple, clear under the powerful searchlight and diving mask. The only possible place was below the stone slope, near the edge of the village, where there were several huge, sunken, decayed logs.

These logs must have been large trees from outside the village back in the day; now all the tender branches and leaves have rotted into mud, leaving only the thick trunks that have not completely decayed. Countless branches that have fallen from them have piled up around, forming a large area resembling a thicket of withered shrubs, with numerous branches crisscrossing and covered by the calcareous deposits in the water, looking like rock.

If the fat guy discovered something among the branches, he might have untied the rope to get in, because the rope could easily get tangled in those twigs, and the clumsy helmet would prevent him from getting close enough to take a look.

Thinking about this, I suddenly felt a chill, and a terrifying thought crossed my mind: perhaps at that time, the fat guy found something in this pile of branches, untied his helmet and the rope to take a look, and ended up getting trapped. Then, in an attempt to save him, the silent oil bottle also took off his helmet, resulting in both of them getting stuck inside, leading to their drowning. That would explain the bizarre outcome of no bodies being found.

If that were the case, I would face an extremely horrifying sight—seeing their bodies, which had been underwater for two weeks, among the branches. The reason their bodies hadn’t surfaced might be that they were trapped in those claw-like branches.

I didn’t dare to go closer, but I forced myself to move my fins, as there was no way to escape now.

Keeping my distance, I floated to the decayed wood, shining my light downwards. I saw an area the size of a basketball court filled with white branches, tangled together like barbed wire. The light filtered through those branches, revealing layer upon layer beneath; if one got stuck in there, not even a celestial being could escape.

Amidst the tangled branches, there were indeed some large gaps, as if someone had forcibly broken the branches apart. However, I didn’t see the bodies of the fat guy and the silent oil bottle among them.

After searching around and confirming their absence, I let out a slight sigh of relief, gritting my teeth and forcing myself to sink closer to the surface of the branches.

As I got close to the branches and held my breath to take a look, I immediately realized that this cluster of branches couldn’t trap anyone. Many of the branches were broken; through the broken ends, I could see that the insides had decayed to the consistency of mud. With a touch, they broke into several pieces. They maintained their branch shape only because a thin layer of lime supported them, like very thin lime tubes. That material couldn’t withstand much force; even if trapped, a slight struggle would turn it all into small lime flakes.

In these gaps, there were indeed countless lime flakes and broken “lime branches” haphazardly piled around, perhaps remnants of the fat guy searching for those bones. I brought my light closer and shone it down, but saw nothing unusual. Clearly, they hadn’t found anything.

I couldn’t help but smile wryly; if it weren’t for this reason, I really couldn’t think of what had happened here, why they suddenly disappeared at the bottom of the lake. Could it really be as A Gui said, that there was some lake ghost causing trouble?

In that moment, I even had the thought of taking off my diving suit to see what would happen, but I managed to resist such a ridiculous idea.

Below these decayed woods was the ancient stockade. From my vantage point above, I could only see the tiled roofs and not the interior. Even at maximum brightness, my light didn’t help; the little beam only made the ancient stockade appear even quieter and deeper.

I focused my mind, preparing to continue my search. As I moved the flashlight, the moment I turned my head, I suddenly felt that something had changed in the ancient village. I turned my head back. Somewhere deep within the ancient village, a strange green light had appeared at an unknown time, as if a dim, lonely lamp had been lit.

Under the deep water, the cool, bluish halo seemed to be the phosphorescence rising from the underworld, hazy and indistinct. My mind instantly went blank, caught in a nightmare, my heartbeat quickening, pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

What the hell is going on? What is this light? Could there be someone in this ancient village?

Could it be that the fat man and the oil bottle are in this ancient village, not only alive but also active? But this is at the bottom of a lake dozens of meters deep, where the ancient village has been submerged for nearly a thousand years. They have no oxygen; how could they possibly survive underwater for so long? Even a flashlight would have run out of batteries after two weeks. Moreover, this light has an indescribable ghostly quality; it’s neither from a flashlight nor from a fire.

The feeling of suffocation grew stronger. Could it be that the souls who died at the bottom of the lake have not yet found peace, lingering in the ruins of this lake? Is this the light of the Yao family that has crossed the barrier between the underworld and the human world, guiding the souls back to the realm of ghosts?

An inexplicable impulse made me unconsciously want to swim towards the light, as if I were a lost person in the cold, dark depths of the lake catching sight of a beacon. But in that instant, a flash of inspiration struck me, and I suddenly realized that perhaps the fat man and the oil bottle, at that time, also saw this light from my position, which led to their disappearance?

Could this be the key? What will happen next?

I couldn’t help but tighten my focus, scanning my surroundings, fearing that something unexpected might occur.

However, after looking around, everything was incredibly quiet. The flashlight revealed no signs of movement.

Turning back, the green light of that lonely lamp grew increasingly obscure. Suddenly, an inexplicable panic began to spread in my heart.