Lao Yang reloaded a flare gun and fired a shot towards the spot where the first flare had just gone out, illuminating the area once again. I saw that it was an empty space, about twenty to thirty square meters in size, located at the center of the cave, without any piled-up corpses. The light from the flare was not bright enough for me to see if there was anything special about this area, but one thing was certain: this empty space was sunken, likely a pit.

At this point, Lao Yang had calmed down and pointed to the pit, saying that it was similar to the sacrificial pit he had seen three years ago, which also had an empty space in the middle, where a bronze branch that could never be excavated was located.

As the light from the flare diminished, the cave returned to darkness. Lao Yang wanted to reload another flare, but I stopped him. We had seen enough for now, and there was no need to waste resources unnecessarily.

Lao Yang asked me, “What now? After all this commotion, it seems this underworld is just like this. Maybe this is just a place for sacrifices. Should we go down or not?”

I thought for a moment and replied, “Well, Boss Li said in ‘He Mu Ji’ that there are good things in this pit, so it shouldn’t be wrong. We followed the iron chains here, and the path is fine. I believe what he mentioned is right below us. The most suspicious part is that empty space among the corpses; I think we should go take a look… However, the place where the bodies are piled up has always been the most sinister, so we need to be prepared for the worst.”

I initially wanted to share the strange occurrences I encountered in Shandong, but then I thought it would probably scare these two to death, so I changed the subject.

Lao Yang was reluctant to go down, but since he was the one who suggested coming here, he couldn’t back out easily and could only nod in agreement unwillingly.

I recalled the scene I had just seen. To reach that empty space, we inevitably had to descend below the cliff and pass through the corpses. It was about two hundred meters from our current stone beam to that flat ground, which shouldn’t be a big problem. The issue was how to climb down the more than twenty-meter-high cliff. We had no ropes, and the possibility of climbing down barehanded was uncertain; we would need to think this through carefully.

Additionally, I wondered if there were any zongzi (a type of dumpling) down there. There shouldn’t be many well-preserved corpses; most were likely dried up or turned to bones. However, under the light of the flare, I had seen many corpses with expressions that were extremely twisted, beyond what human expressions could convey. I couldn’t figure out what was going on.

Just as I was pondering this, I suddenly heard a sound of someone falling.

I turned around to see Liang Shiye trying to sneak back up the stone steps.

Lao Yang immediately raised his gun and threatened him, “Take one more step back, and I’ll break your legs and throw you down here!”

Upon hearing his voice, Liang Shiye was so frightened that he turned and ran. Lao Yang fired a shot into the air, and the thunderous gunshot echoed throughout the cave.

The gunshot startled Liang Shiye, making him stop in his tracks. He shrank his neck and turned around, saying, “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! I won’t run, okay?”

Lao Yang cursed, “Who would believe you? Come back and squat down properly! If you run again, I’ll take care of you!”

The cool master returned with his tail between his legs, squatting beside us with a mournful expression. He said, “Gentlemen, you see, I’m just an intellectual trying to make a living by following the old Tai, fooling around with those Guangdong guests. If we were to judge this, I’d be considered a minor offender. You might as well let me go. You’re about to engage in a big business deal, and I’m just a burden with no skills. If something goes wrong, it would drag you down with me.”

Old Yang, seeing him still clutching his backpack, couldn’t help but get angry. He pointed his gun at him and said, “Do you think we want to take you with us? If you want us to let you go, leave that bag behind. You can go wherever you want after that.”

The cool master looked at the bag with difficulty and said, “But this bag is mine… As the saying goes, a gentleman—” Old Yang raised his gun and interrupted, “I’m not a gentleman; I’m a beast. Don’t try to reason with me.”

I felt that the cool master had some cleverness about him. If we let him go back and he ran into Uncle Tai and the others, it would mean gaining another enemy. Keeping him around might still serve as a way to restrain him. I stopped Old Yang from continuing and turned to the cool master, saying, “Our situation is still unclear. If you leave alone, even if we give you all the gear, without experience, you won’t make it out. How about this: you come down with us to take a look. If we find something valuable, whatever Uncle Tai gives you, we’ll match it. Three of us working together increases our chances of survival. It’s so gloomy here; if we encounter any wandering souls or ghosts, no one will be able to save you.”

Old Yang immediately added, “If you don’t want to go, that’s fine, but leave everything behind, including your clothes…”

Upon hearing that I would also leave him a share of the offerings, he immediately showed signs of wavering. Coupled with Old Yang’s intimidation, he quickly said, “No, no, let’s talk this over. Since you two think so highly of me, I can’t refuse. In fact, with my knowledge combined with your experience, it would be a perfect match.”

Hearing this, I realized this guy was quite the opportunist, easily swaying sides and changing his mind so quickly. I found it amusing. My grandfather was right; human hearts are treacherous, and there truly are all kinds of people in this world.

We took back the items from the cool master’s bag, emptied it out, and searched for anything useful, like ropes or lighting tools. However, his bag mainly contained food and clothing. The cool master mentioned that their important gear was carried by Uncle Tai and Ermazi, and this signal gun was used for emergencies when they got separated.

Without any ropes, climbing down the cliff would definitely require the skills of a gecko. The cliff was steep, and I wasn’t sure if it was suitable for climbing. I lit one of the few cold fireworks I had and tossed it down the cliff. As it illuminated the way, I saw many places where we could land. If we had a durable lighting tool, climbing down wouldn’t be too difficult.

It was already around 11 PM outside. We hadn’t stopped at all along the way. We decided not to go down tonight, to rest properly and tend to our wounds, and wait until tomorrow to descend. Otherwise, if we entered the pit in a fatigued state and something happened inside, it would definitely lead to mistakes.

Uncle Tai and that chubby guy from Guangdong, we don’t know whether they are alive or dead. They still have two guns in their hands, and if they clash, it’s bound to lead to another fierce fight, so we still need to be cautious.

I originally wanted to ask Master Liang and his companions about their backgrounds, but then I thought better of it. Given the tense situation we are in, he would definitely be reluctant to share. It would be better to wait until things have relaxed a bit before asking him, as that might lead to hearing the truth.

I shared my thoughts with Lao Yang, and he nodded in agreement, but he said, “This place is just too damn strange. With so many corpses down here, we should head up to the altar to rest.”

I thought about it and agreed, so I climbed back up the stone steps to the altar area. Lao Yang rekindled the charcoal fire, emptied a can of food, heated some water over the fire, and soaked some dry rations to eat. After a few of us were full, we also had some chocolate to raise our blood sugar.

After finishing his meal, Lao Yang was so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open. I told them to sleep for a while, and I would keep an eye on the fire. Lao Yang said there weren’t any wild beasts around, so it wasn’t necessary to be so vigilant. I secretly told him that I mainly wanted to keep an eye on Master Liang. People who seem meek often hide their true nature, and if we both fell asleep, he might reveal his true self.

Lao Yang said, “If you’re so worried, I could knock him out.”

I hurriedly waved my hand, thinking it would be a problem if he knocked him unconscious.

Lao Yang went off to sleep, and I took out the dagger I had hidden in my inner pocket, disengaged the safety, and clipped it to my belt. Then I boiled a can of water to clean my wounds. The burns on my hands from the waterfall incident were quite severe, and if not treated properly, they could easily become infected.

Once I had taken care of everything, I woke Lao Yang up and finally went to sleep myself. This nap was extremely uncomfortable; my body ached all over, and my wounds were itchy and painful. When I woke up, I realized I had only slept for five hours, and my body felt so bad that my nose was stuffed up.

Lao Yang boiled some hot water for me to wash my face, and I felt a bit better. During breakfast, I noticed that Master Liang didn’t seem as guarded as yesterday, so I subtly probed a few questions about Uncle Tai and the others’ backgrounds.

Master Liang already knew our names. He looked at me, understood my intent, and said, “Little Wu, since we’re in this together now, I won’t hide it from you. When we came, there were five of us, but only Uncle Tai and Ermazi are professionals at this. I came with Boss Li and Boss Wang. I wanted to see how fresh goods are unearthed, and the two bosses asked me to pick out the most valuable items from the tomb first. To be honest, I’m really in a very unfair position.”

When Lao Yang heard this, he asked, “That’s strange. I just saw you were four people. Where’s the fifth?”

Master Liang replied, “The person you’re talking about is Boss Li. When we came down from the mine tunnel, he went to a water pit to wash his face, and when we found him, his head had already been bitten off by something in the water…”

While Lao Yang and I were eating, we hurriedly told him not to say any more. We already knew what had happened below, and if he continued, we wouldn’t be able to eat anymore.

“I could see that he seemed ready to reveal everything, and I thought to myself that this person was quite perceptive. I took the opportunity to ask him about the backgrounds of those two bosses. Liang Shiye stood up and said, ‘Speaking of the backgrounds of those two bosses, you might be surprised to hear about them. They are not ordinary antique dealers. Let me explain it to you in detail…'”