Chapter 77: Shadow in the Cave (Part 4)

Chapter 77: The Shadow in the Cave (IV)

As they ventured deeper, indistinct shadows began to appear on the cavern walls, resembling ancient totems or murals.

“What are these things?”

“Ancient totems? Did people once live here?”

Zhang Mancheng brought the torch closer to the shadows on the stone wall, edging forward with caution as he tried to discern the patterns. His fingers lightly traced the lines, but he couldn’t make out what had been drawn; it seemed more as if the images were projected from beneath the stone itself.

The black mural embedded in the rock gave off an uncanny feeling. The figures depicted appeared unnaturally tall, with limbs so long that their proportions were astonishing.

“If these are ancient totems, they would usually record grand ceremonies or significant events. But these dark, indistinct drawings only show some elongated, shadowy figure—nothing else is clear.”

Zhang Sanlu also leaned in, using the torchlight to examine the black shadows, trying to interpret their meaning, but he too found nothing further.

“Did you see any murals like this on the way down?”

“I don’t think so, but I didn’t really pay attention.”

“I have a bad feeling about this. We’d best keep moving.”

The tunnel continued sloping downward, forcing them to brace themselves against the walls to avoid slipping. The passage seemed endless, swallowed by darkness, with their torches now more precious than ever—their sole lifeline in this abyss.

“Did you hear anything?” Zhang Mancheng suddenly stopped, instinctively swinging the torch behind them as he spoke.

“Nothing but our own footsteps.”

A faint rustling sound interrupted him.

Zhang Sanlu heard it too, coming from behind. Both men turned at once, and in that instant, they froze. The torchlight illuminated the spot where they’d just been, revealing a strange form peeking over the low edge of the slope.

What sent chills down Zhang Sanlu’s spine was the size of the thing—it was a massive shadow, pitch black, its shape undiscernible.

Only half its body was visible above the slope, as if a shy creature were secretly watching them.

They had no time to look closer. Zhang Mancheng bellowed, “Damn it! Run! Run, damn it!” As he shouted, the torch swung wildly.

The surging shadow swept forward like a tide—a horde of black, many-legged creatures rolling toward them in a wave.

There was no time to wonder how these things had appeared. The two men bolted deeper into the tunnel, scrambling and stumbling in their panic. After a few paces, the passageway took a near-vertical turn, and they burst into another cavern.

Zhang Mancheng raised his torch. The new chamber was spacious, and something appeared to stand in its center.

Zhang Sanlu didn’t bother to look. He glanced back, searching desperately for anything to block the low entrance—if those centipedes poured in, the wider the space, the harder it would be for them to escape.

He immediately spotted a stone door at the cave’s entrance. “Come help me! We need to block this doorway!” he shouted.

Zhang Mancheng rushed over, and together they braced themselves against the door. Fortunately, it wasn’t jammed; with a chorus of creaks, their combined effort slammed it shut.

Only after catching his breath did Zhang Mancheng gasp, “What the hell was that thing?”

“The same thing that was inside your flesh!” Zhang Sanlu replied between breaths.

Zhang Mancheng drew in a sharp breath. “This cursed place—why does everything here have to be some damned bug? Can’t there be something I can beat up for once? Should have let that guy in!” He was referring, it seemed, to Zhang Zhi Dao.

Worried the creatures might squirm through the cracks, they each took a side, listening tensely behind the door. But after a long wait, there was no movement from the other side.

Pressing their ears to the stone, they could only make out the faint rustling, but it was clear the door was holding firm.

“What now?” Zhang Mancheng straightened up and asked.

Zhang Sanlu thought for a moment. “We have to adapt. With a swarm like that outside, there’s no way we can open the door and go back. We can’t hope to kill them all. Our only choice is to look for another way out.”

Zhang Mancheng gripped his torch tightly. The flame flickered in the damp air, casting their elongated shadows on the wall. Their footsteps echoed through the narrow cave. Water droplets dripped steadily from the ceiling, their clear notes intertwining with the sound of their ragged breathing, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

The torchlight barely illuminated the path ahead. The cavern was vast, but darkness still swallowed its farthest reaches.

They pressed on. The cave widened, but the air grew colder and more humid with every step.

“What’s that smell?” Zhang Sanlu frowned, his stomach uneasy. The odor reminded him of decaying corpses and damp earth.

Moving slowly and with care, they advanced. In the torchlight, the cavern’s center finally came into view: a vast, inky-black pool, its surface as smooth as glass, mirroring the flames in their hands.

Around the pool, strange plants grew, their leaves reflecting eerie colors in the firelight, as if drawing some unusual nourishment from the water.

Standing at the pool’s edge, Zhang Sanlu and Zhang Mancheng saw their shadows and the torchlight wavering across the surface like a black mirror.

“Look here.”

Zhang Mancheng stepped back, motioning for Zhang Sanlu to look at his feet. The pool’s outer rim was ringed with patterns like the Eight Trigrams, encircling the center, where more esoteric symbols clustered near the water.

Just then, as Zhang Sanlu bent down to examine the symbols, he noticed something strange: the shadow in the pool did not move. For a moment, he thought it was just a trick of the light, but both he and Zhang Mancheng had bent over—yet the human-shaped shadow remained still.

“What is that?” Zhang Sanlu whispered.

“Who knows?” Zhang Mancheng replied in a low voice after a pause. “It almost... almost looks like a person?”

“How could it be a person? If it was, how could someone survive underwater for so long without breathing?” Zhang Sanlu muttered.

“Who cares what tricks it’s playing! I’ll smash it and see if it dares show itself to me!” Zhang Mancheng, still fired up from the chase, seized the chance to vent his anger.

He searched the cave, found a fist-sized rock, weighed it in his hand, then hurled it at the shadow in the water with all his might.

There was a heavy splash.

Before Zhang Sanlu could stop him, the stone struck directly at the shadow in the heart of the pool.