The Lost Tomb : Extras & Special Stories

(Extra Story: 2016 Chinese New Year Special) Chapter 11: Fishing King

I was so shocked that I felt my breath get caught in my throat and I almost choked. I took a few steps forward and squatted down to look at the marks on the ground. They were about the same width as car tires.

"Is this a fucking snake?" I asked. "Did you see it just now?"

"I didn't get close, but it's not a snake. It's a fish." Poker-Face looked at the lake and added, "It's fast."

As Poker-Face spoke, he put his hand on his waist. He didn't have a knife and obviously wasn't used to it. I pulled out my prized Kukri and handed it to him. He took it and stuck the sheath on his hip according to his usual habit. I pulled out my other one and also stuck it on my waist, copying him.

I continued shining my miner's lamp on the lake and saw that there seemed to be a stone wall far to our left. As we walked along the salt beach, we saw that it really was a stone wall covered in salt clusters. It extended out from the shore to the lake like a flood control levee or some kind of path through the water.

"This is the fucking Sudi [1]." I said. All that was missing was the willow branches fluttering on both sides and the six bridges.

When I swung the miner's lamp around, we could see that the lake on the other side was obviously smaller than this one. This wasn't a perfect Taiji like we had originally thought, but the stone wall was really man-made. I didn't know which master from which dynasty had built it or why.

The current on the water's surface was turbulent and a lot of big waves seemed to come out of thin air, indicating that the water below was colliding chaotically. I went up to the water's edge and tried to scoop some up, but Poker-Face held me back. He pulled out his knife, dipped it in the water, let it drip on his skin a little, and then wiped it off.

"Salt water." He whispered.

I had received a college education, so I knew that there were few toxic minerals associated with salt mines. My stomachache earlier may have been a result of other minerals in the salt, but I wouldn't die. I reassured him and then licked it before quickly spitting it out. The water was really salty, but not too salty. There had to be a fresh water system rushing in from somewhere to neutralize some of the salinity.

I turned around and signaled in Fatty's direction, telling him that everything was alright and that he should hurry up. After a long time, I saw Fatty and the old man approaching, looking exhausted. Fatty pointed at me and scolded, "Mr. Naive, you son of a bitch! You shouldn't be called Wu Xie, you're stinking evil [2]! What were you running for? If this old man had an accident, I'd have to carry him alone. Luckily, he's quite tough."

I looked at Lei Benchang. He was exhausted, but when he saw the lake, he started trembling and walked towards it. I figured he never thought that he'd really see the lake one day.

He stood by the lake and then crouched down. Tears started flowing down his face as he bowed his head and cried silently.

I thought Fatty was coming over to get even with me, but when I started to make my apologies, he whispered to me, "The old man can't go on like this. He's too excited. He almost passed out just now. He can't run like this again. If something happens here, we'll be in big trouble."

I nodded and pulled out my canteen to let the old man have a few mouthfuls of water. By this time, we had been continuously exercising for more than ten hours and our bodies' fatigue had finally reached its peak after all that running. I figured it was time to deliver a fatal blow.

I sat down in front of the old man and turned my back to the lake. "This is it." I said to him. "We brought you here as promised."

He nodded. "Thank you."