Chapter 21: Falling into the False Tomb

Cheng Xiangru stumbled through the thick snow, his mind clouded with dark thoughts. The more he replayed the events in his head, the more convinced he became that the scream he had just heard belonged to Boss Zhou. His imagination conjured vivid, terrifying images of the man lying bloodied on the ground.

The deep snow concealed jagged rocks and tangled branches, causing Cheng to trip and fall repeatedly. He ignored the pain; his only goal was to reach the spot where the scream had originated to confirm whether Boss Zhou was in trouble.

Leng Ying, burdened by two large travel bags, caught up to him after a short while. "Hey! Calm down!"

Cheng didn't answer, simply burying his head and pushing forward.

Leng Ying grew genuinely anxious. "Have you even considered how dangerous it is over there?"

Cheng remained silent. Tripping over an unseen obstacle, he lurched forward, somersaulting into the snow, but he scrambled back to his feet instantly and kept running.

Giving up on persuasion, Leng Ying dropped the bags and lunged forward, grabbing Cheng by the arm.

Cheng finally snapped, roaring like a wild beast, "Let go of me!"

Caught off guard by the intensity of his reaction, Leng Ying’s grip loosened, and Cheng broke free. She stared at his retreating back, struck by how tall he looked—the image overlapping perfectly with another familiar silhouette from her past.

Why were they both like this? Father and son, usually as gentle as kittens, yet turning as ferocious as tigers the moment someone they cared about was in danger.

While Leng Ying stood dazed, watching him, a sudden cry of alarm rang out. She watched in horror as Cheng plummeted through the snow layer and vanished. Panic-stricken, she grabbed the bags and rushed after him.

Cheng hadn't known what he stepped on. Suddenly, he felt his weight shift, the ground beneath him gave way, and he tumbled diagonally into a hole, falling into an abyss. As his flashlight tumbled away and darkness swallowed him, he lost all orientation, flailing his arms in a desperate bid to catch hold of something.

In his panic, he grasped a sturdy wooden beam, managing to stabilize himself after a short slide. The beam was smooth on three sides, while the fourth was notched like a ladder.

Feeling his way downward, Cheng soon touched solid ground, though he remained trapped in absolute darkness.

"Hey! Are you alright?" Leng Ying’s voice echoed from above.

Cheng tried to reach into his bag for a spare flashlight, only to realize his gear was with Leng Ying. He shouted back, "It’s too dark down here, I can’t see a thing, can you—"

Before he could finish, a beam of light cut through the darkness from above. Leng Ying descended, carrying both bags and holding a flashlight in her teeth, moving with the agility of a monkey as she climbed down the wooden beam.

Cheng was dumbfounded. He had expected her to find a way to rescue him, never dreaming she would follow him down.

"Catch!" Leng Ying said, not waiting for a response as she tossed the two bags down. Cheng scrambled to catch them, stumbling twice under the weight.

During his second fall, he accidentally knocked something over. A sharp clatter of shattering pottery echoed through the space.

In the faint light spilling from above, Cheng looked over and saw rows of neatly arranged ceramic jars. Each was sealed with a pottery bowl, secured by two intersecting paper strips. The strips were a faded, dusty brown, covered in pictographic symbols depicting animals, plants, mountains, and rivers. The shattering sound had come from one of these jars.

*Clack.*

Leng Ying landed on the ground. She walked over to the stunned Cheng and held out a flashlight, but he didn't move to take it. Frowning, she followed his gaze, and upon seeing the scene, she let out a sharp gasp.

The broken jar lay in pieces, a thick, black, viscous liquid pooling on the floor. Within the sludge lay two intertwined patterned snakes. They hadn't moved and appeared long dead, yet their markings remained vibrant, their mouths slightly agape to reveal glinting fangs, their bean-like eyes still eerily bright.

A faint, strange fragrance hung in the stagnant air—reminiscent of medicinal wine, but lacking its usual potency.

"Shamanic script?" Leng Ying examined the seals on the other jars. A realization dawned on her, and she stepped back, pulling Cheng with her.

"Are these just jars of medicinal wine?" Cheng asked, bewildered.

Leng Ying pressed a finger to her lips. "Shh!"

After retreating about five meters, she stopped, sweeping her flashlight across the room. Her brow furrowed deeply. "We’re in an ancient tomb."

"The Qing Dragon Vein?" Cheng gasped.

Leng Ying shook her head. "I don't think so. This feels more like a decoy tomb."

Cheng turned pale. He knew that decoy tombs were designed with lethal traps to eliminate intruders. How could he not be terrified?

Nearby, many jars were broken, with debris scattered everywhere, mixed with the white bones of small animals. Leng Ying knelt, picking up a fragment of bone and sniffing it. "Judging by these remains, they’re mostly rats, hedgehogs, and snakes. The Jurchen people believed in Shamanism, which holds that all things have spirits. Rats, hedgehogs, snakes, foxes, and weasels are considered the 'Five Great Immortals,' the most spiritual of creatures. Families would often worship one or two as guardian deities. Sealing these 'Immortals' in jars with cursed seals was meant to trap their spirits and magical power, forcing them into a state of deep resentment. Anyone who enters this place would be haunted by these vengeful spirits, paying a heavy price—perhaps even with their lives."

"Is that for real?" Cheng shuddered.

Leng Ying shrugged. "Who knows? It’s all legend and speculation. Who can tell what’s true in the world of the occult?"

"Can we climb back out using that wooden beam?" Cheng whispered.

"The beam?" Leng Ying glanced back. "Oh, that’s a grave robber’s ladder. It’s quite old; nobody uses that kind anymore."

"A robber's ladder?" Cheng looked around and exhaled in relief. "So, someone has been here before and managed to get out?"

There were no human remains in sight, which he counted as a small mercy.

Leng Ying, clearly eager to leave, urged, "Let’s go, quickly!"

They hurried back to the ladder, but as they prepared to climb, Leng Ying stopped suddenly, gesturing for silence.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered.

The underground chamber was deathly quiet. Once they froze, the silence was absolute. Cheng listened intently for a moment, his eyes widening in shock.

He could faintly hear the sound of people talking through a wall, accompanied by the muffled thud of footsteps.

Could it be Boss Zhou and his team? But if they were here, then who had fired the shots and screamed outside?