The World Below Surface

Lin Chu faced An Ru without flinching.

She had a small frame and a doll-like face, but her eyes were icy and hard, betraying no hint of weakness.

An Ru said it again, "I'm An Xing Yu's father. He's my son."

His eyes, once keen and piercing, were dull and weary from endless days and nights. He was only nearing fifty, but his hair was already white. He fixed his gaze on Lin Chu with a stubborn resolve and said, "You know why I'm here."

Lin Chu knew, of course, but she couldn't tell him. She couldn't reveal the tasks.

She shook her head, "You're mistaken. I have no idea what you mean."

An Ru let out a raspy and scornful laugh, "Don't lie to me. You're clever, you know exactly what I'm talking about." He slowly pulled out a gun from his pocket, his face a mix of madness and calm, "Don't try anything funny."

Lin Chu's face flashed with shock and fury, "You Dare?"

The gun barrel glinted briefly, then disappeared, but An Ru's hand stayed in his pocket, outlining a menacing shape.

"Miss Lin, I need you to come with me."

Reluctantly, Lin Chu got up from her seat. "Can I put the books back first?"

"Fine, but don't try anything stupid, like calling the cops," he warned.

An Ru had lost his wife and son, and he drowned his pain in booze and cigarettes day and night. His voice was rough and scratchy, yet he cared little. "Miss Lin, a grieving father is capable of anything."

Lin Chu felt a chill run down her spine. She had to get her left hand out of her pocket.

She grabbed the stack of books on the table and walked slowly towards the bookshelf.

She carefully scanned the bookshelf to put the books back where they belonged. Thanks to her remarkable memory, Lin Chu spotted some discrepancies.

Why were some of the books out of place?

"Move it, please," he demanded.

Lin Chu nodded, "Okay."

The shelf was organised by function, then by alphabetical order. As Lin Chu slid the last book into place, she felt a surge of dread.

She glanced at the books on the shelf, and her eyes widened. The first characters of each title spelled out a chilling message — "you can all go die."

Was this a prank?

She noticed a book that was out of place, that belonged on the other side of the shelf. Who had moved it here?

Lin Chu reached out and gently pulled the book out, intending to put it back where it belonged. But as she did, she saw a flash of red in the gap. A bloodshot eye was gazing at her with malice!

Lin Chu recoiled in horror, slamming into the shelf behind her, making a loud noise.

An Ru snapped at her, "Are you trying to get me caught? Don't be smart with me!"

Lin Chu's chest rose and fell rapidly. She said, "I wasn't, I just saw..."

What did she see?

Lin Chu shook her head, confused by her own reaction. She had a vague memory of something horrifying, but when she looked again at the shelf, there was nothing there.

"What did you see?" An Ru demanded, his voice tense. He was convinced that his son's vanishing had something to do with the supernatural, and he wouldn't miss any clues.

"Nothing," Lin Chu lied, putting the book back. "Come on."

She was aware of the strange occurrence. It made no sense for her to feel so nervous.

Why did her heart race like that? She must have seen something and forgotten.

What was it?

*

*

An Ru had set up a meeting with Yu Huai Yao in a secluded room at a restaurant. Yu Huai Yao was already there when An Ru dragged Lin Chu into the room. He was sipping a cup of hot water, patiently waiting.

"Hi, you're Mr. An Ru, right? I'm Yu Huai Yao." Yu Huai Yao offered his hand to An Ru. After they shook hands, he turned his attention to Lin Chu. "And who is this lady?"

"She's Lin Chu." An Ru's face softened, losing the crazed look of a kidnapper. "My son, An Xing Yu, and your cousin, Yu Huan, were both caught up in the same case. This lady, Lin Chu, is the sixth person who disappeared in the case."

As he spoke, Yu Huai Yao stared at Lin Chu with a blend of shock and curiosity in his eyes.

Lin Chu kept her cool.

She had nothing to do with An Xing Yu's vanishing, and even less with Yu Huan's death. An Ru was trying to misdirect, to make Yu Huai Yao believe she was involved—wishful thinking.

But getting out of this mess today would be tricky...

She knew she was under suspicion, and she couldn't afford to expose the tasks to anyone.

*

*

The team in the tomb didn't notice the strange figures lurking behind them. They pressed on, following the "murals" to discover the stories they told.

No one knew how long ago it was, but when the "king" died, people buried him and built the underground palace exactly as he wanted. Sixty years later, when the mountain turned upside down, the old folks who still remembered the "king" saw him descend from the inverted mountain, along with all the villagers who were buried with him. He brought out many treasures, enriching the once poor village.

Back from the dead, a miracle!

From then on, this place became their sacred land. No one feared death anymore because they all knew that death was not the end. Every sixty years, the dead would return to life.

And the "king's" most prized possession was a jade pendant.

On the mural, the jade pendant was clearly shown, like two fish joined head to tail with a hollow centre.

Just like the jade pendant hidden by Lu Yan.

"Nobody knows where he got that jade pendant from. The old people back then said there was nothing like that among the burial items."

As he gazed at the jade pendant, Lu Yan suddenly recalled something.

His mind was flooded with pain, memories flashed, and he struggled to remember those things, but the images were fuzzy. He was blind, deaf, amnesiac...

He lifted his hand to his head, trying to block the pain that stabbed like needles. His fingers clenched until they were pale, almost tearing his scalp. But he bit his lip and bore it, not making a sound.

What had he forgotten?

The jade pendant... the tomb... the museum...

Strangers, a weird world...

Behind him, Yi Yun held up the weary Lu Yan, "What's happening to you?"

He gasped for air, his chest rising and falling. He straightened up, gripping her wrist hard. His face shifted, his eyes gleaming with an unspeakable allure. "Snap out of it, Yi Yun."

"I..." Yi Yun looked into his eyes, losing her focus.

"Shut your eyes." His voice grew gentle, "You're on a long road... when you hear a click, open your eyes, and you'll be awake..."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

A sharp sound rang out. Yi Yun, Wang Peng Fei, and Jing Tao jolted back to reality, scanning their surroundings with a mix of shock and doubt.

"We just..." Yi Yun's voice trailed off, remembering her earlier trance. Jing Tao pulled her sleeve, pointing at the others.

The guide kept talking. In the dark tunnel, his shape flickered like a dying flame, hard to make out. The others looked just as vague.

And the murals on the wall... What murals? There were only black, cold walls, made of bricks and stones that had been buried for ages.

"Hey, the jade pendant!" Yi Yun suddenly recalled what she had heard. "The mural showed a jade pendant, and he said something about it. Did you catch that?"

"I did. Should we go back and check it out?" Wang Peng Fei suggested.

Yi Yun peered at the shadows behind her and shook her head, "No point. The mural had it, and he said it. It must be in the main tomb. Going back won't do any good."

Jing Tao agreed with her and nodded, "Plus, they have all the lights now. If we split up, we might get in trouble."

Even though these archaeologists were acting weird, sticking together gave them some comfort.

They pressed forward.

"But then, everything changed."

"Our king had finally had enough..." the guide's voice trailed off, and his role shifted, "He lost his desire for immortality. He despised being confined in the mountains. He yearned to explore the world beyond, but he was bound here."

"The mountain dwellers felt the same. They had resided here for eternity, independent and never venturing beyond. The village became overcrowded. Some grew restless with this way of life. Finally, a group defied the old man's warning and descended the mountain."

To their surprise, they returned unharmed, as long as they came back prior to the New Year ceremony. Consequently, more individuals followed suit. However, the initial group comprised the youngest members of the village, who had never encountered death. When the older ones, who had undergone rebirth, made their descent, horror ensued.

"Malevolent spirits arose in the mountains behind!"

"The villagers panicked, fleeing toward the sacred land. Many perished along the way, and our king welcomed them just as he had before. However, they were unaware that the king also desired to depart. Yet he could not."

"If he left, his other self from the rear mountains would be set free. Then his people would be doomed."

"That was the price of immortality..." the storyteller's voice cracked.

"In the end, the king simply fell into a deep slumber."

"The villagers had learned to be smart. They wedded strangers, making sure to come back home for holidays and celebrations. They timed it well, sending their wives to deliver their babies far away. That way, their children could have a chance to live somewhere else.

But one of them spilled the secret. He let out the classified information, drawing a swarm of robbers hungry for the hidden treasure.

The invaders came with guns and weapons the villagers had never seen. They didn't know that the village chief was sleeping soundly, and they ran to the sacred land like before. They didn't realise that the king was asleep too. Their flight to the sacred land was useless.

They left behind the old, the weak, and the women, and made them show them the way to the tombs. In the heart of the sacred land, they dug a hole, disturbing the king's quiet sleep. And then, they all died."

They said this as they walked by a heap of bones.

The bones looked like they had been there for ages. Clothes rotted, some turned to wax, with dim traces of horror on their faces, even in death. Some had become pale white bones, stuck in a clear struggle.

It was hard to imagine what dreadful thing they saw in their final moments, staying in the memories of outsiders even after years.

Was it a warning? A way to speed them up?

"Should we wake the others?" Yi Yun glanced at the workers who looked dead next to her, feeling a pang of fear.

Jing Tao agreed with her. If things went on like this, who knew what would happen to these workers.

There had been previous instances in which ghosts had deceived them during their missions, transforming them into ghosts themselves. This was not an uncommon occurrence.

Lu Yan didn't pay much attention to this. He conversed with the other three individuals and they divided into groups, attempting to awaken the archaeologists.

"Come on, wake up, wake up..."

As they got closer, they felt a cold breath coming from the archaeologists' bodies, as if a frosty wind had blown over them. Yi Yun crept up to one archaeologist who was away from the leader, pinching her hand hard and whispering in her ear to wake her up.

Soon, the archaeologist's eyes cleared up, and she shook her head, puzzled. "What was I doing?"

Yi Yun told her softly, and she snapped out of it, her eyes showing a hint of fear.

Slowly, more and more people came to.

They realised that the path they had taken was very odd. It was not a straight line; sometimes, they had to go through very narrow passages, and sometimes, they had to climb down stairs that were almost vertical. At last, everyone was awake, and they followed the leader silently, listening to him tell the story.

Yes, nobody woke him up, not even his teammates who went along with it.

They wanted to understand this tomb, to uncover its history, even if they sensed something was wrong, nobody chose to wake him up.

They trailed after him, going through one tomb chamber after another.

As they went on, the doors of the tomb chambers opened softly, and out came corpses, dead for ages.

They had been buried here, never to see the daylight.

They had disturbed something ancient and terrible.

Their only way out was sealed, leaving them no hope of escape.

They were like the doomed villagers who had perished in the mountains long ago, entombed in this colossal subterranean palace.

"Anyone else hear that?" a hushed voice asked.

A faint sound echoed from behind them.

They shone their flashlight, but the beam was devoured by the blackness before it could reach the end of the corridor.

"Me too. I can't shake the feeling... that we're being hunted."

The sound was real; it grew louder, drawing closer.

Footsteps.

Countless footsteps.

The archaeologist at the rear glanced back in terror, but saw nothing; only darkness filled his vision.

What lurked in the darkness?

The light they had was dwindling, shrinking. They clung to each other as they pressed on, afraid to be left behind in the shadows.

The leader kept talking; he led the way, and none dared to overtake him. They trailed behind him, following his footsteps.

"...These tomb raiders slaughtered countless villagers, plundered their treasures, and incurred their curse. Hahaha, justice, they must share the villagers' fate, and never see the light of day..."

"But these crafty bastards, they schemed to escape. They bribed the outsiders, prayed to every god and buddha. At last, they summoned a host of guardian spirits, wiping out the last of the villagers' kin, ensuring their own bloodline. They would select a girl, and that girl would carry the burden..."

"They inherited the curse of the old villagers and their lifespan. They wedded the surviving women and had their offspring bury the corpses of their fallen mates in the sacred grounds. The next generation bore the same blood, granting them access. But the guardian spirits they summoned were barred from the sacred grounds, they could only wait... wait for the king to vanish, then they could claim all the riches..."

Yi Yun and the others were spellbound by the tale. Only Lu Yan was alert, aware that it was all true.

Who was the ghost possessing the leader? Why did it spill everything?

Lu Yan had no clue.

The hand in his pocket clenched the two jade pendants tied together. Lu Yan knew that some of his questions were still unresolved.

Before, he mentioned one jade pendant, always guarded by the "king." So, where did the other one come from?

And, since it was always protected, it must have been entombed with him after death. In the previous mission, how did the Village of the Heavenly Immortals get their hands on it? Did they breach the main tomb?

Who stole the jade pendant?

The voice ahead dwindled, and the person in front slackened.

His story was nearing its end.

The light from the flashlights flickered weakly. The batteries were running low, barely keeping them from the engulfing darkness.

The sounds they had initially dismissed as harmless grew louder and more ominous. It wasn't just the footsteps of humans they heard, but also the unmistakable sounds of various beasts. Additionally, the grinding and smashing of wheels against the stone-paved road filled the air, creating a sharp noise akin to the clash of bronze.

It became clear that they were being pursued!

"Teacher Cen, hurry up..." As Teacher Cen finished his story, the person behind him rushed to his side, tapping his shoulder to wake him up. However, they soon realized that something was terribly wrong. Instead of a firm shoulder, they felt something soft and squishy, like hitting a mound of fleshy pulp under cloth.

Teacher Cen, who had been leading the way, collapsed to the ground and transformed into a pool of decomposed flesh, his clothes scattered around. Upon this mass of flesh, there were countless eyes, both large and small, tightly packed together like a cluster of frog spawn, numbering in the hundreds. All of these eyes stared back at the group.

"Ah—"

The archaeologists, who had witnessed many wonders, had never come across such a horrifying sight. The hundreds of eyes clustered together blinked in unison.

"Run!"

Just as they uttered those words, the thing that had been chasing them finally caught up.

The flashlight suddenly flared up, revealing the horrifying creatures behind them. They were twisted abominations of flesh. Some had only waxed over, while others were severed, crawling with four hands clutching their heads. There were bare skeletons with a long tail sprouting from their spine and others with fused legs, resembling mythical half-serpents...

"What kind of curse is this? How did they end up like this?"

"Where did these things come from? We didn't disturb any tombs before!"

There was no time to ponder. They had to escape, so the group sprinted ahead. The path became rougher, and the flashlight's light only lasted for a second before fading again. It seemed to only reveal what was pursuing them from behind, causing panic to set in.

Yi Yun and the others joined the stampede, shouting, "Where are we going? Should we head to the main tomb?"

"I don't know! Jussst keep running, we'll figure it out later," someone in the crowd replied.

Lu Yan ran with them. In that brief flash, he heard a cold, snake-like hiss. Then, he saw a figure behind him being caught by something around its waist and forcefully yanked back. The person made no sound and vanished completely.

The last runner caught sight of something horrifying in the corner of his eye, and froze with dread before sprinting forward with all his might.

Just a few steps behind him, eyes swarmed like frog spawn over a soft mass of flesh, blinking like a rippling stream, approaching closer.

They could not allow this to happen to them!

"Should we head to the main tomb now? Team Cen has fallen victim to the curse. Maybe we'll be next. We're doomed either way, so why not take a chance in the main tomb?"

The person in front shouted back, "You think I don't want to? I have no idea where the main tomb is. There's only one way in, so we'll have to keep running for now."

They had barely finished speaking when they dashed out of a narrow passage and found themselves in a spacious area. Two massive tombs faced each other, one on the left and one on the right. In front, a square was carved half a meter deep into the ground, dividing the middle. The square then split into two on the left and right, with a narrow passage in the center.

They all stopped, gathering in front of the platform. A staircase, barely wide enough for one person, led down to the entrance of the passage.

"Why don't we go down?" the person behind them asked nervously.

"There's something strange down there."

As they spoke, the flashlight moved forward, illuminating the surface of the square. Unlike the smooth and solid stone paths outside, the square bulged, displaying one terrifying mural after another.

These murals depicted scenes of the eighteen hells, surrounded by rivers around the mountain, filled with one tormented human figure after another. Even in the dim light, the murals looked lifelike, as if their screams still reverberated.

"Forget about the eerie figures on the square. We need to find a way out of here."

"Right!"

The pressure behind drove them mercilessly. Then, a shriek pierced the air.

At the back, last in the row, a female archaeologist was grazed by that heap of flesh studded with eyes. After that, her whole body liquefied, slowly collapsing, and those near her tried to rescue her. But they were helpless. One of them reached for her, but with a cry, he fell victim to the mysterious curse. His bones seemed to be drained, gradually softening.

Finally, they became one with the soft flesh, the old and the new blending together. On the pink surface, bubble-like things sprouted one after another.

The bubbles grew bigger and bigger, "pop" went one, turning into an eye, blinking and staring at the humans ahead.

So, the archaeologist in the lead had no choice but to go down the stairs.

The stairs were very narrow, barely half a metre wide. The first one down the stairs carefully stepped onto the thin path in the middle of the square.

To his surprise, nothing happened.

The team member was ecstatic, waving to the others to hurry down and moving forward quickly, making space for the rest.

The stairs were too narrow, and the square was only half a metre below the ground. One person just leaped down, holding onto the edge of the ground. But as soon as he landed, dozens of arms shot out from the square's surface. He was silenced before he could scream, dragged into the ground.

No, not all the way in. He was dragged halfway, his body turned to stone, the terror still etched on his face like the surrounding murals.

He joined the mural.

"Watch out! Only the middle path is safe," the team member behind him cautioned with a razor-like heart.

Suppressing their panic, they moved forward in a single file. Some older team members offered to stay at the back, and one of them said, "I've lived a long life, enough for me. I can't run anymore, so I might as well give you youngsters a chance."

"Mr. Zhou, don't talk like that!"

"Come on." But Mr. Zhou only smiled and nudged his students ahead. She held his hand and followed him, but when they reached the stairs, she felt his hand slip away.

She looked back, and he was gone, pulled into the passage that led to darkness.

The passage narrowed from both sides.

She wiped her tears and hurried down the stairs. As soon as she rejoined the others, the passage they had come from was sealed off, trapping the countless horrors that were pursuing them inside. Who knew when they would break free again.

They had no way back.

Now, there were only a dozen archaeologists left, plus four unwelcome guests, making nearly twenty people.

"Everyone knows the situation; this ancient tomb is more dangerous than we anticipated. Maybe we can escape, or maybe we're all doomed." One team member wiped his tears and whispered, "But we have to try, for our research. And we have to prepare ourselves for the worst."

"We brought tools with us, and some large sheets of white paper. As soon as we got to the square, our first job was to draw the map. Every step we took, we added a little more. Whoever was lucky enough to get out had to take the map with them."

Her words of doom touched the others, and tears filled the eyes of the team members as they nodded gravely.

"For our research!"

"Yes, for the research!"

Even though some of the tasker members had faced death before, they were stirred by the group's resolve. Wang Peng Fei announced, "We may not be archaeologists, but if we can get out, we'll surely bring the map with us."

They all hid the fact that they could leave as soon as the mission was over.

It was kind to give these archaeologists some hope.

"Alright, thank you all," one of them said.

Lu Yan said nothing.

He had seen too much. Some outsiders who came in were ready to die for their loved ones, ignoring life and death. He had seen the best and the worst of humanity. But in death, they all turned into eerie beings.

Yi Yun agreed too, tentatively asking, "Before, Team Cen said that the jade pendant the King wears is also shown in the murals. Could that be the key?"

"It could be. Since he keeps it with him always, it might be buried with him. When we get to the main tomb, we might solve the mystery."

The three mission members felt a surge of excitement.

Archaeologists were elated, walking ahead of Yi Yun, when one of them missed the ground under his foot.

His half foot landed off the path!

A mural sprang to life, and one of them held a crossbow in his hand. His finger pulled the trigger, and an arrow flew out. It pierced his throat, and he soared, landing in the middle of the square.

Pale hands, one after another, snatched him. Soon, another figure emerged on the mural, clutching the arrow in his throat, wearing an agonised expression.

"Everyone, watch out! Don't step off!"

The first one got to the end of the passage, bracing himself and jumping down to the ground.

Only by standing next to the tomb could he appreciate its towering height.

As he stepped up, it was like the gates opened on both sides of the square, and blood gushed out.

"Quick! Faster at the front!"

A torrent of foul, thick blood swiftly filled the narrow path in the centre. The ones at the front sped up. Lu Yan and Yi Yun were in the middle of the group. When the blood surged in, it was Lu Yan's turn. He leaped up and landed on the ground, then reached out to pull up the next one.

"Ah—"

A girl at the back got her feet soaked with blood, instantly shrieking in pain.

"I can't make it! You guys, go on!"

She stood still, the pain twisting her face. Not knowing what was in the blood, she thought of her mission. She took off her backpack, and hurled it towards the shore, shouting, "There are blank scrolls and tools inside!"

Before anyone could react, she fell into the blood, vanishing without a trace. The others could only stare helplessly as the one who didn't make it was swallowed by the blood and disappeared.