Chapter 166

Main text Chapter 168: Narrow Road Encounter

The red ancient jade box-shaped treasure case, in midair it traced a bloody arc of light; before I could see it clearly, it quickly fell together with other objects into the continually rising corpse pit below, instantly disappearing.

I stood frozen on the spot, not because I regretted losing this important jade case, but at this moment a flash of inspiration crossed my mind; vaguely, I actually guessed what secret the jade case contained.

Suddenly hearing a 'bang' from below the mouth of the Gourd Cave, I snapped back to awareness, recalling that Pangzi hadn't climbed up yet; I hurriedly bent down to meet him, discovering that the earlier impact was simply that 'eagle-owl' missing its strike, then it looped halfway in midair, came again from the shady side of the mountain and swooped toward Pangzi, who was hanging on the cliff; his only weapon still with ammo, the 'Chicago Typewriter', hung from the climbing rope beneath him, making it hard to use in the hurry, so I grabbed an entrenching shovel with one hand and slammed it hard at the swiftly approaching eagle-owl.

The eagle-owl's head and neck were struck squarely by the steel shovel, bones breaking and tendons snapping; like a kite with its string cut, it also fell into the corpse pit. Pangzi overexerted, his body also swung out, nearly dragging the three climbing ropes apart; he quickly let go, threw away the entrenching shovel, held onto the rope, and strained upward with his face, eyes closed, not daring to look below.

I shouted his name at the cave mouth to bring him to his senses, pulling on the rope with all my might; Pangzi also threw himself into the effort, desperately climbing up, and I finally managed to haul him up.

As soon as Pangzi crawled into the cave, he immediately sat down on the ground, continuously wiping sweat, obviously still not recovered from the earlier high-altitude fright; I went to check his pack, which still held about half a bag of supplies, mainly some wood ear in sealed bags, plus the two blocks of explosive left over from blasting the Heavenly Gate; the rest of the stored items on top were all gone, including the never-used 'Whirlwind Shovel' and other special weapons.

I took out the explosives so I could use them anytime, then taped the tear in the backpack with adhesive tape and temporarily fixed it with a clip. At this point I had no mood to calculate gains and losses, I switched on the tactical floodlight, hoisted Shirley Yang onto my back, patted Pangzi's shoulder to comfort him, and urged him to follow me quickly into the dark "Gourd Cave" to retreat. When the corpse pit swallows a huge object, its speed noticeably slows; perhaps the half-dead, half-alive giant worm inside the cave can delay it for a while, buying us some precious escape time.

Pangzi gritted his teeth, stood up, grabbed the submachine gun and backpack, and while running asked me: "I say, Commander Hu, today you seem a bit off, as if you've become a different person."

Shirley Yang on my back came to from the coma at this point; I don't know whether it was the mugwort taking effect or the increasing oxygen as we went deeper, but she remained extremely weak and unable to speak. I was most worried that she would stay unconscious like that, which is the most dangerous, yet I also feared that her sudden awakening was a fleeting rally before death, but I had no time to stop and examine her injuries. My mind was in turmoil, I didn't catch Pangzi's words clearly, and I blurted out: "What the hell do you mean by 'becoming a different person'?"

Pangzi said: "According to your usual temper,"

I said, "What are you talking about? You've caused plenty of trouble before, but when have I ever criticized you? It's always been painstaking persuasion and education. Besides, I think you've got it backwards—you're the one who claims to frown defiantly at a thousand critics. The situation just happened suddenly; none of us bears any blame, and as long as we didn't break arms or legs, that's already the greatest victory."

Moreover, the other burial goods, though valuable, are irrelevant; as long as we're alive, we have plenty of chances to make money. Of course, the two most important items—the ancient mirror is definitely a good thing—but gaining or losing it doesn't affect the big picture. Remember what it looks like, go back to Beijing and inquire; later we can find another one, it's not impossible.

Also, that crimson jade stone coffer—I suddenly realized it must contain the so-called Dragon Bone Heavenly Book, which is the same as the slab passed down in Shirley Yang's family; both record the "Phoenix Cry on Mount Qi" heavenly text, the one found in the Black Water City of Western Xia, and the Dragon Bone unearthed in Tian County that vanished after a transport plane crash—they should all contain the same content.

Furthermore, thinking of the Dragon Bone Heavenly Book passed down in Shirley Yang's family—it was found in a dark chamber deep within the treasure cavern of an empty tomb in Black Water City, while the one unearthed in Tian County was also not from a grave. It seems this kind of Dragon Bone Heavenly Book cannot be used as a burial good for the tomb's occupant; this might be due to the influence of ancient people's values and worldview.

The Dragon Bone Heavenly Book has always been a precious secret treasure of the imperial court; if its contents were merely the legend of "Phoenix Cry on Mount Qi," it would absolutely not be hidden so secretly. There must be some other confidential matter in its cipher—perhaps it records the origin of the "Cham Pearl," or the path to immortality through alchemy—but the method of deciphering it must be something else: either Professor Sun, that old immortal, never told us, or even he himself hasn't figured it out. There must be a major connection between the Dragon Bone Heavenly Book and the "Phoenix Gallbladder."

These thoughts surged in my mind, but at this moment I had no time to explain them to Pangzi; I just let him know he didn't need to overthink—right now, obeying orders and following commands was enough.

The water level in the "Gourd Cave" had dropped a lot, apparently due to a shift in the earth's veins, redirecting the underground water system. Where there was no water, many slick rock layers were exposed, so we picked spots where we could foot and ran deeper. Zombie Persons and the female corpses serving as zombie pupae gradually increased on the ground; in some places they piled up like mountains. Moving through them felt like trekking through a corpse sea, yet we never saw a single living person.

As we went deeper and deeper, we couldn't help but feel uneasy—could it be that a drastic change in the earth's veins altered the cave's environment, killing off all the Zombie Persons? Yet the high oxygen concentration should be related to that "Toad Palace"; maybe those Zombie Persons are lurking in the depths, waiting for prey to come to them.

Sharp, grating noises sounded from behind, steadily approaching. By now there was no retreat; even knowing the enemy lay in ambush ahead, we had no choice but to press forward. Pangzi and I walked while readying our weapons—almost nothing usable for attack remained. I told Pangzi: "We're really out of ammo and supplies this time, harder than when the Red Army was on Jingshan Hill back then. Damn it, there are more officers than soldiers, more soldiers than guns, more guns than bullets—this battle's about to become impossible to fight."

A soft, rustling sound came from all around, densely packed; from every direction, countless grayish-white writhing bodies emerged from the darkness—large numbers of Zombie Persons finally appeared, and they had already formed a semicircular encirclement. We were mentally prepared for this: being bitten to death by them or being swallowed alive by the corpse pit amounted to much the same, with us carrying and supporting each other while sinking. Today it's either the fish dies or the net breaks.

The sound of the corpse pit was already just a few meters away; Pangzi and I threw caution to the wind and surged forward, sealing off the group of Zombie Persons blocking our rear as they were about to rush up and form a encirclement. Suddenly a great commotion erupted behind us—those who dodged a bit too slowly were all swallowed by the corpse pit.

These Zombie Persons didn't realize how lethal the corpse pit was; they were all drawn by the foul stench of that great mass of rotting flesh, opening their huge pink mouthparts and lunging forward. Pangzi and I took the opportunity to charge ahead, and a few stray Zombie Persons that approached were blasted by Pangzi's MIAI barrage before they could reach us, their brains splattered everywhere.

The cave descended into chaos; we took advantage of the confusion to run a certain distance. I could hear the clanking of heavy armor in my ears—the giant worm draped in dragon-scaled demon armor was thrashing and struggling against the wall. The Zombie Persons originally left deep in the cave had gone red‑eyed from hunger, and just then a massive immobile "Huo-style immortal worm" lay nearby. Except where its carapace plates provided cover, its whole body was chewed into a sieve by the Zombie mouths; the part of its body pressed against the mountainside, lacking the protection of dragon‑scaled bronze armor, was literally gnawed in two and broke free from the rock.

Because we had to avoid the giant worm and the Zombie Persons tangled together, our escape speed was forced to slow. Right behind us, the hulking corpse pit—like a big meat box—made no distinction between dead and alive, having swallowed countless Zombie Persons, and it came after us, nipping at our heels.

We reached the left side of the Gourd Cave's length; to the right were a tumbling copper‑armored giant worm and a large horde of Zombie Persons. The corpse pit advanced from the left, leaving me nowhere to hide—it was time to unleash my final trump card. I reached out, grabbed the head of the Offering King, and hurled it toward the rear of the Huo‑style immortal worm.

The corpse pit indeed immediately shifted its angle, moving toward the right side of the Gourd Cave, where it was blocked by that mass of worm body, its speed suddenly dropping. Seeing the opportunity, I seized a gap, rushed forward, picked up the Offering King's head, and continued fleeing deeper into the cave.

This time, using the abundant lifeforms in the Gourd Cave, I once again temporarily stalled the relentless Black‑Head Meat Shell; next time there may be nothing to stop it. Even if I were ten thousand unwilling, I would have to abandon this head that might hold the Cham Pearl—first preserve my life, then think of other plans.

After taking just a few steps forward, Pangzi didn't see clearly and tripped over something underfoot, falling flat on his face. Suddenly a large batch of Zombie Persons burst out of the darkness, surrounding us completely.

After taking just a few steps forward, Pangzi didn't see clearly and tripped over something underfoot, falling flat on his face. Suddenly a large batch of Zombie Persons burst out of the darkness, surrounding us completely.