Chapter 83: Tit for Tat

After arriving in the Qinling Mountains, I felt there were far too many coincidences, almost one after another, leading me step by step to this place. Several incidents were interlinked, making it truly bizarre. Although I myself sensed something odd, I still felt in my heart that Old Yang had no reason to deceive me. If he wanted to lure me here, he could have just said so directly. Given our friendship, I wouldn't have refused him. Even to take a step back, to bring me here, a simpler lie would have sufficed—why go through such a roundabout way?

Along the way, I hadn't really minded these things, but this time, the coincidences were truly excessive. In the long, winding mine tunnel, kicking a foot and discovering a hidden door—such a plot point is too cliché even for a novel. My doubts erupted at this moment.

When Old Yang heard me ask him that, he froze for a moment, seeming about to laugh, but seeing my expression, he realized I wasn't joking. Slowly, his face turned serious. He frowned, brushed my hand away, and asked, "Old Wu, since when have you become so suspicious?"

"Suspicious?" I sneered. "Let me ask you, this long tunnel—why did you have to stop right now? As soon as you stop, you find a secret passage. If you've never been here before, then your feet have eyes. Would anyone believe that?"

"What logic? This thing was already here. There's only one path. Anyone could have kicked it. What's there to doubt? Damn it, lightning can strike a person!" Old Yang was a bit annoyed. "You've stepped in dog shit before. Why don't you say that dog planned it?"

"Fine," I sneered. "Then get up. Let's keep walking forward. Forget this hidden door. We'll go out and head straight back to Xi'an. Will you do that?"

Old Yang was glaring at me with righteous indignation. When I said that, he suddenly froze, a flash of panic crossing his face, but he quickly recovered. After a pause, he said, "Why should I listen to you? I'm opening this door. If you want to leave, go yourself."

I shook my head. "Are you still playing dumb at this point? We're not children. Do you really think such lame words can fool me?"

As I spoke, I grabbed his clothes and stared at him fiercely. "Old Yang, listen carefully. I, Wu Xie, may not be a righteous gentleman, but I consider you my brother. I've never deceived you or done anything to wrong you. Whatever your reason for deceiving me, if you don't tell me the truth now, our decades of friendship are over."

As I said this, my heart ached terribly. I felt a very strong resistance. Whether at the Lu King's Palace or in the Underwater Tomb, every step I took, I found that I was being deceived every moment. Whether by plan or scheme, I was always the one left out. But compared to those people, I was indeed too green; being deceived was understandable. But I never expected that this time, with my best friend, I would still play the same role. Am I nothing more than a useful tool to others?

Old Yang looked at me silently, a look of dejection gradually appearing on his face. Finally, he sighed. "Why does it have to come to this, Old Wu? People... they change after all. Even I... For some things, not knowing is better than knowing. Though I deceived you, I truly regard you as a friend—my best friend..."

"Friend?" I looked at him. "You mean you deceived me because you considered me a friend? Deceiving me is your way of showing respect, right?"

I sarcastically taunted him, expecting that with his temper, he would definitely turn hostile. But to my surprise, he nodded very seriously and said, "Yes!"

"Bullshit!" I almost blurted out, nearly rushing to hit him. He immediately waved his hand and said, "No, no, don't be impulsive. That's not what I meant. I'm saying, if this matter succeeds, you too will have tremendous benefits—benefits a hundred times, ten thousand times greater than any other in the world!"

I held back from exploding for the moment, snorted, and asked him through gritted teeth, "Fine, then tell me, what kind of benefits?"

Old Yang shook his head, looking as if he wanted to say something but held back. "I... I can't tell you. If I tell you, you definitely won't follow me anymore. Because this matter is rather... strange. Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe it. I lured you here... precisely because of these concerns."

I gave a dry laugh and glared at him fiercely. "How do you know I won't believe it? I believe in zombies now. What else can't I believe?"

"That's different. You had no choice but to believe in zombies. This matter is not the same," Old Yang retorted, staring back without backing down. "First of all, you don't believe in 'yin people'. Without that premise, nothing I say will make sense."

I had thought he would come up with some special reason, but instead he brought up such ridiculous two words. I couldn't help shouting, "Get real! What is a 'yin person'? A yin person is someone who works for King Yan. If I believe in yin people, then I have to believe in King Yan, and that leads to believing in a lot of things. Do you want me to believe in Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and Black and White Impermanence too?"

"I don't know, but yin people do exist. On this point, I firmly believe," Old Yang said, his eyes blazing as he looked at me.

I sneered. "You say so certainly. Have you seen a yin person?"

At that moment, I no longer wanted to argue with Old Yang. Things like yin people were too far from reality. Whenever I thought of ghosts having their own social structure, it felt like reading a Wesley novel—completely unacceptable.

I thought that with this question, he would have nothing to say and I could end the argument early. But Old Yang nodded firmly and said, "Yes! I have seen a yin person!" I was stunned, then thought of what he had said before, and shook my head. "Sorry, if you're talking about your cousin, he's just a madman. I don't believe what a madman says."

Old Yang waved his hand. "No, not my cousin. Ac... actually, in this matter, I told a big lie."

I snorted, thinking to myself, who knows if what you're saying now is true?

He continued, "Back then, my cousin didn't go into the mountains with me at all. He was actually a distant relative who had never done this line of work. He thought I was joking at first, but when he saw I was serious, he didn't push it. I went in with some other guys I met on the way, a group of locals. There were twenty of us total. That road was extremely dangerous. Many died along the way. Finally, we hit a rockfall, and almost everyone was buried. I was buried in a pile of rocks and dirt, with a rock pressing on my shoulder. I couldn't get out no matter what. I watched as others were crushed into pulp by falling rocks. I was so scared I almost peed my pants. Just then, the ground I was lying on collapsed entirely. Below was the ancient tomb I mentioned."

When I heard this, a sudden flash of insight struck me. "Then... what about that copper rod you mentioned? Since your cousin didn't go... Could it be..."

Old Yang rubbed his face and nodded. "Yes, the cousin I talked about was actually me. Now you know why I believe in yin people so much—because I am one myself..."

I was stunned at first, unable to react for a full minute. Then I couldn't help laughing. "You? A yin person? Then you can see ghosts?"

"No, I can't see them. It's a feeling. You wouldn't understand, but I really can sense... some things."

I asked with a laugh, "Didn't your cousin write you a letter? What about that? Another lie?"

"That letter was indeed not written by my cousin. But only the first few lines were added by me; I don't know about the rest. I really didn't deceive you about that."

I shook my head, deciding never to believe him again. "Let's put these things aside for now. What the hell did you bring me here for? If you wanted to deceive me, you could have made up a story from the start to trap me. Why go through so much trouble?"

Old Yang suddenly fell silent, looking at the hidden door on the ground. "This... I can't say. Once you go down inside, you'll know..."

"Then what's under this hidden door?" I asked him. "Have you been here before?"

"Yes," he said, feeling in his pocket and pulling out

I vaguely felt something else, as if his "relatively" wasn't auspicious; that is to say, down there, there should be more tricks at play. I'm afraid it's not something good waiting.

His cigarette was still soaking wet and wouldn't light, so he had to pick off the wet parts, then light the remaining portion and take a deep drag.

He blew a few smoke rings and looked at me: "So? I've basically laid all my cards on the table. At this point, I dare say that once you get to that place, you'll definitely thank me for taking you. Damn it, even if we're not best buddies, just temporary partners, I don't think you have any reason not to go. But if you don't want to go, I won't force you. We'll go back to Xi'an, and I'll come again later. The road down there can't be traveled alone, otherwise I would have come by myself."

I really hesitated. It wasn't that I was a coward; I was afraid that this guy's words were just damn nonsense again, and then I'd be a complete fool. I sighed, and while I was pondering, a hoarse voice suddenly said: "No need to consider it any further. We've already considered it for you."

I was startled by this sudden sound. Just as I was about to turn around, something ice-cold pressed against the back of my head.