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墨書 Inktalez
"Number? No... how can there be numbers on a tombstone? This is really hard to understand. Please remember our website:." I was puzzled; even if these were people from the Ming Dynasty, they wouldn't use numbers after death, would they? It seemed ridiculous.
Jiao Ba chuckled and said, "Brother Yi, didn't you mention before that everyone here might have died in a battle, right?"
"Yeah, so what? What does that have to do with this?" I didn't quite grasp his point.
"Actually, if it weren't for your reminder, I wouldn't have thought of it either. If the people buried here died because of war, then the numbers on the tombstones are definitely identifiers..."
"I get it now. A large number of deaths means they couldn't remember names anymore, so they had to use numbers instead. The most likely scenario is that Mysterious Old Man was in a hurry due to time constraints or the chaos at the time. They just numbered them according to the order of burial and left it at that, which is why names were replaced with traditional Chinese numerals." Before Jiao Ba could finish his sentence, Changshan decisively chimed in.
"Exactly. Brother Changshan is right; it should be like that. The Tomb Mound here, whether it's the tombstones or the distance between them, all seem too rushed. They are crammed together without regard for seniority, which is why I deduced this." Jiao Ba's tone was steady; he seemed quite confident.
"Hearing you say that makes some sense." Jiao Ba's analysis was reasonable, but we still lacked sufficient evidence to prove it.
"Then we can only wait until we open a coffin to verify."
After Jiao Ba finished speaking, he stood up and began stomping around the area where I had previously stepped and caused a collapse. With each stomp, more soil gave way with a 'whoosh' sound. Jiao Ba continued to stomp forcefully along the edges, and soon enough, the surrounding soil collapsed inward, leaving the center exposed.
"This should be enough; once we dig out the middle, we should be able to see the coffin," Jiao Ba said as he stopped to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
"Let me give it a try first." Changshan stepped over the collapsed area, drew out his sharp knife, and began digging vigorously.
"Is this really going to work, Lao Ba? Digging like this will wear us out!" Changshan had been digging for a while but had only managed to create a small pit. If the coffin was buried too deep, we would surely exhaust ourselves.
"Don't worry, Loyalty and Righteousness," Changshan said while digging, his hands moving quickly as if he were a professional. "The soil is loose; we won't need much effort to break through. With an hour's time, I think we'll be done."
"Let's go, Brother Yi. If the three of us work together, we can finish faster," Jiao Ba added before joining in the digging.
I couldn't just stand by and watch. I pulled out my Diving Knife and was about to step forward when suddenly, the sky erupted with thunder and lightning. Bolts of lightning struck one after another, and the tremendous Thunder shook the entire island as if the God of Thunder was furious.
"Damn it, it's going to rain! We should get out of here!" I shouted. This crazy weather really came out of nowhere.
Jiao Ba looked up and said, "Hold on, Brother Yi. Something feels off. Look at that lightning."
It was then that I noticed the lightning striking erratically around us. The flashes danced like golden serpents in the dark clouds, and the sheer intensity made it hard to look directly at them.
The sky was filled with countless bolts of lightning crashing down, almost surrounding the entire island. It was an incredibly spectacular sight, but what was most alarming was that most of these strikes were hitting the Cemetery.
The booming Thunder sounded terrifying, as if the island could explode at any moment, like the very earth was collapsing beneath us. All of this happened in just a few seconds—too fast and without any warning.
Around us, the Tomb Mounds were peppered with sparks; one bolt struck a mound and split it in half. Jiao Ba, Changshan, and I were left dumbfounded—there was nowhere to run.
The entire Cemetery was engulfed in lightning as if it were caught in a massive magnetic field. The crackling sounds echoed chaotically, and the blinding light made it impossible to see anyone nearby; everything around us was pure white—a dazzling white.
"What the hell is going on? When has there ever been this much lightning? Did God have too much to drink?" This was my first time witnessing such a scene where countless bolts fell simultaneously; it was utterly astonishing. One misstep, and we could easily perish here.
"We might be in serious trouble, Brother Yi. We need to find shelter," Jiao Ba shouted over the deafening Thunder that threatened to burst our eardrums.
"Where are we supposed to hide? Look around! Besides the lightning, I can't even see a damn path! We're done for!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, my mind racing with panic as I struggled to figure out what to do next.
“Loyalty and Righteousness, Jiao Ba, follow me, we need to hide,” Changshan shouted loudly to us. He then reached out and grabbed us, and Jiao Ba and I crawled along behind him.
We crawled to the side of a Tomb Mound, huddling closely together. The lightning and thunder continued unabated. I could only silently pray in my heart, wondering how Mai Lao and Jenny were faring. I hoped they could avoid the storm in time and remain safe.
Once the lightning and thunder ceased, I thought everything was over. But to my surprise, the wind began to pick up even more. The entire Cemetery was filled with flying sand and stones, like a hungry beast letting out a piercing scream.
The scene was endless; there was no sky or earth, just dust swirling around us. We could see nothing, as the gale swept over all life on the small island.
The wind and sand made it impossible for us to open our eyes. Several times, Jiao Ba was nearly blown off his feet. The three of us clung to each other with all our strength to resist the onslaught of the fierce wind.
After a minute or two of relentless gusts, suddenly, torrential rain began to pour down alongside the wind. The Heavy Rain crashed down like ocean waves, one after another, making it hard for me to lift my head. The raindrops hitting me felt like small stones, painfully pelting my body.
When the rain hit the ground, it created a thick mist that enveloped the entire Cemetery. The Heavy Rain even knocked over tombstones, flooding the Cemetery until it was almost like a river.
We crouched on the ground with our hands over our heads like shrimp, leaning against the Tomb Mound behind us. “My God, what kind of rain is this? It’s absolutely deadly! How can it be so heavy?” I exclaimed.
“I don’t know either! This is my first time experiencing something like this; this rain is as fierce as ocean waves!” Jiao Ba shouted back, drenched and disheveled.
“We might be in for some trouble; we need to be careful,” Changshan said as he grabbed my arm and yelled...
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