Chapter 13: Strange Footsteps

“Whew, that's done with.” Zhao Zhiqiang let out a sigh of relief as he watched the struggling wooden figure. The puppet soon crumbled to ash and collapsed on the ground.

But the one in front of me still wasn’t dealt with!

As I watched the thing stagger toward me, I didn’t dodge. Instead, I waited for it to swing at me, then grabbed its arm in one swift motion. With a series of sharp cracks, I dismantled its limbs, twisting off both arms and legs.

In no time at all, the wooden attacker was reduced to a heap of sticks on the ground, its round head still spinning in an uncanny fashion.

“Kid, I didn’t expect that from you! You’ve got some real skills,” Zhao Zhiqiang exclaimed, flashing me a thumbs-up.

I spared him a cold glance and said nothing.

Zhao Zhiqiang coughed awkwardly and then asked, “So, what do we do next?”

“That’s obvious. We need to find Black Jacket and Ma Xu as soon as possible—it’s safer if we stick together.” I didn’t wait for Zhao Zhiqiang, simply heading back the way I remembered.

He quickly caught up, trailing behind me.

We retraced our steps along the burial passage, relying on memory, when suddenly we heard footsteps that weren’t ours.

“Wait—did you hear something strange?” I halted at once, straining to listen.

Zhao Zhiqiang, alert as ever, also fell silent.

“Kid, maybe you’re hearing things? I don’t hear a thing,” he said after a long pause, beginning to doubt my senses.

I found it odd, too. Was I just jittery and hearing things?

“Let’s go,” I waved him on.

Zhao Zhiqiang, his face serious, followed in silence.

But after only a few more steps, I heard the footsteps again—this time, clearly not matching ours.

“Something’s wrong! Something’s up!” I stopped abruptly, startling Zhao Zhiqiang into stopping as well.

“What is it?” he asked, bewildered, too nervous to move.

I listened closely; the sound vanished again.

I shook my head, then whispered, “March in place with me. Slowly.”

Zhao Zhiqiang was confused, but obeyed at the sight of my stern expression. He started stepping in place, and just then, a rapid clatter of footsteps echoed through the passage!

I turned sharply to look at him. Zhao Zhiqiang’s face had turned ashen; it was clear he’d heard it, too.

“So it wasn’t just my imagination,” I said coldly.

“Kid, are we dealing with something unclean again?” Zhao Zhiqiang’s voice trembled with dread, and I shared his ominous feeling.

I shook my head, uncertain. Whether it was a trap or something supernatural, one thing was clear—it was after us.

“What now?” Zhao Zhiqiang asked, white-faced.

I frowned slightly. “We keep going. Let’s see what it can really do.”

“You’ve got a head of steel,” Zhao Zhiqiang said, giving me another thumbs-up. I ignored him and moved on.

But just then, a scream cut through the passage, and two figures burst out from the corridor ahead, sprinting toward us in panic!

“What the hell is that!” I tried to make out their faces, but another scream rang out from behind me—it was Zhao Zhiqiang, of course, always the jumpy one.

With a crash, the newcomers collided full-force with Zhao Zhiqiang, and a chorus of yells erupted.

“Ma Xu? You little brat, what are you yelling for!” Zhao Zhiqiang recognized him at last—Ma Xu, with Black Jacket close behind. Everyone was accounted for, and I felt a rush of relief.

Ma Xu, realizing it was Zhao Zhiqiang, relaxed and slapped him playfully. “Where the hell did you run off to? We were searching everywhere for you.” But the slap made Zhao Zhiqiang stagger, pulling at the wound on his thigh, and he couldn’t help but groan in pain.

“Damn...” Zhao Zhiqiang grimaced.

“Injured?” Black Jacket, hearing his comrade was hurt, hurried to check on him.

“It’s nothing. Just a scratch,” Zhao Zhiqiang insisted.

“What happened to you?” Ma Xu pressed, curiosity getting the better of him.

Zhao Zhiqiang shot me a grateful look and said earnestly, “Let’s talk later. If it weren’t for this guy, you wouldn’t be seeing me now.”

Hearing this, Black Jacket gave me a look of gratitude as well. I could tell he felt vindicated for bringing me along.

“Thank you,” Black Jacket said.

I nodded, keeping silent, my mind still on the footsteps. Clearly, they weren’t from Black Jacket and Ma Xu—so where did they come from?

“What happened to you two? Why were you running?” Zhao Zhiqiang grabbed Ma Xu, his face tense.

Ma Xu’s face darkened at the question. He glanced at Black Jacket, who began slowly, “We heard something strange—footsteps were following us the whole time.”

“What? Are you kidding me?” Zhao Zhiqiang was stunned, his eyes about to pop out.

Black Jacket and Ma Xu, hearing this, immediately sensed something was off and looked at Zhao Zhiqiang with grave expressions.

“I’m not making it up. There really were footsteps following us. Scared the hell out of me,” Ma Xu said, still visibly shaken.

Zhao Zhiqiang was speechless for a long time, which made Ma Xu anxious.

“What’s going on?” Ma Xu nudged me. I regarded them coolly and said, “We heard the footsteps, too. At first, I thought it was you, but now it seems it wasn’t.”

At my words, the group fell silent.

As we stood there, unsure what to do, the footsteps echoed again—rapid, relentless.

“God, it’s coming again!” Ma Xu cried, ducking behind me.

I frowned, feeling stalked—a sensation that set my nerves on edge. Clearly, I had no choice but to get to the bottom of this. I quickly pulled a rope from my belt and tossed one end to Zhao Zhiqiang.

“Hold tight. I’ll go check it out. If I tug the rope, follow me.” Gripping the other end, I started toward the source of the sound.

Before I could take a step, Black Jacket grabbed my arm, his gaze unwavering. “Be careful.”

I nodded gratefully and set off.

The passage was deep and pitch-dark. I carried a homemade bone lantern, crafted from human bone and filled with phosphorus powder. It never needed charging and would always glow, if dimly.

Passing by exquisite murals on the wall, I couldn’t help but notice, as before, the oddity: though the architecture was unmistakably Tang dynasty, the murals were from the Western Han. This discrepancy continued to puzzle me.

Just then, I heard the footsteps again—quick, sharp, echoing in my ears.

I stopped in my tracks; the sound halted, too.

“Whoever you are, stop playing games!” I called out in a low, commanding voice, unwilling to believe there could be so many spirits here.

No sooner had I spoken than the sound resumed, as if taunting me.

Gritting my teeth, I went on. After only a few steps, I heard a sudden rush of footsteps behind me—someone, or something, was charging straight at me!

A chill ran down my spine. I whirled around—nothing there.

Just as I steadied myself, the footsteps started up behind me again, as if someone was forever in pursuit.