Chapter 3: Entering the Water Cave, the Burial Ground of Corpses

Chapter 3: Entering the Water Tunnel, the Land of Accumulated Corpses

"Heh, alright, alright!" The old man let out an awkward laugh at the sight and shouted toward the river, "Donkey Egg! Donkey Egg!"

Soon, a black dog swam out from a distant water tunnel, pulling a series of small wooden boats linked together behind it.

"Hiss! That boatman's face is ghastly pale!" Wu Tianzhen gasped as he looked at the ferryman.

"Third Uncle, there's something wrong with that dog's eyes," Wu Yu stepped forward to warn.

"How so?" Wu Laosan looked at Wu Yu and asked.

"Its gaze is dull yet carries a hint of excitement, and its eyes are bloodshot," Wu Yu knew this was a test from Wu Laosan, but he analyzed it truthfully. "It sees us as food. Dogs don't usually act like this unless..."

"Unless it has already eaten humans!" Wu Laosan's expression grew serious. "Living people are a bit strange to it, which explains that hint of excitement—or perhaps curiosity. But conversely... why would it have seen so many dead bodies, and why would it be eating them?"

"We'll find out what happens next," Wu Yu said, offering no further warnings; he felt he had said enough.

Wu Sanshu, true to his nickname "The Old Fox," had already silently signaled Panzi and Dakui. Throughout the scene, only Wu Tianzhen remained excitedly observant of everything.

Once the price was settled, everyone boarded the boat.

"Bosses, let's get one thing straight," the boatman said, lifting his pale face to look at them. "Once we're on the water, we travel quietly. Do not disturb the River God. If you anger him, I won't be responsible for the consequences—you'll have to bear them yourselves!"

"The River God?" Wu Tianzhen curled his lip. "Come on, uncle, what century is this? You still believe in that?"

"Hah, greenhorn, what do you know!" The boatman sneered at Wu Tianzhen.

The old guide nodded quickly. "That's right, that's right! This river is no ordinary place! There really is a River God here!"

"You're wondering why the fare is so expensive, aren't you? It's because the River God only acknowledges this boatman. Anyone else who tries to row down this river loses their life—no exceptions. You can ask around in the village if you don't believe me."

"I still don't believe it!" Wu Tianzhen stubbornly insisted, convinced the two were trying to swindle them.

"What do you think?" Wu Sanshu asked Wu Yu, who had been quiet the whole time.

"It's hard to say, but I'm afraid it has a lot to do with his dog," Wu Yu replied softly.

"Heh..." Wu Sanshu smiled slightly. "Take a closer look at this boatman—he isn't normal either! I suspect this fellow is also a beast that feeds on human corpses. It seems this waterway is destined to be strange."

"I'll keep an eye on Tianzhen, Third Uncle," Wu Yu nodded to show he understood.

"You brat!" Wu Sanshu chuckled. "Just worry about your own safety!"

He knew that if Wu Erbai had allowed Wu Yu to come out of the mountains, he must have had confidence in him. His martial arts were certainly not weak, but they hadn't reached the level of "Xiao Ge" (the mysterious young man). In his view, Wu Yu was only slightly better than Wu Tianzhen; as long as he didn't lose his head, he would be fine.

"Holy cow, why are there so many holes in the walls? It looks like a beehive!" Dakui shuddered as he looked at the surroundings.

"Stop being so jumpy. If only your guts were as big as your frame!" Panzi rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"These must be water-based thief holes, right?" Wu Tianzhen looked to his Third Uncle for confirmation and began to show off his knowledge.

Wu Yu said nothing. Like Xiao Ge, he silently observed his surroundings, ready to react to any sudden events. He had been transmigrated for too long; he remembered the general plot, but the details were giving him a headache.

***

"Ding!"

"Checked in at the Land of Accumulated Corpses; killed the Female Puppet!"

"Reward: Five years of internal energy!"

"This reward... is quite generous!" Wu Yu's eyes lit up upon hearing the system's prompt. Since his arrival, he had been checking in and completing tasks, but perhaps because the main plot hadn't started yet, the rewards were pitiful. Aside from fully mastering the legacy of "Old Huang," he hadn't obtained anything of real value. What frustrated him most was that while he knew the sword techniques, he lacked the internal energy to power them!

In over twenty years, he had only cultivated five years of internal energy through his own efforts. He could barely manage to use "Sword One: One Sword Clears the Dust and Drags the Dragon and Snake" once as his limit—he wasn't even a "three-second man"! Using it twice in a short period would leave him in the same state as Xiao Ge after losing too much blood. This was the result of twenty years of tireless effort, leading Wu Yu to wonder more than once if he wasn't cut out for martial cultivation. Thus, these five years of internal energy were highly coveted.

"Damn, what is that!"

At that moment, Dakui shouted in panic, "There's something in the water!"

Everyone's gaze was instantly drawn to the water, Xiao Ge included. Only Wu Yu noticed that the boatman and the old guide had taken advantage of the distraction to dive into a water hole and vanish.

Beneath the boat, a massive shadow at least ten meters long loomed, seemingly watching them.

"Boat boss! What's going on... Panzi!" Third Uncle looked up, saw the two were missing, and flew into a rage. "Didn't I tell you to watch those two wretches?"

"I... I forgot!" Panzi glared fiercely at Dakui, offering no excuses. This guy had been shouting incessantly since they got on the boat, causing too much distraction. Next time, no matter what, he wouldn't bring this oaf along.

Wu Yu tinkered with the motor. "It's out of fuel. It seems premeditated—they wanted to trap us here!"

As he spoke, he pulled several military shovels from his backpack and handed them to the group. "The tunnels here are peculiar; there's no way through but to follow the current. We'll have to row manually!"

"Everyone, be careful!" Third Uncle nodded and began to row. Just then, Xiao Ge stretched out his long, slender fingers and deftly plucked something from the water, tossing it onto the prow of the boat like a dragonfly skimming the surface.

"This thing is the culprit!" After saying this, Xiao Ge returned to his silent, brooding self.

"This is..." The group was confused and huddled around.

But the next second, the corpse beetle, freed from Xiao Ge's control, began to shake wildly. The bronze bell attached to it rang, creating echoes that bounced through the water tunnel. At the same time, the corpse beetles in the water seemed to receive an order and began to rattle as well.

The entire tunnel filled with the incessant sound of bells. Hearing it, the group's expressions shifted; they felt as if their heads were about to burst.

Xiao Ge was about to kick them into the water to block the sound when Wu Yu shook his head and placed the zither case he had been carrying on his lap. He opened the lid to reveal a seven-stringed ancient zither. A faint, refreshing fragrance instantly wafted through the air.

As his fingertips plucked the strings, the melody drifted out. The interference from the bronze bells began to dissipate, and a smile involuntarily appeared on everyone's faces as the pain vanished.

Even Xiao Ge, listening to the music, fell into deep thought, as if recalling something he couldn't quite grasp. He opened his eyes, looked at Wu Yu, and asked in a rare display of curiosity, "What is this song called?"

The music stopped abruptly, and the group awoke from their trance. They looked at Xiao Ge with a mix of helplessness but said nothing.

***

"Brother, so you were really carrying a zither! That's so cool!" Wu Tianzhen exclaimed excitedly.

"I thought your Second Brother only trained you in fighting and schemes. I didn't expect you to know the four arts as well!" Wu Sanshu grinned, looking even more pleased with Wu Yu.

"I don't know the name of the piece," Wu Yu said, packing the zither away and slinging it back over his shoulder. "It was written for me by a friend. It's not finished yet, so that's as far as it goes."

"A friend? Who?" Xiao Ge pursued.

Wu Yu told him the name; after all, it wasn't easy to see someone of his temperament act so urgently.

"It's someone from Taiwan, named Ding Xiaoyu."

"Thank you," Xiao Ge nodded but said no more.

The group continued rowing downstream. However, the further they went, the more dead corpse beetles floated on the surface, leaving them horrified.

"Third Uncle, could it be that these were all killed by the brother's playing earlier?" Wu Tianzhen asked in disbelief.

"I heard that in India and Southeast Asia, there are many who can use instruments to control animals or plants, or even generate lethal sonic waves," Panzi whispered.

"Yes, such methods exist, but they require profound skill and resonance to be effective. Generally, such music sounds harsh and unpleasant, but the melody Xiao Yu just played was clearly different!" Third Uncle analyzed silently. "It seems the Second Brother put a lot of effort into training Xiao Yu!"

Hearing his Third Uncle praise Wu Yu throughout the journey, Tianzhen felt a bit jealous. "Third Uncle, why didn't you train me like that back then?"

"Go say that to your grandmother at the New Year's dinner and see if she doesn't swat you!" Wu Sanshu glared at him. He had taken him along to cause trouble since he was young, but he had taught him plenty! It was just that this kid wasn't cut out for it—at least he had turned out alright in the end, or the old man would have been so angry he’d have crawled up from the grave to find him.

"The Land of Accumulated Corpses... we're almost there!" Xiao Ge suddenly said, sniffing the increasingly heavy stench of rotting bodies in the air.

"Everyone, be careful!" Third Uncle warned. But before he could finish, Dakui started shouting again: "Coffins! Coffins! There are coffins up there!"

He looked around, seemingly searching for a place to climb up.

"Shut up!" Panzi had reached his limit with this guy. Bringing him along had been a major misstep.

"Wait! Those two coffins—why is there only a corpse in one of them?" Third Uncle noticed something wrong. "My goodness, a crystal coffin... the body hasn't decayed! This damn thing is about to reanimate!"

"Second Nephew!"

"Coming!" Hearing this, Wu Yu immediately took all the weapons from his backpack and handed them to the others, signaling them to stay alert.

The small boat had passed through the narrowest part of the channel and was now drifting with the current, moving quickly without the need to row.

"Get the black donkey hoof ready, too!"

"Understood, Third Uncle." Wu Yu nodded, a surge of excitement rising in his heart.