The Lost Tomb Vol. 1

Chapter 5: Shadow in the Water

"Hey, young master, don't scare me like that. I may be big but I'm most afraid of things that can't be explained," Da Kui said. "If you say it's a bunch of horse thieves, then that's no problem. But you can't even say what this thing is. Look, my legs have gone soft."

There's no way we can stay here, I thought to myself. Plus, an uncomfortable premonition kept popping into my head from time to time. I didn't know if it was the psychological effect of this depressing cave or what, but I said to the group, "It doesn't matter what it is. The most important thing right now is to get out quickly. We're going against the current now, but since we have to go back, it should definitely be faster than when we came in. I think we've only been in this place less than ten minutes so getting out definitely shouldn't be a problem."

"Yes, yes, Little Master Three is right," Da Kui hurriedly agreed. "Master Three, just say the word. If worst comes to worst and we have to go over the mountain when we get out, I'll carry everything. I'm definitely strong enough. It won't make much of a difference if we delay the work a day or two, right? We can dig our grave robbers' tunnel faster and make up for the lost time, yeah?"

Uncle Three looked at Poker-Face again and asked, "Little Brother(1), what do you think?"

"I'm afraid it's too late to go out now," Poker-Face said indifferently. "Since those two people took us in here, they must be quite certain that we can't get out."

"If we can't get out, then are we supposed to wait here until we die of old age?" Pan Zi looked at him, but Poker-Face just glanced at him before turning his head and closing his eyes to rest. Pan Zi saw that he was being ignored and said to Uncle Three, "I think we can't go forward. Look at Ah Kui, he must be scared to death. We should go back. The way in here wasn't that complicated, so maybe we can find our way out. If we really meet something strange, we'll think of something!"

Uncle Three nodded, "It's the only way." Then he started issuing orders to Pan Zi, "Put a miner's lamp in both the front and the back of the boats and take out those shotguns. Ah Kui and I will use the pole to steer the boats, Pan Zi and Wu Xie will keep an eye on the back, and Little Brother will be up front giving me directions."

We all agreed. Pan Zi took out another miner's lamp, lit it, and then hung it up behind us. The ox on the second boat suddenly cried out when the light hit it, which caused Pan Zi to start cursing, "Master Three, we have to drive this cow into the water. Otherwise, the poles won't be able to steer the boat."

Since the miner's lamp had been illuminating the front just now, we didn't pay any attention to what was behind us and ended up forgetting all about the boat we were pulling. Now, we couldn't help but feel dumbstruck. It seemed that these two old thieves had really considered everything thoroughly. The height of this cave prevented the ox from standing up, let alone driving it into the water. Plus, the weight of our equipment, the cart, and the ox meant that the other boat had already taken on a lot of water. If any of us climbed onto the second boat, not only would we be unable to steer it with the poles, but it may also sink. In this way, the towed boat behind us was like a plug, blocking the way out.

At this time, I vaguely heard that strange sound coming from the depths of the cave again, but it was obviously much closer than before. The sound, like the whispering of countless little demons, made everyone feel extremely uncomfortable. We all fell silent, and the atmosphere became very strange for a while. Then, all of my attention was suddenly attracted by the sound. I tried to come to my senses several times, but I was immediately pulled back in again. Not good! My heart screamed. There's something strange about this sound!

Although I knew it, I couldn't seem to come back to my senses at all and my head was filled with the sound for a while. Then, someone kicked me hard and I lost my balance and fell into the water.