Chapter 28: The Stone Statue of the Strange Dragon

From the sound of the whistle, the person outside was drawing closer. Cheng Xiangru was so anxious that sweat drenched his forehead. Seeing how cramped the tent was, he wished he could just crawl into a crack in the ground...

Wait! A crack in the ground?

A flash of insight struck Cheng Xiangru’s mind, and suddenly he had a suspicion.

The tent definitely couldn’t have swallowed anyone whole, and since there was only one entrance and exit, where had the person who came in gone?

It had to be underground!

Cheng Xiangru looked down carefully and indeed noticed that the zipper at the bottom edge of the tent wasn’t fully closed. Two thick ropes emerged from the gap, extending out of the tent and firmly tied to the ground stakes at the tent’s corners.

The opening was large, slanting downward, spacious enough for someone carrying a travel bag to climb down comfortably.

Without hesitation, Cheng Xiangru grabbed the ropes and quickly slipped into the underground hole, then pulled the tent bottom back over the entrance to cover it.

A few seconds later, the tent flap was lifted. A figure poked his head inside, glanced around, muttered a curse, then withdrew and closed the flap from outside.

Cheng Xiangru hid inside the hole, his chest heaving violently, his heart pounding as if it might burst from his chest.

That was a close call!

Under the current circumstances, Cheng Xiangru knew he couldn’t come out now, but staying in the hole wasn’t safe either. Who knew if someone might suddenly climb up from below? If that happened, he’d be trapped and attacked from both sides, his life in serious danger.

If that was the case, then down he must go—perhaps he could find Leng Ying down there.

Cheng Xiangru didn’t overthink it; his decision was made.

He grasped the ropes with both hands, planted his feet against the hole’s walls, and slowly swung downward. The whole process was done in pitch darkness; he didn’t dare turn on his flashlight. His eyes fixed intensely on the darkness below, ready to climb back up at any moment.

The hole was very deep, like a bottomless abyss, even deeper than the one he had fallen into previously.

He lost track of how long he swung downward. When his arms grew numb and stiff, nearly unable to hold the ropes, he finally felt his feet touch solid ground.

Now, Cheng Xiangru found himself in total darkness so deep that he couldn’t see his own hand, unaware of his location or what surrounded him.

He slowly squatted, reached out, and began crawling in one direction while listening carefully to every sound around him.

---

In this underground isolation, the absolute silence was unnerving. Cheng Xiangru could even clearly hear his own breathing and heartbeat.

After crawling for a while, he suddenly touched a tuft of hair, startling him.

Once his heart settled, he reached out again to touch the tuft, feeling something smooth and slippery—like hair.

Beneath the hair were a forehead, nose, and mouth...

Cheng Xiangru was so shocked he nearly cried out. No matter how brave he was, this moment truly overwhelmed him.

He quickly withdrew several meters, pulled his flashlight from a side pocket of his travel bag, and clicked it on, shining the beam on the spot he had just touched.

The sudden light dazzled him, temporarily blinding his eyes. After blinking vigorously and regaining his sight, he saw a man lying on his back not far away.

The man was scruffy, with a stubbly face and messy hair, eyes wide open but lifeless.

Looking closer, a large reddish-brown patch stained his chest, his skin pale and gray, pupils dilated—he had been dead for some time.

Cheng Xiangru let out a long breath of relief.

Since he was dead, at least there was no immediate danger.

This was the second corpse Cheng Xiangru had encountered on his journey. Though he didn’t know the man and appeared outwardly calm, inside he felt quite uneasy.

He couldn’t fathom who these mysterious people were or why they could trample on others’ lives so wantonly.

Of course, these two dead men weren’t exactly innocent themselves. Anyone mixing with such ruthless villains surely wasn’t a good person.

Using the flashlight, Cheng Xiangru quickly scanned his surroundings. He found himself in a narrow tunnel, with uneven earth walls on five sides. Only the path ahead twisted out of sight.

At this moment, there was only one way forward, no other choice. Before stepping onto that unknown path, he decided to search the corpse.

He crawled beside the dead man and rummaged through his belongings, pulling out a phone and a wallet—nothing else.

Thanks to Leng Ying’s earlier warning, Cheng Xiangru knew he couldn’t take the phone. So he returned it and eagerly opened the wallet, only to be disappointed by a few cards and a photograph.

In the photo, the dead man embraced a swaddled infant and held a beautiful woman, all three beaming with bright smiles.

It was hard to understand how someone with such a perfect family could choose a life of crime.

---

“Sigh.”

Cheng Xiangru sighed gloomily and returned the wallet.

This guy carried such a big wallet but didn’t have a single cent—he was truly destitute!

Leaving the corpse behind, Cheng Xiangru proceeded cautiously down the tunnel.

He dared not shine the flashlight ahead, only illuminating the ground beneath his feet. His ears were straining to catch every sound. If he heard any human voices, he would immediately switch off the light and run back.

The tunnel was long and winding, every corner full of unknowns.

After walking several dozen meters, he finally emerged from the tunnel into a vast open space.

Here, the floor was paved with large, smooth stone tiles slanting gently downward. The walls and ceiling were also made of brick.

Ahead stood a massive arched double stone door several meters high; one half was badly damaged, reduced to scattered stones on the ground, while the other half was studded with large, fist-sized iron spikes.

On either side of the great stone door stood two strangely shaped stone sculptures. Their heads resembled dragons, but their forelimbs were like gibbons, supporting themselves on the ground, with their hind legs squatting.

Their slender dragon whiskers fluttered as if caught in the wind; their long jaws parted, revealing rows of sharp teeth; their large, bell-like eyes bulged outward, radiating fierce menace.

Cheng Xiangru had never seen such a magnificent sight before and stood there stunned for a moment.

Could this be what an ancient tomb looked like?

Why did it seem more like a deeply buried ancient city?

He walked down the slope slowly and reached the stone door, looking up at the tall and imposing dragon sculptures. He raised his hand to touch one, sincerely admiring the exquisite craftsmanship.

Though he couldn’t identify the exact species of dragon, Cheng Xiangru guessed these grotesque dragons, like the stone lions guarding ancient gates, were meant to protect the city gates.

But no matter how lifelike the statues were, they were just decorations in the end. Otherwise, why hadn’t they slain all the thieves who dared to break in? Why had the tomb door been allowed to be destroyed?

Cheng Xiangru withdrew his gaze from the statues, hesitating whether to enter the tomb or hide behind the stone sculptures.

Suddenly, a faint human voice drifted into his ear, very close, as if coming from above and to the side.

He felt as if plunged into an ice cavern, his neck stiffening as he slowly raised his head, glancing obliquely toward the area above the tomb door.