Looking at the corpses again, I noticed that they had all turned gray from being soaked in water, but there was no severe decomposition, indicating that they had died not long ago. The bodies, submerged in the muddy water, had not turned pale; instead, they appeared somewhat bluish, which seemed unusual.

There were so many dead people here, and they had clearly died not long ago—these must surely be my uncle’s men. I recalled the empty campsite and couldn’t help but feel a chill run down my spine. These people must have been bitten to death by the snake and then brought to this muddy pit.

Were these the first group of people who had encountered trouble, or were they the surviving members of my uncle’s team? Was my uncle among them?

Suddenly, I remembered the voice of the little third master I had heard earlier. Could it be that it wasn’t a human calling me, but rather the vengeful spirits of the workers here, urging me to discover this place and guiding me?

My head felt heavy, but the blue light of my watch extinguished once again, plunging the surroundings into darkness…

I turned on my watch again and began to feel the pockets of the corpse in front of me. From his pants pocket, I pulled out a wallet, which had become waterlogged and heavy. I weighed it in my hand and threw it toward a light spot on the stone wall. The first throw missed, so I detached the flashlight from the dead man’s belt and tossed it as well. I realized something was wrong as soon as I threw it, but it was too late; the flashlight had already flown out. Just as I was about to slap myself, it hit the bushes that were holding the mining lamp, causing the lamp to slide down and fall into the water, sinking.

I grabbed a rock outcrop with one hand and stretched my arm as far as I could to retrieve the mining lamp. The flashlight was light, but the current pushed it downstream a few meters, and I lost sight of it.

Now I could see more clearly. I shone the mining lamp around and discovered that this was part of a swamp, resembling a circular pond. The water flowed in one direction, and as I illuminated the downstream area, I saw a stone relic carved with a beast’s head, from which the water flowed, entering through the beast’s open mouth. Just as I thought, there must be a well below, and it was bound to be dangerous to go past.

I began to move upstream against the current, tying the mining lamp around my waist and using the rock wall for support. As I illuminated my surroundings, I saw that the swamp was littered with numerous corpses, most of which were completely submerged in the mud, with only stiff hands or other parts protruding. The bottom of the pond was almost entirely covered with them.

As I walked, I tried to avoid the bodies, but there were too many to navigate through. The mud on many of the corpses was washed away by the water I stirred up. I then noticed that each of them had two dark bite marks on their necks, and the entire neck was blackened, while the surrounding areas appeared bluish.

They had all been bitten to death by snakes. There were no signs of a struggle in the entire camp; it was possible they had been bitten in their sleep or had suffered a massive attack while marching here.

I adjusted the mining lamp, anxiously searching one face after another, hoping to see my uncle among them.

I didn’t want to find my uncle, but reason told me I couldn’t avoid it. This feeling was akin to a father identifying his son’s corpse—having to confirm something that was deeply unwanted. However, it wasn’t easy to discern their identities under the layer of mud. I looked through each one, but I didn’t find anyone resembling my uncle, and I couldn’t be sure that none of them were him.

Just when I was about to give up, my mining lamp illuminated a face partially covered in mud. Instinctively, I stopped in my tracks and realized that the face looked somewhat familiar; then I recognized it. It was An Ning!

Her eyes were closed, and her body was in a very strange position, covered only by a thin layer of mud, with the signs of decomposition already quite evident on her face. I felt as if I was suffocating. Looking around, I thought to myself that those snakes had even brought her body here!

As the mining lamp shone on her, the surface of the corpse appeared to be just an ordinary body, showing no signs of snake-like transformation. So, was the shadow we saw earlier not her? Then what was that shadow emitting a sound similar to radio static?

I took a deep breath and leaned closer, feeling an indescribable sensation. I reached out and touched her body all around, but there was no walkie-talkie. I wanted to pick her up, but I found it impossible to gain any leverage. The swamp water had washed her face clean, and her hair hung down, presenting a strange tranquility; for a moment, I almost felt as if she were still alive.

But then I submerged her back into the swamp, and the murky water concealed everything instantly, causing that illusion to vanish without a trace.

A deep sorrow filled my heart as I looked around, and the more I thought about it, the colder I felt. What was this muddy pit? Was this where they stored their food? Could there be giant pythons here to feed?

I began to feel extremely uneasy; this place was not safe, and I had to leave immediately. With that thought, I waved my mining lamp to look for a place to climb. Soon, I noticed a vine hanging into the water against the flow. I bit down on the mining lamp and swam towards it, grabbing the vine after a few strokes.

The fog was thinning out, and as I gritted my teeth to climb the vine, I recalled what the muffled voice had said about using mud to ward off snakes. I dipped my hands into the mud and smeared it over the parts of my body where the water had washed it away, then continued to climb until I reached a branch entwined with the vine, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Following the branch to the center of the tree canopy, just as I was about to climb down, I suddenly heard a splash from the nearby pond, as if something had fallen into the water.

I turned my lamp towards the sound and saw ripples forming in the water; something had rolled down from the shore. Shining my lamp into that corner, I saw a mass of red, intestine-like objects—many intertwined chicken-headed snakes. Among them, it seemed something was wrapped up.

I looked closely and, for a brief moment, saw a hand emerge from the pile of snakes, followed by a plump face. A chill ran down my spine; it was the fat guy.