Chapter 91: Opening the Tomb, Human-Faced Moss

This man was either a hopeless scatterbrain or a peerless expert. Inwardly, Sui Yi thought that the Ninth Miss had quite a few capable people around her. Besides, there were four more vehicles behind them.

“Don’t let your guard down. Even with skills like Sui Yi’s, she still couldn’t do anything about that bizarre attacker. I’m afraid the dirty things in the ancient tomb won’t be weak either...” Though the Ninth Miss was sharp-tongued, she did in fact acknowledge his abilities, so her attitude was rather serious. As she spoke, her face darkened slightly.

“If only we’d known sooner, we should have upgraded our gear and prepared more thoroughly. Unfortunately, those people have already made their move.”

“Yes, those bastards are truly shameless. To think they would seize the chance to act when we were in trouble. I’m sure they found a way in too.”

Brother Ma gritted his teeth and exchanged a look with Feng Sha, coldness flashing in both their eyes.

“So that’s why you were in such a hurry to act?” Though Sui Yi had guessed some of it last night, she did not know which faction they belonged to. She assumed they were at least some force from the provincial capital.

The Ninth Miss glanced at her. “At first I thought you refused to go in with us because it was your ancestral tomb. But now that someone has no shame and dug into your family grave ahead of us, then it can’t be blamed on us...”

Miss, isn’t that just pot calling the kettle black?

Sui Yi knew these people were still hiding something from her, but she did not press the matter.

She only looked out the window.

She was so familiar with this road...

Yet suddenly, she felt that perhaps this would be her last time coming back.

For some reason, a desolate feeling rose in her heart.

--------

On the small path outside the village.

Five off-road vehicles were parked behind them. One after another, the people got out.

Sui Yi stepped down and counted. Twenty in all, exactly. Several of them carried identical backpacks, while others traveled light, their waists bulging with what looked like firearms.

While hurriedly packing their gear, these people greeted the Ninth Miss as she got out of the car.

They all called her the Ninth Miss.

“Is that your bag? Are you going on an outing?” The Ninth Miss stared at the simple backpack slung across Sui Yi’s back, thinking that aside from a few sanitary pads, what else could it possibly hold?

Her words were quite rude, but Sui Yi was used to it by now. She glanced at her and gave a casual hum.

Could you be any more perfunctory?

“...”

The Ninth Miss was annoyed once again.

This place was remote, and they could cut in through the side path, though it was a bit troublesome and required crossing reed beds and thickets...

The reason they had not stopped at the village entrance was that on previous occasions the villagers had beaten them there with brooms.

Once they passed that road, they would be discovered by the villagers.

Quite troublesome indeed.

Very soon, all twenty were ready. Sui Yi also noticed the tall youth she had seen at the martial hall that day. Well, he looked more like a young man.

His name was Zheng Hai.

Everyone else called him Ah Hai.

In terms of combat strength, Ah Hai, Feng Sha, Brother Ma, and another man named Zhang Lin were the main force. They were all skilled with blades, spears, and more. The others included scouts adept at probing ahead, technical specialists working with machines, and several polite, doctor-like men.

Apart from the three doctors, the rest all looked quite agile.

All things considered, this twenty-man team was very well equipped.

“Let’s go.”

The group immediately entered the path in file, front and back.

At this moment, it was about eight in the morning.

Yet a crow perched in the branches.

It cawed twice, then flapped up into the air, leaving a few black feathers drifting down on the wind, sharp as if they had cut through the sky.

Sui Yi turned her head and glanced at it, feeling a faint chill in her heart.

——————

Originally, the Ninth Miss had looked down on Sui Yi’s tiny backpack. However, after they were beset by swarms of black, buzzing mosquitoes in the grass and undergrowth, she yielded. Docilely, she started using the medicated oil Sui Yi had brought, while casting a frosty glare at her subordinates.

Damn it, they all claimed to be professionals—had none of them expected there would be so many mosquitoes?

“Miss, this place really is strange. It’s already this month, so why are there still so many mosquitoes...”

The climate around Nanxun usually meant mosquitoes were gone by August. Yet here, even in September, there were still so many of them. It was bizarre beyond belief.

“Exactly, and they’re all so big!”

The professionals felt aggrieved. One even pointed at a mosquito flying back and forth in front of him. Damn it, it was as big as a horsefly.

“It wasn’t like this before. Be careful. Something about this feels strange,” Sui Yi said. Since she was a local and she called it strange, then it was indeed strange. Everyone hurriedly rubbed on the medicated oil. Its scent was especially strong, seemingly more potent than usual, and it drove the mosquitoes back somewhat.

Before long, both bottles of medicated oil were used up.

By then, the group had arrived at the burial grounds. Perhaps because of what had happened earlier, no one in the village dared come here now, and even the nearby farmers had stopped working, leaving the place desolate and dead silent.

Only the cawing remained.

This was the Ninth Miss’s first time here. Seeing the black mass of crows in the large banyan tree, her expression darkened slightly.

“When the tomb sinks east, no blood is heard; when it sinks west, no crow is left behind. To see so many crows first thing in the morning is truly bad luck.” Although the Ninth Miss seemed to have made a living from tomb-robbing, she was a thorough materialist. She could even send a corpse-like zombie for dissection and study, so of course she would not be frightened by a flock of crows.

Still, she could not help feeling it was inauspicious.

Sui Yi glanced at the banyan tree, then turned her head to see Feng Sha and the others already removing their backpacks and the gear from their waists.

Earth drills, treasure-seeking shovels, and other tomb-raiding essentials were handled with practiced ease in their hands, though they would not need to exert much effort.

Because the stone slab at the front hall of the tomb had already had its seal broken, leaving an opening.

Brother Ma placed his hands around the square edges of the slab that had been pried up and broken open, rubbing a bit of dust between his fingers and bringing it to his nose.

“Earthy smell, and still a bit fresh... probably went down yesterday. Our informant was right—the bastards really were fast.”

The Ninth Miss waved a hand. “Then stop dawdling. Get down there.”

The others had already taken out their tools and were prepared to enter the tomb. At her words, they watched as Ah Hai, the strongest among them, used a steel spear to lever up a large, heavy slab. The moment everyone saw it, their expressions changed.

The opening was about two square meters wide. Aside from a stretch of blackness, one could not see what lay below.

It was like a completely vacant black void, from which a bone-chilling wind hissed upward.

There seemed to be a strong smell of damp moss.

It was strange. Truly strange.

“Damn it, this tomb doesn’t even have steps? I’ve been in who knows how many graves and never seen one this wicked,” Brother Ma spat. Someone had already taken out a compass-like device, similar to a body-measuring tool, except a delicate triangular iron weight hung from the end of the line.

Whoosh...

The iron weight was lowered into the darkness below, and the thin line lengthened and lengthened.

Sui Yi stood by and watched, feeling that these people really were quite professional.

“This is a thousand-meter plumb line. It can measure height within a kilometer. Once the iron weight reaches the ground, it can display the exact scale here... though it has some drawbacks too. When there are bends or obstacles, the readings can be affected, and winding underground terrain is even harder to measure.” The Ninth Miss explained a few words to Sui Yi. Just then, a man called out the measurement.

“Miss, depth below is thirty-five.”

Thirty-five meters? Sui Yi was somewhat startled. On flat ground, that figure would mean nothing, but underground it was rather alarming.

To her surprise, the Ninth Miss smiled. “Good. The more mysterious this tomb is, the more interesting it becomes. Bring the rope...”

Very soon, someone removed a large backpack and took out a bundle of slender yet tough rope. Sui Yi casually tested its tensile strength and raised a brow.

A bundle like this, if sold, would fetch several tens of thousands.

“One by one, fasten onto the hooks at your waists and lower yourselves down. I’ll take the lead. Ah Hai, you’re behind me...” Brother Ma shouted, quickly organizing the group. Sui Yi and the Ninth Miss were placed in the middle toward the rear, while Feng Sha was in front of them both.

The purpose was to protect the Ninth Miss.

Three others stayed behind to keep watch on the stake, and before that, the Ninth Miss had even made a phone call.

Sui Yi thought that she was probably arranging some backup.

After all, the strange nature of this ancient tomb had exceeded even the Ninth Miss’s expectations.

The foremost Brother Ma, Ah Hai, and the others were naturally the vanguard.

It seemed to be a standard arrangement, so everyone took their positions swiftly.

Brother Ma and the others were soon lowered beneath the opening, speaking with the people above through walkie-talkies.

After a short while, they reached the bottom. A moment later, a voice came up:

“Currently safe. Come down.”

The Ninth Miss sent off a text she had already composed, then looked at Sui Yi. “Let’s go, Miss Sui.”

Sui Yi glanced at her, said nothing, and was not afraid. She simply followed behind and was lowered down after her.

Below was indeed extremely dark, especially in the instant of hanging suspended and entering that darkness; the sensation of not being in control of one’s own body was terrifying.

But after some time, once their eyes adjusted to the dark, they could make out a little. The Ninth Miss pressed the button on her belt, and a flashlight-like beam shot from the center, a pale, ghastly white that lit up the wall and drove away much of the darkness.

Sui Yi had been given similar equipment. She turned it on as well, and when the beam fell upon the wall, the moss and the faint green-black hue made her uneasy.

Why did this moss grow so strangely?

Clusters upon clusters, it looked almost like countless huge faces, each with vacant eyes and mouths...

Worse still, the giant face was formed from dense, overlapping dark-green leaves, layer upon layer. Anyone with trypophobia would surely faint on the spot.

“This thing can even grow a face!”

“So frightening!”

“Damn it, this tomb is really bizarre.”

Feng Sha and the others also saw it, and all of them were startled.

Fortunately, they had seen many strange things in tombs over the years, so they were not frightened beyond reason.

Until Sui Yi suddenly said softly, “Rather than saying they look like faces, I’d say they look more like skulls.”

Hiss...

The group fell silent all at once.