Chapter 67: Main Text Chapter Sixty-Eight Twenty-Three Steps

Main Text Chapter Sixty-Eight Twenty-Three Steps

Twenty-three steps

We racked our brains before we realized that, when ancient tombs were completed in the Xuan Palace, they would slaughter livestock, offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, to ward off evil and avoid misfortune. It is certainly because we brought the white goose, a spiritually aware animal, into the tomb, that we startled this one-in-a-million spirit tomb, so we were preparing to slaughter the two white geese, but unexpectedly Da Jin Ya suddenly intervened, not allowing me to kill the white goose.

Pangzi saw Da Jin Ya not allowing us to slaughter the geese, and asked: "Da Jin Ya, how did you change your mind again? Didn't we just agree on this?"

Da Jin Ya let me temporarily put down the umbrella sword in my hand, and said to me and Pangzi: "Lao Hu, Pangzi, don't take offense, I just suddenly thought of something that seems extremely inappropriate."

I said to Da Jin Ya: "That's just my temperament; when something comes to mind, I get hot-headed and act first, then speak later. If there's anything inappropriate, just tell me."

Da Jin Ya said: "That's right, I'm trying to figure out how to say it; when I'm anxious I really get a bit muddled, I'm trying to organize my words."

Pangzi and I have been trapped in this ancient tomb for a long time; although it's not like the beginning when we were tossed about by the spirit tomb, dizzy and utterly helpless, we gradually started to feel restless and anxious, wanting to leave as soon as possible. We had just thought of a method and were about to act, when Da Jin Ya suddenly blocked us, filling us with angry fire we couldn't vent, so we had to suppress our tempers and listen to Da Jin Ya speak.

Da Jin Ya thought for a moment and said: "I've roughly considered that, if our speculation is correct, we three are currently trapped by a Western Zhou spirit tomb, and the reason this spirit tomb has appeared may be because we brought a live goose from the three poultry; geese are spiritually aware and most alert, which startled the spirit tomb."

Pangzi grew impatient and said to Da Jin Ya: "Da Jin Ya, you've been going on and on with all this talk—what exactly are you trying to say?"

I told Pangzi not to interrupt Da Jin Ya's speech any further, to first listen to him finish speaking; even if we could really escape, there's no need to quarrel over this brief moment.

Da Jin Ya continued: "If we slaughter the two geese, removing livestock from this ancient tomb, perhaps this Western Zhou spirit tomb will disappear. But have you two considered what position we are in? This endless stone staircase is actually part of the spirit tomb, meaning this place shouldn't exist; it belongs to the already-destroyed Western Zhou ancient tomb. Before the spirit tomb appeared, this might have been earth and stone inside the mountain, or perhaps a cave."

Upon hearing this, I already understood Da Jin Ya's meaning: "You mean that if we slaughter the two geese here, and the spirit tomb suddenly disappears, we would end up outside the Tang dynasty tomb, thus being trapped again, even risking being buried alive."

Da Jin Ya nodded: "Exactly, that's what I mean. Moreover, have you considered that the spirit of the Western Zhou tomb seems not to be whole—it's only a part, and it overlaps with the Tang dynasty tomb. This stone staircase is the edge of the spirit tomb, with no clear boundary; perhaps its boundary is still in a chaotic state, and we cannot tell whether it is expanding or contracting. If we slaughter the two large white geese, then..."

After Da Jin Ya's reminder, I realized the danger and nearly fell into another even more terrifying and unfathomable predicament. I said to Da Jin Ya: "What Da Jin Ya said is right; we should first find a way back to the Tang tomb's spirit hall, determine a safe position near the spirit hall or the robber's cave entrance, and then kill these two troublesome large geese."

But saying it is easy, doing it is hard; this stone staircase repeats every twenty-three steps, over and over, seemingly endless. Once you set foot on this staircase, whether going up or down, you cannot reach the end.

Pangzi, Da Jin Ya and I discussed a few more points, but couldn't figure out a solution. We certainly can't just close our eyes and roll down; if we did, we'd likely end up like Pangzi described—rolling into a world where the outside has achieved the four modernizations, and we might never stop rolling.

This seemingly ordinary Western Zhou tomb staircase is actually harder to deal with than any black or white menace. If it were like encountering a zongzi while grave-robbing, at worst we could risk our lives fighting it to the death, seeing who lives or dies. But this staircase built from huge stone slabs cannot be hit or smashed; standing still does nothing, and walking down leads nowhere. A feeling of powerlessness fills my whole body—I realize this is true terror.

When we were at a loss, Da Jin Ya thought of a method, though we didn't know if it would work. In desperation we decided to give it a try: we three first needed to verify whether every twenty-three steps there is a step edge with a crescent-shaped notch. We walked down while counting, and counted five full segments.

After confirming it was correct, following the agreed plan, each of us held a candle. I first chose a step with a crescent-shaped notch, stood there, and lit my candle. Then Da Jin Ya and Pangzi continued walking down, using the visibility of my candle's light as the guide; the second person would then stop and light their candle, after which the third person continued walking down.

The premise of this plan is that the staircase cannot be too long; if it were only twenty-three steps, and while maintaining mutual visual distance we could exceed the length of those twenty-three steps, then we would have a chance to walk back to the spirit hall beneath the steps.

However, when we three tried it, we found the plan utterly unworkable—of course due to objective conditions. This endless ancient tomb staircase is not only infinitely looping; within its range it seems especially pitch‑black. This darkness is not the ordinary lack of light, but rather a heavy black mist that seems to envelop head and foot, front and back.

Even with a candle lit, we could see at most five or six large stone steps; beyond that distance, the candle's light is swallowed by the darkness. This darkness reminds me of the ghost caves of Xinjiang—I never expected that nightmare‑like darkness to appear again in the tomb of Dragon Ridge. Thinking of it, my body trembles uncontrollably, as if the companions who died in Xinjiang are hiding in a dark corner, watching my every move.

Because the visible range of candlelight is only six stone steps, even a wolf‑eye flashlight with a thirty‑five‑meter illumination range can only light up to the sixth step; beyond that it is total blackness—not only can it not illuminate the distance, but people far away cannot see the flashlight's or candle's light either.

Moreover, we only have three people, and with three people we can only explore outward about twelve steps this way, while this Western Zhou tomb staircase is at least twenty‑three steps long, so our approach yields no breakthrough.

Left with no choice, the three of us gathered together, lit a single candle, and turned off all flashlights. Pangzi took out his water flask and drank a few gulps, as if trying to fill his stomach with water, but the more he drank the hungrier he became, cursing repeatedly at this damned stone slab staircase.

I smelled something off—Pangzi's flask gave off a strong alcohol scent. I asked Pangzi: "Did you fill your flask with white liquor? You ***, you were supposed to bring water but you brought liquor instead; if you drink too much we'll have to carry you out."

Pangzi dodged the main issue, saying to me: "Lao Hu, isn't drinking a sip of wine now a way to bolster courage? Otherwise, how about this: let's keep to the previous arrangement—you and Da Jin Ya light a candle every six steps and wait, while I go all out and keep running down."

I rejected Pangzi's plan: "That kind of petty bravery is utterly useless; acting like that is just throwing away your life. Between us we must never lose contact; three of us together still have a hope of escape, but once we scatter, losing mutual reliance, each person's situation becomes doubly difficult. Back when I was in the troops, the most emphasized point in military training was never to scatter, because scattering means collapse and disintegration; unless there is absolutely no way out, we are not allowed to choose a scattered breakthrough."

Pangzi said to me: "Enough, you—have we really reached the point of having no way out? I think it's literally heaven's road blocked, earth's gate shut; besides, scattering isn't necessarily collapse and disintegration—that's preserving the revolutionary spark."

I snapped: "What kind of revolutionary spark can you preserve in this damned ghost place? At the first sign of trouble you scatter like birds and beasts—that's guerrilla tactics."

Da Jin Ya, fearing we two would start arguing, hurriedly mediated: "Sirs, sirs, this is not the time to discuss military theory; indeed we should not scatter to break through, and besides, to break through you need something to break through. We are now… sigh… forget it, I think we must under no circumstances end up alone."

The laws of physics seemed to fail on this Western Zhou tomb staircase; I sighed and thought to sit on the steps to rest, but as soon as I sat down something at my waist blocked me. I reached out and felt it—it was the long rope I carried at my waist. Delighted and surprised, I told Pangzi and Da Jin Ya: "Got it—how could I have forgotten the rope? Damn it, they say when dogs are desperate they jump the wall, when people are desperate they get clever; we're just getting more panicked and muddled, messing up our formation. The rope we carry adds up to several hundred meters; even if this twenty‑three‑step staircase were longer, it would be enough to wrap around it seven or eight times."

On this endless ancient tomb staircase, the long rope was literally a lifeline straw. Pangzi and Da Jin Ya were overjoyed, quickly lending a hand; using the candlelight, the three of us joined the long ropes we carried together with rope knots.

I examined the joined rope; it's definitely long enough. I told Pangzi and Da Jin Ya: "This length of rope is more than sufficient; we shouldn't linger here, let's move out at once."

Then Pangzi stood in place, lit a candle, and firmly tied the rope around his waist. Pangzi's position happened to be a step with a crescent‑shaped notch; using this specially marked step as a reference point would make movement easier. Whether it would work, I had no confidence, but success or failure would hinge on this last move—I was about to set out when Pangzi suddenly grabbed me.