Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
As I pondered these questions, Shunzi suddenly reached out to touch the silks beside him. I quickly pulled him back just in time; otherwise, he would have made contact with those strange jeweled silks, which surely weren't easy to handle.
Shunzi looked at me in confusion, his expression slightly displeased as he gestured, "What's wrong? I'm just looking."
He thought I was trying to stop him from taking the treasure. I urgently gestured back, "It's dangerous. Let's go back."
Shunzi still seemed a bit lost and gestured again, "What exactly is going on?"
I displayed an extreme sense of panic, waving my hands rapidly, "It's dangerous."
I didn't have time to explain anything further; time was limited. I needed to notify the others quickly, regardless of whether he wanted to come or not. I grabbed Shunzi's arm and led him toward Mai Lao and the others.
No matter what secrets lay behind Shunzi's back, even if he truly had hidden motives and was the puppet master behind it all, I couldn't let him walk into danger. After all this time at sea, he had helped me quite a bit. For both emotional and logical reasons, I had to ensure his safety.
I swiftly swam up to Mai Lao, who was observing a large treasure chest with several sailors. The chest was rectangular, over a meter long and half a meter high, filled with gold and similar treasures. On the left side were gold bars, and on the right were gold ingots. The golden color gleamed brightly without any signs of corrosion from seawater. Although gold typically doesn't corrode easily in seawater, after hundreds of years of immersion, it should show some signs of wear.
Yet the gold inside this chest shone brilliantly; it was almost blinding. No matter how I looked at it, something felt off. I had seen plenty of gold before; even if it hadn't been submerged in seawater, it wouldn't look like this. It was truly bizarre—this place was dangerous, and these treasures were likely the source of that danger.
Seeing my anxious expression, Mai Lao gestured for me to wait a moment. "We'll head back soon."
He probably thought I was worried about running out of oxygen. While our oxygen supply was indeed low, I wasn't panicking to that extent. It seemed that Mai Lao had also been captivated by the gold and jewels; after all, who wouldn't be tempted by wealth?
I hurriedly swam closer to him and gestured quickly, "It's very dangerous here; we need to leave now."
Mai Lao paused for a moment before gesturing back, "What did you find?"
I widened my eyes and gestured urgently, "We need to go!" Explaining anything underwater was difficult; gestures could only convey simple messages, so I couldn't explain everything to them.
As soon as Mai Lao saw my serious expression, he nodded and was about to call the other sailors back. But at that critical moment, I clearly saw a sailor in front of Mai Lao reach out to grab the gold bars inside the treasure chest.
Instinctively, I wanted to stop him, but I was too far away to make it in time. As soon as he touched the gold, I watched in horror as it instantly transformed into a cloud of black mist. This mist quickly engulfed his body, followed by a series of anguished cries. The sailor immediately became wracked with pain, his entire being shrouded in that terrifying black fog.
I was completely stunned by the scene before me, backing away in fear. What the hell was this? Although I had suspected that there was something wrong with the treasure, I never imagined it would be this severe.
Everything happened too suddenly. Mai Lao finally realized the gravity of the situation and hurriedly urged everyone to stay away from the treasure. The other sailors nearby were terrified and quickly moved aside. The sailor enveloped in black mist writhed in agony at the bottom of the sea.
At that moment, Shunzi surprisingly still wanted to rush in to save him. I stepped forward and grabbed him; this was not the time for bravado. He tried to break free from my grip, but I held on tightly. Shunzi shot me an angry glare, but I ignored him and pulled him behind me.
Several Underwater Lights continued to illuminate the sailor. I watched intently as the evil black mist surged through his body. Yet, he remained in his original position without any sign of change. After a few seconds, the black mist gradually began to dissipate, as if it were merging into his body.
Soon, his face turned black, and his body began to shrink and wither away. In less than a minute, this sailor transformed into a dried-up, charred skeleton. Just a minute ago, he had been a lively person; now he was nothing more than this.
Now I finally understood where those charred bones near the treasure came from—they were all victims who had succumbed to greed for these riches. No wonder this place was marked as forbidden; it was truly evil and terrifying. But how could such rare treasures turn into black mist so suddenly? I simply couldn't comprehend it.
Mai Lao and I exchanged glances. Although I couldn't see much fear in his eyes, it was clear he had some concerns. Shunzi and the other sailors floated dumbfounded in place; after witnessing what had just happened, it seemed that everyone present was still in shock. This horrifying scene would likely haunt them for a lifetime.
Mai Lao gestured for me to follow him over to take a closer look. I nodded, and we both cautiously approached with our spears in hand. The Underwater Light illuminated the dead sailor's body, and my heart sank at the sight; his death was too tragic. He stared ahead with lifeless eyes, unable to close them even in death. His charred bones looked as if they had been scorched by fire; perhaps he never even realized how he had perished.
Mai Lao extended his spear and gently poked at the dead sailor's arm. The charred limb instantly crumbled into pieces, floating around before quickly dissolving into the seawater.
This scene left me utterly astonished. What on earth had we encountered? How could things have turned out like this? Although I had faced many terrifying experiences before, this one truly opened my eyes. The treasure I had dreamed of obtaining now made me want to flee from it as quickly as possible.
With about ten minutes of oxygen left, I anxiously looked at Mai Lao and gestured to ask what we should do.
Mai Lao responded swiftly: "Retreat; we need to go back."
We began gathering everyone together. At that moment, Li Xin also returned. She had been slightly farther away during the incident and hadn’t seen everything clearly. She wanted to ask us what happened, but Mai Lao repeatedly instructed everyone to leave first—no matter what happened, we needed to get away from here first.
Just as we were about to leave in a hurry, I suddenly thought of someone—Jiao Ba hadn’t returned yet. Ever since we entered this forbidden area, I hadn’t seen him at all. He wouldn’t have stumbled upon any of these treasures, would he? If that were the case, it would be a disaster.
I quickly called out to Mai Lao and told him what was going on. Li Xin, standing nearby, gestured that "he should still be inside."
This guy was running out of time; the oxygen was running low. I signaled for Mai Lao and the others to head back while I went in to find Jiao Ba. However, Mai Lao insisted on coming with me and asked Li Xin and Shunzi to lead the other sailors back first.
In this urgent moment, I had no choice but to agree with Mai Lao's decision. Shunzi initially wanted to stay behind too, but I pushed him away. As he and Li Xin turned to lead the other sailors back, Mai Lao and I rushed deeper into the forbidden area.
We moved quickly, and before long, with the help of the lights, I spotted Jiao Ba holding an Underwater Light, looking around curiously. This guy—how could he still be playing around at such a critical moment?
I quickened my pace and when I reached him, I slapped him hard on the back. Jiao Ba turned around in surprise when he saw me.
I glared at him and gestured, "What are you dawdling for? Let’s go!"
At that moment, Mai Lao caught up with us and urged us to leave quickly. "Hurry up! There’s not much time left!"
But Jiao Ba didn’t seem ready to leave yet. He pointed the light upwards, signaling me to look up. What could possibly be up there at this point? Though reluctant, I complied.
Following the beam of light, I saw something hanging at the top of the forbidden area, about four or five meters high. It looked quite large but was shrouded in darkness, making it hard to see clearly. I quickly swam upwards to get a better look. When I finally reached the top, I could see what it was—it was a coffin…
Comment 0 Comment Count