DA chapter 87

The ground was rough, which caused greater wear on the chalk. In the Fish Belly, having one more piece of information meant a slightly higher chance of survival. Therefore, whatever information was left on the ground had to be brief and effective.

Lin Jia pinched the chalk between two fingers, lowered his eyes, and wrote on the ground: “There is an ancient tomb in the mountain.”

After writing those five characters, Lin Jia placed the chalk back into the pile.

Lian Ye, standing nearby, asked, “Not writing anymore?”

Seeing that Lian Ye seemed ready to take the chalk, Lin Jia frowned slightly and said, “He won’t ask anymore.”

Before Lian Ye could understand, he saw Yan Xu return from questioning the Fishman.

Sure enough, Yan Xu only asked one question.

When Yan Xu saw the writing on the ground, he paused. He immediately recognized it as Lin Jia’s handwriting; there was still a photo of it saved on his phone. In the photo, an expensive bottle of red wine held down a delicate card on which Lin Jia’s bold handwriting was written.

Lin Jia presented the excuse he had already prepared: “He got scared.”

Lian Ye: “…”

He had indeed been startled by the materialization, but he hadn’t intended to give up.

“It wasn’t, Brother Jia. You—”

Before Lian Ye could finish, Lin Jia calmly interrupted him. “The mountain is far away. Don’t waste time.”

After speaking, Lin Jia turned and left the Fishman, heading toward the mountain.

Just like that, Lin Jia abruptly ended the topic.

“Brother, what are you looking at?”

Lian Xin walked over and asked her brother.

Lian Ye watched Yan Xu follow Lin Jia, then looked into the distance at Lin Jia’s back.

“Nothing,” he said. “It just feels a bit strange.”

“Strange?” Lian Xin asked, confused.

“It feels like something is a bit strange between Brother Yan and Brother Jia,” Lian Ye said.

“What’s strange about it?”

Lian Ye couldn’t quite explain. Seeing Lin Jia and Yan Xu walk farther away, he quickly brought his sister along to catch up with them. “Let’s follow them first.”

The mountain looked close to the ancient town, but it was actually far away. To reach the mountain and find the so-called ancient tomb, they first had to pass through the town, then walk along a winding, muddy path for about an hour before reaching the foot of the mountain.

After reaching the foot of the mountain, they still had to climb upward. By the time they found what seemed to be the tomb’s entrance, it was around two in the afternoon.

On the mountainside stood a stone statue. It looked like a deity, yet none of the usual gods or Buddhas resembled it.

The base of the statue had pressed the soil loose, and no grass grew around it. Yan Xu shifted the statue slightly and saw a square opening hidden beneath its base.

Given how long it had taken them to get there, they didn’t have much time to explore the opening if they wanted to return to the ancient town before dark.

Yan Xu didn’t hesitate. He took two candles out of his kangaroo pocket. He had picked them up casually from a shop while passing through the town.

Ancient tombs were generally buried deep underground, and it was unclear whether there was enough oxygen. He used the candles to test the oxygen levels. If they could stay lit, there was enough oxygen. If they went out, there wasn’t enough oxygen, and they couldn’t go deeper.

The candles could also provide light.

After lighting the candles, Yan Xu was about to jump into the opening. Before he did, Lian Ye spoke. “Brother, let me go with you.”

Seeing this, Lian Xin quickly added, “Me too.”

An ancient tomb sounded dangerous, but to the siblings, Yan Xu was their pillar of support. Being separated from him frightened them more than entering danger.

“I’ll go alone,” Yan Xu said. “Don’t get in my way.”

Lian Ye assured him, “Brother, let us come. We won’t be a burden. If we encounter danger, you won’t have to worry about us.”

Lian Xin nodded in agreement with her brother.

Since things had come to this, and Yan Xu was eager to investigate the tomb and discover why Lin Jia had fallen into the “Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin” space, he didn’t refuse them.

He glanced at Lin Jia, who was looking toward the pitch-dark opening. After just one glance, he quickly stepped back from it.

Noticing Yan Xu’s gaze, Lin Jia looked at his watch with an unpleasant expression and said, “Two hours. Whether you find anything or not, come back.”

Yan Xu agreed. He gestured to the cat, whispered something to it, then jumped into the opening.

After Yan Xu jumped down, Lian Ye and Lian Xin followed him in.

In an instant, everything became quiet. Occasionally, a distant wind passed through the forest, stirring waves of green.

Lin Jia stood silently, looking at the opening. The cat circled around the opening curiously, peering inside. However, the opening was too deep and dark. Even with a cat’s excellent night vision, nothing could be seen.

At first, the cat could hear faint footsteps from inside. Gradually, as Yan Xu and the siblings went deeper inside, even those sounds disappeared. The opening fell silent.

The cat grew bored and returned to Lin Jia’s side. “With Yan Xu around, it feels like there’s nothing left for us to do.”

This was unlike before, when he had to hold up a phone and nervously follow Lin Jia while searching for clues.

For some reason, this remark irritated Lin Jia. The cat was kicked, and Lin Jia said coldly, “Your courage is nothing like the original.”

The cat retorted, “What do you mean? Yan Xu told me to stay and keep you company.”

Lin Jia had indeed seen Yan Xu say something to the cat, so that was it. He didn’t respond, but instead walked back to the edge of the opening and looked inside again.

All he could see was a dizzying, suffocating darkness. He stepped back instinctively.

For some reason, the farther he moved from the opening, the more he hated his own weakness—his fear of the dark.

—

Inside the ancient tomb, Yan Xu walked in front, holding a candle. Lian Ye and Lian Xin followed carefully behind him.

The light from the candle was limited. Yan Xu was irritated by the dark passageway they had jumped into because he couldn’t see how far ahead the path extended.

If the path didn’t lead to the tomb chamber, all this time would be wasted. As for the second night in the Fish Belly, Yan Xu didn’t know if Lin Jia would be locked in the coffin again.

As he thought this, Yan Xu turned his head slightly and told the siblings behind him, “Keep up.”

As he spoke, he quickened his pace.

When he turned his head forward again, the candle flame flickered, as if it might go out at any moment.

Yan Xu immediately stopped, but the siblings behind him, walking with their heads down, didn’t realize and bumped into him.

The impact pushed Yan Xu two steps forward, causing the candle flame to flicker even more violently as if it would be extinguished the next second.

“Sorry, brother,” Lian Ye apologized repeatedly after bumping into him.

Yan Xu ignored him and stared at the candle.

He had already steadied himself, but the flame continued to flicker.

Candles are used to test oxygen levels. If there wasn’t enough oxygen, the candle would go out immediately. Now, however, although the flickering flame looked like it would go out at any moment, it stubbornly remained lit.

It didn’t seem like a lack of oxygen; it felt more like it was being blown by wind.

But where would wind come from in this dark passage?

Perhaps the airflow was caused by the people behind bumping into him or by their breath while speaking.

Yan Xu gestured to signal no movement, eliminating the possibility of airflow causing the flame to flicker. Then, he observed the candle again.

This time, the flame burned steadily.

It seemed the airflow had really been caused by humans.

Yan Xu relaxed slightly.

In the past, he wouldn’t have cared about such details. He would have just pushed forward into the dark passage. If he died, so be it; he didn’t care.

But now, he couldn’t. He needed to understand the “Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin” situation, and he had to stay alive until Lin Jia left the Underwater World.

No matter what happened to him, he had to let Lin Jia leave the Underwater World.

That was what he wanted to do.

Just as Yan Xu was about to move forward again, the candle flame began to flicker.

This time, however, before he could take a step, Lian Ye and Lian Xin were already standing stiffly in place behind him, not speaking or moving.

The flickering candlelight wasn’t due to a lack of oxygen, nor was it caused by them.

Yan Xu quickly realized this.

He lifted his head and looked ahead.

The path ahead was pitch black. A single candle was no match for the heavy darkness.

So Yan Xu lit another candle.

With the second candle burning, the visible range expanded slightly.

Yan Xu held both candles in one hand. Melted wax dripped down the candles and solidified into a layer of hot wax between his thumb and index finger.

He raised his arm and pushed the candles forward.

“In front—”

Lian Xin seemed to see something and pointed ahead of Yan Xu. “Something just flashed past.”

The moment she finished speaking, both candles suddenly went out.

Yan Xu took out a match. “What was it?”

Lian Xin was frightened. “I don’t know… I didn’t see clearly… it moved so fast… but it seemed like… like…”

“Don’t be afraid.” Lian Ye grabbed his sister’s hand.

Lian Xin’s voice came from behind him, not beside him. “…it looked like a person. Brother, can you hold my hand? I’m so scared.”

Lian Ye’s heart stopped suddenly, and his blood ran cold instantly.

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