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墨書 Inktalez
The tense atmosphere wrapped around us like a vine, and the cold laughter felt like ice cubes pressed against our skin, sending a chill straight to our hearts.
In that fleeting moment, I thought I heard someone calling my name, but when I strained to listen, the voice vanished.
At that moment, Chen San seemed to have lost his earlier composure, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Wang Wei looked on anxiously, frequently reminding Chen San to protect Sarira.
I tried to steady my breathing. I knew that the more tense the situation became, the calmer I needed to be. Holding onto the Wooden Box, I recalled what Ke'er had said to me.
I was also curious about what was hidden inside this Wooden Box that so many were interested in it.
The cold laughter was fleeting; it laughed once and then disappeared. The Dead Monk did not appear either.
I asked Wang Wei, "Can you still find a way out?"
Wang Wei's face looked as if he had just swallowed bitter melon juice—very unpleasant. He replied, "I can't remember the way anymore."
"Hey, do you know?" I called out to Chen San.
If it weren't for the Dead Monk trying to draw my attention away, giving him a Relic wouldn't have been an issue. However, we overlooked the fact that this Relic was burned out of the monk's body; how could he want it back?
The passages on both sides of the tomb were pitch black; beyond the light, nothing was visible. The uneven walls were painful against my back when I leaned against them.
We couldn't just sit and wait for doom. I asked, "Which way should we go?"
Although this tomb path resembled a maze, it couldn't be completely blocked off, leaving us in despair. There had to be a way forward; whether we could actually escape was another question.
We exchanged glances among the three of us.
"Chen San is definitely hiding something," I thought, recalling how familiar he had seemed before, now replaced by a hint of panic.
After I spoke, Wang Wei remained silent, and Chen San said, "Keep moving forward."
His breathing was rapid, the sound echoing clearly in the stillness of our surroundings. Even if we couldn't find a way out, Chen San shouldn't be this tense. Just moments ago, he had appeared so composed; the contrast was striking.
Unable to hold back, I called out to him, "Are you scared?"
Our eyes met, and I expected Chen San to make an excuse or explain why he was afraid. To my surprise, he simply replied, "I am scared."
His admission left me momentarily speechless.
Wang Wei chimed in, "That monk is strange. Look at him; even in that state, he can still move. He must have practiced some sort of dark magic."
I nodded in agreement.
As we walked through the damp and cold tomb passageway, the pressure from the monk weighed heavily on us. Each step felt laborious.
A minute passed before Chen San said, "It's no use; we can't get out."
I paused in silence before asking him, "Have you seen this monk before? You're scared of him. Maybe you know the way out, but your fear and anxiety are causing you to make mistakes."
Chen San, who had been looking down, suddenly lifted his gaze to meet mine for a few seconds before lowering it again.
I asked another question, but he remained silent.
Damn it, at that moment Chen San seemed utterly terrified of the monk. Wang Wei noticed too and bluntly addressed him with a tone that brooked no argument: "Young man, do you have any ambition? If he doesn't want to leave, let him wait here to die. We're finding a way out. Hey, give us the Sarira."
With that, Wang Wei stepped in front of Chen San, intending to take the Relic for himself. I wanted it too.
I had to get out; the Relic represented my hope—my hope for the Revival Pearl. But Chen San handed the Relic over to Wang Wei without keeping a single piece for himself.
Wang Wei held the Yellow Cloth wrapped around the Relic and said, "I, Wang Wei, am a person of my word. We each take one Relic; I will give you one now."
As soon as Wang Wei finished speaking, Chen San immediately replied, "I don't want it. This thing is of no use to me; I'm just helping Zhang Dexin get one."
Honestly, anyone who knew the function of the Relic would not remain indifferent. Chen San's outright refusal made me think that perhaps the missing Relic had actually been taken by him.
Since Chen San didn't want it, Wang Wei said, "After we go out, I'll hand over the Relic to Zhang Dexin." Then Wang Wei called me to continue searching for an exit.
We had been down here for a while, and the flashlight's beam was growing dim.
I finally asked Chen San, "Since you know there are monks down here, why did you come down?"
Chen San said I wouldn't understand.
I chose not to say anything more and called out to Wang Wei to keep moving forward.
But after just a few steps, Chen San called out to us. "I know where the exit is," he said, his expression pained.
Wang Wei asked, "Why should we believe you?"
Chen San replied, "I'm the only one who went in and came out alive back then."
A silence filled the air; it was eerie. The fact that only Chen San had come out alive from those who entered years ago was unsettling. However, I overlooked a detail at that moment.
Back then, Wang Wei mentioned that there were age qualifications to be there, and Chen San was about the same age as me. Hearing him say "back then" felt quite strange.
We were talking about something that happened at least ten years ago. Could it be that Chen San entered when he was only ten years old?
At that moment, I didn't focus on those details. Hearing Chen San say there was an exit naturally made me believe him.
"Where is the exit?" I asked.
"The way out is in that tomb we just passed," he said. As soon as he finished speaking, a chill swept over us. When I had fled earlier, I had glanced back at the Dead Monk, who had not moved to pursue us.
However, the cold laughter we had just heard might indicate that the monk was indeed coming after us.
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold; the most dangerous place can often be the safest. Wang Wei suddenly asked me, "Saning, do you believe that?"
I countered his question with the same one.
Because if I were to die, perhaps my soul would still linger on, but if Wang Wei died, he would be completely Soul Shattered and cease to exist.
So I couldn't make that decision for him.
Wang Wei fell silent for a moment before saying, "Saning, if you believe me, then I'll believe."
I looked at Wang Wei, and to be honest, I felt a bit touched. I knew that he might not be believing in me but rather in my eyes.
And this disaster could perhaps be quelled if I simply handed over my eyes.
But that was unrealistic.
I turned to Chen San and asked, "Do you know the way back?"
Chen San shook his head. Just as Wang Wei was about to call out Chen San for being overly confident, Chen San said something strange: as long as we thought about going back, we could return; if we didn't believe it, we should just keep walking forward.
I carefully mulled over Chen San's words and began to understand. This was merely a game of waiting for the rabbit to come to the tree stump; the Dead Monk was waiting for us in the tomb because he knew we would return.
I also believed that Chen San must have paid some price to get out all those years ago. So when we eventually left, we would surely have to pay a price as well.
Thinking this over, I called out to Chen San.
He glanced at me, a shadow passing over his eyes. I got straight to the point and asked, "What price?"
Chen San never expected I would ask like this.
However, as soon as I finished speaking, that chilling, hair-raising laugh echoed again.
We all halted in our tracks. I could feel the tomb passage shifting; after the change, we would follow it to the burial chamber. Perhaps our earlier escape had merely circled around the chamber, which is why we could hear that eerie laughter so clearly.
Chen San took a deep breath, his face contorting into a grimace once more. His handsome, fair complexion suddenly became marred by a web of crimson veins.
I saw it clearly, while Wang Wei remained oblivious to everything.
This time, I didn’t ask him what he intended to do.
Yet those veins appeared quickly and vanished just as fast. Chen San fell silent for a moment before saying, “The cost is none of your concern; I have my ways.”
Once we entered the burial chamber, my eyes became the price.
Could it be that Chen San had something more enticing to Dead Monk than my eyes?
Back then, what price had Chen San paid for what he referred to as "back then"?
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