Chapter 72

Main Text Chapter Seventy-three: Gold-touching Talisman

Just as we were about to catch up to Da Jin Ya, who had been dragged away by the human-faced spider 'Black-tooth Spider', we didn't expect that our only light source—Pangzi's 'Wolf Eye' flashlight—would run out of battery at this moment.

Everything around instantly became pitch black, I knew clearly that if we delayed even a little, Da Jin Ya would be dragged deep into the spider's nest, beyond rescue, that miserable state of being numbed by toxin, melted, and slowly sucked dry was like the agony of being in Avīci Hell……

I didn't think twice, I tore off my own clothes, the back collar had been worn thin on the ground, I casually pulled a few times and ripped it open, in a couple of motions I took off the sleeves, took the water bottle with half a bottle of wine from Pangzi's hand, splashed it randomly on the clothes, lit them with a lighter. I was wearing the 78-style uniform; this kind of clothing tends to stick to the skin when burned, so the troops still issued the 65-style and its improved version during combat; anyone who wanted could buy brand-new ones in Beijing.

Because we needed to burrow into the thief's tunnel, we each deliberately found a few sturdy garments; at the time I had put this uniform on, unexpectedly it came in handy now—I set the clothes on fire, they quickly blazed, I worried the melting fabric would burn my hands, so I didn't hesitate, I flung this bundle of clothing like a fireball forward.

By the flickering firelight, I saw Da Jin Ya being dragged into a triangular hole; the fire was about to die out, I made out the direction, and while running forward with Pangzi, I took off my clothes, set everything that could burn alight and threw them out to illuminate.

Just as Da Jin Ya was about to be hauled backwards into the triangular opening, I sprinted two steps and lunged, gripping his arm tightly and pulling him back; Pangzi arrived shortly after, cutting the spider silk wrapped around Da Jin Ya—at this point Da Jin Ya was only about two meters away from being pulled into that triangular cavern.

Looking at Da Jin Ya again, he had been knocked against the cave stones until his nose was bruised and his face swollen, his body covered in blood stains, yet he still retained his consciousness—truly a fortunate thing amidst misfortune.

I thought this cave was most likely the spider's lair, we needed to leave quickly to avoid further attack; Pangzi's and my clothes were already mostly burned off, burning more would leave us bare-assed, and we had been dragged who knows how far by the spider in the cave, losing all sense of direction, but for now we couldn't worry about that—first we'd feel our way in the dark and flee far off before figuring anything out.

I was just about to lift Da Jin Ya with Pangzi when, before I could exert myself, several strands of spider silk shot out from the opposite triangular opening; this silk's tip resembled an Indian throwing disc, sticking to the body and refusing to shake off, and it was extremely fast—we three couldn't dodge in time and all got stuck; Pangzi tried to block with his entrenching shovel, but the shovel too got tangled in the silk, he couldn't hold onto it, the shovel slipped from his hand and fell to the ground; he wanted to bend down to pick it up, but his body was stuck and he couldn't move.

If we had been wearing clothes it would have been somewhat better, but being naked and getting stuck with spider silk, we couldn't free ourselves at all; the three of us clung together, being slowly dragged into that triangular opening.

I guessed correctly—that cave was definitely the lair of the human-faced spider 'Black-tooth Spider'; I don't know how many there are inside, whether one large one or several half-grown ones, but no matter how many human-faced spiders there are, if we get dragged into the cave, there's no good outcome.

The thick, sticky spider silk kept tightening, seven or eight strands twisting together into a rope, while the 'Black-tooth Spider' inside the cave kept spraying silk outward—it looked like we'd be wrapped up like a human zongzi before even entering the cave.

In my panic I remembered I still held a lighter in my hand, I quickly struck the flint and used the lighter's flame to burn the spider silk clinging to my body; thank heavens, it could be said our lives weren't meant to end yet—fortunately the silk of this 'Black-tooth Spider' lacks the fire resistance of ordinary spider silk, and in an instant it burned through two or three strands; although my body was still coated with gooey silk, I had already broken free of the silk's pulling force.

In just a few seconds, Da Jin Ya and Pangzi were pulled another meter toward the opening; if I continued to use the lighter to cut the spider silk to save them, I'd probably only have time to save one person, and not be able to save the other.

Thinking quickly, I pulled down Da Jin Ya's pants—his belt had already been torn off during our chase, the pants were worn thin enough to expose his buttocks, and a tug pulled down half of them.

I stuffed his pants into the hole to block it, then lit the pants with the lighter, hoping to burn through the thick bundle of spider silk; unexpectedly, as soon as a few sparks appeared from the pants, the entire triangular opening ignited at once, and the fire grew larger and stronger the more it burned.

In an instant the whole cavern was lit up by the flames, the spider silk spraying from the opening was all burned away; I hurriedly pulled Da Jin Ya and Pangzi backward, and each of us shook off the spider silk clinging to our bodies.

At this point it seemed half the cavern had been set ablaze, the roaring fire made crackling noises, and only then did I see clearly that the triangular cavern was actually a man-made structure, built entirely of wood; perhaps to keep the timber sturdy, they had mixed pine resin and animal fat and smeared it on the wood.

This wooden structure was about the size of seven or eight ordinary houses; I don't know what it was built for here, but all around the wooden construction lay corpses drained dry by the 'Black-tooth Spider'—human and various animal remains, from which the spider had sucked out all bodily moisture, equivalent to dehydrating the corpses; although the bones were wrapped in the spider's silk, one could still see the painful, twisted expressions on their faces, all preserving the miserable state of being slowly tortured to death in life.

As the wood burned and collapsed, all that could be seen in the fire were three huge fireballs twisting and struggling; after a while they gradually stilled, unknown whether they had been burned to death or crushed by falling wood and stone, slowly turning into charcoal.

Pangzi, Da Jin Ya and I were still shaken, wanting to run far away, but our feet kept moving involuntarily, so we just sat down on the spot; seeing this great blaze, we couldn't help but exchange horrified glances—what kind of place is this wooden-and-stone structure? How did the 'Black-tooth Spider' make this its lair?

Pangzi suddenly pointed at the fire and said to me and Da Jin Ya, 'Lao Hu, Lao Jin, you two look over there—a human face.'

I and Da Jin Ya looked where Pangzi indicated, and indeed a huge human face appeared in the flames, several times larger than the face pattern on the back of the 'Black-tooth Spider', and even larger than the face carved on the stone coffin.

This face in the fire, illuminated by the flames, made its already bizarre expression take on a few more shades of mystery; this giant face lay at the center of the structure, and as the surroundings burned and collapsed, it was revealed to be a huge bronze cauldron, its body cast with a strange human face.

Pangzi asked me, 'Lao Hu, is this also part of that Donkey Day Ghost Tomb?'

I shook my head and told Pangzi, 'Probably not; perhaps ancient people regarded this ruthless human-faced spider as a deity's incarnation and worshipped it, deliberately building this temple at its lair to make offerings—back then they treated people as less than human, who knows how many slaves they gave as sacrificial offerings to these spiders. Today we've destroyed their lair, which counts as doing heaven's work.'

That Western Zhou ghost tomb most likely bears some connection to this altar offering the human-faced cauldron.

It's possible that after that Western Zhou ancient tomb was destroyed, because this place lies deep in the cave and is extremely concealed, it was preserved. But all this has become historical dust; likely only those who study Western Zhou chronology would know a thing or two about it.

I said to Pangzi, 'Let's not talk about these useless matters now—are you hurt? Let's two of us hoist Da Jin Ya onto our backs and get out of here fast; there might still be surviving Black-tooth Spiders, and if they attack, we're down to just our underwear now and can't defend ourselves.'

Pangzi said, 'It'd be a shame to leave just like that—wait till the fire dies down, then figure out how to move that bronze cauldron out; if we can haul it back to Beijing, it could be worth several buildings.' After saying that he gave Da Jin Ya a push: 'Old Jin, how are you? Feeling better?'

Da Jin Ya, startled and frightened, had also been knocked by rocks a few times, staring blankly at the fire; after Pangzi shoved him twice, he finally came to and said, 'Ah... also, Brother Pang, Brother Hu, I never expected us three brothers to meet again… in the netherworld… This… this place, where is it? Have we already crossed the Bridge of Helplessness?'

Pangzi said to Da Jin Ya, 'You're dazed? You're not dead yet—if you can't die, you'll just have to keep suffering; but I've got good news, we've struck it rich—there's a bronze human-faced cauldron in that temple ahead… Oh dear, will this thing not get burnt to a crisp?' Having said that, he stood up and walked over to take a closer look.

I lay on the ground and shouted at Pangzi, 'Can't you settle down for a moment? We don't even have clothes now, bare-assed and you're still worrying about that pile of scrap copper and iron.'

Pangzi's eyes lit up, he ignored my words, but the fire was intensely hot; after taking a few steps forward he couldn't bear the scorching air, so he retreated, stepped with one foot on a corpse drained by the 'Black-tooth Spider', lost his footing, fell flat, and flung himself onto that dry corpse.

Who knows how long that dry corpse has been dead, its mouth a black hole, its eyes nothing but two dark pits; Pangzi flung himself onto the corpse, ending up face-to-face with it—though he was bold, he still got a fright, letting out a shout, bracing his hands on the corpse and trying to struggle up.

Pangzi, flustered, tried to push the desiccated corpse aside, but unintentionally pulled something off its neck; feeling something extra in his hand, he lifted it to examine and saw that it resembled an animal's claw, glittering in the firelight, jet-black and translucent, with a ring of gold thread inlaid at the base. Pangzi turned his head and said to me, "Lao Hu, do you think this is a grave‑robber's talisman?" After saying that, he felt around on the corpse again: "Ah, there's still a big bundle of good stuff…"