Yi Sa was staring blankly when two more splashing sounds rang out – two people plummeted down through the water like cannonballs.
Yi Sa felt slightly relieved: for now, being in the water was better than being trapped to death in the soil layers. Even if death was inevitable, at least it would come later.
She pushed herself upward and saw the two people – one was Yi Yunqiao, the other was Ding Changsheng.
Yi Yunqiao was holding up well, being a water ghost after all, remaining calm in the crisis. Ding Changsheng was far more panicked, flailing his limbs like a crab thrown into a boiling pot, having already swallowed two mouthfuls of water.
Being from the Three Families, they could at least hold their breath underwater for four to five minutes. Yi Sa didn’t bother with him and continued ascending: if she remembered correctly, the Drifting Cave was a huge dome with an uneven ceiling – and since water surfaces are always level, there was a high possibility that the cave wasn’t filled without any gaps. Even if the water surface was less than 10cm from the top, that space meant air, which meant a lifeline for the non-water ghost members of the Three Families.
During this process, people kept falling into the water. Yi Sa had no time to look closely but kept counting in her head: eleven splashes in total. Adding herself, Ding Changsheng, and Yi Yunqiao, meant only fourteen people were temporarily safe.
Yi Sa’s scalp tingled: between the front and rear teams, there were over twenty vehicles and sixty to seventy people, yet nearly 80% of the personnel were lost in an instant – this battle was just as devastating as the one in ’96.
She floated to the top, but this position wouldn’t work – the rock jutted downward, almost touching the water. Yi Sa patiently moved sideways while feeling above with her hands until she found a concave spot where she could poke most of her head above water.
Fortunately, this spot was about the size of a tabletop, probably enough for two or three people to catch their breath. If they could find two more such spots, everyone who made it down could rest and breathe.
Yi Sa flipped over in the water, head down and feet up, and dove back down.
First, she passed through that suspended group of corpses, many with eyes still open, seemingly unable to believe they had died just like that.
Below was chaos, many people choking on water, mainly because everything happened so suddenly they didn’t have time to hold their breath. The slightly comforting thing was that the water ghosts were there, trying to pull up those who kept sinking.
Yi Sa made hand signals to the water ghosts below: she held her hand straight up and drew a circle, then gave an “OK” sign – though the ancient version should have been a thumbs up, indicating there was a way up.
The people below understood. Those with strength left swam up by themselves, and those without were pulled up by water ghosts. Yi Sa also helped pull someone up as she quickly changed direction upward.
After the chaos, they finally found three concave spots in the dome ceiling and distributed people among them. Except for the water ghosts, everyone else was severely exhausted, desperately clutching the slippery rock walls with their hands, noses, and mouths above water gasping for air, bodies suspended in the water like bait hanging from fishing hooks.
After settling the last person, Yi Sa dove back into the water and saw Ding Yudie beckoning her over.
The water ghosts had gathered in one place, not to catch their breath, but to facilitate conversation.
Yi Sa swam over and lifted her head above water, seeing three dripping wet heads floating nearby – Ding Panling, Yi Yunqiao, and Ding Yudie. Looking at the concave rock above, which resembled a rounded pot lid, she thought the scene rather like northern-style steamed buns: lift the lid and there are four large mantou – that’s exactly what it looked like now.
She wanted to laugh, but the dire situation prevented it.
When Ding Panling spoke, she felt even less like laughing.
“How many did we lose?”
Neither Yi Yunqiao nor Ding Yudie had any idea. Yi Sa sniffled and tried to be concise and unemotional: “Including us, fourteen survived. About fifteen or sixteen floating in the water. The rest… must be still in the ground.”
Yi Yunqiao shuddered: “That was close. Good thing I heard your ‘don’t move’ – I watched myself falling, with everything sealing up above me – if I had struggled desperately, it probably would have sealed instantly, what a horrible death that would have been…”
Suddenly noticing Ding Panling’s ashen face, she quickly stopped talking.
Ding Panling was silent for a while before saying hoarsely: “I was careless. It’s my fault. It’s all on my account.”
Yi Yunqiao stayed quiet. Her earlier comment to Yi Sa about “why let Ding Panling lead this time, what gives him the right” seemed casual but somewhat reflected her true feelings: with equal opportunities and the same seniority and experience, why wasn’t she promoted to lead?
Now she realized that leaders must bear responsibility – one misstep and it was…
She coveted the glory of leadership but doubted she could shoulder such responsibility.
Ding Yudie said: “Uncle Ling, this isn’t your fault. It’s called an underground cave, who would have thought it could cause trouble above ground? I couldn’t even shout a warning before we came down.”
Ding Panling shook his head, muttering: “We fell for it.”
Fell for what? Ding Yudie looked confused.
Yi Sa figured it out: “This might have been its plan all along. Remember that behavior chart Uncle Panling drew?”
Last time, they had only listed up to the fifth stage “re-enter the Drifting Cave.” Ding Panling had roughly figured out the cause and effect, and pointed out that the Taisui had always been “defensive,” a typical characteristic of the weak, then called out “Why not show your true hand” and “Let’s settle this.”
“Last time when Ding Xi, Zong Hang, and I entered the cave, everything went smoothly without danger or unusual movements, making us think the Drifting Cave was just a cave with a Taisui inside, nothing more.”
“What if this was its strategy to lure us in? First hiding its fangs, keeping an ace up its sleeve, only showing us its stupid side to lower our guard, then striking unexpectedly once all our people were gathered, delivering one fatal blow.”
This time, almost all their elite forces were lost. Although Jiang Taiyue and Ding Haijin were still alive – two elderly people in their eighties, one with heart bypass surgery – they couldn’t possibly organize another proper investigation.
Ding Panling sighed: “Yes, I was careless. I worried it might act unusually, so I had Ding Xi go buy equipment, wanting to ensure our safety. I wasn’t planning to risk entering the cave before Ding Xi returned…”
Who knew they would all fall into the trap above ground?
At this point, he wiped water drops from his forehead with a bitter smile: “Everyone prepares yourselves mentally – we might not get out.”
The fall happened too suddenly – they had nothing but Ghost-Black daggers, and they had no idea where the cave exit was, even if they knew they couldn’t climb up…
Yi Sa bit her lip: “Isn’t Ding Xi still out there?”
Ding Panling smiled slightly: “Even if Ding Xi finds the cave, how could he come down alone? He’s the last of his line, not even a water grape – how could he enter the water? Besides, do you think Ding Xi would risk his life to find us? That person… he needs something in exchange to act, I don’t think we can count on him.”
Ding Yudie’s heart pounded listening to this.
No, he had also kept an ace – there wasn’t just Ding Xi outside, there was also Zong Hang, though she didn’t know if Zong Hang could handle all this…
Ding Panling suddenly remembered something: “Everyone’s resting – have we arranged sentries in the water?”
Though they were in disarray, essential defenses still needed to be maintained: they couldn’t let anything sneak up and launch a surprise attack.
Yi Yunqiao said: “I’ll go.”
She sank, her head just entering the water when she suddenly felt something wrong.
The water seemed to be moving.
Yi Sa noticed it too – the situation was identical to last time as if a drain had opened and the water level suddenly dropped. This was what had swept Zong Hang away, almost getting him crushed by the Taisui…
She shouted: “Hold steady! Everyone grab onto each other!”
As soon as she finished speaking, the water level began dropping. Everyone in the water had no control over themselves and were swept rapidly in the same direction. Fortunately, Yi Sa’s warning came in time and everyone acted quickly, linking arms and legs. First in four small groups, then successfully managed to grab and link together while tumbling rapidly through the water, holding tight like an ant colony in a flood. Those on the outside held Ghost-Black daggers, stabbing and hooking onto jagged rocks when they encountered them, using the resistance to climb and grab. In this way, combining climbing and crawling, they all managed to scale the rock face like geckos, looking down at the rushing water below.
Those previously floating corpses rushed toward the end like rolling logs in the current.
At the end was…
The Taisui.
It still had that half-open skull appearance, its outer shell covered in breathing soil, with a huge writhing mass of flesh in the middle. But this time, the water level had dropped lower than before, revealing the breathing soil underneath. When the corpses floated there, their heads seemed to be sucked in, leaving only their bodies from the neck down swaying on the water’s surface.
This scene made people’s scalps tingle, and several cried out: “What is it doing! What does it want to do?”
Just as Yi Sa was about to order them to stay calm, her gaze was suddenly drawn to something else.
It was the breathing soil covering the edges, slowly extending a long tentacle.
The breathing soil itself could grow endlessly. The tentacle was about as thick as an arm, gradually approaching through mid-air, like the elegantly curved neck of a swan. After pausing for a few seconds in front of the group, it lazily moved up and down, its tip targeting first one person, then another.
Now Yi Sa didn’t need to say anything – the entire rock face was dead silent except for heavy and light breathing.
After a while, the tip aimed at Ding Yudie. This wasn’t all – almost before everyone’s eyes, the tip instantly became sharp, positioned in such a way that if it struck, it would likely pierce through the rock wall.
Ding Yudie silently cursed “holy shit” – was it attracted to his good looks? Why did it pick him first?
Ding Panling lowered his voice: “Ding Yudie, you need to dodge…”
Before he could finish, the breathing soil struck like lightning. Fortunately, Ding Yudie was prepared – one hand gripping the protruding rock, his arm tensed as he swung his body sideways.
The breathing soil indeed pierced the rock wall, then suddenly withdrew. But after that, it stopped targeting individuals, instead sweeping and stabbing at the rock wall chaotically. People dodged and moved, struggling to keep up. Some couldn’t hold on anymore, their arms giving out as they splashed into the water. This reminded Ding Panling, who shouted: “Jump! Jump into the water!”
There was no other choice. Yi Sa gritted her teeth, released her grip, and plummeted downward. As she neared the water’s surface, she felt a rush of air behind her head, making her scalp tingle – she thought she was done for. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, the force brushed past her, followed immediately by screams rising into the air.
As she hit the water, Yi Sa looked up to see someone being impaled through the chest by the breathing soil, lifted high, then flung away – landing right where the corpses were, then swept by the current, their head similarly sucked in.
The breathing soil probed downward again.
Yi Sa’s calves were starting to cramp as she quickly dove underwater. She wasn’t alone – the other twelve people did the same.
But it was useless. The water was clear, and the breathing soil made it quite bright.
The sharp breathing soil hovered indecisively above the water’s surface, sometimes probing forward, sometimes arching back, like someone flexing their arms before throwing a punch, ready to attack at any moment.
Yi Sa swallowed, unsure if it was her trembling that made the surrounding water seem to quiver.
She suddenly realized that she and the people around her were like fish.
And that breathing soil was like a gleaming, sharp harpoon.
The school of fish trembling in the water, waiting for the inevitable hunt – that described their current situation perfectly.
Just as she thought this, the water’s surface erupted in turbulence.
The breathing soil was twisting and drilling down.
Ding Xi was driving fast, but Zong Hang still thought it wasn’t enough: “Faster, go faster.”
Ding Xi glanced sideways at Zong Hang in the passenger seat: he was holding a large flashlight, half his body leaning out, searching for any cave openings in the immediate area.
They were approaching the mountain foot when Ding Xi said: “Heads up, the road ends here, turning around.”
He yanked the steering wheel sharply. Zong Hang was caught off guard and fell back into the car, fortunately having prepared by looping his arm through the safety belt.
He glared at Ding Xi.
Ding Xi felt it and said: “I warned you.”
Then added: “Look, we’re heading back. We’ve checked several miles around. You’re not expecting me to circle hundreds of miles, are you?”
Zong Hang sneered: “You just want them dead, right? With Yi Sa dead, no one will chase you about settling things with Bald Chen. With your godfather dead, no one will boss you around anymore.”
Ding Xi snickered and said: “Don’t think so badly of people. Look at the bright side: you can’t even drive, yet here I am driving you around searching. On just your two legs, you couldn’t cover this area by dawn.”
After a pause, he added: “Though objectively speaking, the situation you described wouldn’t be bad for me.”
Damn it!
Zong Hang’s blood boiled, but he forced himself to stay calm: Ding Xi wasn’t the priority – there’d be plenty of chances to settle scores later. Every second was precious now; he needed to focus on what was most crucial.
Where was the cave entrance?
Theoretically, since it had “drifted” here, it couldn’t drift away immediately. With the cave below, the entrance might be hidden but shouldn’t be too far…
Where exactly was it? He’d checked the camp inside and out…
He anxiously checked the time on his phone. Past midnight – in five or six hours, they might lose the cave…
In the distance, the camp’s lights came into view again, with two long dark rows of vehicles outside – the front team’s vehicles and the ones they’d driven in today…
Suddenly, something flashed through Zong Hang’s mind, like lightning illuminating every detail.
He shouted: “Under the cars! Under the cars! Stop! Stop!”
Ding Xi slammed on the brakes, watching as Zong Hang practically tumbled out of the car, then scrambled on all fours toward the nearest vehicle, shining his flashlight underneath before quickly moving to the next one.
Ding Xi found it amusing: why try so hard? Was there anyone in this world who absolutely couldn’t die? Who had to live? Missing the timing just meant it was over, that’s all.
He opened the glove compartment, took out a cigarette, and lit it, taking a deep drag before slowly exhaling.
The plateau’s night sky was crystal clear, the stars distinct, one by one, seemingly within reach. This puff of smoke shrouded many stars, giving him a strange satisfaction – knowing that light-years away, these were massive stars no smaller than Earth, yet now like scattered sesame seeds that he could cover with one breath of smoke.
Excited, he took another deep drag, about to exhale and continue this self-deceptive game, when suddenly Zong Hang’s voice, hoarse with excitement, came from the distance: “Found it! Here! Here!”