Chapter 009: Panic

My head is completely dizzy, and my thoughts are in utter disarray. On my way back, I tripped over an iron chain on the ground and fell, causing my whole body to ache.

Upon seeing the face of the corpse, my scalp began to tighten, my heartbeat accelerated at a morbid pace, and blood rushed to my forehead all at once

After the team gathered, they immediately left Mazhan City. I walked at the back of the line with Cao Shi, lost in thought. He kept saying comforting words to ease my mind, claiming that the world is full of wonders and that this is hardly a matter of concern. I looked up at him and said, "It's easy to talk when you're standing; if this isn't a matter, then what truly is?"

The left little finger of the corpse has grown a ring-shaped sixth finger that is exactly like mine

I had been sitting there for a long time. Just as I was about to stand up and stretch my numb legs, I saw Cao Shi's head emerge from the pit. Following that, one by one, the people who had entered the hole crawled out. All three of them wore expressions of excitement, indicating that the task had been accomplished.

This is somewhat inappropriate. Cao Shi advised me, saying: "If you really encounter any mishap, I can only go to see Lord Ba with your head."

Wei Mian also interjected, saying: "Uncle Tian, it's better not to go... it's dark and... quite frightening."

A few men from the rivers and lakes gathered together and found a strong rapport. The four of them brought wine and began to drink heartily alongside the game roasted by the men from Guanzhong. The old man was restless, finding little pleasure in his food, occasionally glancing at the later arrivals, always sensing an indescribable aura of malevolence on their faces.

If the facial features and shape happen to be somewhat similar, I can reluctantly accept it, but the six fingers on the corpse leave me with no courage to acknowledge this fact

I ignored the advice of the two of them and insisted on going to see for myself. Cao Shi could not persuade me otherwise, so he repeatedly asked that fellow whether it was safe below. After receiving a positive answer, Cao Shi wrapped his clothes around himself and said, "Let's go, I will take you with me"

Cao Shi looked at me with discomfort, so he turned his head to reprimand the messenger, telling him not to speak nonsense. Although the other party did not dare to say anything further, it was evident from his expression that he still firmly held his opinion

The old man was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and remarked that the men from Guanzhong had drunk too much, nearly unable to return home by themselves. The few people who were drinking together laughed and said that the old man had not even left the house, but had been drinking with everyone all along

After traversing all the stone steps, the entire underground cave finally appeared before me. However, upon closer inspection, it became evident that this was not a naturally formed cave, but rather a man-made giant underground chamber, possibly around 800 to 900 square meters in size. As I waved my flashlight back and forth, I immediately noticed four very thick columns. Moreover, several iron chains extended from the tops of the columns, coiling around the ground in a large circle, as thick as my forearm. Though rusted to the point of being almost unrecognizable, they remained extremely sturdy and could not be shaken at all. It was clearly a labor-intensive project to hoist such heavy objects and secure them to the tops of the columns. I truly wonder how the people of the past managed to accomplish this.

We successfully returned from Mazhan to Alashan and hurried back to Jiangbei at the fastest speed. For some unknown reason, the moment I left Mazhan, my mental state deteriorated. When Cao Shi reported the situation to the old man, he deliberately praised me. The old man, in a good mood due to successfully obtaining the items, also rarely complimented me a few times, but I couldn't muster any spirit.

Upon seeing this skeleton, the old man was immediately drenched in cold sweat, for scattered beside the skeleton were the clothes of a man from Guanzhong, as well as his hunting rifle

This incident made the old man more cautious; whenever he entered the mountains, he always went in groups. However, that man from Guanzhong never appeared again. Three months later, the old man, along with several visitors, entered the mountains and, in a daze, found himself at the same shack as last time. Upon pushing the door open, he was met with a scene of utter chaos inside, along with a complete human skeleton. This skeleton did not appear to be the result of natural decomposition, but rather seemed to be what remained after someone had been skinned alive with a knife.

In his youth, the old man, driven by the pressures of life, spent some time gathering ginseng in Northeast China. The stories from the deep mountains and forests seem to be more abundant than those from other places, and some hunters and ginseng gatherers who rely on the mountains for their livelihood are themselves thick with legend. The old man preferred to work alone; however, the old forests of Northeast China are entirely different from tomb raiding in pits. Skilled diggers can navigate in and out of pits with ease, but venturing deep into the forest carries a far greater risk. One can never know what might suddenly occur in the darkness of the woods. The old man preferred to work alone; however, the old forests of Northeast China are entirely different from tomb raiding in pits. Skilled diggers can navigate in and out of pits with ease, but venturing deep into the forest carries a far greater risk. One can never know what might suddenly occur in the darkness of the woods.

On the night I returned to Jiangbei, I had a nightmare. I dreamt that I ran back to Mazhan alone, burrowing into the ruins of that building, delving into the basement, wanting to see the corpse. The corpse still lay quietly on the cold stone slab. As I cautiously approached it with my flashlight raised, the corpse suddenly opened its eyes, and then its mouth began to move slightly, as if trying to say something, but it could never utter a word.

The old man's prediction was not wrong; Ma Zhancheng himself posed no peculiarities and was quite safe. Cao Shi also successfully obtained the items. The matter concerning Old Fang was an accident, and that corpse has left me with a persistent feeling of unease.

"Old Cao." I looked up at him and said hesitantly, "What about the corpse in the pit?"

The old man, being young and vigorous at the time, was quite bold and did not hesitate to agree. The two of them continued walking into the mountains for another two days and coincidentally found a simple shelter. Such rudimentary shelters can be found in many mountainous areas, designed to provide some convenience for travelers. Some of these shelters contain dry firewood and food left behind by previous visitors. Those who temporarily rest here generally replenish the supplies they consume before leaving, allowing future visitors to benefit from them. Such rudimentary shelters can be found in many mountainous areas, designed to provide some convenience for travelers. Some of these shelters contain dry firewood and food left behind by previous visitors. Those who temporarily rest here generally replenish the supplies they consume before leaving, allowing future visitors to benefit from them.

Indeed, Cao Shi immediately said: "The items have been obtained, gather everyone, and withdraw immediately; we cannot stay here overnight"

Upon hearing this sentence, I immediately shivered reflexively. Psychological fear is the hardest to endure; perhaps seeing a corpse with one's own eyes would not elicit much of a reaction, but when someone with a complex expression tells you that this corpse resembles you, the feeling is entirely different

At this moment, the old man began to feel uneasy. He involuntarily unfastened his sheepskin coat, and to his astonishment, there was indeed a freshly burned hole in his cotton jacket, still damp around the edges. The old man's expression immediately changed. Could it be that there were truly two of him? One inside the house drinking, and the other outside suffering from diarrhea?

At first, the old man thought they were all joking because they were drunk, but those few people laughed in a strange manner. One of them said to the old man: "You burned your cotton-padded jacket while smoking after drinking just now, and I was the one who put it out for you. If you don't believe me, just look down."

Many of those who make a living in the deep mountains are unfortunate souls, driven to this path only when they have no other choice. Any family with even a few acres of land to fill their stomachs would not risk their lives to seek food here. The men from Guanzhong are warm-hearted, and they allowed these four individuals into their shelter. The old man felt a vague sense of unease at that moment, but he could not pinpoint what exactly felt wrong; in short, he felt unsettled.

After just a couple of bites, the old man suddenly felt a tumultuous churn in his stomach and hurried outside to relieve himself. The bout was quite severe, and after finishing, he barely managed to pull up his pants and stand up when his stomach acted up again. He was in and out more than ten times, leaving his face pale. He found it puzzling, as he hadn't eaten anything unusual, so why was he experiencing such distress?

Is this real? Habitually, I slapped myself hard, causing pain that made my eyes sparkle with stars, clearly not a dream. The way others looked at me also changed to something strange, but only Cao Shi patted my shoulder and had someone take me back to the ground first

The two men holding the flashlight seemed to have coordinated their actions, simultaneously directing the beam downward, ultimately settling on the corpse's left hand. Upon seeing the left hand of the corpse, I was nearly driven to madness

For over an hour, they had been drinking heartily in the shed, seemingly oblivious to his presence as he entered. It was only after the old man weakly sat down that the man from Guanzhong, blushing, asked him why he looked so unwell. The old man replied that his stomach was uncomfortable. The man from Guanzhong then laughed and said, "You are trying to deceive us; you clearly want to avoid drinking, yet you claim your stomach is upset. If your stomach is indeed uncomfortable, how is it that after drinking for so long, you haven't gone out to relieve yourself?"

Another colleague who had come down earlier was squatting beside the stone pit. Cao Shi took me over, and he shone the flashlight on a body that had just been pulled out of the black water. The colleague behind was worried that I couldn't see clearly, so he added another flashlight.

The three of us took turns to crawl into the pit. The opening at the bottom of the pit was not particularly wide, but it was still easy for a person to enter. After passing through the opening, we were met with a sloping stone staircase, entirely paved with whole stone slabs. The guide indicated that after walking down this staircase, we should turn left, where there was another one.

After returning to the ground, the defender awkwardly approached me to speak, but I ignored him, smoking one cigarette after another. This situation was truly strange; explaining it as mere coincidence felt somewhat forced. After smoking a few cigarettes, my mind became a bit clearer, and for some reason, I recalled something the old man had told me in the past.

That kind of gaze seems quite special

The reason for this is that the old man temporarily set aside his principles to accompany a man from Guanzhong in his thirties into the mountains. The two wandered in the mountains for several days without any gains, and both felt somewhat discouraged. The man from Guanzhong then suggested to the old man that they venture deeper into the mountains.

When the dream reached this point, I woke up, drenched in cold sweat. The details of the dream are no longer clear, but the only thing firmly etched in my mind is the gaze of the corpse

A few people looked at the old man's astonished expression and laughed even harder. The old man kept his head down in silence, trying to find an opportunity to signal to the man from Guanzhong, but that fellow was drinking happily and didn't glance in the old man's direction at all. The old man increasingly felt that these four individuals were malevolent and, in a state of helplessness, could only grit his teeth, excuse himself to go to the restroom, and after stepping outside, ran away without looking back, desperately fighting for his life to return.

Human psychology can be particularly complex at times. The more terrifying and bizarre an event is, the more one desires to uncover the truth behind it. I am no exception; my curiosity is already strong, and when it concerns myself, it intensifies. Therefore, I suggested to Cao Shi that we go into the cave to take a look.

At this time, the sky was still not very dark. If they were to push forward for just a little longer, it would be difficult to find a place to settle down. Therefore, the old man and his companions decided to rest well for the night and set off early the next morning. The men from Guanzhong were skilled marksmen and had hunted some game nearby. After nightfall, they lit a fire to cook it, preparing for a hearty meal. Just as the meat was about to enter their mouths, some commotion was heard outside the hut. The two of them cautiously observed for a while before realizing it was four fellow travelers.

Let us return first," Cao Shi comforted me, saying, "It is merely a matter of coincidence; we certainly cannot take the corpse below with us, can we? Do not worry...

Cao Shi's gaze suddenly became very stern as he coldly scanned the line of people ahead: "The real matter lies among these individuals"

This is too bizarre

I do not know why this matter comes to mind at this moment; my mind is filled with the skeletons in the shed and the corpses in the pit. If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought it was absurd. Therefore, after the old man finished telling the story, I always regarded it as a tale to frighten children, but the corpses in the pit completely overturned my thoughts.

My thoughts are entirely focused on the corpse in the pit, and I can only temporarily set aside the issue of the iron chain. The guide pointed to the left and said that the pit is right there

The black water in the pit is unknown, and the body in the pit has been dead for an indeterminate amount of time, yet it is remarkably well-preserved. Although it is somewhat swollen from being submerged, the facial features are very clear. I can mistake anyone for someone else, but I will never mistake myself. That fellow was not wrong; this body just pulled from the water looks very much like me, not only similar but almost as if it is the same person!