I was just about to start climbing when I heard him ask, and I couldn’t help but shrink my neck a bit. I had been so tense earlier that I hadn’t noticed. In fact, while we were in the corridor, I had already felt the wound from the lotus arrow, which seemed to be showing signs of inflammation. However, as I scratched it, it seemed to feel a bit better. I lifted my shirt to take a look at the wound and found that the redness and swelling had subsided, and it didn’t feel unusual. I said, “I can feel it, but it’s not itchy anymore. With all this humidity, it might be an allergy.”

The fat guy was itching badly and said, “Is there any way to temporarily treat this allergy? I just broke out in a cold sweat, and now the itching won’t stop.” He kept rubbing against the wall, and I noticed he was leaving blood streaks behind, which felt a bit off. I quickly asked him to show me. He turned around while squirming, scratching with his hands. I swatted his hands away and shone my flashlight on his back, only to see that the wound from the lotus arrow had grown a lot of white hair, which was disgusting. I casually remarked, “Fat guy, how long has it been since you last took a shower?”

The fat guy exclaimed, “Shower? Why are you asking that? That’s personal privacy, and I can’t answer that.”

I replied, “Damn it, you haven’t showered in ages, have you? Let me tell you, it looks like you have mold growing on your back—white mold! What a wonder of the world! If you keep this up for a few more months, you might even grow some ganoderma.”

The fat guy looked confused and said, “What? White coal? Is there even white coal? Stop speaking so complicatedly and just tell me what’s going on!”

I noticed that the quiet guy was frowning, and it seemed like the situation was serious, so I didn’t dare to joke any further. The quiet guy squeezed over and pressed on the fat guy’s back, and as soon as he did, a lump of black blood oozed out. He whispered to me, “This is troublesome; there was something off about that lotus arrow.”

I found it strange because I had also been hit by the arrow, so logically, I should be in the same situation as him. Could it be that my grandfather’s genetics really made my body so special? I quickly exposed my wound to express my doubts.

The quiet guy looked at my wound and clicked his tongue, unable to figure out what was going on. At this moment, the fat guy started to panic and turned to me, asking, “What hair! Damn it, don’t speak in riddles—where’s the hair?” He reached back to touch it, and I quickly grabbed his hand, saying, “Don’t move! You seem to have some kind of skin disease. Let us take a closer look. You mustn’t scratch it; if you do, it could leave scars.”

He was itching so much that he couldn’t hold back. I said to the quiet guy, “This can’t go on; we need to think of a solution. I’ve heard that some people can’t stand the itching of skin diseases and even commit suicide!”

The fat guy shouted, “Damn it, I want to commit suicide right now! I’m itching to death! Why don’t you just learn from Guan Gong and cut out those two pieces of flesh for me?”

I had also had a skin disease when I was younger, and there was a folk remedy that was a bit disgusting. I said to him, “You don’t need to cut flesh; do you really think you have that much flesh? I’m not Hua Tuo, but I do have some soothing lotion on me. I’ll apply it to you first; it might sting a bit, so bear with it.”

The muffled oil bottle was momentarily stunned, and the fat man also exclaimed, “So you city folks are really delicate. Damn it, even when digging a grave, you bring moisturizer. Next time, just bring a deck of cards down; when we’re trapped, we can at least play a game of big D.”

Of course, I couldn’t bring such things. I spat a couple of times and applied the saliva to the fat man’s back, then put on gloves and spread it out. Unexpectedly, the fat man couldn’t stand the pain. As soon as the saliva was applied, he let out a scream and ran forward, cursing, “What the hell did you put on me! My grandmother, you might as well have gouged me! Now I’m really going to be in trouble.”

Seeing that the pain was effective, I said, “Look at you, you can’t handle a little pain? Pain is easier to endure than itching. Are you still itching now?”

The fat man flailed his arms and legs for a while but eventually calmed down and asked, “Hey, Xiao Wu, what was that stuff you used? It actually feels a lot better. What brand is that moisturizer?”

I realized if he found out it was saliva, he would definitely kill me, so I quickly replied, “Stop acting like a girl; let’s move.”

The muffled oil bottle found it amusing and shook his head. It was the first time I saw him not smiling bitterly, and I couldn’t help but feel he seemed to have a bit more humanity. It seemed that people really needed to communicate more.

However, after he smiled, he returned to his poker face and signaled for us to follow. The three of us crawled through the tunnel, winding our way up. After about the time it takes to smoke half a cigarette, the muffled oil bottle said, “Fork in the road.”

I squeezed forward, and sure enough, there were two passages on the left and right. I glanced down the left one and saw that just a little further in, there were bricks piled up, indicating a dead end. It seemed that the bricks were blocking the path from the right ear room to the left matching room where the muffled oil bottle and his crew had come from. I wondered why it had been sealed off. Were they afraid something might come from that coffin?

Since it was sealed, the exit of the tunnel must be on the right side. The muffled oil bottle had the same thought as me and pointed to the right. Without a word, the three of us continued to crawl.

To be honest, I had never crawled for such a long time in my life, and I was already drenched in sweat. Crawling through an ordinary dirt tunnel had never been this exhausting, mainly because my knees had nothing to support them, making them hurt. Now, with bricks and debris beneath me, crawling felt like torture, and my knees felt like they were on fire. It seemed that being human had its advantages; I had to strive to be human in my next life.

Lost in my thoughts, the muffled oil bottle suddenly stopped and made a gesture for me to be quiet. The fat man, unable to see ahead, quietly asked me, “What’s wrong now?”

I gestured for him to be silent. At that moment, the muffled oil bottle turned off his flashlight. The fat man and I quickly followed suit, and we were plunged into absolute darkness. At that moment, I was extremely calm; my heartbeat didn’t even quicken (Looking back later, the experience of nearly being crushed by the wall had a significant impact on me. Psychologically, I had already overcome my fear of the ancient tomb). I still didn’t know his intentions, but in the ancient tomb, it was always right to listen to him.

We were quiet for a while, our breathing gradually calming down and the sweat on our bodies drying. At that moment, I heard something moving above us on the brick ceiling, as if it were a person. I was startled and realized that we must be above the rear hall or corridor. Who could it be? Could it be Aning? Or maybe San Shu?

While I was guessing, I suddenly felt an itch on the back of my neck. A chill ran down my spine, and I thought, “Could it be that I’ve grown hair too?” I quickly reached back to touch it and found a damp, clumpy substance sticking to my neck. I thought the fat guy had squeezed in next to me, cursed under my breath, and shoved the substance away. When I pulled my hand back, I was surprised to find my fingernails sticky, with a faint floral scent.

Feeling disgusted, I wiped the substance on a nearby brick, thinking that the fat guy must have sprayed a lot of hair oil on his hedgehog-like hair. If we found a water source later, I would definitely need to wash it off; that hair oil might be months old.

Just then, my neck started itching again. That damn fat guy must be up to something strange again. I couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger. I grabbed the clump and pushed it against the wall. At that moment, I suddenly realized something was off—why did the fat guy’s face seem so small? I cautiously propped myself up and touched it, my heart sank. Those damp clumps seemed to be hair. I touched it a couple more times and found that all the hair was tangled together. When I tried to reach in, my hand got stuck. I swallowed hard, starting to break out in a cold sweat. The fat guy couldn’t possibly have this much hair—whose hair was it?

I recalled the clump of hair that had tried to eat me in the water tomb, and my breathing became difficult. I didn’t dare turn on the flashlight; that thing seemed to be just a few centimeters away from me. If I turned it on, I would definitely lock eyes with it, and I couldn’t handle that kind of shock. Just then, I felt a delicate, wet hand suddenly touch my face, cold as ice, with very sharp fingernails. My scalp began to tingle, and the flesh on my face involuntarily trembled.

The fingers grazed my neck and then withdrew. Soon after, I felt that thing’s head lean closer to me. The damp, clumpy hair suddenly pressed against my face, and I bit down hard, preparing to scream. Suddenly, amidst the hair, a soft female voice whispered in my ear, “Who are you?”

The voice was incredibly soft, yet I heard it clearly, and I was taken aback. At the same time, the woman’s body pressed against me, forcing herself into my embrace. Her slender hand rested on my shoulder and then wrapped around my neck. I instinctively shivered, feeling that this woman was very small. Her mouth brushed against my ear, and her breath was icy. I was completely stunned as I heard her say again, “Please hold me.”

I heard those words, and it felt like I was under a spell. Although my hands were still resisting, they completely ignored my brain’s commands and suddenly wrapped around her waist. At that moment, I realized something even more shocking: this woman was completely naked. Her skin was icy cold but surprisingly smooth. I couldn’t help but feel flustered, and my face turned red. At that moment, her lips had already moved to my chin, teasingly brushing against it, as if hinting for me to kiss her. I completely lost control and was just about to lean in for a kiss when suddenly the flashlight of the muffled oil bottle turned on. In an instant, I saw what I was holding in my arms, and my scalp went numb, with all the hairs on my body standing on end.